Chapter 532 - 531: Filing a Complaint

Chapter 532: Chapter 531: Filing a Complaint

The more Hongfu tried to avoid her, the more Ruozhu sought her out, and the two met outside the small kitchen.

"Sister Hongfu," Ruozhu blocked Hongfu’s path, "I heard you were acquainted with my sister before?"

Hongfu bit her lip and said, "Not that familiar."

"Why are you avoiding me?" Ruozhu asked again.

Hongfu pinched her fingers, not knowing how to answer for a moment, and seeing Jin Rui approaching from afar, she breathed a sigh of relief, "Miss Jin Rui is coming, if she sees me slacking, I’ll be scolded."

As soon as she finished speaking, Hongfu ran off.

"Ruozhu," Jin Rui called out with a smile, "Are you getting accustomed these days? I visited Jin Ling the other day, and she was asking about you."

Ruozhu plastered a smile on her face, mumbled a few perfunctory responses, and left.

Jin Rui brought out a bowl of ice from the small kitchen and delivered it to Du Yunluo.

"Ruozhu came by, but Hongfu wouldn’t talk to her," Jin Rui whispered.

Du Yunluo took a small bite of the ice and said, "Hongfu is timid; even if she knows something, she wouldn’t dare tell Ruozhu."

"Then what do you think..."

"No rush, there’s still half a month in July," Du Yunluo said.

After leaving Shaohui Garden, Ruozhu wasn’t idle for long before Fuman sent her to Fengyu Courtyard.

It had rained last night, and some flowers in Fengyu Courtyard were damaged. Ruozhu crouched in front of a row of flower pots, saving what she could, and those beyond saving, she moved out to take back to the garden.

While she was busy, a well-dressed big maid came out from the main room and headed straight towards her.

Ruozhu recognized her, quickly stood up, brushed the dirt off her hands on her clothes, and smiled, "Sister Zhu Shan."

Zhu Shan nodded, looked Ruozhu up and down, and said, "You haven’t reached coming-of-age yet, have you? I saw your sister when she was serving in Mr. Si’s courtyard; both of you sisters have fine appearances. Zizhu serves by Mr. Si’s side, so Madam wants her to dress plainly. Now that you’re tending flowers and plants, why don’t you dress up nicely?"

Ruozhu hadn’t expected Zhu Shan to speak to her, and for a moment, she was speechless. Seeing Zhu Shan’s kind smile, she couldn’t help but say, "Sister Zhu Shan, you’re the one with fine looks, truly Madam’s right-hand woman. I’m just working in the garden, without much reward silver, how could I dress well?"

Zhu Shan chuckled and shifted her gaze to Ruozhu’s bare white wrist, saying, "I heard you have a beautiful golden bracelet?"

Ruozhu was taken aback.

"I heard it from someone; back in Willow Tree Alley, many people saw it," Zhu Shan said.

Ruozhu knew the bracelet had a complicated origin. Originally, she wanted to brush it off, but then she reconsidered, knowing many people had indeed seen the bracelet. She decided to be bold and said, "Yes, there was such a bracelet. I only wore it once. My elder sister said such a valuable thing shouldn’t be worn casually, so she put it away. She kept it, and after she passed, I don’t know where the bracelet went."

Zhu Shan’s smile grew gentler, and she said, "I heard it was an extremely delicate golden bracelet? Very light, but well-crafted, with lifelike patterns on it."

"Yes, the pattern was lovely. I didn’t understand it at that time, so I asked someone, and they said it was called the Tang Grass Pattern," Ruozhu said.

Zhu Shan smiled and said, "Did Sister-in-law Yunqi see it too?"

"She did." Ruozhu nodded, "My mother couldn’t tell the quality of the bracelet, so when others praised it, she took it to show Sister-in-law Yunqi."

Zhu Shan rambled a few more questions before returning to the main room.

The Lian Family matriarch fanned herself absent-mindedly. Seeing Zhu Shan return, she sat up from the couch: "What did she say?"

