Chapter 167: A Humorous Misunderstanding
After listening to Madam Lu’s words, Madam Leng smiled and said, “This Wen Mingqian is quite cunning. From what I see, she’s likely deceiving you, Madam!”
“What do you mean?” Madam Lu asked. “I’ve already told her that as long as she’s willing to name her price, I won’t haggle. She’s not a man who can’t part with her beauty. After taking the money, how many maidservants can’t she buy?”
“If the Grand Princess truly wanted this maidservant, she would have eagerly offered her up long ago. Why would she keep her by her side?” Madam Leng said. “Can’t the Grand Princess teach this maidservant the rules? Can her rules be taught better than those in the palace?”
“But I still can’t figure out why she would do this?” Madam Lu had been thinking about it all the way.
“Firstly, she simply doesn’t want Madam to get her wish. She often has reservations about your mansion. I know this, so I’ve never been close to her. Who knew that second girl would be so infatuated and deliberately seek her out.” Madam Leng spoke with persuasive words, stirring up trouble. “Besides, I suspect she has other intentions. Think about it, she’s divorced, has a beautiful maidservant by her side, and occupies a nunnery. Isn’t it possible she wants to use this to seduce people? Do you remember that wicked woman from years ago named Chen Yunqiao? Wasn’t her method the same?”
One sentence reminded Madam Lu. Chen Yunqiao was called a wicked woman by the world. Her background was not low, and she later married into a good family.
However, her relationship with her husband was disharmonious, and after less than a few years of marriage, they divorced.
Afterward, she moved into a nunnery under the guise of pure cultivation. Because she was generous and skilled in chess, music, calligraphy, and painting, she gained quite a reputation.
She associated with people from all walks of life, truly a master of social maneuvering.
Many women who were dissatisfied with their parents’ arrangements for marriage, or who were disheartened by other matters, came to her for refuge.
She basically accepted everyone, taking these women in. Some were tonsured, while others practiced with their hair.
Because of this, she was considered a benevolent person who saved people from suffering. Later, she was even called “Bodhi Madam” by her admirers.
She maintained this title for over a decade, only for it to be revealed later that her sheltering of these orphaned and helpless women was actually for her own selfish purposes.
She used these naive women to curry favor with lustful high officials and nobles, engaging in exchanges of power and sex, and acting as a matchmaker for those buying and selling official positions, thereby earning high returns for herself.
After these scandals were exposed, Chen Yunqiao committed suicide by poison. Yet, even so, due to her grave sins, her body was left unburied for three months.
Many years have passed, and her story is still occasionally brought up.
It’s simply too sensational and unforgettable.
“If that’s true, then it’s too frightening. But that maidservant is truly beautiful; even this old woman like me can’t take my eyes off her,” Madam Lu said. “And Wen Mingqian’s appearance and figure are also top-notch.”
“Exactly!” Madam Leng smiled. “With two beauties like them, it’s not like they don’t have money to rent a house. Why must they live in a nunnery? And they even enticed our second girl to become a nun.
Jingxu of Wu Qiu Nunnery doesn’t manage anything. When has that place ever had any incense offerings all these years? That’s why I say the one surnamed Wen isn’t there to seek tranquility; she’s there with malicious intent.”
“This is just your speculation. Even if she truly harbors such intentions, she hasn’t done anything yet, so we can’t do anything about it!” Madam Lu said with some helplessness.
“Does Madam want to bring that maidservant over or not?” Madam Leng, being extremely adept at scheming, perceived Madam Lu’s thoughts and prescribed the right medicine.
“Of course, I want to. What method do you have?” Madam Lu asked her.
“Didn’t she say the Grand Princess fancied this maidservant? Then let’s ruin their reputations. Will the Grand Princess still want her?” Although Madam Leng hadn’t left her house these past few days, she hadn’t been idle, solely plotting how to harm Wen Mingqian.
“Continue,” Madam Lu was not a good person either. As soon as she heard she had a method to harm someone, she couldn’t help but want to listen further.
“Madam, if I help you accomplish this, you must also help us out,” Madam Leng seized the opportunity to say.
“That goes without saying. I won’t treat you unfairly,” Madam Lu replied without hesitation.
“Why don’t we do this…” Madam Leng leaned close to Madam Lu’s ear and chattered on at length.
Madam Lu’s brows first furrowed tightly, then gradually relaxed, as if wrinkled fabric had been smoothed out by a hot iron.
The next day, Wen Mingqian went out with Sang Er.
First Madam Fang Shi of Changrong Marquis Mansion had arranged to meet Wen Mingqian at the Xiang’ai Tea House. Perhaps because Wen Mingqian had recently divorced, Fang Shi feared she might feel awkward visiting the mansion, so she arranged to meet at the tea house.
Upon arriving at the tea house, Wen Mingqian asked Sang Er to send out the letter and clothing to Gong Changan before going upstairs herself.
This tea house was newly opened, and she hadn’t been there before.
Fang Shi sent someone to inform her that their reservation was in a private room called “Leisurely Break” on the third floor.
The tea house was doing very good business. Over a dozen tea servers were overwhelmed, so the shopkeeper had to smile apologetically and ask Wen Mingqian to go upstairs herself.
Wen Mingqian didn’t mind this at all. She went up the stairs to the third floor and looked at the private rooms lining the north and south sides, searching for hers one by one.
Unexpectedly, after only a few steps, the white jade bracelet she was wearing suddenly broke. Eighteen jade beads scattered, rolling far and wide.
Wen Mingqian crouched down to pick them up but only found seventeen.
If it were ordinary jewelry, it would be fine, but this bracelet was very important to her. She had to find this last bead no matter what.
She searched carefully. Fortunately, the doors of the adjacent private rooms were closed, so she only needed to search the corridor.
She had come up from the east, so naturally, she searched towards the west. Unknowingly, she reached the very end.
At the end of the corridor were two flower stands. Wen Mingqian crouched down and saw the last bead had rolled under the flower stand, specifically to the inner side closest to the wall.
She had to press her face against the wall and then try to reach her hand through the gap to possibly retrieve it.
Just as she was struggling to reach for the bead, the door of the adjacent private room opened.
A pair of eyes looked at her coldly, with scrutiny.
Wen Mingqian instinctively felt a chill on the back of her neck. She suddenly turned around and met those eyes.
“Eavesdropping?” The person sneered, leaned forward, and looked down from above. “Aren’t you afraid of death?”
Wen Mingqian’s posture was very awkward. She struggled to pull her hand back and replied, “Sir Soldier, please speak cautiously. I am not here to eavesdrop.”
“Not eavesdropping, then why are you so close to the wall?” The person obviously didn’t believe her and moved closer. His breath even sprayed onto Wen Mingqian’s face.
Wen Mingqian couldn’t help but feel indignant. “Sir Soldier, please be respectful. Step back and let me stand up.”
“How did you know I was a soldier?” The person frowned, his tone becoming even more unfriendly. “Isn’t that a confession?”
He cornered Wen Mingqian, interrogating her like a criminal.
