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  Madam Rui's face changed color, she suddenly took a cold breath and calmed down, saying: "The matter of the third madam back then, can't be blamed on you, even if Master Hou knew you went to her room, he wouldn't suspect anything. After what happened, as the mistress of Yongning Hou Manor, if you didn't go comfort your sister who was hurt, that would be wrong."

  She gently patted Madame Hou's shoulder with one hand, forcing a few smiles on her face. "Besides, Third Madame has always been a delicate beauty since she was young. After Second Miss had an abortion and then gave birth to Seventh Miss with great difficulty, her body has never been in good health. She was exhausted from preparing for the wedding, who would have thought that such a tragedy would occur? Her death is not your fault, don't blame yourself."

  Madam Hou furrowed her brow, looking distressed as she shook her head. "It was my mistake to believe the rumor that Third Brother had passed away, and I carelessly mentioned it in front of his wife. She was already on her last breath due to illness, and upon hearing this news, she finally passed away. Master Hou has always doted on Third Brother's wife; if he were to find out about this matter, nine times out of ten, he would blame me for her death."

  Lu's mother, Tian, was the aunt of Madam Zhu, and when the Wu Ding Hou Fu was still in Shengjing, the two families often came and went. Lu had been familiar with several old masters of Yongning Hou since childhood, and she was close friends with Gu Lan Niang, who treated her like a younger sister after marrying into the Gu family.

  Madam Hou, due to her unremarkable appearance, had never gained the affection of Master Hou since marrying into the family. Later, seeing how he doted on Third Brother and Sister, she couldn't help but feel a sense of injustice and jealousy towards Lu Shi, who had won her husband's favor and love, monopolizing his affections while maintaining a reputation for being virtuous and magnanimous outside. Meanwhile, Madam Hou toiled in vain, getting nothing in return, which fueled her resentment. As a result, the relationship between her and Lu Shi was not good.

  On that day, she heard from Madame Dingguo that Gu Changping had been executed and believed it to be true. She couldn't help but say it out loud in front of Mrs. Lu's sickbed. At the time, her heart was already filled with fear. The next day, when she heard that Mrs. Lu had passed away, she was truly frightened. When she later found out that Gu Changping was still alive, she was on the verge of regretting her actions, and was both shocked and afraid. Fortunately, at the time, the Gu family was in a state of chaos, and no one went to investigate what had happened.

  In fear of being overheard, the three madams had all the maids in the courtyard sent far away at that time. Over the years, they have been transferred to several places, and it is likely that no one can find them now. However, despite this, she has always had a lingering sense of unease in her heart.

  When facing Ming Xuan, she felt both guilty and afraid of this guilt, and had even thought that it would be better if all three rooms were extinct.

  But did Master Hou really know about these deeply buried past events and secrets that she dared not speak of for her entire life?

  Madam Hou's face showed a few points of fear, "What kind of person is Master Hou, I am very clear in my heart. In those years, Concubine Bai was favored and he could bear to have her beaten to death. He has always been displeased with me, it wasn't until the death of that ** outside these past two years and the favoritism of the Noble Consort that he showed me a slightly better expression. If he were to find out about this matter..."

  She had a hint of despair between her eyebrows, "Shuai Ayi, what should I do?"

  Madam Rui comforted Madame Hou in a low voice, "You are now ill and overthinking. If what you said to the third madam at that time was known to others, wouldn't those maids from the Lu family have already spoken out? Could they still wait until today? Besides, even if Master Hou knew about it, how would it be? You also listened to Madame Dingguo's words and mistakenly believed them. Master Hou didn't investigate Madame Dingguo's intentions for spreading rumors, but instead blamed you, that's what's called foolish."

  She paused, "Besides, you have given birth to four children for the Marquis, and it's all for the sake of the Marquis' family and the children's reputation. The Marquis wouldn't dare do anything to you either. You still have the support of the Lu Guo Gong Fu behind you, and the position of the Crown Prince is also stable. What are you afraid of?"

  Madam Hou's complexion finally eased, and she nodded slowly. "That's right, when I was young, I hoped to gain the love and favor of Lord Hou, but it didn't come true, so I let it go. Now that I'm old, I've long since stopped caring about this. As long as Yuan Hua and Yuan Xian are doing well, and Her Majesty the Empress is healthy, that's enough for me. What else is there to fear?"

  Her eyes drooped slightly, and when she lifted her head again, she had regained her composure. In a low voice, she instructed, "Have someone invite the young master's wife over; I have something to instruct her."

  Rui's face changed, and she hastily asked, "You wouldn't be......"

  Madam Hou nodded, "I'm not feeling well and staying in this mansion is also humiliating. If I don't leave now, it will only get worse later on. It's better to move to the villa for a while to rest. Anyway, this Hou Mansion will eventually fall into the hands of the young master's wife. Before things get out of hand, let's hand it over to her early and give her some peace of mind. Prepare everything, take out all these years' account books, my nameplate, and the keys to the warehouse. Cai Shi is a clever one, I can rest assured if I hand them over to her."

