♂?，，

  Chapter 16: The Cost

  Subscribe, please ^_^

  ——————

  Chu Xue's eyes widened in surprise as she looked up at him.

  "The wet nurse of the duke, actually represents the duke as well... Both the attendants and the wet nurse represent the duke's household, indicating that the duchess has some things she can't discuss with her natal family. She didn't show up in person for this matter. However, the duke attaches great importance to it, after all, it's a matter of the imperial family's face, and the duke also needs to take care of it..."

  Chu Ke'er blinked her eyes and said with difficulty...

  Zhu Yichan nodded and said, "Considering the face of the imperial family, Chu Lao Hanlin cannot but consider it. Even if Chu Lao Tai Tai is strong-willed, after all, she is a woman in the inner courtyard, how can she surpass the great face of the imperial clan? This matter will probably end in nothing, and even so, the Chu family cannot blame De Xing Jun Wang's side. The Jun Wang Fu sent people over so quickly, and both of them are representatives of Jun Wang, Jun Wang Fei did not send anyone, that is what it means."

  Chu Xue nodded vaguely, originally she had also secretly thought of it, but Zhu Yuxuan's analysis just now made it clear to her.

  "If Zhu Yueli didn't marry Chu Yunqing, he wouldn't have dared to think about the other girls in the manor."

  Chu Xue understood that he was being reassured, of course, the Chu family wasn't inferior, Zhu Yuxuan had refused to marry Chu Yunqing, would the Chu family still agree to marry off another daughter? But could the Chu family easily agree to this matter? Old Academician Chu considered the imperial family's face, because it wasn't related to the events at the Duke's residence, that was something the old lady...

  But then again, Chu Yun Ting is like this too, and she didn't gain any benefits either. This is a lose-lose situation. What I couldn't get, others shouldn't think of getting either. For what I couldn't have, I can also not leave any leeway for others.

  "This is human nature"

  Unexpectedly, Zhu Yichen understood and immediately said "So that's it."

  On the other side, Ce Fei and Liu Niang also finished speaking, and the two came out to the main room. Chu Ke saw that Liu Niang's eyebrows and eyes were all smiling, with a relaxed face. She was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood. Ce Fei pulled her in, saying that it was actually what Zhu Yi Chen had just said here.

  As soon as she understood, her face suddenly turned bright red.

  The imperial concubine looked at Chu Ke'er's smiling face and said, "Now that everyone understands, there's no need to hide it anymore. She coughed and said, "Some things...cough, will be discussed later. Now the manor is in a mess, talking about this and that is just looking for trouble."

  Liu Yiniang didn't look the slightest bit wronged, smiling as she looked at Zhu Yuxuan, who was so embarrassed that his face turned red and he lowered his head, before nodding repeatedly with a smile, then turning to look at Chu Keqi.

  The concubine smiled and said, "En, Kei, don't go out for a while, okay?"

  Chu Xue was so ashamed that she couldn't lift her head, and Liu Yiniang saw it and quickly helped her answer. The old lady also confined her... not allowing her to go out.

  "Cough cough, this... is also good..." The imperial concubine said with a smile.

  "It wasn't some servant girl who said a word outside and then reported it..."

  Then came Jing Er's voice "Miss?"

  "What's going on with Chu Ke?"

  Jing'er lifted the curtain and came in, smiling and bowing to say: "Old lady invites Ce Fei and Er Ye."

  "Done." Chu Ke'er raised an eyebrow and turned her head to see that Zhu Yuxuan's eyes also flashed with understanding as he looked at her, the two exchanging a glance.

  Jing'er pulled up the curtains in the main room and waited.

  The concubine, on the other hand, didn't think of anything else and smiled at Chu Ke'er saying "Ke'er, just rest at home for two days, after a while, we'll go out together to enjoy the spring scenery." As she spoke, she pulled Lady Liu's hand and walked outside, smiling at her and saying "You can come too"

  Chu Xue's eyebrows arched even higher, her big eyes flashing as she stared at Zhu Yi Chen. Zhu Yi Chen smiled and mouthed to her: "I told you." Without making a sound, he finished speaking and continued to smile mischievously at her.

  Chu Ke'er's face was red as she waved her hand, and Zhu Yuxuan finally smiled and walked out the door. As soon as he left the room, Ce Fei let go of Liu Niang's hand, and Zhu Yuxuan also put away his smile, his face returning to its usual coldness.

  When Madam Liu reached the door, she turned her head and caught Jing'er's eye. Jing'er was so flustered that she quickly lowered her head, which made Madam Liu wonder for a moment. The maidservants on Third Young Miss's side, even if they had accepted bribes before, should still treat Third Young Miss with the same respect, but none of them had ever shown such a guilty expression.

