Chapter 441 The Investigation of the Third Branch
While Old Madam and Rui'an Great Elder Princess were arguing, Madam of Duke Xing was waiting in the wing room beside. After Rui'an Great Elder Princess entered the door, she, who was having a conversation with Old Madam, was sent out.
Their conversation was interrupted, and she could only step aside.
Sitting in the wing room and waiting, Madam of Duke Xing showed a trace of ferociousness and unwillingness on her face from time to time. She was just a step away from achieving her goal.
If Qin Yuru took Qin Wanru's place and entered Duke Xing's Mansion, she could make her do anything she wanted in the future, and Shao Yuanhao would be under her control. Even if Shao Yuanhao died, Rui'an Great Elder Princess would not make a last desperate effort to fight against Duke Xing's Mansion. After all, the suspected daughter of the former Heir of Duke Xing's Mansion was still in Duke Xing's Mansion, wasn't she?
But now her plan was ruined by Qin Wanru. Madam of Duke Xing was sure that it must have something to do with Qin Wanru.
The reason for the visit of the middle-aged couple arranged by her was to make Qin Wanru's identity doubted. As soon as Qin Yuru's identity was doubted, Madam of Duke Xing released the couple so that they could claim that Qin Wanru was their daughter and thus to make it impossible for Qin Wanru to be related to the former Heir of Duke Xing.
It didn't matter that Qin Yuru was not the "daughter" of the former Heir of Duke Xing, but it couldn't be Qin Wanru.
However, it happened all of a sudden, and she wasn't fully prepared. The middle-aged couple wasn't supposed to come out to testify against Qin Wanru at this time. Thus, she failed on the verge of success.
Madam of Duke Xing didn't worry that the couple would give up her name, because she had sent someone to secretly contact them and ask them to pretend to be Qin Wanru's parents, and she had sent the person away recently. She didn't worry that the couple would testify against her.
Nanny Sheng pushed the door open and walked into the room quietly.
"How is it going?" Madam of Duke Xing clenched her fists and asked in a low voice.
"Rest assured, Madam. The clothes in the yard have been thrown away, and the clothes she brought have been too dirty to wear. The First Miss Qin had lived there, and everyone knows that those clothes belong to her. So it's reasonable to directly throw them out for washing," Nanny Sheng said.
"Didn't she doubt it?" Madam of Duke Xing asked after hesitating for a moment. The girl was cunning, so she had to make sure of it.
"She didn't doubt it. The First Miss of Qin's Mansion pretended to be the Young Lady of our mansion. The servants in our mansion have issues with her, so it's reasonable for them to throw out her package at will. The old maid in charge has reported that she just asked about her clothes casually and then gave it up. Madam, you've given her some clothes, so she wouldn't really argue with us for a few clothes."
Nanny Sheng comforted Madam of Duke Xing. She had been serving Madam of Duke Xing since Madam of Duke Xing lived in Duke Xing's Mansion. Thus, she could naturally tell that Madam of Duke Xing was very uneasy and not as steady and decent as before.
"I'm not afraid that she will argue with us, but that she will turn to that person and then that person will argue with Old Madam again." Madam of Duke Xing sighed and looked towards the main room.
Nanny Sheng knew that she was talking about Rui'an Great Elder Princess. In this mansion, no one dared to mess with Rui'an Great Elder Princess.
In the past, although they didn't get along well with each other, at least they still maintained a peaceful relationship on the surface or simply avoided meeting each other. But now Great Elder Princess seemed to be watching Duke Xing's Mansion. Even a slight contradiction could lead to something terrible.
Incapable of winning in the argument, she was helpless.
Seeing that Madam of Duke Xing still frowned, Nanny Sheng fell silent for a moment and then said with a smile, "Madam, it's still not too late. If something really happens and is seen by so many people, it'll have nothing to do with you, and no matter how hard Rui'an Great Elder Princess tries to argue, she's alone. Although she's Great Elder Princess, she couldn't convince everyone."
"That's the only way. Have they got ready?" Madam of Duke Xing blinked, and said in an increasingly low voice.
There was no one else in the room except for her and Nanny Sheng, so her voice sounded low and weird.
"Rest assured, Madam. Everything has been arranged properly. After we fulfill the plan, we will find a husband for cousin Miss in the area south of the Yangtze River. It's far away from here, so no one will find out what has happened to cousin Miss. Moreover, even if someone finds out about it, it'll be no big deal with you as cousin Miss's backing!" Nanny Sheng comforted her with a smile.
"Will there be any accident?" Madam of Duke Xing kept feeling uneasy.
"Madam, it will be fine. No matter how smart she is, it is impossible for her to realize our plan this time." Nanny Sheng pointed at Qu Huan Yard and said.
"I hope so! This girl can't stay here, otherwise she will cause big trouble!" Madam of Duke Xing said with a gloomy face. Part of the sunlight from outside shone on her face through the window, making her face half bright and half dark. She looked extremely unsightly with a trace of weirdness on her delicate face.
"Madam, rest assured. Nothing will go wrong this time. She has just come to our mansion. Despite the two maids who can testify for her, no one will believe anything she says. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, can Rui'an Great Elder Princess say anything about it? As an aristocratic family, even if we spare her life, we'll make her spend her lifetime in a temple from now on."
Nanny Sheng gnashed her teeth and said.
"Okay, make it more elaborate. We must avoid any accidents." Madam of Duke Xing was satisfied, but still instructed Nanny Sheng.
