A Maid Dressed As A Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Role (Transmigration) - Chapter 36.2

“Countess, please, save my sons!” Madame Zhou saw Chao Mu and tried to rush over and kneel. Chao Mu was sitting on a stool behind the pillar, her forefinger wrapped around the string that was tied to the small stick propping up the basket. Cui Cui was careful to lightly bury the red string in the snow so the sparrows wouldn’t see it.

When Madame Zhou came over, A’Zhi stood on Chao Mu’s left, and Cui Cui stood on her right. They were both in charge of watching the yard and reminding Chao Mu to pull the string.

Madame Zhou knelt a few steps away from Chao Mu. When she tried to go forward, A’Zhi blocked her. A’Zhi withdrew her arm, placed it in front of her, and gave a slight, polite, but distant smile. “If you get too close, you might scare the birds and disturb the countess’s enjoyment. I hope you understand, ma’am.”

Madame Zhou glanced at the spacious, snowy courtyard and her smile stiffened. She hated A’Zhi and Chao Mu in her heart, but she was begging for help now and couldn’t show it.

Her sons were locked up in jail, and these two were catching sparrows. How… refined!

Madame Zhou gritted her teeth, took a deep breath, and knelt down, clutching her skirt. “Please, Countess, save my sons.”

Only then did A’Zhi step back and stand beside Chao Mu.

Chao Mu had no intention of making things difficult for her. To be honest, Chao Mu admired women like Madame Zhou. The kind who could disregard societal norms and be themselves, even earning a unique form of respect. Others would address her by her own surname, calling her “Madame Zhou,” instead of “Qi Zhou-shi.”

“Madame Zhou, I didn’t want to catch them either, but they were too greedy.” Chao Mu looked at the red string in her hand and gestured toward the basket in the courtyard. 

“Madame, look, there is enough grain outside the basket to fill their bellies. But even so, there are greedy ones who reach for the things inside the basket. Don’t you think they made a mistake?”

Madame Zhou’s face was flushed with shame. She gritted her teeth and said, “I’ll make them return everything, every last penny.” She didn’t use the usual excuse that “they’re just kids and don’t know any better.” Instead, she offered to return everything they had stolen to atone for their mistakes.

Madame Zhou continued, “My husband has already taken the money to ransom them. We’ll return the money, and from now on, we’ll stay here and work like oxen and horses for you and the Qi manor to atone for our sins. I only ask that you give us a way out. We’ll agree to anything, anything at all.”

“Didn’t Qi Shilei tell you?” Chao Mu blinked. “I was the one who ordered their arrest, and it’s the court that’s auditing the accounts. Begging anyone won’t work. All the money in the world won’t help.” Chao Mu shook her head slightly and sighed softly. “Madame Zhou, you’ve been deceived. Qi Shilei is going to run away with the money and abandon you.”

Madame Zhou froze in place. Her face slowly went pale, and her eyes lost focus. She fell back onto the ground. 

“Run? He’s running away?” She knew Qi Shilei well enough to know he was a selfish man, and that what the countess said was something he was truly capable of. But how could he be so heartless? It was one thing to abandon her, someone not of his bloodline, but why would he disregard his own flesh and bl00d? They were the Qi family’s bloodline!

“Oh, besides that, he’s also been hiding something else from you,” Chao Mu said. “That young servant, Zhi Yuan, who’s always with Qi Shilei—you’ve seen him, right?”

Madame Zhou had seen him a few times. At the mention of his name, she stiffly nodded, a bad feeling rising in her chest.

Cui Cui chimed in, speaking for Chao Mu, “Madame Zhou, Zhi Yuan is Manager Qi’s illegitimate son. He was born to a mistress that your husband kept outside. So even if he loses you and your three sons, he’ll still have another son.”

A loud ringing buzzed in Madame Zhou’s ears, and her world turned upside down. The colors disappeared, leaving only black and white, and her bl00d ran cold.

So it was true. An illegitimate son. She knew there was a reason Qi Shilei always kept him close.

“Where is that Zhi Yuan?” Madame Zhou asked, her voice trembling as she stood up from the ground.

Cui Cui said, “I don’t know. We haven’t seen him since last night.”

Zhi Yuan, of course, had been apprehended by Chao Mu, but Madame Zhou heard those words and immediately assumed Qi Shilei had run away with his illegitimate son.

“No wonder he didn’t care about the three sons I gave him. He had one on the outside.” Madame Zhou laughed bitterly.

