When the Second Lady still wanted to hold on to herself, another Lady made an appearance.
"My Lady, does the Second Master know how you are detaining the items in my courtyard like this? I will tell him about this matter. Even if I’m only a concubine, I can't visit my relatives without a gift. My Lady, you are so cheap."
"Let me tell you, my sister-in-law, you are so acquisitive with gifts, and you are not at all setting a good example. Lady He in our courtyard is about to give birth, and that’s why we decided to buy her some red ginseng. But here you are, making a fuss about gifts."
For several days in a row, the Second Lady was exhausted by such tedious things every day. In the end, she would get pissed off while sorting out the trouble in the mansion. However, her anger had caused her to feel discomfort. Soon, everyone in the government knew that she was pregnant. When the Elder heard about this, he was taken aback, but he immediately became happy. He even brought his men, and personally went to visit her on that day.
The doctor came and repeatedly told the Second Lady to have a good rest and avoid overworking herself, as she might lose the child if she continued to exhaust herself like that.
That night, the Elder and Second Master had a discussion with her. After a long persuasion, she finally agreed to pass on her powers to the Fifth Lady.
Of course, she did not transfer her full powers to the Fifth Lady, but only over some important matters.
"You are pregnant now, so please don’t tire yourself like this again. The Fifth Lady is also a competent person. I think you should let her manage everything."
On the other side of the room, the Fifth Lady stood patiently on the side and continued listening to what the Elder was saying. Then, she hurried forward to interrupt the conversation.
"Sister-in-law, don't be afraid. When I was with my family, I learned how to manage the house with my mother. Since you are pregnant, as your sister-in-law, I should do my best to help share the burden."
The Elder looked at the Second Lady with kind and loving eyes, "Ah Ji, you have worked hard for all these years, and now you finally managed to get pregnant. This is a good thing, and you will no longer need to worry about these matters in the future."
When Lady Ji thought of the Ladies around Second Master, she agreed with the Elder. "Then I will listen to your advice. The Fifth Lady will be in charge together with me."
Originally, everything went as planned.
The Second Lady had been having a smooth pregnancy, but no one would have thought that at this moment, her only son, Young Master Chang, would accidentally fall into the lake when he was going to school. He suffered from a persistent high fever.
Lady Ji had been so worried about him that at the end she suffered a miscarriage.
What was worse, Young Master Chang died too.
The continuous tragedies almost drove Lady Ji crazy.
Sadness enveloped the mansion, and everyone was in danger.
"Who knew you really guessed it right," Ruyue sighed softly as she and Shen Xiangwan were washing clothes in a secluded area of the Huanyi Bureau.
"Haha! What do you think this mansion will be like next?" Shen Xiangwan asked with a sneer. She flipped over the clothes in her hands and continued to dry it.
"What else would happen? If all this was really done by her, I have to say that she is really clever, so clever that she picks up everything by herself. If she really wants to keep the family business for her own flesh and blood, she will definitely find another reason to support the Second Lady as the head again. And it will make the Second Lady trust her more, and make her feel that she is the only one that she can rely on in this mansion. Isn’t it?"
Shen Xiangwan nodded. "Yes. So, in this mansion, we must be wary of the Elder. It is not easy to place our minions in the Elder’s courtyard. I can see that the Elder is cautious and does not like to believe in other people. From now on, we need to find other ways to get close to the people in her courtyard. The Elder is not easy to deal with."
Ruyue nodded her head and asked, "By the way, what about the teacher you were looking for on behalf of Jiuye?"
Shen Xiangwan knitted her eyebrows. It was a complicated matter. "Still thinking."
It was very easy to find a minion. However, the person that she wanted to approach was chosen by the Fifth Lady.
The man was a very capable person who could manage almost anything by himself, and everyone was aware of his talent.
"About this matter, we have to warn Mr. He about the Fifth Lady before she approaches him. We need to warn him that the Fifth Lady is not friendly."
"Well, we may have to go to Mr. He’s place more often. And maybe we can let Xiaoqi act cute and attract Mr. He’s attention more."
In fact, it would be possible for Shen Xiangwan and Ru Yue to accomplish this mission.
They were only about nine years old, and they were slaves in this mansion.
Mr. He was also a slave now, and he was a sweeper. Therefore, it would be appropriate for them to approach each other.
Shen Xiangwan decided to go to Mr. He the next day.
Now that she had learned to play chess, she had long been familiar with Mr. He. At this time, all she had to do was to persuade Mr. He to play chess with her.
She utilized the advantage of her chubby appearance and soft voice. When she saw Mr. He from a distance, she yelled, "Grandpa He! Grandpa He, I brought something good..."
He Deping had been extremely depressed over the past years.
Firstly, he was plagued by all kinds of trouble, and then, he made a mistake in his errand, so he had to plead guilty in front of the Duke.
Now, he had been demoted to the rank of a slave. He had to work in the Duke’s manor as a servant for his punishment.
The demotion was definitely a huge blow to him. However, recently he had been staying in a slightly better mood.
He wouldn’t be able to carry on with his life in this mansion without Sheng Xiangwan. She had been visiting him regularly, and she would always cook him delicious food or play with him when he had nothing to do.
"Grandpa He, see, I have brought you some good stuff."
Shen Xiangwan ran towards him excitedly like a little chick. He Deping smiled softly when he looked at the food in her hands.
"You little greedy girl, you have come to cook stew at my place again."
"Haha! Grandpa He, don't you want to eat? I will ask Ruyue to cook the stew for us. Besides, there are not many people in your place. They can’t smell what we are cooking."
He Deping’s place was secluded, so few people would come to his place in normal times.
Since Shen Xiangwan had become familiar with him, she would often come to his place to cook a stew or some side meals.
"Look at Ah Ning, her face has grown so round that she almost looks like a circle," he joked.
Ah Ning pouted unhappily. "Grandpa He, you're making fun of me again. I don’t want to eat anymore."
Of course, He Deping will never stop her from eating. He smiled and changed the topic. "By the way, Xiaoqi will be here too."