Chu Lian's offer was completely out of Matriarch He's expectations. She stiffened for a moment in surprise before tears began to gather in the corners of her eyes.
She knew roughly how much Guilin Restaurant earned in a month. Manager Qin had previously been one of her servants, after all.
She also knew that Dalang's wife had brought up that idea purely out of jealousy. In order for their family to stand on stable feet, the inner court had to be at peace or in balance. The matriarch was gratified that Chu Lian was able to make such an offer for the greater good. At the same time, she lamented how much Madam Zou had changed.
In the end, she made the final decision. "Sanlang's wife, since you have the heart to do so, you'll be the one to pay for your mother's medicine fees from now on. However, only do so within your own capability and don't push yourself too hard. No matter what happens to you afterwards, you still have this old woman here to support you!"
Chu Lian's almond-shaped eyes turned upwards in a smile. "Granddaughter-in-Law understands! I won't be too shy to ask for help from Grandmother!"
Matriarch He dwelled in thought for a moment before turning to Madam Zou and telling her, "Dalang's wife, this old woman did not expect the family's shared properties to have declined to this state. The blame for this can't be placed on your shoulders, since you didn't have a capable steward to help you manage these properties. I gave Sanlang's wife a manager before, so I'll send you one as well. He'll help you with managing the estate's properties!"
Madam Zou looked up in shock right after Matriarch He finished speaking. Her lips trembled and parted as the urge to reject this arrangement flooded her being. However, when she met Matriarch He's sharp old eyes, any hope of struggling faded away.
It seemed like Matriarch He had already detected those small tricks she had pulled with the estate's properties beforehand, but the matriarch hadn't bothered to stop it due to her trust in her. Now that she was starting to target the third branch with her schemes, Matriarch He naturally wouldn't continue letting her greed run free.
Now that Matriarch He had placed a manager by her side with a completely upright reason, she probably wouldn't be able to continue appropriating funds in secret.
Madam Zou was filled with regret. Not only had she failed to steal Guilin Restaurant, but she had even lost her source of income to boot.
When Matriarch He saw that Madam Zou was choosing to remain silent and was simply looking downwards at the floor, the matriarch frowned and raised her voice with an unhappy tone. "Dalang's wife, did you hear me?"
Madam Zou's body shook once. Matriarch He's rage showed clearly through her voice. "Granddaughter-in-Law hea.. heard you."
Matriarch He had already been feeling unwell these past two days. After facing such a huge problem in the morning thanks to Madam Zou, her head was starting to ache.
"Alright, since there's nothing else to discuss, all of you should return. Bring Little An and Little Lin back with you too."
Madam Zou was currently feeling very low, so she left quickly with her two daughters.
Chu Lian was one step behind her. Just as she was about to step out of Qingxi Hall's entrance, someone with a clear voice called out from behind.
"Third Young Madam, please wait."
Chu Lian paused and turned back to look, only to see Matriarch He's handmaid Muxiang and a few maidservants carrying some exquisite wood boxes.
Muxiang hurried over in two strides. "Third Young Madam, the weather has turned cold, so the matriarch has sent this servant over to escort you to Songtao Court."
Thus, with Muxiang supporting her arm on one side and chatting to her, Chu Lian returned to Songtao Court. Following that, Muxiang instructed the maidservants behind her to place the brocade-lined boxes on the parlour's table.
"These are some rewards that the Empress Dowager bestowed upon the matriarch. There's a handsome white fox fur coat within; it's quite a rare treasure due to its purity. The matriarch said that a white fur coat like this wouldn't suit her at her age, but it will fit Third Young Madam perfectly. There are also a few brand new exquisite ruby and sapphire accessories. The matriarch ordered this servant to bring these over to Third Young Madam as well because they'll go along perfectly with the outfits the palace sent over for you!"
Chu Lian accepted the gifts and had Senior Servant Zhong send Muxiang off. She returned to her own little study, knowing very well that these gifts were Matriarch He's way of compensating her.
She had taken a look at that white fox coat earlier. It was brand new and hadn't even been worn, so it was indeed a rather expensive gift. If not for that ruckus today, this fox coat would most likely have been given to that sister-in-law of hers, Madam Zou.
Of course, the reason Chu Lian knew this was because she had read about it in the story before.
However, due to her arrival, she had changed some of the events.
Just as Chu Lian was about to sink into her thoughts, Wenlan came in to pass a message. "Third Young Madam, Manager Qin has come over. He's waiting in the parlour outside."
Chu Lian stood up to meet Manager Qin.
In less than fifteen minutes, they were done with the meeting and Manager Qin left.
Senior Servant Gui had been standing behind Chu Lian during the meeting. She had a bewildered expression on her face as she asked, "Third Young Madam, what is this about?"
Just now, she had watched as Chu Lian gave Manager Qin a letter and listed out three questions. Manager Qin was to put up these three questions at the entrance of Guilin Restaurant with a notice to announce that anyone who could answer all three questions correctly would get a free meal at Guilin Restaurant.
Chu Lian smiled mysteriously. "Don't worry, momo! It's not anything bad. It'll be a surprise!"
Senior Servant Gui was even more confused. She couldn't even start to guess at what her master was trying to do now.
Nonetheless, with Chu Lian's guarantee, Senior Servant Gui felt reassured.
In the afternoon, someone from the outer court came to ask Chu Lian for her reply to He Changdi's letter.
The manservant who had come was Senior Servant Liu's son, who was working in the outer court.
Actually, Chu Lian had already prepared the letter and the accompanying package yesterday.
If not for the huge package that Third Young Madam's maidservants were carrying, the manservant would have already tried to hint at how the letter seemed to be a little too thin.
