In the west wing courtyard, Yu Xiang had just returned after she completed the scriptures reading with Old Madam. She teased the parrot, Ah Lu, under the porch for a while and replanted the sprouted peony from the flower bed into a pot then had her face washed before half leaning on the soft couch for a rest.
Looking at the hourglass, Liu Lu realized it was the hour when her master usually took her afternoon nap, thus she walked gingerly over to remove the silk flower pearl hairpin and other ornaments on her head.
âLeave it on. It will not be a snag as Iâll half lean and sleep for two quarters of an hour.â Yu Xiang raised her hand to stop her.
âItâs more convenient to have it removed, so you can lie down and sleep comfortably. Sitting like this will cause your back pain when you get up later.â
âSomeone will come to find fault in a moment, how can I fight them when Iâm dazed? It would be better to sit for a little while to refresh my mind.â As if thinking of something interesting, Yu Xianbg covered her mouth and laughed lightly.
Before Liu Lu could say anything, Tao Hong exclaimed in surprise first, âFind fault? Who dares to find your fault in this Marquis manor? Tired of living?â
Yu Xiang pointed in the direction of the principal courtyard with a face full of disdain.
Liu Lu was even more confused and asked, âWhy? Hasnât the household authority been handed over already? Thereâs nothing left here!â
Decided not to sleep, Yu Xiang ordered Tao Hong to bring over a plate of melon seeds and spoke while cracking it, âBeing such a selfish person, she is definitely more concerned about her dowry ledgers than the household duties. Coincidentally, there are problems with her dowry ledgers and the deficit is extremely huge. As she bitterly hated me, she will make a scene with this matter in order to slap me in the face before browsing through all the ledgers.â
âA deficit? Did you misappropriate her dowry, Young Miss?â Liu Lu turned pale with fright and asked incoherently, âHowâŚ.how much did you embezzle? Those riches that the Marquis usually gives you are not enough for you to spend? Why did you want to take hers out? If this really gets too big, youâll certainly have no place to put your face.â
Instead of being frightened, Yu Xiang was beside herself with delight as she threw all the peeled melon seeds shells on Liu Luâs head and jested, âThe emperor is not worried but his eunuchs are[1]. Look at Tao Hong, how composed she is! I am that greedy in your eyes? The good stuff that my elder brother usually gives is more valuable than her dowry!â
âThatâs because she is stupid and doesnât know the gravity of the situation!â Liu Lu patted the melon seeds shells off her head with a bitter face. No one is able to seize Young Miss when she is intrepid and when she goes beyond whatâs proper, she truly is. Itâs unclear whether others would do something like embezzling their motherâs dowry, she, however, would truly be able to do that. It was not out of greediness, but merely for the sake of vexing Lin Shi. How could she not know that those things would also be left for her, thus there was needless any embezzlement?
Oh, could it possibly be that Lin Shiâs beloved was back now and there wouldnât be her masterâs share, thus she made such a reckless move knowing this day would come?
Liu Lu fell into all kinds of imaginations.
Tao Hong glared and scolded her, âYou are the stupid one! Canât you see that Young Miss is calm and collected? Itâs definitely not Young Missâs mess here.â
Yu Xiang patted Tao Hongâs arm and laughed in praise, âMy little Tao Hong is finally smart for once. Iâm not afraid of her making a scene, contrarily, Iâm more afraid that sheâs not making enough of a scene since Iâm not the one who ends up losing face anyway.â
Before Young Miss took over, it was Old Madam who was in charge of the household management. Wouldnât it be Old Madamâs mess if it was not Young Missâs? Hiss, it couldnât be?!
Liu Lu suddenly felt jittery and whispered very softly, âYoung Miss, this matter will be more complicated if the problem lies on Old Madam. It will be a terrifying scandal. You have to let Old Madam know hastily to suppress this matter. You truly are also, why didnât you balance the accounts before sending it over.â
Yu Xiang laughed even more and waved her hands repeatedly, âHow do you know I didnât balance the accounts? It has already been done, but she was blindfolded by lard[2] thus failed to recognize. Since grandmother dares to do this shortfall, she naturally is not afraid of others knowing. If Lin Shi reckons a little about our mother and daughterâs relationship, she will come and ask me privately or even look through all the ledgers patiently, then this matter will not have come out. Instead she will go to grandmother and complain if she has the intention to find fault and humiliate me. Grandmother might be probing her or wished to deal with her ruthlessly. Anyway, no matter what grandmother wants to do, Lin Shi will not be pleased. Just wait and see who will be losing face then, since it will not be my pretty face anyway.â
She touched her face and hummed lightly.
As soon as Liu Lu saw her mischievous face, she knew Lin Shi was going to be beaten again this time that she couldnât help but sigh in her heart. They were obviously biological mother and daughter, but how did it get to the point of this profound hatred of several lifetimes? Just because the late marquis was jinxed to death when the young miss was born? That was somewhat an absurd reason! There wasnât anyone who was jinxed to death by the young miss in these past fourteen years! And where did that second young miss popped out from who looked just like Lin Shi with a face full of bad omen.
There probably would not be any tranquility in the future with these mother and daughter together in the manor!