mtl008 Chapter 38 Red Mouth and White Teeth
Chapter 38 Red Mouth and White Teeth
Yong'an Hall.
"May the old lady be well."
Wu Weiwei respectfully greeted the matriarch, who was seated at the head of the table.
"sit down!"
The old lady glanced at Wu Weiwei and noticed that she looked demure and well-behaved, and her complexion was much better than before.
Perhaps it's because she felt better after becoming a concubine!
Fortunately, although she is now Ting'er's aunt, she has no airs of arrogance or extravagance.
He would come to pay his respects every day as always, and when he had free time, he would prepare delicious medicinal meals for her if he noticed that she had a poor appetite.
The old lady was quite satisfied with this.
Ting'er is a lucky man, for he has brought home such a filial and lovely woman.
At the old lady's signal, Zhang Mama brought her a stool, and Wu Weiwei nodded to her and sat down.
When Wu Weiwei arrived, many people from the mansion were also invited over.
Except for the more seriously ill Lady Hou.
Others who were able to get up included Aunt Ping, whose face was swollen; Fourth Aunt, who was still scratching herself from time to time; and Third Aunt Rong, who had not contracted the virus.
Even the Fifth Sister, who had previously asked for leave and was absent, was invited over by the Old Madam.
Steward Cui knelt in the main hall. He knew he would not escape punishment today when the servants went to fetch him.
He couldn't escape it, but he couldn't bear all the responsibility.
He looked at Steward Li, but saw that the latter did not look back at him.
The old lady's voice was authoritative: "Steward Cui, yesterday when you were varnishing the Fifth Miss's guqin 'Hongqi'..."
Tell me, how many people walked through the Marquis's garden? And to whom did you tell about your lacquer allergy?
Manager Cui looked at the masters sitting in the main hall with unease.
Just as he was about to tell the old lady the truth, he saw Steward Li make a subtle gesture to him.
This……
What does Butler Li want?
Wu Weiwei, who had been secretly observing the two, noticed their interaction.
Hmph, it seems this Steward Li is up to no good.
really.
Steward Cui looked at Aunt Wu sitting next to the Fifth Miss and said cautiously, "Old Madam, yesterday when I was supervising the construction in the garden, I encountered several masters of the mansion trying to pass through."
Among them were Lady Hou, Fourth Concubine, Fourth Miss, and Concubine Wu from the Heir Apparent's household.
"Oh, is it so?"
The old lady glanced at the group of people.
"Did you tell them that raw lacquer can cause allergies?"
Steward Cui glanced nervously at everyone and stammered, "I... I only told Aunt Wu about this; I didn't tell the other masters."
The old lady's sharp eyes turned to look at Wu Weiwei.
Despite the old lady's cold demeanor, Wu Weiwei remained calm and composed.
Wanqiu, on the other hand, felt nervous, fearing that her daughter's actions would be exposed.
"Manager Cui, is there anyone to testify for what you're saying now?"
Manager Cui raised his hand and swore, "Every word and deed I have done is true, and there is absolutely no falsehood."
"If that's the case, Steward Li, immediately send someone to investigate. If he dares to deceive me, watch out for his life."
"Yes, old lady."
Butler Li stood up and glanced in the direction of Steward Cui.
Manager Cui breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Steward Li leave.
Although he did not reveal the whole truth, he knew that Butler Li would know what to do.
After Butler Li left, the old lady looked at Wu Weiwei.
"Ms. Wu, do you have anything to say about this matter?"
Wu Weiwei stood up and bowed to the old lady.
"Grandma, Steward Cui is right."
Yesterday, when I returned to Biyunting from Qingshanyuan, I did pass through the garden, and he also told me about the lacquer allergy.
Although I knew that raw lacquer could cause allergies, I never intended to use it to harm anyone.
Wu Weiwei said calmly.
"Grandmother, don't fall for her trick. Wu Weiwei has the best motive to do this."
She appears to obey you and Mother, but she must harbor resentment towards the other noble ladies because of your choice of a wife for the Crown Prince.
She secretly used the incident of her allergy to lacquer to leave everyone with a psychological shadow on the Marquis's mansion, so that they would never dare to have any thoughts about becoming the Marquis's heir's wife again.
Besides, because of what I did before, she's now retaliating by deliberately pinning the blame on me, trying to kill two birds with one stone..."
Reminded by her mother Rong's gaze, Lu Wanting remembered that she had been accusing Wu Weiwei of framing someone.
There's no need to implicate anyone; she's definitely the one who did it.
With Lu Wanqing's simple-mindedness, how could she possibly know how to use a scheme to frame her?
"Fourth Miss, you accuse me of plotting against you, but what evidence do you have to prove it?"
Ministry of Revenue.
Lu Hanting sat directly above with a cold expression.
He merely glanced coldly at his subordinates, yet they felt an immense sense of oppression.
The officials who had been summoned looked at each other, none of them knowing why Governor Lu had come today.
One of them was nominated by the other three. "Envoy Lu, may I ask why you've come here today? Is it because our Ministry of Revenue hasn't done its job well?"
Zhou Zhixue, from the Ministry of Revenue's Documents Department, asked nervously.
Some time ago, His Majesty issued a disaster relief order, instructing Minister Lu to take charge of the disaster relief efforts.
However, their superiors all took personal leave today.
Now that Envoy Lu has arrived, he knows that Minister Lu's men are not clean, but everyone knows this.
Disaster relief funds will definitely be allocated, but after layers of embezzlement, who can truly have clean hands?
Today, Envoy Lu came to the Ministry of Revenue, presumably to discuss disaster relief.
If he investigates, he can't bear the responsibility...
Seeing Zhou Zhixue's trembling appearance, Lu Hanting knew what he was worried about.
However, he came here today not for disaster relief, but rather...
"Zhou Zhixue, have someone check all the newly registered residents in each provincial government within the last two months and submit the list to me within three days."
"what?"
Zhou Zhixue was surprised.
"What, you don't understand?"
"No, no, I understand."
But, Envoy Lu, with only three days, this workload seems..."
Envoy Lu is asking him to thoroughly investigate all the newly registered residents of the Great Wei Dynasty, which is quite a task!
"Can't do it? If you can't do it, you can forget about your position."
"No, no, no, it can be done, it can be done."
Who in the Great Wei Dynasty doesn't know that His Majesty has few offspring?
Furthermore, due to his poor health, he was fond of alchemy and pursuing the path to immortality. Now that he is old and frail, he can only be lucid for a few days a month to attend court and handle state affairs.
His crown prince, spoiled by the empress in his early years, indulged in sensual pleasures every day, searching everywhere for beauties to bring into his residence for enjoyment.
Besides Prince Min, the other two older princes in the capital were implicated in the "City Gate Execution Case" and had been exiled to their fiefdoms by His Majesty for many years.
There is also a six-year-old prince, born to Consort Lian, a tribute from a foreign country to the imperial harem.
I've heard that he's not very bright, and there are rumors in the palace that the Seventh Prince is not His Majesty's son.
However, because Consort Lian was deeply favored by the emperor, no one dared to bring this matter to light.
The eldest princess, who has requested to be enfeoffed as a king on the frontier, is eyeing the throne covetously. Commander Lu, who holds the power of 300,000 troops, stands in opposition to her from afar. Compared to the ambitious eldest princess, Commander Lu, who has handed over his military power and does not reveal his ambition, is naturally more trusted by the emperor.
But offending him is no different from offending the emperor.