Chapter 8: Being Calculated?

  Ru Yi knew Qin Dai's heart was set on keeping her, of course she wouldn't just say these things that everyone already understood.

  The sudden appearance of Young Master Biao was too sudden, the simultaneous illness of the two mothers was too coincidental, and with the previous "kind" consolation of Zheng's mother, all of this was too unusual.

  I'm afraid Miss has already thought of a plan...

  "Miss, since following you, I haven't thought of anything else, just hoping that you are at ease. Which servant isn't relying on their master to get by?" Ruyi's words were sincere and her gaze was candid, with every word revealing an extraordinary intelligence.

  Qin Dai Xin knew she understood his hint, carelessly playing with the trinket placed aside, and lightly asked: "Can I trust you?"

  Ru Yi met Qin Dai's gaze and knelt down in front of her, "Miss, Ru Yi is willing to spend his life following Miss."

  "Get up. If I didn't believe you, I wouldn't have just let you talk." Qin Dai put down the thing in her hand and helped Ruyi up, sighing: "It's just that for now, it's a bit difficult to do anything. The most important thing is to deal with Young Master Biao."

  "You don't believe Master Biao will only stay at the villa for one night?" Ruyi guessed.

  "It is." How could it be that simple? I'm afraid there will be some action tonight. In this way, the two mothers getting sick at the same time also makes more sense.

  Third Miss is really different from before, it's just that she didn't die in the last great disaster, so she grew a clever and cunning heart.

  "What does Miss want to do?" Ruyi had a plan in mind, but didn't know what her master was thinking.

  Qin Dai Xin suddenly smiled and asked: "Young Master Bai spends his days seeking pleasure and having fun, surely he wouldn't go out without bringing money?"

  Ru Yi's face turned bright red with embarrassment, and she whispered: "I'm afraid there are not a few on my body, Jin Ge is a treasure, the reward from Lady Guang Tai is enough to spend some days, let alone having a young lady who regards him as a precious gem."

  Money makes things easier.

  "As you wish, are you keeping watch tonight?" Qin Dai's heart fluttered with a smile, looking very mischievous.

  "Yes." Although he didn't know why the young lady asked this, Ruyi quickly adjusted himself. The young lady was now a different person from before, and it seemed that she had already thought of a plan in her heart, which was why she asked this question. So, at this moment, Ruyi also answered her straightforwardly.

  "You just help me with one thing." Qin Dai's mouth slightly curved upwards, looking very pleased.

  Ru Yi was taken aback for a moment, and it turned out that when the young lady wasn't throwing a tantrum, she looked incredibly beautiful. Although she seemed slightly distracted, she quickly regained her composure and said, "Yes, miss?"

  "Stay outside the room, no matter who it is or what happens, no one is allowed to enter the inner room, and I won't be called either. Do you understand?" His expression was serious and solemn, without a hint of his usual mischievous look.

  Although she didn't understand, she still said: "I understand, no matter what happens or who it is, no one is allowed to disturb Miss."

  "Also, prepare a set of inconspicuous clothes for me, preferably coarse linen servant's attire. Find some sturdy hemp ropes and hand them over to me before dinner." Qin Dai's expression was mysterious, making it even harder to guess her intentions.

  Nodding in agreement, she couldn't help but ask: "Miss, what are you preparing these for?"

  "I have my own use." Qin Dai's heart looked at her and called out softly: "Ruyi."

  "Yes. Is there anything else I can help you with, miss?"

  Qin Daiyun shook her head, "Nothing, you go prepare! Hand over the things to me before dinner, remember, don't let others see."

  "Yes, miss." Ruyi suddenly realized that she had asked something she shouldn't have. Thinking about the things Qin Daihe wanted her to prepare, she didn't think further and retreated with a bow.

  Gongsun Jin must have reached some kind of tacit understanding with someone, as long as he sneaked into her room tonight with the two mothers on his back, even if there was nothing between them, she feared that her reputation would be ruined, and at that time, she could only become a concubine for him or leave home to become a nun.

  The evil old society was unfair to women. The concept of chastity was even more deadly than a knife that kills without shedding blood.

  Someone wants her to be in prison herself, how can she thank them well? What she needs to do now is wait.

  Time flew quickly to the tenth watch, and Yu hurried in front of the servant girl who was delivering food, handing things over to Qin Dai Xin.

  "The servant girls and the maids on the estate complained, saying that life here was a bit dull, and I told them some interesting stories about the city. Later, I found out that there was a warehouse on the estate where they stored all sorts of discarded things. The servant girl had an idea and searched through it to find what you were looking for." Ruyi was doing this kind of thing for the first time and couldn't help but feel nervous, her palms still sweating even now.

  "You go rest first, come over and keep watch after you've eaten!"

  "Yes." Ruyi turned to leave and coincidentally bumped into Chunli who came to deliver lunch. The little ones set up the meal and went down, leaving only Chunli alone waiting on the side.

  She said she was serving, but Qin Dai's heart never allowed the maids to serve her. As long as she saw someone constantly moving back and forth in front of her, she felt completely unappetizing.

