Stab You to Death, You Bitch
Hongtao quickly excused herself. If she stayed away too long, Concubine Qin would grow suspicious.
"Madam, the Marquis hasn't visited Concubine Qin's quarters for quite some time," Granny Zhou whispered, her voice trembling slightly with apprehension.
This Concubine Qin was truly looking for trouble—daring to cuckold the Marquis, with a bastard already growing in her belly.
How dare she!
The lover? Who is the lover?
Granny Zhou also had a burning desire for gossip and hurriedly asked, "Madam, should we investigate this secretly?"
"No need to interfere. Wait for the Marquis to return and let him decide."
After having a maid refill her tea, Zhang Jingyi took a sip to calm her anger, then picked up the account books beside her to review.
But after reading for only a short while, she propped her head on her hand and irritably tossed the account books aside.
Reading account books was too painful.
Her head ached terribly.
After Yao Yinyin was fished out of the pond, even though it was midsummer and the pond water wasn't that cold, she still fell ill.
Mainly from anger!
And also truly wounded by Xie Jin's actions, her heart broken beyond measure.
"Wahhh… Nanny, write a letter to my father and sister for me. If I can't deal with that bitch now, I'll deal with her family.
Just a merchant's daughter, yet she dares to humiliate me like this because she's in favor? I'll make her family ruined and destitute!!"
"Concubine, don't be angry, take care of your health. This old servant will send a letter to the manor shortly. Don't worry, that bitch won't be able to strut around for much longer."
Hearing this, Yao Yinyin felt no joy at all—what she wanted was for Ye Qingzhi to die right now!!
Since she couldn't kill her directly, Yao Yinyin ordered her personal maid to make a small doll, write Ye Qingzhi's birth date on it, and then frantically stabbed it with needles.
Stab you to death, you bitch.
"Concubine Yao was thrown into the pond by the Marquis!"
"Ah?! How did she offend the Marquis? Did the shameless woman try to seduce him right in the garden?"
"It's because of Ye Yiniang! Ye Yiniang's earlier fall into the water was Concubine Yao's doing. The Marquis was avenging Ye Yiniang!"
"Ye Yiniang actually has such great face? No wonder the Lord favored her so many times in one night—he truly cares for her!"
…………
News of Yao Yinyin being thrown into the pond spread like wildfire, reaching every corner before noon.
The women in the rear courtyard heard the news and also felt quite pleased, clapping their hands in approval!
But their dislike for Ye Qingzhi remained exactly as before.
After all, the Marquis favored her!
Concubine Qin didn't feel much joy upon hearing that Yao Yinyin had been thrown into the pond, because the Marquis had gone on a long journey and she didn't know when he would return—she couldn't see him!
If the Marquis were to be gone for three or four months… Concubine Qin's face turned deathly pale with fear.
After thinking it over for a long time, she finally had Chunxing leave the manor to secretly buy abortion medicine for her.
But once the medicine was bought, she couldn't bring herself to take it, still clinging to a sliver of hope. She decided to wait another half-month—perhaps by then the Marquis would have returned, and she might even be able to keep the child.
Hongtao learned that Concubine Qin had bought abortion medicine and hurried to report it to the Madam.
"Watch and wait. Whether she takes the medicine or not, don't interfere for now. Let her struggle on her own," Zhang Jingyi said coldly.
In her eyes, Concubine Qin was already a dead woman. There was no need to waste energy on the dead.
Meanwhile, Yao Yinyin also welcomed Nanny Wang, who had returned from delivering the letter to her maiden home. Filled with anticipation, she asked,
"Nanny, how did it go? What did my father say? Will Ye Manor soon be ruined and bankrupt?"
Nanny Wang wore a troubled expression, hesitating as she spoke,
"Yiniang, today a censor submitted a memorial against the master, impeaching him for indulging his married daughter and causing chaos in the inner quarters, leading to unrest in the Marquis's Estate. They demanded that the master reflect deeply on this.
So, the master is very angry and ordered this old servant to advise the young lady to behave herself for a while and avoid stirring up trouble…"
In truth, the master was furious, cursing the young lady as nothing but a scourge!
Back then, she shamelessly insisted on becoming Xie Jin’s concubine and even relied on her maternal family’s influence to bully the other concubines, utterly disgracing their reputation!
The master not only told her not to expect her maternal family to support her anymore
but even went so far as to declare harshly that he no longer wished to acknowledge her as his daughter.
Upon hearing this, Yao Yinyin’s face turned completely pale. She understood all too well!
It must have been Houye’s doing.
Houye had the censor impeach her father precisely to prevent her from relying on her maternal family’s influence to bully Ye Yiniang again!
Wuwu… How could Houye be so heartless to her?!
She loved him so much.
No, she couldn’t just let this go. If her father wouldn’t back her, she still had other useful people!
"Nanny, go find Qian Er and have him hire some beggars to spread rumors that Ye Qingzhi is a fox enchantress reborn, specializing in seducing men and even harming them!
I refuse to believe that the madam can tolerate a vixen who might harm Houye!"
Yao Yinyin said bitterly.
Nanny Wang sighed, knowing she couldn’t dissuade her, and could only carry out her orders.
Yanliu Courtyard.
None of the disturbances outside could disturb Ye Qingzhi.
After taking her medicine and resting well for two days, her fever had subsided, and the marks on her body had faded.
"Alright, there’s no need to stay by my side all the time. Go out for a stroll and gather some news from the estate or find out what’s happening outside, then come back and tell me,"
Ye Qingzhi said to Ru Yi.
In the workplace, staying well-informed was crucial. One had to keep their ears and eyes open, never turning a blind eye, or else you might end up taking the blame without even knowing who threw it at you.
Although Ru Yi wasn’t particularly steady or disciplined, she was loyal enough, somewhat clever, and had a sweet tongue.
Sending her out to gather surface-level information was more than sufficient.
"Yiniang, having silver makes gathering information much easier. May I take more silver with me?" Ru Yi asked knowingly.
"How much dowry silver do I have?" Ye Qingzhi inquired.
"There are 100,000 taels in banknotes, along with 1,000 taels in loose silver for your daily use," Ru Yi replied.
Hearing she had so much silver, Ye Qingzhi instantly felt at ease, as if taking a sip of chilled sour plum juice on a hot summer day.
Refreshing to the core!
In her previous life, as a slave to mortgages and car loans, not only did she have no savings, but she also carried massive debts. Because of this, she endured endless grievances in the workplace, never daring to resign.
But now, with so much retirement money, she was still stuck here, miserably working as a concubine.
She still couldn’t resign, or it would mean death—seemingly even worse than her previous life.
Ah, life, that little imp, always gives you a bit of sugar while forcing a mouthful of bitter dregs down your throat.
"Use the silver as you please. Don’t be stingy with it," Ye Qingzhi said.
"By the way, you can return to Ye Manor later and tell them I’ve already gained favor and need more silver to manage affairs within the estate."
The original host came from Ye Manor, the wealthiest family in Jiangnan, where silver was never in short supply.
The scumbag father of the original host wanted to become an imperial merchant to elevate the family's status. Disregarding the original host's wishes, he used her mother and brothers' safety to force her into the Marquis's Estate as a concubine.
Therefore, when dealing with such a scumbag father, never, ever be polite—spend every last tael of his silver without restraint!
"Miss, we still have quite a bit of silver left. If we ask for more, even if the master might agree, the mistress certainly won't," Ru Yi said hesitantly.