The Lucky Heiress

“The old servant dares not, the old servant dares not.” Maid Li replied in rapid succession.

Madam Yun arrived at the Tingsong Garden with her servants. When she entered the yard and came to the main house, she could feel the warmth emanating from the rooms even before opening the door.

Without knocking, Madam Yun pushed the door open to find a warm fire indeed blazing in the room.

Abruptly interrupted, Xiumei looked surprised.

Seeing it was Madam Yun, Xiumei rose in greeting: “I pay my respects to the Madam.”

“Where did this burning charcoal come from?” Madam Yun’s face darkened a little.

“It was sent by Madam Yuan.” Xiumei calmly answered.

Hearing this response, Maid Li, who came with Madam Yun, also looked surprised.

Why would Madam Yuan send it? Madam Yuan was Princess Jingmin after all, and why would she gift a sack of charcoal?

Maid Li looked at Madam Yun, hoping the Madam wouldn’t easily believe what the young maid was saying. The charcoal definitely didn’t come from Madam Yuan!

“Sent by Madam Yuan? Why would she send charcoal to Ruoruo?” Madam Yun interrogated further.

“A few days ago, the young miss gave Madam Yuan two jars of loquat syrup. Madam Yuan possibly sent a sack of charcoal in return as a way to express her gratitude for the loquat syrup,” Xiumei explained.

“Why would Madam Yuan gift Ruoruo charcoal?” Madam Yun questioned.

For a noble lady like Madam Yuan, why would she gift charcoal? It seemed quite odd.

Wei Ruo emerged from the inner room to answer Madam Yun’s question: “In the past, she certainly would not have done so, but you mother, surely know the current situation in Taizhou prefecture. Charcoal is now rare, especially this silver bone charcoal. Madam Yuan clearly knows this situation, and that’s why she painstakingly gave me some.”

Silver Bone Charcoal?

Upon hearing Wei Ruo’s answer, Madam Yun noticed that the charcoal burning in Wei Ruo’s room was not ordinary. This charcoal produced no black smoke and did not have any smell. Even though half of the charcoal in the stove had been used, it was still intact and seemed more resistant to burning than ordinary charcoal.

Upon this realization, everything indeed seemed to make sense. Unlike other charcoals, silver bone charcoal is a worthy gift.

Maid Li also examined the burning charcoal in the stove and the wood charcoal in the cage next to it. She had intended to find evidence that this was not silver bone charcoal but ordinary charcoal. However, after a closer look, it didn’t seem like ordinary charcoal, which is not this neat and solid.

If this was indeed silver bone charcoal, wouldn’t that make what the young miss said reasonable?

After pondering for a while, Madam Yun asked Wei Ruo again: “How much did Madam Yuan give you?”

Wei Ruo pointed to a small bag in the corner and said, “Over there, it probably will only last for a couple of days.”

This was only part of what she received; the extra was kept by Xiumei.

Seeing that she only received this much, Madam Yun naturally didn’t ask for any.

Then Madam Yun asked, “Having received something from Madam Yuan, why did you not inform the family? Are you afraid that they may share your charcoal?”

That her daughter had received charcoal and not informed her upset Madam Yun a little. Regardless, informing her was the least she could do. Knowing that others were suffering from the cold while her room was warm was absolutely unacceptable.

Even if she had informed them, they would not have taken from her. But not doing so made her appear cold-hearted.

Wei Ruo calmly replied, “I was afraid of upsetting you, mother. Madam Yuan sent the silver bone charcoal in return for the loquat syrup. However, the matter of loquat syrup has already caused several disputes between us. I was afraid that mentioning it again would cause another dispute with you, mother. I know you have been troubled with many trivial matters these days. I didn’t want to add to your troubles.”

Madam Yun was taken aback, and after a while, she finally replied, “What upsets me is the issue of selling the loquat syrup. If you treat others as you have treated Madam Yuan, how could I criticize you?”

Having said that, Madam Yun, worried about sparking another argument, waved her hand and said, “Forget it, let’s not discuss this matter. I came here specifically to ask you because I thought you had found a way to procure charcoal. Since it was gifted by Madam Yuan, I have no further questions.”

With that, Madam Yun led Maid Li and the others away.

On the way back, Madam Yun’s face was grim; Maid Li was trembling as she followed behind.

When they reached Cangyun Garden, Madam Yun admonished Maid Li, “You, audacious maid!”

“Madam, please calm down. I did nothing wrong; there was indeed a charcoal fire burning in the young miss’s room.” Maid Li quickly defended herself.

“You’re lucky this time. If I found out that you were holding a grudge over past events and deliberately targeting Ruoruo, I won’t spare you!” Madam Yun warned.

Although she was somewhat dissatisfied with her eldest daughter, she was very clear about who was the master and who was the servant. She would never tolerate an old servant oppressing her daughter!

“Servant dares not. Even if you lent me ten thousand times my courage, I wouldn’t dare!” Maid Li hurriedly replied.

“Alright, you can go now.” Now that she understood the situation, Madam Yun didn’t have the energy nor the mood to continue listening to Maid Li’s prattle.

“Yes, this old servant will take her leave.”

Maid Li left Cangyun Garden, looking rather sheepish.

Inside Wangmei Garden, Wei Qingwan was waiting for Maid Li’s return. Seeing her return, Wei Qingwanasked, “How did it go, Maid?”

With a frustrated face, Maid Li responded, “The young lady’s silver bone charcoal was gifted by Madam Yuan. After asking a few questions, the Madam left.”

“Gifted by Madam Yuan? Didn’t mother ask why the young lady, having received charcoal, didn’t share it with the family?” Wei Qingwan asked.

“The young lady is very eloquent. She said that the charcoal was a return gift from Madam Yuan for the loquat syrup she gave her earlier. She didn’t tell the Madam, fearing it would upset her due to the previous issues with the loquat syrup,” Maid Li said through gritted teeth.

Maid Li didn’t believe what Wei Ruo had said. If Wei Ruo had really been that considerate, she wouldn’t have repeatedly defied the Madam in the past.

That was clearly just an excuse!

However, the Madam believed it, and she was helpless!

Wei Qingwan’s face grew increasingly grave. Although she didn’t expect this matter to have any significant effect on Wei Ruo, she hoped, at the very least, it would deepen the conflict between Wei Ruo and their mother.

She was forced to think this way as Wei Ruo kept attacking her, time and again, ruining her reputation. Now she was merely doing her utmost to maintain her position under dire circumstances.

Unfortunately, her abilities were limited, and she was no match for the cunning Wei Ruo. All her attempts to fight back had failed.

“Maid, I am full of regret now. I regret not having learned any useful skills or strategies in the past years. Now, I’m at a loss about how to protect myself against Wei Ruo’s tricks,” Wei Qingwan murmured.

Maid Li sighed, “Miss, it’s not your fault. Wei Ruo had interacted with all kinds of people while living in the countryside in the past years. She must have learned countless tricks and tactics. You, on the other hand, were brought up in a cloistered maiden’s chamber, surrounded by a loving family, and never exposed to any vicious situations.. How could you stand a chance against her?”