Chapter Five Each Has Their Own Thoughts

  Ding's mother was led into the outer room by someone.

  At this time, the cups and plates on the table had already been removed. Qin Dai's heart was leaning against the headrest, with a thin blanket draped over her body, looking weak and listless.

  Ding's mother was around fifty years old, with a pale complexion, a square face, and a pair of bright small eyes that made her unlikable. She wore the same clothes as Ruyi, but originally being a humble housekeeper, she suddenly became wealthy and it was hard not to be wary of her.

  No wonder Ruyi would say something like that, this Ding mother is a bit too abnormal.

  Qin Dai Xin ordered someone to bring over a small three-legged stool for her to sit on, but didn't warmly take her hand and talk to her, only lightly asking if there was something wrong.

  Ding's mother didn't mind either, after all she was a servant, and no matter what the master on the kang said, it wasn't her place to take offense. She had only one thing on her mind - to do well with the task at hand, so she smiled even more sincerely.

  "There's nothing major, just thinking if we should get another doctor to take a look. Mainly because I'm worried that Third Miss's body is weak and needs some nourishing medicine. What do you think?" She sneaked a glance at Qin Dai Xin, seeing that she still had an indifferent expression, and felt slightly annoyed.

  The atmosphere in the house was gloomy and frightening, with only Ding's mother talking to herself, muttering ten sentences, while Qin Dai's heart didn't respond with a single sentence, making Ruyi secretly anxious.

  "Why didn't I think of it earlier?" The voice was a bit cold and sounded particularly unfamiliar.

  Ding's mother was taken aback, not expecting Qin Daihe to say something so harsh. She quickly regained her composure and said: "In the past few days, Miss has been taking a lot of medicine, I'm afraid it will cause internal injury. Now that all other medicines have stopped, wouldn't it be better to take some nourishing ones?"

  "Ding's mother, I was already much better when I came, and my grandmother only told me to rest quietly, where is the need to take tonic or medicine. The village has come to the doctor, it can be said that there are idle people everywhere, which is not good." The implication of warning is very clear, but I'm afraid some people may not understand.

  Miss, you're right. A doctor is not just anyone. He often comes to our estate and prescribes medicine for you. Besides, Chang'an's wife has been wanting to find a doctor to adjust her body. Except for the year she gave birth to a daughter, she hasn't had any more children in all these years. When we came, Madame had prepared many tonic medicines. If you don't need them, we can give some to Chang'an's wife.

  This news was music to Ruyi's ears, and she couldn't help but feel delighted. Chang'an and the others had also heard about it before - they were old people who had been in front of the madam for a long time, and their words carried more weight than those of ordinary ladies-in-waiting. As they grew older, the madam took pity on them and allowed them to bring their sons and daughters-in-law to manage the estate. They received double pay every month, and all matters within the estate were under their control, with only a need to settle accounts at the end of the year. There were also several young maids in the estate, who had been left behind specifically to follow their orders. It was said that during festivals and holidays, the madam would often ask about them, and such treatment was even more enviable than that of ordinary small households. Who wouldn't put on a smiling face when encountering this family? Even Zheng and Ding's mothers spoke to Chang'an's daughter-in-law with courtesy. Taking things from the old lady to send as gifts was indeed a wonderful thing to do.

  What Qin Dai heard in her ears was a different tone, what kind of prescription for tonic medicine is this? Obviously, it's meant to be used by that woman from Chang'an.

  In everyday matters, she could turn a blind eye, but when it came to distinguishing between master and servant, things couldn't be ambiguous. With her status, although she didn't approve of these ancient hierarchical systems, survival of the fittest was the rule, and since she held a position, she had to follow the rules, not allowing others to confuse them.

  "This matter should not be mentioned again, I'm fine!" Qin Dai said indifferently and never looked at Ding's mother with a straight eye again.

  Ding's mother was a shallow dish, whether there was water or not could be seen at a glance. Now her resentful and dissatisfied expression, even a blind person could see it.

  Mrs. Ding didn't expect her words to be responded to so lightly, and she felt angry and regretful, wanting to slap herself in the mouth. She was too greedy, if she hadn't mentioned the Chang'an daughter-in-law, maybe she could have invited Lang Zhong in. If this matter were successful, would they still lack that bit of medicine? The angrier Mrs. Ding got up to bid farewell, thinking that she had to find another opportunity to act. Seeing her want to leave, he hurriedly personally helped her with the sedan chair.

  Qin Dai Xin had just eaten a date, and the pit was still in her palm. She saw that Mother Ding's leg was already halfway out the door, and suddenly came up with an idea to tease her. Taking advantage of no one noticing her, she flicked her wrist at an angle and threw the small pit with force, hitting Mother Ding's other leg squarely.

  "Ah!" Mrs. Ding only felt a sharp pain in her calf, and she couldn't even stand up straight, let out a cry, and fell forward. Immediately after that, there was a "thud" sound, and she fell flat on the ground.

  Two maidservants hurried forward to support her, seeing that Madam Ding had only fallen and hadn't fainted, secretly breathed a sigh of relief, hastily helped her up, apologized to Qin Daihe, and supported the continuously crying-in-pain Madam Ding as they headed towards her own courtyard.

  After about half a time, the two maids returned together and told Qin Dai Xin about Ding Mama's situation. "Nothing serious, just fell down after losing balance, we found Xiao Xiang to take care of her, and also asked someone to invite a doctor, only then did we come back."

  Alas! My skills are still not good enough. If it were in the past, I'm afraid this leg of hers would have been crippled.

  Qin Dai Xin just sighed slightly in her heart and then changed to a calm and mysterious expression, making it impossible for people to guess her emotions.

