Chapter 161: The Two Pouch Purses Given Away

Madame Di’s words were airtight, graceful, and proper. No fault could be found with them from any angle, yet Qin Wanru chose to contradict her precisely when she occupied the moral high ground.

"General, look at Wanru... She is becoming increasingly ignorant of filial piety, and on top of that, she acts with such willful lawlessness. This is the capital, not the old Jiangzhou. Among all the young ladies of noble families in the capital, let alone households like ours, even those from the most prominent clans would not dare to behave with such reckless abandon!"

Seeing that Qin Wanru had indeed stepped forward, Madame Di wore a look of profound sorrow, dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief, and put on a heartbroken expression. "When I was raising Wanru back then, she was just an innocent child!"

The implication behind these words was that ever since Qin Wanru had been placed under Shui Ruolan’s care, she had been corrupted by Shui Ruolan, and in such a short span of time, had grown so willful. Naturally, Qin怀永 (Qin Huaiyong) would not allow Qin Wanru to run amok unchecked; ideally, he should punish her severely alongside the others.

By that time, Shui Ruolan would be even more grief-stricken and distressed. Adding fuel to the existing fire was, of course, the best possible outcome!

Qin Huaiyong frowned, his gaze falling upon Qin Wanru with a trace of displeasure. "Wanru, do you know what you are saying?"

"Father, it was truly this old servant who deliberately stirred up trouble," Qin Wanru replied unfazed, meeting Qin Huaiyong's gaze directly.

"What do you mean?" Qin Huaiyong asked in a deep voice.

A look of triumph flashed in Madame Di's eyes. She could tell that Qin Huaiyong was somewhat angered—and that was precisely what she wanted. She would have been worried if he weren't angry, and she refused to believe that Qin Wanru could possibly explain away the matter of the琼花 (Qionghua) bird's nest.

As long as this matter remained unexplained, it mattered not how brilliantly Qin Wanru spun her words; in the end, she would still face punishment. A mere young girl who understood nothing yet dared to wade into these murky waters!

However, this was an unexpected windfall. Initially, she had only thought one Qionghua bird's nest was insufficient and that making Shui Ruolan suffer a bit more would be even better.

"Father, this old servant harbors malicious intentions, and I have proof!" Qin Wanru declared.

"What proof?" Qin Huaiyong asked.

Madame Di’s heart skipped a beat. She instinctively glanced toward Nanny Zhou at her side, but upon seeing Nanny Zhou’s calm and unruffled expression, she heaved a sigh of relief. She had genuinely been startled by this little girl for a moment, thinking there might actually be concrete evidence.

What kind of proof could there be in a matter like this? There were no physical objects, and since the old servant had been so cautious, there naturally wouldn't be any human witnesses either.

With this thought, a faint smile returned to her lips. She looked at Qin Wanru with a gaze that seemed filled with maternal benevolence, as if Qin Wanru were merely throwing an unreasonable tantrum. This persona matched the one she had maintained for years before Qin Huaiyong—showing immense affection toward Qin Wanru, at times even surpassing her affection for Qin Yuru, embodying the very heart of a loving mother.

Qingyue stepped out from behind Qin Wanru. After curtsying to Qin Huaiyong, she pointed a finger at the old servant and said, "General, this maid saw this old servant earlier. She arrived at the kitchen even earlier than this maid, and afterwards, she lingered around the bird's nest porridge. This maid previously heard our Young Lady say that the bird's nest porridge belonged to Madam Shui, but since Madam Shui could not bear to consume it all by herself, she shared half of it with our Young Lady. Yet now, there are so many portions of it!"

As Qingyue spoke, she pulled Yujie and Qionghua aside to make room. Brought into everyone's view were four small stoves, upon which three identical bowls of bird's nest porridge still sat.

From their appearance, they were completely indistinguishable.

After a momentary pause, Qin Huaiyong narrowed his eyes and turned his gaze toward Madame Di.

