At that time, the wives of the first, second, and third wives were all vying for the right to manage the household, but in the end, the right to manage the household fell into the hands of the first wife.
The First Madam feared that the people originally in charge of the inner courtyard affairs were from the second or third wife’s family, so she tried every means to replace them all with her own people.
Later, probably fearing that Uncle Jiang would be called back again, they simply ordered someone to break his legs as punishment.
Liuzheng was both angry and moved.
What’s infuriating is the ruthlessness with which the First Madam acts.
What’s touching is that even under such threats, Uncle Jiang still came back for her sake.
Liuzheng’s hands clenched into fists beneath her sleeves.
“Uncle Jiang, don’t worry, Liuzheng will protect you with her life if you come back for her.”
Uncle Jiang was about to kneel down to express his gratitude when Liuzheng stopped him.
“You don’t need to kneel anymore. You don’t need to bow to me in the future.”
“Thank you, Miss!”
Liuzheng turned her gaze and instructed Pan Hong, “Take Uncle Jiang to the accounting office. From now on, all the accounts on my side will be managed by Uncle Jiang.”
“yes!”
The two left.
A dark current surged in Liuzheng’s eyes, revealing an intense hatred.
She took a sip of bitter tea, which temporarily suppressed her hatred.
Before long, the First Madam arrived.
She remained indifferent as always, with hatred hidden in her eyes. Unlike her previous life, at least she had concealed her selfishness and pretended to be a loving mother.
It seems that the series of events had dealt her a heavy blow, and she had become too lazy to pretend anymore.
“Your sister was bitten by a dog because of you, and you haven’t visited her even once?”
Liuzheng looked puzzled: “Is Mother tired? Has she forgotten that Granny Liu has already confessed? Why is she still saying that my sister was bitten by a dog because of me?”
The First Madam was about to vomit blood.
She bit her cheek hard, chewing and suppressing her hatred.
Let’s just not mention the dog.
“Yun’er had promised the top scholar’s wife that she would attend a banquet at Princess Huishu’s residence tomorrow. Now that she is unable to stay at the hotel, you will be in charge of attending the banquet.”
He added, “In the Princess’s residence, there is a miraculous scar-removing medicine called Hundred Herbs Ointment. Go and ask for a portion for your sister.”
Liuzheng understood.
No wonder this scene unfolded in the small Buddhist shrine.
It turns out that the First Madam’s original plan was to have her bitten by a dog, and then force her to go to the Princess’s residence under the pretext of having to go find medicine herself.
The injured person was now Ruan Yunzheng, but the Princess’s residence still required her to go.
Clearly, it was a trap.
But coincidentally, Liuzheng also needed to go to the Princess’s residence.
Princess Huishu has a magical medicine besides the herbal ointment that can cure Uncle Jiang’s leg ailment.
However, apart from the people in Princess Huishu’s residence, only Liuzheng, who had been a ghost, knew about this matter.
“For my sister’s sake, and for my mother’s peace of mind, Liuzheng will go.” She obediently agreed.
The First Madam was taken aback.
She thought Liuzheng didn’t want to go.
She had a lot of ideas in her head but nowhere to use them. She had clearly achieved her goal, but she was inexplicably unhappy.
After thinking it over, she said, “I’ll go with you.”
She needed to see with her own eyes how those nobles mocked and scolded Liuzheng in order to feel better.
“Yes, Mother,” Liuzheng replied.
The First Madam left with a dark expression.
Before long, someone brought over a set of clothes.
“The First Madam said that she was afraid you had just returned to the capital and didn’t have any nice clothes to wear to the banquet, so she sent this silk skirt.”
She wore a lotus-green skirt, with an overlay of jade crepe gauze. The brocade was made from the finest fabric from Ruan Yunzheng’s hometown in Jiangnan. The green color was very elegant, and the stitching and fabric were beautiful and luxurious, making Liuzheng’s skin appear as white as snow.
“Please thank your mother for me.”
