After saying that, he cupped his hands in a respectful gesture and quickly left.
Zheng Xing's hand, clutching the letter, clenched tightly. He picked up his bundle and hurried home, locking himself in his room.
He had indeed helped Xu Hui revise her letter before, but that was a long time ago. He didn't know why Xu Hui had given him special instructions today, so he patiently read on, line by line.
The letter was long, yet each sentence was very short, which was somewhat unlike Xu Hui's style. It seemed to contain more trivial chatter, and although it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was wrong, it just felt a little strange.
Zheng Xing couldn't help but stare intently at it.
Suddenly he realized something was wrong. He connected the characters that Xu Hui had deliberately changed in handwriting, and they turned out to be a message from Xu Hui asking him for help.
Zheng Xing instinctively wanted to refuse, but Xu Hui said she knew a huge secret about the Chen family, which concerned the lives of several people. If she couldn't come out, those people's lives would be in danger.
However, Xu Hui did not explain what it was about in her letter, which made Zheng Xing somewhat suspicious.
Zheng Xing knew that she must not be having a good time in the Chen family. Originally, she was aiming to become the main wife, but she was embarrassed to not even become a concubine. She couldn't help but feel resentful.
Could it be that Hsu Hui is trying to cause trouble?
For a moment, Zheng Xing hesitated and couldn't make up his mind.
******
Liu Niang has been looking for an opportunity these past two days.
She has been able to imitate Xu Hui's handwriting very well; at first glance, it is almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
How can we make the most of this rare opportunity to "catch" the two of them in the act?
Sixth Sister observed Chen Qian closely and noticed that he frequently visited Xu Hui, but upon returning home at night, he seemed less attentive to her, the respectable eldest mistress. Although she didn't want to engage in illicit relations with Chen Qian, the fact that he preferred to be close to a lowly person rather than her made Sixth Sister somewhat uneasy.
Since the two were so inseparable, she devised a plan to make their relationship public and put them under her watchful eye so she could keep an eye on them.
The events at San Niang's residence served as a lesson for her.
She absolutely cannot do something so blatantly blind.
During her time in the capital, Ding did not waste her time. For the sake of the Chen family and to solidify her son's position, she also cultivated relationships.
During her time in the capital, she had gotten to know several officials' wives. Now that Sixth Sister had entered the household, some officials' wives who were unaware of the inner workings of the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion thought that if they could establish a connection with the sister of the Marquis of Pingyuan's wife, Sixth Sister might be able to help them with introductions in the future. Therefore, some officials' wives were willing to associate with the Chen family.
Ding was somewhat shrewd; among those who wanted to claim kinship were Lu Mingxiu's third and fourth aunts. To ensure Ding's complete obedience, the two even invoked the name of the Grand Princess of Lin'an, claiming the princess would stand up for them.
Even though Madam Ding didn't know the relationship between her two third and fourth aunts and the Pingyuan Marquis's mansion, she immediately gave up the idea when the two mentioned the Grand Princess of Lin'an.
She did have some wisdom; she remembered that at the baby's third-day celebration for the eldest son of the Prince of Yi's son, when the Grand Princess arrived, both Third Sister and Zhao Shi looked displeased. The Grand Princess's words were full of praise for Li Shi, which infuriated the women of the Nan'an Marquis's household. No wonder the Grand Princess of Lin'an had a bad relationship with the Pingyuan Marquis's household and with An Jiu Niang.
The Marquis of Pingyuan is now the Emperor's most favored person, while the Grand Princess is merely a figurehead. Lady Ding understood this clearly, and therefore declined the attempts by Lady Zhu and Lady Luo to establish a relationship, citing that she was not worthy of their status.
That day, she invited Lady Wang, the wife of the Minister of Revenue, to her home. They were acquaintances she had made while traveling in the capital. Now that she saw that the Chen family's daughter-in-law came from the Marquis of Nan'an's mansion, she held Lady Ding in even higher regard.
