The cousin's family is extremely wealthy; she deserves to be a concubine.

Vanilla clearly looked down on her daughter.

"Oh, so Miss He refused? It was my fault for being impolite. The rare book was supposed to be brought to my house as part of her dowry. It was inappropriate for me to come and see it ahead of time. It was not gentlemanly."

"No, no, no, young master, you have done nothing wrong."

The fault lies with me. If I had kept a close eye on my second young lady, she wouldn't have secretly given that rare book to her cousin in the household in order to get revenge on my lady of the house.

As a result…by a twist of fate, the book was taken from the young lady by Granny Zhang, who served Lady Hou.

With just a few words, Xiangcao shifted all the blame onto He Zhihuan.

Meng Silang tapped his palm with his folding fan. "Is what you're saying true? Why would the Second Miss give this rare book to her cousin in the household? What's the reason behind it?"

Xiangcao then recounted, with added embellishments, the story of how the Lady of the Marquis's family wanted to embezzle the second daughter's dowry. She also briefly mentioned that the second daughter had sent away the real rare book in order to frame her cousin and get revenge on the Lady of the Marquis.

Meng Silang maintained his gentlemanly smile, but the smile was tinged with coldness, which made Xiangcao feel a chill for no reason.

"Young...Young Master," Xiangcao called out cautiously.

"Are you sure that book is currently in the inner study of your residence?"

"Yes, yes." Xiangcao felt that she had never been this afraid even when facing the Second Master, but the young Master Meng, who was so young, made her feel scared.

However, isn't it true that a man like this is more promising? As Xiangcao thought about it, a sweet feeling rose in her heart.

Looking at Xiangcao's trembling body, Meng Silang smiled meaningfully. He used his fan to lift Xiangcao's smooth chin. "You are very good."

Before Xiangcao could even rejoice, she heard the young master Meng, who was gazing at her with eyes full of affection, say, "The inkstone is yours."

Meng Silang left the house, leaving behind Yantai with a lewd expression as he looked at Xiangcao.

"Inkstone, inkstone, I, I have to go back. The young lady is waiting for me to come back and serve her."

Yantai grinned mischievously. "Go back? Go back where? Does the Second Miss know you've been seducing my young master behind her back?"

Xiangcao looked terrified. Previously, Young Master Meng and Yantai had been extremely kind to her, the future young mistress's personal maid. She had never seen them with such two faces before.

“My daughter will marry Young Master Meng next year. I am just a maid in her dowry. I don’t need to seduce him at all. I am destined to be his.” Xiangcao still had deep feelings for Young Master Meng.

"Hahaha, you! Now the young master is giving you away to me. When your master Yan gets tired of playing with you, he can send you to the brothels to exchange for a couple of ounces of wine. Who told you to be so good at seducing people? You're destined to make a living in this industry."

Xiangcao couldn't believe that the young master Meng, whom she had longed for, would treat her like this.

"No, no, I don't believe that Meng Lang would be so heartless to me. Maybe, maybe I'm already carrying your child."

"Hahaha, naive. My young master would never acknowledge a bastard."

Vanilla had nowhere to turn for help, and no one knew about it.

When He Zhihuan discovered that Xiangcao was missing, she asked the gatekeeper and learned that Xiangcao had left the mansion without permission under her name.

But the capital city is so big and there are so many people. Where can we find a girl who is deliberately avoiding people?

-----

Yimei Garden

"Have you found her?" Madam Shen asked Granny Zhang. Xiangcao, the maidservant of Er Yatou, had been missing for a day and a night.

"No."

"Let's report you missing to the prefect first."

"Madam, should we speak with the Second Miss?" After all, she is the Second Miss's personal maid. If she were captured by someone with ill intentions, it might implicate the Second Miss, or even worse, damage the reputation of the young ladies in the manor.

"Find someone to pass on a message. Even if you find them, they won't dare to serve the master anymore." It would be best to kill them outright to prevent future trouble.

"This old servant will go personally, and must ensure that the second young lady does not develop any resentment towards the madam."

Madam Shen didn't object, but said irritably, "Er Yatou can't even manage the people around her, she's partly to blame herself." But as the head housekeeper, she was the first to be blamed by the old lady.

Having received Zhang Mama's message, He Zhihuan simply bowed and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Aunt. If Xiangcao is found, it's fine to bring her back under a different name. However, we cannot allow the reputation of our Marquis's mansion to be tarnished because of her."

"What you say is true, Miss. I am grateful that you understand my mistress's heart." Granny Zhang hurried back to Yimei Garden. She still had to worry about whether her mistress would be blamed by the old lady.

As for He Zhihuan, after receiving news of Xiangcao's disappearance, although she did not know the specific reason, she instinctively burned all the letters and items that Xiangcao had secretly passed on to her in the charcoal brazier.

Even if it can't be burned, find a way to destroy it and dispose of it as garbage.

Still not entirely at ease, he searched through Xiangcao's house again and made an incredible discovery.

"Hehe, you really are my good vanilla. I knew before that you were like the women of Mandu City, bewitched by Meng Silang's face, but I didn't know that you were openly building a road for your master, while secretly making your own plans. You are truly a first-rate girl."

He Zhihuan did not object to Xiangcao becoming Meng Silang's concubine, but before she had even officially joined the family, the maid was already scheming for herself, wondering how she, as the mistress, would be able to establish herself in the Meng family in the future.

"Vanilla, if that's the case, don't blame me for being heartless. You know too much, and I have to protect myself first. If anything really happens to you, I will definitely help you if I can."

Finally, she asked a maid to pass a message to Granny Zhang, telling her not to report Xiangcao as missing, but to report her as an escaped slave.

After all, Xiangcao had 'stole' a lot of valuables from her, as well as many personal items that she, as her mistress, had used. She made a list and handed it to Granny Zhang. Anyone who saw it would think that Xiangcao was simply despicable!

When Shen received the news, she praised Er Ya for her quick thinking, but added that she was truly ruthless.

But what does that have to do with her?

Fu Shoutang

The old lady did not cause trouble for Madam Shen and Madam Zhan because of Xiangcao's disappearance; she only kept the second young lady behind to give her a private talk.

"Second daughter, do you know your mistake?" The old lady only left Xie Mama to serve her.

He Zhihuan's knees buckled and she knelt down, crying, "Grandmother." She only focused on crying, neither admitting her mistake nor apologizing.

"You're so foolish. I used to think you were the most insightful of all the children. I never imagined you could do such a disgraceful thing in private."

“You are engaged to Meng Jia Silang. If you exchange gifts with each other, as long as it passes the eyes of the elders, we will turn a blind eye and let it go.”

But your biggest mistake was secretly conspiring with your personal maid to exchange incriminating items.