Chapter 96: Discovery of Qingmian
Xi Qingmian rolled her eyes and stamped her feet in a pretentious manner, "Oh, why did Mother leave first? I want to go too!"
The doorman, Old Zhang, had no suspicions. He called on his apprentice to bring the horse and said, "Don't worry, Third Miss. The mistress just left. I'll prepare a carriage for you right away. If you hurry, you can catch up."
Chuntao was so anxious that she kept pulling Xi Qingmian's sleeve from behind, but she was grabbed by the wrist with her backhand.
Xi Qingmian's face showed just the right amount of annoyance. "It's all my fault for delaying the process of packing snacks. Uncle Zhang, do you know which way Mother took? I'd better make sure she doesn't get lost."
"Don't worry, young lady," Old Zhang said attentively, pointing eastward, "Madam has instructed us to take the official road and say we need to arrive at the Song Mansion before noon."
Xi Qingmian's heart skipped a beat. Why did her mother want to go to Sister Qingwu's place? She didn't show it on her face. She just smiled sweetly and said, "Thank you, Uncle Zhang. Chuntao, quickly take the lunch box."
At this point, Chuntao could only pretend to be calm. Xi Qingmian was about to get on the carriage, but then she felt that this was not appropriate.
Seeing that the servant was Zhao Quan, the servant who could be ordered around for money, he suddenly had an idea and pointed at Zhao Quan and said, "You look a little unhappy."
Zhao Quan was stunned when he heard this, and subconsciously touched his stomach. Chun Tao immediately understood and followed suit, saying, "Did you eat something bad for breakfast?"
"I, I'm fine..." Zhao Quan was about to explain when he was suddenly grabbed by Xi Qingmian.
"We can't delay this!" Xi Qingmian looked concerned, and Chuntao immediately understood. She pretended to go forward to support the servant and took the opportunity to stuff a piece of silver into his hand.
The servant felt the silver in his hand, his eyes rolled, and he immediately bent down and covered his stomach: "Ouch... Miss, you are so considerate. My stomach really hurts so much..."
Seeing this, Xi Qingmian immediately said with concern, "We can't delay this any longer! Uncle Zhang, let's get him to the doctor."
She turned to Chuntao and deliberately raised her voice: "Chuntao's father used to drive the coach, so let Chuntao drive."
Chun Tao understood and quickly replied, "Yes, yes, I drove a cart with my father for a few years when I was little."
While Lao Zhang was still hesitating, the servant was already screaming "Ouch, ouch" even louder, with cold sweat breaking out on his forehead - 70% of which was really caused by his own pinching.
"Then... that girl, please be careful." Old Zhang also remembered Chuntao's father. He was indeed the horse driver in the mansion before, so he relaxed, "Walk slowly and be careful."
Anyway, I'm just going to the Song Mansion and will come back with my wife. Nothing will go wrong.
After Xi Qingmian got on the carriage and Chuntao drove the carriage away from the Xi Mansion, Xi Qingmian said, "Let's go to the temple in the outer city to worship first, then go around to the carriage shop, change carriages and go to the Song family."
She didn't want to meet Mrs. Zheng, so she went to pray for her aunt first.
*
Madam Zheng's carriage slowly stopped in front of the Song Mansion. The copper rings on the vermilion lacquer gate gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Compared to the grandeur of the Xi Mansion, this place seemed much more plain.
Qiangwei went forward and knocked on the door, and the servant quickly opened it and welcomed Madam Zheng in. Madam Zheng stepped over the threshold and looked around the house calmly. This was her first time in the Song family mansion.
The front yard was barely an inch of space, the rockery and bonsai all exuding a sense of smallness. The corridor was so narrow that only two people could walk side by side, and there wasn't even a decent screen wall. This cramped layout seemed shabby to her.
Because the courtyard was small, the noises in the backyard could be heard from the front. Madam Zheng had just taken a few steps, before she even entered the inner courtyard, when she heard the sound of porcelain breaking, followed by Xi Qingtong's contemptuous scolding: "Idiot! You can't even serve a cup of tea!"
Madam Zheng frowned slightly. As she stepped into the courtyard, she saw a maid kneeling on the ground and shivering, with a broken celadon teacup at her feet.
