Suddenly a kind of thick murderous emotion emerged in the eyes of Cao Shuxin, who had been a Buddha worshipper for 20 years. She talked about the old days, “At that time, I was pregnant after I married into the Prince Mansion for three months. But one day, I bled by accident, and my baby went away for no reason. I thought that was just an incident until I found that my close maidservant came from Sun Xunxiang. She played some tricks in my clothes and food, but unfortunately, I had no evidence, so I was not able to disclose that malicious woman in front of the master. I decided to use the same way to revenge her until Sun Xunxiang was pregnant too.”
And then Cao Shuxin smiled bitterly, “Unluckily, she was too shrewd, just like you. She had found my plot earlier but did not reveal to me. Finally, I became a criminal. She had never been pregnant, or, in other words, she was a woman with a hypoplastic vagina who could not get pregnant at all.”
“A woman with a hypoplastic vagina?” Qin Yunuan felt stunned slightly. So, the gossiping that Leng Changxi was an illegitimate child was true?
Cao Shuxin seemed to catch the thought of Qin Yunuan, “It was impossible that Leng Changxi was her son. He was just an abandoned child who was taken back from the Imperial Palace by the prince. So, Third Young Madam, now, do you still believe that you have a stable relationship with your mother-in-law Princess Ning? Does she really love you? Her son was not her kin child. Let alone you, a daughter-in-law from another family.”
Qin Yunuan looked at Cao Shuxin for a long time and then said leisurely, “But you did hurt me by agrimony.” Cao Shuxin stunned and nodded unconsciously.
Cao Shuxin stunned and seemed to nod unconsciously.
“That’s it,” Qin Yunuan sneered, “I have nothing to do with the dispute between you and my mother-in-law. And you have nothing to do with my mother-in-law and me. The winner takes it all in the family conflict. You hurt me, and you deserve the consequence.”
“You could even bribe my most trusted maidservant Luer,” Cao Shuxin felt very upset but could not change anything, “You are so mighty.”
“Everybody can be bribed if he has much greed and desire.” And then Qin Yunuan turned to leave. According to her prediction, at this moment, Luer was likely to take her younger sister, whose leg was broken to leave the Royal City with many banknotes.
One month later, Qin Yunuan heard the news that the depressed Cao Shuxin died after she went back to Cao Family in Yong Zhou. She, as thin as a lath, was not as elegant and dignified as the lady who got married from Cao Family.
Although Leng Changxuan stayed at the Prince Mansion, and Prince Ning forbade people in the mansion to express condolence to Cao Shuxin, Leng Changxuan still postponed the date of marrying step wife for the reason of being sick. He got fleshless in the last several days.
At the end of November, the second miss of Qin Family, Qin Yuwan, formally married into Prince Ning’s Mansion. Although she just married the young master who was the son of a dead concubine and she was the step wife, Concubine Liu and Qin Yuwan had tried their best to achieve the result.
One day, it was a nice sunny day. Qin Yuwan was browsing the account books in the loft near the pond. The business channel of North Di to Qi had been established, and abundant silks and clothes were sent to North Di from Luguan. Her shops in the regions south of the River got more prosperous. Now though Qin Yunuan was not as rich as the wealthiest person in Qi, half of the business of silks in Qi was run by her.
After a while, Ting Xue held a wine pot with a blue-flower pattern and went upstairs, “Third Young Madam, here is the pear-flower wine.”
Qin Yunuan nodded and raised her hand to pour the wine. And then she tasted its fresh and mellow fragrance. It was the top-class pear-flower wine. Prince Ning fancied tasting wine, and two days later, it was the wine and poetry party held each year by him. Qin Yunuan as his daughter-in-law, needed to try to flatter him.
Suddenly some noises came from the lower pond. Qin Yunuan raised her eyes and found that two people were in bad dispute in the opposite winding corridor. They were the newly-married Leng Changxuan and Qin Yuwan.
Though it was distant, their dispute was so loud. Qin Yunuan could hear something roughly.
“I just want to buy a hair clasp. Why do you so mean? I am your wife. How dare you make me so embarrassed in public?” Qin Yuwan was still that bad-tempered lady.
“I don’t want to argue with you any longer,” Leng Changxuan said with a cold face. Since the death of Cao Shuxin in Yong Zhou, he always had a cold face, “I feel not happy recently, and I don’t want to see those colorful jade and pearl accessories. I’ll buy what you want next.” And then he waved his sleeves and left straightly.
In the loft, Maner poured a cup of gardenia tea and passed it to Qin Yunuan, “I heard that the second miss always put on airs after she married into the mansion. On the day after the wedding, she replaced all the maidservants in her courtyard. Those pretty girls were demoted to the wood-shed, and those left were all ugly. She must learn this method from Concubine Liu.”
Qin Yunuan put down the account book and massaged her sore shoulder, “Let it go. Now the Prince’s Concubine Cao is dead, so she has no pressure from her mother-in-law. She just wanted a piece of accessory, but why the Second Young Master got so angry?”
