"I have no idea what your granny meant by giving the box to you. Maybe it was from your mother. Just put it away and look at it when you have time. At least it"s something that can let you feel comfortable with memory of the past."

Lady Tu did not know that the box in her package actually contained a dark golden case. She was also stunned.

As the Tu family had deep connections with the royal family, Lady Tu knew very well about what the case represented.

Normally, such an article could not appear in her family, not even in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang despite the marquis"s position as a senior officer. When Lady Tu thought of her unusual mother-in-law, she considered that it was unnecessary to say anything else. She had come here at the request of her mother-in-law to back Wei Yuewu up and give the case to her.

Wei Yuewu pondered for a little while before she nodded and put the case away. It was not the time to study the casket. She was sure that it must have something to do with her and was of great importance to her since granny had especially asked her aunt to bring it to her.

"Wu"er, although the engagement between you and Marquis Jing Yuan must be broken off, you should have it in mind that it might not be an easy thing if Marquis Jing Yuan resolutely refuses your demand. After all, you have no substantial evidence. Besides, Zhaoyi Tu"s face is also involved."

Lady Tu said to Wei Yuewu after pa.s.sing on the messages from her mother-in-law. Then she looked at Wei Yuewu with a solemn face.

She was worried that Wei Yuewu was too optimistic about the situation, which prompted her to warn her niece of the possible ensuing trouble.

"No worries, auntie. Even if I couldn"t break off the engagement now, I should at least have the issue put on the agenda so that people would know that the two mansions were bound to break off the engagement and the engagement is in fact null and void."

A glimmer of deep thought flashed in Wei Yuewu"s eyes: she had actually guessed what was going on at Mo Huating"s side. She knew she could not break off the engagement as easily as it appeared on the surface when she thought about the fact that Mo Huating had schemed to murder her rather than openly proposed to break off the engagement.

Seeing that Wei Yuewu got a mind of her own, Lady Tu nodded and went to the guest house with her servants to have a rest. She was really tired by now due to the hasty journey.

"Miss, those servants are shockingly lazy. They even declined my demand with all sorts of excuses when I asked them to prepare the toiletries for you. One or two of them said they need to ask the Second Lady, saying that the Second Lady didn"t order them to prepare those things today so that there are no enough toiletries for the moment."

Jin Ling reported in an indignant mood as soon as she lifted the curtain and came in!

Wei Yuewu was also exhausted after her trip to the capital. Now that she had settled all the trouble and could call it a day, it was absolutely necessary for her to have a bath. For this reason, Jin Ling had given orders to the servants make preparation.

But Jin Ling had not expected that the maids and old maidservants in this yard mentioned the Second Lady all the time without taking Wei Yuewu as their mistress at all. Jin Ling"s face had turned pale from anger at their slackness. She would teach these servants a lesson if she didn"t consider that fact that Wei Yuewu had just arrived at the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang and that it was inappropriate for her to raise her hand against the servants in her capacity as a maid.

Sitting at the table, Wei Yuewu took a sip of tea gently. She waited for the bitter tea to go down her throat before she raised an elegant and cold smile at the corner of her lips. "No worries. Ask all of the servants to wait in the yard. I will let them know who is the mistress of this yard!"

Wei Yuewu had been really surprised when she first saw this large, beautiful and well-located courtyard. But she soon sneered in her heart as she realized the true intension of Lady Li. She guessed Lady Li must have prepared this yard for Wei Yan in her name. In their vicious scheme, she was nothing but a dead person, so the yard would finally fall into Wei Yan"s hands.

It was highly likely that the servants in the yard were confidants of either Lady Li or Wei Yan.

They would certainly refuse to serve her.

Since they rushed forward to her gun by themselves, she might as well use this opportunity to demonstrate her power in front of them!

"Understood, miss."

Perceiving the contempt and ridicule in Wei Yuewu"s words, Jin Ling made sense of her meaning immediately. She a.s.sumed a look of severity, walking out of the room again and calling an old maidservant to come over by with a nod of her head. Then she raised her head and ordered proudly, "Go to tell everyone to come here. The mistress has something to say."

"But, Miss Jin Ling, there are so many people..." The old maidservant said hesitatingly as she took a look around.

"There are many people, so what? Are you saying the mistress can"t talk to them because of that?"

With arms akimbo, Jin Ling shot a glare at the old maidservant.

"No, no... I"ll go and tell them to stop all their work and come here at once."

Although the old maidservant did not have any respect for Wei Yuewu, she also knew that although they could slack off before the Second Lady gave a final statement about the arrangement of the yard, they were not allowed to be open disobedient to the Sixth Young Lady. Hence the old maidservant had no choice but go back to ask other servants to come over.

This was all too sudden. None of the servants had expected that the Sixth Young Lady would really move in.

Jin Ling did not enter the chamber until she was satisfied to see all the maids and old maidservants were gathered in the yard.

As soon as Jin Ling stepped inside, the servants in the yard began to whisper to each other and even pointed their fingers at the direction of the main chamber. They thought it was unfair for the Sixth Young Lady, a stranger, to occupy the courtyard that was actually prepared for the Second Young Lady. Therefore, they naturally would play their part to drive the Sixth Young Lady out of the residence to avenge the Second Lady and Second Young Lady.

