Chapter 178 He Had Grabbed a Young Prost.i.tute in the Brothel with Someone
The girl servant looked shocked and horrified. Her face went pale, and her whole person began s.h.i.+vering. However, she dared not to move her feet anymore!
“Tell me. Who are you looking for in our mansion?” Nanny Zhou snorted and said, “If it is not a big deal, we will not pursue this matter further!”
“I am looking for… the childe!” The girl servant bowed her head and said hesitantly.
“The childe? Is it the childe of Duke Yong’s Mansion?” Nanny Zhou went blank for a while and widened her eyes greatly. She stared steadily at the girl servant in front of her because the only childe now lived in Qin’s Mansion was Di Yan, who lived here temporarily!
“Yes… I am looking for Childe Di!” The girl servant appeared even more timid with some panic.
“Who is your master in Duke Yong’s Mansion? Why are you coming to look for Childe Di at this time?” Once again, Nanny Zhou eyed the girl servant from head to toe, and her face turned gloomy and cold. What was more, the clothes she wore did not seem to belong to Duke Yong’s Mansion.
“I… My master is not a person of Duke Yong’s Mansion!” The girl servant had no choice but to reveal Nanny Zhou something. However, she dared not to escape. Therefore, she had to explain in a panic. “My master is the elder female cousin of Childe Di. She is… She really has something to look for Childe Di!”
Judging by her appearance and panic performance, Nanny Zhou did not believe that she did not have things hidden from her. Moreover, the two words “female cousin” Nanny Zhou heard caught her special attention.
“Is your master the cousin of Childe Di? Which family does she come from?”
“My Miss is the niece of Countess Yong. She stayed at Countess Yong’s place and chatted with Countess Yong to company her. But all of a sudden, Countess Yong felt quite uncomfortable. Thus, my Miss was panicked and sent me to look for Childe Di.” The girl servant pinched a corner of her cloth and stuttered.
Nanny Zhou sneered. “There are so many people in Duke Yong’s Mansion. Even if Countess Yong truly felt uncomfortable, why would she look for Childe Di in a hurry? If it was something big that happened on her, Countess Yong should look for Duke Yong instead of Childe Di. But if it was a little thing, her Miss did not need to send her to our mansion!”
Almost in an instant, Nanny Zhou was sure that something must be wrong with the servant’s Miss.
“How did you manage to enter the mansion?”
“I, I said that I was the servant of Duke Yong’s Mansion and came here to look for Childe Di for something.” Since the girl servant had already told Nanny Zhou most of the things, she did not dare to hide anything from her anymore.
Di Yan had a special status in Qin’s Mansion, so the people who guarded the gate certainly did not dare to stop the servant from his mansion.
In this way, the girl servant took advantage of the loophole and entered the mansion with ease.
“Is your Miss the niece of Countess Yong?” Nanny Zhou continued to ask.
“About this question, you can go to ask Childe Di!” The girl servant felt really panic at this time. After looking cautiously to the left and the right, she forced a smile. “Nanny, I have to go back to serve Countess Yong. So I will go back first!”
The girl servant was smart. At this time, she knew that the Nanny before her could never let her meet Di Yan. “I might as well find a solution next time. Since Childe Di went to live in Qin’s Mansion, my Miss has been haunted with fear, especially when she heard someone in Duke Yong’s Mansion say that Childe Di was going to marry his younger female cousin in Qin’s Mansion.”
As a matter of fact, the girl servant had been waiting by the gate outside the mansion for a few days. She hoped that Di Yan would see her when he came out of the mansion. However, those people in the mansion went in and out from time to time, but none of them was Childe Di’s servant. In the past, Childe Di did not look like a person who could stay in the mansion for such a long time. He went out of the mansion every day. But now, he became so well-behaved when he was in Qin’s Mansion, which made her Miss more restless.
It indeed surprised the girl servant that she could come in today. Originally, she went round and round outside of the mansion in anxious. But then, she heard someone who walked by saying that servants from Duke Yong’s Mansion usually came in and went out of Qin’s Mansion. The person joked, “People from Duke Yong’s Mansion take Qin’s Mansion as their own mansion. Even the servants can come in and go out of Qin’s Mansion as long as they say that they are from Duke Yong’s Mansion to the people who guard the gate.”
