Chapter 99 It’s a Form of Happiness to be IgnorantBy the time Qin Wanru returned to Old Grandma’s yard, Yujie was already by her side, dressed as a maid.
The clothes Yujie were wearing belonged to Qingyue. Both of them were of similar build and height, and Qingyue’s clothes fitted perfectly on Yujie.
Yujie really looked like a courteous maid of a big family after changing out of her nun’s robes. Her natural character was polite, and it fit into the situation perfectly.
Nun Yujie looked clean and fresh when dressed as a maid, and it made Old Grandma feel very happy. On one hand, she felt that Nun Mingqiu and the Mistress of Jingxin Monastery had put in much effort, while on the other hand, she sensed that the young nun did grow up in the nunnery. She looked calm and poised, completely devoid of the rashness normally a.s.sociated with her youth.
She would serve as a good a.s.sistant, if she remained with Zhuozhuo.
As such, it was decided that Yujie would follow by Qin Wanru’s side and serve as her chief maid. She would also follow Qin Wanru down the mountain.
On the very day that she descended, the mistress of Jingxin Monastery and Mingqiu Nun came to send her.
Qin Wanru and Yujie bid the two seniors farewell respectfully and boarded the horse carriage together. It traveled down toward the General’s Mansion.
“Sister, you really shouldn’t be so concerned. It’s been so many years, and perhaps he’s already long forgotten about it…why do you have to put yourself through this?” the mistress of Jingxin Monastery turned to ask her younger fellow female disciple softly as she watched the carriage from the General’s Mansion leave.
“It’s all in the past…it’s been so long, so we shouldn’t be thinking about that. Big Sister, I’m very good now and at peace with myself…isn’t a life that won’t be disrupted by others supposed to be lived like this?” Nun Mingqiu said softly and gently as she turned, her elegant face calm and peaceful, completely devoid of any sign that she minded what the mistress just said.
The mistress of Jingxin Monastery opened her mouth as she considered whether to mention the matter of the medication on Qin Wanru, but she sighed after seeing the extremely peaceful expression of Nun Mingqiu, which made her look like a venerable nun about to pa.s.s away, and stopped herself from trying to persuade her further.
She did not know if it was better to speak further or not. If she had really gave it up, why would she be concerned about going or meeting him?
There were some things, however, that she could not try to persuade the mistress about, even though she was her senior. She could only try to console her and help her lead a peaceful and quiet life.
She was not sure, but perhaps this was a form of happiness.
By the time Qin Wanru and Old Grandma returned to the General’s Mansion, Shui Ruolan was already waiting at the parking lot of the mansion with a few attendants.
She hurried over with Nanny Duan upon seeing the Old Grandma’s carriage draw nearer. It seemed that the old lady had rested well at Jingxin Monastery over this period of time; she seemed to be in good spirits.
The procession helped the old lady toward the backyard and into her own yard. After greeting her again and sitting her down, Nanny Duan got some attendants to serve tea. Only after everything was done did she wave her hands to dismiss the others.
“Is the packing going to be done?” the Old Grandma asked after drinking a sip of tea and catching her breath.
“Almost done. There are a few important things that I don’t know if I should bring along; I’ll need to ask for Mother’s advice!” Shui Ruolan replied respectfully.
“What items are those?” the Old Grandma asked.
“They’re mainly things pertaining to the shops. These shops are at Jiangzhou…” Shui Ruolan said before hesitating, as if there was something holding her back.
Qin Wanry lowered her head and played with the cup in her hand. She knew why Shui Ruolan was so troubled.
Naturally, the residence of the General would own a few shops in Jiangzhou. With the upcoming relocation, the best solution was to sell these shops away. However, they were managed by Madam Di all along, and it would be hard to persuade her to hand over the deeds to the shops.
Even though they were owned by the General’s estate and not part of Madam Di’s dowry, to her, they belonged to her, and she would not give them up easily.
Leaving the shops at Jiangzhou was not a big deal. Basically, the estate of the the General was not going to return to Jiangzhou after it s.h.i.+fted to the capital. Even if it were to branch out in future, it would not return to the same spot.
The Old Grandma frowned; this matter would not be settled easily. She knew that Madam Di would not give up her share of the shops easily.
“I’ll discuss this with Huai’er later!” the Old Grandma said as she continued to frown. As she thought about it, she came to understand the difficulty of the entire matter. She did not really have to s.n.a.t.c.h the shops back from Madam Di, but the General’s estate would have to spend a huge sum of money after it relocated to the capital. Also, it had to set up new shops there, and in that case, the money that could be obtained from selling the shops held by Madam Di would come in handy.
No matter how capable Shui Ruolan was, she could not create money out of thin air.
However, the shops were in Madam Di’s grasp, and it was really going to hard for her to give them up.
“Forget it, Mother, let Sister settle it herself. I still have some savings, and we can use it when we reach the capital!” Shui Ruolan suggested gently as she became hesitant.
Even though she was also a wife, her status was lower than that of the first wife. As such, Shui Ruolan had to address Madam Di as “Sister”.
“How much could you have on hand? You don’t have much to begin with, and it won’t be enough. After Huai’er enters the capital, he’ll need to spend a huge sum of money with his acquaintances, much less about the new shops. It’ll be hard to manage even with my own personal savings – we have so many people, and the daily necessities will be more than we can handle.”