Madame Di’s heart gave a jolt. She quickly steadied her mind, terrified that Qin Huaiyong might read anything on her face. "General, I also had bird's nest porridge stewed for Yuru and myself in the kitchen. I specifically sent the estate's procurement agent out to buy it. If the General doesn't believe me, you can send someone to ask!"

She had deliberately sent the procurement agent to purchase it precisely to guard against this matter coming back to implicate her.

The root cause of this entire affair was, in fact, this bird's nest porridge.

Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, Qionghua’s eyes widened abruptly, and she stared at Madame Di in astonishment. Needless to say, that must have been what she had assumed earlier.

"General, is it a crime for our Madam to stew a little bird's nest porridge for herself?" Nanny Zhou chimed in knowingly, stepping forward to back her up.

As a dignified general's wife, what wrong could there be in stewing bird's nest in her own home? This question was posed in a way that made it sound as though Shui Ruolan suppressed Madame Di to the point where she wasn't even permitted to stew a bowl of bird's nest porridge.

Qin Huaiyong's frown deepened, and his expression turned somewhat unsightly.

"Madam, when you returned to the Yongkang Earl's Mansion previously, I heard Grandmother mention that the Earl's Mansion had sent back plenty of bird's nest as a return gift. Why did you still need to purchase it from outside? Could it be that what is bought outside is superior to what was sent by the Yongkang Earl's Mansion?" Qin Wanru asked, her eyes brimming with a clear light.

This was a question Madame Di had never anticipated, and it was exceedingly difficult to answer. If she said it was superior, why bother buying it from outside? If she said it was inferior, that would be a slap to the face of the Yongkang Earl's Mansion.

"Naturally, it was because the bird's nest from the Yongkang Earl's Mansion was exceptionally fine, and Madam couldn't bear to consume it right away, intending to send some to the Old Madam and Madam Shui after a little while," Nanny Zhou realized things were taking a turn for the worse and hurriedly stepped in with a stiff explanation on Madame Di's behalf.

Was Madame Di really such a person?

Qin Huaiyong's gaze flickered, but he remained silent.

"Madam is truly generous and considerate toward others. On behalf of Grandmother and Mother, I thank Madam!" Qin Wanru smiled faintly, curtsied sideways, and then turned her head to look at the old servant. "Nanny Zhou, can you explain why this old servant stayed in the kitchen without leaving, waiting until Qingyue returned from the kitchen, and then waiting until Qionghua entered? During such a long span of time, why was a newly arrived servant not doing any work yet refusing to leave? What was she doing?"

"When Qingyue returned, this maid was delayed for a short while before heading back to the kitchen. During that interval, more than enough time had passed to make a round trip between the kitchen and our courtyard," Yujie testified.

"Tell me, what is the meaning of all this?" Qin Huaiyong asked in a cold voice. It was unclear whether this question was directed at the old servant or Nanny Zhou.

Nanny Zhou opened her mouth with a hint of panic. She had not expected such complications to be woven into this matter, and for a moment, she didn't know where to begin. Her gaze fell upon the old servant, and she flashed her a warning look from the corner of her eye.

The old servant understood instantly. Struggling to her knees while clutching her chest, she sobbed, "General, this slave merely wanted to see if the bird's nest had finished stewing. Madam prefers it stewed until it is thoroughly soft. This slave originally intended to leave, but seeing that it hadn't yet reached the consistency Madam requested, she waited a little longer. And that wait led right up to the arrival of Madam Shui's maid!"

Having finished her explanation, the old servant deliberately lowered her head and coughed wretchedly a few times, making her whole person appear utterly frail and withered.

"So that was the reason! No wonder she took so long," Nanny Zhou said with a look of sudden realization, turning to bow respectfully to Qin Huaiyong. "General, this old servant is a newcomer. Fearing that she wouldn't understand things, I specifically told her that Madam likes her bird's nest porridge stewed exceptionally soft and instructed her not to rush to fetch it. I only said it offhandedly, but who would have thought this old servant was so stubbornly literal-minded that she simply waited right there!"

