Chapter 21 The house was rented

  Mrs. Fan started packing as soon as she received the letter. Except for the heavy furniture, bedding and other things that could be taken away, everything was packed up. Xu Mingjin stopped her: "Mother, we're taking so much, it's not convenient on the road, besides, Uncle is still living in the embroidery shop, that place is not a place to settle down after all, why don't we let Uncle move into the house when we leave?"

  Madam Fan listened and thought it made sense, so she agreed happily. Xu Mingjin let out a sigh of relief, fortunately, he had persuaded Madam Fan, otherwise, when they arrived in the capital, if Madam Xu saw all these exquisite antiques, silk fabrics, and jewelry, she would think that the Fan family was already in decline. That could only mean that Xu Ruoyi had bought them for her, and it would be strange if Madam Xu didn't feel jealous! Even if Madam Fan's things were not to Madam Xu's taste, she wouldn't allow her husband to buy things for another woman. A woman's jealousy is terrifying! So Xu Mingjin tried his best to reduce their luggage, quietly leaving behind the more luxurious clothes and jewelry that belonged to him and Madam Fan.

  Xu Mingjin had been quietly influencing Lady Fan for the past few days, with her central idea being: to lower herself and make herself seem insignificant. Fortunately, Lady Fan was not a fool and quickly understood Xu Mingjin's intentions. As a result, when Xu Ruoyi sent over a dozen servants and four wet nurses to escort them back to Liu City, they were met with this scene: Lady Fan had only styled her hair in a simple bun, with a silver pin inserted at an angle, wearing a plain white dress that was almost indistinguishable from mourning attire. She looked like she was malnourished. Standing beside her were two similarly malnourished children, a boy and a girl. Although the three of them were dressed simply, they could not hide their natural beauty. The four wet nurses all showed disdainful expressions, and when they saw the mother-daughter duo's stunning appearance, they snorted in derision. One of the wet nurses muttered under her breath: "Seductress!" Xu Mingjin pretended not to hear, but shot a sideways glance at the wet nurse who had spoken.

  Those people saw that the mother and son's living conditions were not bad, but their luggage was pitifully small, only filling one horse carriage. Thinking of how many carriages his own wife would need to pack for a trip to the capital, they couldn't help but show disdainful expressions. Of course, their previous vigilance also disappeared, after all, it was just three women and children who were powerless.

  Those servants didn't even greet Madame Fan, only one of the servant girls stepped forward and said: "Since everything is ready, Madam and the young masters and misses can set off on their journey! The sooner you arrive in the capital, the sooner we servants can complete our task."

  Xu Mingjin had already determined that these women, as well as these people, must have been sent by Mrs. Xu. At this moment, she suddenly didn't want to leave and decided to stay here instead. However, Xu Mingjin saw that Lady Fan had already stood up, pulling her and Mingxuan's hands, preparing to walk out. Xu Mingjin subconsciously struggled a bit, and Lady Fan turned back with a puzzled expression. Xu Mingjin forced a smile and followed in her footsteps, tightly grasping Lady Fan's hand. Lady Fan gave her a reassuring glance, and only then did Xu Mingjin slowly relax.

  At this time, one of the four old women who had just spoken said: "Auntie, please stay." Madame Fan stopped and asked in confusion: "What's going on?"

  The old woman made a curtsy and said, "When I came, the lady instructed me. Since you're going back to Beijing, this house will be left empty. However, it's still Xu family property and can't be abandoned. The lady thought that you should hand over the deed of this house, so she can either sell it or renovate it, as it's all Xu family property."

  Madam Fan was taken aback by his words.

  Xu Mingjin smiled slightly and said, "How does this nanny address herself?" The nanny looked at her with a hint of arrogance and disdain, saying, "This old servant's surname is Zhou, Miss can call me Zhou Nanny." Xu Mingjin replied calmly, "Zhou Nanny, how do you know that this house belongs to the Xu family?"

