The maidservant looked at her strangely. Wu Caiwei immediately explained, "We have to arrange the tasks in the back courtyard based on the situation in the front yard."
The maidservant thought about it and realized it was true. It seemed she had been worrying unnecessarily. Without further concealment, she directly said, "As you know, several princes are here to attend. Everyone is afraid to be late and has already arrived. Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, Young Master Xu is in the guest room seeking quiet. Don't let anyone disturb him, but don't forget to call him for meals."
Wu Caiwei nodded quickly, indicating she understood. As soon as they parted, a new problem arose: where were the guest rooms?
So, she pulled a passing maidservant and said with feigned seriousness, "Everyone is quite busy today, each minding their own duties. I'm rather free now. Let's take a look around the guest rooms. There are important guests there, and I want to see if the maids are diligent, so as not to offend them. You accompany me. I have a small matter to attend to. You go ahead, I'll be right behind you."
Without waiting for the other's reaction, she hurried off in another direction. The maidservant reached out, intending to tell her that she had other tasks, but Wu Caiwei had already left. She could only stomp her foot, put aside her current work, and hurry towards the guest rooms.
Wu Caiwei followed her cautiously. As soon as the maidservant arrived, Wu Caiwei did too. At this point, the maidservant began to show some urgency, saying, "Madam, I have other things to do. Since I've accompanied you this far, could you please let me finish my work? Otherwise, the嬷嬷 will surely blame me."
"Oh, you have other work? Why didn't you say so earlier? Hurry along then. My task here isn't anything urgent," Wu Caiwei said, looking at her with a hint of surprise, preempting any complaints.
The maidservant opened her mouth, wanting to retort that Wu Caiwei hadn't given her a chance to speak, but on second thought, she suppressed it. She was just a lowly maid, with no power or influence. It was best not to offend her. She quickly curtsied and turned to attend to her own duties.
Since she was now in charge, Wu Caiwei entered openly and exchanged pleasantries with the maids and older female servants inside. She glanced around, and indeed, what the other managing maid had said was true; Xu Minghui was really here.
Leaving the courtyard, she ambled around outside. Perhaps the room he was in was designated for guests to enjoy the courtyard view, as there was a window at the back. This made Wu Caiwei's actions much easier.
She then avoided people and headed towards the noisy area, hoping to lure Mu Fei over.
Meanwhile, Mu Fei was hiding in a corner, clenching her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her flesh without her noticing. The thought of everyone looking at her with mocking eyes was like a knife twisting in her heart. Although she had mentally prepared herself, the pain was still unbearable when it actually happened.
The other young ladies, unaware of her relationship with the Crown Prince, considered her unlucky. She was engaged to the Xu family, only to have the engagement broken off. While the Xu family wasn't the best choice in the capital, it was still decent. If it were them, they would have happily waited to be married. They never expected her to cause so much commotion recently. Some were even curious to see what the eldest daughter of the Mu family looked like.
In the past, because of her striking beauty, the young masters' gazes were always fixed on her, much to the envy of the other young ladies. Now, she was like a rat crossing the street, with everyone shouting to kill it. Astute families had already guessed that things were not as simple as they appeared on the surface and had excluded her from their list of potential future matriarchs.
If it were her, she would have hidden at home, licking her wounds in secret. She never expected this woman to be so shameless as to still dare to show her face in public, especially today when so many princes were attending. Who was her target? It didn't require much guessing. Still, she wondered who would be so blind as to fancy her.
Seeing that no one was willing to pay her any attention, Mo Fei, with a keen sense of observation, found a secluded corner and sat down, awaiting the appearance of the princes. Lost in thought about how to attract the attention of the princes, she didn't notice the changes in her surroundings. She only heard her maidservant scream, "Miss, be careful!" Su Dan Novel Network
She was momentarily stunned, not understanding what had happened. Then, a cup of tea was directly splashed onto her head, also drenching her face and splashing onto her clothes. Without thinking, she knew how disheveled she must look.
"Ah, I'm so sorry. I originally wanted to give the tea to Miss Liao, but I lost my balance and spilled it on you," said Miss Li from the Duke's mansion. While her words were apologetic, her eyes, as she looked at Mu Fei, were full of schadenfreude. It was clear she had done it intentionally.
Before Mu Fei could speak, Miss Liu quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "We all saw clearly that Miss Li didn't do it on purpose. I believe Miss Mu is very magnanimous and won't hold it against her, right?"
Seeing everyone looking at her with expectant amusement, she seethed inwardly but managed a smile. After a moment of hesitation, she calmly replied, "Naturally."
Only then did the others nod in satisfaction and move aside, whispering amongst themselves. Mu Fei didn't need to hear them to know they were mocking her. But now, she was isolated and helpless, so she could only endure it. She vowed that when the day came for her to turn things around, she would make them pay.
The maidservant trembled as she approached Mu Fei, picking the tea leaves and residue from her hair. So much trouble had occurred in the short time she had been away. Although the second young lady wouldn't punish her now, she knew she wouldn't escape unscathed upon their return. She inwardly despaired.
Mu Fei sat there, letting her maidservant tidy her up, pondering her next move. She couldn't let the princes see her like this. If they did, forget about gaining their favor; it was possible these noble ladies would mock her for the rest of her life.
Wu Caiwei witnessed everything and, deliberately imitating Madam Liu's voice, quietly approached her.
Following her, Mu Fei avoided people and left the corner. The other young ladies, seeing Wu Caiwei wearing the Prime Minister's mansion's attire, knew she was from the Prime Minister's mansion and had come to her rescue. They were somewhat unwilling but knew their limits. Since they were on the Prime Minister's mansion's grounds, they couldn't go too far and thus didn't press the matter further.
They avoided people all the way to the outside of the guest rooms. Reaching a cluster of rockeries, Wu Caiwei listened carefully. Once she confirmed no one was around, she confidently drugged both of them and dragged them into the rockeries.
Before long, everyone noticed Madam Liu, who was in charge of purchasing, hurrying out of the door as if something urgent had come up.
Meanwhile, Yan'er, Mu Fei's maidservant from the Mu family, bought some medicine from the pharmacy and swaggered into the Mu family.
Yan'er had been on edge all morning, with people watching her. Fortunately, her mistress usually ignored them, so she didn't need to speak, otherwise, she would have revealed herself with her first word.