Volume One, Chapter Seven: Seeds of Discord

Xiao Yuanyi’s face flushed a deep crimson. "It was a mistake made by the servants. I distinctly remember preparing a Longhong sword; I will have it delivered to the Ninth Young Master immediately."

But no one cared to listen to her excuses. Even Lou Hejing looked at her with undisguised hostility. How could something supposedly prepared in advance be swapped by mistake? By sending a broken sword, what message was the Prince of Nanan’s estate trying to send? Did she truly believe that because her maternal family had arrived, she had nothing to fear?

Ignoring Xiao Yuanyi, Lou Siyuan apologized to Qin Zhiyin and departed. Left behind, the Tenth Miss, Lou Jia’an, stared at her seventh brother in bewilderment.

"Let us end it here for today. Escort the Seventh Young Mistress back," Qin Zhiyin said, his expression darkening. He no longer wished to look at the gifts she had prepared for the youngest of the Lou family.

Once everyone had dispersed, Xiao Yuanyi and Longyu were left standing alone at the entrance.

"How truly vicious. It wasn't enough that her brother killed the General and the Eighth Master; now she curses the Ninth Master as well. If I were the Eldest Mistress, I would have strangled her with a rope long ago!"

"Exactly. I don't know why they keep her in the estate at all—what a jinx!"

"Miss..." Longyu looked toward the servants, filled with indignation but unable to speak out.

"I am fine," Xiao Yuanyi said, picking up the broken sword and placing it into the brocade box.

Previously, the servants of the Lou household had not dared to openly speak of killing her, likely having been disciplined by the Eldest Mistress. But now that she had once again touched the raw nerves of the Lou family, they could no longer be restrained.

Returning to Qinyuan under a barrage of insults, Longyu could bear it no longer. Clutching the broken sword, she went to confront Nanny Liu.

"Look at the mess you’ve caused! Other things might be one matter, but how could you be so greedy as to pilfer the gifts intended for the Lou family? Do you have any idea what kind of humiliation the Miss just suffered?"

Nanny Liu was startled by the glinting blade and instinctively recoiled, a reaction that betrayed her guilt.

"Nonsense! That Longhong sword was prepared by the Princess herself; how could I have touched it?"

Sirui stepped forward and easily restrained Longyu, seizing the sword from her.

Longyu’s eyes turned red with anger. "Then what is this? How did a perfectly fine Longhong sword turn into a broken piece of junk? And the bracelet meant for the Tenth Miss has also become this trash! Even if you don’t care about the Miss’s reputation, what about the Prince of Nanan’s estate? Do you want to deepen the grudge between the two houses? If the Princess finds out, she will never let you off!"

The original jade bangle had been replaced with a dull agate one. Fortunately, it had not been presented, or the Lou family would have surely turned against them on the spot.

Nanny Liu’s eyes widened. "That’s impossible. The gifts were placed in the box by the Princess herself. I never even touched them."

Sirui nodded in agreement. Having served the Princess, she had seen her prepare the gifts personally, all of which were of the finest quality.

"So, you’re saying the Princess sent these two pieces of trash to the Lou family?"

"This..."

"Just you wait. The Miss will write to the capital immediately. Even if the Princess intends to punish the Miss, she will not stand by and watch you wretched servants ruin the reputation of the Prince's estate!" Longyu declared with immense satisfaction.

***

Xiao Yuanyi had already spread out the letter paper. Her eyes were red; it was clear she had suffered greatly at Yan Sheng Tang.

"You mustn't! You mustn't!"

Nanny Liu had long since learned that the Prince and Princess were coming to Dingzhou, but she had kept it a secret, fearing Xiao Yuanyi would lodge a complaint against her. She had planned to meet the Princess and the Seventh Miss first, believing that would ensure her safety. But with such a catastrophic error, even the Seventh Miss’s intervention would be useless.

"The most urgent matter is to prepare a new set of gifts for the Ninth Young Master and the Tenth Miss," Nanny Liu said, gripping Xiao Yuanyi’s hand.

Xiao Yuanyi sneered. "Prepare them again? There is no need. Just have the Nanny hand over the sword and the bracelet."

"But I truly did not touch those things!"

Xiao Yuanyi’s dowry was in her control; with everything she could want, why would she covet these two hot potatoes? Xiao Yuanyi shook off her hand and picked up a brush, dipping it into ink.

Nanny Liu could only snatch the brush away. "Miss, please investigate! I truly did not touch them!"

"Could the sword have grown legs and run away on its own?" Xiao Yuanyi coughed repeatedly in her agitation.

