Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C005

At this time, a motorcade was traveling on an official road near the capital suburbs.

In front was a flat-topped carriage with black paint and blue curtains, closely followed by two brown-painted carriages with gray curtains.

The two carriages behind were obviously for servants. They were much smaller than the one in front, and there were people sitting on the shafts and the back of the carriages. Their clothes and appearance clearly showed that they were servants.

In addition, there were four five strong men on horseback guarding the left and right sides.

Just by looking at the group's demeanor, one could tell that they were from a wealthy family in the capital.

At this time, there were two people sitting in the black-lacquered, blue-curtained carriage, namely Wushuang and Bailu.

Mei Wushuang seemed a little uncomfortable, her face pale as she leaned against the pillow.

The Old Madam's order came too suddenly. She didn't have time to sort out everything in front of her before she was invited into the carriage. It seemed to be in a hurry, so the carriage went very fast. She was prone to motion sickness, and now her stomach was churning, and she didn't even want to talk.

In contrast, Bailu didn't seem to be affected. She kept chattering away the whole way.

"Great aunt is really... she's sick, so she's sick. But the Old Madam is so compassionate that she actually asked Miss to come and visit her specially. The carriage is going so fast without any consideration for the young lady's comfort. But I heard that they want to get to the manor before dark, so they're in a bit of a hurry. Miss, if you're feeling unwell, just bear with it for now. You'll be fine once we get there."

“Great aunt really doesn't consider Miss's situation at all. If she really cares about Miss, she shouldn't always come to bother Miss and cause her trouble. Miss, you must remember, when you go there, talk less with great aunt. We just show our face, and leave the rest to Nanny Zhao. Let her deal with it."

“This servant knows that Miss and great aunt have an unusual relationship, but Miss is filial, and great aunt should also consider Miss's situation. Miss is not young anymore. If people know her relationship with great aunt when she goes out, how can she live in the future?"

“And then there’s the Old Madam. She treats you like her own granddaughter. It doesn’t matter if she bothers you, but if she upsets the Old Madam, you’ll be the one who suffers.” Wushuang took a few sips of water and leaned back again. Bailu’s voice chattered in her ear, and her mind was in turmoil.

In fact, if considered by bloodline, the great aunt was actually Wushuang's biological grandmother.

The great aunt was the concubine of the old Marquis Changyang and had a son, who was Wushuang's father, Mei Zhan.

After Mei Zhan died in battle, his wife, Su shi, died of a broken heart.

Wushuang was too young at the time, and because of the death of both her parents, she fell seriously ill and lost her memory. Her second paternal uncle, who was now the current Marquis Changyang, Mei Zong, pitied her for losing her parents at a young age, so he adopted her as his own daughter and raised her as his own child.

Therefore, before the age of ten, Wushuang did not know that her parents were someone else. She had always thought that she was her second uncle's biological daughter.

At that time, the only thing she felt was a little unusual. Every once in a while, she would be taken to a manor on the outskirts of the capital to meet an old woman.

It was not until Wushuang grew older that she learned that the old woman was her great aunt, and also her own biological grandmother. At the same time, she also learned that she was not her "father's" biological daughter, but an orphan from the second house, who was taken in by her second uncle because her parents had both died.

***

In Wushuang's memory, there was indeed such a thing before she got married.

The great aunt was seriously ill, so she went to visit her. However, she had just returned from visiting her when she heard that the great aunt had passed away.

And this time, the Old Madam who had always been "mindful of old feelings" and "compassionate" did not let her turn around to help with the great aunt's funeral.

Even where the great aunt was buried, Wushuang only knew that it was roughly near that manor, and nothing else.

At that time, the Old Madam's excuse was that she was too young and it was not appropriate for her to get involved in such matters of the dead. It would be fine to leave it to the servants to handle, and the great aunt would understand if she knew about it in the afterlife.

At that time, she was preoccupied with her engagement with Prince Wei. She was already at her wit's end, and Bailu had repeatedly said those words in front of her, making her worry that she might displease the Old Madam and did not dare to ask too much.

In addition, she had little contact with her great aunt since she was a child, and there was no affection between them, so the matter was left unresolved.

So this time was before the great aunt died, when she went to see the other party?

It seemed there was a hurry to hasten there, and when they were halfway there, the carriage stopped at a tea shop beside the official road.

There were many tea shops like this one on the official road. In addition to providing simple food, they also provided water for travelers, fed horses, and provided convenience. In fact, the latter was the most important, after all, sometimes when going out, unless it was absolutely necessary, no one wanted to solve it outdoors.

Wushuang got out of the car with Bailu's support.

Bailu was probably in a hurry to relieve herself, so she called for her accompanying maid, Xiaohong, to serve Wushuang, and then turned and disappeared.

At this time, a nanny wearing an autumn-scented waistcoat stepped down from the carriage behind.

She had a square face, arched eyebrows, and narrow eyes. Her hair was combed into a round bun that was shiny and smooth, and she wore an old silver comb in it. She had turquoise earrings in her ears, and her whole face looked very kind.

As soon as she got out of the carriage, the servants around her respectfully called her "Nanny Zhao," which showed that she had a high status and position.

This person was the Nanny Zhao that Bailu had mentioned.

Her husband's surname was Zhao, and he was a steward in the outer courtyard. She herself also served by the Old Madam's side, so she had quite a bit of face in the mansion. Even though Wushuang was a young lady of the Marquis' mansion, she had to give Nanny Zhao a few smiles when she saw her.

This time, Wushuang came to visit her great aunt at the manor, and Nanny Zhao accompanied her.

It was said that she accompanied her, but in fact, Nanny Zhao handled all the arrangements for the entourage and the journey.