The person’s words reminded the girl servant. Right after that, she got up the courage and came to the person who guarded the gate. She told them that she was the servant of Duke Yong’s Mansion, who came to look for Childe Di because of something important. As she had expected, the servant at the gate let her in and even asked if she needed him to lead the way. After she said that she knew the way, the servant who guarded the gate let her in.
After entering the gate, she even lost her way. Fortunately, a girl servant walked by, so she went up to her and asked the way. The girl servant was warm-hearted. She came over and led her part of the way. And then, pointing to Chuihua Gate in the distance, she let her go through it.
At first, she thought that she would soon see Childe Di. But to her surprise, a sharp-sighted old maid popped up at the gate. Merely judging by the appearance of this maid, she knew that it would be much harder to cheat her than to cheat the girl servant. Therefore, she hurriedly turned around to avoid the maid. However, she didn’t expect that the old maid had such a pair of sharp eyes that she immediately spotted her and threatened to send her to the government office later.
The girl servant did not want to look for Childe Di now. She only wanted to go back early.
“Do you want to go back to Duke Yong’s Mansion now?” Nanny Zhou asked with a faint smile on her face. When the girl servant saw her expression, her heart jolted. Her intuition told her that something terrible was going to happen. But now, she could not deny it. Therefore, she said against her will, “Yes, I am going back now. I am afraid that Countess Yong and my Miss will feel anxious.”
“What a coincidence! I will go there too! Then, let’s go there together!” Nanny Zhou said with a brilliant smile.
“You…” The girl servant was stunned.
“Is there any problem? Are you a fake one? Well, if you are not telling the truth, I will send you to the government office!” Nanny Zhou’s expression became sharp, and the smile on her face disappeared instantly.
“No… No, no. Of course, I told you the truth. Then, let’s go back together!” The girl servant thought about it and agreed while biting her teeth. “It should be no difficulty for me to find an excuse to sneak away after we enter the mansion. The old maid before me doesn’t know who I am, but the people in Duke Yong’s Mansion will recognize me.”
“Okay. Let’s go!” Nanny Zhou narrowed her eyes. After throwing a glance at the girl servant, she said meaningfully!
After reaching an agreement, they walked outside together. Waiting until they went far, Qing Yue came out from behind a tree. She glanced at the two persons who walked away, and a smile appeared on her face. “It was indeed as my Miss had estimated. Nanny Zhou would never let the girl servant go once she saw her.”
Qing Yue turned around and walked to Chuihua Gate. The old maid who guarded at the gate noticed that she carried a hamper, so she let Qing Yue go without any inquiries. A moment ago, she managed to get out of Chuihua Gate by saying that she was to send snacks to Qin Huaiyong.
When Qing Yue returned to Zhifang Pavilion, Qin Wanru was sitting in front of the window and talking with Nanny Zheng. Qin Wanru had already shown the etiquette to her. Nanny Zheng thought all Qin Wanru’s behaviors were so standard that she almost no longer needed to teach her anything. But as for the rules and the aspects that should be paid attention to in the palace, Nanny Zheng still felt that she must tell those things in detail to Qin Wanru.
When they were going through the details, Qing Yue lifted the curtain and came in to report, “Miss, Nanny Zhou has gone with that girl servant!”
For this situation, Qin Wanru did not feel surprised. In her last life, this cousin and Di Yan had been entangling with each other. Later, the cousin even became Di Yan’s mistress and lived with him outside the mansion. It did not know how Qin Yuru knew the existence of this cousin, and then Qin Yuru brought a bunch of people to beat her.
Miss Ning was so delicate and weak that she fainted on the spot!
This thing also provoked Di Yan and made him furious. And even Countess Yong chose to stand on the side of the cousin. For a time, rumors went all around, saying that Qin Yuru could easily get jealous and could not tolerate others. Afterward, people in the Duke Xing’s Mansion helped to press this thing down, but this cousin was still allowed to marry into Duke Yong’s Mansion as an Honored Concubine.
Moreover, she heard that although the cousin entered as a concubine, Duke Yong’s Mansion promised that she could become the second wife after giving birth to a child. After all, this cousin narrowly became the first wife of Di Yan, but she failed at last. It seemed that the reason for this was related to Qin Yuru. That was also why Qin Yuru finally allowed her to become the second wife.
