After the replacement marriage, I was forced to fight at home

"It's such a pity to give her such good medicine." Cai'er looked at the herbs that Dongmei put into the box, picked them out with her hands and took out a few more, "Don't give this to her. I couldn't find this medicine when you were feeling unwell for a few days last time. Save it for next time."

Dongmei smiled and tapped Cai'er's forehead with her hand, "You, are you hoping that Yueyue will feel uncomfortable during those few days?"

Cai Er shook her head and said, "I won't give it to her no matter where I put it. This matter is definitely not that simple. It is said that the Second Master drank too much and accidentally pulled her, causing her to fall. But does it take so long to rest? Mother Fan is so old, but she is not as pretentious as her."

"Didn't you hear what Chuan'er said? It was the princess's idea. Second Madam has to give the princess this face. Besides, we don't need her in our courtyard. Let her retire if she wants."

"I know. It would be better if she never comes back. I'm just afraid that she might do something weird. Hey, did you really not hear anything that night? You don't know what happened?"

Dongmei put away the box and sat at the table with a sigh, "That's right. Mother Kong was woken up by the second master calling Mother Fan early in the morning, and I was woken up by Mother Kong. I asked everyone in the yard one by one, and they all said that they slept particularly well and deeply that night. Tell me, if there is no trick, who would believe it?"

Cai Er picked up the dried fruit on the table and took a bite. She said bitterly, "How despicable. She is so shameless just to get into a man's bed. The same goes for that Fan's mother. She even helps with such a favor."

"Keep your voice down. Everyone knows what happened. We must not let it out. Who knows how many eyes and ears there are in this yard. Also, Second Madam will handle this matter. We just need to follow her instructions. I tell you, you can't be impulsive. You can't question Mother Fan or others. Don't ruin Second Madam's plan. Go to Chuntao's house later and find out whatever you can. If it's inconvenient, send her there and come back."

Cai'er picked up the tea and took a sip. "I know. I've been with Second Madam for so long, how could I not know this? To be honest, I've been with Second Madam all the way. She had a hard time. When she was in the West Mansion, she was almost sold out by Mother Yu due to a scheme by Ruchun and her daughter. She has finally come this far, so I won't hold her back."

Dongmei heard Cai'er say this and sighed, "Who says it's not true? Back when she was in the West House, the Second Madam was thin and small, with yellow hair sticking to her scalp. Although she didn't like to talk, she was very nimble. Do you still remember the incident at the Bai Laoquan?"

"Of course, Second Madam is so smart. Because of that, we all got rewards." Cai'er turned the silver bracelet on her wrist, "Sister Dongmei, do you still remember Shuiqin?"

"Shuiqin?" Dongmei thought for a while and said softly, "Is it because that person caused the fourth young lady to fall and became scared, and then..."

"Yes, that's her. At that time, Second Madam and she worked in the kitchen, and later I went there too. You don't know what's wrong with that girl. She always finds fault with Second Madam and goes against her."

Cai'er walked to the window, looked at the falling snowflakes, and fell into memories.

"Second Madam is really good-tempered. She never got angry with Shuiqin because of her plot, or said anything bad about her behind her back, or put any obstacles in her way. Not only that, when Shuiqin had an accident and was carried away by her grandmother, she gave the silver hairpin that the fourth lady had awarded to each of us to Shuiqin's grandmother."

"Silver hairpin? Was it given by the Fourth Miss?" Dongmei recalled carefully.

"Yes, you took it to the kitchen. At that time, for us, especially for Second Grandma and me who bought it from outside and didn't even have a few copper coins, it was a huge fortune. But Second Grandma gave it to Grandma Shuiqin without even blinking an eye. At that time, I thought that Second Grandma was really a good person, kind, good-hearted, and most importantly, smart."

Cai Er turned around and wrapped Dong Mei's box of medicinal herbs in a bag, tying a knot as she continued, "Later, Second Madam went to the East Mansion. Because she and Mama Liu became godparents, I didn't suffer too much in the West Mansion. Instead, I followed Mama Liu to the East Mansion. It was Second Madam who asked Sister Qingrui to let me work in the mansion. I followed Second Madam and she taught me little by little how to speak, how to work, how to read other people's eyes, and how not to suffer losses...

"Sister Dongmei, I was thinking at that time that Second Grandma was my biological sister. No matter what happened, I would stay by her side, always. I never thought that Second Grandma was actually the second daughter of the Meng family. I was very scared at that time. I tried hard to recall if I had said anything wrong or done anything that was not good for Second Grandma."