“That’s because,” Maner said in a lower voice, “Consort Cao did not take those clothes and jewelry when she left the Royal City. Those servants stole the accessories and sold them secretly. I heard that the jade hair clasp the Second Young Madam chose in the morning was Concubine Cao’s favorite one when she was alive. It’s not weird that the Second Young Master became so outrageous.”
“Really?” Qin Yunuan raised her eyes. She saw that Qin Yuwan in the distance was looking at her with hostile eyes. Qin Yuwan envied Qin Yunuan’s good destiny and further now her luxurious life. Two days later, it was the wine and poetry party. Qin Yuwan cared much about her beauty, so she would dress up carefully this time.
These days, Leng Changxi was not busy, and he stayed with Qin Yunuan on their chamber bed with the curtain drawn down every day. In daytime, Qin Yunuan went out and was busy in the issue of wine and poetry party together with Princess Ning, including dispatching invitation card, selecting snacks and arranging the feast. In the evening, she stayed in the chamber together with Leng Changxi. They had intercourse and hoped they had a baby soon.
On the day of the poetry party, it was a bright sunny day with the blue sky as clear as the mountain water in Mount Tianshan.
Qin Yunuan in a rose Pomegranate Skirt showed up with a simple but elegant horse-riding bun and a red-begonia-shaped silk flower sideling put on the back of the bun. She looked so charming and enchanting. Nobody would think that the lady who was the Third Young Madam from Prince Ning’s Mansion had miscarried recently.
“You come, Yunuan. Sit, please. Your Second Sister-in-law and Fourth Sister will come later.” Princess Ning smiled and let Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi sit beside her. All people present were the relatives of Leng Family. The Second Master from the West House came with his wife and the only son Leng Qiguang.
After a while, Leng Suxin came too. Now there was only Qin Yuwan who was still absent. It was not appropriate for her to be so late when the first family feast. The wife of Second Master from the West House, Lee, was a gossiping woman, and she sneered, “Oh, the East House is the head mansion, so they should put on airs. Qiguang, see that? You must be promising, or your father and mother will be inferior to others and always wait for them. I hope there is one day when others always wait for us.”
The Second Master from the West House was the kin younger brother of Prince Ning. He was lazy and negative without any achievement, and his wife Lee was always arrogant. Now it seemed that the Second Master could not control his wife. She said such kind of words in front of Prince Ning and Princess Ning, which was disgracing him.
“Is there no enough food for you? Stop your aggressive words.” The Second Master Leng said to her in a low voice.
At this moment, the madam Tang added gloomily, “You are wrong, the Second Madam. Our East House does not put on airs. The Second Young Madam has just married into our mansion, and her behavior was taught by her own family. We can’t condemn the lecture her own family has taught her.” And then Tang looked at Qin Yunuan. It is evident that Tang wanted to bring shame on Qin Yunuan since Qin Yuwan and her were both from Qin Family.
“Your words are not so appropriate, my sister.” Princess Ning said gravely, “Yunuan and Yuwan are both from Qin Family. Yunuan does things so stably and reliably. Changxuan and Yuwan is just married. I think Yuwan is late because of their exhausting love night,” And then, Princess Ning said to Leng Changxuan in a soft voice, “You should consider your wife more.”
Leng Changxuan nodded with his stiff face.
At this moment, the servant reported that the Second Young Madam came.
With the sounds of accessories on the head, a lady in a pink gauze came. She wore a butterfly-shaped hair accessory made of pearls and jades, and ruby-made earrings, which were very shining. Qin Yuwan made herself so luxurious and gorgeous, and Qin Yunuan smiled. As expected, Qin Yunuan kept her style when she was in Qin Family. She always wanted to wear all pretty accessories.
But now she looked like a person…
“How dare you dress up like this?” Leng Changxuan rushed at Qin Yuwan regardless of other people present, and then squeezed the wrist of Qin Yuwan. He looked down at the tender hand and found two green jade-made bracelets, “And the bracelet, and the hair accessories on your head. Where did you get these?”
Qin Yuwan looked so aggrieved, “You bought these for me. You were absent yesterday, and the bosses of the silk shops and jewelry shops sent many nice things here. They said somebody had paid for these. I thought it was you….”
“It’s funny.” Leng Changxuan sneered and shook his head, “Why did I send such things to you? Who are you? My mother? You have no right to wear that jewelry she had once worn before. Clear? You have no right!”
Though Leng Changxuan said in a very low voice, Qin Yunuan sitting near could hear his words clearly. Leng Changxuan was quiet in daily time, but he would not let others touch the purest part in his heart, which was untouchable.
Qin Yunuan sat in the middle dully. Her dress soon made Prince Ning and Princess Ning know something. Prince Ning frowned unconsciously.
“Father, Yuwan felt not so well. I take her back to have a rest.” Leng Changxuan lowered his head and pleaded.
But suddenly, Qin Yuwan turned back to look at Qin Yunuan angrily, and shouted, “Qin Yunuan, it’s you! You did this! You let me wear the jewelry which belongs to a dead woman!”
