Previously she had been a first-class maid, while Lu Ye was merely a rough servant girl who could only bow her head and curry favor before her. Who would have known that after she was sent to the laundry, every time Lu Ye came to deliver clothes to the laundry room, she would always deliberately run into her.

Lu Ye wore silk and satin, with an extremely fine jade bracelet on her hand, adorned with gold and silver jewelry that was far better than what she herself had worn before. She claimed it was all rewards from Seventh Miss—who could blame Third Master for being wealthy! Even more hateful was that Lu Ye would often say sarcastic things to her, mocking her, showing Hui Qin her hands that had once been rough but were now as tender as spring onions.

Hui Qin had always been proud and arrogant by nature—how could she tolerate such treatment? Each time she would curse furiously and pile all her best jewelry onto her head in one go. However, Lu Ye never talked back, but would walk away with a completely indifferent attitude. Walking away would have been fine, but she always wore an expression of showing off and mockery.

Today, after Lu Ye had deliberately flaunted again, she whispered mysteriously in a low voice: “Hui Qin, your sweetheart is about to return. Aren’t you happy?” As she spoke, she whispered a few more words in her ear.

Hui Qin was stunned, her face turning pale. How did Lu Ye know? By the time she reacted, Lu Ye had already walked far away. Hui Qin couldn’t care about anything else and hurried to chase after Lu Ye. But what Lu Ye had just said was too terrifying—she didn’t dare shout out, afraid of arousing others’ suspicion, and could only follow Lu Ye.

Lu Ye turned here and there, walking at a leisurely pace along the usual paths, then turned to the back wall of Yilan Garden. At the wall’s base, she looked around east and west for a while, then began digging at the wall’s foundation. Hui Qin crept closer, but before she could figure out what was happening, she was covered by a black sack, then bound and gagged with something stuffed in her mouth.

Then Old Madam and First Madam arrived, and she heard Lu Ye’s fabricated lies. Suddenly her mind was flooded with the dark secrets of wealthy households that her mother had once told her about. Hui Qin shuddered and desperately threw herself toward Xu Shi: “First Madam, Lu Ye is lying!”

“Lying? From the laundry room to Yilan Garden is a quarter-hour’s journey, so how did you get to Yilan Garden? Did I tie you up and bring you here? Along the way, didn’t anyone see you?”

Hui Qin was speechless. Yes…

Lu Ye knelt down: “Old Madam, this servant really dares not continue speaking. Please have Old Madam dismiss all irrelevant people, then this servant will dare to speak!”

Xu Shi’s brows furrowed. Her intuition told her something was wrong. Not wanting Lu Ye to continue, she scolded: “A mere servant girl dares to be so bold—who gave you such audacity?! Get out of here immediately!”

Lu Ye knelt on the ground: “Old Madam, this concerns Seventh Miss’s life. This servant dares not fail to report it!”

These words carried weight.

Old Madam gave Nanny Gu a look. Nanny Gu had everyone else withdraw, leaving only the masters with their trusted confidants, plus Lu Ye and Hui Qin as the parties involved.

Old Madam said to Master Yuanzhen: “Master, this is truly discourteous. Please go to the parlor for tea!”

Xu Shi wanted to stop this, but since Old Madam had spoken, no matter how arrogant she was, she wouldn’t openly defy Old Madam.

Master Yuanzhen chanted a Buddhist phrase and went to sit and wait in Yilan Garden’s small parlor.

Seeing that not only had she failed to achieve today’s goal, but had also caused a scene with that disgraceful thing Hui Qin, Xu Shi felt extremely irritated and snorted coldly: “A lowly slave girl actually speaks so wildly. If you can’t produce evidence, I’d like to see how much your worthless life is worth!”

Lu Ye just kept kowtowing: “Old Madam, First Madam, this servant dares not deceive you. But that thing is truly too filthy—this servant fears it would pollute Old Madam’s and First Madam’s eyes! Please have Nanny Gu and Nanny Liu take the trouble! Ziteng, quickly take the items to that corner and let the two nannies examine them.”

Ziteng expressionlessly opened a cloth bag in the corner. Nanny Gu and Nanny Liu leaned in to look carefully, then with pale faces returned to stand beside their respective mistresses, their eyes looking at Hui Qin as if looking at a dead person.

Old Madam called to Nanny Gu: “Tell me what you saw.”