"That’s not... then who?"

Nanny Liu looked at Sirui, who waved her hands frantically—she did not have the courage for such a thing.

"It must be those two wretched maids, Yunjin and Xiaoguang!"

Nanny Liu gritted her teeth and stormed out, with Sirui following, fearing she could not handle them alone. Yunjin and Xiaoguang were the two maids who possessed some martial arts skills; their employment contracts were held by Nanny Liu, which was why they had been so submissive to her.

The dowry was locked in a room to which only Nanny Liu had the key. She lived and ate with these women, so it was entirely possible they had stolen the key while she was distracted and returned it stealthily.

While they had been confined to Qinyuan by the Lou family under the guise of mourning, Nanny Liu had found ways to sneak items out to be sold. She never imagined these base servants would have the same idea.

Sounds of cursing drifted in from outside. Xiao Yuanyi crumpled the letter paper into a ball and whispered, "Are the things hidden properly?"

Longyu looked toward the inner chamber and nodded.

It was a hardship for the Miss; the ten taels of silver for this month had all been spent on bribing servants and purchasing the sword and bracelet, leaving them without even a scrap of meat for their meals. However, it was fortunate that the act of bribing the servants had been discovered; Nanny Liu would only assume the money had been spent on that.

The argument outside finally subsided. The two maids were trained in combat, and Nanny Liu and Sirui had not gained the upper hand; they were now resorting to threats regarding their employment contracts. But the two maids were no fools; realizing their true mistress was Xiao Yuanyi, they took the commotion directly to her.

"Miss, we are wronged! The keys to the treasury were in the Nanny’s hands; how would we have had the opportunity to commit theft? It is clearly..."

The two maids, who were usually overbearing, knelt at Xiao Yuanyi’s feet, their eyes darting toward Nanny Liu.

Nanny Liu was beside herself with rage and tried to strike them, but Yunjin caught her wrist, causing her to fall to the ground in a comical heap.

"You wretch! How dare you strike me?" Nanny Liu’s face twisted in fury; she had even thought of taking these maids with her when she left.

Longyu hurriedly stood in front of Xiao Yuanyi, fearing that the brawl would harm her.

Yunjin gritted her teeth, realizing Nanny Liu was using them as scapegoats, and decided to go all in.

"It was clearly you, Nanny, who stole from the treasury! A few days ago, I saw you take one of the Miss’s hairpins to sell, saying you needed to prepare an escape route. The Princess only tasked you with watching over the Miss’s dowry, not to swallow it whole! In any case, the Princess will be here soon. When she arrives, the truth of who is right and who is wrong will be settled!"

Xiao Yuanyi froze. No wonder Lou Hejing had come to Qinyuan and taken her to serve tea—her mother was coming. Was she coming to save her? No wonder the Lou family had not moved against them for so long, beyond the Second Mistress’s frequent outbursts.

"Nonsense!" Nanny Liu’s voice was loud, but her eyes flickered with fear, failing to intimidate anyone.

Yunjin, quick-witted, immediately clung to Xiao Yuanyi’s legs to pledge her loyalty. "Miss, Xiaoguang and I can both testify! I even know that a gatekeeper named Jin Rui helped her fence the stolen goods. As long as you go to the pawnshop and find the items, the human and material evidence will be there, and she won't be able to deny it!"

Nanny Liu’s face turned from green to red. She pointed at Yunjin, struggling to speak, before fainting from pure rage.

Sirui shrieked and went to help her, but upon meeting Xiao Yuanyi’s icy gaze, she sheepishly withdrew her hands. They hadn't expected the Princess to arrive when they started this. With Nanny Liu no longer reliable, Sirui immediately tried to retrieve the keys from her, hoping to be the hero. But unexpectedly, Xiaoguang tripped her silently.

She cried out as she tumbled onto Nanny Liu, the keys falling to the floor. Xiaoguang picked them up and presented them to Xiao Yuanyi as if offering a treasure.

"Miss, I’ve long despised this old hag! A base servant daring to try and control your dowry—I have finally waited for the day these things are returned to their rightful owner," Xiaoguang said, beaming.

"Yes, indeed," Yunjin echoed, though both of their eyes were filled with tension.

Sirui was filled with hatred, but she could only kneel alongside them, hurriedly trying to distance herself from Nanny Liu. Longyu let out a scoff. She had initially disagreed with the Miss’s plan to "injure oneself by eight hundred to inflict a thousand," but at this moment, she felt nothing but pure satisfaction.