Chapter 264: Chapter 104: Kill a Thousand Enemies and Hurt Yourself Eight Hundred (Part 2) Chapter 264: Chapter 104: Kill a Thousand Enemies and Hurt Yourself Eight Hundred (Part 2) Yueyao also knew that Nanny Deng refused to consent for her own good. Yueyao said helplessly, “Nanny, which is more important, reputation or my life?” Only by making Nanny Deng understand the stakes would she compromise.
Nanny Deng quickly replied, “Naturally, your life is more important.” If one’s life is gone, what use is reputation?
For those who love you, people certainly take precedence. Nanny Deng truly loved Yueyao and, when it came to choosing between reputation and life, naturally chose life as the priority.
Yueyao felt comforted and said, “Lady Mo has malicious intentions; she wants to strike me down hard with this matter. Nanny, if I truly thought of myself as a ‘jinx’, what do you think I would do? A severe illness would be the lesser issue, but worse, I could lose my life.”
Nanny Deng was so angry she couldn’t speak.
Seeing Nanny Deng’s face turn from pale to red, and then from red to purple, Yueyao knew that Nanny Deng had taken her words to heart. She paused for a moment before saying, “Nanny, I don’t want to die, I want to live well, so I can’t let Lady Mo’s scheme succeed.”
It took a while for Nanny Deng to calm down before she said, “What do you plan to do, Miss?”
Yueyao didn’t want to tell Nanny Deng the rest of the plan for now, knowing that she would definitely disagree, so she said, “Nanny, I will tell you the details later.”
After an intense inner conflict, Nanny Deng finally agreed to Yueyao’s request.
After speaking with Nanny Deng, Yueyao met with Peng Chun and asked him to do the same thing as Nanny Deng. Yueyao asked Peng Chun to spread rumors outside that she was a ‘jinx’.
Peng Chun stared at Yueyao blankly; nobody would spread rumors about themselves being a ‘jinx’. He asked, “Miss, why would you do this?” He believed the Miss wouldn’t do such a thing without a reason.
Instead of directly answering Peng Chun, Yueyao said indirectly, “When my father was seriously ill, you delivered a letter to Uncle Li for him, along with a small box. Do you know what was inside?”
Peng Chun shuddered. He wanted to go out into the world rather than live out his days in a confused stupor in Lian Mansion, much less want his descendants to repeat his fate. However, he had never thought of betraying Second Old Master. Second Old Master had shown him immense kindness, and he was resolute in not betraying him, for he had never divulged a word about the tasks Second Old Master entrusted to him. Seeing Yueyao’s indifferent expression, Peng Chun’s mind raced with countless thoughts before he asked, “Who told you about this, Miss?”
Yueyao replied softly, “My father told me.” If something were to be delivered, it had to be done by someone one’s trusts implicitly. Yueyao had suspected Peng Chun on that day, and now his reaction confirmed her suspicion was correct.
Peng Chun sighed in relief that it was Old Master who told the Miss, and said, “Miss, I don’t know what was inside the box. But whatever was inside was quite heavy, probably something like books.” The box was heavy, and Peng Chun had wondered what could be so heavy inside, but since he never opened it, he really didn’t know what Old Master had entrusted to him.
Yueyao didn’t dwell on this topic and instead laid it all out for Peng Chun, saying, “My father left me several tens of thousands of taels of silver for emergencies; not long ago, I also received my mother’s dowry; and before my grandmother passed away, I inherited many of her valuable possessions. Peng Chun, you must understand the principle that a man is not guilty, but he invites trouble if he carries a jade. I believe you know the implications.”
Peng Chun looked at the Miss in shock. Those who could run around for Second Old Master were quick thinkers. Peng Chun felt the trade-off was not worth it and said, “Miss, doing this is like killing a thousand enemies and injuring oneself by eight hundred. While this exposes Lady Mo’s sinister intentions, it also ruins your own reputation.”
Yueyao looked up at the clear blue sky, where not a single cloud was to be seen; if possible, she too did not want to add a few dark clouds to this clean slate. Full of helplessness, she said, “Injuring oneself by eight hundred is better than losing one’s life later. This life is no longer like the last. I am increasingly uncertain about the future. Because I can’t ensure that Lady Mo won’t go mad enough to take my life and then steal my money.”
Peng Chun swallowed hard and said, “Miss, surely it won’t come to that, for the Great Master is still here!” While he said this, his heart somewhat agreed with Yueyao’s words. Eldest Madam’s methods were too ruthless. Old Madam had not been gone long before Eldest Madam made her move. It was uncertain whether Great Master knew and, if he did, how he would handle it.