After the servants left, the wet nurse and Yu Liu learned that Liuzheng was going to the Princess’s residence on behalf of the First Madam, and they were very worried.
Yu Liu said, “Why don’t you pretend to be sick and not go?”
The wet nurse said, “That’s exactly right.”
Liuzheng shook her head, not mentioning Uncle Jiang’s miraculous medicine for curing her legs to the two of them, only saying, “You can run from the first day of the month, but you can’t run from the fifteenth.”
Both of them looked worried.
Liuzheng encouraged them.
“Have faith in me. We can’t be discouraged before things even begin. We’re not afraid of difficulties; we’re only afraid of being scared to death before the difficulties even arrive.”
The wet nurse spoke first: “What you say is true, Miss! Just as you said, we’ll meet force with force and water with earth.”
Yu Liu said, “If you’re not afraid of the vicious dogs in the small Buddhist hall, what are you afraid of?”
Liuzheng wanted to say that she was actually scared at the time.
That was fear imprinted on the soul.
But she knew that fear was useless.
So she mustered her courage and subdued the vicious dog.
However, people are more terrifying than vicious dogs.
But she won’t run away.
Moreover, she had already planned ahead.
After noon, Liuzheng summoned Pan Hong and whispered, “Go to the palace for me…”
…
Time flew by, and the next day arrived.
Liuzheng wore the clothes given to her by the First Madam, and Baoqin helped her with her hair and makeup.
After moving to the General’s Mansion, the mansion was short-staffed, so Pan Hong bought a batch of new people.
The life-and-death contract is in Liuzheng’s hands, so there’s no fear of their betrayal.
Baoqin was the most honest of them all. Although she didn’t have much wisdom, she had skillful hands and was good at applying makeup and doing hair.
Liuzheng took her into his room for his own use.
Baoqin quickly finished her hair and put on hairpins and ornaments.
Liuzheng has a pair of very beautiful eyes, unlike the First Madam or Master Ruan, but like her grandmother when she was young.
My grandmother was the most beautiful woman in the capital when she was young, and she remained elegant even in her old age.
It is said that if her grandfather hadn’t achieved the second-highest rank in the imperial examination, her grandmother’s family would not have allowed her to get married.
Later, my grandfather grew tired of the power struggles in the imperial court and resigned to become a teacher.
By the time of Liuzheng’s father, the Ruan family had long since fallen into poverty, barely surviving on the Dufeng Academy left by his grandfather.
If it weren’t for the First Madam’s generous dowry and the fact that the Second and Third Wives had also gone into business, the Ruan family would have long been unable to make a living.
It was precisely because of this that the Grand Master was granted the power to manage the household affairs.
Grandmother preferred Zhao, the daughter-in-law of the third wife.
Baoqin used to work in a cosmetics shop and had made up many beautiful and noble people.
She had never seen anyone as beautiful as Liuzheng, and couldn’t help but exclaim, “Young Miss is so beautiful, like…like a fairy described in a picture book.”
Liuzheng smiled and said, “It’s because you have skillful hands.”
The wet nurse said, “Miss is too modest. To me, she looks like a fairy descended from heaven.”
Liuzheng thought to herself: She is a reincarnated evil spirit.
Just then, Granny Qi from Tingzhu Courtyard arrived.
After Granny Liu was sent to the countryside, the First Madam reluctantly helped Granny Qi up.
She wasn’t as clever as Granny Liu, and she was very meticulous in her work, but she was very loyal to the First Madam and was one of the First Madam’s dowry maids.
She treated Liuzheng the same way the First Madam treated Liuzheng.
“Young Miss, it’s getting late. The carriage is ready. Let’s not delay any longer and get ready to leave.”
It was still early, but this person had already come to urge us.
She wasn’t there to urge Liuzheng; she was there to give Liuzheng a hard time.
The wet nurse was about to reprimand her when Liuzheng stopped her.
“Please tell Mother that I ate something bad this morning and will go out later to avoid being laughed at if I go to the Princess’s residence.”
Granny Qi pursed her lips and left.