  "Of course it was Master who said so."

  Xu Mingjin turned back to look at Mrs. Fan, and it was no surprise to see her face turn as white as paper. Xu Mingjin sighed in his heart: Oh my dear mother! Can't you wake up a bit? That father of mine is not a good bird!

  Xu Mingjin sighed and then put on a pitiful expression: "Auntie doesn't know, this house was indeed bought by my father for us, but, but a month ago, we were short of money and sold the house!" Zhou Auntie heard this and became anxious: "You're lying! Who did you sell it to?"

  "Mr. Li of the Qi's pharmacy, he took pity on us and rented this house to us, look, here is the lease." Xu Mingjin didn't mind Zhou Ayi's disrespect towards her at all, after all, she was the daughter of Xu Shangshu, no matter what, she was the mistress, and Zhou Ayi was just a servant, who shouldn't have looked down on her. But what Xu Mingjin wanted was for Zhou Ayi not to look down on her, she was very weak now, and when facing the powerful claws of Madam Xu, she could only humble herself. Of course, she wouldn't be foolish enough to accuse Zhou Ayi.

  Old Lady Zhou looked at the rental agreement Xu Mingjin took out, flipping it back and forth several times, before finally pointing at Madame Fan with indignation: "Madame Fan! How could you sell the Xu family's house?! Who gave you the authority?! Where is the silver from the sale?!"

  Mrs. Fan was already confused, the house wasn't sold, why did Jin'er say that? Where did she get the rent from? She subconsciously glanced at Xu Mingjin and saw her showing a comforting smile. Mrs. Fan finally understood. Yes, Jin'er must have had an arrangement, doing this would make Madam Xu's wish to swallow up the house fall through. And her brother Fan Yicheng wouldn't have to leave with his tail between his legs, they could keep the precious antiques in the house. Suddenly, Mrs. Fan thought, was Jin'er afraid that if she took those things to Beijing, Madam Xu would snatch them away, and that's why she had been advising her not to bring those things? Mrs. Fan looked at Xu Mingjin with a relieved smile, her daughter had grown up! She was actually protecting her!

  Madam Fan was basking in the joy of her daughter's coming of age when she suddenly heard Old Lady Zhou's angry roar, which gave her a fright. Upon hearing the words of accusation directed at herself, the deeply ingrained family education as a member of a noble clan finally made her turn cold. Madam Fan gazed icily at Old Lady Zhou, making her feel uneasy.

  Zhou Ayi finally succumbed to the aura of Madame Fan, which was not inferior to that of Madame Xue. She lowered her haughty head: "Please, Madame Fan, punish me, this old slave has been impolite."

  Xu Mingjin shook his head at Mrs. Fan, and Mrs. Fan suddenly understood. She took a step forward and personally helped Zhou Ayi up: "Ayi was joking, this was originally my fault." Zhou Ayi was helped up by Mrs. Fan herself, and she couldn't help but look at Mrs. Fan with suspicion: Could it be that the sharp and fierce Mrs. Fan from just now was an illusion? She rubbed her eyes again and looked once more, and in front of her was still the gentle and reserved Mrs. Fan. Zhou Ayi finally felt at ease, and restored her usual haughty expression.

  "Mother hasn't received any money from Father for a long time, and she's been bedridden with illness. We had to sell our house to pay for her medical treatment. If we hadn't done that, Mother wouldn't have made it this far." As Xu Mingjin spoke, her eyes turned red and tears began to fall. She secretly pinched Mingxuan beside her, and he also started crying.

  Zhou Ayi saw this scene and also saw the pale and sickly complexion on Fan's wife's face, her dry and cracked lips, and she already believed it to be true. Moreover, Zhou Ayi knew that they hadn't received any silver for some time because Xu's wife had secretly withheld it.

