Senior Servant Wang was extremely anxious, âBut, Madam...â
âIâm fine. Iâll think of a solution for this problem.â
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 Jingâanâs courtyard whenever she went over for morning greetings.
However, Chu Lian couldnât 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 the needle and thread within her hands and asked, âThird Young Madam, whatâs wrong?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Chu Lian put down the thin charcoal block in her hand and sighed, âIâve finally realised why I felt that there was something strange about Motherâs courtyard recently.â
Xiyan stared at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to continue.
âDid you notice that many of the decorations inside Motherâs room have been changed?â
Xiyan furrowed her brows upon this realisation after Chu Lianâs 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 those 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 Jingâan 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 hadnât been stringy with Countess Jingâan when she had gotten married.
At that time, Countess Jingâanâs 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 Jingâan 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. Thosecloisonné vases were also another one of her hidden treasures.
âThe vases have been changed!â Xiyan responded with shock.
Chu Lian nodded. Actually, it wasnât just those vases that had been changed. Several other decorations in the room had also been replaced. While the replacements werenât considered too bad, but their quality was inferior compared to the previous decorations.
If she hadnât been drawing designs today and thinking about the patterns on the artworks she had seen during modern times, she wouldnât have thought about those vases.
âBut, werenât those vases Madamâs most treasured items?â 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 Jingâan and Countess Jingâanâs marriage. Countess Jingâan 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 couldnât think of a reason at the moment. She ordered Xiyan, âFind out whatâs happened in Motherâs courtyard recently.â
Xiyan acknowledged the order and left immediately.
Chu Lian actually had a good guess in her heart, but she couldnât be certain. She shook her head and decided to wait for Xiyanâs information. If her speculation turned out to be true, then, as juniors, she and He Changdi couldnât 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 Jingâan to pay more attention to her health. She shouldnât let his medical skills and the valuable medicines go to waste by relapsing back into illness.