Many knew that Qing Cui was illiterate. Even if she found the letter, she would not know who wrote the letter. The reason why they were still arguing was that Qin Wanru had tried to skirt the topic so no one had to start discussing who the letter was addressed to.

However, it seemed at the moment that Qing Cui knew.

The only possibility was that Qing Cui had long known the content of the letter, but who would have tole her?”

Looking terribly pale, Qing Cui looked helplessly at Mrs. Qin. She was feeling very scared as she stammered and could not come out with an explanation.

“Outrageous! How did you know this letter was written by Second Miss Qin to Master Di? Who told you that?” questioned Nanny Zhou severely, as if she just realized this fact! However, she was really trying to hint at something by what she said.

Qing Cui quickly picked up the hint. Her lips trembled as she opened her mouth to say something to play along with Nanny Zhou, when Qin Wanru interrupted her and in a hostile tone, she said to Nanny Zhou, “Nanny Zhou, Qing Cui is my maid, how is it that you know everything she was about to say? Are you and Qing Cui very close?”

Buy saying that they were close indicated that they had been colluding with each other!

“How could you say that, Wanru? Nanny Zhou was only trying to help you question her!” with an uneasy cough and a forced smile, Mrs. Qin quickly said something to salvage the situation when even Nanny Zhou was made speechless by Qin Wanru’s statement.

Qin Huaiyong’s brows were locked into a deep frown. He was a warrior who was used to being straight forward and decisive but was never observant on matters of the household. He suddenly felt that he had been negligent about these matters especially those concerning Qin Wanru, Shui Ruolan, and the Old Grandma.

Both Mrs. Qin and Nanny Zhou were starting to panic. Qin Wanru’s words implied that they were patching up one part of the wall by taking from another part of the wall, whereby the wall could never be completely patched up.

“Although you’ve not matured, Wanru, you are no longer a kid. You have to stop being so willful. Even if Qing Cui had done something wrong, her act does not warrant death. There is no need for you to convict her sins so quickly, this is not the way a merciful mistress should treat her maid,” Mrs. Qin persuaded.

Mrs. Qin was trying to imply that Qin Wanru refused to let Qing Cui off because Qin Wanru was bad-tempered and willful. By implying that Qin Wanru had a bad temperament, Mrs. Qin hoped to ensnare Qin Huaiyong to believe that Qin Wanru was not a likable child.

Having failed in her plan, she resorted to the alternative plan B, which as to created discord using false accusations.

Qin Wanru fixed her gaze on Mrs. Qin as she called to mind how she had fallen into Mrs. Qin’s traps in her previous life because of her ignorance. She smiled coldly as she remembered how Mrs. Qin had destroyed her step by step. However, she was determined to trample Mrs. Qin underfoot in this life.

“Didn’t Mother also convict my sins when you first arrived? Are you saying that you are not a merciful mother?” asked Qin Wanru, lifting her gaze to Mrs. Qin, pretending to look confused.

At such a tender age, her mannerism was reflective of that of an innocent little girl.

She was indeed just a kid. Would it not be unreasonable to expect her to understand all the complications of this matter? Therefore her words were supposed to be innocent. In comparison, the words spoken by Mrs. Qin and Nanny Zhou sounded provocative and intentional.

Looking at Qin Wanru’s childlike mannerism, Qin Huaiyong welled up with guilt, heartbreak, and sadness. He reached out to touch Qin Wanru’s hair and with a tender voice, he said “Wanru is a good girl. Father will stand by you.”

Be it what happened in the past or now, it was apparent that Qin Wanru was just an innocent child, a child who was being bullied by even her maid.

When Qin Huaiyong thought about how Qin Wanru was even looked upon as lower than a maid in her own house, he could not contain the fury rising in him. “Take a good rest first, I am going to discuss with your mother about the changing of maids for you. I’ll make that all your maids from now on would treat you with respect, as how maids should treat their mistress.”

