The Good Concubine of the Qing Dynasty [Red Mansion]

In fact, the people in Meixiangyuan did hear it, and even earlier. However, because the maid hesitated and did not dare to speak, it was delayed for a few days, causing Aunt Mei to hear the news later than Yun Shuyao.
Upon hearing this, Aunt Mei’s face turned red with anger. “Bah, how shameless! If you can’t have a baby yourself, you’re stealing someone else’s. If you have the ability, just give birth to your own child!”
Gao was shocked by this and quickly asked the others to leave and closed the door: “Rui Xue, be careful with your words!”

These words cannot be spread out and can only be discussed in private.
Aunt Mei stamped her feet, her eyes reddened: “Aunt, what’s wrong with what I said? Why are you still blaming me?”

Her voice got louder and louder: “Some people have done shameless things; are they still afraid of what others say?”
She looked in the direction of Bitaoyuan with hatred.
She valued the child very much and never complained about the hardship of the pregnancy, but Aunt Mei could not tolerate it if her child was taken away from her.
Whoever raises the child is the one who loves him or her.
She went through so much trouble to give birth to the child, but someone else wanted to take advantage of it?
She can’t stand this grievance!

Gao was afraid that she would be too excited, so she poured her a cup of tea: “Rui Xue, calm down. I know you feel wronged, but you want the perfect to hear these words, right?”
Thinking of the master, Aunt Mei calmed down a little, but she was still anxious. She drank the tea in one breath and was about to say something when she suddenly felt a pain in her lower abdomen. She covered her lower abdomen, her face turned pale, and she looked at her aunt in panic: “It hurts; it hurts so much…”

Gao’s face changed drastically, her heartbeat accelerated, and she immediately helped her lie down, her voice becoming shrill: “Someone, come quickly! Doctor, go call the doctor!!”
Meixiangyuan was in chaos until Doctor Zhou came running over, prescribed some medicine for her, and she fell into a coma, and the situation calmed down temporarily.
But it’s not really settled.
The old lady stood there expressionlessly, glancing at the people in Meixiangyuan who were kneeling in a circle.
Thinking of what Doctor Zhou said about the miscarriage and not getting too excited, otherwise it would be dangerous, and the chill emanating from her body became even stronger.

“Who, who heard the rumor?”
The second-class maid who was kneeling on the ground trembled and fell down: “Replying to the old lady, yes, it is my servant.”
Aunt Wu kowtowed with a look of shame, banging her head: “It’s my fault that I didn’t discipline them well.”
She had warned so many times, but there were still people who didn’t listen. After hearing such words, they dared to tell Aunt Mei directly, and it almost caused a big disaster.
The old lady pounded the ground vigorously with her cane: “I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself from your crime and find out who spread the rumor.”
Aunt Wu kowtowed loudly again: “Yes!”

When she raised her head again, her forehead was already red, swollen, and bleeding, and Nanny Wu’s eyes were also red. The respectability she had accumulated over the years was ruined today. In order to stay in the Lin family, she must not make any more mistakes!
Nanny Wu is also an elder of the Lin family. She is not in a hurry, even if the person is not caught for the time being, and she is trying to unravel the case.

Starting from where the maid heard the words, one by one, she checked what the maids in the Lin Mansion were doing during that time, whether they were nearby, and whether there was anyone who could prove it… As long as they did it, there would be no way there would be any traces.
People in Lanxinyuan were also questioned.
Without exception.
Everyone in the rear house was in a panic, worried about something going to happen, and they began to be careful with their words and actions.

When Hongxiu went out to pick up the lunch box, she could hardly hear anyone talking or chatting. Everyone was just doing their own job, as silent as a gourd with its mouth sawed off.
But in just one day, the results came out.
The entire family of the maid in Meixiangyuan who passed the message without permission was sold out, and the human traffickers captured them right under everyone’s noses.
The two maids who spread the gossip, and four gossipy old women, a total of seven families, were all sold.

It’s a pity that no matter how these four old women were asked, they couldn’t say who told them that, nor could they say who led them to think that way.
But is it possible?
Logically, the two old women guarding the second gate had no interaction with the Bitao Courtyard. Just because the Bitao Courtyard was cleaning the house and preparing some items for the two concubines’ children, could it be assumed that the Bitao Courtyard wanted to adopt the concubines’ children?

Nanny Wu didn’t believe it.
The old lady didn’t believe it either.
But the clue was broken.
The old lady held her breath in her heart. Her worship of Buddha did not mean that she was the benevolent Guanyin. She would not be merciful when it came to matters concerning the heirs of the Lin family.
When these seven people were taken away, all the servants in the Lin family were called to the side to watch. This sounded the alarm for all the servants in the Lin family.

Where is a good place to sell those who are taken away?
The old lady’s swift and decisive action made Aunt Qian, who was planning behind the scenes, shudder with fear.
Of course, there was no evidence, but that old woman, Nanny Wu, seemed to be suspicious of her.
Her men were questioned many times.
Nanny Qian was glad that she was quick and nimble because if she had been caught with any clues, she would have been humiliated.
It seems that there will be nothing to do for some time to come.

Those seven families became taboo figures in the Lin Mansion, and no one dared to mention this matter again.
Hong Tao was even more frightened to death, and she spread the news. Fortunately, her aunt asked her to tell Wang Ma and also said that her aunt didn’t know about it; otherwise, this would have been her fate.
She was sold by her parents because her family was too poor to make ends meet.
When she was sold to the human traffickers, although it was hard work and she had to work and learn the rules, at least she would not starve to death. Then her luck came, and she was sent to the prefect’s house. Here, she felt like she had fallen into a blessed nest. There was not much work to do, and she could eat well and wear warm clothes. She didn’t even want to think about the past few days.

