Chapter 576: My Dear Daughter (1)

Chapter 576: My Dear Daughter (1)

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Senior Servant Wang was extremely anxious. “But, Madam…”

“I’m fine. I’ll think of a solution for this problem.”

Senior Servant Wang had no choice but to keep quiet then.

Over the next few days, Chu Lian felt that there was something strange going on with Countess Jing’an’s courtyard whenever she went over for the morning greetings.

However, she couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was amiss.

Chu Lian was currently sketching jewellery designs for Treasure Pavilion in her little study with a piece of charcoal.

When she abruptly came to a halt in the middle of her sketch, Xiyan quickly noticed her movements. The handmaid set down her needle and thread and asked, “Third Young Madam, what’s wrong?”

Chu Lian put down the thin charcoal block in her hand and sighed. “I’ve finally realised why I felt that there was something strange about Mother’s courtyard as of late.”

Xiyan stared at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to continue.

“Did you notice that many of the decorations inside Mother’s room have been changed?”

Xiyan furrowed her brows upon this realisation after Chu Lian’s reminder.

There used to be a pair of flower-patterned cloisonné vases on the table next to the main seats of the parlour. Several gorgeous peacock feathers had been on display inside the vases.

They had even talked about that pair of cloisonné vases before during one of their chats. Those were some very rare vases. Senior Servant Gui had even mentioned that they might have been handed down from a previous dynasty and were probably worth several thousands of taels. Wenqing and Wenlan had been stunned after hearing that. They had never seen such a valuable vase before.

Countess Jing’an had had a very rich dowry. She had come from a large clan in Jiangnan, which had existed for several hundred years. They had also been quite famous during the previous dynasty. However, their family had been on a slow decline since the era of Emperor Chengping. Even so, they hadn’t been stingy with Countess Jing’an when she had gotten married.

At that time, Countess Jing’an’s dowry was considered one of the most valuable amongst the noble madams within the capital.

It was a pity that she had been in poor health ever since the birth of her third son. After over a decade of seeking treatments and taking expensive medications, her dowry was nearly spent.

However, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. Countess Jing’an still had several treasures stowed away at her place.

The pair of red jade bangles that she had previously given to Chu Lian and Madam Zou was one of them. That pair of cloisonné vases was also another one of her hidden treasures.

“The vases have been changed!” Xiyan responded with shock.

Chu Lian nodded. Actually, it wasn’t just those vases that had been changed. Several other decorations in the room had also been replaced. While the replacements weren’t considered too bad, their quality was inferior compared to the previous decorations.

If she hadn’t been drawing designs today and thinking about the patterns on the artworks she had seen during modern times, she wouldn’t have thought about those vases.

“But, weren’t those vases Madam’s most treasured items?” Xiyan asked in confusion.

Senior Servant Wang had once said that that pair of cloisonné vases had been placed in the parlour for nearly thirty years!

They had allegedly been placed in there on the second day of Count Jing’an and Countess Jing’an’s marriage. Countess Jing’an treated them like precious treasures and often dusted them off herself.

Since she cherished and loved them so much, why would she replace them now?

Chu Lian couldn’t think of a reason at the moment. To Xiyan, she ordered, “Find out what’s happened in Mother’s courtyard recently.”

Xiyan acknowledged the order and left immediately.

Chu Lian actually had a good guess in her heart, but she couldn’t be certain. She shook her head and decided to wait for Xiyan’s information. If her speculation turned out to be true, then, as juniors, she and He Changdi couldn’t stand by and ignore this matter.

Recently, her mother-in-law had been appearing much more haggard than before. Even Great Doctor Miao had specially visited her, asking her to urge Countess Jing’an to pay more attention to her health. She shouldn’t let his medical skills and the valuable medicines go to waste by relapsing back into illness.

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