Zhu Shan recounted the conversation with Ruozhu, saying, "Madam, you were right, Madam probably knew about that bracelet early on, and she most likely guessed about Mr. Si and Madam..."

"What a Du Yunluo!" Lian Family matriarch gritted her teeth, "If it weren’t for her, how would Lian Yu have..."

Those scandals were not meant to be exposed.

No matter how much Mu Lianyu was at fault, dealing with it quietly would leave no trace. As long as it wasn’t publicly exposed, Madam Wu didn’t have to, for the sake of face and silencing the rumors, send Mu Lianyu to the Northern Border.

The more the Lian Family matriarch thought, the angrier she became. She urged Zhu Shan to comb her hair and get dressed to go to Baijie Hall.

Nanny Zhu, hearing the commotion, came in and quickly tried to persuade, "Madam, just based on a few words from Ruozhu, how can we be sure Madam is aware of everything? With no evidence, no good can come from speaking to the Old Madam."

The Lian Family matriarch took a deep breath: "I understand, I know it all, but I just can’t let it go!"

Nanny Zhu couldn’t persuade her, so she had to find a way to send a message to Mu Yuanmou.

The Lian Family matriarch, under the hot sun, arrived at Baijie Hall.

Madam Wu had risen from her nap and was having a casual conversation with Nanny Shan.

Banqiao lifted the curtain to let the Lian Family matriarch in.

The Lian Family matriarch inquired about her health, her gaze wandering as she smiled, "Old Madam..."

Seeing her hesitance, Madam Wu dismissed everyone except Nanny Shan.

"Speak, what’s the matter?" Madam Wu asked.

The Lian Family matriarch took a deep breath and said, "It’s Mid-Autumn again. I can’t help but think about Yuan Jing and Lian Yu these days."

Madam Wu frowned slightly, "Why bring that up out of the blue?"

"I know right from wrong, Daughter-in-law," she said, "it’s all Lian Yu’s own doing, disrupting ethics, and whatever punishment and scolding from Old Madam is deserved," speaking of Mu Lianyu, tears welled in the Lian Family matriarch’s eyes, and she pulled out a handkerchief to dab at the corners of her eyes, "Those were things that couldn’t see the light of day, originally meant to be reported to Old Madam quietly, without making it so public that everyone witnessed it.

It was only today that I found out that Sister-in-law Lian Xiao knew about Yuan Jing and Lian Yu long ago, but she didn’t handle it privately, making everything so public.

Filthy things causing a stir in the manor, it’s all Sister-in-law Lian Xiao’s doing."

Madam Wu’s face darkened, questioning the Lian Family matriarch, "You say Sister-in-law Lian Xiao knew long ago, why would she know?"

The Lian Family matriarch replied, "Zizhu, the one who went with Lian Yu, had a golden bracelet. Many people in Willow Tree Alley saw it. Sister-in-law Yunqi personally saw it.

That bracelet should have belonged to Yuan Jing. Zizhu knew about the matter, and the bracelet was given to her to keep silent.

Sister-in-law Yunqi was originally a big maid beside Sister-in-law Lian Xiao, and she reported this to Shaohui Garden."

"According to you, after Sister-in-law Lian Xiao found out, that’s when the Mid-Autumn incident occurred?" Madam Wu eyed the Lian Family matriarch, "Then tell me, how did making it public benefit Sister-in-law Lian Xiao?"

"Before then, I was in charge of the household affairs. Perhaps she was afraid that the people below wouldn’t respect her, so she wanted to bring down the prestige of the second house," the Lian Family matriarch said.

Madam Wu remained indifferent and instructed Nanny Shan, "Go call Sister-in-law Lian Xiao."

Nanny Shan complied and left.

The Lian Family matriarch wrung her handkerchief as she sat in the chair, her mind churning, clearly hoping Du Yunluo would get the brunt of it, but Madam Wu’s reaction made her uncertain.

She forced herself to wait patiently for two quarters of an hour before Du Yunluo arrived.