The Lucky Heiress

By the time Qingyi brought Wei Qingwan to Wei Ruo again, Wei Qingwan appeared noticeably haggard.

Wei Ruo cast her a glance and then took a seat in the carriage.

Holding back her hatred, Wei Qingwan also got into the carriage.

On the way home, Wei Ruo took a nap on the soft cushions as usual, while Wei Qingwan was continuously staring at her, with a flame of anger flickering in her eyes.

Wei Ruo only spotted her gaze when the carriage bumped on the way, and spent the rest of the time with her eyes closed, completely ignoring Wei Qingwan’s evident displeasure and resentment.

Upon returning to the Military Prefecture, Wei Ruo headed straight for Tingsong Garden, ignoring the disgruntled Wei Qingwan entirely.

Once she was in her room, Xiumei asked Wei Ruo, “Mistress, with Mistress Qingwan having suffered such humiliation, will she seek to complain to Madam soon?”

She did not fear any possible punishment from Madam. Nowadays, Madam could not easily punish her mistress.

But her mistress was so tired these past few days, she wouldn’t want something irrelevant disturbing her rest.

Wei Ruo yawned, “Let her go ahead. If she’s too noisy and I get tired, I will use this as an excuse to stay over at the prefecture’s office. Let’s see who’s in a hurry then.”

Afterwards, Wei Ruo washed up and climbed into bed to rest.

###

As expected, Wei Qingwan went to Madam Yun to complain, just as Xiumei had predicted.

She told Madam Yun about Wei Ruo leaving her in the Magistrate’s guest room to read, all the while shedding tears.

After learning about this, Madam Yun was both distressed and furious. Initially, she sent Wanwan with them to provide her with an opportunity to make a good impression in front of the influential figures and the wives of the Taizhou prefecture’s renowned families and to strive for more benefits for the Wei Family.

But, Wei Ruo simply left her in the guest room, resulting in Wanwan not meeting any dignitaries except for the servants of the prefecture’s office.

As a result, all her plans fell through, and Wanwan’s trip to the prefecture’s office had been in vain.

“Mother, it’s all my fault,” after recounting the incident, Wei Qingwan began to blame herself.

“It has nothing to do with you. It’s your sister who didn’t give you the opportunity,” said Madam Yun, caressing her with affection.

Wei Qingwan hung her head low, continuing to self-blame, “If I were more capable, I could have alleviated mother’s worries myself and wouldn’t have needed to rely on my sister…”

Madam Yun sighed, “It’s not your fault. Don’t worry. I will discuss this with your father in detail and find a way to arrange another opportunity for you tomorrow. And you certainly won’t be left out in the cold tomorrow.”

Madam Yun was determined to let Wei Qingwan shine in front of everyone. After all, when it came to managing household affairs and keeping account books, Wanwan was much more outstanding than the majority of other girls. She also had far more experience than the elder sister, and there would definitely be a place for her to display her skills.

###

The next day, before Wei Ruo could step out of the Tingsong garden, she found herself being stopped by Madam Yun and Wei Qingwan.

Wei Ruo was not surprised to see them. She responded calmly, “What is it today? I have an appointment with Nun Qin. We must hurry; I don’t want to be late.”

What she was implying: they better be quick, or they will get into trouble for wasting her time.

“I heard from Wanwan that you didn’t assign her any tasks yesterday?” Madam Yun asked.

“Yes.” Wei Ruo admitted straightforwardly.

“You should take Wanwan with you again today. And you must not treat her as you did yesterday. You should let Wanwan stay by your side and let her share some of your workload. Whatever tasks Madam Yuan and the Seventh Prince’s women treasurers can do, Wanwan can do as well.” Madam Yun stated.

“Is my mother familiar with the tasks we need to handle every day?” Wei Ruo asked.

“What’s there not to understand? Even if there are things she doesn’t understand, she can learn them gradually.” Madam Yun was confident and also had full confidence in Wei Qingwan.

“Well, since my mother understands, I won’t say much. If you want her to come along, let her come along.” Wei Ruo seemed very agreeable.

Given the lesson from the previous day, both Madam Yun and Wei Qingwan were sceptical of Wei Ruo’s response.

“You’re not going to lock her in the guest room like yesterday, are you?” Madam Yun questioned.

“Not at all.” Wei Ruo answered decisively.

“I want you to assure me that you will keep her by your side and give her opportunities to work today.” Madam Yun demanded.

“No problem. Wherever I go today, she goes. Unless she herself does not want to, I will not drive her away.” Wei Ruo promised.

“You said so yourself.” Madam Yun pointed out.

“Of course.” Wei Ruo answered decisively.

Wei Ruo’s favourable attitude made Madam Yun feel at a loss what to do, as all the advice she had prepared in advance was suddenly unnecessary.

Wei Qingwan had an unsettling feeling because Wei Ruo had also made a decisive promise the day before, but she ended up being left alone in the guest room.

Hence, Wei Qingwan spoke softly, “Sister, it doesn’t matter if you don’t want to take me along, but you can’t deceive mother. Otherwise, she will be upset.”

Wei Ruo wore a gentle smile, “When did I say I didn’t want to? Didn’t I fulfil my promise to take you with me yesterday? I let you study in the guest room of the prefecture’s office because I thought you might lack the ability and feared you could make mistakes. You should know that if you make mistakes at such times, it’s not just your dignity at stake, but also the Wei family’s reputation. However, I didn’t realize you were so opposed to my arrangement.”

As she said this, Wei Ruo sighed in the same way as Wei Qingwan: “If you’re unhappy with my arrangement, you can directly tell me, and I can make other arrangements. But you didn’t mention it in front of me. Instead, you went back to complain to mother, causing her to worry about our issues, which put me, the eldest sister, in a position of unkindness and unjustness. Why is that?”

Wei Qingwan was stunned, “No, it’s because sister…”

Wei Ruo interrupted, “We’ve always said that family affairs should not be allowed to be segregated. But you didn’t express your dissatisfaction with my plan in front of me and troubled our mother instead. It seems like you don’t consider me as a part of the family. Although we have conflicts at home, we are representatives of the Wei family the moment we step outside. Every word or action of ours matters. You must understand the principle of ‘shame of one is the shame of all’.”

Wei Ruo had said almost everything that Madam Yun and Wei Qingwan should have said, leaving them uncertain about what to say next.

Wei Qingwan was stifled. Wei Ruo was the one who had been suspicious of her, even deliberately gave her a hard time, but then portrayed herself as righteous.

“Mother, I didn’t…” Wei Qingwan said quietly, attempting to defend herself..