Chapter 1581: Giving You a Task (7)

"Xiaohong?" Yang Ruxin was momentarily caught off guard.

"She used to be called Hong’er back when she was in our village," Fugui’s wife quickly explained. "She came with Wu Da at the time but ran away later. Back then, the eldest miss even told us to keep an eye out for her. Unfortunately, we never ran into her..."

Yang Ruxin suddenly understood. These past few days had been so busy that she had completely forgotten about her fourth Aunt. She quickly looked at Fugui’s wife and asked, "Then do you know how she became wealthy?"

"At first, I almost didn’t recognize her. It wasn’t until her maid addressed her as Aunt Hong that I took another look and realized who she was. She was truly covered in glittering jewels, with gold bracelets so thick around her wrists..." Fugui’s wife gestured with her hands as she described it. "By the looks of it, she’s doing quite well for herself..."

"Aunt Hong?" Yang Ruxin’s gaze flickered. "Do you know whose Aunt she is?"

Fugui’s wife chuckled. "I was curious too, so I followed her for a while and saw her enter the Zhu family’s residence. She’s definitely Old Master Zhu’s Aunt now..."

"Old Master Zhu? The one from the eastern side of town?" Yang Ruxin immediately pictured a rotund man in her mind.

"Exactly, the one from the east," Fugui’s wife nodded.

"Well, she does have some capability," Yang Ruxin smiled. She remembered the last time she saw her, back when the main wife nearly beat her to death. Back then, nothing could be done to help her. She had thought Xiaohong would settle down with Wu Da, but who would’ve guessed she would end up with Old Master Zhu after all? But how did the main wife come to accept it?

Fugui’s wife sighed. "Becoming a concubine for someone... it’s never an ideal situation, especially in that Zhu family. The main madam there isn’t one to be trifled with..." She paused and glanced at Yang Ruxin before stopping the rest of her words. "But everyone has their own thoughts; it’s hard to say..."

"Do you know the Zhu family’s madam?"

"To be honest, eldest miss, I did some embroidery work for the Zhu family once. It was during the New Year when they needed a batch of embroidered pouches and handkerchiefs, and they hired a few of us who were skilled at embroidery to help. I worked there for five days. They originally agreed to pay two taels of silver, but later they nitpicked about every little thing and only gave me one tael..."

"Then I have a task for you. If you can do it well, the reward will be a gold bracelet. How does that sound? It’s not dangerous, but it’s quite urgent..."

"Huh? Eldest miss, if you need something, just say it. There’s no need for a reward," Fugui’s wife’s eyes lit up at first but quickly waved her hands. "You’re our employer; just give your orders..."

"Although I’m your employer, I can’t ask you to work for free," Yang Ruxin said with a smile. "It’s only fair to give extra compensation... I want you to get close to Aunt Hong from the Zhu family and find out how she managed to get into the Zhu household."

"Ah, that’s it?" Fugui’s wife laughed. "That’s simple enough. No reward needed, give me a few days and I’ll get the information for you, eldest miss."

Yang Ruxin didn’t say anything else, only nodded lightly.

The reason she wanted to know wasn’t because of Dong Hongmei or out of concern for her. It was purely out of curiosity—curious about how Madam Zhu could compromise.

Let’s just call it boredom.

That afternoon, Yang Ruxin went to the county town.

Cheng Qian’s family had already moved in. The furniture, staffing, and everything else in the shop were fully prepared, and they were now in the process of taste-testing the dishes.