A Beautiful Duchess with a Dark Heart – Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Forgetting Oneself

Wen Yu followed Nurse Wu out the door and arrived at the adjacent room. This room had rows of large cabinets with many drawers.

She surreptitiously slipped Nurse Wu a ten-tael silver note.

Nurse Wu’s face lost some of its sternness, but she wasn’t particularly happy either. She casually accepted the note without even a grunt.

Then, she lowered her head to look at the list. Seeing Wen Yu’s beautiful handwriting, she couldn’t help but feel surprised. This handwriting was no worse than Second Miss’s! But Second Miss had put in a lot of effort learning from a teacher!

However, she didn’t comment on it and began searching for the contracts of service according to the list, handing each one to Wen Yu as she found it. She felt even more puzzled: The people selected… were quite reliable! Who told her about them? She couldn’t help but become suspicious.

The next moment, she saw Xiao Ji’s family… and froze.

She knew Xiao Ji’s family. They were her own mother’s enemies.

Her second son had married the head steward’s daughter.

The head steward, Chen Xiangzhong, had taken a fancy to Xiao Ji Niang back then, but she didn’t fancy him! It was said that he had been heartbroken and carried the “regret” for the rest of his life!

His later wife, Zhang Shi, was also a servant of the Wen family and naturally knew about this matter! She practically treated Xiao Ji Niang as an enemy, the kind who wouldn’t rest until she was dead.

Although Steward Chen hated Xiao Ji’s father, he still cared about his reputation and only secretly looked for opportunities to get back at him. But Zhang Shi was different. She was fierce and would create a scene without any regard for decency, making a fuss and stirring up trouble.

In the end, even Old Madam found out!

It made Steward Chen lose face, and he went back and gave Zhang Shi a good beating. The couple was afraid of causing a major incident, so they didn’t dare to make a big deal out of it anymore.

Zhang Shi’s wish was to sell Xiao Ji’s family separately to vent her anger.

However, Xiao Ji’s family was always cautious in their daily lives and didn’t make any big mistakes, so she couldn’t find an opportunity.

The key was that Old Madam Wen was formidable and wouldn’t tolerate any wrongdoing. The servants below also didn’t dare to go too far for their own personal gain.

Since they were in-laws, they naturally had to share a common enemy. Nurse Wu also didn’t want Xiao Ji’s family to escape her control!

She pretended not to see them and directly skipped over the names of Xiao Ji’s family, starting to look for the ones below.

“Eh? Nurse Wu, there’s also this family? The one with the chubby girl who looks like a short winter melon!” Wen Yu said with a smile, like an innocent young lady, her slender finger pointing at several names.

Nurse Wu said indifferently, “There’s something not quite right with this family! I’m afraid I can’t give them to you. I’ll go back to Madam later!”

Wen Yu quickly said, “No, Nurse Wu, it wasn’t easy for Second Aunt to finally decide on these people for me. Please don’t change them again. Whether they’re suitable or not, give them to me first. If there are any problems, I’ll slowly discipline them when I get back!”

“Heh, Eldest Miss. It’s not that these people can’t be given to you! It’s not about needing you to put in the effort to discipline them!” Nurse Wu said rather arrogantly.

“Nurse, don’t joke. Once they’re given to me, they’re my responsibility. Aiya! We’re all busy, so don’t waste any more time.”

She had already made a decision, yet Wen Yu was still pestering her. Nurse Wu’s face darkened. “Didn’t you understand what I said?!” she snapped.

Hearing this, Wen Yu’s face also fell with a thud. “Nurse Wu!” she stared at Nurse Wu… After a long while, she let out a mocking laugh. “Oh, right! Why didn’t Second Aunt consult you first before giving them to me?!”

Nurse Wu couldn’t bear the weight of those words and instinctively retorted, “Don’t say that! Perhaps Madam just didn’t see it, or didn’t think of it. I’ll remind her later. If Madam thinks it’s alright and still wants to give them to you, I’ll listen to Madam’s decision, no questions asked!”

Wen Yu said sternly and loudly, “Who are you talking to like that?! ”

Nurse Wu was startled, having never seen Wen Yu act like this before. She instinctively glanced at the adjacent room.

“Later, I’ll have to ask Grandmother. What kind of person is Nurse Wu in the Wen family? So domineering! Disrespecting me, a legitimate daughter, is one thing, but you always think I’m unfavored and unloved, constantly giving me the cold shoulder…”

“I never did such a thing!” Nurse Wu exclaimed, hurriedly interrupting Wen Yu’s words.

But Wen Yu ignored her completely and continued, “But you dare to overturn the decision made by the mistress of the house! How audacious! What? Do you want me to treat you as an elder and show you respect? Fine! Let’s go to Old Madam now. If she agrees, I’ll perform the elder’s salute for you!”

