Chapter 244 The Child’s Nickname Is Zhuozhuo?
“Madam of Duke Xing wants to meet me?” Madam Dowager was dumbfounded for a while and then sat up straight. Upon arrival in the capital, she had lived a secluded life in the mansion and never met any guest. She didn’t know what this Madam of Duke Xing, who she had never met before, intended to do!
Although Madam of Duke Xing had been here before, she met Madam Di, which had nothing to do with Madam Dowager.
“Yes, she said she wants to express her grat.i.tude because of Wanru’s help for the young master of Duke Xing’s Mansion! She was in a hurry last time without bringing a gift, so she didn’t meet you!” Qin Huaiyong glanced at Qin Wanru beside him and said.
It could be considered the reason why Madam of Duke Xing came to the Qin’s Mansion last time to meet Madam Di without meeting Madam Dowager.
“She comes over at this time… We are in a mess now. I’m afraid it’s not a good time,” Madam Dowager said after hesitation.
“Madam of Duke Xing said it doesn’t matter and she should come over at this time!” Qin Huaiyong said.
She should come over? Qin Wanru secretly sneered. Madam Di was grounded in the yard, which made Madam of Duke Xing unable to meddle in the affairs of the Qin’s Mansion, so she had to come over.
“Madam of Duke Xing is really a sympathetic person!” Madam Dowager sighed. The Qin’s Mansion was on the cusp of a mess, and no one with discerning eyes would be willing to be involved in it at this time.
Madam of Duke Xing’s action of coming to the Qin’s Mansion to visit her could be considered a support to the Qin’s Mansion to some extent. How could Madam Dowager not be moved? Even Shui Ruolan, who sat beside Madam Dowager, nodded repeatedly and had a good impression of this Madam of Duke Xing, who she had never met.
Qin Wanru bowed her head slightly, looking towards the exquisite patterns carved on the chair corner with a trace of gloom across her eyes. This Madam of Duke Xing really wouldn’t miss any chance to leave a good impression on others. Her grandma and mother probably considered her really amiable and respectful at this moment. They didn’t know she was the person who trapped them secretly.
Madam of Duke Xing came to the Qin’s Mansion on the second day with lavish gifts for every master of Ningyuan Army General’s Mansion. Even Qi Rongzhi, who lived here as a guest, got a few pieces of cloth and a few pieces of jewelry.
Qi Rongzhi was overjoyed, and then went to Madam Dowager’s yard with Chun Yi to express her grat.i.tude to Madam of Duke Xing.
Qin Wanru came a little late. After reaching Madam Dowager’s yard, she heard ceaseless laughter there. She instantly raised her dress and walked in slowly, followed by Nanny Zheng.
This time, she did not bring Qingyue or Yuru, but only Nanny Zheng with her.
In the house, Madam Dowager sat in the left-hand seat with a smile on her face. She was dressed in a dark blue robe with the patterns of the character “fu (blessing)”, with a dark blue headband with a big red jewel in the middle, looking quite good. Shui Ruolan sat on her right side!
It was Madam of Duke Xing who sat in the guest seat, and Qi Rongzhi sat beside her. They were talking with delight. Seeing Qin Wanru come in, Madam of Duke Xing looked up and down at her and said with a smile, “It hasn’t been long since I met Second Miss Qin, but Second Miss Qin becomes increasingly pretty. Madam Dowager is so fortunate to have these outstanding granddaughters!”
On hearing her words, Madam Dowager even had a wider smile. She reached out to ask Qin Wanru to bow to Madam of Duke Xing.
Qin Wanru stepped forward to bow deeply to Madam of Duke Xing as she was asked. As she was about to get up, she found her hand was pulled by Madam of Duke Xing, who seemingly liked her a lot. “It would be great if I have a daughter like Second Miss Qin! Madam Dowager, what do you think of the previous proposal?”
She said and looked at Madam Dowager.
With her heart pounding abruptly, Qin Wanru immediately realized something was wrong. She quietly pushed away the hand of Madam of Duke Xing and bowed to Madam Dowager and Shui Ruolan.
“I really appreciate your great kindness, but I should have a talk with Zhuozhuo,” Madam Dowager said with a smile, looking over at Qin Wanru with her eyes full of appreciation.
“This child is really pitiful. Who can imagine she had such an experience. Her nickname is Zhuozhuo?” Madam of Duke Xing looked slightly strange, but immediately returned to normal. If Qin Wanru hadn’t kept an eye on her, she would miss her strange expression.
It was the only name called by her grandma. Did it remind her of anything?
“It’s true! This child is poor indeed!” Madam Dowager sighed and felt increasingly sorry for Qin Wanru. Glancing at Qin Wanru’s lovely and agreeable face, she only felt grieved. Qin Wanru had been an orphan at such an early age. How could she not be pitiful? The most hateful was Madam Di, who was so vicious. She had promised to treat Zhuozhuo like her biological daughter, but had actually trapped Zhuozhuo!
“I only have a daughter, but she has dedicated herself to giving lectures and usually spent little time with me. I really wish I could have such a lovely daughter. I’ve liked Second Miss Qin since I met her, but I didn’t dare to take a rash act. I came to your mansion last time with the intention of asking Madam Di’s opinion. I thought Madam Di was Second Miss Qin’s mother, but unexpectedly I made a mistake!”
Speaking of this, Madam of Duke Xing smiled at Shui Ruolan with guilt.
