Chapter 513: Struggling in Despair

  All along, Chen Dongsheng has been quite confident in his abilities and insights, especially recently. He first gained the favor of a noble from Beijing and transformed from a small rural laborer to a manager of a large household.

  Then he beautifully helped his master to accomplish the task, punished the Qi family while further solidifying his position in his master's heart.

  Then, he took the lead in building a mountain villa for his master, with hundreds of workers under him, and was respected by everyone as "Chen Guan Shi" or "Chen Xiao Ge Er", making him feel more and more different from his fellow villagers.

  He, Chen Ergou, oh no, he Chen Dongsheng is not an ordinary farmer, but a man who wants to do great things.

  However, all these wonderful feelings were swallowed up bit by bit by the scene that entered their eyes after arriving at Li's mansion.

  Sat down, stood up, walked a few dry steps, sat back again, listlessly drank tea, then stood up again... Repeatedly, like sitting on pins and needles. After Chen Dongsheng had tastelessly drunk N cups of tea, his heart was pounding with anxiety, and sweat began to appear on his forehead - Ah, the young mistress said that the old master here is her maternal uncle, but he has been here for half an hour, and the letter has already been handed over, why hasn't there been any response yet?!

  The gatekeeper, holding a teapot, refilled Chen Dongsheng's empty cup with water again, his face gloomy. This is where the muddy leg came from, not understanding any rules, sitting here for half a day, wasting half a pot of hot water, but not even willing to give a penny for tea money. If it weren't for the second housekeeper asking him to take good care of him before leaving, he wouldn't have bothered with him at all.

  "Hey big brother, did you send in my letter? Why hasn't Third Master called for me yet?"

  Leaning against the door frame and stretching his neck to take a look, Chen Dongsheng returned with a sullen expression, seeing the doorman adding water for him, he hurriedly smiled and asked.

  "It's already been sent in, don't worry, if Third Master wants to see you, he'll definitely have the house servants come call for you!"

  Hmph, who do you think you are? You can't even sit still for half an hour. Are you looking down on my family's Third Master or something? Even if the Magistrate of Haicheng came, he would still have to hand over his card and wait obediently!

  Just then, someone hastily walked over from outside the door. Chen Dongsheng heard the sound and looked up to see a delighted expression on his face. The person who came was none other than the steward who had received the letter.

  "Chen Dongsheng, are you acting on the orders of Second Young Mistress Zhao to deliver a message to her third uncle?"

  "That's right, I'm the new steward hired by the young mistress, specifically to take care of the estate for her." Chen Dongsheng finally waited for someone in charge and hastily said everything the young mistress had entrusted him with before leaving, "The young mistress said that April 16th is Third Uncle's birthday, as a junior she should pay her respects. However, due to some circumstances, she can't come in person, please forgive her, Third Uncle!"

  April sixteenth? Ah, that's right. The old master of the Wang family was born on April sixteenth. It seems this person is indeed the one sent by Miss Wang to deliver a message.

  But isn't Wang Jia's seventh daughter already married to the famous Zhao family in the capital as a young madam? How did she end up having a rustic and unrefined village boy come over to deliver messages for her?

  Could it be true what Third Master said, that this young lady really encountered an insurmountable obstacle?

  Li Guan thought for a moment, cleared his throat and said, "Let's go, Third Uncle has some questions he wants to ask you personally, come with me!"

  "Ah ah!"

  Chen Dongsheng nodded repeatedly, thinking to himself that this place was too oppressive. Even the doorman looked at people with disdain. He'd better finish his business as soon as possible and leave early. At least in Qingzhou, he could still find some confidence.

  Chen Dongsheng muttered about going back, while Zi Yun of Qingyuan Manor thought about going out.

  "Qī niáng, or else I'll go instead? It's just as well that I can also go back and take a look at Xiǎo Yā. The child is still too young, and it's the first time they've left us. To be honest, I'm a bit worried!"

  Zhang's wife and Wang Qiefang sat on the kang, discussing who would return to Beijing to report the news.

  Originally, according to Wang Qifang's idea, he wanted Chen Dongsheng to deliver the letter to his third uncle in Haicheng and then head directly to Beijing. However, after discussing with Zhao Daiyu, she felt that this was not appropriate.

  According to the old lady's idea, since we have to send a message to Beijing, we might as well take this opportunity to give Su Niang in the mansion some eye drops. Not expecting to overthrow her, at least we can make her uncomfortable.

  If they go to the capital with ulterior motives, they can't be so careless and mustn't leave any flaws. The time it takes to send messages to Haicheng and the capital should not be too far apart, even if it can't be synchronized. Otherwise, once discovered, their plan to frame Su Niang would fail, and instead, they would be disliked by Zhao TaiTai and her husband.

  Mrs. Zhao's idea was not bad, but it was difficult to implement - who would go to the capital to deliver the message? At present, besides Mrs. Zhao, there were only two young maidservants by Wang Qifang's side, who were not only young in age but also questionable in their loyalty.

  "No, Zhao Ayi, you can't go," Wang Qifang shook her head decisively after hearing this. Zhao Ayi's plan was good, but if she were to go in person, the effect might be discounted. Besides, her body was special now, and although there was space to hide, she couldn't leave people around her either.

  "Then... who should go? Can't let Feng Dage go, can we?"

