"Lord Marquis? What's the hurry?"
Since they had run into each other, it was hard not to greet. Lan Miao curtsied gracefully, and Xue'er followed suit, saying, "Uncle, good day. Xue'er pays respects to Uncle."
"It's you. It's good that you're back..."
When Wen Hongxin saw it was Lan Miao he almost bumped into, he stopped short. Tall and slender, he was dressed in a black robe embroidered with stone patterns. His thin cheeks and cold expression gave him a somewhat sinister air.
The next moment, he smiled politely.
"I've heard about what happened in the palace. From now on, if you need anything, just send someone to tell me. We're all family. Don't be polite."
There was a rare hint of a smile on Wen Hongxin's face.
Lan Miao was puzzled. But after seeing him clutching the yellow jade pendant tightly, she seemed to understand. She smiled gently. "Xue'er and I are doing well. Lord Marquis, rest assured. I didn't say anything in the palace."
Wen Hongxin nodded calmly. He trusted Lan Miao's character.
After Lan Miao and Xue'er left, Wen Hongxin took his pageboy to the Chunxi Hall. He happened to catch up with Lady You about to leave. When the old lady and Lady You saw Wen Hongxin enter with a gloomy face, they were both a bit surprised.
Lady You plastered a smile on her face.
She stepped forward to curtsy. Her fluttering sleeves, with the golden threads shining, were still in mid - air when a jade pendant was suddenly thrown at her and almost hit her hand.
"Lord Marquis, what's going on?"
Lady You dodged backward, exclaiming in surprise.
Her maid Huizhu quickly caught the jade pendant.
There was an obvious crack on the inferior yellow jade.
"Look at what you've done. Guess who gave this jade pendant to me?"
Wen Hongxin walked calmly. After paying respects to the old lady in the hall, he sat down on the chair at the left end. His long and narrow phoenix eyes stared coldly at Lady You.
When Lady You saw the yellow jade pendant, her pupils shrank suddenly.
Sure enough, trouble had arisen.
She had thought it was just a worthless jade pendant. At most, the emperor would throw it away after taking a look. How could he blame someone because of a jade pendant? And now it was in the hands of the lord marquis? Thinking of the emperor summoning the lord marquis to the palace this morning, could it be because of this jade pendant?
For Lan Miao's sake?
Her mind was in a mess, and her lips twitched slightly.
"I thought the emperor threw this jade pendant away. Why is it in the lord marquis's hands?"
Hearing that the matter seemed to be related to the emperor, the old lady in the hall quickly put down the Buddhist beads in her hand and asked in a deep voice, "What's going on?"
Wen Hongxin snorted coldly and bowed to the old lady. "The emperor summoned me to the imperial study today but didn't show up for a long time. After waiting for an hour, Eunuch Anhe, the emperor's attendant, personally gave this jade pendant to me and said to return it to its original owner."
"I asked many questions and only then learned that this jade pendant was actually a birthday gift from my good wife to Lan Miao, and it was seen by the emperor and the empress dowager. Isn't this going to make people misunderstand that the Marquis Mansion mistreats the widow and orphan?"
Wen Hongxin's last words stabbed deeply into the hearts of the old lady and Lady You.
The old lady was so excited that she suddenly coughed and asked urgently, "Did the emperor blame you?"
"No." Seeing the old lady's eagerness, Wen Hongxin softened his tone and calmed down his voice. "I think it's not a big deal. The emperor's action should be a hint and a warning. Big brother sacrificed himself while serving the emperor. Naturally, the Marquis Mansion can't treat his widow and daughter badly. I guess Xue'er being able to enter the palace as a companion reader is also the emperor's compensation."
Wen Hongxin recalled the scene in the palace when Anhe gave him the jade pendant. He just said to return it to its original owner without any blame or interrogation. However, the emperor's not showing up and not saying a single word made him feel a hundred times more uncomfortable than being scolded on the spot. He was very uneasy but didn't dare to blame Lan Miao, nor did he want his mother and wife to know the inside story.
Hearing Wen Hongxin's words, the old lady had a complex look on her face but felt inexplicably relieved.
It's good that there's no other reason.
Lady You looked embarrassed and muttered in dissatisfaction, "Lan Miao is really. Why did she take this jade out? She... a jade carver, how could she not have anything good on her? She must have deliberately wanted to smear the Marquis Mansion."
