Unparalleled Beauty

Chapter C006

Nanny Zhao glanced at Bailu, said nothing, and went to the toilet with Bailu's help. 

After Nanny Zhao finished, she returned to the washbasin. Bailu seemed to think the water had been used by two people and was somewhat dirty. The chamber pot could not be changed, but the water could be, so she hurriedly and diligently carried the washbasin to change the water and served Nanny Zhao to wash her hands.

Apparently, Nanny Zhao was very satisfied with Bailu's service, so she didn't pick on Bailu's mistake of using her master's chamber pot earlier.

“Alright, you don’t have to flatter this old woman. Shunzi has taken a fancy to you. Since you don’t want the glory of a dowry and are willing to marry my son Shunzi, I won’t act like the Queen Mother of the West who forcibly breaks up marriages. I’ll ask the Old Madam for you in a while and arrange a wedding for you.”

Bailu was overjoyed when she heard this. She quickly said, "Thank you, Nanny, for your kindness and for making this possible."

Nanny Zhao glanced at her, her smile insincere. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’ll help you, and there’s no need to say more about this matter. Right now, you need to take care of the things you should be doing. Only by doing things well will you be able to get what you want.”

Obviously, her words were meant to imply something, and Bailu obviously understood. She quickly said, "Don't worry, Nanny. Third Miss has always been timid and stupid. Because she's not the Marquis's biological daughter and she's afraid of angering the Old Madam, she's always been very meek and obedient. I can control her very well, so I will definitely not let her have much contact with that great aunt this time."

Nanny Zhao was very satisfied with Bailu's cleverness, but she was also a little disgusted by her outspokenness. She subconsciously lowered her voice and warned her, "Do your job well. There are some things you can say and some things you can't. You should know that. If you do well this time, I will not treat you badly. But if you ruin the Old Madam's plan, you know the consequences."

Bailu immediately slapped herself twice and said, "Rest assured, Nanny, I understand."

Soon, the two left one after the other.

Unbeknownst to them, just a cloth's distance away, stood two people.

It was Wushuang and Xiaohong.

***

After Mei Wushuang left just now, she didn't return to the carriage right away. Instead, she used the excuse of wanting to get some fresh air to walk around the area.

Since the empty space was occupied by the servants of the Marquis's mansion, there was no fear of encountering strangers, so Xiaohong did not say anything.

Who would have thought that Wushuang would walk closer to the back of the 'tent', and then coincidentally hear the conversation of the people inside. Xiaohong could no longer be unaware that Miss San had intentionally eavesdropped.

Her face was filled with horror.

Bailu and Nanny Zhao's conversation seemed brief, but it revealed too much information, and it was overheard by the person concerned, the Third Miss.

How would the Third Miss react?

Would she make a scene on the spot and question the two of them?

And the one who followed the young lady would definitely be implicated. Nanny Zhao and Bailu couldn't do anything to Third Miss, but that didn't mean they couldn't do anything about a menial servant like her.

Although Xiaohong was young, she had been in the Marquis' mansion for quite some time and was well aware of its dangers. Her face turned pale and green, as if the sky had fallen.

Just as she was thinking that it was a matter of life or death, she mustered up the courage to look at Wushuang's face, wanting to know how she would react next, but Wushuang was surprisingly calm.

She stood there, her thick bangs obscuring her face, but also serving as a barrier for outsiders to pry into her.

Wushuang quietly left with Xiaohong, as if nothing had happened.

The motorcade set off again, heading in the predetermined direction.

All the way, Xiaohong, who was sitting on the shaft of the carriage, kept her mind on the carriage behind her, but nothing happened. The manor was then already in sight.

This manor was quite small.

The complex consisted of a central manor and dozens of tenant households surrounding it. It was more like a small village than a manor.

The manor's steward was a man surnamed Chen, a man in his forties with an honest and simple face. After the carriage stopped, Steward Chen and his wife greeted the group warmly and led them inside.

Nanny Zhao seemed to have something to say to Steward Chen, so she had someone take Wushuang and the others to their rooms first.

The manor was not large, with only two courtyards and two smaller side courtyards.

Steward Chen's family lived in one of the small courtyards, while the rest of the place was kept empty in case someone from the mansion came to stay. Wushuang's room was in the east wing of the second courtyard. When she arrived, servants had already moved in the trunks containing her belongings.

Steward Chen's wife was a woman of few words. It was obvious that she was nervous around the people from the Marquis's mansion. After the servants put down the trunks, only Bailu and Xiaohong helped to unpack them, so she stayed to help as well.

Bailu was pleased to see that Steward Chen's wife was so sensible, so she gave orders to her and Xiaohong to clean the entire house.

In fact, it was obvious that the house had been cleaned in advance, and the bedding on the bed was new. However, Bailu found fault with everything, complaining that the house was too simple and the furnishings were too crude. Steward Chen's wife was embarrassed and didn't know what to say.

Upon hearing this, Wushuang said, "Alright, we're only staying for a day or two, no need to be so particular. Since we're here to visit great aunt, let's take care of the important matters first. Why bother with these trivial things?"

Speaking of which, Bailu immediately stopped nitpicking and said, "Miss is a young lady from the Marquis' mansion, how can she not be particular? Even if Miss is in a hurry to see great aunt, she must wait until she is settled in before going."

