"Auntie?" Xie Fengran pursed her lips and coaxed, "How could Chenghui have seen Auntie?"
Xie Chenghui covered his little head and didn't want to talk. He just rubbed against her in her arms!
Seeing this, Xie Fengran stopped pressing him and coaxed Xie Chenghui into the room.
Rarely did she have the time to coax the child, so Xie Chenghui seemed extremely clingy.
Xie Fengran simply stopped doing other things and focused on playing with him. During this period, the wet nurse came once to take Xie Chenghui back to review his lessons, but was sent away by Xie Fengran.
It wasn't until the clingy little one fell asleep that she rubbed her sore shoulders and told Lanfang, "Call the wet nurse here!"
After a while, the wet nurse followed Lanfang into the room. Seeing Xie Fengran with a solemn face, she felt a bit uneasy.
"Miss!"
Xie Fengran put down the book in her hand. Her expression softened a bit. She pointed to the small stool on the ground and said, "Sit down!"
The wet nurse thanked her, suppressed her uneasiness, and sat down.
Xie Fengran seemed not to notice her expression and asked straightforwardly, "Has Concubine Yuan gone to see the young master recently?"
The wet nurse jumped to her feet and waved her hands quickly. "Miss, it wasn't me who let Concubine Yuan go. I had no choice!"
Xie Fengran frowned and said unhappily, "Just answer my questions!"
"Yes, yes!" The wet nurse rubbed her fingers and said fearfully, "Since the young master started school, Concubine Yuan has gone there three or four times. Each time she talked to the master for a long time and also cared about the young master's food, clothing, and daily necessities. I saw that she really loved the young master, so I didn't pay much attention."
By now, the wet nurse was not so stupid as to fail to understand that this miss was on bad terms with that concubine. If this miss deprived her of her job, what could she do?
Seeing that she had scared the wet nurse enough and that the wet nurse was almost in a panic and what she said seemed to be true, Xie Fengran said slowly, "It's not your fault in this matter. But you must remember that Concubine Yuan is not Chenghui's birth mother. She is just a concubine in the mansion. You are the young master's wet nurse. You should be vigilant against everyone, especially pay attention to the food!"
Hearing this, the wet nurse became even more panicked. "M-Miss, I never let others handle the young master's food. I..."
Xie Fengran raised her hand to interrupt her. "I know. As long as you take good care of Chenghui, the Marquis Mansion will not treat you badly. All right, go down!"
"Yes... yes!" The wet nurse wiped the sweat off her forehead and left after bowing.
After the wet nurse left, Lanfang hesitated and said, "Miss, why did Concubine Yuan suddenly want to go and see the young master?"
"Why? Her covetous heart refuses to die!" Xie Fengran bent her index finger and tapped on the table. "Concubine Yuan went to see Chenghui. Obviously, Grandmother knew about it. It seems that Father must have said something to Grandmother again. We can't stop this. We can only start with Chenghui's master!"
"But this master was found by the old madam through an old acquaintance of the marquis. It may not be easy for you to replace him!"
"Not easy? Not necessarily!"
After the incident with Teacher Wang, Xie Fengran deeply doubted those old scholars who were full of "thees" and "thous".
This master could talk to a concubine for a long time. Obviously, he didn't care much about personal virtues. It wouldn't be difficult to find his fault.
"The difficult part is where to find a master for Chenghui."
Lanfang also frowned with worry. After thinking for a while, she came up with an idea. "Miss, why don't you ask the prince?"
"Qin Junxing?" Xie Fengran remembered that Qin Junxing had rummaged through the list of teachers in the Imperial College. This man was not one who respected teachers and valued education. If she asked him, he might just say that Chenghui should learn martial arts from him.
"No, no."
Xie Fengran firmly denied it. "Let me think about this matter for a while. How is that woman in the back courtyard these two days?"
"Miss, don't worry. She is a smart person."
That Granny Shen knew that she had no hope of getting out. Coupled with the fact that Nanny Su no longer came, she knew that she was a useless pawn. She was quiet every day, saying little and doing nothing, very sensible.
Xie Fengran nodded. "Keep an eye on her. Since the old madam sent her here, she must have some extraordinary abilities. Maybe we'll need her in the future."
"I understand, miss!"
The mistress and the maid chatted for a few more words. At this time, Liu Yi walked in from the door with a beaming face. She turned around and closed the door.
"Did you pick up silver? You're so happy. Don't you plan to share some with me?"
Seeing her like this, Xie Fengran couldn't help joking.
"This is a thing that makes me happier than picking up silver. Miss, don't make fun of me!"
Xie Fengran was curious. "Then what is it?"
"I just went to talk to Cuilian in the old madam's yard. I just saw Nanny He striding towards the Second Miss's yard with a group of people. I was curious and just asked casually. Who would have thought that Cuilian actually told me that the Second Miss deliberately broke the leg of the etiquette tutor in her yard instead of the tutor breaking it by accident!"
"..."
She really guessed right?
Xie Fengran and Lanfang looked at each other. They both saw the disbelief in each other's eyes.
Lanfang couldn't help asking, "Why did the Second Miss do such a thing? Although the etiquette tutor was a bit strict, she did it for the Second Miss's good."
"Why? Isn't it because she's jealous seeing that Miss can go in and out freely without anyone to watch over her?" Liu Yi snorted and said indignantly, "The Second Miss doesn't even think about how much suffering the eldest miss has endured before. She never had a moment of leisure in the old madam's yard. Now she can't even bear being supervised for just a couple of days. She's so delicate!"
"Cuilian said that the old madam was furious. This time, she won't escape without suffering a great deal!"
Liu Yi looked as if she wished she could take Nanny He's place and go and teach Xie Yunxi a lesson herself.
Xie Fengran found it a bit funny. "All right, don't mention this matter anymore. Restrain the people in the yard. Don't let them gossip."
"Miss, don't worry. I will definitely manage the yard well!"
Liu Yi answered seriously.
Xie Fengran nodded. She didn't take Xie Yunxi's matter to heart at all. She was thinking about how to find a qualified master for Xie Chenghui.
However, she didn't expect that Qin Junxing would actually help with this matter!
The next day, just as Xie Fengran was about to go out, Qing Ye came to visit.
Xie Fengran thought for a while, then went out through the side door and got into Qing Ye's carriage.
When Qing Ye saw this young lady getting into the carriage, he heaved a sigh of relief. He said somewhat obsequiously, "Miss Xie, I'm sorry to bother you. Our master really has something to talk to you about."
Xie Fengran snorted. "So you admit that your master had no real business when he sent you to find me last time?"
"..." Qing Ye quickly reacted. "No, our master always has something when he looks for you."
"..." "What is it?"
When it came to business, Qing Ye also became serious:
"Yesterday, we found an old eunuch with a disability at the horse ranch. He said that he was an old servant from the Marquis Mansion and wanted to see you!"