  Old Madame Zhou's eyes searched through the crowd of maids, but after several rounds of searching, she couldn't find Hong Luo and Yu Qin. She started to get anxious. With Madame Fan's illness, it seemed like Yu Qin had already succeeded in her plan. Hong Luo had written a letter last time saying that she had already won Xu Mingjin's favor, and Yu Qin was the one who had gained Madame Fan's trust the most. It wasn't easy for Old Madame Zhou to coerce and bribe Yu Qin into helping her, but now where were these two people?

  Xu Mingjin looked at Zhou's anxious appearance, and her heart was filled with cold laughter. Her guess had indeed been correct - Madam Xu was secretly taking action! The only thing she didn't know was whether it was Xu Ruoyi's intention to bring them back to the capital this time, or Madam Xu's. If it was the former, then it didn't matter; but if it was the latter, then she would have to think carefully about it!

  Zhou Nainai searched for half a day but still couldn't find Hong Luo and Yu Qin. Afraid of arousing suspicion, she had to give up.

  Nanny Zhou looked at the rental agreement, which clearly stated that the Qi family pharmacy had rented the house to Madame Fan for a period of one year. The document was stamped with an official seal, leaving Nanny Zhou no choice but to believe it. Even if she were to take it to Lady Xu, there would be no way to dispute it. Nanny Zhou felt extremely disappointed, as she had not obtained the deed or any silver. If she returned empty-handed, Lady Xu might become angry and dismiss her from her duties. In that case, Nanny Zhou wouldn't even have a place to cry.

  Just as Nanny Zhou was worrying, her eyes suddenly fell on the phrase "for a period of one year" on the rental agreement. A clever idea struck her, and she said, "This document states that the rental period is one year. You claim that the house was sold a month ago, which means you've only rented it for a year. Now that you're no longer living here, shouldn't the Qi family pharmacy return to you the rent for the remaining eleven months?" Nanny Zhou became excited, thinking that even if she were to be dismissed from her duties, she could at least make some money before leaving. Otherwise, it would be too much of a loss!

  Xu Mingjin said bluntly: "There is no more."

  Old Lady Zhou was so angry that she almost spat blood and died.

  Xu Mingjin smiled slightly and said: "A few days ago, Father sent a letter saying he wanted to take us back to the capital. Mother and I and my younger brother were all very happy. We all said that this time we could return to the capital, it must be because Madam Xu spoke kindly of us in front of Father, so we were able to return to the capital. So, after getting the silver back from Li Zhanggui that day, I went on a trip to the White Cloud Temple outside the city and donated all the silver as incense money, wishing Madam Xu good fortune and longevity. May her blessings be as vast as the East China Sea, and may her longevity be like the evergreen pine trees of Mount Nan..."

  Zhou Ayi was so angry that her whole body was shaking, Xu Mingjin was like reciting a scripture, and he blessed Mrs. Xu for a full hour. Because it was to bless Mrs. Xu, Zhou Ayi couldn't and didn't have the guts to interrupt Xu Mingjin. Until Xu Mingjin finished "reciting the scripture", she was so angry that she almost had a myocardial infarction.

  Nanny Zhou wanted to say something, but found herself speechless. Xu Mingjin had already donated the silver on behalf of Mrs. Xu to the nunnery, and she couldn't very well go to the White Cloud Nunnery to ask questions. Nanny Zhou huffed and puffed at Lady Fan, saying: "Since that's the case, it's getting late, Lady Fan, let's get going!" As soon as she finished speaking, a flash of inspiration struck her mind, and she carefully thought over Xu Mingjin's words just now, suddenly bursting out laughing. Ah, you little scoundrel, I've finally got your number!

  Zhou Ayi's face was serious and solemn as she said to Xu Mingjin, "Miss, how can you call Fan Niang 'Niang'? The only one who can be called 'Niang' by you is Mrs. Xu!" Xu Mingjin looked bewildered: "When did I call her 'Niang'? Did you hear wrong?"