A good omen for a good person

  Just after the eldest son-in-law left, Madam Zhao sent someone to propose to the Cao family and set a date for autumn. It was neither too rushed nor too late, leaving enough time for the bride's family to prepare the dowry. With this settled, Madam Zhao put her mind at ease and focused all her attention on her second son, hoping he would pass the imperial examination in one attempt. The young master, knowing he was about to get married, restrained his hobbies, although not completely giving them up, and rarely flirted with women, which made Xiuzhu unhappy and irritable. Meanwhile, since the day Xianyi found out about Yuer's relationship with Zhao Lang, she unintentionally revealed it to Chen Mama, but Chen Mama was determined to marry her off to prevent Madam Zhao from having second thoughts. As a result, she didn't pay much attention to Xianyi's words and instead focused on secretly preparing her dowry. Xianyi had no choice but to endure, unable to explain the source of the information, so she kept quiet for the time being, waiting for an opportunity to clarify things. Thus, each person in the main house had their own thoughts, and surprisingly, they all calmed down.

  On this day, Xian Yi had just come out of the main house when she saw Lu Shuang with a red face and a food box in her hand. At first, Xian Yi didn't pay attention to it, but later heard from the kitchen that the tonic originally not used by the madam was secretly taken away by this maid. Xian Yi didn't want to intervene, but as the second-class maid who followed Qiu Jing in charge of food, if Madam had a fit one day and this matter was exposed, she would likely be punished along with Lu Shuang. Just before Xian Yi could clarify things with Lu Shuang, news came from Jin Fenghua that Lu Shuang had been using Chen's name to send tonics over, and at first, Pan Tao thought it was Xian Yi's idea, but Jin Fenghua knew Xian Yi's cautious nature and secretly informed her.

  Xian Yi's head grew big as soon as she heard it, and she knew that this girl had fallen deeply in love. At first, she only thought that the girl was young, but now she realized that she was completely infatuated with Jin Fenghua. She didn't think that the girl would dare to do something so reckless, and if someone reported her, she wouldn't be able to get away with just a beating. The consequences of betraying one's master were either death or being sold as a slave.

  Xian Yi put down the fire and first returned the supplement to the kitchen, then temporarily suppressed the matter in her mother's name. She came to Lu Shuang's room and placed the food box she hadn't taken back on the table. Looking at Lu Shuang's surprised but unaware face, Xian Yi suddenly felt very tired. This was already the second time she had mediated. However, this time was clearly more severe than Xiuzhu's case. In Xiuzhu's case, as long as the purse wasn't recognized by others, there was still a chance to salvage the situation. Even if Xiuzhu was implicated, it would only be her own mistake and wouldn't affect others. But Lu Shuang was different. The head wife and Han Yiniang were already sworn enemies. Even if the head wife wanted to spare Han Yiniang's life now, it was only because she feared that Han Yiniang's sudden death would bring bad luck to the young masters, not out of genuine kindness. If Lu Shuang was exposed, those who would be implicated wouldn't just be Xian Yi and Qiu Jing, but possibly even the kitchen maids.

  "Does Xianxian know?" Lu Shuang's face was still innocent, not knowing the gravity of the situation, as if she had just been caught thinking about something minor, and after sticking out her tongue, she sat down.

  "From now on, you're not allowed to send anything again. I've also instructed the kitchen that unless it's something with my name or Autumn Scene's name on it, you're not allowed to take anything from the kitchen." Xian Yi didn't have an obligation to enlighten a girl who was just starting to develop feelings, and she had tried to advise her before, but the person had dug herself into a corner, leaving others helpless.

  Lu Shuang suddenly became anxious and stood up, saying: "That won't do, the supplies from Auntie Han's place can't be cut off."

  "Auntie Han's supplements have a fixed dosage, if it's supposed to be this much then it's this much, you're not helping her, you're harming her, and harming us." Xian Yi was most annoyed by those brainless girls who put emotions above everything else, wanting to die but also dragging others down.

  "Xian Xian Jie, how can you do this? Han Yi Niang is already so pitiful, how can you not lend a helping hand?" Lu Shuang couldn't help but scold, her eyes welling up with tears.

  Xian Yi couldn't help but reveal a hint of mockery, her bright and clear eyes seeming to see through Lu Shuang's disguise. "Whether it's for Madame Han or someone else, you know yourself! I don't care about the rest, but if Madam finds out, both Autumn Scenery and I will be punished, so forget about this matter."

  "You!" Lu's face turned bright red with anger, and she finally couldn't help but shout: "I'm the one who helped you as a good sister, and I let it go when you deceived me before. Now you won't even let me help others, just for your own selfishness? You're thinking of becoming someone else's concubine, what's the point of having so many people around?"

  "What did you say?" Xian Yi didn't expect that someone would actually dare to criticize him to his face.

