Chapter 15: Grabbing

Shen Tang passed by Qinglan Garden without turning her head and went straight back to her own courtyard.

Yin Xing followed Shen Tang into Qingyi Garden and couldn’t believe that her mistress wasn’t going to see the Eldest Miss.

This time, her mistress’s temper had exceeded her expectations. It seemed that the Eldest Miss had truly hurt her deeply, otherwise she wouldn’t be so indifferent to the news of her suicide attempt.

Shen Tang’s knee injury wasn’t fully healed yet, and she had walked a lot today. All she wanted to do was sit down and rest. She went straight to her room, and just then, Nanny Jiang, supporting her waist, walked over. When she saw Shen Tang, her eyes turned cold.

Shen Tang didn’t say anything, but Yin Xing said, “Nanny Jiang, your sprained waist hasn’t healed yet. Why aren’t you resting in your room?”

Nanny Jiang supported her waist and said, “I can’t lie down anymore. My waist has only been injured for a few days, but that maid, Doukou, is already betraying me. I can’t rest assured if I don’t come back and keep an eye on things.”

Doukou was betraying her, but wasn’t she, Nanny Jiang, betraying her too?

Nanny Jiang had sprained her waist when Shen Tang accompanied Shen Juan to the Dazhao Temple to offer incense and pray for blessings. When Shen Tang went to the Prince Jingyang’s Manor for the rushed marriage, Nanny Jiang hadn’t gone with her. She had gone the next morning after the Prince Jingyang’s son woke up, and the first thing she did was ask Shen Tang if she had consummated the marriage with the Prince Jingyang’s son. Hearing that she hadn’t, she breathed a sigh of relief and encouraged her and Xie Guimo to propose that Shen Juan return to the manor.

She had mentioned this to Xie Guimo when he woke up, but Xie Guimo hadn’t agreed, and he even scolded her angrily. She had spent a night in the Prince Jingyang’s Manor, and she was still encouraging her to do such a thing. She truly didn’t care about her reputation at all.

When it became clear that Shen Juan couldn’t be exchanged back, Nanny Jiang stayed by her side. Today, she was instigating discord, making her look bad, and tomorrow, she would encourage her to send gifts to Shen Juan and ask for her forgiveness.

At the time, she had thought that Nanny Jiang was wholeheartedly concerned for her and had believed her words. Later, Nanny Jiang had angered Xie Guimo, and he had ordered people to drag her out and beat her. She had even risked her life to protect Nanny Jiang. Xie Guimo had spared Nanny Jiang’s life, but he wouldn’t let her stay in the Prince Jingyang’s Manor anymore, so she had sent her to an estate to live a life of luxury. She had died while still enjoying her life on the estate.

Thinking of her past foolishness, Shen Tang felt a lump in her throat.

Jiang Shi had arranged for someone to take care of Shen Tang when she passed away. But after Jiang Shi died, the people she had assigned to Shen Tang’s side disappeared one after another. They were either beaten to death or sold off. Gradually, they were replaced by people from the Second Madam’s side. Nanny Jiang had arrived by Shen Tang’s side when Shen Tang was only seven years old, and she taught her to be tolerant of Shen Juan and to give her the best of everything.

In her previous life, if Xie Guimo hadn’t tolerated Nanny Jiang, Shen Tang didn’t know how long she would have been tricked by her.

Seeing Nanny Jiang supporting her waist, Shen Tang hid the coldness in her eyes and said, “I have Yin Xing by my side, and there are a lot of maids in the courtyard. Nanny Jiang, just focus on recovering. I’ll have someone take you back to rest.”

Shen Tang finished speaking and stepped into the room, but Nanny Jiang didn’t leave and followed her in.

Shen Tang sat down, and Nanny Jiang stepped forward and said, “Miss, you are the legitimate daughter of the Pingyuan Marquis Manor. It’s not appropriate to only have Yin Xing as your senior maid. That maid, Bi Liu, is not bad, you can promote her.”

