Volume 1 Chapter 168 Boarding the Pirate Ship

  Chapter 168: Boarding the Pirate Ship

  "Is the incense extinguished?" White Lotus asked from inside the house.

  Smoke rose, and upon entering the house, he saw that all four of the young girls and Mozi were there, leaving him momentarily stunned.

  Mo Yan is a quiet and reserved girl, somewhat similar to Mo Zi when she was being demure, but Mo Zi was just pretending, whereas Mo Yan is naturally so. Although her family lives in the upper district, they are poor and have many younger siblings, so her parents had no choice but to sell her to a matchmaker. Later, she was chosen by Madame Qu and stayed at the Jing Wang Fu to work as a servant, which made her family very happy. Not only did she receive a high monthly allowance, but also brought honor to her parents due to the prestige of the royal household.

  Qiu San Niang heard that Mo Yan's home was in the city, so she allowed her to go back for two days every month. To be honest, being able to follow such a master and comparing with other maids in the mansion, she felt quite fortunate.

  Originally, she thought that as long as she could follow Qiu San Niang, when the time came, she might be matched with a decent man, not to mention wealth and nobility, at least having no worries about food and clothing. But now, she is frightened every day. On one hand, she misses her parents, on the other hand, she feels deeply guilty.

  Mo Yan lowered his head, feeling a little guilty in his heart. His hands involuntarily clenched the hem of his shirt, "Grandma... are you calling me?"

  She wasn't a clever girl. Qiu San Niang had a beautiful face, sitting crookedly on the soft couch, leisurely drinking tea, and she didn't immediately notice the problem.

  Unable to wait for someone to speak, Mo Yan raised his head again and only then did he discover that Qiu San Niang no longer had the slightest "urgent and frightened" expression on her face. He was so scared that he fell to the ground, trembling all over like a sieve.

  "Look at this smoke, isn't it yours?" Jiulian called out to Xiaoyi to bring the thing out.

  Smoke silently listened, took a glance, her face was as pale as dead ashes, she crouched on the ground, not daring to utter half a word. The small paper package in Xiao Yi's hand was exactly the same as the one that had poison. But how could this be? She had put the medicine in the tea water and watched with her own eyes as Qiu San Niang drank it down, then she burned the paper.

  "Never mind, this package is yours." Zi said, "That night you were talking to someone in front of the bamboo forest of Cangshu Pavilion, unfortunately, I happened to hear it all."

  Mo Yan was first astonished and disbelieving, then realized the situation had been exposed, and burst into tears, kowtowing repeatedly, begging for mercy from Qiu San Niang.

  Qiao San Niang lazily said a sentence, "What life are you sparing? Although your contract is in my hands, I don't have the intention of taking your life, at most I'll just drive you out."

  Mozzie cooperated tacitly, and said to Qiu Sanniang, "Granny, this won't do. We must find out who's behind it all. If we don't, in the future when we're harmed again, wouldn't that be a wrongful death?"

  "Ask her, can she speak? But even if she doesn't say it, I already know who it is. I'll drive her out, and soon the news will spread over there. If I can destroy her parents, naturally I can also destroy her, and make it look like an accident. Why do I have to be the bad guy?" Ji San Niang called out to Bai He.

  "Get up, gather your things and go home. Grandma is kind-hearted, the days you have left to reunite with your parents are numbered, make the most of every day."

  Hongmei still didn't know about this from start to finish, and since Zou San Niang wiped her face clean in front of her until now, she had been staring blankly with a complex expression that was sometimes solemn and sometimes contemplative.

  Mo Yan listened to the three people's words, and the more she heard, the more frightened she became. Thinking of the cruel words that were often spoken on the other side, she really felt that if she was driven out, the lives of her family would not be guaranteed. So how could she leave? She cried with a handful of snot and tears, kneeling down and throwing herself at the feet of Qiu San Niang, grabbing the hem of Qiu San Niang's skirt and refusing to let go.

  "Grandma Bodhisattva, please forgive me this time. If they hadn't used my parents to coerce me, I would never have done such a thing. I'll tell you everything I know, just please don't drive me away, even if it means letting me do laundry and clean toilets. Please, I beg of you."

  Bai He looked at her with some reluctance, "Grandma, listen to what she has to say, and then make a decision, okay?"

  It was originally her line. Mozi thought to herself that this wasn't bad, things were going smoothly on their own, and she didn't need to put on a show.

  Qiao San Niang lowered her eyes to look at Mo Yan's tear-stained face, her expression cold. "You can say your piece, but as for how things will be handled in the end, that's not up to you to decide."

  Mozi received a hint from Qiu Sanniang's eyes, and performed on the spot: "Moyan, no wonder Nainai was angry. The medicine may not be fatal, but if she eats it, her face will become unrecognizable."

  Xiao Yi inquired at the large pharmacy and found out that it was a rare poisonous flower powder, which would cause skin ulcers and leave scars after healing, with pockmarks that were terrifying.

  Mo Yan said, "She says it's not fatal, just an illness, but she doesn't want to let Grandma show her face on Old Lady's birthday, and in front of Third Master, lose the chance to compete for favor." Her whole body was nimble.

  "Are you going to believe whatever they say? Can't you think for yourself? If our grandma really took this medicine, it would definitely be traced back to you. You'd be pushed out and killed, and still manage to die for them, how pitiful."