“General…” said Mrs. Qin in panic. She knew this was working out all wrong for her.

Qin Huaiyong gave her a hard stare which put such fear in Mrs. Qin that she stopped halfway in what she was saying.

“Gather all the servants and maids who were watching in the yard just now at one place. They shall not continue to serve here!” commanded Qin Huaiyong, directing his words at his sidekick.

His sidekick nodded in response without any hesitation!

Now Mrs. Qin was nervous and angry at the same time. Qin Huaiyong had always been accommodating towards her, however, his intervention today was like a slap in her face.

“Come with me!” Qin Huaiyong said to Mrs. Qin after instructing his sidekick and strode out of the room without even looking at her.

Knowing things had gone very wrong, Mrs. Qin turned looked at Nanny Zhou nervously, seeking her direction.

Nanny Zhou cocked her head in silence, as in indication for her to just follow Qin Huaiyong. It was not possible to avoid the confrontation at this moment, Mrs. Qin gritted her teeth and followed after Qin Huaiyong, helpless.

At least she had Duke Yong in the capital city as her backing, what could the general do to her?

Nanny Zhou did not try to follow them immediately. She turned her gaze to Qin Wanru. Looking at her suspiciously, she felt that Second Miss Qin was a different person entirely. What had happened?

Sensing Nanny Zhou’s glare, Qin Wanru lifted her head and looked straight into Nanny Zhou’s eyes. Qin Wanru’s beautiful, clear eyes seemed to be able to look into her heart, so much so that Nanny Zhou began to feel uneasy. In her jittery state, she bowed to Qin Wanru in a hurry and left to run after Mrs. Qin.

Qin Wanru was indeed eyeing on Nanny Zhou, who was Mrs. Qin’s most trusted maid. Compared to Nanny Fang, Nanny Zhou had a much more intimate relationship with Mrs. Qin. In fact, she was a present from Mrs. Qin’s mother to Mrs. Qin to be her confidante. She was indeed Mrs. Qin and Qin Yuru’s confidante.

A lot of time, she was the one helping Mrs. Qin handle the matters concerning the household. Qin Wanru thought it would be best to get rid of her. However, she had just gotten rid of Nanny Fang and now was not the best time to get rid of Nanny Zhou. If she remembered correctly, there should be another better opportunity to do so, at which time, it would be detrimental to Mrs. Qin.

Nanny Zhou, who was hurrying away, felt a sudden chill creeping up her back. She could sense something bad was going to happen…

Back in Mrs. Qin’s room, all the servants had been asked to leave, even Nanny Zhou was not allowed in the room. The air felt tense as Qin Huaiyong glared coldly at Mrs. Qin, so much so she was feeling the hair on her body standing on ends.

With shaky hands, she lifted the teapot from the table to pour Qin Huaiyong a cup of tea. She was about to say something when Qin Huaiyong smashed the letter hard onto the table and said with a severe voice, “What’s this?”

“I… I don’t know either,” said a nervous Mrs. Qin. She was as panicky as she was proud of the letter earlier on.

“You don’t know? But that maid knew. Are you treating me like an idiot?” said Qin Huaiyong. Although he did not raise his voice, the authority and coldness in his voice were had taken all the colors on Mrs.face.

“What a loving mother, Mrs. Qin! Didn’t you say you would treat Qin Wanru as your own daughter, and that you would take it as you’ve given birth to two daughters?” mocked Qin Huaiyong as the fury in him rises with every minute and anyone could tell he was enraged.

He had set his mind to repay the kindness he received but did not expect that the daughter of his savior ended up being treated worse than a maid, and was in fact even bullied by maids. She had become a laughing stalk for all the servants looking on earlier in the garden. There was not one who was nice to her. Qin Huaiyong would be too ashamed to face up to his savior when he died.

