Chapter 26 A Difficult Situation
After a while, the house was tidied up, and Xu Shuyao called Qiao Wei to her side alone.
Chen was embarrassed today, and when she returns, she will definitely call Qiaowei to Jinhua Hall to inquire about what happened.
"Just say that I discovered it myself. I saw the letter from Mr. Qiu and thought someone else was trying to harm me, so I replaced it with something else." Xu Shuyao ordered.
Qiao Wei nodded in agreement, her face already showing tears of gratitude.
The Second Madam asked her to put the letter in her cousin's room. Although she asked her to do it secretly, Qiao Wei still felt that the cousin had the right to know.
She could have kept it to herself, but what if the girl found out herself?
Then shouldn’t the Second Madam be blamed on her?
People are all kind-hearted. Qiao Wei naturally sees the kindness of her cousin towards these servants.
She didn't want to leave Jiyunzhai, nor did she want to climb up the social ladder and become a concubine.
Fortunately, she did not completely listen to the Second Madam. If Mr. Qiu's letter was seen by the Second Master today, not only would the young lady lose face, but she, the maidservant, would also not be able to escape with any good fortune.
Qiaowei was well aware of this principle, and coupled with her cousin's good fortune, she was able to escape danger today.
Although the matter was exposed, fortunately Xu Shuyao did not ask her to choose between herself and the second wife.
Qiaowei had no choice but to deal with the situation carefully. Perhaps her cousin also knew this!
As Xu Shuyao expected, Chen did not ask her directly, but called the maid over to question her.
When she heard that the letter had been replaced by Xiao Jinrong from the beginning, her face turned pale.
My niece didn’t know about Mr. Qiu, but Chen knew him.
Mr. Qiu is a playboy who loves to flirt with young ladies. He falls in love with every girl he meets.
It just so happens that such a person has some literary talent and can write some poems. His father is the Prince of Yuzhang who is highly valued by the current emperor.
Many young ladies from good families in Beijing have been harassed by this Mr. Qiu.
After knowing that such a change had occurred inside, Chen stopped questioning the maid.
Anyway, the fault lies with the stepson.
However, this incident also shows that my niece is not as obedient as she appears to be.
Chen felt disheartened for a while, blaming God for being unfair and not letting her give birth to a son.
She was so self-pitying here that she didn't even notice Mother Wu coming into the room.
Seeing the Second Madam drinking alone in the room, Mother Wu couldn't help but advise, "Madam! You must take care of yourself. The two young ladies are counting on you!"
Chen didn't even look at her. "Did the Second Master go to Zhao's place?"
Looking up, he saw Mother Wu hesitated to speak, and could not help but sneered, "I knew it."
After saying this, she poured another glass of wine. Madam Wu earnestly advised, "Madam, please don't drink any more. It's come to this point, why are you still so angry? The Second Young Master can marry whoever he wants. In my opinion, there are very few young ladies like my cousin in this capital. Although her background is a little poor, she is good-looking and has a good temper. Even if you want to give your niece to your stepson, don't you have your own difficulties?"
Chen paused holding the wine cup, but still shook her head: "No, this idea is wrong. I was diligently helping him choose a wife before! If I had planned this from the beginning, all the good things would have been overturned."
After saying this, Chen stopped drinking and frowned, thinking instead.
Mother Wu was right about one thing. Now is not the time to be angry. She still has two daughters!
After this, Xu Shuyao went to Jinhua Hall to pay her respects every day as usual, but she clearly felt that Chen was not as warm to her as before.
Xu Shuyao didn’t think it was a big deal. It was normal for the chess piece to lose its value!
But she dared not miss her daily greetings for even a single day.
As usual, when she heard Chen cough, she brought pear soup. When she heard Xiao Jinshan wanted to eat the pastries she made, she rolled up her sleeves and got busy.
At the same time, Xu Shuyao was secretly worried about her younger brother's studies. Ever since she knew that the marriage between the prince and Chen Jingshu might not succeed, she had been worried about it every day.
The young masters of the Chengguo Mansion have all grown up, and now only the fifth young master is studying at the Shen family. Soon he won’t have to go either.
Only A-di was left.
I am currently embarrassed in front of my aunt. If my younger brother is rejected by the clan school, I am afraid that no one will arrange for his admission to school.
So, these days, every time Xu Shuheng comes home from school, his sister calls him over and asks him in detail: How are your relationships with the students at the clan school? How does the teacher treat you?
Although Xu Shuheng was puzzled as to how his elder sister had returned to the state she was when he first entered the clan school two years ago, he still satisfied her curiosity with everything.
However, what Xu Shuyao did not expect was that even though Heng Ge'er answered her every day that there was nothing wrong with him, she still received a piece of news a few days later: her younger brother could no longer go to the Shen clan to study.
The reason was that there were not enough people in the clan school and the original teacher had left.
The third master of the Shen family was also in poor health and had no energy left to take care of the men sent from outside.
Xu Shuyao became as depressed as a wilted bitter melon after hearing the news. However, A-di still persuaded her that it was okay not to go to the clan school. With the foundation laid in the past two years, he could now study at home.
Xu Shuyao was skeptical at first, but when she saw that he was really working hard in Jiyunzhai in the next few days, she felt a little relieved.
Regarding the fact that Xu Shuheng could no longer attend the Shen clan school, Jinhuatang did send someone to inquire briefly about it, but there was no further news after that.
Xu Shuyao no longer placed her hopes on this aunt, and she did not feel disappointed, but just worried.
Time flies and it is September already, and there are still a few days left until the Double Ninth Festival.
On the Double Ninth Festival, the Duke Cheng’s Mansion would not go out for a grand ceremony like other officials’ families would, climbing mountains and looking into the distance.
Old Madam Xiao likes quietness, but she also likes the atmosphere of being surrounded by her children and grandchildren.
Therefore, according to past custom, on this day, most female members of the family would go to Songhe Hall early to talk with the old lady, and the younger generations would prepare embroidered shoes and socks as a token of blessing.
In the evening, when the master returns home, everyone will gather in Songhe Hall for a banquet. Usually, the banquet will include Chongyang cake, chrysanthemum wine, crab stuffed with orange and other festive foods and wine.
This was a rare time of the year when Xu Shuyao could see Old Madam Xiao, so she prepared the gift with more care than other times.
She had already asked someone to get the old lady's shoe pattern from Songhetang. The sole and upper were already made, and all that was left was to sew them on.
The reason why I thought of making shoes was because I heard Mrs. Xiao talking about an old servant and saying that the shoes on his feet were made by that servant, and her eyes were full of nostalgia and sigh.
It just so happened that Xu Shuyao could also make shoes. The shoes on A-di's feet were all made by her. Not only were they comfortable to wear, but the embroidery patterns on them were also very beautiful. The Fourth Young Master saw her several times and praised her excellent craftsmanship.
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