Nurse Wu was furious, “Miss, how can you be so unreasonable?! When did I ever say that?! I just said the list wasn’t…”

“You dog slave, you dare to scold your master?! Fine! Fine! Fine! Let’s go! We’ll go to Second Uncle and Second Aunt right now to seek justice! I’ll ask Second Uncle why Second Aunt disobeys his words and even allows her servant to scold me! What is she trying to do?!”

“No!” Nurse Wu was anxious. How could she…

Wen Yu’s voice now carried a hint of tears, “Do you find it amusing to bully a motherless child? Come with me!”

✿✿✿

She grabbed Nurse Wu’s arm and dragged her outside.

This time, Nurse Wu was truly terrified. If she was really dragged over… and Wen Yu said those words in front of Second Master…

Even though she was Second Madam’s personal nurse and enjoyed trust and respect, if she truly angered Second Master, Second Madam wouldn’t protect her. She would even take the initiative to punish her!

Her thoughts raced, and she quickly softened her stance. “I apologize, Eldest Miss, Eldest Miss! It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! It’s all this servant’s fault for not explaining clearly. Please don’t be angry. I’ll find those contracts of service for you right away!”

Wen Yu sneered, “Misunderstanding?! You, a dog slave, are worthy of me misunderstanding you?”

Nurse Wu’s face flushed red. It had been years since she had been treated like this. Her lips moved, but no words came out. However, she refused to go with Wen Yu…

“Usually, I call you Nurse out of respect for Second Aunt, but you’ve really gotten carried away! Second Uncle… Grandmother…” Wen Yu let go of her and turned to leave.

Nurse Wu panicked, took two quick steps, grabbed Wen Yu’s sleeve, and dropped to her knees. “Eldest Miss, I apologize. It’s my fault. Please be magnanimous and forgive this servant! I’ll find all those contracts of service for you!”

Wen Yu still wouldn’t listen and kept shaking her sleeve.

“Oh, Eldest Miss, Eldest Miss, you still have to take care of important matters! Don’t delay any longer. You have so many businesses out there, how can you manage them if they’re not in your hands?! Just let go of these trivial matters, alright?”

Wen Yu stopped struggling, froze, and thought for a moment. “Sigh… What you said is true. I’m almost dying of anxiety…”

“Yes, yes! Eldest Miss, the contracts of service are right here!” She immediately stood up and quickly found the contracts for Xiao Ji’s family, handing them all to Wen Yu. She even gave her the contracts for the few people below…

She even gave her Qinghe’s… Wu Shi might have been too hasty and forgot about this, giving Qinghe to Wen Yu as well! However, her contract should have been given to Wen Yu before her marriage. Now, Nurse Song also slipped it over.

Finally, she returned the ten-tael silver note she had taken earlier to Wen Yu.

Hmph, you can’t lead her by the nose, but you can make her back down with a beating! “Nurse Wu, what’s this? You look down on my reward money?!” Wen Yu asked coldly.

Nurse Wu broke out in a cold sweat. “Good Miss!! How could I?! This servant cherishes it! It’s just… I was afraid you were angry…”

Wen Yu suddenly burst into laughter and stuffed the silver note back into her hand. “Take it. Look at you, so scared… What’s the big deal! We were just playing around!” She returned to her coquettish and delicate manner…

“…” Nurse Wu was filled with hatred: Who did she learn this from? This bitch!

However, she could only harbor her resentment inwardly and didn’t dare to provoke her again.

Wen Yu seemed to know what she was thinking and spoke gently and softly, reasoning with her, “Look, there have been so many happy events in the family recently! Old Madam, Second Uncle, and Second Aunt are all overjoyed!”

Nurse Wu suddenly remembered the recent events: Second Master and Fourth Mistress’s affair had been exposed, and Old Madam was furious. Old Master’s return had also angered Old Madam… Second Master had even been beaten… Madam was also quite upset…

How could I be so foolish? Why stir up trouble at a time like this?

But I… never knew this damned girl was so formidable!

“Hehe, you’re right, Miss!” Nurse Wu forced a smile.

“We can only do things that add to the joy, not create chaos! Right? After all… peace is a blessing!” Wen Yu winked at Nurse Wu, giving her a meaningful smile.

Then, she turned around and triumphantly walked out the door with the contracts of service in hand.

Nurse Wu broke out in another cold sweat. She had been too smooth-sailing for so many years and had really become complacent.

Just now, if that girl had really dragged her over to create a scene… Second Master had been experiencing misfortune repeatedly, and the resentment in his heart had nowhere to go. Even if he didn’t favor Wen Yu, she was still his niece. What could he do to her? At most, he would say a few words and give her the cold shoulder.

But to me…

She couldn’t help but feel relieved. Fortunately, she had managed to persuade that damned girl…

She stared at the door with a gloomy expression for a long time. Heh, our grudge is settled now, just you wait!

Thank you, friends, for your votes and collections. I’ll keep working hard!