Madam Xiao’s original intention in sending them was simply to make the young mistress feel a sense of crisis. How could the young mistress be thinking of giving them to the eldest young master?
Wouldn’t that cause chaos in the eldest young master’s room?
This is completely the opposite of what she intended; wouldn’t Madam be furious if she found out?
But Liuying and Feiyue thought they had been given an important position and were easy to deal with.
The two nannies were also given places to go, and since they were in a hurry to deliver the message, they weren’t too picky.
Of the five people, only Hongye was called into the room by Xie Wanning.
Xie Wanning knew everything about Hongye, but she still questioned her thoroughly. After obtaining Hongye’s promise of loyalty, she asked the question she most wanted to ask.
Hongye used to be a cleaner in the outer courtyard. Because she lived close to Xiao Chengyan, she secretly learned her martial arts skills from him while he was practicing.
Her family used to slaughter pigs when she was young, and she helped hold the pigs down when she was very young. She was very strong, and after secretly learning the moves, she used her strength even more effectively.
“You should know the Second Young Master’s schedule, right?”
Hongye hadn’t expected Xie Wanning to ask this. The Second Young Master had summoned her to secretly protect the Young Madam’s safety, but he hadn’t mentioned that the Young Madam was asking about his private matters. Should she tell the truth?
But she had already said that she had secretly learned the martial arts; it wouldn’t be appropriate to say she didn’t know.
Hongye thought for a moment and then gave a half-truth.
Xie Wanning hadn’t had much contact with Xiao Chengyan in her previous life and didn’t know much about him. She wanted to know Xiao Chengyan’s specific schedule to make things easier for her later.
Xie Wanning had thought it over carefully. She only had ten days. Whether it was sending Xiao Chengyan a concubine or deliberately approaching him to seduce him, neither was a good idea.
After much thought, Xie Wanning only had one method left: to drug him beforehand and then sneak into his room.
She knew of an extremely potent drug that would cause both men and women to lose their minds and their memories after taking it.
Once she had done her thing, he would just think it was a dream—two birds with one stone.
”
What? She’s going to give those two to Li’er?”
Upon hearing this news, Madam Xiao nearly smashed things in anger.
Didn’t she already have enough concubines for Xiao Chengli?
Granny Qi also frowned. “The young mistress seems genuinely foolish; she doesn’t seem capable of controlling that vile Xie Wanrou.”
“Madam, what should we do? Should we ask Liu Shi to help the young mistress?” ”
That vile woman shouldn’t even think about it.”
Madam Xiao suddenly raised her eyes to look at Granny Qi, her eyes flashing with fierce light. “Liu Shi was sent to my son by that vile concubine Yue to disgust me. She led my son astray from his studies and even got pregnant during the national mourning period, almost implicating the whole family.”
“Now that she’s lost her child and fallen out of favor, how can we let her rise again?”
Concubine Yue was the concubine of Duke Xiao, and had a son and a daughter, Xiao Chengmo and Xiao Mingzhu. She had been favored for many years and didn’t get along with Madam Xiao, so she set her sights on Xiao Chengli.
Who knew Xiao Chengli would actually enjoy it? When he took a concubine, Madam Xiao was nearly driven mad with anger.
At this moment, a thought flashed through Madam Xiao’s mind, and her brow relaxed.
“It’s not bad that she arranged for Liuying and Feiyue to stay in her room. Xie Wanrou is pregnant and can’t serve him, so Li’er really needs someone by his side.” ”
That bitch Xie Wanrou must have said a lot of bad things about Xie Wanning before, otherwise Li’er wouldn’t dislike her so much. She knows she can’t win Li’er’s favor right now, so she’s using her people to win him over.”
“Liuying and Feiyue are both well-known; if they really gain Li’er’s favor, they’ll be easy to control. Once Xie Wanrou and Liu Shi have fallen out of favor, they’ll naturally be dealt with.”
This time, that bitch Yue won’t be able to protect her niece.
Madam Xiao’s lips curled into a smile.
“Let her be. I want to see if she’s truly foolish or just pretending to be weak. It would be best to deal with all those troublemakers so my son can focus on his studies.”
…
When the new madam entered the house, all of Xiao Chengli’s concubines and maids, except for the favored Xie Wanrou, came to pay their respects to Xie Wanning.
Xie Wanning also saw Aunt Liu. In terms of appearance, she was not necessarily inferior to Xie Wanrou, but now that she had lost her child, she seemed to have lost her backbone, and her eyes were dull.
Xie Wanning gave them a few words of admonishment, then rewarded them with some things and told them to go back.
As night fell, Xiao Chengli sent someone to say that Xie Wanrou was unwell and he had to stay there.
Xie Wanning was glad he didn’t come, so she didn’t mind.
Because she had other plans for tonight.
After nightfall, Xie Wanning arranged for Chunhuan to stay in the room, while she dressed in servant’s clothes and went straight to Xiao Chengyan’s courtyard.
Having lived in the Duke’s mansion for so long in her previous life, she naturally knew when to relax her vigilance and where to avoid the servants.
Soon, she slipped past the crowd and arrived at Xiao Chengyan’s courtyard.
There was a small gate on the outer side of the courtyard that the servants frequently used; for convenience, it was often left unlocked, but the guards would sometimes slack off and sleep, making it easy for them to slip in.
The courtyard wasn’t large, and she entered with practiced ease. Just as Hongye had said, there was hardly anyone in the courtyard.
Xiao Chengyan’s concubine had long since died, and apart from the Duke’s regular inquiries, practically no one cared about what happened in his courtyard.
Soon, she reached the outside of Xiao Chengyan’s bedroom.
The candlelight inside was gone, but before she could investigate, she suddenly heard a cough, not coming from inside the room, but from the corridor on the other side.
Xie Wanning’s expression changed slightly, and she immediately turned back the way she came.
But not long after she left, Xiao Chengyan emerged from his bedroom.
“Master, it was someone from the young mistress’s room.”
Shadow leaped down from the roof, truthfully recounting what he had just witnessed.
Xiao Chengyan stood with his hands behind his back, remaining silent. His expression seemed to blend
into the thick darkness, revealing neither joy nor anger. “Master, it was the young mistress herself who came just now.” Hongye also emerged from the darkness, speaking in a low voice.
Hearing this, Shadow looked puzzled. “What is the young mistress doing sneaking into Master’s room in the middle of the night?”
“The young mistress didn’t tell me.”
As she spoke, Hongye glanced at Xiao Chengyan and whispered, “However, the young mistress was very friendly to me today and asked me many questions about Master.”
Hearing this, Xiao Chengyan’s narrow eyes narrowed slightly. “What did she ask?”
Hongye said. “She asked about your daily routine and your preferences, especially regarding food.”
Shadow immediately retorted, “Could it be that the young mistress wants to tamper with your food?”
After Shadow finished speaking, Xiao Chengyan remained silent.
What could Xie Wanning possibly do?
Poison him?
But Xie Wanning has no grudge against him, why would she want to harm him?