She had set up a lot of things, and they seldom went wrong. But now things went wrong one after another, so she did not have much confidence in herself and worried that there would be another accident at the end.
"Madam, rest assured." Nanny Sheng nodded and left. When walking to the door, she asked two little maids to pay attention to Madam of Duke Xing's deeds, and then turned around and hurried to somewhere in the inner courtyard.
In the most remote corner of the mansion, there was a small yard where cousin Miss Wang Yishu lived. With not many servants, this corner looked a little desolate.
As Nanny Sheng entered the main room, a maid came over and lifted the curtain to let Nanny Sheng get in. After walking inside and seeing Wang Yishu lying on the bed with a pale face, Nanny Sheng hurriedly said with a flattering smile, "Cousin Miss, have you got better?"
Wang Yishu coughed in a low voice and covered her mouth with a handkerchief. It could be seen from her pale face that she was in poor health. She said, "Thank you for your concern. There's nothing serious now. The doctor said that I just need to nurse my body well!"
"That's good. Madam would be relieved to know that," Nanny Sheng said as she looked around.
"Are you looking for my brother, Nanny?" Wang Yishu said in a hoarse voice. If someone were here, he would definitely find that Miss Wang, who was in her blooming season, looked completely different from the girl she had been before. Her pale and dark face made her seem to be several years older all at once.
"Yes, has cousin young master come?" Nanny Sheng nodded and smiled. She reached out to pull a chair over, sat down in front of the bed and then waved.
Wang Yishu's maids looked timidly at Wang Yishu.
"All of you may leave now. I have something to talk with your Miss," Nanny Sheng said impatiently with a straight face.
The maids didn't dare to hesitate and hurriedly left. They had been treated coldly these days in Duke Xing's Mansion. Even Wang Yishu didn't dare to offend the intimate old maid of Madam of Duke Xing, not to mention they were just Wang Yishu's maids.
"Has cousin young master got ready?" As soon as the maids left, Nanny Sheng asked directly.
"Everything has been arranged properly... Will Second Aunt-in-law really let me go?" Wang Yishu raised her pale and haggard face and asked uncertainly.
"Cousin Miss, what are you talking about? Why wouldn't Madam let you go? Madam used to want the best for you, didn't she? Nevertheless, you've done so wrong in the palace. Thus, Madam has to keep you from exposing yourself in public so that you have to stay here. As long as we fulfill the plan this time, Madam will definitely find you a decent husband whose family is far away from the capital city."
Nanny Sheng's face was full of smiles, looking like a blooming chrysanthemum.
"Uh... What about my brother?" However, Wang Yishu just showed a faint smile.
"Cousin Young Master can suit himself. If he is willing to leave with you, Madam will arrange everything for him after he reaches the area south of the Yangtze River. If he is unwilling to go there, Madam will take care of him in the capital city. Even though he can't participate in the imperial examination now, Madam can recommend him for a post with personal guarantee. Madam would do it a few years later after people forget what he has done. The Duke is qualified to recommend him for a post with personal guarantee."
Nanny Sheng comforted Wang Yishu with a smile.
"Okay, I'll do whatever Nanny and second aunt-in-law ask!" Wang Yishu gnashed her teeth with a hint of viciousness in her eyes. She had fallen into such a wretched situation because of Qin Wanru. At the thought of this, she wished she could tear Qin Wanru apart.
Now that Qin Wanru was going to fall into her hands, how could she let her go?
Since Qin Wanru had pushed her into such a wretched situation, she would ruin her life. Qin Wanru wanted to be the noble lineal daughter of Duke Xing's Mansion? In her dream!
Nanny Sheng and Wang Yishu talked things over, while waiting for Wang Shengxue, Wang Yishu's brother, to come over. Meanwhile, the members of the third branch of Duke Xing's Mansion were also taking action secretly.
Leading a few maids and old maids, Shao Caihuan and Shao Cailing, the third and fourth Misses of the third branch of Duke Xing's Mansion, had got out of the room of the Madam of the third branch a moment ago.
They didn't think much before, but intended to find a chance to argue with Qin Yuru, the First Miss of Ningyuan Army General's Mansion, at the thought that she had bumped into their mother. However, they found some clues in surprise. After a short discussion with their mother, they went to the open space, where the carriages were parked, with several henchmen.
Both Qin Wanru's carriage and Qin Yuru's carriage were parked in this open space.
"Third Miss, Fourth Miss, are you going out?" An old maid came up to them with a smile and asked.
Shao Caihuan looked the old maid up and down, but did not recognize her. She raised her head slightly and said haughtily, "Is Qin Yuru's carriage still here? I want to have a look at it."
"Third Miss, I'm afraid you can't do that. The carriage of Qin's mansion is indeed here. But now we haven't figured out the relationship between the two Misses of Qin's mansion and our mansion. We had better avoid any accident at this moment. Madam Dowager is perturbed now."
The old maid answered with a smile.
Old Madam had a good impression of the First Miss of Qin's mansion before, but didn't like the Second Miss of Qin's mansion. However, the fact surprised everyone. Qin Yuru intended to pretend to be Old Madam's granddaughter, while Qin Wanru was her real granddaughter. This news had just been spread to the third branch.
If it weren't for this news, the Third Madam would not have sent her daughters here at once even if she was suspicious. Because of this news, she thought that Qin Yuru had planned it for a long time. So the accident on that day would not be simple.