  "Miss, Auntie Ding wants to invite a doctor to help you recover, this is a good thing, why aren't you responding?!" Chunli was getting anxious and her voice rose unconsciously. Ruyi didn't say anything but seemed to agree with Chunli's words.

  Qin Dai Xin looked at the two maidservants with a puzzled expression and asked, "Although both Ding Mama and Zheng Mama are here to serve in the manor, they are not from the same household after all, so their thoughts must be different."

  "Miss, it's precisely because Auntie Ding is from the old madam's house that this can be believed." Chunli knew that everyone didn't trust Zheng Mama because she was from the mistress' house and might inevitably do something unfavorable to Miss. But after all, the old madam was Miss's grandmother, how could she possibly harm her?

  Ru Yi, however, heard another layer of meaning in Qin Dai's words. Could it be that her own words from this morning had taken effect and Miss was starting to guard against Ding Mama? This was also a good thing, no matter what, being cautious was better.

  "It's hard to write two 'fang' characters with one stroke." Isn't this kind of favoritism for the sake of helping each other out at critical moments?

  The two girls suddenly understood.

  The old lady is the wife's aunt, and this relationship is even more complicated.

  Qin Dai's heart saw two maidservants silent, and knew they had understood, "Alright, you two can go down now!"

  Two maidservants quietly withdrew, leaving Qin Daihe alone with her thoughts.

  Qin Dai Xin kept thinking, did the heavens let her be reborn because she wasn't supposed to die and her life was prolonged in another way; or was it because her sins were too heavy and she had to repay them in another way? Otherwise, why would she suddenly get involved in this internal struggle within the Qin Manor?

  Thinking of the complicated relationships in the Qin Mansion, Qin Dai's head couldn't help but ache.

  In Taizhou, the Qin family can be considered a wealthy and influential clan. When the ancestral property was passed down to Qin Zongwen's generation, as he was the only son with only one younger sister, they did not divide the family property, making their strength even more prominent.

  Madam Fang of the Qin family, whose ancestors were once generals, although her natal family had declined, but in this generation, her younger brother had re-entered officialdom and held a sixth-rank position as a judge. It was also for this reason that Madam Qin married her own niece, Fang Wanru, into the family, in order to both preserve her natal family's reputation and secure her son's business prospects.

  Qin Dai's heart was quite unmoved by this matter, after all, wasn't it a close relative marriage?

  Fang Wanru was born into an official family and had been well-read in poetry and books since childhood, with a talent for literature. Although the Qin family was wealthy, they were still just merchants, and in terms of social status, it was difficult to rise to the level of the aristocracy. She married into the Qin family, which was indeed a bit of a compromise. Perhaps because of this, Fang Wanru wanted to arrange good marriages for her children, and she used some connections to have her eldest son, Qin Zichen, marry Lin Qingyue, the daughter of Lin Shiheng, a doctor from the Imperial Academy. It was said that this woman was the number one talent in Taizhou, skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, with both talent and beauty being top-notch. With this seventh-rank father-in-law backing him up, Qin Zichen's future official career path should have been smooth sailing. But fate had other plans, and despite studying hard, Qin Zichen repeatedly failed the exams, eventually giving up on taking them again and focusing solely on managing the family business. His eldest daughter, Qin Yixin, was originally proud and arrogant, with average talent and looks, but she ended up marrying a county magistrate and followed her husband to Nan Tong for his official posting. In this way, the Qin family had established two good marriages, and although they were still just merchants, in terms of social status, they had already entered high society. The Qin family's business path also became increasingly smooth. Therefore, wanting to expand the Qin family's wealth and power was not just a matter of relying on their own strength; the most effective way was through intermarriage.

  It was this marriage that touched Fang Wanru's bottom line of interest.

  The Jia family in Taizhou is a renowned and respected clan, known for their love of learning. The head of the Jia household, Jia Zhengzhang, holds the position of Imperial Envoy at the Censorate, a high-ranking official of the third grade. The three brothers of the Jia family are collectively referred to as the "Three Heroes of Taizhou". This time, it is the second brother, currently serving as the Magistrate of Taizhou, who has come to pay his respects. At such a young age, he already possesses great prospects, no wonder she feels envious. However, the true reason that may have triggered her desire to kill might be due to the eldest son of the Jia family, who is said to have married the daughter of the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a highly sought-after relative that others can only hope to attain.

  Unfortunately, for some reason, the Jia family took a liking to Qin Daihe's heart.

  Qin Dai's heart thought of this, and she couldn't help but secretly smile. In her memory, there really wasn't such a segment, and she had no impression of the second son of the Jia family. Could it be that she had inadvertently seen him before?

  Isn't it because you've seen it before?

  Fang Wanru was leaning on a beautiful daybed, also thinking about this issue.

  At first, someone was sent to inquire about the Jia family's affairs, and it was also Big Brother who reminded them that the second son of the Jia family was young and promising, although he was a bit older than his own daughter. However, because he had not found anyone suitable, he had not married yet. The two old men of the Jia family were worried about this matter and asked people to find out about suitable and talented young ladies everywhere. They originally thought that they would marry Qianxin off, and their daughter would have a good home, which was a good thing. Who knew that the other party had actually set their sights on Sanpao? How could such a good thing be given to that little servant girl? Usually, she is arrogant and willful, and although she appears to be obedient to her mother on the surface, behind her back, she might not be so easy-going. Fortunately, she is simple-minded; if she were clever, she would not have been easily taken in. Although things did not go as planned last time, it was good that they had sent her to the countryside, and for the time being, she would not ruin Qianxin's good fortune.

  At this moment, Xiaoyao came to report that Li's mother had arrived.

  Mrs. Li bowed to Fang Wanru and then sent away the maidservants who were waiting on them, before drawing closer to report the matter.

  "Madam, I've made it clear."

  Fang Wanru suddenly sat up from her bed and asked: "How is it?"