flstandardbreds Chapter 179 The Second Wife Returns to Beijing!
Chapter 179 The Second Wife Returns to Beijing!
After learning that her second uncle might return to the capital, Mu Xin Nuan sent Mu Hua away, telling the outside world that she was unwell and had gone to a manor outside to recuperate.
After all, Mu Hua had saved Mu Xin Nuan's life, so it was understandable that her mistress would send her to the estate to recuperate. Moreover, the servants below felt that this young lady was truly kind-hearted; even after three years, she still cared so much about a servant's act of protecting her mistress.
Seeing that his second uncle's family had already arrived in Yunzhou, the Mu family was even more excited and bustling with preparations.
Mu Xin Nuan went to the west courtyard and saw that there were quite a few good things inside. They were all moved from the main house. Although they were supposed to be public property, some of them were actually gifts from the Emperor to her father, and some were her mother's dowry. Of course, the items would not be so eye-catching anymore. However, Mu Xin Nuan was a person who could tell the difference after just one visit.
"Miss, Mu Hua is back. She's changing her clothes now and will come to pay her respects to the master in a little while," Mu Qing whispered.
"Hmm, no rush. Second Uncle and the others should arrive tomorrow." Mu Xin Nuan calmly picked up her pen and wrote another character on a prescription. She picked it up, gently blew the ink dry, and smiled, "Have someone fill the prescription."
"Yes, ma'am."
Rongyue brought in warm water. "Miss, please wash your hands first. It's time for lunch. I heard that the old lady is in a good mood today and is going out to eat as well. Don't be late, because the old lady doesn't like any of us right now."
"You're talking nonsense again! You really deserve to be hit."
Rongyue smiled awkwardly and quickly helped her mistress wash her hands. She then took a clean handkerchief, wet it, wrung it out, and used it to wash her mistress's face.
“Miss, the things in the west wing clearly belong to our eldest son’s side. How much of them were earned by the master through his tireless work day and night? Even the master is reluctant to use them. How can the old lady be so biased towards the second son’s side?”
"Why she's biased isn't important. What's important is that everyone in the household has seen it now."
As Mu Xin Nuan spoke, she stretched out her arms, indicating that Rong Yue should help her change her clothes.
"So what if you saw it? Didn't the old lady still make it just as obvious? Miss, since you were able to stop the marble screen back then, why didn't you take back everything else as well?"
"The reason I sent that marble screen to my father is because it is extremely rare. Not only is the wood chosen to be top-quality huanghuali, but the marble inlaid on it is the very stone that my maternal grandfather hid behind when he was fighting in the war. This is why the raid was successful. Therefore, my father always regarded this stone as his lucky charm. That is why he had it made into a screen and gave it to his only daughter as part of her dowry."
Rongyue nodded upon hearing this, and suddenly realized, "So that's how it is! This thing is different from others. If it really causes a scene, it won't just be the old lady who will lose face."
"That's exactly why I stopped the screen but didn't make a big fuss. That way, my grandfather and father would think that my mother and I were sensible and wouldn't argue with the old lady. You know, this kind of thing, regardless of its materials and workmanship, is just more meaningful than any other precious item."
“Miss, that doesn’t prevent you from getting your other things back! Now, when I think about how the old lady took the things belonging to the madam and master to the second branch of the family to play the good guy, I feel so aggrieved.”
Mu Xin Nuan glanced at Rong Yue's little face and saw that it was indeed wrinkled up. She couldn't help but laugh and said, "Why are you in such a hurry? Don't worry, those things will be returned sooner or later. Moreover, they will be made to return them on their own initiative, so that the old lady will lose face. At that time, it will not be my mother's or my business."
Rong Yue was taken aback, blinked, and clearly still didn't understand.
“By stopping the screen, I have already made the old lady think that I have lost her heart and only know how to protect my mother. If I were to pursue those little things further, it would only make the old lady dislike my mother even more, and might even deliberately make my grandfather and father think that my mother and I are petty and have no dignity as the eldest son of the family.”
Rongyue seemed to understand this time. "Miss is right. The old lady is very likely to think that your actions back then were instigated by the madam."
"Yes, that's why we should know when to stop. What belongs to us, I certainly won't stand by and watch it fall into the hands of others, but to get it back, we need to be skillful and have the right methods."
Just as Mu Xin Nuan finished changing her clothes, Mu Hua arrived.
"Let's go, we can talk as we walk."
"Yes, Miss." Mu Hua followed closely behind, reaching out to help her young lady out of the room and down the steps. She lowered her voice and said, "You were right, the Second Master did indeed have designs on someone else. I have done everything as you instructed."
"Hmm, have they set off yet?"
“Miss, I went to find that mistress and learned that her maiden name is Yang. Because she is a mistress, the servants in that courtyard all call her Madam. As you instructed beforehand, their journey is about four or five days behind that of the Second Master.”
Mu Xin Nuan smiled faintly, "Good! Very good! This time, I want to see how my good grandmother will protect my second uncle."
The wife of Mu Changping, the second master of the Mu family, was a concubine's daughter from the Dingyuan Marquis's household, making her the younger sister of the current Dingyuan Marquis and the aunt of Jin Yang and Jin Hui. However, due to her low social status, it was said that her birth mother was merely a maidservant, originally of low social standing. Therefore, even after she gave birth to a daughter for the former Dingyuan Marquis, she was never formally elevated to the status of a concubine, and until her death, she remained only a maidservant.
It wasn't until later, when one of the former Marquis of Dingyuan's favorite concubines had no children, that the young Jin was raised under his name. However, with the death of the former Marquis of Dingyuan, the concubine's fate was tragic. Fortunately, Jin was already married by then; otherwise, she probably would never have been able to marry into the official family as the principal wife.
It was precisely because the former Marquis of Dingyuan was still alive at that time that Jin Shi had kept Mu Changping under strict control since her marriage. Even after her adoptive mother passed away, she was still a young lady from the Marquis of Dingyuan's family.
Over the years, Mu Changping has never taken a concubine, whether out of habit or because he is indeed afraid of his wife. He only has two concubines in the mansion, both of whom are of low social status and have their indentures held by Jin. To this day, neither of them has been able to bear Mu Changping a son or daughter.