When he held it in his hands, it was almost as light as a feather. Looking at how thin it was, there was most likely only a single sheet of paper inside. Didn't Third Young Madam have any sweet nothings to say to Third Young Master?
Third Young Master's letter had been so much thicker!
As the manservant carried the package on his back and left Songtao Court, his lips were pressed together tightly. This letter was way too thin! How was he going to report this to his mother later?
Wasn't Third Young Madam way too relaxed? Wasn't she worried that Third Young Master would fall for other women while he was away?
Even though she had been given the chance, she hadn't tried to bond more with her husband. Third Young Madam was still too young!
If this manservant were to find out how He Sanlang had been passing his days at the northern border, he probably wouldn't be thinking like that.
Once House Jing'an's letters and packages had been sent to Prince Jin, they still had to be brought to the northern border through Prince Jin's connections before they could reach He Sanlang's hands.
In Prince Jin's study, he was currently pacing about in the room with his hands behind his back. His uncommon azure eyes were shining under the light of the candles illuminating the space. After a short moment's wait, the sound of footsteps could be heard from outside the study.
When the footsteps stopped, a rough voice called out, "This subordinate greets Prince Jin."
"Enter."
A man carrying a sword at his waist, dressed in a black robe that flared widely at the ends entered the room. He walked straight up to Prince Jin's side.
"Have you carried out the tasks that this prince has entrusted to you?"
The square-faced man tensed and knelt down on one knee next to Prince Jin. "This subordinate is useless. This subordinate hasn't found the person that Your Highness is searching for."
Prince Jin sighed and walked over to his desk. He took a seat and picked up the small brush that had already been dipped in ink. Then, he set the brush to paper with vigorous and lively movements. After a few moments, he lifted his brush and let the paper dry before inserting it into an envelope.
He placed the letter into the package from House Jing'an and stood up before giving orders to the man in black. "Send this to the Eagle team. They'll know what to do. As for the other matter this prince has entrusted to you, continue investigating. You must find that person as soon as you can!"
After the black-robed man left with the letter and package, Prince Jin sat back down behind his desk with his brows drawn together. Even though He Changdi was one of his most trusted brothers, he still found it hard to believe what He Changdi had written in his letter.
Countess Jing'an had been ill for more than twenty years. Could that wandering traveller called Miao really treat her sickness?
Of course, Prince Jin didn't know that it was this Great Doctor Miao who had been the one to treat the Chengping Emperor when he had been afflicted with an incurable illness in He Changdi's past life. Xiao Bojian had been the one to recommend this doctor to treat the Emperor, extending the Emperor's life for five more years.
Later on, when Count Jing'an had met this Great Doctor Miao, he had described his- by then deceased- wife's symptoms to this doctor. Great Doctor Miao had then personally declared that Countess Jing'an's illness could be cured completely. After treatment, her body would simply be a little weaker than most.
Back then, when the newly returned Count Jing'an had learned of this news, he had locked himself in his study for three whole days and nights. It was also due to this abnormal action from Count Jing'an that the He Family had all learned that Countess Jing'an's illness could have been treated. They simply hadn't been able to meet the right doctor at the right time.
The tenth of October was Countess Jing'an's forty-fifth birthday.
Although it didn't mark the end of another decade of life, it was about halfway.
Additionally, Countess Jing'an's health had always been rather poor. Her situation had also been getting worse in the recent months; perhaps due to the lower quality of medicinal herbs or some other reason.
These few days, she hadn't been able to get up from bed at all.
Matriarch He was extremely worried. Her son and his wife were very close. However, her son was currently guarding the border at Mingzhou. If anything were to happen to his wife, he wouldn't even be able to meet her one last time. What were they going to do in that case?
What’s more, it wasn't just Count Jing'an who was far away from the estate. There was also that little rebel Sanlang out there!
Matriarch He wanted to use Countess Jing'an's birthday as a chance to celebrate and cheer her up a little.
However, she didn't send out many invites to the celebration. She only invited the noble madams and ladies that their House was closer to.
She also sent a letter to her second grandson, He Changjue, who was still serving in the Left Military Guards, asking him to return home that day for a meal.
He Changjue normally stayed away from home out of fear that his senior family members would try to force him to marry. Thus, he usually stayed in the Left Military Guard barracks even on rest days.
However, this time, it was his mother's birthday. Of course, he wouldn't be able to avoid returning home. He switched shifts with one of his comrades and rushed home early on the day itself with his mother's birthday present.
Chu Lian had already prepared her present much earlier. It was a pearl headdress that she had personally designed and specially requested one of Jinshi Pavilion's master craftsmen to make.
Pearls were good for the health and suited Countess Jing'an more than those blinding precious stones.
Furthermore, the headdress design that Chu Lian had come up with was completely new to the Great Wu Dynasty. Fresh and elegant, they were most suited for a forty-five-year-old noble madam to wear.
Royal Princess Duanjia was coming to the celebration today too. They had agreed on it beforehand. If she hadn't been afraid to steal the spotlight at Countess Jing'an's birthday banquet, Princess Wei would have also liked to come!
Early in the morning, Royal Princess Duanjia was escorted to House Jing'an's entrance by her estate's guards.
Chu Liu had said that she would personally cook breakfast for her if she arrived early.
Even though Royal Princess Duanjia knew that Chu Liu was a foodie, she hadn't actually seen her cook with her own eyes yet!
Royal Princess Duanjia had been waiting forever for this day. Thus, when getting off her carriage, she was a little rash in her actions.
She tried to jump off the carriage before it had even come to a complete stop. In the next instant, all she could hear was the bellow of a horse as the world turned into a flurry of motion.