  "Grandma, all of this was done by Jin Si's mother. She had me do it. Not long after I entered the Moke residence, she found me and told me to be her eyes and ears. Every day, I had to tell her where you went, what you said, and what you did. At first, I didn't listen to her, but the second time she came, she told me my family's address, my father's name, and the number of brothers and sisters I have. She even said that if I didn't agree to do things for her, she would find someone to take our lives. I was half-believing, half-doubting, but then she brought out the only silver hairpin my mother had. During the monthly holiday, I asked my parents, and it turned out that there were indeed some men who came knocking on the door at night, smashing things and taking the silver hairpin. That's when I believed her. For the sake of my parents' and siblings' lives, I could only obey her and meet with her every five days. She saw that you didn't seem to have any intention of moving against Si, and she was very suspicious, always asking me three or four times if there were any suspicious places I had missed. I said no, and she scolded me for being stupid. A few days ago, she called me out at midnight and told me to poison you before Old Lady's birthday. I didn't want to do it, but she threatened me again. Later, she said the medicine wouldn't kill you, so I had no choice but to agree."

  "Who is Jin Si's dry mother?" Mo Zi was no longer concerned about the affairs of Jing Wang Fu at this time.

  "Jin Si's dry mother Zheng, and Jin Si's biological mother are sworn sisters, with a very good relationship. Nowadays, she is in charge of the rough servants and daughters-in-law at Yong Gu Zhai, a capable housekeeper." Hong Mei broke the silence, her expression seeming to understand.

  "Then every time you see her, it's always Jin Si's godmother?" Mo Zi asked again.

  "Yes, it's always her." Mu Yan affirmed.

  "Can the dry mother of Golden Silk be said to have listened to her daughter?" It seemed that she had already approached the truth, but found that the other party was not simple.

  "There's nothing, just say she should think for her master, that is Silken Maiden." Mo Yan thought for a moment and replied.

  Qiu Sanniang looked at Mozi for a moment, and Mozi shook her head, indicating that there was nothing more to ask, so let Baihe Lvgui take Mosui down.

  Mo Yan now gave up, seeing that Zhuangzi San Niang meant business and knew that further argument would be futile, so he meekly followed her out of the house.

  "Mozi, what do you think?" asked Qiu Sanniang in front of Hongmei.

  "Grandma, this Golden Silk is not simple. At least, we can't treat her as a lone opponent who can be defeated easily. She was able to find someone to threaten the lives of Mo Yan's parents, and with that man who escaped from the first grandma's house, it's clear she has outside help, and quite powerful help at that. If we can't uncover her trump card, we'll only be able to defend passively."

  "Indeed, she can't be underestimated." After hearing Mozi say that Jinsi was going to harm her, Qiu Sanniang was furious and had originally wanted to take this opportunity to strike at Jinsi. However, Mozi came up with a move that made her feel embarrassed and suffocated. She hadn't gone out in a long time, so she agreed to go out just to get some fresh air. Who would have thought that Jinsi actually had a formidable helper?

  "Red Plum, what do you think about this matter?" Jiang San Niang agreed with Mo Zi's point of view. This time, when they went out to avoid the quiet, Red Plum voluntarily asked to follow them out, which meant that she had the intention of showing her loyalty. Because, generally speaking, when a master who is seriously ill moves to another courtyard, those who closely follow him may lose their power.

  Hongmei was a bit nervous, but also had an inexplicable sense of joy. Although she used to be the favored maid by Old Princess Wang's side, she understood the principle that "when people leave, tea becomes cold". Now that there were new faces replacing her position beside Old Princess Wang, rather than holding onto the hope of being called back to start anew at some unknown time, it was better to thoroughly devote herself to Qiu San Niang, this capable mistress. Having followed them for these days, she had figured out that Qiu San Niang was not ordinary, and Mozi even more so. Even Baihe, Lüju, and Xiaoyi, these three, each had their strong points, living completely differently from other lowly maids. She actually felt more and more envious. Until now, as a later addition, still bearing the flag of Old Princess Wang, Qiu San Niang used her, but didn't quite trust her. She felt wronged, but couldn't say it out loud. Now, patiently waiting and actively striving seemed to have borne fruit.

  "Grandma, it's really unbelievable. If I had known earlier, I would have been frightened to death. Now that I think about it, the affairs of the previous two consorts were clearly not allowed to be spread by Old Lady and the Queen, but they still got out and everyone on the streets knew about them, and they were even exaggerated to sound ugly. It's possible that it was done by someone from outside the palace."

  From then on, Hongmei became a great help to Qisan Niang in her struggle for dominance within the inner courtyard.

  Mozi also praised Hongmei, "You're right. I've always wondered why the family scandal was so noisy and widespread that even the thousand-gold misses from the capital wouldn't dare marry Xiao Sanlang anymore."

  "I think, why not turn the tables on Mò Yān. They now think Mò Yān has succeeded, but haven't aroused suspicion. Once Nainai recovers and returns, they will definitely use her again. At that time, we can use Mò Yān to find out who is helping Jīn Sī from outside." Hóng Méi came up with a good idea.

  Qiu Sanniang and Mozi exchanged a smile.

  Hongmei didn't understand what he meant and thought she was wrong.

  "Hongmei, with you here, Grandma won't need me anymore." From that day on, Mozi's role as a maid greatly diminished.

  "Don't say that, I'm far from being like you." Hongmei said hastily.

  "You two stop flattering each other, hurry up and pack your things, let's change our clothes and get ready to go out." Jiang San Niang stretched her body and went to the wardrobe to pick out some festive clothes.

  Hongmei rarely went out on the streets except for visiting the homes of old madam and various noble families, so she didn't understand and asked, "Grandma, can we go out?"

  "Wearing this, I can go out." This house has a secret passage leading to the neighboring house, unfortunately, that house is also hers, Qiu San Niang's. The Wangfu guards guarding this house are not in charge.

  Hongmei took one look and her eyes widened, a man's clothes?

  Mozhi patted Hongmei's shoulder and whispered a sentence, "Welcome aboard, you've boarded the pirate ship."

  Chapter 168: Boarding the Pirate Ship

  Chapter 168: Boarding the Pirate Ship, Arriving at the Website