The Old Grandma frowned and shook her head before rejecting her suggestion.
The General’s Estate had quite a sizeable sum of a.s.sets in Jiangzhou as well as shops. The problem was that all of them were controlled by Madam Di, and she had no intention of releasing her hold on them.
“Grandma wants to sell all the shops?” Qin Wanru asked. She knew that it was not going to be easy from the looks of her grandmother and Shui Ruolan. Furthermore, Shui Ruolan would definitely get rejected if she asked Madam Di about it. As such, she sounded very helpless.
“Of course I’ll sell them all. Leaving them here will trap all our monetary resources here, and we also have to leave manpower behind. It’s not worth it!” The Old Grandma nodded; she was very troubled.
“Can we leave the Madam here?” Qin Wanru asked as she looked at the teacup in her hand, her curly eyelashes twitching gently.
“Leave Madam Di here? That won’t do. Other issues aside, Duke Yong in the Capital would definitely not agree!” the Old Grandma shook her head continuously. She did not even have to consider the suggestion to know that it would not work.
Qin Huaiyong had just arrived at the capital and did not have any foundations there. He would definitely need the support of Duke Yong’s estate, and he could not return to Jiangzhou. In that case, it would not be appropriate to leave Madam Di, his first wife, behind.
“Then…shall we send the Madam back to her home?” Qin Wanru asked with a grin as she raised her eyes. Her somewhat sweet smile made her look very agile. “She’s not from Jiangzhou, and she has to sell the shops if she leaves, right?”
The Old Grandma could not grasp the gist of her argument immediately and blanked out momentarily. “Staying at her home is also not appropriate. She’s from Duke Yong’s estate!”
Shui Ruolan’s eyes brightened as she turned back to look at Qin Wanru. She smiled as she said, “Mother, what Wanru said makes sense. We can purposely make the suggestion, and Sister will definitely not agree. She’ll want to leave quickly and then naturally she’ll start selling the shops!”
This time, Qin Wanru smiled gently like a smart and obedient young maid. She did not continue speaking.
At this stage, it was sufficient enough for Shui Ruolan to understand the conversation. After all, she was still young and should not be making too much obvious actions. She was not willing to let her own family think of her as a monster.
“The money from the sale of the shops will fall into her hands, and we’ll not be able to pry it away from her!” the Old Grandma replied as she shook her head. She glanced at Qin Wanru and continued, “You’re a child after all, Zhuozhuo. Your ideas are not comprehensive enough.”
Even though she was a child, she was a smart one. Although the matter was still not resolved, the Old Grandma still felt very pleased with her grandchild. In three years’ time, she would be able to hold her own when she got older. She felt grateful that her own grandchild was as smart as the young ladies from bigger and more renowned families.
“Mother, you still haven’t understood what I meant,” Shui Ruolan smiled. She had thought about something after hearing Qin Wanru’s “imperfect” words. “Sister is now being confined, and she has no way to find other people on her won. Naturally, she’ll get Nanny Zhou to help sell the shops.”
There were many reliable people around Madam Di, and the most reliable one should be Nanny Zhou who came with her from the capital. Not only was she matured, she also had experience and was a very good a.s.sistant.
Also, due to the fact that Nanny Zhou used to be based at Duke Yong’s estate in the capital, Madam Di trusted her even more.
“So?” the old man had also caught a whiff of something.
“If she sold the shops, she’ll not be able to reject if the general comes to her for the money,” Shui Ruolan replied cheerfully. After collecting the money from the sale, they would not have to worry about not having enough money to buy new shops and invite necessary guests after entering the capital.
“We don’t know when all the money from sale of these shops will come in. If Madam Di knows that Huai’er reached out to her people, she may fight with him. She’ll also not allow him to have any other chance to take money from Nanny Zhou in future and give her firm orders. She may even instruct Nanny Zhou to guard the money with her life. We shouldn’t risk a head on confrontation because of money!” the Old Grandma replied, still not really confident about the suggestion.
If Madam Di steeled herself up for a fight, and the entire Jiangzhou Prefecture knew about their internal squabbles, the General’s estate would be shamed!
In the past, the Old Grandma would still deduce that Madam Di would not do so out of consideration for her dignity. Now, she was not really sure about whether Di would guard her money even more closely or instruct Nanny Zhou to protect it at all costs because of the proceedings from the sale of her shops were taken from her. Nanny Zhou still had family in Duke Yong’s estate and would definitely follow her instructions.
No one would be able to hold her accountable if she really was prepared to fight for her money to the death!
It would also be disastrous if someone died because of the fight over money! Furthermore, Shui Ruolan had just been married into the General’s estate, and if Madam Di grabbed hold of this reason, she would be at the disadvantage! If the estate of Duke Yong used this incident to control Qin Huaiyong after he entered the capital, the General’s estate would also be at a disadvantage.
Shui Ruoland could not come up with a reply immediately. She was undecided if her plan would work, and yet she could not grab hold of any substantial point.
“Grandma, we just have to get money from Nanny Zhou once!” Qin Wanru replied in a somewhat lost fas.h.i.+on after blinking her clear eyes.
She blinked again after speaking, as if she had not understood her own words. Her expression was somewhat confused.