“General, I… I truly treated her as my own daughter, but… but she’s not my real daughter. Moreover, Mother is quite protective of her anyways. I don’t want to dote on her too much so as to spoil her. I just thought it would be good for her to handle her own matters. Look at how it turned out for her, She wasn’t even able to handle a maid and look at how outrageous that maid was!”

Mrs. Qin sounded as if she had been wronged and started to dab her eyes with the handkerchief as she weeped pitifully. She was trying to imply that Qin Wanru was not helping herself even though she was given all the resources she needed!

“Are you still insisting that you’re helping her in this way?” said Qin Huaiyong, fuming.

Qin Huaiyong had always complied to Mrs. Qin’s words and suggestions. Mrs. Qin was the daughter of Duke Yong in the capital city. Strictly speaking, Mrs. Qin had married someone of a lower standing than her family. Mrs. Qin did not have to marry him if not for the family’s commitments. For this reason, Qin Huaiyong had been very grateful to her.

Also, he never gave her pressure with regards bearing him an heir, even though she only gave him a daughter.

Whether she was able to produce an heir for him depended entirely on fate, it was really not up to her. Qin Huaiyong was happy to have these two daughters. While he had never blame Mrs. Qin for this matter, he could not stand how Mrs. Qin was still talking in this way.

“How about Yuru? Do you also leave everything to Yuru and not care? Or did you choose her maids to help her manage her room?” Qin Huaiyong blurted out angrily, question after question. He was trying so hard to hold back his anger in Qin Wanru’s yard where there was so many people, because he did not want the people to see how he would confront his wife.

As much as he trusted her in the past, this much he was suspicious of her at this moment.

“General, I…” Mrs. Qin exclaimed as she tried to explain further.

“Don’t tell me that this letter was written was Wanru? This is Jiangzhou. A person would need someone to personally deliver or post the letter to the capital city. Wanru is only a child, do you think she knows how to consider all these complications, and be able to arrange for someone to sent the letter? Moreover, how come I’m not aware that Di Yan and Wanru write letters to each other.”

“Di Yan is your nephew, and you are set for him to be your brother-in-law. You used to only allow Yuru to write letters to him. I recall when Di Yan visited two years ago, Wanru almost lost her life! Do you remember what you said to me at that time? You said he was just a kid who wanted to play with Wanru, and that little boys are usually careless. Are you saying that Di Yan had been eyeing on Wanru ever since? That Wanru was grateful to him for sparing her life so they kept in contact by writting letters to each other?”

Qin Huayong said with a sarcastic tone as he called to mind the various incidents in the past.

Qin Huaiyong could not stop blaming himself in his heart. How did he not see that Mrs. had never treated Wanru as her own? Why did he not realize this fact earlier and still put her in charge of Wanru’s life?

“You can’t even tolerate an orphaned child, can you still call yourself a parent?” said Qin Huaiyong, whose hands began trembling from the strong emotion of disappointment. He regretted making that initial decision. This child was now ruined in his hands. Looking at Mrs. Qin, he decided to bite the bullet.

The issue which had been troubling him was finally resolved at the same time.

“Get rid of all the servants in Wanru’s courtyard in a while, then have Old Maid Ya bring some servants in for Wanru to choose. Don’t try to give her your idea because my cousin will help Wanru make the choices,” said Qin Huaiyong decisively.

“What… what has this to do with your cousin? Didn’t she like to live quietly by herself, which was why she had been staying in the family temple?” asked Mrs. Qin as her face drained of its colors. She could sense something was very wrong, and it had nothing to do with Qin Wanru, but everything to do with Shui Ruolan. At this moment, she was most wary of Shui Ruolan!

Qin Huaiyong’s gaze fell on Mrs. Qin and the awfulness of of his gaze made Mrs. Qin avert her eyes and her heart started pounding hard, and she had twisted the handkerchief in her hands into a ball.

“My cousin will not remain in the family temple forever. Prepare yourself, because I’m going to take her as my concubine!”