If she could take this opportunity to establish a connection with the Pingyuan Marquis's family, that would be ideal. Wang Shi also had her own plans. She was not up to the level of the Nan'an Marquis's family, let alone the Pingyuan Marquis's family, so she did not refuse Ding Shi's invitation.
Sixth Sister is Ninth Sister's half-sister. They were both originally daughters of the Marquis's family. It is said that they were raised in the same place, so the sisters must have had some relationship.
Two days ago, Madam Ding informed Sixth Sister that the wife of the head of the Ministry of Revenue was coming to their home and hoped that she could accompany her.
Although Liu Niang knew in her heart that Ding Shi wanted to use her status as a daughter of a marquis to find more help for the Chen family, even if she was somewhat dissatisfied with Ding Shi's use of her, she had no reason to refuse.
Moreover... Liu Niang was thinking to herself that he would be back at noon today, and perhaps this would be a good opportunity to expose Chen Qian and Xu Hui's affair.
Therefore, Liu Niang carefully inquired about the arrangements for the banquet that day. Ding Shi thought that she was trying her best to entertain the guests, so she was happy and told her everything. She also gave Liu Niang two new sets of jewelry, one set of red gold and ruby jewelry and the other set of red gold and South Sea pearl jewelry, so that she could choose one set to wear when she met the guests.
Madam Ding was always quite generous, and Sixth Sister received quite a few things from her. However, after wearing them only once, Sixth Sister put them all away. Perhaps she could use these things later.
After making the necessary inquiries, Liu Niang calmly returned to her and Chen Qian's courtyard, preparing to carry out her plan.
She first imitated Xu Hui's handwriting and wrote a note inviting Chen Qian to meet at their usual place. The tone and handwriting were almost identical to the note she had found. After showing it to Biyun and Bizhu, they both said they couldn't tell the difference, and only then was Liu Niang relieved.
“However, Madam…” Bizhu saw that Liu Niang wanted to forge Xu Hui’s handwriting to lure Chen Qian to the meeting and expose their affair, but she felt it was somewhat inappropriate. “You are originally in the right in this matter, but if the master finds out that you have schemed against him, I’m afraid he won’t let this matter pass so easily, will he?”
A hint of worry also flashed in Biyun's eyes.
"Don't worry, even if I do nothing, Chen Qian won't let me live a comfortable life." Sixth Sister snorted coldly. Biyun and Bizhu didn't know about her past with Chen Qian, so they were naturally worried that Chen Qian would suspect her, leading to a rift between the couple. Little did they know that from the moment they got married, Chen Qian and Sixth Sister were incapable of living together harmoniously.
Chen Qian resented Liu Niang for dragging him down and forcing him to marry her; Liu Niang resented Chen Qian for biting her at a crucial moment, leaving her with no chance to recover.
She wasn't without the intention to try and make it work with Chen Qian, but Hui Niang's presence was a wake-up call for Liu Niang, and she sensed the danger.
She believes in striking first to gain the upper hand and won't allow herself to be put on the defensive.
"Find an opportunity today and find a way to bring that messenger maid to me," Sixth Sister said calmly. "Keep it away from people, and don't let the master's men see her."
This was also one of the loopholes left by Xu Hui. In order not to arouse suspicion, she instructed the maids in Ding's courtyard to often take on tasks that required moving around, so that it would look more natural when she was running errands.
Sixth Sister instructed her maid to observe carefully and remain patient until the very last moment before making her move. If she acted too early, Hui Niang might notice something amiss, and Hui Niang wouldn't have time that day, so today was the most suitable time.
Although she didn't know how Hui Niang had instructed her, Liu Niang was confident that with her own abilities and by acting like the mistress of the house, that little maid would dare to disobey her.
Although Biyun and Bizhu were somewhat worried about whether Sixth Sister's methods would work, they dared not disobey her. They could only console themselves with the thought that the eldest mistress had given it considerable consideration.
Not wanting to entrust the task to others, the two of them used the excuse of going to the sewing room to alter clothes for the eldest mistress to walk back and forth several times on the path leading to the Ding family's courtyard.
Finally, all her hard work paid off. The little maid came over alone, but was stopped by Bizhu.
Chapter 165
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