  The table was still set with the usual cabbage and radish, but Qin Dai's heart was savoring every bite. Just thinking about getting a large sum of money from Gong Sun Jin made her feel incredibly happy, this could be considered as her first pot of gold in this world!

  Dinner was hastily finished, and Zhenbao sent the little maids away, sitting alone in the outer room embroidering shoe patterns.

  Qin Dai Xin arrived early in the inner chamber, took out the black coarse linen garment that Ruyi had found. This garment was what the lower people wore when they worked, although it wasn't as fitting as the night-traveling clothes, but somehow it was more convenient and practical than what she usually wore. She didn't know how long it had been stored in the warehouse, but when she smelled it carefully, there was a musty smell. Fortunately, Ruyi had probably cleaned it beforehand, so although there was some smell, it wasn't too obvious. As for the hemp rope, she naturally had another use for it.

  As usual, she put down the needle and thread in her hand, looked at the inner room where the lamp had already been extinguished, and blew out the lamp to sleep.

  The night was as quiet as ever, but with a hint of eerie unease.

  Gongsun Jin, who had been resting in the backyard all along, looked particularly excited.

  Everything is now in place and all that's left is waiting. If things go smoothly, he'll be bringing the beauty home tonight.

  At this moment, the curtain was lifted and a young servant in coarse clothing came in from outside. Judging by his appearance, he didn't seem to be a proper servant of a respectable family. This person had a pointed mouth and a monkey-like face, with a hint of slyness between his eyebrows. As soon as Gong Sunjin saw him, he hurriedly went forward to ask: "What is it?"

  "Master, it's done. The little one has used the anesthetic to knock out everyone in the house, not just Third Miss, but also her maid." He didn't forget to wink and make eyes at Gong Sun-jin as he spoke.

  Gongsun Jin naturally understood the meaning behind this, but this was not part of his plan. If he took advantage of Ruyi for a momentary gain, he might end up losing more in the long run.

  "I have a number in mind, don't say more." Gong Sun Jin stood up and wanted to leave, but was pulled back by that person.

  "Master, would you like me to send a few people to follow him?" The man had a flattering expression, a complete sycophant, and looking at him made one even more disgusted.

  "What nonsense!" Gong Sunjin's face was filled with anger. "Can't I even handle two sleepy maids?"

  That little fellow with a flattering face smiled and said: "It's all right, it's all right. I'm just being cautious."

  Gongsun Jin didn't believe what he said, this guy's methods were clear to him, doing things cleanly and efficiently, never losing his hand, it was precisely because of this that he had always kept him by his side, reserved for use.

  "Alright, you've worked hard too, go back now. I will naturally remember your kindness. Send away the people outside the door as well, don't stay here and cause suspicion." After saying that, he rushed straight out the door.

  Gongsun Jin hurriedly ran towards the front yard, remembering Qin Dai's heart had been put under a spell. The Qin family's residence in Xiaofang Village was part of Fang's dowry from her early marriage, when the Fang family was already declining, so the dowry house was very small. The front and back yards were not far apart, and one could see the front yard by just circling around a small garden.

  Gongsun Jin had just walked through the garden when he suddenly felt a black shadow flash before his eyes. Before he could even react, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and instantly lost consciousness, his body tilting to one side as he softly fell to the ground.

  At the fifth watch, just before dawn, a rapid knocking sound suddenly came from outside the courtyard. The cleaning women did not dare to delay and quickly opened the gate, only to see Ding's mother standing behind a beautiful woman with an anxious face.

  The women and maids left in the village were mostly unrefined, suddenly seeing a beautiful woman dressed in finery, covered in pearls and jewels, they became flustered. Upon closer inspection, the two housekeepers following behind her had an equally imposing presence, several young maids also looked up to them with admiration, the group arrived in a flurry, unknown what their purpose was.

  The old woman didn't recognize the beautiful woman, but she knew Ding's mother. She thought to herself that it was probably some master she had never seen before who had arrived, and hastily paid her respects.

  "This is our young master's wife, the mistress of the Qin family." Madam Ding was full of energy, showing no signs of her illness from yesterday.

  The old women came forward to pay their respects, but Qin Fengge didn't even lift an eyebrow, and directly walked towards the courtyard. The servants didn't dare block her way, and quickly made way for her.

  Qin Dai Xin's courtyard suddenly became lively, and the servants were all guessing what had happened, with some of the bolder ones occasionally peeking inside.

  Qin Fengge hinted to the old woman to go and call the gate, two mothers who were in charge nodded in agreement and went forward to knock on the door.

  A thunderous knock at the door outside.

  Inside the gate, however, it was quiet enough that you couldn't hear a sound.

  Qin Fengge's mouth involuntarily curled up into a smile, and even Ding Pozi couldn't help but open her mouth, revealing a few threads of sarcastic meaning. The good show was finally about to begin. The old women clapped for a while, their hands were red, but they still didn't get any response.

  Qin Fengge felt a bit suspicious, but didn't take it to heart.

  "Bang on the door." She was calm and composed, with an air of being ready to watch a good show.

  "Yes."

  The two old women took their orders like they had been injected with chicken blood and were just about to charge forward when the door suddenly opened.