Shui Ruolan responded with a gentle smile. She did have some doubts about this matter, but now considered Madam of Duke Xing’s words made sense. People in the capital all knew that Madam Di was Qin Huaiyong’s wedded wife, while no one knew who she was. It was excusable that Madam of Duke Xing came to the Qin’s Mansion to visit Madam Di.
“Come on, bring the gifts I’ve prepared for Second Miss Qin.” Madam of Duke Xing smiled and said to an old maid behind her. The old maid nodded, and the two maids presented the brocade boxes in their hands.
“You are so generous, but you’ve sent a gift to her!” Madam Dowager repeatedly waved her hand. Upon arrival at the Qin’s Mansion, Madam of Duke Xing had given the gifts, and the gift for Qin Wanru had been sent to Zhifang Pavilion. Qin Wanru came in a hurry to express her grat.i.tude to Madam of Duke Xing because of this gift.
Madam of Duke Xing gave her gift again. Qin Wanru pretended to be very embarra.s.sed, but took two steps back without accepting them. Only her gaze became increasingly sullen, even with a trace of rage. Madam of Duke Xing had given her a set of clothes that she couldn’t wear casually, and now she gave her gifts again.
A person would never show her kindness for nothing. She could almost be sure that Madam of Duke Xing wanted something from her this time.
Stealing a glance at Madam Dowager and Shui Ruolan, she found both of them looked very joyful and obviously had been deceived by Madam of Duke Xing’s acting.
They didn’t know what vicious thoughts were behind her gentle smile. At the sight of Madam of Duke Xing, Qin Wanru remembered she forced her grandma to kneel down to make an apology in the last life. The kind of humiliation was deeply rooted at the bottom of her heart and had almost eroded her heart.
In this life, as the situation had changed, Madam of Duke Xing’s att.i.tude had also changed. She seemingly wanted to be on friendly terms with the Qin’s Mansion and sounded like she attempted to take advantage of her in another way.
“I can give Second Miss Qin other gifts now besides the previous one. They are the token of my appreciation. I really like Second Miss Qin.” Madam of Duke Xing looked at Qin Wanru with an amicable face and an increasingly gentle smile.
She stood up, walked to the front of the maids and reached out to open a brocade box. A set of head-ornaments inside immediately made Qi Rongzhi jealous and furious with a blank stare.
The pearl as large as a longan was the most valuable. It was inset in a gold hairpin inlaid with jade, along with dozens of small pearls around it. It was made meticulously with immeasurable value.
Madam of Duke Xing was really generous. The value of this hairpin was equivalent to the sum of the gifts she had given before, not to mention the matching jewellery.
“I recently have this hairpin made, and it contains the most precious pearl among my dowry. I’ll give it to Second Miss Qin today. I hope Madam Dowager and Madam Shui are satisfied!”
Seeing everyone’s shocked face, Madam of Duke Xing proudly picked up the hairpin and waved it, and then opened the second brocade box. It was a pair of translucent jade bracelets, which made people feel joyful at first sight. Qi Rongzhi had seen many jade bracelets, but none of them could match this pair.
With her heart pounding rapidly, she felt she liked them a lot!
“I’ve also got this pair of bracelets recently. Now I’ll also give them to Second Miss Qin!” Madam of Duke Xing said with a smile.
“Madam, you are way too generous. How, how dare I accept such valuable gifts from you?” Seeing Madam of Duke Xing look over, Qin Wanru stepped back and softly refused. “If I accept such valuable gifts from you, what will others think of me? They will definitely think that our Qin’s Mansion wants you to repay us after helping you. It would be terrible!”
“We appreciate your kindness. These gifts are too lavish indeed, and we can’t accept them!” Madam Dowager also waved repeatedly.
“Madam Dowager, if you agree to my suggestion, this is not a big deal. You can consider them an elder’s gifts for a junior at the first meeting. Besides, if we are closer to each other, our duke can help Ningyuan Army General handle some things. Otherwise, we can’t help you with no excuse, even if we want to!”
Madam of Duke Xing said with a smile. She didn’t get angry because of Qin Wanru’s refusal, but her smile became increasingly friendly. After talking to Madam Dowager, she turned to say to Qin Wanru, “Second Miss, don’t rush to refuse. I sincerely like you and wish I could have a junior like you. If you become my junior, our mansion will naturally offer you dowry in the future!”
She indicated that her mansion would like to promote Qin Huaiyong and expressed her sincere affection for Qin Wanru. Moreover, she indicated that her mansion would help her find a good match and even offer her dowry. Such a good thing was really too good to be real.
Duke Xing’s power in the capital was incomparable to that of an average n.o.ble family!
Madam Dowager looked at Shui Ruolan in embarra.s.sment, and Shui Ruolan was hesitant and looked towards Qin Wanru. But it was inconvenient to ask Qin Wanru directly for her opinion in public. In the moment, everyone in the room fell silent…
“Madam Dowager, before I came here, I’ve reported this matter to the Old Madam of our mansion. Our Old Madam also likes it very much. If you agree, we can ask the Queen in the palace to recognize her ident.i.ty. She could certainly live with the Young Madams of our Duke Xing’s Mansion later and be raised in the name of our Old Madam!”
Seeing them moved, Madam of Duke Xing immediately smiled and became increasingly hearty. She did not believe that she couldn’t persuade them in this way.
If Qin Wanru could be raised in the name of the Old Madam of Duke Xing with her ident.i.ty recognized by the Queen in the palace, she almost enjoyed the same treatment as the Young Madams of Duke Xing’s Mansion. It was very beneficial to Qin Wanru’s marriage in the future. With an increasingly brilliant smile, Madam Dowager glanced at Qin Wanru, sat up and was about to settle this matter!