"Mother!" Xi Qingtong immediately walked over quickly, her skirt lifted, upon seeing Madam Zheng. A sweet smile instantly appeared on her face. "Why are you here? Why didn't you tell me in advance? I could have asked someone to prepare your favorite almond cakes."
Madam Zheng gently patted her daughter's hand and glanced at the kneeling maid: "What happened?"
"It's just a useless thing." Xi Qingtong curled her lips and walked towards the inner room with her mother. "None of the servants in this Song family are smart. They can't even make tea properly. They are stupid and dumb."
Madam Zheng walked slowly into the inner room and glanced around. On the treasure cabinet were several decent celadon vases and jars, which looked quite elegant at first glance. But a closer look revealed that these so-called mahogany furniture were nothing more than ordinary fir with a layer of lacquer.
"Mother, please sit down." Xi Qingtong attentively led Madam Zheng to the main seat and sat down next to his mother.
As Madam Zheng picked up the teacup, she noticed from the corner of her eye that the carvings on the window lattice were also very simple, even the cloud patterns were crudely carved. She took a sip of tea and knew it was Yangxian tea, just good enough to be presented.
"Are you used to living in the Song family?" Mrs. Zheng put down her teacup, her voice carrying a deliberately maintained calmness.
Upon hearing this, Xi Qingtong pursed her red lips in grievance, "Mother, look at this room. It looks quite respectable, but if you look closely, everything is just a makeshift arrangement."
She pointed with her delicate hand, "This desk is said to be made of rosewood, but it's actually just an ordinary lacquered one. My daughter wanted to replace it with rosewood the other day, but the old housekeeper of the Song family stopped her."
She pursed her lips and said aggrievedly, "You said we should live frugally! When my daughter was at home, she had never suffered such injustice?" Her eyes turned red as she spoke, but the arrogance between her brows did not diminish in the slightest.
Madam Zheng looked at her daughter's beautiful face and noticed that the gold hairpin in her hair was not as stylish as before. The jade bracelet on her wrist was nice, but she knew it belonged to the Eastern Palace. The fabric of her clothes was okay...
These subtle changes left Mrs. Zheng with an indescribable feeling. She had clearly done her best to make Tong'er's life better, but it was still not as good as before. Although she had expected it, she still felt unspeakable when she saw it.
She completely forgot that her other daughter was living in a dilapidated palace that was worse off than the Song family, and she also overlooked that these things were what her other daughter used in the past.
"How does Song Yunhe treat you?" Mrs. Zheng asked, suppressing the discomfort in her heart.
Xi Qingtong snorted softly, playing with the embroidered handkerchief in her hand. "He's been out socializing all day, not even having time to go out and play with his daughter. The Ministry of Personnel hasn't even given him an official position in the past few days, so why is he so anxious? How many of his peers can help him? Doesn't he still have to rely on our Xi family?"
As the mother and daughter were talking privately, Qiangwei, who was standing in the corner, couldn't help but think of Madam Qingwu who was now in the palace.
Madam Qingtong was probably complaining about something Madam Qingwu was eager for. This thought flashed through her mind, but it made Qiangwei's heart tremble, and she quickly lowered her head.
The old housekeeper was walking around the corner of the corridor holding the account book, and happened to hear every word of Xi Qingtong's complaint.
He paused, a look of deep displeasure flashing across his wrinkled face, but when he saw Yinzhu standing at the door, he immediately retreated before she noticed him, and squatted in the corner, eavesdropping.
He used to think that this was Madam Qingwu, so he endured it and kept silent.
Later, when he learned the truth, he was repeatedly scolded by Xi Qingtong for "taking advantage of his seniority", and he had already accumulated resentment in his heart.
Now that he knew she was not the real master, why not use his position as housekeeper to secretly create obstacles for her?
The old butler always felt that his master and the new wife would not last long.
After about half an hour, the mother and daughter had a great chat, so Mrs. Zheng got up to go home. Xi Qingtong also got up to see her off. The two were reluctant to leave even when they reached the gate of the yard.
Just at this moment, Xi Qingmian, after praying for Concubine Liu, also drove a carriage to this alley.
Seeing Madam Zheng outside, Chun Tao immediately got into the carriage with a horse whip in hand and whispered, "My lady, this is bad. Madam has come out."
Xi Qingmian patted Chuntao's shoulder to comfort her, and quietly lifted the car curtain a little to peek out.
Just one glance and she was stunned for a moment.
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