Tianliangyuan

Chapter 10 Calculation

Xu Lin felt that the old lady was deliberately favoring that lowly maid, and she was still uncomfortable.

The old lady frowned slightly: "Foolish! You! Don't you think about how Huaizhi passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen and is only eighteen now? So many people are watching him, and they are watching our family too. We wholeheartedly want Huaizhi to pass the provincial examination, but there are many who don't want him to have a bright future! Do you think those people with ulterior motives might deliberately try to disturb his mind?"

These words made Xu Lin hesitate.

The old lady's words weren't entirely unfounded; after all, Xu Lin herself knew that there were several people who disliked the Xu family.

Sun Qingyang received the old lady's hint and said cautiously, "Madam, this matter is my fault. We cannot gamble with our son's future. If you are not pleased with her, then send her far away and keep her away from you."

Xu Lin glared at him, but then felt a little better because Sun Qingyang hadn't spoken up for that lowly servant girl.

"Very well, I'm not that kind of unreasonable person. This girl has broken the rules. If I don't punish her severely, the others will follow suit, and our manor will be in chaos."

That made perfect sense, and both mother and son nodded in agreement, waiting for her to continue.

Xu Lin was somewhat satisfied to see that Sun Qingyang didn't get angry.

"However, since she is already the master's woman and has been with me for many years, it is acceptable to give her a concubine."

Xu Lin paused, and seeing that Sun Qingyang did not show any joy, she continued reluctantly, "But even if we're going to give her face, we can't do it right now. First, punish her by making her wash clothes in the laundry department for a month, and then she can serve in the study."

The one who upset Xu Lin was naturally Xu Zhaozhao.

This kind of thing doesn't require any sophisticated methods. All it takes is someone whispering a few words in the maid's ear to make her want to curry favor with him, and the matter will naturally be settled.

As for Sun Qingyang, it was almost a no-brainer. If the maid offered herself to him, he would definitely go along with it. After all, he was a lecherous man, but he was afraid of Xu Lin's domineering nature and dared not take a concubine.

I thought that after this incident, Xu Lin and her daughter Sun Qian would calm down a bit, but I never expected that they would still refuse to give up!

Xu Zhaozhao also discovered that there were some extra things in her room by chance. These things were hidden well. If Shaoyao hadn't cleaned the room carefully, she probably wouldn't have been able to find them.

Who would have thought that a sachet had been hidden inside a vase on that display shelf?

In addition, Peony also found a pair of earrings in Miss Peony's dressing case.

“Miss, I last cleaned this dressing case seven days ago, and you haven’t worn any of these ornaments since then, so I didn’t notice it. It was all my negligence, please punish me, Miss.”

"Get up. Someone is targeting me. Even if you stay up all night in this room for twelve hours, you can't escape it."

The only person who could get into her room and slip things in so quietly is Sun Qian.

Now that we've discovered it, we might as well have Peony and Clove search the house thoroughly, inside and out, top to bottom, before we feel at ease.

“Miss, this sachet looks familiar to me. I think I saw it on the young master of the Sun family before.”

“Miss, these earrings aren’t anything particularly valuable, but it looks like there are words engraved on the bottom of the pendant.”

Peony and Clove were both maids who had been disciplined by the matrons in the mansion for many years. When they were serious, they could really discover a lot of details.

In just a short while, Xu Zhaozhao was able to determine that Sun Qian was trying to pin a charge of adultery on her.

But this sachet belongs to Sun's cousin. Could it be that Sun Qian wants her own brother to suffer the same infamy?

There's something strange about this place.

Xu Zhaozhao also wanted to know what Sun Qian was up to, so she gave Dingxiang a few instructions, telling her to do it secretly and not to let anyone else know.

Peony's expression suddenly changed: "Miss, if someone has left extra things here, does that mean they might be stealing some of your personal belongings?"

Xu Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow. This girl only just realized this now; her mind is a bit slow.

"Dingxiang has already checked carefully and found nothing missing, but since you're still worried, let's check again."

"Yes."

Peony felt she couldn't let her guard down, so she began to examine the area with great care, not wanting to miss even a single hair.

Upon investigation, it turned out that something was indeed missing.

However, it wasn't anything valuable, nor could it be considered Xu Zhaozhao's personal possession.

The only thing missing is the handkerchief that Xu Zhaozhao used.

The handkerchief was embroidered with the most common peony pattern. This kind of flower pattern is not to be found everywhere, but it is something that the ladies of various mansions would certainly have.

Therefore, there's no need to worry about losing this handkerchief.

Although it might not affect her reputation, Xu Zhaozhao still wanted to know whether she had really lost the handkerchief or if Sun Qian had taken it.

Xu Zhaozhao thought that the original owner's needlework was quite good. If the missing piece was really embroidered by herself, it might really cause some trouble in the future.

How annoying!

Xu Zhaozhao is now contemplating violent murder.

Although she was confident in her own life-saving charm, she disapproved of such despicable schemes to harm others, especially since the person was a relative with whom she had a blood relationship.

Why don't we just find an opportunity to kill him?

Xu Zhaozhao's urge to kill grew stronger, but reason told her not to rush. She should first see if these people were really that heartless. What a waste of energy it would be to kill the wrong person!

Well, she'll probably be living here for the rest of her life anyway. Whether it's a virtual world or the real world, she can't ignore the rules here.

Most importantly, she also wanted to watch the show, since not everyone has the opportunity to personally experience this kind of power struggle within a family.

For a moment, I felt a surge of excitement, and it took me several deep breaths to suppress this little thrill.

Well, let's try to keep a low profile.

Otherwise, if you get targeted by those in power, that would be a real problem.

Xu Zhaozhao has one great advantage: she never looks down on anyone.

She doesn't think she's superior just because she's a visitor from thousands of years in the future.

Quite the contrary!

In this society filled with imperial power and a strict hierarchical system, if she wasn't careful, she might really die a gruesome death.

Although Sun Qian hid the things she kept in her room, the servants would still find them if they cleaned carefully.

Except for those earrings.

A pair of ordinary-looking earrings, mixed in with a crowd of jewelry, were obviously inconspicuous. Moreover, Xu Zhaozhao was favored and naturally had a lot of jewelry; she probably couldn't even remember how many pairs of earrings she owned.

Xu Zhaozhao was actually quite looking forward to it. She was curious whether Sun Qian wanted to accuse her of theft with the extra pair of earrings, or if there was something else going on.