Chapter 391
The carriage quickly arrived at the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. After Wei Yuewu and Jin Ling returned to Lotus Courtyard, Wei Yuewu sat down in the courtyard and asked Huamo to get her needles and threads. She sewed it with a string and hung it on her neck.
From what Wei Yuewu observed, she felt that the small box was meant to be strung and worn on the neck. There was a small hole on the side of the box where a string could be worn through. Then, she could use it as a necklace. The small box looked just like a delicate little pendant due to its small size.
“Miss, I think the pattern on the surface of the box is a bit familiar,” After helping Wei Yuewu clean up, Huamo exclaimed with some surprise.
“Familiar? Have you seen it before?” Wei Yuewu looked at her and laughed.
She had lost the box before she entered the capital, so it was impossible for Huamo to see the box at all.
“It’s true. I seem to have seen it before, but…” Huamo frowned and tried hard to think. Upon the mention of it, Shufei also felt that it looked somewhat familiar.
Jin Ling was the first to react. “Miss, do you still remember that pair of jade paperweights?”
“Jade thumb ring, jade paperweight?” Wei Yuewu’s expression changed. She suddenly remembered the ring hanging on her neck. Before she entered the palace, she took the jade thumb ring off and kept it together with the jade paperweight. She hadn’t thought of it when she was putting on the small box.
“Yes, the jade paperweight,” Huamo muttered anxiously as she thought of it too.
“Go, bring them over!” Wei Yuewu nodded. At this time, she also felt that the patterns on the outside of the box were somewhat familiar.
Soon after, a pair of jade paperweights was placed in front of Wei Yuewu. They were carved into a pair of fierce tigers. The strangest thing was the jade thumb ring on the tiger’s paws. Originally, only one of the tigers had the jade thumb ring, but now, the other tiger also had the ring. It seemed as if both the jade tigers were wearing the same jade thumb rings.
In fact, it was as if the jade thumb rings were originally there.
There were some faint patterns on the jade tiger’s body. If one did not look carefully, one would not be able to notice it.
Wei Yuewu placed the box next to the paperweights. There were also some patterns on the outside of the box, but it was hard to notice due to its small size. Had it not been for Huamo, no one would have noticed this. Moreover, there were three words below, but she didn’t know what they were, so she didn’t care about them.
One was a wooden box, and the others were jade artifacts. They were made by different craftsmen. Why would they have the same patterns?
Could it be that these two items were owned by the same owner?!
Her mother left the box for her; she saw the jade paperweights in the store by chance, and she found the jade thumb ring by her window. However, these three items seemed to come from the same place or the same person. It was such an astonishing revelation that Wei Yuewu was dumbstruck. It was too much of a coincidence.
It was almost impossible to have such a coincidence…
But there was one thing that Wei Yuewu was sure of. It was definitely not her mother’s doing because this involved too much effort. At that time, her mother stayed in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, and her movements were restricted. How could she have so much effort and ability to do this?
Yet, if it was not her mother’s doing, who would give this box to her mother, not to mention how much her mother cherished the box, so much so that she asked her to keep it by her side at all times?
Her heart skipped a beat. Her father’s expression earlier was indeed a little strange and inexplicable. Did he give the box to her mother? How else could she explain her father’s complicated expression?
But where did her father get these things from? In fact, he was extremely shocked as if he didn’t know that her mother had kept the box all along. He did not look particularly pleased, and there was a bit of sadness.
The box must have an extraordinary origin for her father to remember such a small box. It would be more suspicious if she placed the box together with the jade thumb ring.
“Put these away first!” Wei Yuewu hung the small box back around her neck and instructed a few maids to keep the jade thumb ring and jade paperweights where they belonged. At this moment, she didn’t want to focus on these items which she had no clues about. The ones she had the clues about were the connections between the Crown Prince Wen Tianyao, the Third Prince, and the Prince Bei’an Mansion that had disappeared.
The past could be considered as being wiped clean. She had just arrived in the capital, so she couldn’t find out anything even if she investigated the matter. However, she was convinced that as long as the people involved were still around, the clues must be lurking around them, not to mention that the Crown Prince and the Third Prince were her peers.
It was more convenient to trace them than the intangible Prince Bei’an Mansion and the jade thumb ring.
“Do you get anything from the jade ware store?” Wei Yuewu narrowed her eyes and asked.
“No one has come yet. It seems that the person has completely disappeared out of thin air because we can’t find him!” Jin Ling went to check it again later but she couldn’t find anything as if the jade had been in the store all along.
“Give the shopkeeper some money and ask him to inform us if he has any news,” Wei Yuewu nodded and ordered.
“Yes, I know!” Jin Ling nodded. What Miss meant was that she should be on friendly terms with the shopkeeper of the jade store regardless of whether there was any news or not. In this way, the shopkeeper would immediately inform them as soon as he heard any news.
“How is the situation in the kitchen?” Wei Yuewu turned to Shufei, whom she asked to keep an eye on the kitchen.
“Miss, the ink has been prepared outside the corridor now, and Concubine Dong’s medicine and Madam Dowager’s medicine are decocted in the corridor. The difference is that Concubine Dong’s medicine was prepared by her own maid, while Madam Dowager’s medicine was prepared by the staff in the kitchen.”
“Have you asked why they moved the ink preparation stove outside the corridor?” Wei Yuewu asked lightly.
