SFS Chapter 241 Sowing Discord?
Chapter 241 Sowing Discord?
Mu Xinyao dismissed the two maids and had them placed under guard, punishing them by not allowing them to eat for three days. This punishment wasn't considered too harsh!
When Mu Xinyao returned to the main room, she saw Qinghong holding a zither and slowly cleaning some porcelain in the room. She didn't hear any greetings from outside. When she turned around, she saw her mistress had returned and was startled!
"The second young lady is back! This servant will go and have someone make tea right away."
"Wait a minute." Mu Xinyao called out to Qinghong, then sat down at the table herself. She looked Qinghong up and down, and whether it was because of what the two maids had said earlier, Qinghong's attire did look rather plain now.
"Why are you dressed so simply? If you don't know, you're the head maid in my courtyard. If you didn't, you'd be mistaken for a lowly maid who's only responsible for sweeping."
Seeing her mistress was angry, Qinghong quickly knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, it's not that I deliberately wanted to smear Miss. It's just that, firstly, I have an elderly mother to support at home, and I have to take some of my monthly allowance back to her. Secondly, I rarely go out; most of the time, it's Sister Qinglian who accompanies Miss. So, I was a little negligent."
Seemingly afraid that Mu Xinyao would be angry, Qinghong quickly assured her again and again, "Second Miss, don't worry. If we go out, I will definitely dress up properly and won't embarrass you."
Mu Xinyao remained silent, looking at Qinghong who only had two ordinary-colored velvet flowers in her hair. She thought back to when Qinglian followed her to choose fabrics earlier, she had several silver hairpins in her hair!
Looking at the fabric of Qinghong's clothes, Mu Xinyao suddenly realized that the household had extremely strict standards for the supplies used by its servants. Qinghong's clothes were just ordinary cotton, but they had been carefully woven and dyed. However, Qinglian's clothes were quite different!
Thinking of Qinglian today, who seemed to be wearing a set of lotus root pink brocade, Mu Xinyao's eyes darkened. How come she had never noticed these things before?
Even the most honored and rewarded servant girl could never be so glamorous! Thinking about it, especially these past few days, Qinglian's attire has probably surpassed even Rongyue's, who serves Mu Xin Nuan! This is utterly disrespectful!
Although Rongyue was also a first-class maid, she served the legitimate daughter of the household, and moreover, the legitimate young lady who was in charge of the household!
But his own maid had more face than others. What does that mean?
As she thought about it, the words of the little maid from before echoed in her ears again, "Qinghong's mistress is the Second Miss, but Qinglian's mistress is the Old Madam!"
Mu Xinyao was a suspicious person to begin with. Now, thinking about how Qinglian did indeed have many irregularities, and more importantly, where did she get all these clothes?
As a mere servant, how could her monthly salary possibly be enough for her to afford brocade?
Looking at the gold hairpin in her hand, Mu Xinyao's impression of Qinglian worsened even further!
"Alright, get up. From now on, you'll be in charge of helping me comb my hair and get dressed."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Also, as the second young lady of the Marquis of Zhongyong's mansion, the maids around me naturally cannot be too plain, lest people say that I am mistreating you and bringing shame to our Mu family. Here is ten taels of silver, take it and buy yourself some decent jewelry."
Qinghong was overjoyed, her gratitude evident on her face!
"Thank you very much, Second Miss! I will certainly never dare to embarrass you again."
After sending Qinghong away, Mu Xinyao began to ponder what to do with Qinglian!
Kill her outright? Of course not! We have to consider the old lady's feelings. I'm thirteen now, and while the old lady can't make the final decision on this marriage, she's not entirely powerless to say anything! I absolutely cannot afford to offend her too much.
Furthermore, has Qinglian betrayed her master for personal gain? Or perhaps she was the old lady's spy from the very beginning, and I need to test her more thoroughly.
The next day, Mu Xinyao deliberately mentioned that before her death, Aunt Song had instructed her to manage her properties well, so that she wouldn't be in dire straits in the future.
The speaker may have been unintentional, but the listener took it very seriously!
Sure enough, during dinner, Mu Xinyao noticed Qinglian slipping out unnoticed, and shortly after, Liu Mama, who served the old lady, also left.
Mu Xinyao raised the corners of her lips slightly. This Qinglian was indeed nothing more than a dog by the old lady's side!
Mu Xin Nuan had naturally noticed the changes in Mu Xin Yao's eyes and expressions, though she didn't show it on her face, she was very satisfied in her heart.
Upon returning to Yuexuan, Mu Xinnuan immediately instructed Mu Hua to deliver fifty taels of silver to Qinghong's elderly mother. Since the matter had been successfully completed, she would naturally not treat her unfairly!
"Miss, in your opinion, how will the Second Miss deal with Qinglian?"
"Dispose of her? No! She won't!" Mu Xin Nuan looked down at the calligraphy she had written that afternoon, her brows furrowing slightly. It seemed her brushwork was somewhat lacking. This was bad, not good!
"You mean the second young lady will consider the old lady's feelings?"
"Of course! Mother has already started arranging marriages for her, and she has even gone to Prince Ming in a hurry. But no matter how powerful Prince Ming is, he cannot interfere in the affairs of our Mu family, especially those of the inner quarters. Therefore, her marriage still needs to rely on the old lady's help."
"So, does that mean our whole plan was for nothing?" Rong Yue said, somewhat dejected.
"How could it be a white cloth? Don't forget who Qinglian is. She must know a lot of secrets about Mu Xinyao and the old lady! As long as she senses Mu Xinyao's distrust of her, then our chance will come!"
Upon hearing this, Rong Yue's eyes lit up, and she exclaimed in sudden realization, "So that's how it is! So from the very beginning, the person Miss wanted to scheme against was Qinglian?"
"Otherwise what? Do you think I'm scheming against Mu Xinyao?" Mu Xinnuan rolled her eyes at her.
Rongyue smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "Miss is so intelligent, how could I possibly comprehend such profound thoughts?"
"Besides saying a few nice words, what else can you do?" Mu Xin Nuan asked with a smile and a scolding tone.
Rongyue's eyes darted around. "Miss, I'll also massage your back." With that, she fawned over Mu Xinnuan and began to massage her shoulders with great skill.
Just as Mu Xin Nuan closed her eyes to enjoy the moment, she heard a somewhat teasing voice.
"You're living the good life! You made me worry for nothing!"