Since what had happened in the Madam Dowager"s yard was dealt with by Lady Zhang, the aftershock hadn"t reached Lotus Courtyard yet. Therefore, the servants here were ignorant of the fact that the Sixth Young Lady, whom they thought was feeble and incompetent, was in fact totally different from what they thought. They were currently bent on the idea of collaborating to impose on the Sixth Young Lady.

After all, they were backed by the Second Lady and Second Young Lady. They have nothing to lose. So there was nothing be afraid of!

At this point, all the servants were full of confidence about the end. They were waiting for the Six Young Lady, a country b.u.mpkin, to come out and complete her talk. Anywhere, they cared nothing about whatever she was going to say. Whatever she wanted would not be delivered. And she would have to give this place back to the Second Lady and Second Young Lady when they came here. With the support of the Second Lady and Second Young Lady, the servants really thought they had nothing to worry about the Sixth Young Lady who was n.o.body at all in their eyes.

But they soon wondered why the Sixth Young Lady"s maid did not come out again after she went into the house.

It was in the middle of winter and they were standing right in the part of the yard where cold wind whipped through. Some weak servants couldn"t withstand the coldness, and complaints burst out and grew increasingly louder. What"s more, some maids and old maidservants deliberately made loud noises by clapping their hands and stamping their feet to warm up their body.

Wei Yuewu sat in her chamber and listened without the slightest intention to go out. Jin Ling, however, glanced at Wei Yuewu several times. Seeing that her young lady remained perfectly calm, she also set her mind at rest. Jin Ling had admiration for Wei Yuewu deep in her heart along the way to the capital.

First of all, Jin Ling was most impressed by Wei Yuewu"s behavior in front of her former master, the prince of Yan State, whose unmatched appearance would undoubtedly drive any unmarried young lady into a blushing and shy state at the first sight of him. However, her mistress behaved so gracefully and properly as if she was looking at an ordinary man. And she had never intended to get close to the prince on purpose.

Even when getting on and off the carriage, her young lady had always politely avoided the prince and had never tried to approach him.

Second, the young lady always had that calm demeanor, whether in front of Marquis Jing Yuan last time or the Madam Dowager at the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang this time. It was such composure that made Jin Ling at ease and inspired her admiration. After all, her mistress was only a 13-year-old little girl.

It was amazing that her mistress acted in such a clear-minded way.

Finally, some servants were unable to endure the chill. An old maidservant who looked like the head of the servants walked out at the request of others. She came to the door of Wei Yuewu"s chamber, rubbed her frozen hands and then peeped inside the room with a smile. "Sixth Young Lady, everyone is here. Please, you can talk to us now. If you have nothing to say, just let us leave. It was too cold outside and n.o.body can stand there any longer. After all, if we caught cold, there would be no one to wait for you."

These words sounded polite on the surface, but were actually very rude. No servants would address their masters or mistresses like that. Wei Yue sneered in her heart. These servants really had no resistance to cold. After standing in the cold air only for a while, they began to speak without common sense, and those words were full of deep dissatisfaction. That"s what Wei Yuewu wanted: freeze them so that someone couldn"t bear and stand out.

In this case, she might as well start with this old maidservant!

Her birth mother died early, her father was not in the capital, and the Madam Dowager didn"t love her. Since she was raised in her maternal grandparents" home, probably she was no different from a servant in those servants" eyes...

The door opened and a young lady walked out, who had a childish air but eyes that evinced some coldness not matching her age. The servants in the yard had been eager to cause trouble. Now they immediately lowered their heads under the glare of those cold and beautiful eyes.

"Who are you, shouting at the door of the mistress?"

Jin Ling came out after Wei Yuewu, but she took two quick steps forward and stood in front of Wei Yuewu and rebuked the old maidservant who reported at the doorway.

"I... I"m the head of the servants in this yard."

The old maidservant was stunned by Jin Ling"s aggressive question and answered subconsciously. Hardly had she replied when she realized she had responded in a weak manner. She immediately raised her head and stared at Jin Ling.

Seeing their leader so aggressive, the other maids and old maidservants raised their heads again. Some of them were even so audacious that they eyed Wei Yuewu up and down without any trace of respect for a mistress.

Wei Yuewu sneered in her heart. As she had expected, all these people in the yard sided with Lady Li and Wei Yan. Her face suddenly became cold, and she looked at the maidservant in charge and said, "Kneel down!"

Being scolded by the Sixth Young Lady whom she looked down upon, the maidservant in charge was stunned. She then turned her eyes from Jin Ling to Wei Yuewu and protested, "Six Young Lady, why do you ask me to kneel down? What have I done wrong? I only came to ask you to speak on behalf of all the servants. It"s so cold in the yard. You can"t make us so miserable even if you wanted to punish the servants in this yard!"

As soon as the maidservant finished her words, she turned to the maids and maidservants behind her and winked at them secretly. Some others soon echoed her in a low voice, saying that they would certainly die of coldness if they continued to stand here and that the Sixth Young Lady should not make them so miserable on the first day of her arrival when they made no mistakes...

The whole yard was rife with noises all of sudden.