When the First Madam learned that Liuzheng had a stomachache, she scolded her, saying, “You lazy donkey, you’re always wasting your time.”
They were also worried that Liuzheng would get an upset stomach halfway through the journey and have to turn back, thus delaying their “important business”.
Since there was still plenty of time before the banquet started, they didn’t ask Granny Qi to come and urge them again.
…
In Tinglan Garden, the wet nurse noticed that Liuzheng kept looking towards the door, as if she was waiting for something, and asked her in confusion.
Liuzheng whispered in her ear, and the wet nurse’s eyes lit up instantly.
Just as I was about to ask more questions, Pan Hong came over.
Accompanying him was an elderly nanny.
She was dressed in palace attire and possessed an extraordinary air about her.
“Greetings, Miss Ruan. This servant is from the Empress Dowager’s palace. Her Majesty was very pleased to receive the gift you sent yesterday and specially invited you to Cining Palace for tea.”
Foreign officials were not allowed to enter the inner palace, but Liuzheng was a woman, and the old woman cleverly addressed her as “Miss” instead of “General”.
This was just casual conversation among women, unrelated to politics.
Liuzheng quickly helped the old woman up.
“Please rise, Granny. Since the Empress Dowager has invited you, Liuzheng will go out now.”
She gave the wet nurse a look and then followed the old woman away.
Although the old woman was a palace maid, she served the Empress Dowager. Liuzheng respected her greatly and even gave her a gold ingot, so the old woman said a few more words to her.
“My surname is Chang, you can just call me Granny Chang. The Empress Dowager is the most kind and gentle person, General, there’s no need to be nervous. This trip is just to express her gratitude, nothing more, so there’s no need to be nervous.”
Liuzheng smiled and said, “Yes, thank you, Granny.”
Going to the princess’s residence today will surely bring many troubles; she needs to find someone to rely on.
The Empress Dowager was this person.
Therefore, yesterday, she sent Pan Hong to the palace to deliver a relic to the Empress Dowager.
A single relic is not worth the Empress Dowager having to specially summon Granny Chang to invite her to the palace.
But while at the border, she saved many people. The Pan brothers, Pan Zhan and Pan Hong, needless to say, were among those she saved, including Wei Ranfeng, the heir of the Duke’s mansion.
The Empress Dowager is Wei Ranfeng’s aunt.
Therefore, the Empress Dowager was willing to give her this face.
The two went out.
The First Madam’s spies at the gatehouse witnessed this scene and hurriedly went to inform them.
The First Madam suddenly stood up.
“Someone from the palace invited her? What about the Eldest Princess…?”
Before she could finish speaking, Liuzheng’s wet nurse, Granny Jiang, arrived.
“Madam, the Empress Dowager has invited Miss to the palace for tea. Miss said it won’t take long, and asked Madam to calculate the time and leave first. Miss will depart from the palace then and will not be late for the banquet.”
“I understand.” The First Madam’s expression was not good.
Her expression improved slightly only after the gatekeeper’s informant said that Liuzheng had gone out wearing the clothes she had given her.
On the other side.
Wuyi Lane was just one street away from the palace, and Liuzheng quickly entered the palace.
Entering through Xuanwu Gate, passing Yangxin Hall, and walking a little further, you will arrive at Cining Palace.
Liuzheng didn’t say much along the way, nor did she look around. Only her hand inside her sleeve swayed slightly.
But it just seems to be a small habit she has when she walks.
Granny Chang did not notice her actions.
Then we arrived at Cining Palace.
“General, please wait a moment while I go in and inform them.”
“yes.”
Granny Chang entered the inner hall and informed the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was not in a hurry to summon Liuzheng, but first asked Granny Chang.
“What is the nature of this General Zhaoyong?”
Granny Chang did not hide anything and told the Empress Dowager everything Liuzheng said, did, and did throughout the journey.
“Look, they are not as the Empress described them as… vulgar and ignorant of manners.”
She then took out the small gold ingot in her hand to show that she was not speaking well of Liuzheng because she had accepted the gold.