But after thinking this matter over, Qin Wanru thought that it was a little strange. Why Qin Yuru let Madam Ning marry into the mansion later on without crying or making any trouble? Moreover, she even helped Madam Ning to marry into the mansion on her own initiative. With Qin Yuru’s character, she absolutely did not look like such a nice person! After all, perfect conditions also had been provided to Madam Ning.
After Madam Ning’s marriage, it was said that Qin Yuru got along very well with Madam Ning. But Qin Wanru had never seen Madam Ning. It was not because that Madam Ning had never been to Qin’s Mansion, but because Qin Wanru was living an almost secluding life at that time.
But it was so very strange that Madam Ning did not give birth to any child for Duke Yong’s Mansion before Qin Wanru died! More coincidentally, Qin Yuru did not have any child either!
In conclusion, Qin Wanru inferred that this cousin should be a capable person. Otherwise, she could not be able to surprise everyone and successfully marry into Duke Yong’s Mansion under such an inferior situation. Giving her status, Duke Yong’s Mansion would never choose her!
She was n.o.body but a niece of Countess Yong!
“Where was Childe Di in the past few days?” Picking up the teacup at hand, Qin Wanru took a sip and landed her eyes on the slowly rising smoke on the teacup.
“Childe Di spent most of his time at Madam Di’s place and took a small part of the time to see First Miss. But when he met Young Lady Qi occasionally, they would talk for some time in the garden!” Qing Yue thought about it and replied.
“Is Childe Di the childe of Duke Yong’s Mansion?” Nanny Zheng opened her mouth and asked. Now she had sold herself, which showed that she would be loyal to Qin Wanru. At this time, when she heard they talk about Childe Di, Nanny Zheng immediately figured out that he must be related to Countess Yong.
Before Nanny Zheng came to Qin’s Mansion, Nanny Huang repeatedly mentioned Mrs. Qin. She said that Mrs. Qin was the daughter of Duke Yong’s Mansion. At that time, she married into Qin’s Mansion and gave birth to a daughter, First Miss. But Madam Di did not give birth to Second Miss, who seemed to be merely taken the shelter under her. Therefore, before Nanny Zheng saw Qin Wanru, she only thought that Qin Wanru was just a poor daughter of a concubine who was brought up in the name of Madam Di’s daughter.
But Nanny Zheng had never expected that the Second Miss she saw did not like a timid little girl at all! Moreover, Qin Wanru’s words convinced Nanny Zheng later such that she was even willing to sign the contract of selling herself.
If someone told Nanny Zheng that she would sell herself before she came to Qin’s Mansion, Nanny Zheng would only feel that the person must be crazy.
Since Nanny Zheng sincerely accepted Qin Wanru to be her master, she thought that she must say some words to Qin Wanru. Compared with Qin Wanru, who just arrived in the capital, Nanny Zheng knew many more things.
“He is Childe Di in Duke Yong’s Mansion. According to the opinions of some important people in our mansion, Qin Yuru may marry him!” Qin Wanru nodded and told Nanny Zheng the truth.
“This Childe Di’s reputation is not good. In the past, he also had grabbed a woman with someone. It seemed that this woman was a young prost.i.tute in the brothel. Because of her, he got into a fierce struggle, and someone even informed against him in the royal court.” Nanny Zheng thought for a while and found some things about this Childe Di from her memory. Although she was not in the palace, she was a high-ranking maid of the Imperial Palace at that time. Thus, some words could naturally come to her ears.
“Did he grab a woman with someone?” Qin Wanru really did not know that there was such a thing, and she looked surprised. “With whom?”
“The person seemed to be the child of a family that was related to Duke Xing’s Mansion, but the person was not the childe of Duke Xing’s Mansion. I did not remember who exactly he was. Anyway, he caused an uproar at that time, which humiliated not only Childe Di but also the people in Duke Yong’s Mansion,” Nanny Zheng said.
“A nephew of a family that was related to Duke Xing’s Mansion. Was he surnamed w.a.n.g?” The long eyelashes of Qin Wanru fluttered like a fan, which covered the malicious and insidious emotion showed at the bottom of her eyes. Qin Wanru asked lightly. However, her hands that were holding the teacup clenched, and blue veins and bones stood out on the back of her hands!