"Aren't you the one who first offered the mandarin duck purple jade pendant to the palace? Even if she did it deliberately, how could she have expected the emperor to take notice of an inconspicuous jade? Anyway, it's your fault."
Wen Hongxin also knew how Lan Miao had lived under the old lady's care in the past five years. He thought that as a widow, she didn't have the guts to backstab the Marquis Mansion. After all, the Marquis Mansion was her support for the rest of her life.
He couldn't blame his own mother, so he could only direct his anger at this muddle - headed wife.
Hearing the argument between the couple, the old lady coughed lightly. Her face looked ugly, and she also blamed Lady You.
"Wasn't it because you didn't allow her...?"
Facing this mother - son pair, Lady You didn't dare to continue.
They looked at each other, looking embarrassed.
Finally, Wen Hongxin said in a deep voice, simply trying to smooth things over. He said to Lady You, "Managing the inner courtyard is not my business. Mother is ill. You are the mistress of the mansion. In the future, you should take better care of Lan Miao and Xue'er. If she can do a good job for the empress dowager, the Marquis Mansion can also maintain a good relationship with the palace."
The old lady let out a long breath, closed her eyes, and continued to play with the Buddhist beads in her hand, looking magnanimous. "As long as she doesn't make mistakes, I won't make things difficult for her."
"I've never made things difficult for her..."
Lady You muttered a few words.
Although she was obedient on the surface, at this moment, she wanted to eat Lan Miao alive.
Whether Lan Miao did it deliberately or not.
She couldn't let Lan Miao live comfortably.
And this old lady, pretending to be magnanimous. It was clearly the old woman who had tortured Lan Miao. Why were they all blaming her now? Wasn't it just because she was older and of a higher generation?
Lady You almost bit her lips until they bled and had to swallow her bitterness.
In the Chunxi Hall, the storm that was about to break out subsided. The old lady continued her secluded and self - cultivating life as a widow. Lady You followed Wen Hongxin out, leaving reluctantly.
In the Pinglan Courtyard.
As soon as Lan Miao and Xue'er returned to the courtyard, several groups of people came to send things.
Shuangle and Shuangxi were Lan Miao's dowry maids and the people she trusted most in the mansion. While Shuangle was counting the rewards Lan Miao had brought back from the palace in the inner room, she couldn't stop smiling.
The things brought back from the palace were piled almost like a small mountain on the round table.
"Madam, the empress dowager is really generous. And the rewards from the empress dowager and the emperor can't be put into the public treasury. They're all yours and the young lady's."
"Stop smiling. Put this jade brush washer into Xue'er's luggage and let her take it into the palace."
"Yes."
Lan Miao counted the things one by one and kept moving the abacus in her hand.
Shuangxi was beaming. She was counting the things just sent by the lord marquis and the third master on the other side and reported, "Madam, the lord marquis sent Miss Xue'er a set of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones from the Yuqingzhai. It's said to be the best in the whole capital. And the third master sent Miss Xue'er a jade toad. It's so beautiful, Madam. Look."
Lan Miao leaned out and looked in the direction of the sound.
After a moment's daze, she smiled.
The loneliness in her smile flashed by.
The jade toad was pure white and translucent. Under the sunlight, it faintly showed colorful lights. This was the southwest smoky warm jade. It was said that if this jade was held in the hand, it would be warm in winter and cool in summer, very suitable for women to wear. It was produced in very small quantities, so each tael was worth a thousand gold.
Wen Yuanning's thoughts...
"This jade toad won't be taken into the palace. Put it in Xue'er's box."
"Yes, Madam."
Lan Miao lowered her head and put the jade toad out of her mind.
She didn't expect that the yellow jade pendant sent by Lady You could really attract attention. She had just worn the jade into the palace on a whim, but unexpectedly, someone really saw her situation, although this person was the emperor she least wanted to meet.
The attitude of the Marquis Mansion was much better than before.
It was a lucky mistake.
But thinking of the attitudes of the old lady and Lady You before entering the palace, she still felt a chill in her heart.
If it weren't for Xue'er, how difficult her life in the Marquis Mansion would be.
Lan Miao was still deep in thought when Xue'er's cheerful voice sounded outside.
"Mother, Qingzhi is here."