青春期撞上更年期第1部

“I’m afraid people from the Prince Chen’s Mansion have been pushing her too hard these days. Please help me save her,” Wei Dahai begged again.

“Okay, okay, okay. Wait for a while. I’ll have to think about it.” His repeated request gave Nanny Wei a headache, and she said hurriedly.

Now her mind was in a whirl, and she didn’t know how to deal with this matter at the moment. Princess Chen looked young but was intelligent and decisive, with Prince Chen backing her up. Prince Chen had broken the arm of Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s grandson, but even the Ruiping Great Elder Princess’s Mansion didn’t dare to argue about it.

Princess Chen didn’t even need to care about Great Elder Princess. Would she show Nanny Wei respect?

“Aunt, you are Her Majesty’s personal Nanny. Since you moved into the Palace with the Empress Dowager, you have accompanied Her Majesty for many years. Her Majesty has a very high opinion of you, so I guess you must be much closer to her in her heart than Princess Chen. Her Majesty has many grandsons and will have more granddaughters-in-law. Besides, I heard that Princess Chen wasn’t Her Majesty’s favorite one.”

Seeing that she was still hesitating, Wei Dahai reminded her.

What he said made Nanny Wei happy. The relationship between her and the Empress Dowager was indeed remarkable. They had gone through many hardships together in the Palace to get their current status. The Empress Dowager thought highly of her and was willing to listen to her advice.

“What I need you to do is simple. You only need to say before Her Majesty that Princess Chen took advantage of her power to bully others, rob their shop, and ruin their marriage. Her Majesty is sensible enough and has always been kind. She won’t watch Lady Ming fall into a miserable situation.”

Wei Dahai added fuel to the fire.

“I’m not sure about this,” Nanny Wei frowned and said.

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you say that alone. Just echo someone else’s words aside,” Wei Dahai whispered.

“You have placed someone in the Palace?” Nanny Wei’s face changed dramatically.

If anyone were found to have planted their people in the Palace, their whole family would be implicated.

“Relax, Aunt. It’s not an important person. When we recognized each other, I was afraid that you might have a hard time in the Palace, so I bribed a little palace maid to help me keep an eye on you. If anything bad happens to you, I don’t want to be the last person who knows it, and it might be too late for me to come to your aid,” Wei Dahai explained.

It was just a little palace maid, and he asked her to look out for her. Nanny Wei breathed a silent sigh of relief in her heart, looking at Wei Dahai more tenderly and thinking this nephew to be very considerate.

“You don’t have to do this in the future. I live a good life in the Palace, and her Majesty has been nice to me.”

“Aunt, even if you say that, I am still worried. You are getting old. After this matter is settled, just beg Her Majesty to let you out of the Palace. Although I’m not that capable, I can still take good care of you for the rest of your life.” Wei Dahai took the opportunity to express his love for her.

Wei Dahai knew Nanny Wei couldn’t leave the Palace lately. She was robust, so even if she wanted to go, the Empress Dowager would ask her to stay. Sweet words were necessary. Anyway, they cost him nothing. No matter how nicely he talked, he wouldn’t take it seriously. Could anyone believe oral promises?

However, seeing that he was so considerate of her, Nanny Wei was greatly moved and increasingly believed Wei Dahai’s words. He was indeed a person who valued connections with others. How could he be the heartless man in Princess Chen’s words? Princess Chen lied about this and deliberately disgraced her nephew.

She used to think that Princess Chen was a good person but didn’t expect her to be so scheming. If Wei Dahai hadn’t happened to be her nephew, she might have ruined a family.

“I will ask the little palace maid to tell others about it. You just need to let Empress Dowager hear her. At that time, you can say a few more words to help Lady Ming. Aunt, please, the lives of Lady Ming and Xiuer will depend on you!” Wei Dahai stood up and was about to kneel down and kowtow to Nanny Wei again.

Nanny Wei stopped him and repeatedly said, “Okay, okay, I know. Don’t kneel before me. Think about what we should do next. Just tell me the person you mentioned, and I’ll arrange it. I can’t let Princess Chen hound someone to death.”

It could be considered a good thing. Even if it were anyone else’s business, Nanny Wei would intervene, not to mention it was related to her nephew.

Nanny Wei had decided to help Wei Dahai, so she tried her best to think of a solution. Wei Dahai told Nanny Wei some details before leaving her place.

He got into the carriage outside the courtyard. His benevolent and generous look vanished after he was in the carriage, and his face darkened with a trace of gloominess.

He didn’t expect Princess Chen to get involved in this matter.

He had planned to let the Empress Dowager know about this matter before Princess Chen told her about it. Unexpectedly, after returning from outside, Princess Chen went straight to see the Empress Dowager in the Palace and informed her of this matter.

The business in the Butterfly Clothing Shop had proved to be pretty lucrative. Previously, when he casually flipped through the account books, he found that this shop made more money than a few shops he owned. At present, he was quite short of money. Upon learning about the shop’s substantial profit, he was envious. When he returned, he discussed how to use the money with his family. How could he watch such a large sum of money go away?