“Yes, I went to ask according to your instruction, and indeed, the nurse-in-charge said that it was Concubine Dong who made the arrangements and agreed to move the location to the outside of the corridor,” Shufei answered proudly and admired her Miss for being so smart. This was Sixth Young Lady’s idea at first, but now, everyone thought that it was Concubine Dong’s idea.
They even thought that it was Concubine Dong who took the initiative to change the location to the outside.
“It should not be too far away, right?” Wei Yuewu asked in detail.
“No, it’s not. The pot where the ink is made is very large, and they need to add water when mixing it. If they move it too far away, it’s inconvenient to add water later.” Shufei nodded.
“Go to the kitchen more often in the next few days. Just tell them that I don’t have an appetite after entering the palace and want to eat something light, and you have to be there to supervise them in case they do not do a good job. Also, check the time and observe when they start mixing the ink and when Concubine Dong’s medicine is prepared,”
Wei Yuewu instructed with a smile, a cold light flashing in her eyes.
“Miss, will it be too obvious?” Jin Ling asked worriedly.
“No. Fourth Elder Sister is now being selected to enter the Crown Prince Mansion as a concubine, so Madam Dowager will take good care of her and order the kitchen to prepare something nice for her. The third branch has been silent for too long. Now, they finally have the chance to feel proud and elated!” Wei Yuewu smiled faintly and leaned back.
No matter what Wei Qiufu thought, the people around her might not necessarily share the same thoughts as her. The third branch was too weak in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, so the servants in the mansion even looked down at the third branch’s Masters. Now that Wei Qiufu was a formal imperial concubine in the name, the table had turned although she had not officially entered the Crown Prince Mansion yet.
Compared with her and the second branch’s sisters, Wei Qiufu was now more prestigious and adored in the family. If she was lucky, she might become the empress in the future. With this kind of possibility, she would gain a lot of respect, and even Madam Dowager would not dare to ill-treat her. It meant that this was the moment the third branch could be high-profile.
Although Lady Zhang had replaced Lady Li to be in charge of the backyard, she heard that most of the power was still in Concubine Dong’s hands, not to mention that Concubine Dong had Wei Yuejiao too, who was learning how to manage the households. Lady Zhang was now completely at a disadvantage…
In order to emphasize Wei Qiufu’s uniqueness and importance, the third branch would certainly make things difficult for the kitchen!
“Huamo, keep an eye on Concubine Yang. Check if the geomancer meets up with Concubine Yang every time he enters the mansion. If you see them exchanging things, tell Jin Ling, and she will think of a way to get the things.”
After she finished arranging the tasks for her three maids, Wei Yuewu suddenly realized that she did not have enough manpower to execute her tasks. She couldn’t assign Nurse Mei to do anything for the time being due to her injury. She lacked manpower, but even if she hired someone now, she had to observe them for some time, or she would not entrust them to do anything important.
“I know!” Huamo nodded.
The next few days were peaceful, but this peace was relative. Unfortunately, the kitchen was in chaos recently. Madam Dowager had ordered the kitchen to add on more dishes for Fourth Young Lady and to give the novel and delicious dishes to her first. The kitchen’s nurses-in-charge had no choice but to obey the orders.
No matter what, Fourth Young Lady was going to become the Crown Prince’s concubine soon, so they could understand Madam Dowager’s intention to spoil her more. Besides, Fourth Young Lady had always been kind, treated everyone well, and respected them. At first, the servants thought that this was an easy task. After all, back when Fourth Young Lady was not favored, the servants would be rewarded when they went to her courtyard to deliver messages or food.
Now, they would send all the rare and delicious food to Fourth Young Lady. The reward must be even more lucrative than before. Hence, they fought to obtain the task.
However, the reality was harsher than they had expected. Before the nurse-in-charge in the kitchen could send her people over, Fourth Young Lady had sent her maids over to inquire. She was even more picky and unreasonable than Second Young Lady, whom they had verified to be the most horrible person in the mansion. If she found anything she didn’t like, she would return the food and order the chef to do it again. In fact, her maids were cocky too. They treated the staff in the kitchen as if they were better than any of them, and even commented on the food harshly and said that their Miss deserved the best.
The emotions of the kitchen’s nurse-in-change had turned from the initial joy to indifference. They had to remake dishes for Fourth Young Lady over and over again, causing the delay in the other young ladies’ meals. Fortunately, Third Young Lady was grounded, and the maids in her yard were not as cocky as before, or the kitchen staff would be in big trouble.
As for Sixth Young Lady, due to her poor health, she had sent her maid to urge from time to time and check to see if they made the food properly. Shufei from the Lotus Courtyard would not ask the chef to remake the food, but she would stare at them when they cooked and chimed in from time to time regarding what to do to suit Sixth Young Lady’s appetite.
There was nothing special about the others. In short, Fourth Young Lady was the most troublesome, so much so that the staff in the kitchen were very busy and frustrated, and complaints resonated across the kitchen.
As for Marquise Hua Yang’s courtyard, the geomancer still came every day and looked very busy with his work. However, the situation in Lotus Courtyard was calm and peaceful. This made Concubine Dong, who went to check the location every day, feel suspicious. Was that bitch just going to sit by and watch as she sealed up her mother’s courtyard?
During lunchtime, a maid hurriedly entered Concubine Yang’s room.
“What?! T-There is a letter?” Concubine Yang looked at her maid in shock, pinched her handkerchief nervously, and suddenly stood up.
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