Watching Nanny Zhou and the old servant play their matching tunes, and then observing the flicker of triumph crossing Madame Di's eyes, a trace of disgust surfaced in Qin Wanru's eyes. This old servant was truly a seasoned rogue; even under such circumstances, she could conjure up a plausible excuse.

"Then why did she secretly hand a purse to the kitchen steward right before my very eyes?" Qingyue demanded loudly, pointing a finger at a servant hiding within the crowd. "At the time, this maid was also wondering why two extra bowls of bird's nest porridge had appeared. She furtively slipped a purse to the steward while keeping her eyes fixed on my side the entire time, as if she gave the purse precisely for that reason!"

"That's right, exactly so! This maid saw her pass the purse as well. She did it secretly right before my eyes, as though she wanted to hide it from me, yet she managed it in such a way that I happened to see it clearly. The one she bribed this time was this steward here!" Qionghua had also regained her wits by now and pointed toward another steward hiding in the crowd. "At that moment, this old servant was also stealing glances at me, while I happened to be checking whether Madam's bird's nest porridge was done!"

The two stewards who had been fingered attempted to shrink back into the crowd, but the crowd had long since parted to both sides, leaving the two of them starkly exposed.

Qin Huaiyong's cold and stern gaze fell upon the two stewards.

The pair looked at each other and dropped to their knees with a collective thud.

"General, she only told us to take good care of Madam's bird's nest porridge from then on, asking us to be diligent, and that purse was a reward bestowed by Madam."

"Yes, yes, that was all it was! She didn't say anything else!"

The two stewards dared not conceal the truth and blurted out their defense in a flurry.

"She handed over the purse either right in front of Qingyue or right in front of Qionghua on two separate occasions. What a remarkable coincidence, as if she were terrified they wouldn't see it. Neither of the two maids knew that Madam had sent someone outside to purchase bird's nest porridge, yet this old servant's actions made people naturally suspicious. Furthermore, just to ask the kitchen to stew something a little better, she had to hand out purses to two different people—Madam is truly wealthy!" Qin Wanru sighed in mock admiration.

"This... this was this old servant's own idea! I was simply afraid the kitchen would neglect Madam, since everyone in the kitchen is currently prioritizing Madam Shui's health!" Nanny Zhou hurriedly lowered her head and said.

The implication was that the kitchen only cared about Shui Ruolan while casting Madame Di's affairs aside, forcing her, a dignified legitimate wife, to spend her own money out of pocket just to ensure the kitchen staff paid proper attention to a bowl of food she found palatable.

These words caused Qin Huaiyong's eyes to turn deeply glacial. Although he did not favor Madame Di, he had no intention of letting the kitchen treat her with such disdain. If such talk spread outside, it would not merely be Madame Di losing face; the Yongkang Earl's Mansion would certainly not let the matter rest either.

"Elder Cousin, this matter now appears to have hidden depths. Why don't we have them all taken into custody and let me interrogate them thoroughly?" Shui Ruolan had seen through the situation by this point, a flicker of anger burning in her eyes.

"Is Younger Sister's health truly up to this? If you end up working yourself into a rage over this, it wouldn't be good at all. Besides, one of the people involved is Younger Sister's own person!" Madame Di wore a look of faux concern, though the gaze she directed at Shui Ruolan carried a hint of provocation. Naturally, this meant Shui Ruolan ought to recuse herself to avoid suspicion.

"When Madam was about to punish Qionghua just a moment ago, she didn't look at it this way. This old servant is Madam's person, isn't she?" Qin Wanru had no intention of letting her triumph so easily. If anyone needed to step aside to avoid suspicion, Madame Di should be the first. The corners of her lips curved upward into a smile as she continued, "Besides, there is still one more matter I wished to bring to light for Madam to ponder over!"

Madame Di suffered a jolt in her heart, instinctively sensing that something was terribly wrong!