He was determined to take this shop.

The carriage made a few corners and returned to the Wei’s Mansion. When the gatekeeper saw his master go back, he hurried to lead the way with a lantern.

Wei Dahai walked toward the inner court with his hands clasped behind his back.

The largest main courtyard in the inner court was brightly lit. His legal wife, Madam Ouyang, was sitting under the lamp and waiting for him. When she saw him come in, she waved her hand, and the servant girls and old maids on both sides withdrew without making a sound.

“How was it?” asked Madam Ouyang.

Madam Ouyang was thin and looked ordinary. It could even be said that she was not as good-looking as ordinary people. Even under the light, she appeared extremely gloomy with her cheeks drooping. Besides, her eyes bulged, and her lips looked particularly fat. If not for her fair skin, she couldn’t even compare with those old maids serving in an ordinary courtyard.

“My Lord, how is it going?” Madam Ouyang didn’t rise from her chair and asked with a displeased expression. “Why have you been gone for so long? Was it that difficult?”

“It’s a bit tricky. Princess Chen has already entered the Palace and reported this matter to the Empress Dowager.” Wei Dahai’s brows were so deeply furrowed that they could almost pinch a fly.

“What’s wrong with Princess Chen? How greedy she is to covet our property!” Madam Ouyang snorted coldly with a gloomy face. “She married an invalid, who might die anytime. What’s the point of her making money like this? Her husband’s life is in danger. What does she earn so much money for?” Madam Ouyang sneered coldly.

Wei Dahai sat down, picked up the teapot on the table, and poured himself a cup of tea. He drank about half of it before putting it down. “My aunt said that we could do as how we had discussed. It’s troublesome. At first, it was only an easy matter related to Lady Ming, but now Princess Chen suddenly popped up to scramble for it.”

“Too late! If you had gotten rid of that woman early, there wouldn’t have been any problem. If you had done what I told you, such a thing would never have happened. But you couldn’t bear to see your daughter suffer. Don’t you have a daughter or what? Why do you care so much about your mistress’ daughter?”

Madam Ouyang snapped coldly as she slammed her hand on the table.

According to her previous suggestion, they should seize hold of Dong Xiuer and force Lady Ming to hand over the shop. As long as this kind of thing was handled properly, no one would care about it. Since there was no victim, no one would investigate it. They could tell others that Lady Ming had resigned. How could there be so much trouble? This matter didn’t have to get any messier.

Only Dong Xiuer and Lady Ming were sacrificed, and everything would be fine for them.

“But Xiuer is my own flesh and blood,” Wei Dahai said.

“Your flesh and blood? So, aren’t the children I gave birth to your flesh and blood? Do you regret it now? You regret marrying me back then. Now you want to spend the rest of your life with Lady Ming.” Madam Ouyang denounced him in a sharp voice.

“How could it be? Don’t you know how I treat you? I treat you wholeheartedly, but how could you be so mean? I have nothing to do with Lady Ming. After breaking up with her, we haven’t contacted each other for so many years. I wouldn’t have contacted her again if it hadn’t been for you that day. When she enters our mansion, you can decide everything about her. Even if you want to take her life, I won’t say anything.”

Wei Dahai lowered his voice, coaxing her.

“A lot of pleasant words. Let’s see how you deal with the current tricky situation!” Madam Ouyang was unwilling to let go of him and spoke with anger.

“I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry. Everything will be fine. You’ll be in charge of that shop. I trust you the most because you can always get things done.” Wei Dahai reached out and held Madam Ouyang in his arms, saying gently.

Madam Ouyang looked a little better because he had been very docile. After thinking for a while, she said, “What if Princess Chen insists on scrambling for it with us? Perhaps, Lady Ming had begged her to help you. Do we have to continue dawdling our time like this? Prince Chen is going back to the capital city!”

“If it goes on like this, let Lady Ming die!” Wei Dahai had thought it through on his way back and said without hesitation.

Hearing his words, Madam Ouyang cracked a smile. She tenderly pulled his sleeve and said, “Sweetheart, we are of one heart and one mind. Only in this way can we fight for a good future for our children. At that time, you’re no longer a small official but at least a first-class one in the imperial court. That will be our bright future.”

She was not pretty and old, but she pretended to be gentle and yielding. There was even a hint of shyness in her affectionate eyes.

Wei Dahai hurriedly looked away and patted her on the back perfunctorily. Then he stood up and said, “I’ll go to the study and think about it again. I’m afraid Princess Chen will have more follow-up plans.”

“Why do you have to leave so late at night? Let’s rest first!” Madam Ouyang’s face darkened again. She shook her sleeves and stood up.

“Well… Okay!” Although Wei Dahai wanted to leave, he did not dare to for fear of causing more trouble. Unlike Lady Ming, Madam Ouyang was not someone to be trifled with. Everything he had now was related to her, so he did not dare to disobey her. No matter how much he disliked her, he had to endure it.