Jiang Fuying was completely unaware of the Third Lady's scheming.
If one were to summarize how busy she had been lately in a single sentence, it would probably be:
"After overseeing the construction of the shop, she was busy discussing the design of the glass mirror with the Heir Apparent Lu, and even busier finding time to check the account books of the Zhennan Duke's Mansion."
Even Lu Huaizhou couldn't help but tease her after learning of her busyness, "Miss Jiang truly lives up to her name as the manager of the main household. It's really true that you have everything under control."
Where there are busy people, there are always those who are bored out of their minds.
Take Jiang Fuyue next door, for example.
After Pei Qing'an took in the beautiful concubine Yuehua, he spent every day carousing with her, completely disregarding the feelings of his wife, Jiang Fuyue.
Having been neglected for several days in a row, Jiang Fuyue was extremely angry and constantly looked for opportunities to teach Yuehua a lesson.
Sure enough, she finally got her chance.
In order to compile the imperial decree on time, Pei Qing'an had to stay in the Imperial Academy for five days.
Upon receiving the news, Jiang Fuyue immediately ordered someone to bring Yuehua before her.
"You vixen! Now that Qing'an is not at home, let's see who can protect you!"
Jiang Fuyue had learned all of the Marquise of Pingning's tricks of tormenting people. "As the mistress of the household, I'm going to teach you a lesson today. You're not allowed to get up until you've knelt for three hours!"
Yuehua gritted her teeth and knelt down to accept the punishment.
But after three hours, the anger in Jiang Fuyue's heart not only didn't subside but burned even more fiercely.
She couldn't stand the sight of Qing'an having any other woman by his side besides her!
"Aren't you good at seducing men?" Jiang Fuyue glared at her. "Someone! Fetch her indenture and find a human trafficker to sell her off!"
The maids and servants in the East Courtyard didn't even dare to breathe, for fear that they would be next.
Jiang Fuyue howled for a while but didn't see the indenture. Her anger flared up even more. "What? Are you all daring to disobey my orders now?!"
The servants looked at each other. Finally, one with a bit more courage told the truth.
"Madam, the indentures of all the servants are in the hands of the Marquise."
Jiang Fuyue fell silent immediately and wrung her handkerchief tightly.
Everything was in the hands of the Marquise of Pingning. Was she really going to watch helplessly as this vixen got the better of her one day?!
She had finally found an opportunity when Qing'an was not at home. Today, even if it meant going against the Marquise of Pingning and facing all sorts of difficulties, she was determined to get rid of Yuehua!
With a wave of her hand, she said directly, "Then tie her up and send her to the brothel!"
The servants stood there stunned, and no one dared to step forward.
But the more Jiang Fuyue thought about it, the more pleased she became.
Qing'an had always looked down on women from brothels. Even if he found out that she had sent Yuehua to the brothel when he returned home, he wouldn't be angry with her for a woman who had already lost her virtue in the brothel.
In this way, she could get rid of the vixen Yuehua without annoying Qing'an. It was simply killing two birds with one stone!
Seeing that no one was moving, Jiang Fuyue narrowed her eyes slightly and simply ordered her two personal maids, "Chunhua, Qiuyue, go and fetch the madam of the brothel!"
While Jiang Fuyue was doing all this, Yuehua suppressed the panic in her heart and hung her head in silence.
The Heir Apparent's wife was determined to sell her, and the Heir Apparent was not at home. In the vast Marquise of Pingning's Mansion, the only one who could save her was the Marquise!
Yuehua had served Pei Qing'an for many years and knew a bit about the Marquise of Pingning's preferences.
She knew that the Marquise of Pingning liked to take a stroll in the garden after lunch to digest her food.
So when the madam of the brothel was about to take her away, she pleaded, "Madam, please have mercy and allow me to take one last look at the garden."
Seeing the vixen begging like this, Jiang Fuyue felt extremely proud.
Like a victorious general, she held her head high and granted the request, "Since you've begged, I'll allow you this once!"
The group of people walked towards the garden in a grand manner.
However, before they even reached the garden, the usually quiet Yuehua suddenly let out a howl.
"Marquise! The Heir Apparent's wife is going to sell me to the brothel! Please save me—"
Jiang Fuyue immediately panicked and ordered the maids, "Quick! Plug her mouth!"
But it was already too late.
A questioning voice came from the garden, "Who is being sold to the brothel?"
Nanny Liu came out to check the situation and immediately saw Jiang Fuyue leading a group of maids and the bound Yuehua...
"Marquise, it's the Heir Apparent's wife who is going to sell Concubine Yue." Nanny Liu reported truthfully.
The moment she saw the Marquise of Pingning walking out of the garden, Jiang Fuyue's face turned deathly pale.
"Mother, I wasn't going to sell Concubine Yue. I was..."
The Marquise of Pingning's gaze slowly swept over the gaudily dressed madam of the brothel and simply said, "Still daring to lie! Give her twenty slaps!"
Nanny Liu rolled up her sleeves and immediately stepped forward, slapping Jiang Fuyue left and right.
"Slap! Slap!"
The crisp sound of the slaps echoed in the garden, mixed with the Marquise of Pingning's cold scolding.
"Jiang! How could there be such a jealous woman like you!"
"A man should have three wives and four concubines. It's bad enough that you don't treat Concubine Yue well, but you even dare to bully her while Qing'an is not at home! When Qing'an returns, I'll surely tell him about this!"
Jiang Fuyue trembled all over, and her eyes widened in horror.
She wasn't afraid of anything else. Even if the Marquise of Pingning punished her, she could bear it. But there was one thing she couldn't stand:
"I was just temporarily blinded by evil. Please, mother, don't tell Qing'an about this!"
If Qing'an found out that she had tried to send Yuehua to the brothel, wouldn't all the good impressions she had painstakingly built up in his heart over the years be completely destroyed?
She knelt down in front of the Marquise of Pingning with a thud and pleaded repeatedly, "It's all my fault. Please forgive me this time!"
But the Marquise of Pingning didn't even spare her a glance.
"Nanny Liu, take Concubine Yue back to her room to rest."
"As for Jiang, being jealous and immoral, go and kneel in the ancestral hall for a whole day and night!"
Jiang Fuyue had already lost count of how many times she had been punished to kneel in the ancestral hall since she married into the Marquise of Pingning's Mansion.
She only knew that after kneeling for a whole day, she was like a dying fish, completely devoid of any strength.
The only thing that kept her going was the last glimmer of hope in her heart: that the Marquise of Pingning would give her another chance and not tell Qing'an about this, and that Qing'an would still be as considerate to her as before.
As it turned out, she was thinking too much.
As soon as Pei Qing'an returned home, he was summoned by the Marquise of Pingning and told the whole story.
"Qing'an, I told you before that Jiang is jealous and has no tolerance. She's not fit to be your wife. She's far inferior to Miss Jiang next door. Now do you believe me?"
Pei Qing'an frowned tightly. "I used to think she was a dignified and virtuous woman. Who would have thought I was deceived by her."
"Look at how well Miss Jiang has managed the main household next door after marrying that good-for-nothing Lu Huaizhou."
The Marquise of Pingning sighed, rubbing her forehead. "If only I knew then, you should have just married Miss Jiang according to the imperial decree. At least our mansion wouldn't be in such a mess..."