Four Seasons Brocade – CH 212

Chapter 212 ☆、

Seeing Nanny Hao’s reaction, Ah Wu became even more certain of her suspicions. Although she had other ways to resolve the issue and might even be able to uncover evidence of Nanny Hao’s framing, she did not think Chu Mao would like the outcome.

As time grew increasingly tight, Ah Wu became more anxious to cultivate a relationship between the Imperial Princess and Chu Mao. Therefore, despite the unbearable tension between husband and wife, she endured it. As for Nanny Hao, Ah Wu naturally did not want her to become a thorn in her side and Chu Mao’s side.

“Why is the Princess so adamant that it was this old woman who plotted against you?” Nanny Hao still refused to have an open and honest discussion with Ah Wu.

Ah Wu utterly loathed this dizzy old woman. She stood up and straightened the wrinkles in her clothes. “I’ve said all I can say, Nanny. Either you continue managing the household affairs, and we will leave each other alone and work together to protect His Highness, or let’s tear things apart today; I am not afraid of you, Nanny.”

Nanny Hao fell silent, lost in thought. Ah Wu walked out of her room and saw Nanny Lu peeking in from outside. Seeing her come out, Nanny Lu gave a slight curtsy and hurried inside to check on Nanny Hao, as if afraid Ah Wu might harm her.

Ah Wu lowered her eyes slightly. Seeing Nanny Lu’s reaction, she could imagine Nanny Hao’s usual harsh and vindictive nature. However, she had said what she needed to say and had done her best.

“Your Highness, what about those people in the inner quarters?” Zi-Yi asked.

“Call Lu Ruoxing…” Ah Wu suddenly stopped. Having Lu Ruoxing interrogate them would naturally clear Ah Wu of suspicion, but she was suddenly unsure what Chu Mao meant. In truth, Ah Wu was often unsure of Prince Qi’s intentions. Just as Ah Wu herself had said, she did not believe Chu Mao could not see the intricacies of the matter, so why had he still sent her to investigate?

“Zi-Yi, you and Nanny Gong take Zi-Jin to investigate these people first. Whatever you find, do not publicize it yet.”

Zi-Yi nodded.

It was not until dinner time that Zi-Yi and Nanny Gong returned to Yulan Hall, both looking solemn, clearly without any good news.

“Everyone is spotless, with nothing suspicious. The maids of Hongyao Villa must always go in pairs so they can vouch for each other,” Nanny Gong said.

“Your Highness, what should we do now?” Zi-Yi asked.

Ah Wu lowered her eyes. Actually, she had not expected to find anything at Hongyao Villa anyway; Nanny Hao’s calculations were flawless, and they had naturally been thoroughly cleaned up.

“Since there’s no suspicion, let’s release them all,” Ah Wu said.

“But what if the Prince asks? What will we say?” Zi-Shan interjected. “There’s nothing unusual about Lady Tao either.”

Ah Wu’s real dilemma now was how to explain this to Chu Mao. Such a big incident at Hongyao Villa, yet they could not find out who did it. This undoubtedly proved Ah Wu’s incompetence, or perhaps that she was protecting the culprit.

Before Ah Wu could come up with a solution, she heard the maids outside repeatedly greeting him.

“Your Highness,” Ah Wu rose to greet Chu Mao as he entered, “Are you hot?”

Chu Mao nodded.

Yong-Mei and Yi-Mei followed Chu Mao to the bathing room. After he finished washing, the maids, Zi-Shan, Zi-Yi, and others, also greeted him and withdrew. This was Chu Mao’s rule; when he was at Yulan Hall, he did not like maids serving him.

“Your Highness, please have some tea. It’s warm now; you should not drink cold tea, lest it upset your stomach.” Ah Wu handed Chu Mao a cup of warm tea.

“Have you found anything?” Chu Mao took a sip of tea.

Ah Wu pouted and shook her head. If Ah Wu had been in charge of the household affairs before, starting with the fabric and thread of the doll, perhaps some clues could have been found. The maids in the mansion had set quotas for fabric and thread, but it was also possible that it was smuggled in from outside. There were too many clues involved, making it difficult to unravel.

“I’ve already sent someone to have Lu Ruoxing release everyone from Hongyao Villa. Nanny Hao is used to being served by them; we cannot keep them confined,” Ah Wu said, looking at Chu Mao. “I’ve also had people investigate Yulan Hall and Lady Tao’s side, but to no avail. It seems this matter will have to remain unresolved for the time being.”

“However, not many people know Nanny Hao’s birth date and time. If His Highness had not mentioned it last night, I would not have known it was Nanny Hao’s birth date and time. I think we should start there tomorrow,” Ah Wu continued.

“What did you talk about with Auntie today?” Chu Mao asked.

Ah Wu was not surprised that Chu Mao knew about this so soon after returning; he probably knew more about things in this mansion than Nanny Hao herself.

“I noticed Nanny Hao seemed to have many misunderstandings about me, so I talked to her about it,” Ah Wu said, bowing her head.

“Do not blame my aunt. She’s naturally suspicious, but it was precisely because of her caution that I survived in the palace. However, she’s stubborn, and you probably cannot persuade her,” Chu Mao said.

