Marchioness of Wuding felt as if her heart had been struck a heavy blow.
Regarding the congratulatory gift for Dingguogong, she had indeed harbored a slight sense of contempt.
However, she hadn’t dared to openly send those coarse fabrics with such blatant disregard.
She had merely replaced the tribute silks bestowed by Gongli with Suzhou-Hangzhou brocade.
Of course, she hadn’t made the switch herself—she had instructed the steward to do it.
Her attitude at the time must have been sensed by the steward.
Who could have known the steward would then replace the Suzhou-Hangzhou brocade with that kind of coarse cloth!
Marchioness of Wuding felt that nothing she said now would sound right.
Deny it?
Hah, since they dared to bring it up, they certainly weren’t afraid of her. If all the congratulatory gifts from Wudinghoufu were brought over later for item-by-item verification…
Wudinghoufu would still be the one losing face.
Admit it?
Wouldn’t that be telling everyone, “Yes, I did it on purpose, I just wanted to spite Dingguo Gongfu”?
After thinking for a moment, Marchioness of Wuding could only force an expression of embarrassment mixed with a hint of anger onto her face.
“That damned wicked servant! Who knows how many misdeeds he’s done behind my back!
Sister Jin, rest assured, once I return, I will definitely drive that wicked servant out.
Then I’ll personally select some new congratulatory gifts and have Yu Ge’er deliver them,” Marchioness of Wuding hurriedly said.
The other ladies all held their round fans, covering their faces without speaking.
Hah, a wicked servant?
Which lady doesn’t personally review the congratulatory gifts sent to Dingguogong?
How is it that the authority and audacity of the steward in your Wudinghoufu are so great?
He even dares to swap out gifts meant for Dingguo Gongfu?
Perhaps this was secretly instigated by the Empress Dowager from Gongli!
It seems that Tianjia and the Empress Dowager are already on the verge of an open rift.
Hearing Marchioness of Wuding say this, Shangguan Jin merely smiled.
Damn it all!
Originally, I didn’t want to embarrass you so publicly, but Dingguo Gongfu sent congratulatory gifts to Wudinghoufu five times last year alone.
Weren’t they all genuine, high-quality gifts every single time?
Oh, so now that I’m finally hosting a grand banquet, you return the favor with this kind of stuff?
“Look at what you’re saying. According to you, it seems as if our Jin’er is hosting the birthday celebration for the old madam just for the sake of those congratulatory gifts from your household,” Madam Shangguan interjected coolly.
Shangguan Jin…
Mother, she really is counting on everyone’s gifts.
Without valuable gifts, why would she go to the trouble of hosting this banquet?
Still, a certain level of prestige must be maintained. Besides, at least the gifts from other families didn’t have any issues with their quality.
“Exactly, Madame Song, according to what you said, it seems as if I’m only interested in those gifts from your household.
Since they’ve already been delivered, regardless of the value of the gifts, they represent the goodwill of Wudinghoufu!
Don’t worry, although our servants won’t wear that kind of fabric, there are still plenty of people who lack warm clothing.
Although times have improved in recent years, there are still beggars around.
Once I’ve finished with the matters of the old madam’s birthday celebration, I’ll arrange for people to go out and distribute alms.
We’ll give away these coarse fabrics and such. After all, it’s a good deed—it should earn us a good reputation, right?” Shangguan Jin continued, smiling behind her round fan.
Marchioness of Wuding…
The other ladies also glanced at each other, exchanging looks.
See, Duchess of Dingguo will definitely take advantage of the almsgiving to thoroughly publicize the affairs of Wudinghoufu.
Ah, fortunately, the congratulatory gifts they brought were personally inspected, so such a slip-up shouldn’t occur, right…
At this thought, these ladies also grew somewhat uneasy.
It was true they had personally inspected them, but what if the servants at home had secretly switched them out?
Such things weren’t unheard of—servants often paid lip service while acting otherwise.
“I think the Duchess of Dingguo is right. These matters may seem trivial, but if left unchecked, they are bound to lead to disaster.
Madam, please have your household carefully verify the congratulatory gifts from our residence as well.
If there is even the slightest discrepancy, you must send someone to inform me.
Our household cannot tolerate such deceitful and conniving servants,” Madam of the Duke of Qi immediately said.
The other ladies also expressed their stances one after another.
They insisted that Shangguan Jin verify the congratulatory gifts sent from their residences.
Their attitude was clear: they would never tolerate any wrongdoing by servants.
As they voiced their positions, they spoke indignantly about the misdeeds of such servants.
For a moment, the courtyard was filled with the voices of the ladies discussing how to punish these wicked servants.
They spoke sincerely, their attitude being that they would not allow the existence of such servants, and likewise, they themselves were not such servants.
It would be best if the Duchess of Dingguo could convey their stance to the person standing behind her.
Shangguan Jin was quite satisfied with the current atmosphere and immediately joined in the conversation.
“Every household has its share of wicked servants, so we must always keep our eyes open.
Just look at the wicked servants in Madame Song’s household this time.
Fortunately, our two families are to become in-laws in the future, so we can speak openly about anything.
If it were any other household, receiving such a congratulatory gift would surely raise suspicions.
Either they’d think the Wudinghoufu was so poor it couldn’t even put food on the table, or they’d assume the Wudinghoufu looked down on our Guogongfu and deliberately meant to offend us.
Tell me, if it were the first scenario, it might still be manageable—perhaps others could even offer some assistance.
But if they only thought of the second…
Wouldn’t that deliberately sow discord between the two families and stir up trouble among the households?” Shangguan Jin concluded.
All the ladies except the Marchioness of Wuding expressed their agreement.
Of course, they also took these words to heart.
The Duchess of Dingguo had deliberately said so much—there must be a deeper meaning behind it.
It didn’t matter if they couldn’t figure it out themselves; they could go home and tell their husbands, who were out and about every day and would surely understand.
After speaking so much, Shangguan Jin grew thirsty.
After taking a few sips of the tea Dongmai had poured, she was about to delve deeper into her summary when she noticed the ever-silent Madam of Chang Sheng Hou suddenly speak up.
“Madam, the people from our household who are sending things to the Marquis will depart in ten days. Have the people from your household prepared?
If they’re ready, they can set off together with our people!”
Shangguan Jin was taken aback.
Set off? For what?
However, Shangguan Jin soon realized what Madam of Chang Sheng Hou was referring to.
Changsheng Hou had once been a subordinate of Dingguogong. After Dingguogong went missing, he took over the military affairs at the border.
Over the past three years, both Changsheng Houfu and Dingguo Gongfu had been searching everywhere for traces of Dingguogong.
Of course, the expenses had been considerable.
After a brief moment of thought, Shangguan Jin shook her head.
“Thank you for your household’s kindness, but our household will not send anyone to search this time,” Shangguan Jin replied with a faint smile.
These words left everyone utterly astonished.
Several ladies were so shocked that their round fans slipped from their hands and fell to the ground.
Even Madam Shangguan, standing beside Shangguan Jin, looked at her with an expression of surprise.
No longer searching?
How could they suddenly stop searching?
Could it be that there was already news?
This possibility seemed very likely—otherwise, why would Dingguo Gongfu act so out of character, suddenly hosting a grand banquet and making so many ambiguous statements?
At this thought, the gazes everyone directed toward Shangguan Jin grew somewhat peculiar.
If there truly was news about Dingguogong, this would be the most significant matter of all.