As she spoke, she ordered Xiaohong and the other to open the chests and take out various items, replacing anything she found unsatisfactory.

"This servant thought that Miss might stay here for two days, so I specially brought Miss's bedding and pillows. With these things, Miss will be able to sleep well at night." Bailu said, seeking credit.

Wushuang could tell that Bailu was trying to distract her. It might seem like a simple matter to visit the great aunt, and that was even the purpose of their trip, but when and how to visit were not her decisions to make. They had to wait for word from Nanny Zhao before they could act.

Wushuang understood this, so she let Bailu pretend to be busy and get away with it.

Along the way, she thought a lot. She couldn't figure out why she had come back to life, but deep down, she always felt that there was a reason for her to return to this time.

Was it pity for her previous life, in which she had lived in a daze, being manipulated by others her entire life? Or was it pity for her previous life, in which she had been unable to control her own destiny, living a life of misery and sorrow?

She did not find the answer, so she could only passively accept all this.

However, the changes in her state of mind, as well as the conversation she had overheard on a whim before, made her realize that perhaps the time had come to decipher the secret.

The Mei family had gone to great lengths, even her personal maids were tasked with “controlling” her. Was it really just because the Old Madam wanted to prevent her from getting too close to the great aunt?

In her previous life, Mei Wuxia had coaxed her, deceived her, and enticed her, scheming to arrange her marriage with Zhao Jianzhi, all in order to steal her marriage and marry Ji Yang in her place. So why had the Mei family gone to such great lengths to deal with her, a mere orphan girl?

Her past experiences had taught Wushuang a lesson: whenever someone did something, they must have a purpose. What was the Old Madam's purpose?

Perhaps her great aunt could tell her.

***

By the time the room was tidied up and Wushuang had sat down to drink two cups of tea, Bailu was starting to get anxious. Finally, someone arrived outside.

Bailu went out for a moment and came back with a smile, saying that she would help Wushuang change her clothes. She said that the journey had been dusty and that Wushuang should change before meeting her great aunt.

She helped Wushuang change into a sandalwood-colored blouse and a blue-gray pleated skirt. Although the colors of the clothes were still dark, they were much brighter than what she had worn before. She also brought out Wushuang's jewelry box and specially selected two pearl flowers and a hairpin and helped Wushuang put them on.

Seemingly sensing what Wushuang wanted to say, Bailu hurriedly said, "Even if Miss doesn't like to dress up, great aunt is bedridden, so it's better to dress up more festively, so as not to make great aunt unhappy when she sees you."

Xiaohong stood timidly to the side, stealing a glance at Bailu, then at the third Miss, without saying a word.

Wushuang didn't say anything either, and just followed along.

***

The great aunt did not live in the residence, but rather in a small courtyard nearby. Mei Wushuang had visited the place several times. 

As a child, she had been unaware of great aunt's identity and had always wondered why a member of the Marquis's household would live in such a humble abode. It was only when she grew older that someone explained to her that great aunt had an eccentric personality and insisted on living alone, with only a blind old woman and a young maid to attend to her.

Standing in front of this residence, she thought about the luxurious and opulent courtyard that the Old Madam lived in at the Marquis's mansion. Then she looked at the small courtyard in front of her that faintly revealed an air of dilapidation.

In fact, there had been signs very early on. Why had she ignored them in her previous life?

In the midst of her thoughts, she had already been led into the room and saw the old woman lying on the bed.

Wushuang's memory of her great aunt was vague. She only remembered that her great aunt had a pair of gentle eyes. At this moment, she was standing three or four meters away from the bed. Instead, Nanny Zhao was standing in front of her, closest to the bed. Behind her stood several servants of the Marquis's mansion and a middle-aged nanny who was responsible for taking care of her great aunt.

Although she had come here to visit her great aunt, she stood the farthest away.

And by her side, Bailu held her hand with a slight force, as if to prevent her from getting too close. Wushuang was in a trance, feeling only the ridiculousness of the situation and a sour nose, and a deep sadness at the same time.

The great aunt on the bed did not know whether she had seen her granddaughter's situation or not. She was very old. Although her age was similar to the Old Madam's, the Old Madam's hair was still mostly black with little white, while her hair was mostly white with little black.

She was also very thin, and she was covered with a thick cotton quilt, making her look even more sunken into the quilt.

She looked around at the people, then looked through the crowd at her granddaughter standing at the back, and closed her eyes wearily.

Nanny Zhao looked at Bailu, and Bailu whispered in Wushuang's ear, "Miss, it seems that great aunt is tired. Why don't we let great aunt rest first and come back tomorrow?"

Wushuang said nothing, glanced again at the great aunt on the couch, and turned to leave.

***

When she returned, it was already dark.

Dinner was ready. Bailu must have been starving. After Wushuang's dinner was served, Bailu found an excuse to leave, probably to eat. She left Xiaohong to serve Wushuang.

Wushuang was not talkative, and Xiaohong was also a quiet person. Therefore, the dinner was quiet. Wushuang lost her appetite after a few bites and put down her chopsticks.

"I want to find an opportunity to see the great aunt, behind the backs of Nanny Zhao and Bailu." Wushuang said suddenly.