Ah Wu had not expected that Chu Mao would guess what she and Nanny Hao had discussed so easily. “I am thinking that things are about to get turbulent. Regardless of how Nanny Hao treats me, we should work together to keep the inner courtyard of our Prince Qi’s mansion peaceful. Nanny Hao is loyal and devoted to His Highness, and I believe she will always consider the bigger picture.” Ah Wu blinked and smiled. “If Nanny Hao dislikes me after these two years, I will simply avoid her. I certainly will not make things difficult for His Highness.”

Chu Mao chuckled. “Are you trying to subtly deny that you did what happened last night?”

Chu Mao lightened the atmosphere, and Ah Wu, who had been feeling heavy-hearted, relaxed. She said sweetly, “I am not stupid. Why would I touch Nanny Hao? Everyone knows that Nanny Hao is untouchable in this residence, right?” Ah Wu pouted.

Chu Mao pulled Ah Wu into his arms, holding her tightly against his chest, showering her with warm, wet kisses. Ah Wu guessed that Chu Mao probably believed her; otherwise, he would not be so affectionate with her now. It seemed that intimacy between husband and wife was not without its benefits.

“Your Highness believes I did not do it?” Ah Wu asked, wrapping her arms around Chu Mao’s neck.

“Did you not say you were a smart person, that you would never do something foolish?” Chu Mao chuckled.

Ah Wu straightened her face. “Then—then who does Your Highness think did it?”

Chu Mao played with Ah Wu’s hair, twirling it between his fingers. “Auntie is getting old; she should enjoy her retirement. You, as the Princess Consort, cannot take any more leisure time. You will need to look after Hongyao Villa more.”

Ah Wu inwardly scoffed. Chu Mao certainly knew how to talk; it seemed the blame for everything was on her taking time off. Even now, Chu Mao remained unyielding, continuing to appease Nanny Hao, which made Ah Wu somewhat uncomfortable. Even when Chu Mao entrusted her with the management of the household affairs, Ah Wu was not particularly happy.

“But we cannot find any evidence. We cannot just let this go unresolved. After all, Nanny Hao is His Highness’s wet nurse, and everyone is watching,” Ah Wu said, trying to get up from Chu Mao, but he pressed her back down.

Ah Wu’s eyes darted around. She realized she had been wrong about something—she often excluded Chu Mao from her considerations. But he had taken such a big advantage of her; should he not help her? Ah Wu leaned against Chu Mao’s chest and said, “Your Highness, please help me.”

As for the doll, Nanny Hao and her people had just discussed it casually, made it in her room, buried it there, and burned the remaining needlework and cloth scraps. Where was there any evidence?

Chu Mao picked up Ah Wu and carried her into the inner room. “I can help, but how will Ah Wu thank me?”

Ah Wu was placed on the bed by Chu Mao. Sensing the change in his tone, she disregarded her image and immediately rolled away from his grasp, trying to get up, but Chu Mao quickly pinned her down.

“Your Highness, we have not had dinner yet,” Ah Wu exclaimed softly.

“What are you thinking about?” Chu Mao pinched Ah Wu’s pert nose. “I have a bit of a headache; I just wanted Ah Wu to massage my hair.”

Ah Wu muttered, “I’d be a fool to believe you.”

Speaking in bed, Ah Wu suddenly felt closer to him, as if the world only consisted of the two of them, and her inhibitions lessened. “Why does Your Highness trust me?” Ah Wu continued to ask.

Chu Mao gently nibbled on Ah Wu’s fair, round, pearl-like earlobe. “These past few days, I’ve kept you so tired you can barely get out of bed. Where would you find the time for those underhanded tricks?”

This definitely did not sound like a compliment. Ah Wu retorted, annoyed and embarrassed, “Chu Mao, can you be serious?”

“Am I not telling the truth?” Chu Mao replied seriously.

This kind of conversation was always Ah Wu’s Achilles’ heel. She could only pout and say, “I am ignoring you.” She was about to get up when she heard Chu Mao lazily say, “Did you not ask me to help you?”

Actually, Ah Wu could figure out a way to smooth things over even without Chu Mao’s help, but with Chu Mao’s support, it would be better. So Ah Wu was willing to hear Chu Mao’s ideas.

“How can you help?” Ah Wu blinked her large, expressive, watery eyes, curling up beside Chu Mao like a docile white deer.

“Help me first, Ah Wu?” Chu Mao asked, noticing the fading marks on Ah Wu’s collar.

Ah Wu reached out to massage Chu Mao’s temples, but he grabbed both her wrists and pinned them above her head. “Chu Mao! I am talking to you about serious matters!”

“If you ask me, the most important thing is for Ah Wu to give me a son.” Chu Mao used his mouth to lift Ah Wu’s shirt.

Outside, Zi-Zhui was about to go in to call her two masters for dinner, but before she reached the east side room, Zi-Yi stopped her. “What’s wrong?”

Zi-Yi put her index finger to her lips, gesturing for silence, and pulled Zi-Zhui’s hand, blushing as she said, “We will have to wait a while.”

Zi-Zhui had not heard the commotion inside, so she did not understand Zi-Yi’s meaning. “But…”

“Oh, no buts.” Zi-Yi saw Zi-Zhui out the door. “Wait a bit; when the Prince and Princess want to eat, I will have someone inform my sister.”

After a long while, Ah Wu finally gathered her clothes and sat down in front of her dressing table to comb her hair. Her eyes in the mirror were radiant, her face flushed. Ah Wu was too shy to look at herself. Although she had been fooling around in the past few days, it had all happened at night; she had never done it in broad daylight…