The Concubine's Daughter Travels Through Time and Space and Takes the Road of Confrontation

When Nanny Chang came in to reply, Zhang had Rong Jie'er and Yun Jie'er taken to the inner room to play, but she did not ask anyone else to leave.

"Listen to this, everyone." Zhang put down the tea bowl and said calmly.

"Mao fell in the small garden a few days ago, and I heard she had a bleeding attack. The old lady was so scared that she took her visiting card to ask for help from a doctor. The doctor said it was not good and prescribed medicine to preserve the pregnancy, and told her to be careful and take care of herself." Nanny Chang paused and continued, "The eldest master had another quarrel with the eldest mistress over this matter, and the eldest mistress has not left the house for several days."

Aunt Yao rubbed the handkerchief in her hand nervously. "Fortunately, I listened to Madam and stayed away from the small garden when I went out those few days. Otherwise, this disaster would have fallen on me and Wang'er."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Caohua looked up at Aunt Yao and softly agreed, "Aunt is absolutely right."

Zhang said nothing and asked Jin He to divide the things she brought from her mother's house between the two of them. "These are some local specialties that my brother brought back from outside. They are not worth much, but they are new and beautiful. You can take them and play with them."

The two stood up and thanked her. Aunt Yao took her things and left happily, but Miss Yuan sat there lingeringly, as if she was worried.

Seeing this, Zhang signaled everyone else to leave and looked at her, "Do you have something to say?" Yuan had been in the mansion for more than a month, and her complexion looked much better than before, except that her eyes were dark blue, probably because she was not used to life in the mansion yet.

She bit her lip, looking hesitant as if she was making a decision. Zhang didn't rush her, but picked up a cup of tea and drank it slowly until the cup was empty.

Finally, she spoke. "Madam, I have something to say." Yuan Caohua made up her mind and looked at Zhang. "That morning, I saw Master Cheng from the main house taking his servant to the small garden."

"Oh." Zhang lowered her eyes, then raised them and smiled after a moment, "Young Master Cheng is young and naughty, so it's not uncommon for him to go to the small garden. Maybe it was just a coincidence."

Yuan Caohua frowned slightly, but she could see that Young Master Cheng was in a panic and seemed to be afraid of something. However, since the lady said so, maybe she really had seen it wrong.

Thinking of this, Yuan Caohua spoke again with a voice much more confident than before, "Madam, I have seen Mao in the alley."

Zhang looked at her in surprise. She was naturally familiar with Yuan Caohua's background. What she meant by saying she had seen her was actually... Zhang's heart sank to the bottom of the valley. She signaled Nanny Chang to take the young ladies away and asked Jin He to stand guard at the door. After making sure that there was no one else in the house, Zhang said seriously, "Do you know what you are talking about?"

Yuan Caohua nodded and said softly, "Mao's mother is called Hua Pozi, a famous mother in Yangzhou who specializes in making secret doors. Hua Pozi is familiar with our mother and often comes to the courtyard to watch us rehearse. One time, she brought Mao here so that our mother could teach her the craft."

Zhang frowned. The so-called craftsmanship must refer to the means of pleasing men. "But according to Mao, it was her sister, not her, who was sold to the Huan family. She herself was sold to a wealthy landlord." Meanwhile, Zhang keenly sensed a loophole in the story. She stared at Yuan Caohua and asked the key question, "Is the Hua Pozi you mentioned still in Yangzhou?"

Yuan Caohua's next words made Zhang's heart skip a beat. She said, "The secret shop run by Hua Pozi suddenly caught fire in September. The government said that Hua Pozi and her family died in the fire."

"You mean, if it was really Mao, then only Mao escaped?" Zhang frowned and thought.

Yuan Caohua shook her head. "I don't know either. Our mother was summoned by the government to identify someone. When she came back, she said that it was common for secret doors to have more or less people. Later, she didn't allow us to mention it again. But -" Yuan Caohua thought for a moment and said, "The Mao family member brought by Hua Pozi has a red birthmark the size of a copper coin on the back of her neck."

After listening to this, Zhang slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was clear-headed. She looked at Yuan Caohua and said, "Don't ever mention what you said to me today to anyone else."

Yuan Caohua nodded fearfully and seriously, "I had a feeling that something was wrong, and I was afraid that Madam Mao would recognize me, so I-" Ever since she accidentally saw that face from afar in the small garden, Yuan Caohua couldn't sleep all day and all night. Finally, she waited for Madam to return home, and under the pretext of paying her respects, she hurriedly told her everything she knew.

Zhang knew that this matter might not end well. After thinking for a moment, she said, "There's a vacant servant's room in the back of my yard. I'd like to ask you to move in with me for the next month. You don't have to go out during this month."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Caohua immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Zhang, her voice choked with sobs, "Concubine, thank you for your care, Madam."

That day, Yuan Caohua moved to the back room with her maid Yun'er. The story was that the Second Madam wanted to copy scriptures and pray for blessings, and asked Miss Yuan to come and help.

Aunt Yao was surprised to hear this, and Cai Lian advised her, "Madam is copying scriptures to pray for the West Wing, so Aunt Yao should follow suit."

Yao was wronged and said, "I can't even read a single word, how can I understand the art of copying scriptures?"

Cai Lian smiled and said, "Although Auntie is illiterate, she still has the skills of needlework. Why don't you ask Madam for a scripture and embroider it to dedicate to the Buddha, so that our brother can be safe and sound."

Speaking of Wang Ge'er, Yao nodded hurriedly and said, "You are absolutely right. I will go right away."

After a few days, Qin learned that the concubines in the second house were forced by Zhang to copy scriptures and pray for blessings, and she said to Qin Ma, "My sister-in-law is too useless." She had always assigned the task of copying scriptures to the concubines' daughters.

Half a month later, Zhang received a letter.

Every word in the letter shocked her. There was indeed a Mao Daqiang in Maojia Village, Liushuwa, Yangzhou. Mao Daqiang had two daughters. The elder was sold to a casino, and the younger was sold to a landlord. But the key point was that no one had seen the younger daughter since she was sent home. Although Mao Daqiang's hands and feet were broken due to the beating, he was able to survive but suddenly died. A person claiming to be Mao's daughter appeared, took away Mao Daqiang's body, and disappeared since then.

As for the fire at Hua Pozi's house, the authorities were unwilling to intervene in the secret door and hastily closed the case. Some say there were seven or eight people in her family, while others say she kept a prostitute to feed wealthy men.

The only thing that is certain is that the words of the villagers in Maojia Village confirmed Yuan's statement. The sister who was sold to the casino did have a red birthmark the size of a copper coin on the back of her neck.

Zhang turned her head and whispered something to Nanny Chang. After listening, Nanny Chang left the inner room and walked towards Yingchun Courtyard with a basket of needlework.

"Madam is worried that you don't have enough needlework, so she asked me to bring you a basket. You can keep the other roll of fine cotton cloth to make close-fitting clothes for Wang'er. They are light and sweat-absorbent." Nanny Chang smiled and handed the basket to Cailian.

Yao took it with great gratitude and asked Caiping to serve tea.

Nanny Chang waved her hand and said, "You are welcome, Auntie. The Madam has something else to do, so I will go back first." After that, she looked at Caiping and smiled, "Why not let Caiping see me off? Just consider it as a drink of Auntie's tea."