"Sister Guarjia, I wonder how you met the master and were brought back by him?" Although Li Shi's tone was questioning, the corners of her mouth and the ill intent in her eyes showed that her question was aimed at him.
Jiaming continued to pretend, first pausing for a moment, then opening her mouth to speak.
Then came Consort Wu's additional comment: "What the concubine says is true. We were just curious. After all, you are indeed somewhat unsavory, sister. This is the truth, not sarcasm."
.
Jiaming inwardly scoffed, "Not being sarcastic," but at least tone down that sarcastic frown!
On the surface, she pretended to have been hit where it hurt, and seemed listless and lifeless, as if she had really been hurt by Wu's words.
Seeing the power of her words, Madam Wu became even more enthusiastic: "Compared to the other sisters in the manor, you are really not outstanding in appearance, talent, or family background. So I was just curious about why Master brought you into the manor!"
Since Jiaming entered the manor, the women in the inner quarters have used every means to learn everything about her. Because every woman who enters the manor has a simple record, the women in the inner quarters learned about Jiaming's background in this short period of time.
Princess Guarjia was an ordinary bannerman of the Plain White Banner of the Manchu army. In other words, the Guarjia clan only has one thing to show: their Manchu lineage.
Seeing that Li and Wu were frequently making contributions, and also because she was very unhappy that Guarjia had occupied Taoyuan, and because her previous efforts against Guarjia had been in vain, Song was truly unwilling to let her off so easily. Now that she had the opportunity, she immediately got involved.
"Hehe, Sister Guarjia, did you drug the master?" Madam Song suddenly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, as if she had revealed a secret.
Upon hearing this, Jiaming's eyes widened suddenly, and she blurted out, "Sister Song, I didn't!"
Upon hearing Jiaming's rebuttal, Madam Song seemed to realize that she had misspoke and immediately smiled apologetically at Jiaming: "Hehe, these are all just speculations. It's just that my sister's appearance is rather unappealing. If there are no surprises, it's really impossible for someone like you to catch the master's eye and enter the Prince's mansion."
Jiaming's inner voice kept applauding Song Shi, thinking, "Well said! Absolutely wonderful! She's one step closer to her goal."
On the surface, however, she looked aggrieved and angry, her finger trembling as she pointed at Song Shi, "Sister Song, you..."
Before Jiaming could finish speaking, Li interrupted her again. Li looked at her with a puzzled smile, appearing as a kind and fair older sister, and said, "Sister Guarjia, what are you doing? Sister Song was just speaking without thinking. Besides, Sister Song was only expressing her doubts. If you don't want to answer, then don't answer. Why are you so angry?"
The onlookers thought to themselves: Hehe, how could Guarjia not be angry! Song's words were clearly accusing her of using unusual methods to get the master to accept her. Otherwise, with her lack of looks, talent, and family background, would the master have wanted her and let her into the mansion?
"That makes sense!" The group of women seemed thoughtful, their eyes flickering.
"Could it be that we've hit a nerve with you, Sister Guarjia?" Wu feigned surprise.
As soon as Wu said this, she immediately received admiring glances from all the women in the inner courtyard.
Fujin: Tsk tsk tsk, this drama of besieging the Guarjia clan in the backyard is really good! It truly lived up to the news I deliberately leaked yesterday.
Li: Wu's reply was brilliant! Hehe, now Guarjia has been branded with a reputation for using despicable methods, and these methods were even used on the master. Hehe, those women who are not favored by the master must hate her to death and want to tear her apart!
Most of the women in the backyard thought: "That shameless Guarjia woman, a lowly wretch with no looks, no talent, and no family background, how dare she do this!"
!
Clearly, most of the women in the backyard believed the unfounded accusations made by Li and Wu, and glared angrily at Jiaming.
The women in the backyard, a few in number, chuckled: "Heh heh, Li, Wu, and Song are indeed formidable, and this Guarjia woman too, heh heh, she's in for a tough time now!"
They watched with great interest, unconcerned about whether they should join in later. Life in the inner quarters was rather boring, since they weren't favored by the master. Moreover, the fact that Lady Guarjia was favored by the master made a few of the women in the inner quarters, who were feeling envious, begin to tip the scales in their hearts toward joining Lady Li.
Madam Song: "Sister Wu, how can you say that!"
Madam Song glanced reproachfully at Madam Wu, then looked at Jiaming with a smile, her lips moving as she uttered a sentence: "This kind of thing would damage your reputation, how could you mention it!"
Jiaming's inner voice narrowed. Heh, this Song family is quite a ruthless character! On the surface, she blamed Wu family, but what she said to her was clearly an expression of good intentions to cover up for her.
Heh, does she think Guarjia Jiaming is so easily fooled? Those words clearly implied that Guarjia had entered the household through underhanded means, but she couldn't say it because of her reputation.
Jiaming looked aggrieved, as if saying, "How could you slander me, Sister Song? And Sister Wu, Sister Li too!"
She paused, then, before anyone else could speak, her lips moved quickly. “I’m just an ordinary Manchu woman. I’ve never even met you before. I have no family background and no connections. How could I possibly outmaneuver you, who is under such tight protection?”
Upon hearing this, the lips of the Fujin, Lady Li, and the others twitched. Well, that was indeed a reason.
Everyone knew how cautious their master was, and how heavily protected he was. It would be very difficult for an ordinary person to outwit him, let alone someone who had never even met him before.
"As for why the master took a concubine," Jiaming suddenly blushed, her innocent baby face instantly becoming more beautiful, but still far less so than the other women in the hall.
The women in the backyard all craned their necks to look at Jiaming, eager to see what reason she could come up with. They were genuinely curious as well. Of course, many believed the conjecture made by Song and the others earlier: that the Guarjia clan had used underhanded methods.
"Sigh!" Jiaming sighed softly, opening her mouth to say, "It's a long story!" But a hint of relief appeared between her brows.
Fujin: "..."
Li: "What the hell are you doing?"
The women in the backyard: "Guarjia clan is playing us for a fool!"
When you sigh softly, we think it's something bad; when you move your lips, we think you're about to say something and we listen intently.
Who knew, (after taking off their pants) they'd show us this! Are you kidding me?
And what's with that look of relief on your face? Something that was difficult for you to reveal turned out to be good news!
If it's something to be thankful for, then why can't you tell us?
The women waited and waited, but Jiaming kept her head down and acted like a wooden doll.
The Fujin (principal wife) and the other women, including Lady Li, immediately felt a toothache and inwardly cursed Jiaming: "Guarjia clan, do you have to be like this?! You're really playing tricks on us!"
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