Wutong was terrified by the red powder, and immediately took Xie Mingyue's tally, slipping out through the small back courtyard door.
Inside the room, Xie Mingyue sat for a while without a single maid coming in to pour tea or water, as if she were not their mistress at all.
It seemed that over the years, as she neglected household management, these servants had all grown lazy. It appeared she would still need to find time to promote a few trustworthy people.
Touching the account books at her side, she pulled over a blank ledger to make a note, then walked out of the room to survey the courtyard.
The area in front of the rooms was reasonably clean and tidy, but behind them, neglected corners were choked with fallen leaves and overgrown with weeds. At first glance, one might mistake it for an abandoned garden.
Hearing the faint sound of laughter and chatter coming from the small kitchen behind the house, Xie Mingyue walked over and stopped at the door. Through the crack, she saw two matrons and two maids gathered around a stove, drinking wine. They had slips of yellow paper pasted to their faces and copper coins piled beside them, apparently playing a game of dice.
Without disturbing them, Xie Mingyue listened intently for a moment before returning to her room. When Wutong came back, she asked about them.
"Madam is speaking of Nanny Huang and Nanny Li. When you first entered the manor, only this servant was here to serve you. Those two nannies were bestowed upon you by the Grand Madam, and the two chore maids are family-born servants from the estate."
Wutong's expression was somewhat unsightly. Hearing this, Xie Mingyue nodded and asked her, "Did you find out about that powder?"
Wutong's face was filled with indignation: "The doctor said this medicine is meant to cause permanent barrenness. If worn for a long time, it will make a person's constitution increasingly cold, making it difficult to conceive."
Xie Mingyue let out a soft chuckle. It truly was a malicious thing.
"Why would the Grand Madam do such a thing? Does she not want to hold a grandson?" Wutong asked, both angry and anxious.
Xie Mingyue sneered: "It's not that she doesn't want to; she just doesn't want a grandson born of me."
For ten years, she and Qi Jinshan had been at such odds that he reached thirty without an heir, yet refused to take concubines. Madam Yun, his own mother, must have regarded her as a thorn in her side.
Madam Yun dared to slip this to her without fear that Qi Jinshan might be affected by contact, precisely because she knew she and Qi Jinshan were at discord and rarely spent time together.
It seemed her mother-in-law was not as amiable and gentle as she appeared on the surface. Madam Yun lacked an alluring figure and did not maintain her looks as well as Madam Luo, yet she had managed to stand firm in the household for many years, even sitting on equal footing with Madam Luo, whose maternal family was powerful.
She was a figure even Madam Luo could not easily manipulate. Apart from having a capable son, Madam Yun certainly possessed her own methods.
Those two matrons were Madam Yun's people, and the two maids were likely someone's eyes as well.
Xie Mingyue lowered her gaze in contemplation. Since that was the case, she wouldn't stand on ceremony.
"Give it to me."
She put the red powder back into the bracelet and slipped the bracelet onto her wrist.
"Madam!" Wutong looked at Xie Mingyue anxiously.
Wasn't this medicine for barrenness!
Xie Mingyue smiled: "Just pretend this never happened. I have my own plans."
She lay back down on the couch: "Have Nanny Li and Nanny Huang come in to serve. You go keep an eye on the maids as they tidy the courtyard."
Wutong went out in a daze. After a moment, the two matrons entered the room, looking thoroughly reluctant.
"The sun must be rising from the west today, for Madam to actually deign to have an old crone come serve."
Nanny Huang stood before Xie Mingyue with a forced, joyless smile, uttering this lukewarm remark.
Xie Mingyue glanced at the two of them indifferently: "Since you are people in my courtyard, you are all here to serve me. I can use Wutong, and I can use you two."
Hearing this, Nanny Huang and Nanny Li exchanged a glance.
This First Madam usually lay sickly and frail in her room. After making such a fuss today, she actually still had this much energy?
Disregarding whatever they were thinking, Xie Mingyue slipped off the bracelet she had just put on and placed it directly on the table.
