Chapter 58: Chapter 58: A Woman’s Sixth Sense
How much did Qu Fulan want to say?
Her prepared answer for Heir Pei was, "The kind that takes an entire hour to explain."
That couldn’t be explained simply in a pavilion.
She would surely have to move to the study room for a detailed discussion.
Qu Fulan thought the progress of events would be like this.
Even the four major guards thought the same; they all believed the time had come, each ready and alert, awaiting the final outcome to uncover the mystery in their hearts and bring some conclusion to the situation.
Because of the Princely Heir’s presence, this time they didn’t dare to idly gossip outside, afraid that the Princely Heir might overhear.
But no one expected that just as Qu Fulan was about to speak, a voice suddenly came.
"Young Master, there’s an urgent matter!"
It was the Hidden Guard, who, upon reaching the Young Master, glanced at Qu Fulan, who sensibly got up and excused herself.
Soon after, Heir Pei left and didn’t return until the next morning.
Since Qu Fulan became Heir Pei’s maid, it wasn’t uncommon for him not to be home at night, but the Old Lady wasn’t aware, and it wasn’t her concern.
It’s just that from the usual four guards protecting the courtyard, two were missing, but Qu Fulan didn’t mind, considering they were Princely Heir’s people. Whether there were many or few wasn’t for her to question.
Compared to the number of servants in the Old Lady’s courtyard, Pei Family’s Pear Fragrance Courtyard had half as many people; everyone performed their duties well.
The easiest one in the whole courtyard was herself. When the Princely Heir was present, she needed to serve by preparing paper and grinding ink or serving tea and water, but as for other things like bathing and dressing, she didn’t need to serve, maybe because the Princely Heir was used to staying in the army and unlike other young masters who would wish for someone to attend to them even when using the bathroom, he did many things himself.
And when the Princely Heir wasn’t present, her time was free.
In her free time, Qu Fulan would either read medical books or find Hai Xia to learn sewing skills.
No way around it, whatever involved needles and thread in the future for the Princely Heir, like pouches and such, she, as the first-class maid, would likely have to prepare.
Just like the Old Lady, who always used things made by first-class maids.
If she didn’t make an effort to learn now, it would be embarrassing when she needed to use it later.
When she went to find Hai Xia, Hai Xia was hovering outside Lixiang Courtyard, and seeing her coming out, her eyes lit up.
"What are you doing here?" Qu Fulan found her sneaky appearance quite amusing.
"I want to chat with you but am afraid of encountering the Princely Heir." Hai Xia was helpless.
"Do you really fear the Princely Heir so much?"
"As soon as I see the Princely Heir, my legs instinctively tremble; what do you think?"
"Alright, so what’s your reason for finding me this time?"
"Nothing major, just heard some fresh news and couldn’t resist sharing it with you."
When finding someone to chat with, it’s important to choose the right person. Hai Xia had shared with others, but they were always insincere, not speaking truthfully, so she lost interest.
But Fulan was nice; she not only listened to her but could also provide suitable interpretations.
"I also wanted to learn sewing skills from you."
The two found a shaded area, with Qu Fulan embroidering a pouch while listening to Hai Xia speak.
"It’s about the Qian family. I heard Mr. Qian was found unclean, lost his position, and now the whole family must move out of the Capital City."
Qu Fulan was a bit surprised; how fast it happened.
"The Qian Family is truly unlucky. They nearly engaged with our eldest young master; if they had been betrothed, that would be a guaranteed match, leading to endless honor and respect for life. Who knew such a thing would happen at the last moment? Tsk-tsk-tsk, a good marriage gone just like that."
The Qian Family’s "changing people" foolish behavior was well concealed by the Pei Family; besides the Old Lady’s few close maids going to Qu Fulan, no one else knew.
Now, others in the residence were probably sighing like Hai Xia, perhaps mixed with some schadenfreude.
Watching excitement is human nature.
Qu Fulan found it amusing as she listened.
Such people, like the Qian Family, are typical for demanding high prices without a basis, doing so to the Pei Family; the Qian Family was probably regretting deeply now.
The reality was indeed that the Qian Family deeply regretted.
After being persuaded by her daughter, Mrs. Qian didn’t even consult Mr. Qian and autonomously sought a mediator to convey their intentions to the Pei Family. She thought to tell her husband after the matter succeeded; by then, he would praise her prudence.
As parents, they mostly felt their child was outstanding and naturally deserved the best, not to mention the Old Lady liked the daughter so much.
Unexpectedly, within a day, Mr. Qian lost his official hat.
When Mr. Qian was dismissed, he was utterly puzzled. While not a paragon of integrity, he wasn’t criminally notorious either. If truly scrutinized, those above him should be the ones arrested, so why him? After much inquiry, someone finally patted his shoulder and vaguely said, "Go home and ask your family; perhaps they might know."
Mr. Qian then went home to question his wife.
Upon learning her husband lost his position, Mrs. Qian turned deathly pale in fright, too scared to speak the truth.
Mr. Qian, having just lost his official position, possibly connected to his wife, exhausted his patience and, in a furious rage, slapped her and threatened her with divorce. Only then did Mrs. Qian reveal the truth.
Old Madam Qian and Miss Qian were eavesdropping at the door; upon hearing this, Miss Qian shivered in fear.
Old Madam Qian barged in cursing, reprimanding her daughter-in-law, lamenting her family’s misfortune, for marrying an unwise woman who ruined three generations, demanding Mr. Qian divorce this woman with no sense of self-awareness.
Whether Mrs. Qian was divorced or not remained unknown, but the Qian Family lost their position, and their residence was repossessed, forcing the whole family to move out of the Capital City and return to their hometown to farm.
Later, when Miss Qian was married off to a countryside man by her family, she often reminisced about their days in Capital City and thought how she almost became the Young Lady of the Pei Family, imagining a life of endless prosperity, compared to her life facing the fields.
Compared to a life of facing farmland day in and day out, even being a concubine for a rich man would seem like a heavenly life, let alone a family like the Pei Family.
This is a story for later.
"Fulan, the Young Master has returned and is looking for you."
It was Little Douya’s voice.
At the mention of the Princely Heir, Hai Xia jumped as if pricked by a needle, bounded three feet high, and ran off without looking back, so fast that Qu Fulan was speechless.
Is Heir Pei such a terror that she fears him so?
However, when Qu Fulan saw Heir Pei after this, she indeed felt a bit uneasy.
Qu Fulan’s sixth sense had always been accurate; upon seeing Heir Pei, even just his simple back, she felt something wasn’t right.
There was a problem.
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