  She paused slightly, "Xuan Jie's marriage is for Old Madam to worry about, I don't have the energy to take care of it. As for Ju Xiang, after all, she is a distant relative, in vain I sincerely loved her with all my heart, but in the end, it turned out like this, from now on, I won't bother with her affairs anymore. If she can enter the palace and secure that concubine position, it's her own ability. Even if she gets harmed to the point of having no place to rest her bones, it has nothing to do with me."

  Rui's mother nodded hastily, "You think so, it's naturally the best. To be rude, at our age, except for the well-being of our children, nothing is more important than our bodies. First go to the villa to rest for a while, and come back in time for the wedding on September 5th."

  She helped Madame Hou lie down and said, "I'll have someone go invite the young master's wife. You rest for a bit first."

  Rui's nanny was about to leave when Madame Hou suddenly stopped her, "Later go personally to the An Tai courtyard and report back to Old Madam. Then take 5,000 taels of silver from the private storage room and have Old Madam give it to Seventh Miss."

  In the past, she had deliberately ignored these things, but once they were exposed, all attempts to disguise and cover them up would be torn apart. She wasn't really devoid of conscience, after all, she was still remorseful.

  Especially at this time when I am ill, I have even more feelings than usual. Suddenly, I can somewhat understand Lu's feelings back then. The double blow of physical and mental exhaustion was already overwhelming, and hearing that news at the time must have been a fatal blow. Shui's words were just self-deceiving comfort; she knew in her heart that if it weren't for her, Lu would still be able to hold on for a few more days.

  But it's already too late, she can't make up for it with her life. Forget it, the 5,000 taels of silver may not be a lot, but it's all she can afford to pay now. Regardless of whether Ming Xuan will find out about this in the future and how he'll react, she just wants peace of mind at this moment.

  Although Rui's face changed slightly, the words of refutation still didn't leave her mouth. She let out a long sigh and quietly retreated.

  Ming Xuan looked at the stack of silver bills in the box with some surprise, "Is it from Aunt?"

  Qiu Tao nodded, seeing that there was no one else in the house, and said in a low voice, "Madam Hou was already ill, and the noble princess gave birth to the princess, so it's over. I heard that Lord Hou rushed into Yi'An Hall after returning from court and scolded Madam Hou severely. Perhaps Madam Hou's body is not well and she has added more worries, saying that she wants to go to the villa to rest and has handed over all the household chores to the young master's wife."

  She pointed to the silver box on the table, "Madam Hou said that on the day of Seventh Miss's grand wedding, she should have presided over it in person, but this gathering cannot be done. The inner courtyard of the Pei family is deep and treacherous, and it's not easy to get by. Money is indispensable. These are her heartfelt intentions."

  Ming Xuan was perplexed, thinking that her aunt would not hesitate to take advantage of her, and over the years had not hesitated to scheme against her. But now she had secretly given her five thousand taels of silver as a dowry, what did this mean?

  She was somewhat hesitant and didn't know whether she should take it or not.

  Hong Tao smiled and said, "Whatever the old lady meant by her instructions, she gave the silver to Seventh Miss, so let's just take it. After all, it was given willingly, not begged for. When we go to the Pei household, we need to make a good impression and have some extra money on hand. It's always better to make things easier."

  She pushed the box over and asked, "Tomorrow if the weather is fine, Old Lady wants to go to Auxiliary Country Duke's mansion. Do you want to go with Miss?"

  Ming Xuan hastily nodded, "June 8th is Yuanyu's big wedding day, only two days before mine. I'm afraid I won't be able to attend. She had sent over the dowry she gave me early on, but what I was going to give her was still at the shop. It was only returned a couple of days ago, and I was thinking of finding some time these past few days to take it over to her."

  Hong Tao smiled and nodded, "Then I'll go back to Madam and have someone send the invitation over to prepare."

  Ming Xuan saw Hong Tao off at the door and then hastily called Dan Hong over, "What about those pieces of jewelry that were retrieved from the Precious Pavilion yesterday?"

  Dan Hong then brought out a small box from the inner room, carefully taking out the things inside one by one. "They're all here," he said. "I heard that when my cousin went to retrieve these things yesterday, the shopkeeper pestered him relentlessly, demanding that he buy the drawings you sent over. My cousin said it was a struggle for him to get away."

  "She smiled and said, 'I didn't know this could be sold for money too.'"

  Ming Xuan smiled casually, "Tell my brother that I won't sell those drawings. If I didn't want something unique that no one else has, why would I bother drawing them myself?"

  She gently swept her hand over the tray of sparkling jewelry, smiling and saying, "Yuan sister likes plum blossoms, so I personally painted two sets of plum blossom hairpins. Although they are not the most expensive, this thought is definitely something Yuan sister will like tightly. The other two sets are for Lin, I heard that she and Fifth Brother's wedding date has been set, it's on September 6th, in a few days ask Big Brother if he wants to send a message to Longxi, then have someone bring it over to give to her."

  Dan Hong's eyes sparkled as she said with a smile, "If I were to get married, would you also make me a set of headdresses with your own hands?"

  Ming Xuan smiled and took out a pair of jade double-sided hairpins from the box, "This is for you."

  She was just about to put it on Dan Hong when she heard a little maid outside reporting, "Sister Xue Su has arrived!"

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