Transmigrated as A Farm Girl Making Her Family Rich

Chapter 44: Chapter 44 Maid Stealing

Tang Shunyan was adamant about going to the Madam’s courtyard, and Maid Mei Zhi dared not stop him any longer, only able to follow behind Mrs. Li and the Young Master.

Xiu Zhi’s leg injury had not yet healed, and she was watching over the yard, but she was unwilling to stay in the room all the time, and secretly went to rummage through Mrs. Li’s belongings in her room.

She wanted to find evidence to accuse Mrs. Li of embezzling the Young Master’s money. She walked with a limp, dressed in Maid Daya’s uniform, with cheap jade buttons on the wide sleeves. The hem of her clothes was broad.

The lower garment was a pair of pants of the same color, and the shoes on her feet were embroidered shoes. She had rather large feet, and the shoes she wore were custom-made from an outside shoe store.

Her body was fuller than the other Maids, so her uniform was also specially tailored.

Tang Mansion had many properties in the county, including an embroidery workshop that made clothes for the people of the estate.

...

Perhaps because everyone in the courtyard was united, before Xiu Zhi entered Mrs. Li’s room, she asked the old woman guarding the door to keep a sharp eye out, in effect having her watch out for her. @@novelbin@@

Xiu Zhi was not afraid of Mrs. Li but did not want to be caught red-handed either. Even with the young madam’s support, Tang Mansion could not possibly allow a thief to serve in the Young Master’s courtyard.

When Xiu Zhi entered Mrs. Li’s room, she found the room unlocked. Glancing at the room’s simple furnishings, the only things on the bed were items distributed to the servants by the estate; there was nothing else.

She went to check the only chest beside the bed. The chest was not locked, and inside she found only ordinary fabrics awarded to Mrs. Li by the estate, as well as some cotton. These items had already been cut, seeming to be patterns for children’s clothing.

Xiu Zhi looked down on these things. They were house slaves of Tang Mansion and had seen too many good things. Moreover, she had no need for children’s clothes at the moment.

Not having found anything useful in the chest, nor any money, Xiu Zhi refused to believe that Mrs. Li wasn’t greedy. The Young Master didn’t understand anything.

Considering Mrs. Li was the only one who brought these things back, even she could hardly resist the temptation to embezzle a bit. How could this country woman, Mrs. Li, not be tempted by money?

Xiu Zhi went on to rummage through the belongings on Mrs. Li’s bed, turning everything upside down. She checked the bed board and even looked underneath the bed.

Beneath the bed, everything was clear at a glance. Mrs. Li didn’t own an extra pair of shoes; she only had those two sets of clothes. Xiu Zhi, unable to find anything of value, could only spit out in frustration.

“Pah, Mrs. Li, I just can’t believe that you would be so kind, so honest…”

Xiu Zhi haphazardly tidied up the things she had thrown into disarray before leaving Mrs. Li’s small room. Standing in the Young Master’s room, she saw that chest with the two new locks.

In her mind, she came up with an idea. Could it be possible to open those two locks by finding a locksmith?

Thinking this over, Xiu Zhi left the Young Master’s room, instructing the little maids and the old women in the courtyard to keep a close watch, and then she took her coin purse to find her parents.

Xiu Zhi’s father was a driver at the estate, and her mother worked as an old woman in Madam’s courtyard.

Their family did not belong to any particular faction. On the surface, she was the young madam’s confidante, but she was actually sent by Madam, the person in charge of the household, whose orders were followed throughout the entire estate.

Madam was not considered the Old Lady, for there were still the Old Lady and the Old Master in the mansion. They simply did not manage affairs.

Xiu Zhi couldn’t find her father and had to entrust the matter to her mother, who also found it inconvenient to leave the estate to handle affairs. Only her father, the driver, had the opportunity to go out frequently.

“My daughter, even though the young madam has agreed to this, if it involves stealing her son’s things and you manage to successfully frame Mrs. Li, that would be good. But if it’s exposed, our family would not be able to stay in the estate, and you might end up in jail.”

Xiu Zhi’s mother discussed the pros and cons at length, discouraging her daughter from proceeding. Even if she were to go ahead, she should not do it herself but let the little maids carry it out.

Xiu Zhi, upon hearing that the matter was exposed and that she could be imprisoned, felt her little heart pounding in fear. She was jealous of Mrs. Li, but she harbored no deep hatred towards her; the injuries on her body were intentionally caused by bumping into the hurt Mrs. Li.

Mrs. Li, despite their repeated attempts to frame her, never took initiative to retaliate. In truth, she was a very honest farm woman.

After listening to her mother’s words, Xiu Zhi agreed with her mother and allowed her father to take care of the matter, after which she would instruct the little maid to carry it out.

…

Tang Shunyan came into his grandmother’s courtyard living room and paid his respects to his grandmother and grandfather. Sitting on a small stool beside them, he clasped his grandfather’s thigh and looked up to his grandmother, saying,

“Grandmother, does your grandson receive a monthly salary?”

The Madam of the house, with large bead hairpins mostly made of gold in her hair, wore noble green jade earrings and a necklace of gold and jade, with gold and jade also in the pendant of her gold necklace.

She looked fixedly at Tang Shunyan and then glanced at Mrs. Li standing by her side. This servant looked very honest, but why had the grandson changed so much in the past two or three months?

If she were to claim Mrs. Li wasn’t teaching him, she wouldn’t believe that a child of barely three years old could understand so much. She knew her grandson was intelligent, but children learn from the people and events around them; some things aren’t understood just by being naturally smart.

“Grandson, your monthly salary is collected by your mother every month, you should ask her about it.”

“Oh, forget about the past salaries. Can grandmother keep my future salaries for me to manage?”

Thinking of his mother’s stern face and of his soon-to-be-born younger brother, who would compete for affection, Tang Shunyan couldn’t let his mother manage his monthly salary. He needed to grow up fast and learn to manage everything on his own.

“It’s not that it’s not possible, but you’re too young. The rule is that it should be given to your mother. You must convince your mother to keep it for you. Just like this time, with the many gifts you received, Grandmother supports you managing it yourself. But what do you need so much money for?”

The Madam eyed Mrs. Li sternly, treating her as the one who had corrupted her grandson.

“Grandmother, when I grow up, I will have a lot to take care of. I want to start saving money from a young age. Mother will have a little brother soon, and my monthly salary is mine.”

Tang Shunyan, so young, had all his thoughts and emotions displayed openly on his face, speaking them out honestly.

“Mrs. Li, do you admit your guilt?” Madam, upon hearing her grandson’s words, directly accused Mrs. Li of wrongdoing.

“Madam, I did not teach the Young Master to say such things,” Mrs. Li said timidly, kneeling on the ground, her head bowed.

Sitting above them, the Old Master looked at Mrs. Li with a different perspective from that of his wife. Glancing at his grandson, who was looking distraught and pleading, he considered that all these ideas might well be his grandson’s own.

“Grandmother, please don’t punish the wet nurse, it was my own idea,” said Tang Shunyan, who had been clinging to his grandfather’s thigh but now clung to his grandmother’s, pleading pitifully for Mrs. Li.

“You, speak up, did Mrs. Li teach the Young Master such words?”

The Maid Mei Zhi was singled out by the Madam and, with her head bowed, she replied, “To answer Madam, Mrs. Li often whispers to the Young Master. This servant cannot hear clearly what they say.”

The Maid Mei Zhi’s statement was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky, evidencing the accusation.