Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Chapter 132: Ruthless and cold-blooded

The maid and her husband were both from the Qian family, the maiden home of Qian Shi. Both surnamed Qian, they were instrumental confidants of Qian Shi. They had risen in status after the dismissal of the Li Cuier’s family. Accepting the gift list without haste, Housekeeper Qian nodded and said, “Well done. I’ll give it to Madam.”

The gatekeeper asked again, “What about these holiday gifts? How should they be arranged?”

Housekeeper Qian pondered for a moment and replied, “Move them to the floral hall for now. Wait until I consult Madam before making any move. Keep quiet about the visit from the Lu family when around the young master and miss.”

The gatekeeper nodded repeatedly, agreeing. She then left the inner courtyard to fetch the items.

Housekeeper Qian waited until she was gone before opening the gift list and examining it briefly. She then returned to the main hall and approached Qian Shi’s side, whispering about the matter. She handed over the gift list and asked, “Here is the gift list. How would you like to arrange these holiday gifts?”

However, Qian Shi didn’t accept it directly; she just gestured to place it on the desk and said, “You handle it. Food items should be sent to the kitchen, and fabrics should go to the storage.”

“Alright,” the attendant responded and was about to leave.

At this moment, Qian Shi stopped her and said, “Tell your husband to prepare a return gift accordingly. Send it to Changfeng Town.”

The attendant was taken aback. If anyone in the house understood Qian Shi’s current attitude towards the Lu family, it would likely be her. She had been instructed by Qian Shi regarding the gatekeeper’s affairs.

Having witnessed the events involving Li Cuier, the attendant actually understood the reasons. Being a mother herself, she could easily grasp Qian Shi’s state of mind. However, she couldn’t help but wonder: they didn’t allow the Lu family to enter the house, yet they were now arranging a return gift?

She was a bit puzzled.

After pondering Qian Shi’s words, she finally noticed a vague point and cautiously asked, “Should we follow our usual practice in giving gifts to the Lu family, or should we match the gifts they brought?”

She had a reason to ask this question. In previous years when the Lu family sent festival gifts, due to their great favor to the Li family and Qian Shi’s desire to maintain good relations, the return gifts were always a bit more generous. In the past, there was no need to ask; it was definitely following the usual practice. She would draft the gift list and ask Qian Shi to review it.

This time, however, she couldn’t be sure. She found it difficult to read Qian Shi’s intentions. To avoid making mistakes, she asked one more question.

Qian Shi, who had been looking down at her accounts, finally raised her eyes—just a slight lift—and then lowered them again, saying calmly, “Follow the Lu family’s example. Just make sure it’s not disrespectful.”

The attendant was startled. She was glad she had asked one more question.

Acknowledging with a response, she quietly retreated.

Leaving the main hall and finding a place where Qian Shi couldn’t see her from the main hall, the attendant finally dared to glance back in the direction of the main hall.

Things that were unclear earlier now made sense upon reflection. Qian Shi dared not openly break up from the Lu family.

It’s not that she cares about Li Yunbi. The entire Li Cui’er’s family has been sold off and scattered to the winds. There was no real incident back then, and there won’t be any lingering issues with Li Yunbi now. So, whom is she putting on this facade for? Naturally, it’s for the person she highly regards: Li Cunyi, who hasn’t returned from his travels.

The Qian family attendant still didn’t know that Qian Shi had gone back to her maiden family to have her brother create obstacles for the Lu family. Originally, the attendant’s status in the Qian family was just average, and even after working in the Li family household, she wasn’t as valued as the other attendants. Previously, she hadn’t been exposed to anything core.

Now, after serving as Qian Shi’s confidant for several months, she felt that Qian Shi presented herself gracefully and calmly to everyone, but she wasn’t easy to get along with. Li Cui’er and her brother to blame, and even the steward couple couldn’t be completely absolved. Without their indulgence, the two children wouldn’t have dared to act so boldly. But once they were sold off, split up and scattered to the four corners, there was no sentimentality at all, and the methods were actually quite ruthless.