“Countess, can I atone for my sins? I have evidence of Qi Shilei’s embezzlement of the Qi family’s wealth, as well as a list of officials he secretly associated with and the gifts he accepted from them. I have records of everything.” Madame Zhou quickly regained her composure. She used the heel of her palm to wipe away the tears on her face and knelt again. She looked as if she had aged and was instantly exhausted, drained of her vitality. “Please, Countess, let me see my sons, even if it’s just a glimpse.” She no longer asked for her life; she just wanted to be with her sons, even if it meant dying with them.

All along, this was what Chao Mu wanted: the list! Compared to embezzling family wealth, accepting bribes was a much more serious crime. The people who sent those gifts wouldn’t think they were making a connection with Qi Shilei, a mere manager. They would think they were helping General Qi through Qi Shilei. If anything went wrong, they’d naturally look for General Qi, not Qi Shilei.

Chao Mu, having gotten what she wanted, naturally agreed to Madame Zhou’s request. She handed the red string to Cui Cui, telling her to stay and watch the basket to catch the sparrows. “Madame Zhou, do you want to know where Qi Shilei is right now?”

Madame Zhou’s head snapped up, her eyes shining. “Please, Countess, tell me.”

*******

Qi Shilei was trapped at the bank. The bank, which was normally quick and efficient, was unusually slow today. The banker was willing to give him cash after seeing his documents, but he said, “The amount you’re requesting is too large. We need to transfer money from another location. Please, have a cup of hot tea and wait a moment. I’ll get it arranged for you.” The banker comforted Qi Shilei. “It will only take the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. It’ll be quick.”

Qi Shilei wanted the money, so he had to suppress his impatience and sit down. As the banker had someone bring tea to Qi Shilei, he also sent a man to the Qi manor to inform the countess, so as to not offend the nobility. After all, why would the normally dependable Manager Qi need to cash out so much money so soon after the countess returned?

Qi Shilei waited in the back, but after the time it took for a stick of incense to burn, there was still no news. The snow outside was falling harder, and if he waited any longer, he might not be able to leave. Qi Shilei grew wary, sensing something was wrong. He didn’t even notify the banker and took a trusted confidant with him, ready to leave.

“Aren’t you taking the money?” the confidant asked.

Qi Shilei’s face was grim. “Money? If we wait any longer, we won’t have our lives.”

Just as they exited the back of the bank, they were met by Chen Cheng and the four “servants” behind him. Chen Cheng smiled, his arms crossed, as he stood in the only way out. “Isn’t this Manager Qi? In this heavy snow, where are you going?”

Qi Shilei saw the layer of snow on Chen Cheng’s shoulders and knew they had been waiting for him for a long time. He didn’t know if the banker had tipped them off or if Chen Cheng had been following him the whole time.

“I came here to take care of some business for the countess. Now I’m heading back to the manor,” Qi Shilei said without changing his expression. He lifted his leg to walk forward.

The four servants Chen Cheng had brought with him immediately surrounded Qi Shilei and his confidant. Chen Cheng was filled with admiration for Qi Shilei’s composure. He could still lie so easily in a situation like this. Chen Cheng pointed behind him with a flick of his hand. “No need to return to the manor. The countess is here herself. You can tell her what you need to tell her in person.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a carriage pulled up. The lanterns hanging on either side of the carriage were elegantly inscribed with the character for Qi.

Only then did Qi Shilei’s face change. What shocked him even more was that the person who stepped out of the carriage wasn’t the countess, Chao Mu, but his wife, Madame Zhou.

“Qi Shilei, you heartless man!” Madame Zhou got out of the carriage and lunged at Qi Shilei, tearing at him. “Where are you going? Where are you going? Is saving our sons a lie? Is it?!”

“You ungrateful bastard! You’re actually going to take all the money and abandon us four? Do you even have a heart? There’s a wolf’s heart in your chest!”

“I gave birth to three sons for you with my life on the line! How much wealth does your Qi family have that it isn’t enough for you, and you have to go and get a mistress and have an illegitimate son?”

Madame Zhou, in her fury, was strong. She slapped Qi Shilei’s face, pounded his chest, and shoved him to the ground. She then sat on top of him and began to hit him! Madame Zhou was filled with hatred—for Chao Mu, but even more so for Qi Shilei. In fact, she hated the betrayal and abandonment from her husband more than she did Chao Mu.