“Is Third Miss alright? This servant heard from the servants that Miss seems to be a little unwell?”

“I’m alright, it’s just that I’ve been sitting in the carriage for too long, so I’m inevitably a little uncomfortable.” Wushuang said.

Nanny Zhao said with a smile, "We'll be at the manor in another hour. Please hold on a little longer, miss. After all, the great aunt is related to you by blood. Now that the great aunt is bedridden, she can't help but miss you. That's why she's so eager to see you."

On the surface, these words seemed to be impeccable. On the contrary, they even explained why they were in such a hurry.

If it were the original Mei Wushuang, she naturally wouldn't have heard the hidden meaning, but with the experience of 'two lives', how could Wushuang not hear the hidden meaning in these words?!

She vaguely remembered that there was such a scene back then.

She was not very old at that time. Due to the change in her status from a "biological daughter" to a dependent, this change in her mentality, coupled with Master Qin's teachings over the years, made her not only inferior and reticent, but also cowardly and timid.

Bailu and the others always liked to instill in her the idea that "the Old Madam is compassionate, and the great aunt does not understand the girl's situation, making it difficult for the girl".

At that time, because she was in a hurry to set off, her body was extremely uncomfortable. First, there was Bailu's speech, and then there was Nanny Zhao's words. Therefore, it made her feel somewhat dissatisfied with the great aunt in her heart. She felt that she had only been sick for a while, so why was she making such a fuss about it?

So much so that later when she arrived at the manor, she only went to see the great aunt once. After that, just as Bailu had said, she left everything else to Nanny Zhao to handle.

It was not until she received the news of her great aunt's death after she returned that she realized how wrong her dissatisfaction had been at that time.

In fact, many years later, when Wushuang recalled the past, she could see that the servants around her had intentionally separated and alienated her from her great aunt.

Later, she followed Ji Yang. The Mei family and Mei Wuxia, who was the empress at that time, wanted to win her over and called her back to the Marquis Changyang's mansion. By chance, she met Bailu, who had married Nanny Zhao's son but was not doing well.

Bailu wanted to please her and told her everything that Nanny Zhao had ordered her to do back then, one of which was to deliberately prevent her from contacting her great aunt.

At that time, she thought that wives and concubines were natural enemies. The Old Madam had raised her for many years and didn't want her to get close to the great aunt, which was normal.

But if she had to do it all over again, she couldn't help but wonder, was it really that simple?

***

Obviously, these doubts could not be spoken to Nanny Zhao, so Wushuang just smiled and lowered her head.

This was in line with Third Miss's usual disposition, so Nanny Zhao did not notice any abnormality. On the contrary, seeing Wushuang lower her head and looking at the top of her jet-black hair, she showed a meaningful smile.

Mei Wushuang didn't notice this smile, and even if the servants on the side had seen it, they wouldn't dare to say anything more. After all, everyone knew the situation of the Third Miss in the Marquis's Mansion. She seemed to be favored, but in fact...

Seeing Nanny Zhao looking over, the maid Xiaohong quickly lowered her head.

After Nanny Zhao left, Xiaohong dared to raise her head, but when she saw Wushuang standing to the side, a hint of pity flashed in her eyes.

Everyone called the Third Miss a young lady, but which Marquis's daughter was like her? Only the Third Miss herself, who was in the situation, didn't realize it.

That hint of pity vanished as soon as she saw Bailu.

"Miss, do you need to use the toilet? We still have an hour before we arrive. It's best to relieve yourself while you have the chance, so you don't have to worry about it later."

She saw Xiaohong standing there like a wooden doll again, and she snapped, "I told you to wait on the young lady, but you just stand there and do nothing? You have no sense at all. I have to watch you every step of the way."

Bailu had always been a loudmouth, not only talkative but also mean and arrogant. She always pushed the blame away and took the credit for herself, and she never forgot to show off in front of her masters.

Since she was a senior maid, the junior maids usually dared not to provoke her, and she never dared to provoke those who were more powerful than her. Instead, she flattered them a lot, so she had never suffered any major losses and had been living a comfortable life in the mansion.

Xiaohong was also aware of this, so she naturally dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out.

Meanwhile, taking advantage of this gap, Bailu ordered someone to prepare a screen and a chamber pot with the air of a powerful person and helped Wushuang go to the toilet.

After all, she was a young lady from the Marquis's mansion, and even when she was out, she was not comparable to ordinary people.

When it was time to use the toilet, it was naturally impossible to let Wushuang use the tea shop's outhouse. Instead, someone pulled a tarpaulin, fixed it with four bamboo poles, and separated it into a simple, roofless "small tent". They also prepared a chamber pot, toilet paper, and clean water and soap for washing hands afterward.

Just now, Bailu left for a while, seemingly to relieve herself, but she didn't. Because after Wushuang finished her business, she had Xiaohong help Wushuang go back first, while she herself got back into the tarpaulin, probably intending to use the place to relieve herself.

That was indeed the case. Just now, Bailu had rushed to the outhouse and almost threw up when she got there. That was why she had urged Wushuang to go to the toilet and scolded Xiaohong. She was just irritable because she needed to go to the toilet and was looking for someone to vent her anger on.

Now that the problem had been solved, Bailu felt refreshed.

She bent down and scooped up the water that Mei Wushuang had just used to wash her hands. She imitated Wushuang's hand-washing style, carefully washing her fingers. She seemed to have thought of something, and a sarcastic look appeared on her face.

At this moment, someone walked in.

Hearing the footsteps, Bailu was about to raise her eyebrows and scold her, but she turned to a smiling face the next moment she saw the other person.

“Nanny, it's you. Do you need to use the toilet? The bucket is still clean. It's all pee. How about I serve you?”