A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 147

Chapter 147

A small courtyard in the east of the city. Qin Lianyue had just seen Second Young Master Jiang off.

He came to deliver gifts again.

Since she came to the capital, such things had happened many times.

“It is indeed the Duke of Jingguo’s Residence!” Looking at the gifts that filled most of the room, Du Liu and Qin Lianyue sighed.

“Daughter, your good days are coming!”

Qin Lianyue smiled and returned to her room. The maid, A Qi, came over and said: “Miss, I still haven’t seen the person today.”

“Haven’t seen him yet? Doesn’t he even go home?”

“I was guarding the side door, and Gege was at the main gate, keeping watch all day.” A Qi thought to herself, “It’s freezing to death!” “We could see all the men of the Qi family, those going to court and those handling business. But we just didn’t see Fifth Young Master.”

“Useless!” Qin Lianyue said angrily.

“…Maybe he’s out on business.”

“What about my aunt?”

“Madam Qi’s carriage has been out twice.”

“Forget it, don’t go for now. Mother asked about you when she saw you weren’t there!” She couldn’t let her mother know about this.

The Qin family had a small residence in the capital, which was used by their clansmen. It wouldn’t look good to marry into the Duke of Jingguo’s Residence from there.

Therefore, currently, Mother and Daughter Qin were living in an empty residence that belonged to an old student of their great-grandfather.

The owner of the house was very kind to them and had made comfortable arrangements.

Second Young Master Jiang was attentive. He came to visit her specifically, dropped by on his way, and sometimes even made two trips a day.

This made Qin Lianyue feel very proud.

If she hadn’t seen Wen Yu on the boat, she would be living such days now.

But, she had seen her…

✿✿✿

A servant was also reporting to Yuan Xi Jun.

“The small courtyard Eldest Miss went to is rented out, and the tenants moved in about a year ago. They are not familiar with the surrounding neighbors and never interact with them. Someone saw a man from the household going in and out of the nearby Lord Mo’s Residence every day. The two sons are studying. Nothing else was found out, and we didn’t dare to ask too much. Later, Eldest Miss came out and went to a very high-class teahouse. We couldn’t get in…”

“Go down! Keep following!” She wanted to see what the h*ll this dead girl was up to!

When Wen Yu returned, Old Madam Wen called her over.

“Grandmother!”

“You girl, what have you been doing all day?”

“After the New Year, I will be starting a big business! I have to look around!” Wen Yu said, half-truthfully.

“What big business! Madam Qi sent someone with a message that Fifth Young Master will be sending New Year’s gifts in a few days!”

“It’s just a formality.” Wen Yu had just seen him, so she wasn’t surprised.

Old Madam Wen looked at Wen Yu’s calm demeanor and really couldn’t understand this girl. If it were any of her other granddaughters, they would have been nervous upon hearing this news!

“Tomorrow, I’m going out again! Is there anything you want to eat, Grandmother? I’ll buy it for you!”

“I don’t need anything! Don’t go out every day!” Old Madam Wen was a little anxious. “Guests have been arriving at home these past few days. I’m afraid many people have also heard about your engagement. If you’re not here when they want to see you, they won’t know that you’re a busy person. They might think our family is being deliberately arrogant!” Old Madam Wen complained.

“Yes!” Wen Yu agreed with a smile, but didn’t take it to heart at all!

……

The next day, after dressing up, she set off again.

Nurse Cui was waiting at the entrance of the shop.

As soon as Wen Yu got out of the carriage, Nurse Cui came forward to greet her with a smile on her face: “Miss Wen!”

“Nurse Cui. Thank you for waiting.”

“You’re too polite, Miss Wen. Madam has just arrived as well and is waiting inside!”

“Did Yuanyuan come?”

“Miss Yuanyuan didn’t come. The little rabbit is sick…”

“Ah?! What’s wrong?”

“She fed it too much, and the rabbit didn’t know when to stop, so it got indigestion. They moved it out for two days, and after it gets hungry, it will be fine.”

“Yuanyuan must be very worried.”

“Of course! The little turtles aren’t eating either, she’s so worried.” The two of them went upstairs while talking.

The door of a drawing room was open, and Madam Qi was sitting there drinking tea.

“Madam!” Wen Yu stepped forward and saluted.

Madam Qi saw Wen Yu, dressed in light purple, with a bright smile, she was truly pleasing to the eye.

“Good child, come here and let me have a look!” Madam Qi extended her hand.

✿✿✿

Wen Yu came closer, her small face flushed pink.

“Are you used to living in the capital?”

“I’m very used to it.”

“Sit down quickly, I was worried you might be cold!”

“It’s warm in the room. It’s almost New Year’s, it’s not that cold anymore.”

“That’s right! After the beginning of Spring, it will warm up quickly.”

“Is everything alright with you, Madam?”

“I’m very well. It’s just that Xiao Wu hasn’t been home these days, I don’t know what he’s been busy with. Otherwise, I would have brought him with me!”

Wen Yu thought to herself: I’ve seen him. “For men, official business is the most important!”

