Aunt Ning hesitated for a moment before taking the tea with trembling hands. After another moment of silence, she finally said, "I'll think about it."
Grace glanced at Marquis Qingyun, who responded, "Very well."
Aunt Ning stood up.
"Take care, Auntie!" Grace limped to see her off at the door before hopping back inside. "Father, how did you come at such a perfect time?"
Marquis Qingyun replied, "I saw that you had called for a doctor, so I came to check on you. Are you feeling unwell?"
As he spoke, he scrutinized her, finding no signs of discomfort.
"I'm fine, just had a sore from heat. Dr. Chen from Huian Hall already treated it, so it's nothing serious," she said quickly, eager to change the topic. "Father, you don't blame me for being rude to Auntie, do you?"
"Why would I blame you?" Marquis Qingyun looked at her, "You were being filial, after all."
Grace couldn't help but clap her hands in delight. "Exactly! You said it perfectly!"
She hadn't expected Marquis Qingyun to support her so readily, which boosted her confidence to ask further questions. "To be honest, Father, did you agree so easily because you've wanted her to leave for a while?"
"Yes, I did. Weren't you the one who refused to let her go before?" Marquis Qingyun stretched slightly as he spoke. "You were adamant about not letting her leave. What made you change your mind? Did something happen?"
Grace initially wanted to brush it off but decided to be sincere to strengthen their father-daughter bond. "To be honest, I recently heard some things that seemed off. Reflecting on the past twelve years, I realized I'd rather be strictly educated by my aunt than spoiled by Auntie Ning. She can't protect me forever; teaching me how to conduct myself is truly for my own good."
Marquis Qingyun looked at her for a moment before slowly saying, "You've indeed grown up."
"Everyone says that dragons beget dragons and phoenixes beget phoenixes. Your daughter can't be too bad," Grace said confidently.
Marquis Qingyun nodded, "Indeed. Both your mother and I are upright people. Our family has always been proper. It's hard for her to spoil you single-handedly."
Grace, seizing the moment, played dumb. "Are you implying that Auntie Ning had bad intentions all along?"
"She's leaving soon, so let's not dwell on it," Marquis Qingyun stood up. "I need to go to the palace later. Take care of yourself."
...
Aunt Ning returned to Mei Ying Zhai, and before even sitting down, she slapped the maid who had followed her.
"Why didn't you inform me that the Marquis was coming? What use are you?"
The maid, clutching her face, bit her lip and started crying. "The Marquis forbade it!"
"How dare you talk back!" Aunt Ning raised her hand again, making the maid cry out in fear.
Aunt Ning's close maid, Qiu Mama, quickly stepped in. "Madam, calm down! Careful not to hurt your hand!"
Aunt Ning's face twisted in anger as she gripped the table, her breath unsteady.
Qiu Mama asked, "What happened? Why did the Marquis come over? Could someone have tipped him off?"
Aunt Ning's expression darkened. "Are you suggesting that Su'er planned this?"
"I wouldn't dare say that, but it's all too coincidental. Moreover, the third young lady's recent behavior is drastically different from before, and she's no longer close to you. It's possible she's had this idea for a while. The Marquis came just in time to hear your conversation with the young lady and saw your reluctance to leave."
Aunt Ning's face grew grim.
"You're right. She has changed a lot. Just now, she even suggested under the pretense of Cheng'er's career that I should reunite with him! She said a lot of things, like how Cheng'er hasn't married yet and that I'm neglecting my duties if I don't help with his marriage. She also mentioned that Cheng'er could be criticized for being unfilial if I stayed here. How could she come up with such arguments?
"Even if someone coached her, she couldn't be this sharp-tongued, could she? Could it be that she has been deceiving me all these years, pretending to be clueless while actually knowing everything?"
"That seems unlikely. It wouldn't benefit her to act that way, and as a young girl, it's hard to maintain such a pretense for so long. If she were pretending, madam, you would have seen through it long ago."
"Then how could she suddenly turn against me? She used to rely on me for everything, even her clothes. Now she's scheming against me. It doesn't make sense!"
Qiu Mama hesitated but then suggested, "If the third young lady truly wants you to leave, it complicates things. We were able to stay here because of her attachment and reluctance. If she's changed her mind, even if the eldest madam doesn't take advantage of the situation, we can't force our stay. Especially now that the Marquis has made his stance clear. Madam, you must decide."
Aunt Ning paced back and forth, then stopped. "I need to figure out what's going on with Su'er. If someone is influencing her, I need to find out who. If it's her own idea, then I've been deceived for years, and I can't let that slide. But I can't believe a young girl could be so cunning."
"The person behind this can be found later. The immediate concern is to resolve the current situation. Madam, you shouldn't have to stay in the Marquis's household like a nanny. The Marquis hasn't even given you a title. It's too disheartening.
"And what about Cheng'er? He just started his career and still needs the Marquis's support. The Marquis can't just abandon him. It's absurd to look for someone else outside when you're right here."
"Enough!" Aunt Ning became increasingly agitated. "If he had those intentions, he would have acted on them by now. Look at what he's done for Cheng'er besides recommending him as a county magistrate. Nothing!"
"Madam! You can't just leave. Even if you do, you must secure Cheng'er's future first."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"Why not prepare some soup tonight and take it to the Marquis? Show him some humility and talk to him."
Aunt Ning thought for a moment, then agreed.
"But we still need to find out what's going on with Su'er. She's always been simple-minded, not knowing how to scheme. We need to test her with something to see if she's really pretending or if someone is influencing her."
Qiu Mama quickly thought along the same lines. "Young Master Xu suffered a significant loss recently. He won't stay quiet. Madam, just persuade the Marquis to delay things a bit. When Young Master Xu recovers, I'm sure we can find an opportunity."