  Madam Zhao now had some regrets, when she first heard that Seventh Young Mistress was in trouble, she only thought of hurrying over to take care of Seventh Young Mistress, but forgot to bring the personal maids from the manor. Even if she couldn't bring all of them, it would be better than having no one to send now.

  "Well, let him go on a trip then!"

  Unexpectedly, Wang Qifang nodded after listening to Zhao's words.

  "What? Qiū Niáng, you actually let Fēng Dà Shǎzi go?"

  Zhao's wife was shocked and hastily stopped her, saying, "Qī Niáng, you mustn't be deceived by Féng Tiězhù's superficial loyalty. This little scoundrel is very cunning. If he finds out about your affair and weighs the current situation, who knows which side he'll lean towards?"

  "Hey, don't be anxious," Wang Qifang said with a smile, seeing the old lady getting really angry: "Hehe, I just want him to escort our messenger back to the capital, not directly hand over the task to him!"

  Actually, there was one thing that Wang Qifang didn't say - she also wanted to take the opportunity to probe Feng and his wife a bit. However, it's still too early to bring this up now; after they get a reply from Haicheng, she can tell Zhao Nian's mother then.

  "Oh, that's more like it," said Zhao's mother-in-law, breathing a sigh of relief. But then she thought of the person who was supposed to deliver the message and her brow furrowed again, "But I won't go, who else can we send?"

  "Milady, it's better to let me go instead!"

  Just as Zhao's sigh faded away, a young girl's voice came from outside the door.

  "Is it Aster? Come in and talk!"

  Wang Qifang was closer to the window and heard it clearly, calling out in response.

  Before long, a little maid with a bun and wearing a light green jacket walked in. It was Zi Yun, who had a steady temperament. The little maid first respectfully greeted Wang Qifang, then stood before her with her head bowed.

  "Zi Yun, you said you want to deliver the message?" Wang Qifang inquired, looking at the honest and straightforward Zi Yun. Seeing her nod slightly after hearing the question, she asked coldly, "Oh~~, then I'll ask you, if I send you, what do you plan to do?"

  "Madam," Zi Yun said in a calm tone, her eyes fixed on the tip of her shoes, "I'm not feeling well and the conditions here are too harsh. As soon as I followed Manager Feng onto the road, I fell ill..."

  Huh? That's interesting! After listening to Xiaoyao describe how she handled the matter in a storytelling tone, Wang Qifang and Zhao Aiguo's eyes lit up at the same time, eagerly waiting for Zi Yun's next words.

  "...I, a humble servant, have never been far from home, so when I arrived in the capital, it took me a great deal of effort to find the gate of the Zhao estate. I told the doorman that I was from Qingzhou Village and had come to deliver a message to Young Master Zhao on behalf of Second Young Mistress...As a lowly servant, how could I possibly enter through the main gate? Under the guidance of the 'kind-hearted' doorman, I made my way to the back door of the Zhao estate, where I met the old woman who kept watch...By the time I finally saw Young Master Zhao or Madame Zhao, it was already a month later. By then, Second Young Mistress had moved into her own villa under the protection of Third Uncle, and outsiders were no longer allowed in..."

  Good, good clever girl!

  After Zi Yun finished telling the whole "story", Wang Qifang suddenly felt a chill on her back, and her gaze at Zi Yun also had a few complicated emotions.

  "Slap!" Compared to Wang Qifang's silence, Zhao's nanny reacted first. She slapped the kang table fiercely, her face gloomy, "What a clever little girl! I asked you, when I bought you that day, the matchmaker said you were a poor peasant family's daughter, and your family couldn't afford to raise you because of too many children, so they sold you away. But I really can't figure it out, how could an ordinary village girl from a peasant family have such cunning calculations? Ziyun, what is your real background?"

  "Madam Zhao will see," Zi Yun had long known how great the risk was in what she was about to do. However, her sister Ming Zhu had once said that the greater the risk, the greater the benefits it would bring. She didn't want to spend her whole life as an unknown little maid, quietly enduring until her age was matched with a small servant or sent away by her master. She wanted to become her master's right-hand woman, and so she must help her master complete his tasks well. And now was the perfect opportunity.

  For this opportunity, she risked being discovered and kicked out after revealing her true abilities.

  With a thud, she knelt to the ground, her forehead touching the floor, and sobbed: "I deserve to die. On the day when Zhao's nanny was selecting servants, she said that she wanted a maid with a clean background. I was afraid that if I told my true identity, Zhao's nanny wouldn't want me, so I secretly asked the aunt from the pawnshop to help me deceive her... I used to be a maid in the Cui family of Qingzhou, but the master committed a crime and all the servants were sold by the government. I've been sold twice already, each time because my new masters didn't like my previous ones, so..."

  "Hmph, you think I'll believe whatever you say now?"

  Madam Zhao observed her words and expressions, already believing more than half of what Xiaoyu said, but her tone still carried a few hints of rebuke.

  "If you don't believe me, you can go to the county government office to check the records!"

  For this point, Zi Yun is not worried. The only worry is that Zhao's aunt and the new master will dislike her old master and sell her again.

  "I'll naturally investigate, Zi Yun, and if you utter a single lie, I'll flay your skin!"

  "I dare not!"

  :P: Wooo, thank you everyone for your comments, I feel the attention and support from all of you, it's very motivating for me.