By the end of April, the summer heat was rising. Branches were thick with green leaves, shading the sun's golden rays. The flowers had all fallen; twisted branches were silent.
Zheng Qian looked outside through the beaded curtain of the carriage.
This time, the maid accompanying her was Xiuzhu, not Hongluan.
Xiuzhu had a slender figure, a long face, and an air of quiet competence. Unlike Hongluan, she was not chirpy or talkative.
She spoke little along the way, and the carriage went straight to Zhai Yu Xuan.
Xiuzhu got down first, set down the footstool, and then helped Zheng Qian descend.
Zheng Qian was light and agile, still holding her cat in her arms, and hopped down from the carriage.
The two of them entered Zhai Yu Xuan.
This time, the staff greeted her warmly and immediately led her to the side room.
The carriage driver saw this, quietly made a note, but didn't know why Zheng Qian had gone inside.
Half an hour later, Zheng Qian emerged. She did not carry a jewelry box in her hands and got back into the carriage.
"Go home," she instructed.
The carriage driver obeyed, driving back.
Once home, the carriage driver reported the matter to Third Madam's maid.
"…The eldest young lady went to Zhai Yu Xuan. The staff there were extremely attentive. However, the eldest young lady did not buy any jewelry. She went in empty-handed and came out empty-handed." The maid relayed the driver's words to Third Madam.
Third Madam sneered.
"She fooled them this time," Third Madam said. "The Old Madam over there probably won't let this go easily."
Sure enough, the next day, Zheng Qian was summoned again to the Yutang Courtyard.
The Old Madam did not speak personally. Her senior maid asked Zheng Qian: "Eldest young lady said she would buy a forehead piece for the Old Madam. Why hasn't it been delivered?"
Zheng Qian was surprised: "When did I ever say such a thing?"
Then, as if recalling something, she smiled:
"Yesterday I did go to Zhai Yu Xuan, did Grandmother misunderstand? I went there not to buy anything.
Listening to Grandmother's meaning, it is inappropriate for an unmarried girl to hold so much money. If I gave it to Grandmother, and she were rumored to take money from her granddaughter, wouldn't that put Grandmother in an unfair position?
Therefore, I deposited the money in Zhai Yu Xuan, letting them give me monthly interest, using it for one year. After one year, I will be married, and I can retrieve the principal and interest together, possibly earning a little.
This way, everyone is at ease. Isn't that much better?" Zheng Qian said with a smile, her gaze flicking to the Old Madam.
The Old Madam felt a sudden weight in her chest.
She could not find fault with Zheng Qian now. If she still ordered a beating, the news would spread, and who knew how much gossip it would bring upon the Jing'an Marquisate.
Yesterday she had indeed misunderstood Zheng Qian, thinking the girl wanted to give her a sapphire forehead piece.
Only now did the Old Madam realize she had been outsmarted by Zheng Qian.
She recalled the old Zheng Qian: evasive eyes, clumsy words. Seeing her then, the Old Madam thought she lacked the air of a Marquisate young lady and disliked her.
Now, this shrew-like woman was about to make the Old Madam furious.
Second young lady Zheng Yutan's provocation had only made the Old Madam angry for nothing; she and the Old Madam gained nothing.
Whether Zheng Qian had given the money to Zhai Yu Xuan, they did not know. They certainly could not search her room.
The matter spread.
The servants privately gossiped, careful not to slander the Old Madam. They said second young lady wanted the eldest young lady's money, and it ended in a great laughable fiasco.
People had always whispered about the eldest young lady. Now the tide turned, finally reaching second young lady.
Zheng Qian's maids, hearing this, felt vindicated.
"Miss, did you really give the money to Zhai Yu Xuan?" Hongluan, frank and straightforward, asked Zheng Qian directly.
Zheng Qian shook her head: "Of course not. I kept it myself. I only said that to prevent them from having any crooked thoughts."
Hongluan: "..."
Miss has become so clever.
Madam Dai was worried, not entirely at ease: "Eldest young lady, the Old Madam is your grandmother. If she keeps finding fault, it will be troublesome. You are not married yet. If she meddles in your marriage, you will be the one suffering."
Zheng Qian thought for a moment and found Madam Dai's words reasonable.
"In the future, I'll find a way to leave the Marquisate and live independently. Isn't that fine?" Zheng Qian said with a smile. "No problem."
"How can you live independently?"
"I'll ask His Majesty to grant me the title of a Princess, ideally with land. Then I can open my own residence," Zheng Qian said.
Everyone: "..."
The eldest young lady has a little money and has gone mad?
How could one become a Princess so easily? Only if her father or brothers had great achievements.
And to have land, her father or brothers would need to die for the country, leaving only her alive.
Zheng Qian's father was a scholar at the National Academy, unlikely to achieve great merits; her full brother had a broken leg and was bedridden—a cripple, with no chance.
Therefore, her desire to become a Princess was like trying to reach the heavens—impossible.
Madam Dai and the maids were slightly shaken by her tone, thinking the eldest young lady was still unreliable.
The cat in her arms glanced at her and licked the back of her hand.
Seeing it, Zheng Qian was delighted, patting its head: "Ah Chou, you want to be the cat of the Princess's residence too? Don't worry, I'll earn you the title of heir son."
Everyone: "..."
Hongluan spoke aloud what everyone thought but dared not: "Eldest young lady, you aren't married yet, and you keep calling a cat your son. If anyone hears, they'll gossip."
"I won't say it outside, just in our room," Zheng Qian said. "Keep it secret for me."
A few sighed.
The eldest young lady's reliability is fleeting; one shouldn't have too high expectations.
The silver matter calmed for the moment.
Zheng Qian didn't ask for monthly allowances from the public funds. Third Madam could give or not give; it was her choice.
Fortunately, after this stir, the Old Madam couldn't withhold her monthly allowance, so she still received it normally every month. But that's another story.
The weather grew warmer day by day, and the masters of the Jing'an Marquisate were preparing summer garments.
Zheng Qian checked her clothes, realizing the Marquisate would not openly slight her, the eldest young lady. After all, she represented the face of the Marquisate when going out.
She need not worry about her attire.
On the first day of May, Madam Dai reminded Zheng Qian: "Eldest young lady, it's time to pay respects to your mother."
Only then did Zheng Qian remember—she still had a real mother.
There was a reason why affection in wealthy households was so thin. Zheng Qian hardly saw her father, never saw her mother, and was constantly accompanied by wet nurses and maids.
Without meeting each other, how could there be deep feelings?
After Zheng Qian's eldest brother was injured, her mother spent her days chanting Buddha's name. Household affairs had long been handed to Third Madam, and she no longer cared.
Her dowry, handled by Third Madam and the Old Madam, had been divided, becoming the property of the Zheng family and Third Madam.
Even so, Zheng Qian's real mother never appeared, allowing her assets to be taken by her in-laws.
She didn't even leave a single thing for her biological daughter.
Thinking of this, Zheng Qian felt a twinge of doubt:
"Is this really my mother?"