Her nails ripped at Qi Shilei’s face and neck. “If I can’t live, I won’t let you live either! We’re all going to die together as a family!”

Qi Shilei had a temper of his own. He pushed Madame Zhou off and threw her into the snow. “You wretched woman! You’re only good for causing trouble! If you hadn’t been in charge of everything, why would I have had to secretly keep a mistress? Our sons are beyond saving! How can you be so stupid?!” He was smart, so he was going to abandon his sons and run.

Madame Zhou lay in the snow, covered in it. Her hair was a mess as she looked at Qi Shilei and laughed. “I’ve already given the countess the list of all the officials you’ve associated with. Your death is sealed. The most we’ll get is exile.”

“Qi Shilei, you showed no humanity, so don’t blame me for being unjust! Abandoning your wife and sons. You deserve to go to hell!”

Qi Shilei’s face was ashen. He immediately scrambled up and reached out to strangle Madame Zhou. “You poison-filled shrew!”

Chen Cheng couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He raised his hand and had the servants stop Qi Shilei. They held his arms and pulled him away.

Madame Zhou got up, sat on the ground with her legs crossed, and looked up at the falling snow, crying and laughing at the same time. She laughed at herself for being so blind and so greedy that she had ended up in such a state. She cried for how she, a woman of such capability, had fallen to this.

Chao Mu lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out, watching the husband and wife turn against each other. She thought that if she had successfully married the sixth prince in her previous life, she would have ended up just like Madame Zhou—used and then abandoned by the sixth prince after he had gotten all the value he could from her.

The rats had been caught. The rest of the matter was for Chen Cheng to handle. Chao Mu didn’t want to watch any longer.

“A’Zhi,” Chao Mu withdrew her hand and let the curtain fall. She turned and held out her hands to A’Zhi, who was sitting next to her, and mumbled, “My hands are cold.” They hadn’t brought a hand warmer with them. But the little countess was in low spirits, her lips pursed, her cheeks puffed out, and her moist, apricot-shaped eyes looked at A’Zhi pitifully. She held up her two hands, her fingertips slightly red from the cold.

A’Zhi thought, Serves you right. Why did you have to come to watch the show? She didn’t have to come out, but she insisted.

A’Zhi grumbled to herself, but her hands were honest. She held Chao Mu’s fingers in her palms, lowered her head, and gently breathed on them. “They’ll get warm if I rub them.”

Chao Mu’s eyes curved into crescent moons as she looked at her. “A’Zhi… do you think our basket caught any sparrows?” They had left, but Cui Cui was still guarding the courtyard.

A’Zhi thought for a moment, sticking to her original opinion. She shook her head. “I doubt it.”

Chao Mu’s gaze fell from A’Zhi’s face to her own fingertips, which were being held and warmed. Her voice was soft and gentle, with a hint of petulance. “I don’t believe it.” She said, “I was so sincere. A sparrow would be willing to go in.” She had given them so much “grain” along the way. Maybe a kind sparrow would truly be willing to be her pet.

Chao Mu looked straight at A’Zhi, full of expectation and hope.

A’Zhi was confused and wary, completely missing the deeper meaning behind “sparrow.”

What is this little sweetheart up to? Is she not going to give me my deed of servitude?

A’Zhi’s face went serious. She squeezed Chao Mu’s fingertips, especially the pinky finger they had hooked. “Countess, do you keep your promises?”

Chao Mu began to play dumb, tilting her head in confusion. “Huh?”

A’Zhi’s face was wooden. “We hooked our pinkies. If I took down Qi Shilei, you would give me my deed. If you don’t keep your promise, you’re a little puppy.”

Chao Mu, with her hands still held by A’Zhi, slowly leaned forward, looked up at her, a hint of a dimple on her cheek, her eyes full of starlight. She looked at her and said, “Woof.”

A’Zhi was speechless. She was so annoyed… but also she found it adorable.

Chao Mu smiled at her. “I’m just teasing you. I’ll give it to you when we get back and check on the sparrows.”

Chao Mu sat up straight, pulled her hands from A’Zhi’s palms, and looked out the window. Her smile slowly faded, and her dimples were smoothed out by the cold of deep winter. A’Zhi turned to look at her, a bit suspicious. She placed her hands on her own lap and turned to look out the other window, only to feel her ears burning. All she could hear was that soft, gentle voice in her head: “Woof.”

She was so close, the warm breath had felt like it was on her lips.

This little puppy… she didn’t lie after all.