  She suddenly felt a pang of regret, secretly annoyed with herself for not being able to hide her words. But then she thought of Jin Fenghua's elegant and refined appearance, and continued to say: "You said you're not familiar with the third young master, you said you have no contact with Madame Han, but it's clear that you know each other, and even Pan Tao is quite familiar with you. Who would believe that you don't have any intentions? You're just afraid that I'll find the third young master, and then say something about being good for me. You yourself want to become a concubine, why can't I think of the third young master? I like the third young master, even if it means being a slave or servant to him and Madame Han for the rest of my life, I'm willing to do that. You see that the third young master is handsome, but you don't want to let go because of his lower status compared to the eldest young master, so you think about going further. Xianxian sister, I originally thought you were a good person, but now I understand, you're not even as good as Xiuzhu sister!"

  The Brain Supplement Emperor is so "great", after experiencing a lifetime, Xian Yi finally saw that she was just kindly advising a young girl to stay away from the big devil, but was associated with her own coveting of Jin Fenghua's beauty, and even if she wanted to climb up high, she wouldn't let others intervene. I reckon Lü Shuang said that she relied on so many people, including that Zhao family's young master, and she herself would become the concubine of a great aunt's husband, why bother pulling in another man's marriage contract? Xian Yi thinks she probably hasn't gotten old yet but will get migraines, ancient people's imagination is sometimes more exaggerated than modern people.

  Words don't match, half a sentence too many; Xianyi just took a deep look at Luyu and walked out, too lazy to say another word, can be said to be a rotten wood that cannot be carved.

  Lu Shuang saw Xianyi leave, and she was so scared that she covered her face with her hands. The handkerchief in her palm soon became completely wet. She first slapped herself hard on the ear, then ran out of the house and rushed to Yun Shuang's room. At this time, Yun Shuang was talking to Yu Shuang, and when he saw Lu Shuang's cheek slightly swollen and her face full of tears, he was shocked and hurriedly asked: "What happened?"

  Lü Shuang hugged Yǔ Shuāng and burst into loud sobs, her whole body trembling with fear as she leaned against Yǔ Shuāng's side, almost crying to the point of fainting. After much effort, Yún Shuāng and Yǔ Shuāng finally calmed Lü Shuang down, and only then did they manage to understand from her stuttered words what had happened earlier, both of them covered in cold sweat.

  "This...this is like putting a handle in someone's hand." Yun sighed heavily, finding it difficult to say.

  "Th...th-that's good, I suppose..." Lu Shuang choked out between sobs.

  Yun Shuang looked back at her with difficulty, holding a thread of luck and said: "At this time, can't you put down Third Master?"

  Lu Shuang thought for a moment and then nodded repeatedly.

  Yun Shuang also knew that it was useless to persuade her, so she had no choice but to go along with it: "Since that's the case, we can only be at peace after she goes to Da Guniang's husband's house."

  "But what if she has already told Madam?" Lu Shuang said uncertainly.

  "It won't." Yun Shuang said resolutely: "She came to you just because she didn't want Madam to know, and be implicated again. As long as you don't say anything, she won't say anything either. With Chen Ayi's methods, this matter will definitely be covered up. As for your relationship with Third Young Master, without her, aren't you even freer?"

  Lu Shuang blinked away her tears, sniffled, and the more she listened, the more it made sense. She couldn't help but ask: "It seems we still have to help her, only she already has a marriage arrangement..."

  As soon as these words came out, Yu Shuang's face turned somewhat unpleasant. Yun Shuang looked at her thoughtfully and didn't explain to Lu Shuang, but said: "Don't worry, as long as that family knows she has the heart to be a noble person, they will probably come to break off the engagement themselves. We also need to think of ways to deal with Madame."

  This sentence only got a nod of approval from Lu Shuang, but Yu Shuang's small face suddenly lit up, and the hand that was twisting the handkerchief also relaxed. A pair of not-too-big eyes slightly rotated, thinking about something unknown. And Yun Shuang glanced over with a slight curve of her mouth, some words just needed to be heard.

  The three of them said a few more words before settling down separately.

  After a few more days, the second young master left Jin Fu with the expectations of all the people in the mansion. The provincial examination was to be held at the Gongyuan in each province, and naturally, the second young master went to the Gongyuan in Beijing. He would have to live in the examination quarters, where he would not only stay and eat but also take the exams. Almost as soon as he entered, he would have to peel off his skin, so Madame was very worried. She had prepared many things for him to bring along, after all, he would have to take three rounds of exams, each round lasting three days, almost half a month in total. It's no wonder that many students who normally performed well would often make mistakes during the exams.

  The old master, having been promoted, also gained the qualification to attend court, so he left early. However, since his son was going to take an examination, he eventually sent a young servant back to ask about it, and then hurried back home as soon as possible. The madam saw the old master return first to her place, and she felt satisfied for a while. Although the matter of Concubine Cao still made her unhappy, since the old master had been behaving well recently, she temporarily endured it. When the old master entered the door, she rarely got up and personally helped him change out of his court attire.

  The old master, seeing this, couldn't help but feel pleased. He then asked a few more questions about the second young master's situation. Only then did he slowly and calmly shoo out all the servants from the room. Afterwards, he pulled something out of his pocket and handed it over to the madam.

  "This is... " The madam counted, a total of four thousand taels of silver, which was a huge sum for the impoverished Pei country. "Where did so much silver come from?"