Chapter 63 I told you not to rush
Chunhong, Xiazi, and Qiulan arrived quickly and, without saying much, wrote their birth dates and times on a piece of paper with Dongqing before leaving.
Zhong Shensuan took the paper from the maid and looked at Wen Zhiming's birth date and time, which had been placed aside. While calculating, he also took the opportunity to glance at Wen Kehao's expression when no one was looking.
Wen Kehao's calm expression told him that this was something he could do on his own.
Simultaneously analyzing the birth charts of four women and one man is a highly skilled task. You can't say they're all good, or others will become suspicious; you can't say they're all bad, or others will be even more suspicious.
He pondered for a moment, then, drawing on the fortune-telling books he had read, said earnestly, “Compared to the Crown Prince’s wife, the birth charts of these four maids are more compatible with the Crown Prince. The second and fourth are within the normal range and will not harm the Crown Prince. The first has a very high compatibility and is slightly beneficial to the Crown Prince. Of course, the best is the third, whose birth chart complements the Crown Prince’s. If the Crown Prince is with a woman of this birth chart, they will get along harmoniously and have a smooth and happy relationship.”
He guessed that Wen Kehao sent him to drive away the Crown Prince's wife because she didn't want the Crown Prince to have such a high-status wife. So he decided to help Wen Kehao out by getting the Crown Prince married to a lowly maid.
But after he finished speaking, he noticed that Wen Kehao's expression was not good, so he added, "Of course, keeping this person as the young master's maid is also extremely beneficial to the young master."
Meng Lingge slowly stepped forward, picked up the paper, and said, "The third birth date in this row is that of the maid Qiu Lan. Zhong Shensuan, are you sure you've seen it clearly and calculated it? This maid's birth date is the most compatible with the young master's?"
“That’s right.” Zhong the Divine Calculator stroked his beard again. “It’s her.”
Wen Kehao's face was as cold as ice. He raised his hand and said, "In that case, Qiulan will stay to take care of my elder brother. When will the Crown Princess move out?"
He doesn't even want to call her "sister-in-law" anymore.
Meng Lingge smiled and looked at him, saying, "Move away? Who's moving away? My birth dates and the young master's are so compatible. Even the fortune teller Zhong said that my relationship with the young master is destined to be harmonious and pleasant. Why should I move?"
She took a step closer to Wen Kehao, staring intently at him: "Third brother, this is the second time today that you've reminded me to move out... I told you not to rush, but you still can't hold back..."
Her smile was bright and her tone cheerful, and Wen Kehao suddenly had a very bad feeling.
"Is the Crown Princess confused? This is your daughter's birth date and time, not yours. Your birth date and time are incompatible with your elder brother's."
Princess Anshun also looked worried: "Lingge, what's wrong? The birth date and time on this is compatible with Mo'er's; it belongs to your maid Qiulan."
"Mother, don't worry, I'm fine." Meng Lingge said, then turned to the door and instructed, "Dongqing, call Qiulan in to report."
A moment later, Dongqing led Qiulan in.
Fearing that she was colluding with Meng Lingge, Wen Kehao pointed to the third birth date on the paper and asked before Meng Lingge could speak, "Is this the birth date you just wrote?"
Qiu Lan nodded, "It was written by this servant."
Wen Kehao breathed a sigh of relief and was about to question Meng Lingge when Qiu Lan continued, "These birth dates and times were written by this servant, but they are not my birth dates and times; they belong to the Crown Princess."
Wen Kehao was stunned for a moment, then looked at Meng Lingge with embarrassment and anger and said, "Do you and your servants think that everyone in the Anshun Prince's Mansion is stupid? I don't know how you leaked the information, but birth dates and times cannot be faked. Just because you want to say that someone is a maid doesn't mean they are a maid, and just because you want to say that someone is the Crown Prince's wife doesn't mean they are the Crown Prince's wife."
Meng Lingge clapped her hands and said with a smile, "Third brother is absolutely right. Birth dates and times cannot be faked. When I married the young master, it was too rushed, and I didn't have my birth dates and times calculated. My mother knew that there were many rules in the Prince's Mansion, and she was afraid that I wouldn't remember them, so she had someone put my birth dates and times in my dowry box for future use. They are still well preserved in the box, and we can send a maid to fetch them now. Alternatively, we can send someone to the Meng Mansion to find my parents and ask them to provide my birth dates and times again. Zhong Shen has only been in the mansion for a short while, so you wouldn't suspect that I had also informed my family, would you?"
Wen Kehao's expression was cold and stern.
The Meng residence and the Anshun Prince's residence are not close; it would take at least an hour for a carriage to make the trip. Today, he had Zhong Shen calculate that no word had leaked out, so it was impossible for Meng Lingge to have foreseen the future and conspire with the Meng residence in advance.
The most likely explanation is that Meng Lingge, upon hearing that her birth date and time were incompatible with her elder brother's, resorted to trickery. Under the guise of leaving a maidservant for her brother, she seized the birth date and time of the maidservants. Of the four maidservants, whichever birth date and time Zhong Shensuan said was compatible with her brother's, she would take that one.
Although she didn't explicitly remind Qiu Lan, the two of them spent so much time together that they could easily understand each other's intentions with just a gesture or a glance, which is why Qiu Lan cooperated with her so readily.
Meng Lingge dared to send them to retrieve the birth dates and times from the dowry, and to get a new set from the Meng residence, so she must have been planning to tamper with them again.
Wen Kehao's eyes turned cold. "This concerns my elder brother, so we must be careful. To be fair, I will arrange for someone to go with my sister-in-law's maid to collect her share of the dowry. As for the Meng family, I will send the steward of the manor to do so."
Princess Anshun hesitated slightly before stopping her, saying, "Just go and get the birth date and time that Lingge brought with her dowry. She already brought one. Sending someone to the Meng residence to get it would only make the Meng family suspicious."
“When the steward goes to retrieve it, he can say that the one from the dowry was lost. If the Meng family is reasonable, they shouldn’t find it strange. Besides, this idea was suggested by my sister-in-law, so we should follow it to verify its authenticity.” Wen Kehao’s attitude was compliant, but his words were firm.
Meng Lingge calmly looked at Princess Anshun and said, "Let's do as my third brother says. He won't let this matter rest until it's investigated. But please tell them to hurry up. The young master is still waiting outside, and I can't bear to keep him waiting."
Wen Kehao understood Meng Lingge's implied meaning and looked ashamed and indignant. "My brother's affairs are my affairs, and I have an inescapable responsibility."
Seeing that the two were of one mind, Princess Anshun had no choice but to agree. Wen Kehao sent his most trusted subordinate with Qiu Lan to retrieve the birth date and time chart that was placed in Meng Lingge's dowry, and also instructed the steward to hurry to the Meng residence.
The group returned to their seats and waited for news.
The maids refilled the tea with hot water and served fruits and snacks.
Meng Lingge chatted casually with Princess Anshun over tea, and even took the time to coax Wen Zhiming at the door for a while, remaining calm and composed.
The more Wen Kehao saw her like this, the more his heart ached. He was afraid that this woman was secretly playing some tricks.
Zhong Shensuan's two shrewd eyes darted back and forth, and every now and then he couldn't help but stroke his long beard.
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