Lu Bai's wide-open mouth and shocked expression pleased Shen Jinhua.
Buying this jade ruyi would both annoy Song Zhiyu and please Old Madam Ling, achieving two goals at once.
Song Zhiyu secretly gave Lu Bai an approving look; this girl was getting smarter and smarter.
Lu Bai was overjoyed to receive her mistress's approval. She winked playfully at her, feeling even more motivated.
“Miss, that old man broke his promise. He clearly agreed to sell the jade ruyi to you, but someone else beat him to it.” Lu Bai snorted coldly, her round eyes burning with two small flames.
Song Zhiyu frowned at the opportune moment, a gloomy look lingering between her brows, making it clear to anyone that she was extremely unhappy.
"This jade ruyi was bought by me from an old man. How did it become something that Second Sister has taken a fancy to in this maid's mouth?" Shen Jinhua smiled smugly, her love for the jade ruyi growing even stronger.
Seeing the extremely unpleasant expressions on Song Zhiyu's and the little maid's faces, Shen Jinhua finally felt relieved.
Song Zhiyu is cunning and scheming. Everyone in the Marquis's mansion has been deceived by her to varying degrees. Shen Jinhua can't help but worry that this matter is also part of Song Zhiyu's scheme.
But now it seems that the jade ruyi is indeed real, otherwise why would Song Zhiyu, who is usually inscrutable, have a dark expression?
Now her uncle can rest assured. She didn't steal the jade ruyi for nothing, and the money wasn't wasted either.
"Now that the item is in my hands, it is naturally mine. If Second Sister wants it, she can go find it herself. Don't always covet other people's things."
Having finally managed to get a chance to show off in front of Song Zhiyu, Shen Jinhua felt like looking down on him.
After saying that, Shen Jinhua stopped looking at Song Zhiyu's expression, swayed her hips and left, even her back view exuding a sense of smugness.
She lingered at the gate of the Marquis's mansion for a long time, just to annoy Song Zhiyu. Now that she had achieved her goal, she was exhausted.
The thought of Song Zhiyu being so angry that she would vomit blood filled Shen Jinhua with a sense of satisfaction, and her steps became much lighter.
Even after the person had walked away, Song Zhiyu, who was still standing in the same spot, slowly lifted her eyelids. The gloomy look on her face instantly disappeared, and she even laughed out loud with pleasure.
"Miss, just as you predicted, the Second Miss really did spend three thousand taels to buy this jade ruyi." Lu Bai looked at Song Zhiyu with admiration in her eyes. Just now, the young lady's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, which even she found frightening.
If she hadn't already known about her mistress's plan, she probably would have been fooled too.
That was a brilliant move! Lu Bai secretly gave a thumbs up, her eyes shining with astonishing brilliance.
"Having lived in the shadow of others for so long and been overlooked, she is now finally given a chance to shine, so of course she will seize it."
With Shen Jinshu keeping them in check, the other daughters of the Marquis's household naturally couldn't get ahead.
Shen Jinyi, the second wife, was unassuming and unassuming, but earned the reputation of a talented woman through her own abilities.
She neither surpassed Shen Jinshu nor incurred her fear, and her presence was extremely low. She posed no threat to Shen Jinshu, so naturally, she didn't need to suppress her.
Shen Jinxiu was obsessed with pleasing Shen Jinshu and fought for her. She was the most vicious dog under Shen Jinshu's command.
Shen Jinshu was also adept at managing people, and if he needed her to do some shady things, he wouldn't mind giving her some sweet treats.
Only Shen Jinhua was neither as indifferent as Shen Jinyi, nor did she learn Shen Jinxiu's flattering tactics. She was always competitive and loved to show off, which displeased Shen Jinshu.
Of course, if it were just a show-off personality, it wouldn't be enough to make Shen Jinshu wary.
After all, compared to Shen Jinshu's level, Shen Jinhua is clearly not up to par.
But her face was the only thing Shen Jinshu couldn't compare to.
Therefore, under Shen Jinshu's intentional or unintentional suppression, Shen Jinhua could not stand out at all, how could she be willing to accept it?
As a result, Shen Jinshu was confined to her quarters by the Empress Dowager for three months, and no one could suppress her anymore.
She was impatient for quick success and easily led astray by others.
Song Zhiyu was able to subtly manipulate Shen Jinhua's thoughts and lead her into the trap step by step.
Upon hearing this, Lu Bai nodded as if she understood, but felt that what the young lady said made sense and that she should learn from it.
*
Three days later, Madam Ling's sixtieth birthday banquet arrived as scheduled.
Inside Songxi Courtyard, Lu Bai gently patted the brocade box she was holding, smiling brightly, "Miss, I've brought all the congratulatory gifts."
"Let's go." Song Zhiyu stood up and took out a newly embroidered medicine pouch from the medicine box and put it on.
Due to the lingering illness she sustained on the battlefield, Madam Ling would experience mental turmoil and insomnia every few months.
When Song Zhiyu took Madam Ling's pulse before, she found that her pulse was unstable. She was afraid that rashly administering medicine would harm her body, so she decided to adopt a gentle treatment method.
She rushed out the medicine pouch under the cover of night, which contained many calming herbs and her homemade calming powder. Carrying the medicine pouch with her for a long time would be beneficial in treating Madam Ling's insomnia.
As soon as the two stepped out of the room, they saw the guards Zhou Xingzhi had arranged to protect her carrying a maid towards them, and they threw the trembling maid to the ground.
"Miss, this maid was sneaking around the door, eavesdropping. I was afraid she might harm you, so I brought her here for you to question." The guard spoke respectfully; his duty was to protect Miss Song, and he rarely showed himself.
But when he saw the little maid quietly eavesdropping by the window, looking like a guilty thief, he knew that she had something to hide, so he showed himself and caught her.
Lu Bai recognized the maid at a glance and said through gritted teeth, "Chun Tao, I still haven't gotten to the bottom of what happened when you barged into Miss's room without permission last time. Now you're hiding outside eavesdropping. What exactly are you trying to do?"
"Miss, I'm innocent! I just wanted to ask if there was anything I could do for you, so I stood outside for a while. I was definitely not eavesdropping."
Chun Tao's face was full of innocence, and her explanation was reasonable and well-founded, but only she knew what she was really thinking.
Song Zhiyu narrowed her eyes slightly. Once was an accident, but twice was intentional.
She had planned to deal with Chun Tao's matter after the birthday banquet, but she didn't expect that the people behind her couldn't hold back any longer.
"Lu Bai, you go out first and let the coachman wait a while."
Fearing that Song Zhiyu wouldn't be able to attend her birthday banquet, Madam Ling sent a groom from her household early in the morning to wait for her.
With some time still before the birthday banquet began, Song Zhiyu planned to finish quickly.
"This servant understands." Lu Bai nodded and walked out of the courtyard gate with the congratulatory gift in her hands.
Chun Tao is nothing to her young lady.
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