An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

At the end of the Wuyuan corridor, two servants came from the west wing and took over the service work of the two maids in the main hall corridor. Not long after the eldest son and his wife left, Cheng Ai led Wei Chu out of the house and went straight to the Yunyue Pavilion.

At the same time, Shen had already led people to Yunyue Pavilion to complete the handover of the leadership of the family.

Madam Zhaoyu always behaved docilely in front of her elders, and naturally would not show any expression. Although she did not entertain them enthusiastically, she still received her second brother's wife in a friendly and amicable manner.

The conversation in the main hall was intermittent, and Cheng Ai walked silently to Fang Ai's side. The two old ladies knew what it meant without saying anything. After Cheng Ai stood still, she quietly threw a look at Wei Chu, and the little girl nodded quietly, and then disappeared at the end of the corridor.

About three quarters of an hour later, the sisters-in-law finally finished their conversations. Shen asked someone to go to the accounting office to get the account books, smiling, "Sister-in-law, you will finally have some free time from now on. If you really can't sit still, feel free to come to Changyuan and sit down. There are many fun things to do in our house."

Madam Zhaoyu looked over but did not respond verbally. Instead, Aunt Fang, who was waiting at the wall, sneered, "You are really like an old sow eating lettuce. You are so proud of this."

Cheng Ai then responded, "Taking over the housework at a time like this is not an easy job."

You know, the epidemic in Jingzhao has not been completely eradicated. The reason why the Marquis' Mansion can be stable is all due to the support of the Second Young Master's Wife. Even Madam Zhaoyu is not clear about the details of the arrangement. It is not an easy job for Shen to take over this hot potato halfway.

While they were busy with the handover, Wei Chu had already gone to the back room to give instructions to Yuan.

The little girl quickly followed the Second Madam as she came out of Yunyue Pavilion.

Yunyue Pavilion is located by the Shimei Lake in the East Palace. To get back to the West Palace, one has to go through the courtyard. This is the junction of the two palaces, and there are many servants coming and going. Therefore, as long as Yuan's skinny daughter doesn't follow too closely, it is difficult for people to notice her immediately.

Shen was still immersed in joy. "I didn't have to do anything. They just gave me the chance. Their luck was bad. First the mother-in-law was ill, and now the daughter-in-law is ill. God doesn't care about her family. You can imagine that they have done too many sins in the past."

He Niu bowed and followed beside him, smiling in agreement, "Yes, the first lady and the second young lady are not up to the task after all. Who would have thought that the second young lady would send medicine out at this critical moment?"

"She is stupid too." Shen raised her long eyebrows and recalled the face of the Sang family girl. She was beautiful, but if a person was not smart, beauty would only bring trouble to herself.

"Now that we have regained control of the family, what about that matter?" He Ai asked again.

The master and servant knew what was going on. Shen's smile gradually faded. "It would be best if it is done. It will take down Wu Xiulian once and for all, and we will never have any future troubles. If it fails, it will completely alienate the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and we will not lose out." He's mother lowered her eyebrows and responded. Seeing the second wife paused, she said, "You should also ask her to be more careful. She has to be careful before the matter is done."

"Yes, ma'am."

*

Zhang came to visit Wuyuan the next day, and Nie Ce was kept in the palace for two consecutive days. The hall in the front yard of Wuyuan was completely silent, and a few footsteps were approaching from afar.

The fourth lady was called in by a servant and also knelt beside the incense burner behind a silk screen.

"This head of the household is really overworked. You looked like you were always in good health, but now you are sick."

How could Sang Ling not welcome the guests? With Zong Xiang's help, he sat up and said softly, "Who could have predicted this? I thought the weather was good, so I thought I could hold on."

This was Zhang's first time coming to Wuyuan since the last time they met in Houhuapu.

"It's the end of the year, but it's still winter." Zhang sipped her hot drink and glanced at the figure behind the silk. "The day before yesterday, on the first day of the new year, several families went to greet the old man. I couldn't see you, and I felt uneasy. I wanted to come yesterday, but I was afraid that I would disturb your rest, so I decided to come today. How are you feeling now?"

"It's much better today than before, but the day before yesterday was too—" Sang Ling hadn't even had time to catch his breath when Zhang Shi took over the conversation, "Your Second Aunt didn't even go to pay respects yesterday, did you know that?"

But just as Sang Ling expected, the fourth aunt came here today to take charge of the family.

Old Madam Cheng stood by the screen, motionless, and looked at Zhang without making a sound. Sang Ling said, "I know something."

If she is angry, this is the best time to ridicule her to calm her down.

"Yes." Zhang gently put down the jade cup, with a smile on her lips, "Such a big thing, how could you not know about it? You were the head of the family before the New Year. In my opinion, you should not take it too seriously. It is not your fault after all. Even if the grandfather wants to punish you, it will not be for this matter."

"I'm sympathetic to you and your sister-in-law's hard work. You need to relax a little."

The smugness in her words was even stronger than that of the Second Lady, the real head of the family.

Sang Ling paused, still speaking in a gentle voice, "It is a blessing to be able to recuperate, Fourth Aunt, you will understand this truth in the future."

The slow and steady voice drifted into the incense burner. After the smoke, Zhang's face changed and the smile on her lips froze. After thinking for a while, she smiled again, "Yes, isn't it a blessing to be like you now?"

It's just a verbal battle, who can scare who?

During the trial, Aunt Cheng spoke up, "Fourth Madam has always been blessed. Come to think of it, who in our two mansions is not blessed? The eldest young lady who came the other day was also blessed."

The old woman spoke neither servilely nor arrogantly, and had a smile on her face just like her master. Sang Ling took the jade ruyi beside the couch and began to play with it.

"My niece's wife came here the day before yesterday?" Zhang heard this and naturally began to ponder.

"Yes, I came here with my elder brother."

Zhang's heart stagnated. She could vaguely see the smiling face behind the silk screen. She subconsciously tightened her grip on the sleeve of her clothes, and heard a sound of cloth tearing.

"They also mentioned Taxue." The Sang family girl continued, "My eldest brother said that the cat is now kept in my eldest sister-in-law's house and asked me to go and take a look when I feel better. My eldest sister-in-law also said that Taxue gained a lot of weight during the epidemic. Fourth Aunt, have you been to take a look?"

The smoke from the incense burner beside her rushed into her nose, and Zhang felt a little dizzy. She almost couldn't even maintain her kneeling posture. It was unknown how long it took before she managed to calm down. She heard herself gritting her teeth and saying, "I told you before, I've seen that cat too."