Nanny Gu hesitated: “Old Madam, inside are some valuable jewelry and several cloth dolls. The jewelry has an old style—by the looks of it, it doesn’t belong to Hui Qin but should belong to some madam. The cloth dolls are covered with needles, with birth dates and curse words written on them, appearing to be quite old. The birth dates… are Old Madam’s and Seventh Miss’s…”

“Crack!” The teacup in Old Madam’s hand suddenly smashed toward Hui Qin’s face. “Beat this slave girl to death!”

“Old Madam, I’m wronged! This servant didn’t do it! This servant didn’t do it! It’s all Lu Ye and the others framing this servant!” Hui Qin knelt on the ground, urgently begging for mercy.

Xu Shi also quickly knelt down. With Old Madam enraged, she didn’t dare truly defy her and could only say: “Old Madam, please calm your anger!”

Seeing the situation, Nanny Gu quickly signaled with her eyes. Ziteng and Lu Ye both withdrew, and she herself went to stand guard at the door, leaving only Old Madam, First Madam, and Hui Qin in the room.

Old Madam’s face appeared exceptionally calm in her fury: “Inner quarters in turmoil, household unrest, demons and monsters running amok—Xu Shi, do you want Lianpin to have no peace in the palace? Do you want Sixth Prince to suffer the world’s mockery?!”

Hui Qin was so frightened by these words that she trembled and collapsed limply on the ground. Old Madam didn’t even avoid saying such things in front of her, which meant that in Old Madam’s eyes, she was already a dead person!

Xu Shi was also startled with alarm, but she felt very indignant in her heart, while also extremely hating Hui Qin. It was all this damned wretch who had ruined her plans! And Qin Shuying was too cunning!

However, she still said submissively: “Old Madam, your daughter-in-law has been lax in managing the inner quarters, causing Old Madam worry. Your daughter-in-law will immediately have Hui Qin beaten to death. Today’s matter must not let outsiders know even half a word! It’s just that several maids around Seventh Miss already know—your daughter-in-law requests instructions on how to deal with those maids?”

Old Madam sneered inwardly. This foolish Xu Shi! Qin Shuying had already calculated all this—otherwise, how could Lu Ye have said to let both Nanny Gu and Nanny Liu look together? Since Qin Shuying’s maids couldn’t be kept, did that mean Nanny Gu and Nanny Liu should be kept?

“Those are Seventh Miss’s maids—let her handle them herself!”

With that, she stood up, but her body involuntarily swayed. Xu Shi hurried forward to support Old Madam, but Old Madam shook her hand away, straightened her back and walked out. Yet her body’s hunched posture and unsteady steps betrayed her lack of strength.

Old Madam’s retreating figure was particularly desolate.

Her eldest son no longer had much in common with her. Whatever Old Madam said, Qin Yongtao would agree nicely on the surface, but in reality, he didn’t take some of Old Madam’s words that seriously. Having been an official for over twenty years, rising step by step from a background-less son of a criminal woman to where he was today, he relied not only on learning and talent, but more on methods and tactics, as well as an exquisite mind for reading superior intentions.

Old Madam, though clever and sharp in her youth, had single-handedly supported the entire family’s livelihood and even made each of her sons successful—this ability would be remarkable not just among women, but even among men.

However, in Qin Yongtao’s eyes, his mother was old now, extremely soft-hearted, and today’s situation was different from her era. She wasn’t suited to know about various schemes and plots—spending her remaining years peacefully, playing with grandchildren was what she should be doing.

Old Madam was an extremely intelligent person and naturally knew Qin Yongtao’s thoughts. So over the years, she had gradually stopped interfering in Qin Yongtao’s affairs. Especially after Qin Yongzhou’s death, she was greatly affected and her health declined, so naturally she let go of management. But the Qin household was still Lianpin’s natal family, and with Xu Shi becoming increasingly domineering, Old Madam’s heart remained suspended, not daring to completely let go.

Though Qin Yongluo was certainly filial and steady, he ultimately wasn’t her biological son.

If only Qin Yongzhou were still here…

Old Madam sighed in her heart, her mind conjuring the image of her youngest son who had died in his prime.

Yongzhou…

Yongzhou’s only daughter…

A quote to share: When you’re in complex relationships, if you don’t become tactful, various situations will force you to change, otherwise you’ll always be getting hurt. Don’t resist this change—becoming tactful is a form of protection, better positioning yourself outside of complexity.