"This bracelet is a fine thing, but it's simply too heavy. Nanny Li, take it away and put it in safe-keeping. Don't bring it out again; I don't care to wear it."
With that, she listlessly lay back down on the couch. Seeing the exquisite bracelet, the eyes of both matrons flashed with a greedy gleam.
"Yes, this old servant will go right now."
Nanny Li shed her arrogant demeanor, flatteringly picking up the bracelet and walking into the inner chamber.
Xie Mingyue lowered her gaze and curved her lips into a smile.
While they had been gambling fiercely in the small kitchen, they probably didn't know this was sent by Madam Yun.
Moreover, Nanny Li had even gambled away next month's stipend. With such a valuable bracelet placed right before her eyes, not being tempted would be out of the question.
Ordering the two matrons about while taking a short nap on the couch, she calculated when the incident would blow up.
By evening, Jinhe, who served at Qi Jinshan's side, arrived outside the courtyard.
"Madam, the Eldest Young Master has returned from banqueting and is quite drunk now. Would Madam care to go have a look in the front courtyard?"
"Qi Jinshan is drunk?" Hearing Jinhe's report from inside the room, Xie Mingyue felt a surge of secret delight.
A drunkard has no guard on his tongue; wasn't this the perfect opportunity to pry for information?
Besides, her absence from her own courtyard would give those two matrons the chance to make their move.
"Let's go."
Draping her pink cloak over her shoulders, she left Wutong to guard the room, gave a few low instructions, and then let Jinhe lead the way to Qi Jinshan's courtyard.
Yujiang was tending to the room. Seeing Xie Mingyue arrive, he immediately gave Jinhe a thumbs-up.
Brilliant, he'd even managed to invite Madam over.
"Leave the hangover soup and all of you get out."
When the door closed, Xie Mingyue looked at Qi Jinshan, who was sitting on the couch.
A faint scent of wine drifted from him, and his jade-carved face was now tinged with a tipsy flush.
In the prime of his life, his appearance was even more striking than it had been ten years ago. Back then, Qi Jinshan had already relied on his handsome face to stir the hearts of noble young ladies; now, he possessed an even more refined and ethereal air. Looking at him up close, Xie Mingyue felt a tumult of mixed emotions in her heart.
With family background and political skill, would a young statesman like this really stay faithful to her alone?
As she drifted into a momentary reverie, her wrist was suddenly seized.
"Madam." The man's eyes were half-closed, his breath scorching, and his large palm rubbed against her fingers. "Who told you to come?"
"I heard you were drunk, so I came to see you." Hearing no joy or anger in his tone, Xie Mingyue tried to pull her hand away, but failed; instead, he gripped it tighter.
"Let go of me." She reached to pull at his hand.
Qi Jinshan exerted a slight force, and with a low gasp, Xie Mingyue found herself pinned beneath him on the couch.
Flustered and angry, she struggled: "Qi Jinshan, what are you doing!"
Hovering over her, Qi Jinshan felt the soft curves beneath him and exhaled a hot breath.
"Don't move."
His voice was low, but a fierce edge suddenly appeared in his brows. Shocked into stillness by his tone, Xie Mingyue instantly felt a pang of regret.
They were hardly an ordinary married couple. Between her and Qi Jinshan lay a decade of unwashed, deeply entrenched grievances—how could she have so casually trusted that he wouldn't hurt her?
Seeing her lying stiffly on the couch with an expression of resistance, a dark look flashed in Qi Jinshan's eyes.
Taking a deep breath, he sat up, his gaze clearing somewhat.
"Have Yujiang come in to serve."
Hasty to escape, Xie Mingyue scrambled up from the couch and retreated to the side with lingering fear.
Glancing at the bowl of soup on the table, she bit her lip and proactively went over to pick it up.
"It's fine, let me feed you the hangover soup."
She still needed to get information out of him. Judging by Qi Jinshan's loss of composure, he was clearly somewhat intoxicated; she couldn't leave just yet.