These words made Madam Qi even more satisfied. Look, how sensible this girl is!

Unlike Xu Shi, who always asks every day: What is Qi Xiao doing out there? Why has he been gone for so long? Who did he go with? Why doesn’t he take me out? She never stops nagging!

“How are your grandmother and father?”

“Grandmother is in good health. She was more energetic than us sisters during the journey to the capital. I heard that Father is doing well in his official duties.”

“That’s good.”

“I thought Yuanyuan would be here today! Zhu Zhu has been asking about her.”

“I took Yuanyuan out for so long, her mother missed her terribly. The mother and daughter are inseparable now!”

“Madam, did you tell Yuanyuan’s parents about what happened to her?”

A look of worry appeared on Cui Shi’s face: “I told Yuanyuan’s father. He said not to tell her mother yet! Yuanyuan’s mother has the title of County Princess. She has a cheerful personality and is also proud.

If she knew, although she wouldn’t blame me, such a big mishap happened… how could she bear it? Especially since we haven’t caught the culprit yet.”

Wen Yu thought for a moment and said: “At the time, I was worried that it would be detrimental to Yuanyuan if this matter got out, so I told her that she fell while chasing a rabbit. But Yuanyuan didn’t understand the seriousness of it. She refused to admit it and argued with me.

Later, she really liked the little rabbit, so she compromised. Shouldn’t you discuss this with your younger brother? What if in the future, the County Princess finds out through Yuanyuan, or someone else, what will she think?”

“Is that so… I really haven’t thought about this. Because later… Yuanyuan didn’t mention it again. However, you’re right: what if Yuanyuan remembers one day, or someone else leads her to say it? My sister-in-law will misunderstand that my brother and I deceived her, and that would be troublesome.”

“You should discuss it with your younger brother again. What Wen Yu said may not be entirely right.”

“Good child, you’re so thoughtful.” Madam Qi patted her hand. “This year, it’s not convenient for the Wen and Qi families to meet formally. I’ve already arranged for Xiao Wu to send New Year’s gifts to the Wen family. Xiao Wu’s maternal grandfather, as well as his uncle and aunt, have heard Yuanyuan talk about you a lot. They all want to meet you very much. During the New Year, would you like to visit the Cui family as a guest of the Wen family?”

Wen Yu was a little embarrassed: “Fifth Young Master Qi is so outstanding, the Cui family elders must like him very much. Would they dislike Wen Yu?”

“How could that be?! They can’t wait to like you! Xiao Wu used to study elsewhere, and most of the time he returned to the capital, he also lived in the Cui family. He practiced martial arts with his cousins, and their relationship is very close!”

“Then, you must be my backbone at that time!”

No matter what Wen Yu said, Madam Qi was happy to hear it: “Although you are the daughter of a civil official, you have a straightforward personality! The Cui family will definitely like you!” She increasingly felt that the failure of the engagement with the Qin family was a blessing from heaven.

How could that pretentious Qin Lianyue compare with the girl in front of her?

That social climber Du Liu’er, after arriving in the capital, didn’t dare to come to the Qi family, yet she sent gifts and invitations to the Cui family!

My eldest sister-in-law directly rejected her!

How shameless!

“The letter says you’ve bought a house in the capital?”

“Yes, it’s on Fangjing Lane. Would you like to have a look, Madam? Currently, Yan Zhu and Lanzhou are living there, as well as the master I hired and a few embroideresses. Yan Zhu is busy cooking at home, she’s a very good cook, would you like to try it, Madam?”

“Okay. Let’s go after we’re done here!”

“Regarding the shop, I have some ideas and would like to ask you to listen.”

“Good! Tell me about it.”

“Yes!”

Madam Qi stood up, took Wen Yu’s hand personally, and pointed as she spoke. “These two shops are part of my dowry.”

“Madam, your family is so generous! As soon as Wen Yu arrived and made some inquiries, everyone knew about this place!” Wen Yu looked at the high ceiling, the hanging lanterns, the spacious rooms…

Madam Qi smiled so much that wrinkles appeared on her face. “The family bought this place early on. At that time, it was just a plot of land, and we built it ourselves, using good materials and workmanship. Back then, this area wasn’t so prosperous, so the price was reasonable. There are two more shops, one on the left and one on the right, those belong to my brothers.”

“They are all rented out, the family doesn’t have the time to manage them. The previous tenant of these two shops did very well, earned a lot, and even bought his own shop.”

Madam Qi led Wen Yu around, upstairs and downstairs, and even the backyard, carefully examining everything.

Wen Yu was very attentive, silently visualizing Master Qing’s designs in the space, and found that most of the places were to her liking. Only a few needed some adjustments…

“Last time, after Madam Qi’s people took Master Qing to see the place, he had a lot of ideas and organized them all. But Wen Yu has never done such a big project before. Moreover, I trust your judgment, Madam. I’d like to ask you to take a look at it later and make the final decision!”

“My judgment is indeed quite good…” Madam Qi said proudly.

The two of them chuckled softly…