Chapter Forty-Three: A Letter, the Finest Bargaining Chip

"Miss, the eldest young lady has gone too far. Clearly, it’s her own doing, yet she maliciously blames everything on you. And Qingcui—Qingcui is also the eldest young lady’s person!" Qingyue, fuming, spoke up from the side. "Miss, let’s go tell the General and the Old Madam."

"It’s useless," Qin Wanru replied with a gentle smile, lowering her eyes. She pulled the letter closer and folded it. "This letter wasn’t written by Qin Yuru. Her hand is injured now."

Qin Yuru couldn’t possibly write at all; it was her right hand that was hurt.

"If she didn’t write it, then who did?" Qingcui was stunned, her voice filled with surprise.

"It must have been written by Madame Di. It’s far too thorough," Qin Wanru said calmly. Such detailed wording wasn’t something the badly injured Qin Yuru could have composed.

"How could Madam write such a letter?" Qingyue flushed, stammering. If she hadn’t misread, the opening had clearly been written in the eldest young lady’s tone, sickeningly intimate with that young lord. How could a woman like Madam, an elder, write something so shameless?

"If no one discovers it, she has nothing to worry about. Qin Yuru will simply admit she wrote it," Qin Wanru said with a light laugh. She set the letter down, picked up her teacup, and took a gentle sip, her gaze settling calmly on the gently rippling surface. "If you take this letter to Father, as long as Qin Yuru insists she didn’t write it, no one can do anything to her."

"We could say Madam wrote it," Qingyue pressed anxiously.

"Even if you say that, her handwriting is a little different from usual, written in the most formal style. She could just deny it," Qin Wanru replied coldly.

Such a delicate girl, sitting at the window with a chill and contempt in her bearing. "If it were that simple to make Madam confess, this household wouldn’t have so many ghosts who died with no burial."

Her words were icily indifferent. For a girl so frail to speak of the household’s affairs in such a tone—almost rebellious and cold—sent a chill through Qingyue’s heart.

"Then… what should we do?" Qingyue stammered.

"Let the rumor spread. Just say someone found a letter," Qin Wanru replied, her eyes serene, a gentle smile on her lips. The slanting sunlight from the window cast half her face in brightness, half in shadow.

In that moment, Qin Wanru looked agelessly strange. Beneath her long, fluttering lashes were eyes clear as black and white, harmless and fragile, yet with a natural allure absent from other girls. But it was this very quality that made Qingyue inexplicably uneasy. She swallowed hard.

Her young mistress was still herself, but she seemed to have changed in ways not of the face, but of the spirit—a change that, even in danger, made Qingyue feel safe.

Her mistress had truly changed, but this change brought reassurance. Too much had happened in these recent days, each event nearly fatal for Miss. Had she remained her old self, who knows how far she would have fallen by now.

The law of the jungle—Miss had become strong. How could her maidservant lag behind?

"Yes, Miss. I’ll pretend to let it slip by accident in a little while," Qingyue answered firmly. She would protect her mistress no matter what.

"There’s still time. Wait until evening to spread the word. Don’t let anyone notice. Come, let’s go check on Aunt Shui," Qin Wanru nodded, rising and tucking the letter into her sleeve. She needed to deliver this letter to Shui Ruolan—it was a valuable bargaining chip.

Qingyue followed closely as Qin Wanru made her way to the ancestral hall.

Qionghua, seeing them approach, hurriedly welcomed them in. Shui Ruolan, still dressed in plain robes, was seated on a prayer mat. Seeing Qin Wanru enter, she did not rise.

Qin Wanru took a mat and knelt down beside her. "Aunt Shui, has Mother come to see you?" Shui Ruolan shook her head, her eyes turning cold. Ever since she learned it was Madame Di who had ruined her reputation, solely to make Qin Huaiyong feel guilty and ignore her and Qin Yuru’s schemes against Qin Wanru, Shui Ruolan’s previous thoughts had been utterly overturned.

No one wishes to be trampled into the mud.

She only remained silent now because of Qin Wanru’s instructions.

"Father may come by today," Qin Wanru said seriously. "Aunt Shui, I know you never had much hope for Father, but now… If there is no one to oppose Mother, neither Grandmother, you, nor I will have a good end."

"Don’t worry, Wanru. I understand," Shui Ruolan replied softly, drawing Qin Wanru into her embrace, her heart aching.

The little girl in her arms was so small, merely a child, yet forced to plot on her own behalf. If not driven to this, a child so young should be nestled in her own mother’s arms, being cherished.

"Rest assured, Wanru. I know what must be done," Shui Ruolan promised. She had once been unwilling to fight, but now, knowing the truth, she would not let herself be used as a pawn for nothing.

Madame Di was vicious, bent on destroying her and Wanru. She would not let herself be so easily manipulated.

"Aunt Shui, here’s a letter for you," Qin Wanru said, leaning into Shui Ruolan’s embrace as she drew the letter from her sleeve. "Look at it first. If Mother comes to demand it, you can make her yield, though it’s not enough to prove the eldest sister wrote it."

