0035 Jade Exquisite (Part 1) [Bonus Chapter for 500 Reads]
To welcome the imperial envoy, the Shu family opened the main hall, Qichuan Hall, which was usually closed. Servants and maids began sweeping carefully from before dawn, wielding brooms and dusters.
When Shu Fu arrived, Qichuan Hall had already been cleaned up spotlessly.
She arrived first, followed closely by Shu Yin. Madam Li and Madam Luo arrived in trailing hemlines because of the elaborate and complicated attire worn by noblewomen.
As the two sisters were talking, Madam Li and Madam Luo walked in from outside the courtyard, surrounded by a group of servants.
Both of them were dressed in ceremonial robes and hairpins befitting their status, exuding elegance and grace.
After they were seated, Madam Luo, sitting to the left of Old Madam Li, gently and softly explained the various matters that had been happening in the mansion recently.
Madam Li gave a lukewarm "hmm".
Luo Shi didn't feel neglected by her mother-in-law. Instead, she smiled even more docilely. She glanced at Li Mama and said, "Go to the outer courtyard and get a few boys to fetch some water to wash the ground in front of the gate. Don't let the imperial family think that our household is unkempt."
“Third Sister,” she said, then looked at Shu Yin, who was standing next to Shu Fu across from her, “go to the main kitchen for Mother’s sake and make sure the people there don’t slack off. The imperial banquet was brought here from the palace and it’s bound to get cold. Tell them to keep the fire burning so that we can prepare for any eventuality.”
Shu Yin was puzzled but dared not say too much. She quickly left with her personal maid.
In this way, apart from the three masters, there was only a little maidservant massaging feet beside Madam Li in the house.
Madam Li gave a wink, and the last remaining maid was also driven out.
"Speak," Madam Li lifted her eyelids and looked at Madam Luo, "You went to great lengths to send everyone out of the house, what do you want to tell me?"
Luo first glanced at Shu Fu, then called out the name of a maidservant. The door was immediately opened, and a disheveled maidservant was pushed in.
Shu Fu looked closely and realized it was Ah Xing, whom she hadn't seen for many days.
She looked up and met Luo's gaze, instantly understanding his intentions.
First, Luo sent Shu Wei away to Lanshan Academy to pick up Shu Mingde, and then found an excuse to drive away the other people in the room, so that she could report to Old Madam Li what happened at the Spring Festival banquet.
Shu Fu had this intention all along, and that was the reason she kept Ah Xing in the mansion that day, but the time she had planned was tonight or tomorrow.
Firstly, because the palace messenger was about to arrive, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to explain things clearly in the rush;
Secondly, her elder sister Shuwei was not in the mansion at the time, and she preferred to confront the other party face to face, rather than create a biased impression on Madam Li due to her one-sided retelling.
However, Luo Shi clearly preferred to take the initiative in front of Madam Li while Shu Wei was away, so that Shu Wei would find it too late when she arrived home, and that she had already made a mistake.
Although Shu Fu didn't approve of starting a fight at this moment, the stage had already been set up for her by the Luo family, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and finish the performance.
Shu Fu then stood up and respectfully bowed to Madam Li, who was seated in the main seat. In a calm and unhurried manner, she recounted what she had seen and known at the Xu residence.
As Madam Li listened to Shu Fu speak, her face remained expressionless, while she continuously fiddled with her sandalwood prayer beads.
After Shu Fu finished speaking, Old Madam Li's sharp gaze swept over her, and she said: [The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentences.]
"Are you saying that at the Spring Festival banquet at the Xu family mansion, Wei'er used your name to deceive Liang Dalang, ruining San Niang's reputation and making it known to everyone? Is that right?"
"Yes, Madam Xu is sharp-eyed and intelligent. She immediately ordered a thorough investigation, which led all the way to the eldest sister."
Shu Fu stood upright in the hall, neither humble nor arrogant.
“Oh? Then tell your grandmother, why did your eldest sister commit this scheme? She is the eldest daughter, and no matter what, Third Sister can't surpass her. Why would she dirty her hands for no reason and do such a shameful thing that does her no good at all?”
The grandmother raised the eldest sister single-handedly, so it's understandable that she wouldn't easily believe her words.
Even she herself couldn't believe that her respected elder sister would have such a ruthless scheme before Madam Xu presented the evidence to her.
Faced with Madam Li's sharp questioning, Shu Fu steadied herself and slowly replied:
"Afu didn't know what deep-seated hatred her elder sister had for her third sister that made her disregard her parents' reputation and ruin her third sister's reputation in public."
"Grandmother, you'll probably have to ask my elder sister herself to know the reason for this. But the maid behind me was bribed by my elder sister and was genuinely involved. If Grandmother doesn't believe me, you can ask her."
Hearing this, Ah Xing, who had been kneeling, knew that her chance to turn things around had come.
She had been working for the second young lady since she was a child. The second young lady was the daughter of the mistress and was always kind and gentle. As the head maid of Chunwanlou, her food, clothing and daily necessities were no worse than those of ordinary wealthy families.
She regretted that on the day of the Spring Festival banquet, she was blinded by greed and accepted the eldest daughter's favor, which ruined the second daughter's marriage and destroyed her promising future.
These days, she's been working in the laundry room, and her hands, which she had carefully nurtured over the years, are almost wrinkled from being soaked in water. Fortunately, after waiting day and night, she has finally gotten this opportunity.
She kowtowed three times to the person in the main seat, tearfully explaining how Xu'er, who was beside Shu Wei, had bribed her and entrusted her with this task.
As she finished speaking, tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at Shu Fu standing to the side: "I really didn't know they were making such a despicable plan. I only thought that the young lady had something she wanted to see her husband but had no way to do so, so I decided to act as a matchmaker for her. But I never thought of harming you, young lady."
Despite the bond between mistress and servant that had lasted for over ten years, Shu Fu still walked up to her and handed her a handkerchief, gesturing for her to press the bruise on her forehead. However, it was impossible for her to be transferred back to Chunwanlou.
“What you’ve said is just your side of the story. Is there any evidence to support your claims?” Shuf said.
Ah Xing paused for a moment, then her eyes suddenly lit up: "Yes, please send someone to my current residence, break open my pillow, and you will see a purse inside. It was given to me by Miss Xu'er when she bribed me."
Just as Madam Li was about to instruct the servants standing far away outside the door to fetch it, Madam Luo suddenly interrupted.
“Ah Fu, is that girl named Ah Jian standing in the courtyard with you? Why don’t you ask her to come along too? It would be good to have someone to help out.”
This was to prevent the people sent by the old lady from destroying evidence en route.
Shu Fu responded and turned to go to the courtyard to give instructions to the servants.
Madam Li sat in her seat and glanced at Madam Luo with a half-smile. Madam Luo lowered her eyes, pretending not to see anything.
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