This was the crucial master of a slave, nothing to say. The Qian family attendant didn’t think much about it before, but now looking at Qian Shi’s attitude towards the Lu family…

She knew very well that her husband had almost been killed by river bandits in the Yushui River that year. If it weren’t for Third Young Master Lu fighting two river bandits alone and rescuing him, what would the Li family be like now?

Was the debt of life-saving grace was completely erased by the incident in May?

Moreover, Lu Sanlang was plotted against by the Li family’s own people. Third Young Master Lu, didn’t even lift a finger against Miss Lu. He escaped on his own and didn’t say a word afterwards. He had been quite gentlemanly, probably because of the relationship between the two families over the years. Otherwise, if he had truly been harmed, even if the Lu family have already been talking about marriage, if Lu Sanlang insisted that he was drugged and suffered a loss, then Li Yunbi would have no choice but to be with him even if she becomes a concubine.

Now that Li Yunbi was fine, the limelight had passed. She’s also a mother so she understands that Qian Shi might have some resentment or not want Li Yunbi to see the Lu family again. She thought that this is all understandable when Qian Shi told her to stop the Lu family at the gate of the Li household..

Translation:

But now? If you don’t want to have contact with them, then don’t have any contact with them. It’s also for your daughter? If you’re gonna do it, then do it if you can withstand the pressure from Li Cunyi when he comes back.

Men may attach more importance to life-saving favors, especially when it was Li Cunyi’s own life that was saved. But Madam Qian is a mother and she has to think about her daughter. She doesn’t want to deal with the Lu family. Li Cunyi will be angry, but this anger is directed at his wife and daughter, so he will eventually be soft-hearted.

But looking at Qian Shi’s roundabout arrangement in the matter of return gifts, how does it seem that she doesn’t want to have any more contact with them, but she doesn’t want to tell them herself. Rather, she wants the Lu family to realize that something’s wrong and slowly cool down the relationship?

The Qian family attendant thought about it again. Li Cunyi was at home for less than two months a year. If the Lu family discovered something wrong on their own and pondered at Lu Sanlang’s actions, then according to the impression of Lu Xun and his wife, it is possible that the Lu family would not say anything about it and quietly cut off their family’s contact with each other. It would be nothing more than a matter of their subordinates running errands and sending holiday gifts on festivals to save some face. Apart from this, there would be nothing else.

In this way, Li Cunyi might not even find anything wrong for several years.

This is predicting the nature of the Lu family.

The Qian family attendant didn’t think about it, but felt a heavy heart.

This lady is too cold-hearted.

Now looking back at the fate of Butler Li’s family, my heart is a little tight. She must talk to her husband and a few children at home tonight, and be careful in the future, so as to not offend Qian Shi in the future.

There is no human rights for slaves, and when the whole family is sold together, there’s no one to cry for help to. It would be better if they are sold together, but if it would be like the Li family, their flesh and blood are all separated… The Attendant Qian felt anxious and her mouth’s dry. She swallowed and hurriedly left the main courtyard

~

Inside the mule cart, Lu Xun also felt an inexplicable unease. He hadn’t received any letter from Qian Hong. According to what Xiao Qian had said, Qian Hong had been in Hongdu Prefecture for thirteen or fourteen days already. It would take two or three days to travel from here to Hongdu Prefecture by boat, so this delay had been over half a month. Was Qian Hong still waiting for him?

Qian Hong used to have a few friends with whom he jointly purchased goods. He later started doing it alone to accommodate Lu Xun. Business was time-sensitive, and now if he had delayed Qian Hong’s affairs by over half a month, Qian Hong was likely to be upset.

After all, Lu Xun was the one dependent on Qian Hong. He felt uncertain, worrying about delaying Qian Hong’s matters on one hand, and on the other, fearing that if Qian Hong had waited too long for him, he might have already joined forces with other acquaintances in Hongdu Prefecture.

The thought quickly passed, and given the close relationship between the two families, Lu Xun felt it shouldn’t be an issue, but he couldn’t shake off the anxiety.

