Ning’er was frightened badly. She came forward and tugged Wu Sheyue softly. “Miss, Miss, what do we do?” She should never have let Miss help her collect the money.
Wu Sheyue supported Ning’er and said with great exaggeration, “Ai, it seems my good days are over. Let’s go, let’s go. Take these broken pieces to Mother and give an account.”
Seeing Wu Sheyue’s exaggerated attitude, Nanny Wang frowned. She really wouldn’t shed tears until she saw the coffin. She scolded a young servant beside her, “Go. Collect them for Third Miss.”
The young servant found a piece of cloth, laid it down, and carefully picked up the large and small fragments from the ground before handing them to Nanny Wang.
Thus, with Wu Sheyue looking as if her heart had broken, supported all the way by Ning’er and Bailian, and Nanny Wang surrounded by several young servants and maids, the group marched in grand procession toward Wan Courtyard.
Jiang Qingxue and Wu Liuyun were both in the courtyard at that moment, playing chess. At the sight of this formation, Jiang Qingxue couldn’t control the twitching of her eyelid.
Ever since Wu Sheyue recovered, every other person had begun going badly one after another. Jiang Qingxue was the least willing to see her. Especially with Wu Sheyue suddenly coming together with Nanny Wang, it gave her an ominous feeling.
Sure enough, Nanny Wang clutched the cloth bundle in her hand. Without waiting for Jiang Qingxue to ask, she dropped to her knees before her with a thud and cried sorrowfully, “Madam!”
Jiang Qingxue’s heart skipped. She quickly reached out to support Nanny Wang’s arm and asked urgently, “Nanny Wang! What are you doing?”
“Madam, you have had this servant on duty in the storeroom for eight years. This servant… this servant has failed your trust!”
Seeing Nanny Wang weep with voice and tears, appearing extremely pitiful, Wu Sheyue behind her secretly applauded again and again. Only the acting experts in her organization could compare with this old fox. Those tears fell on command. It was truly satisfying to watch.
Jiang Qingxue knew a serious matter had occurred and anxiously asked, “What do you mean? What happened?”
“Madam…” Nanny Wang tremblingly handed over the cloth bundle from her arms. “This, this is that pair of twin-dragon black-and-white Taiji balls.”
Without opening the bundle, Jiang Qingxue guessed what had happened. Her body froze, and she shouted in fury, “What happened?”
Nanny Wang slowly opened the bundle. The broken white jade stood out vividly against the dark cloth. Her voice was weak as she said, “The male ball is unharmed. Only the female ball is like this… Madam, please calm down. Don’t hurt yourself with anger. You may punish this servant however you like.”
Jiang Qingxue was so angry her eyes reddened. Her trembling finger pointed at Nanny Wang. “Nanny Wang, for the sake of so many years of affection, you cannot hide this from me. Tell me the truth. How exactly did the female ball break? Who was involved?”
Wu Liuyun’s cold and proud eyes swept toward Wu Sheyue as she reminded her mother, “Mother, since Third Sister came along, she must have helped quite a bit.”
Jiang Qingxue abruptly looked at Wu Sheyue. She strode past Nanny Wang and slapped Wu Sheyue across the face. “You tell me! Was this another mess you caused?”
Wu Sheyue had been watching Nanny Wang cry. The sudden slap caught her completely off guard, and she crashed into Ning’er. Ning’er hurriedly held her.
The chain on Jiang Qingxue’s hand cut Wu Sheyue’s cheek. Blood wound down along her fair, tender skin.
Ning’er’s heart was filled with panic, while Wu Sheyue glared angrily at Jiang Qingxue. She nearly raised her hand to slap back.
But everything around her reminded her that this was not her territory. She took a deep breath. One day, I will return all of this, every bit of it. Wu Sheyue breathed deeply and forced herself to keep a good temper. “Mother, why use the word ‘another’? Among the previous incidents, which one was caused by Yue’er?”
Jiang Qingxue’s chest rose and fell violently as she stared at Wu Sheyue. Every incident before seemed to have been caused by Wu Sheyue, but Jiang Qingxue could not name her reason. That was what made her most hateful.
Wu Liuyun ran over and took Jiang Qingxue’s arm. “Mother, don’t be angry. Nanny Wang, hurry and speak. How exactly did the Taiji ball break? You should know this ball is very valuable. Missing one reduces the value by eighty or ninety percent.” As she spoke, she looked meaningfully toward Wu Sheyue. “Whatever happened, you’d better not hide it. This is not something you can bear.”
“Ai…” Nanny Wang wore a face full of guilt and looked deeply at Wu Sheyue. That glance made Jiang Qingxue even angrier.
Only then did Nanny Wang speak. “Today, Third Miss came to speak with this servant. This servant should have gone elsewhere with Third Miss, but… but this servant was auditing the storeroom and truly could not leave. Third Miss wanted to look at the things in the storeroom. Madam, Third Miss is young. Young girls like to touch pretty objects. Please don’t be too angry with Third Miss.”
“Wu Sheyue!” After hearing that, Jiang Qingxue became furious again. The hand not held by Wu Liuyun pointed hard at Wu Sheyue’s nose. “You, why were you not staying in your own courtyard and instead running around?”
Wu Sheyue pushed Ning’er aside and knelt as well, crying, “Mother, don’t be angry. Don’t harm your health. Yue’er was too clumsy. But Yue’er also didn’t dare touch those valuable objects. I saw that this one looked pretty and inexpensive, so I picked it up—”
“Inexpensive? Do you know how expensive this is? Even your grandmother couldn’t bear to take it out and handle it.” Jiang Qingxue was so angry her teeth ached. She had spent so much effort to buy this. And the Old Madam had already declared that all of this would belong to Ziqi in the future. Wu Sheyue actually dared touch Ziqi’s things.
Wu Sheyue looked wronged and sat up straight in defiance. “How could that be? Yue’er didn’t see wrong. It is inexpensive. When Mother spoke just now, Yue’er was confused. With Grandmother’s status, how could she take out Jingbai jade Taiji balls? Besides, the male ball is fine black jade, yet it is paired with a Jingbai jade ball. Isn’t that a waste?”
As soon as these words came out, Nanny Wang’s pupils constricted and her face turned pale. She was truly afraid. She remembered that she had never mentioned that the black male ball was black jade. How did Wu Sheyue know?
Nanny Wang anxiously pointed at Wu Sheyue and snapped, “What nonsense are you spouting? This is mutton-fat jade!” With claws bared and teeth showing, she was completely different from her earlier attitude of strongly protecting Wu Sheyue.
Wu Sheyue could cry as soon as she chose. Tears fell in great drops as though they cost nothing. “Mother, Yue’er broke the female ball, and Yue’er accepts punishment. But if Mother calls cheap Jingbai jade mutton-fat jade, Yue’er cannot admit that.”
Jiang Qingxue was uncertain. Nanny Wang quickly continued arguing, “Third Miss! How do you know this is not mutton-fat jade? You cannot speak recklessly.”
Wu Sheyue continued crying. “Mother, high-quality Jingbai jade becomes pure white after polishing and resembles mutton-fat jade, but it is far less moist and resilient than mutton-fat jade. Look at these fragments. The surface is uniformly pure white, but after it broke, the inside is gray. The moment it hit the ground, Yue’er knew it was cheap Jingbai jade. Why don’t you invite someone over to examine it? With color like this, how did it become mutton-fat jade?”
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