  Turning her head to look at Chu Xue, she saw that she was sending everyone out, with a smile on her face that was clean and natural, elegant and dignified. The awkward and uncomfortable expression from before was nowhere to be seen.

  Liu Yiniang was puzzled, perhaps it was because of her second cousin Zhu Ruo Chen's relationship? She felt extremely grateful to Zhu Ruo Chen in her heart.

  Madam Chu was able to quickly make time to invite the concubine to come forward, clearly afraid that the concubine would become too close to Chu Ke'er and affect her big plan.

  However, Chu Ke'er surprisingly didn't feel any anxiety or annoyance at this moment. She found it strange that her mood was calm and peaceful, something she had never experienced since arriving here.

  She's not stupid, of course she would have such a feeling, that kind of finally at ease, finally going to settle down feeling, are all because of what Zhu Yucheng just said.

  Before Zhu Yuxuan said those words, she had already lost the loneliness and helplessness she felt when she first came into this world, but she was still uneasy at heart. She was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, with everyone trying their best to calculate her, just to use her lifelong event to gain the benefits they wanted.

  She certainly didn't want to be taken advantage of, nor was she the kind of person who would let others take advantage of her. The more people schemed against her, the more energetic she became in dealing with them, watching as they failed one by one like thieves who couldn't even steal a chicken without losing some rice. In her heart, she secretly delighted in this many times. Yet, deep down inside, she still wanted to find someone reliable to depend on, so that she could live a stable and comfortable life in this world.

  It seems now that Zhu Yuchen is not a reliable person...

  She muttered to herself, "But he's surnamed Zhu... isn't she the one who didn't want to marry someone with the surname Zhu?" Sighing and lamenting, she couldn't help but purse her lips and smile as she returned to the house.

  The old lady of Chu invited Ce Fei to come forward, but she didn't have the heart to entertain her. Ce Fei was also very understanding and sat for a while before taking her leave.

  For the next few days, Chu Kei really didn't even leave the courtyard gate. Here, it was peaceful and quiet, but the atmosphere in the entire Chu Mansion was tense to the point of suffocation.

  Chu Ke didn't go to the Chu Manor and the Chu family was discussing, nor did she see Chu Yunqing or Chu Yunting, but other things that happened in the Chu Manor were still heard from the maids' intermittent talk.

  Chu Yunting's personal maid, Nian'er, was sold. Another personal maid jumped into a well. All the maids below her, including the old woman who guarded the gate, were sold. The entire household staff was replaced. Two newly promoted maids from Chu Yunqing's side were beaten to death. All the second-class maids and below were sold. The entire mansion's servants, three generations of ancestors, were all investigated, and it was clear who was whose relative. However, only those who served as personal maids by the young ladies' side could come from Old Lady's side.

  Everyone in the Chu family was on tenterhooks, as if walking on thin ice. The previous disturbance caused by Sun Cheng's family had not yet passed, and now this new incident had erupted, throwing the manor into chaos for many days. Several people were replaced in the outer courtyard of Chu Ke's residence, but none of the maids in the inner courtyard were touched.

  Chu Kei brought Bai Guo over and inquired about the movements of the people below, finally finding out that it was the family of Qin Niangniang from the Duke's mansion.

  Qin Niang's mother is still by Old Lady's side, now in charge of Old Lady's private storage room, called Che Guijia, her husband surnamed Che and named Che Gui.

  Chu Ke heard this and her heart skipped a beat. Bai Guo had said that Jing Er's mother used to be in charge of the old lady's private storage room. Such a good job was snatched away by the Che family? If she didn't remember, the outer warehouse of the old lady's courtyard was managed by Qin Niang's brother. This family had the old lady under their control? The old lady was such a shrewd person, how could she hand over the warehouse to someone from this family?

  Asking around on the side, it turned out that Aunt Qinyi's brother had long since left the old lady's side to take care of the warehouse and was transferred to the Chu family's villa in the suburbs of Beijing.

  The old lady is still clever and uses the trick of holding people hostage.

  Chu Ke was lost in thought, thinking that if she wanted to win over Jing Er, perhaps the Car Guo family would be a good place to start. It just so happened that the Car Guo family had wronged her brother, causing Liu Niang to have no relatives and Zhu Yue Han to not acknowledge his true mother. This grudge was finally avenged.

  Just then, Jing'er walked in with a smile and reported to the young lady, "Madam Liu has arrived."

  Since the last time Concubine Yan and Zhu Yuxuan came, Madame Liu had been here several times. At first, she was forced to come because of the tense situation between Chu Yunqing and Chu Yunting, with several maidservants dying in a row. Madame Liu was worried, so she came to visit her, putting on a brave face. After no more than two visits, Third Young Miss was different from before - she didn't coldly tell her not to come again, nor did she ignore her or drive her away. Instead, every time she could brew tea and sit down to chat with her for a while. Madame Liu was encouraged by this and cautiously drew closer to this daughter over the next few days.