Lu Chengzong and Lu Chengzhang were also a bit tense. When the mule cart arrived at Jinxiu Manor, it stopped, and Lu Chengzong jumped off and hurriedly ran into the manor to find Liu Yu and Liu Yanqing, the sibling duo.

In just a moment, the three of them hurried out of the manor and got into the waiting mule cart.

Liu Yu took off her veil hat and said, “Uncle, what’s going on? I heard from Brother Lu that Boss Qian, who we cooperate with to buy cloth, went to the prefecture city half a month ago?”

Lu Xun nodded and said, “He supposedly sent me a letter, informing me to meet in the prefecture city on the fifth of August, but I never received it. Now I have to go back to the inn to pack and head to the prefecture city. We’ve kept him waiting for more than half a month, and I’m afraid… If he’s already teamed up with others, our purchase this time will be problematic.”

Although Lu Xun believed that given their close relationship, Qian Hong wouldn’t do that, the long wait made him uneasy. Hearing Liu Yu’s question, he couldn’t help but voice his concern.

Lu Chengzhang said, “How is that possible? He is Zhong Jue’s uncle. With the close relationship between our families and having partnered for over two years, he shouldn’t leave us out, right?”

Lu Xun couldn’t say for sure, he just sighed, “I hope so.”

But Lu Chengzhang’s words made Liu Yu’s eyes light up, and she asked, “The Qian family boss you cooperate with is Mrs. Li’s brother?”

Lu Xun nodded.

Liu Yu said nothing more, and Lu Xun had no desire to speak further. The group hurried back to the inn, checked out, and hired a boat at Yuanzhou Wharf to rush to Hongdu Prefecture.

Liu Yu thought about the incident in May and felt uneasy. It seemed too coincidental.

As Lu Xun had mentioned earlier, typically autumn goods sell for a shorter time. Weaker cloth shops usually sell off summer and last year’s autumn inventory. Only by mid-August would they go to Hongdu Prefecture to get thicker materials that sell longer.

But it was just this coincidence that Qian Hong left at the end of July and arranged to meet Lu Xun on August 5th in Hongdu Prefecture. Considering the travel time, this was more than ten days earlier than previous years. This year was quite hot, so leaving in mid-August wouldn’t be late. Why was it so early?

This unease was confirmed three days later when Lu Xun and the others arrived at their usual inn in Hongdu Prefecture and met Qian Hong in person.

“Brother Lu, why are you just arriving now?”

Qian Hong was a middle-aged man nearing forty. When he saw Lu Xun, he was initially surprised to see him with so many people. Then, his face showed an expression of shame and confusion.

Upon hearing Qian Hong’s first words, Lu Xun’s heart sank. He quickly apologized and explained that he only learned of Qian Hong’s earlier arrival in Hongdu Prefecture after reaching Yuanzhou. He said, “I did not receive your letter, Brother Qian. I am truly ashamed to have caused you such a delay.”

“You didn’t receive the letter? I thought something had come up for you, Brother Lu,” Qian Hong said in astonishment. He then slapped his hand in frustration and continued, “Ah, if only it had been a couple of days earlier. I waited for you as long as I could, but I couldn’t delay any further. I met an old friend here and completed my autumn fabric purchase yesterday. I was supposed to head back today, but now… What should we do about this?”

What could be done? Lu Xun thought. How could he blame Qian Hong for not being loyal?

Lu Xun was suddenly thrown into a state of disarray, thinking about his autumn fabric purchase. Although he had been worried about this on the way, he had always believed that their close relationship would prevent such an issue, just as Liu Yu had thought. This year was hot, and autumn fabric wasn’t urgently needed.

But now, it had happened.

Sansukini: This chapter is so hard to translate. Again, the author used too many similar names and the wordings are so confusing so I changed them a little to make sense. Please comment if you see any mistakes. Housekeeper Qian and the Qian family attendant is the same person, btw. Anyway, this is the last chapter for this week. See you again on Monday.

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