"I understand," Shui Ruolan replied, glancing at the letter before taking a deep breath and nodding, her eyes turning cold as she bowed her head.

Qin Wanru rested in her arms for a while, then rose, a faint smile on her lips. Gently, she said, "Aunt Shui, take care of yourself. Grandmother must be well too. Everyone must be well."

Her words nearly brought Shui Ruolan to tears. She squeezed Qin Wanru’s hand and bit her lip.

Qin Wanru wiped the tears from the corners of her own eyes, then left with Qingyue. She had come to make sure she spoke to Shui Ruolan before her father’s arrival and to deliver the letter.

It could not serve as evidence, but it was a powerful lever.

Since Qin Huaiyong had returned straight to his study and even slapped Madame Di over today’s events, he was surely troubled and seeking someone to confide in. She, the young daughter, was not suitable; Grandmother was too ill to speak; the two other concubines had risen from lowly maidservants and were of little consequence.

Shui Ruolan was the only one left. Besides, she’d hinted to her father that Shui Ruolan cared for him. He would surely seek Shui Ruolan’s counsel. That was one.

Madame Di had never been struck before. This time, the slap would leave her anxious, especially with the issue of the letter. That was two.

With both approaches, Madame Di would become restless. The more flustered she grew, the more likely she would make mistakes. Like a cornered animal, she would lash out—such were these times.

Qin Huaiyong was deeply troubled, unable to focus on his paperwork. He had only just managed to resolve the matter with Qin Yuru. Though it had created a rift, at least outward civility remained, especially with his repeated assurances that he would compensate Magistrate Qi and, when in the capital, help transfer him there as well.

At last, the matter of Qin Yuru seemed settled.

Yet, just as this matter ended, Madame Di and Qin Yuru had gotten into another row with Qi Rongzhi and Magistrate Qi’s wife, Lady Li. The commotion was so great that nearly everyone at the Jiangzhou Prefecture offices knew about it. Along with his own daughter, Magistrate Qi’s eldest daughter had also become infamous. Already dissatisfied over the failed betrothal, Magistrate Qi was truly angered now, sending word for him to control his wife and daughter.

They needed to understand what should and should not be said.

He already owed their son; now, he owed their daughter as well. Qin Huaiyong could not fathom Madame Di’s thinking. Remembering that Qi Rongzhi had been invited by Madame Di only soured his mood further. Why invite them if you wouldn’t treat them well? Now both families were humiliated.

Taking a deep breath, Qin Huaiyong stood up, too vexed even to eat. He clasped his hands behind his back and wandered aimlessly through the residence, his chest heavy, as though something pressed down on him, especially now, when he was about to be transferred back to the capital. How could he find peace?

The young servant, seeing his master’s furrowed brow, dared not speak, following quietly.

After a while, Qin Huaiyong found himself before a small courtyard. He had no idea how he’d ended up at the ancestral hall. Now, standing at the entrance, he was unsure whether to go in.

Since the incident, Shui Ruolan had secluded herself in the ancestral hall. He had not had the face to see her. He’d wanted the Old Madam to help resolve things, but she was ill, and for now, he could not broach the subject. Still, it needed resolving; he did not wish to wrong Shui Ruolan.

Standing at the door, he hesitated, uncertain whether to enter or leave, watching the pale incense smoke drift from the courtyard. This was not the right moment; he had yet to decide what to do.

Sighing, he shook his head and turned to leave, feeling that there was no solution for now.

"Huaiyong." A gentle, feminine voice called from behind, making him start. He turned, startled, to see Shui Ruolan, accompanied by her maid Qionghua, coming to the door.

Her eyes were slightly red, her plain attire simple yet elegant. She looked both agitated and flustered, but even so, she stepped from the ancestral hall and called out to him.

Both understood the significance of her crossing that threshold.

"Ruolan, you…" Qin Huaiyong found himself with a thousand things to say, but for a moment, he was speechless.

"Huaiyong, did you… come to see me?" Shui Ruolan lowered her head, biting her lip, nervously twisting her handkerchief—a habit of hers that Qin Huaiyong knew well.

"Yes, I came to see you… You shouldn’t stay here any longer," Qin Huaiyong’s voice softened. If she truly had been plotted against by Madame Di, she was the most innocent of all.

"If not here, where should I go…" Shui Ruolan replied quietly, without a word of blame, her head bowed. Her delicate figure looked frail in the evening gloom.

Qin Huaiyong felt both sorrow and guilt, instinctively reaching to steady her. "Ruolan, don’t worry. I’ll make things right for you. For now, please return to your own quarters. It’s too quiet here, and you’re not in good health. Staying here won’t do you any good."

"Huaiyong, I believe you. But… let me stay here two more days, please?" Shui Ruolan looked up slightly, her voice gentle. "I… I don’t know why things turned out this way…"

She could not continue. Her head dropped, and the tears at the corner of her eyes stung Qin Huaiyong’s heart. He grasped her hand tightly. "Come, let’s go home."