She was almost there—just a little bit—and she would return to her old days. No, she would be even worse than before.
Hong Tao, who was only ten years old, couldn’t bear the pressure and developed a high fever.
Because she was sick, she was moved out of Lanxin Courtyard to recuperate. Sick people were not allowed to stay in the courtyard for fear of infecting the pregnant concubine, Yun.
This is the advantage of being a servant in the Lin family. If you are sick, you can get medicine and treatment.
Don’t worry about not being able to afford medical treatment.
Yun Shuyao gave Hong Tao some things, asking her to rest and recover before coming back.

Hongtao was sick, and Hongyi, who was usually lively, became less talkative after this incident. Hongxiu felt relieved when she saw this.
It’s not that you can’t be lively, but sometimes something you say carelessly may be used as an excuse to make something out of nothing.
It is better to be cautious in what you say and do.
This was a big deal, and Lin Ruhai naturally knew about it. He was relieved when he heard Doctor Zhou say that Aunt Mei was fine now.

But later, when he heard Doctor Zhou say that Aunt Mei’s fetus was not stable and that she could only stay in bed to recuperate and had to take pregnancy-stabilizing drugs for some time, he became worried again.

Lin Ruhai had also read quite a few medical books and understood some pharmacology. Even though he was not able to diagnose and prescribe medicine for patients, he still understood basic common sense.
Aunt Mei’s condition is very dangerous.
He also saw his mother get furious and personally instruct people to clean up the backyard. Not only did she sell out the people who spread the rumors, but she also sent out some people who were idle on weekdays. Lin Ruhai remained silent throughout the whole process.

The household finances had been handed over to Min’er a long time ago. Logically, Min’er should have taken action this time, but his mother had people clean up the mess herself and also replaced some positions in the Jia family with people from the Lin family’s sons.
Lin Ruhai is not stupid. He was ranked third in the national high school entrance examination at a young age and held a high position in the fourth rank at a young age. Anyone who thinks he is a fool is a real fool.
Lin Ruhai was certain that his mother had a deep rift with Min’er and the Jia family behind her, and that in this incident, Bitaoyuan was indeed the most suspicious.

Lin Ruhai knew his wife’s character. She would not use these means, but that did not mean that her subordinates would not do the same.
This time, the mother was mainly targeting the dowry that Min’er brought.
Their customs were indeed quite different from those of the Lin family, so Lin Ruhai remained silent and gave up the idea of adopting his aunt’s child and moving him to Bitaoyuan.
Lin Ruhai thought of the master who stayed briefly in Zhutang Temple, so he asked someone to grind ink and wrote letters to some of his classmates and colleagues who were working in various places, hoping that they knew the whereabouts of Master Zhiliao.

If he could find him, maybe he could really give birth to a legitimate son…
This time, Jia Min was ignored by her mother-in-law, and she remained silent. She was also wondering who did it.
She knew she was the most suspicious, but she certainly hadn’t done it.
Who took the initiative?
After eliminating all the people in the Lin Mansion who had the ability to do it, she locked her sights on her wet nurse.
The others either had no reason, had been in the Lin Mansion for too short a time, or had too low a status to mobilize these people.

Among the people she brought with her as a dowry, the wet nurse, who had expressed the need to teach someone a lesson more than once, was the most suspicious.
Thinking of this, Jia Min’s heart sank, and her hands and feet became weak. Why didn’t she understand her own heart? And… Jia Min glanced at the angry old lady, and her heart was bitter. The old lady had a grudge against her, and now the gap was even deeper.
No one knew what Jia Min and her wet nurse talked about, but only those who were concerned noticed that since then, Nanny Qian has rarely appeared outside the Bitao Courtyard.

The old lady soon transferred another person from her own courtyard to Meixiangyuan to fill the shortage of staff. After this incident, the servants in Meixiangyuan were all on high alert and dared not slack off in the slightest.
To put it bluntly, Aunt Mei’s belly concerns the fate of all of them.
This time, it seemed that only the person who spread the gossip left Meixiangyuan, but they were all fined monthly wages, and the old lady said that if it happened again, they would all be sold.

Gao looked at the courtyard, where almost no one was talking now, and at her daughter lying in bed, eating bitter soup every meal, she was terrified. “Rui Xue, you scared me. It almost caused a big accident. Listen to me. Don’t worry about anything else. The most important thing is to give birth to the baby safely.”
Aunt Mei also felt guilty, and her face turned pale: “…Aunt, I get it; I won’t do it again.” She was also scared.

Although she was very happy to get the old lady’s promise that she would not adopt her child to Bitaoyuan, thinking back to the pain in her stomach and the solemn expression on Doctor Zhou’s face, she would rather the child be taken away than lose him.
If the child was taken away, she would still have the opportunity to meet and interact with the child, but if the child was aborted, she would lose him completely.
And if she really fails to keep it, the old lady and the master will be angry with her. How can she gain a foothold in the Lin Mansion in the future?

Now Doctor Zhou asked her to stay in bed and recuperate, and she has never gotten out of bed.
As for how to settle this account in the future, we will deal with it slowly after she gives birth.

Seeing that her daughter had figured it out, Gao was very relieved: “Now that you understand, I am relieved.”
In the oppressive and quiet atmosphere of the Lin Mansion, someone knocked on the door.
A group of dusty visitors from afar have arrived—people from the Rongguo Mansion in the capital.