To receive a compliment from Nanny Jiang, it seemed that Bi Liu had been giving her a lot of gifts.

She needed a smart maid, but a maid who was too smart and didn’t support her was not what she needed.

Without a treacherous Doukou, what was the difference if another one was added?

Shen Tang picked up her teacup, smiled, and said, “Bi Liu is indeed not bad, but she’s not qualified to be a senior maid yet. Let the Second Madam arrange it. The people she arranges are always more thoughtful.”

Shen Tang brought the Second Madam into the conversation, and Nanny Jiang no longer insisted on promoting Bi Liu. What if the Second Madam had already made arrangements? Wouldn’t she be ruining the Second Madam’s plans? Even with all the courage in the world, she wouldn’t dare to upset the Second Madam.

Nanny Jiang didn’t leave, but Shen Tang ignored her and continued to drink her tea. Nanny Jiang said, “Miss, have you gone to see the Eldest Miss?”

Shen Tang’s eyes flickered, and she said in a low voice, “I wanted to, but I didn’t dare.”

Nanny Jiang said in confusion, “Why wouldn’t you dare?”

Shen Tang’s face was filled with worry, and she said dejectedly, “I didn’t expect the Prince Jingyang’s Manor to break off the engagement. If I had known, even if the Eldest Sister didn’t believe me, I would have told her about Mother’s dream. Now, it’s too late to regret it.”

Nanny Jiang said, “The Eldest Miss likes the Prince Jingyang’s son. Now that the engagement is broken, she is so distraught that she even tried to commit suicide. You are her twin sister. Comfort her a little, and she will be able to let it go.”

Shen Tang said, “How could I not want to? It’s just that I’m afraid that I’m clumsy with my words. If I say something wrong, it might make the Eldest Sister even more irrational. Nanny Jiang is good at comforting people. Why don’t you go and comfort the Eldest Sister for me? I’ll thank you properly when you come back.”

Hearing this, Nanny Jiang was moved. She said, “I heard that Madam gave you the set of jewelry that the Eldest Miss had taken a liking to a long time ago. Why don’t I take it with me? The Eldest Miss will feel better when she sees it.”

She never missed an opportunity to grab things for Shen Juan.

Yin Xing was about to object, but Shen Tang stopped her with a look. Shen Tang said, “A set of jewelry is nothing compared to the position of the Prince Jingyang’s son’s wife. The Eldest Sister is in a fit of anger now. If you take it with you, you might make her misunderstand that I’m humiliating her. I have nothing that I wouldn’t give to her. I’m not in a hurry to give it to her.”

Nanny Jiang thought about it, and she was right. Not only was a set of jewelry not comparable to the position of the Prince Jingyang’s son’s wife, even ten or a hundred sets wouldn’t be. Who would have thought that the Prince Jingyang’s son would recover? When the Prince Jingyang’s Manor had come to propose marriage, countless noble young ladies in the Capital had envied the Eldest Miss. Now that the engagement was broken, who knows what they would be saying behind her back. It was no wonder that the Eldest Miss wanted to commit suicide.

Nanny Jiang said, “I will help the Second Miss comfort the Eldest Miss.”

Shen Tang said, “Thank you, Nanny Jiang.”

Nanny Jiang withdrew. Yin Xing pouted, “Miss, you suffered so much, and Nanny Jiang only gave you that set of jewelry. Nanny Jiang actually wants you to send the jewelry to comfort the Eldest Miss. Aren’t you angry, Miss?”

Shen Tang smiled, “Don’t get angry yet. Help me do something.”

Yin Xing looked at Shen Tang.

Shen Tang motioned for Yin Xing to come closer and whispered a few words in her ear. Yin Xing’s eyes widened.

After Yin Xing went out, Shen Tang continued to drink her tea. A quarter of an hour later, Yin Xing came back smiling, which meant that things were going well.