The Eldest Daughter-in-Law [Reborn] - Chapter 36

Mama Lin said no more and immediately sent Xia An to the outer courtyard to find Uncle Lin and ask him to go to the Xie Mansion.

Originally, she had agreed to go shopping with Xiao Youran, but Xiao Youran was probably angry and didn’t send anyone to pass on the message. Xie Yunchu didn’t have the mood to think about it. She lay on the rattan chair, pressing her temples, trying to recall the situation in her previous life and thinking of a countermeasure.

In her previous life, she didn’t know the exact day the Western Chu delegation arrived. She could only call for Qiu Sui and say, “Go to the front yard and find Housekeeper Ming, who is by the eunuch’s side, and ask if there’s been any news in the capital recently.”

Qiu Sui went, and before long, brought back a young servant, who happened to be Ming Gui’s younger brother, Ming Lan.

The Ming family originally served as companions to the Madam, and now the Father of the family worked for the Second Master. One of the two sons was assigned to Wang Shuhuai, while the other stayed in the outer courtyard to run errands. Housekeeper Ming, hearing Qiu Sui’s words, assumed that Xie Yunchu was bored, so he sent over his clever younger son.

The young servant stood under the porch of the side room and vividly described what he had seen and heard in the capital, “The heir of the Prince’s Mansion, Young Master Zheng from the Minister of Rites’ Mansion, and Second Young Master Li from the Ning Marquis’s Mansion went to play a polo match yesterday. The location was Jinxiu Manor in the southern suburbs of the capital. The manager of the manor must have had a strange idea, as he arranged for a group of dancers at the dinner.”

“Goodness gracious, Young Master Zhu was so frightened that he ran away. Young Master Zheng stammered and couldn’t speak, finding an excuse to leave. Only the tall and mighty Second Young Master Li remained. The girls all rushed towards him, but Young Master Li, who remained calm, waved them away with a palm, and they ended up piled on top of each other like a human pyramid.”

“This matter has become a joke in the capital. Everyone laughs at those men for being henpecked.”

Mama Lin and the others couldn’t help but cover their mouths and laugh when they heard this. “Oh, you cheeky monkey, say something serious. I can’t believe it really happened like that. Did Young Master Zhu and Young Master Zheng actually run away?”

The young servant Ming Lan was very clever. Knowing that Xie Yunchu was close friends with those ladies, he picked things she liked to hear to amuse her. Unfortunately, Xie Yunchu had no interest in listening to his chatter and asked directly, “Has any diplomatic delegation arrived in the capital recently?”

The young servant blinked and said, “I haven’t heard anything about that.”

Xie Yunchu furrowed her brows deeply. It seemed they had not yet arrived in the capital. She then instructed Mama Lin to give the young servant a few coins to send him away.

Uncle Lin returned at noon and only said that Xie Yunyou had not yet returned home.

Xie Yunchu thought for a moment and, without another word, wrote a letter and gave it to Uncle Lin.

“You must find someone reliable to personally deliver this letter to You’er. Tell him that his brother-in-law is currently repairing the Fish Scale map and that these volumes are very important to him. Please ask him to go to the Songshan Academy’s library to find these volumes and then hand-copy them for me.”

Based on her understanding of Xie Yunyou, he wouldn’t be able to complete this task in one or two months, so she wanted him to stay at the academy.

“Just tell him that everything is fine at home. As his elder sister, I don’t expect anything from him. I just hope that he can concentrate on studying and pass the Imperial Examination, so I can have someone to rely on. There’s no need for him to return to the capital unless necessary.”

She entrusted Uncle Lin to hire a young servant to watch over Xie Yunyou for half a month and simply keep him away from the matter.

After making these arrangements, she felt a little more at ease.

She slept in a daze for an hour in the afternoon. By late afternoon, when the sun was not so strong, her sister-in-law, Third Lady Wang Shuyi, came to visit.

She first teased Sister Ke, who had just woken up, and then saw Xie Yunchu mending a small piece of clothing for Sister Ke, so she went over to chat.

“I heard that Sister Youran came by a few days ago, but unfortunately, I missed her. The jade earrings she gave me last time look great on me. Sister-in-law, what does Sister Youran like? I have to give her a return gift tomorrow.”

Xie Yunchu looked at her calmly. Her small face was fair and pretty, and she looked 50% like Wang Shuhuai. Although she was beautiful, she did not have Wang Shuhuai’s unique temperament, so she was much inferior. In her previous life, she treated Wang Shuyi with special favor and sincerity because she was the most like her husband. Unfortunately, Wang Shuyi was also a person who changed with the wind. Later, when she saw that she was hopeless, she became friends with Xie Yunxiu.

The reason why Wang Shuyi stayed close to her every day was because she fell in love with her cousin Xiao Huaijin, Xiao Youran’s biological brother, and tried every means to get news about Xiao Huaijin from her.

It was a pity that even though Wang Shuyi had a superior family background and outstanding appearance in her previous life, Xiao Huaijin still rejected her.

Wang Shuyi failed to marry the man she loved, and because of love, she turned into hatred and tormented her as much as she could.

For Xiao Huaijin’s sake, Xie Yunchu would certainly not help her to make connections in this new life.

“Youran is not a person who cares about small things. You don’t have to give her a return gift.”

Wang Shuyi said in sadness, “That won’t do. This will make me, the Eldest Daughter of the Duke Wang’s Mansion, appear to be impolite.”

“Didn’t you give her a box of ointment first, and then she gave you a return gift? Why do you keep going back and forth, endlessly?”

Wang Shuyi shyly pulled her handkerchief and said, “My box of perfume is not worth much. How can it compare to Sister Youran’s gift?”

Xie Yunchu looked up at her sister-in-law’s innocent appearance and said something provocative for the first time in her life.

“If you really feel guilty, why not just return the earrings to the owner?” Her tone was also firm.

Wang Shuyi looked at her blankly, unable to believe that her gentle and quiet sister-in-law would say such words. Tears slowly filled her eyes. She waited for Xie Yunchu to come and comfort her, but in the end, Xie Yunchu turned a blind eye. She could only leave in despair.

Mama Lin sent the person away and came in to look at Xie Yunchu, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

“Why were you so impulsive today, young lady? Be careful, or the little ancestor will complain.”