Cai Er looked up with tears in her eyes, "I didn't expect that I was so stupid. I can't do anything except being sweet-mouthed. Second Madam said that my noodle soup was delicious, but it wasn't. Shan Ling's was better, but she always praised me. Every time I made it, she ate it all. She was so nice, she was so good to us, but why didn't the people in the palace like her? Even the people in Qinghe Garden set a trap for her. What a bunch of bastards."

Dongmei held Cai'er's hand and said, "That's because they don't know how good Second Grandma is. They will regret it one day. Don't worry, with us by Second Grandma's side, we will definitely make her wish come true."

"Well, good people will be rewarded, and those bad people will not have a good ending, it's just a matter of time." Cai Er wiped her tears, "By the way, Ruchun went to the third lady and wanted to marry with her to the northwest."

"Ah? When did it happen? I didn't hear my mother mention it when I went home a few days ago?" Dongmei said in surprise.

"It's said that Second Madam is a very good person. You know how Ruchun plotted against her back then. Because of that storytelling incident, Fourth Miss almost let the matchmaker sell Second Madam."

"Could it be the Second Grandma?"

"Well, because Ruchun's family has no roots in the East Palace, they are not doing very well. Especially Ruchun, she is very excluded in the kitchen. When the identity of the Second Mistress was just confirmed, she came to beg me to go back to serve the Second Mistress."

Cai'er sat down, took a sip of tea and continued, "Later, we went to Shanzhi Hall, and we never heard about Ruchun again. This time when we went back, we found out that Ruchun's father owed money to the second manager of the Miscellaneous Affairs Office for some reason and couldn't pay it back. That family wanted Ruchun to marry their youngest son to pay off the money."

Dongmei frowned and wondered who the second manager of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department was, and who his youngest son was. After a while, she opened her mouth in surprise, "Isn't his youngest son the one who broke his head when he was young and is mentally retarded?"

"Yes, I heard that some people don't even know to wipe their butts when going to the toilet." Cai'er nodded.

"If I marry him, Ruchun's life will be..."

"That day, which was the fourth or fifth day after Second Madam returned, Ruchun broke into Qin Garden and knocked her head so hard that it bled. She asked Second Madam to help her out of the good old days."

"How much money did Second Madam pay back for their family?"

"Fifty taels. I heard that Third Madam is very unhappy because of Second Madam's spending."

"What's the matter? The second manager of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department doesn't seem to be from the Third Madam's side, right? Why is she unhappy?"

"Humph, the Third Madam is really capable. I think even the Second Madam and the First Madam together are no match for her. Those two are just trying to squeeze the Crown Prince's wife, but our Crown Prince's wife is too lazy to bother with them." Cai Er pouted and continued,

"The daughter of the second steward took the place of the one next to the eldest aunt who made a mistake."

Dongmei remembered that some time ago, Meng Juan sent back a maid who had made a mistake. Rumor had it that the maid was instigated by Hongzhe's two concubines to go to Hongzhe's bed without permission, which made Hongzhe very angry with Meng Juan, and was taken back by Liu.

"Since you've helped to pay back the debt, why did you go so far away to be the third lady's dowry?" Dongmei was puzzled.

Cai'er sighed, "It was Ruchun who asked for it herself. The Third Miss's wedding date is coming up soon, and the Second Madam doesn't care. The dowry hasn't been decided yet. Ruchun took the initiative to go because her father is addicted to gambling. She was afraid that if she escaped this time, the Second Madam would help her, but if it happens again, no one will be able to help her. Therefore, she wants to stay away from it."

Dongmei nodded. If she borrowed money for gambling, it would be a bottomless pit. "Hey, the mansion has a clear order not to allow servants to gamble, but who can control their legs from running outside?"

"That's right. When I came back, Ruchun held my hand and said that she regretted bringing her parents to the East Mansion. If they had stayed in the West Mansion, her father would not have allowed someone to seduce him into having sex with her."

"Even if Ruchun followed the Third Miss to the northwest, if her father doesn't stop, what will her mother do?"

"She can't care so much anymore. She asked her mother to find a wife for her sister these days. She said she should marry far away, preferably on a farm. When the two sisters are not around, Ruchun's mother should be more careful and hide it. Her father will not use her mother as collateral. Besides, after this incident, the mansion will not let her father do this. I heard that because the second steward lent money to Ruchun's father, it had a very bad impact, and the madam even dismissed his wife from her job in the inner court."

Dongmei smiled slightly, "If you ask me, maybe the second manager and his wife had already set their sights on Ruchun and set a trap for her. They thought they could pick up a wife for free, but Ruchun begged the second wife. Now, they didn't steal the chicken, but lost a handful of rice."

"It's more than just a handful, it's a bucket." Cai'er said, making the two of them laugh.

Dongmei clapped her hands and said, "Okay, let's go quickly. The snow is getting heavier and heavier. It will be difficult to walk soon."