  "Please come in." Chu Ke ordered Qing Guo to go and make some tea and bring some snacks.

  Whenever it was Madame Liu who came, she would instead order Qing Guo to work harder, and Jing'er would generally let her stand aside.

  Liu Yiniang walked in, Chu Ke smiled and went up to greet her. "Aunt has arrived? Please sit down."

  Liu Yiniang was slightly constrained, and lightly nodded: "I'll come take a look at the young lady... didn't the young lady go for a stroll in the courtyard today?"

  Chu Ke smiled and said, "I just turned around and came in."

  Liu Yiniang sat down and smiled, saying "I brought some fruit, it was sent by Second Brother's servant, they are all fresh."

  The maid behind her was holding a food box, inside which were four or five sparkling peaches and two bright red pomegranates.

  Chu Ke looked at them and saw they didn't have a plate, so she told Jing Er, "Get a plate."

  Jing'er responded with a "yes" and went out. The maid carrying the food box immediately followed her out.

  Chu Xueqin's heart had just moved, and indeed, Liu Niang had already softly said, "Miss, have you been doing embroidery these days?" Chu Xueqin was taken aback, looking at her with some confusion.

  "Madam Liu smiled and said, 'Since Miss can't go out, why not do some embroidery... the imperial concubine's side can also take a look at Miss's craftsmanship.'"

  Chu Ke suddenly understood and her face turned red --- Mrs. Liu was reminding her that it's time to prepare her dowry.

  "Embroidered screens, cushions, tablecloths, and chair covers, I've done for you, but as for the bed sheets, pillowcases, and quilt covers, it's better if you do them yourself. As for the wedding dress, we can still make it in time once everything is settled. Aunt Liu said softly, originally... anyway, it's been a bother to you... You must start working on it now, or it might be too late."

  Chu Kei's face turned slightly red as she nodded very lightly.

  "Tomorrow, I'll send over a few bolts of fabric. There will be some red ones mixed in, so be sure to pick those out... and then you can make clothes with them, loudly and openly, inside the house, to avoid raising suspicions."

  Chu Ke nodded clearly, looked at the light gray plain fine linen shirt on Liu Niang's body and asked, "Niang, where did this fabric come from?"

  "It's all been stored for years..." Madam Liu raised her eyes to see Chu Kei wrinkling her brow, and hastily explained that the other fabrics were a bit outdated, but that big red one was given by the imperial concubine last year, and it was made from fabric tributed by the Jiangnan Weaving Bureau...

  "Chu Ke's soft voice coughed and said, Auntie should also tidy up, don't just think about me."

  Liu Yiniang was stunned for a moment, and then she heard footsteps coming from the window. Next, Jing'er walked in with a tray of fruit.

  Chu Ke didn't change the subject, but continued to say, "Auntie brought over some fabric, I'll pick a bright color for Auntie to make a piece of clothing, otherwise it's always gray and black, which makes people look dull."

  Mrs. Liu hastily shook her head, but couldn't say no, she had to choose the fabric after all, and could only mutter "it's fine..."

  "Try some of the fruit that Auntie brought, it looks juicy." Jing'er said with a smile.

  Chu Ke nodded and handed a peach to Liu Niang, who was taken aback and subconsciously accepted it. Chu Ke took another one and lightly bit into it, finding it sweet and juicy. Jing Er hastily handed over a handkerchief, which Chu Ke accepted and indicated for her aunt to take one too. Jing Er went to get another one and handed it to Liu Niang, who hurriedly accepted it, her eyes welling up with tears as she lowered her head to eat the peach.

  Chu Ke sighed in her heart, Liu Yiniang was actually a lucky person with both sons and daughters, but unfortunately, she had been replaced by someone else, this life was too miserable.

  But Liu Yiniang is only thirty-five or thirty-six years old, and it's a bit exaggerated to say that for this life. However, Brother Zhu Yuhuan has plans, but let's take things one step at a time.

  Smiling as she ate the peach, Chu Ke'er ordered Jing Er to split open a pomegranate and said with a smile to Liu Niangniang: "Niangniang, let's have dinner here tonight."

  Liu Yiniang was taken aback, somewhat flustered with surprise, and hesitated for a moment before nodding her head shyly. Just then, her maid called out from the doorway, "Yiniang!"

  "What's the matter?" Madam Liu turned her head and asked. (If you like this work, welcome to subscribe, reward on Starting Point Website, your support is my greatest motivation.)

  It is by.

  div

  baidu_clb_lt_id=519311

  Complete works txt download, full text free, e-book, remember 77 reading books