Chapter 028
Chapter 28: Second Branch Brainstorm
Lin Yu Ning finished with, “Tell Mother! How can Mother be left out of something this big,” then spun around and dashed for the door.
Lin Yu Jiao moved fast and hooked her little sister by the back collar, yanking her back, then she asked with a scowl: “Where are you running off to?!”
“Tell Mother!” Lin Yu Ning answered, full of confidence. Her small face shone with the joy of [sharing fun is better than enjoying it alone]: “This is such explosive news. Mother will definitely want to know! Father and Big Uncle are sneaking around, and Mother still has no idea!”
Lin Yu Wan felt a vein jump at her temple and was about to scold her little sister for her loose tongue, but then Second Sister’s eyes lit up. To Lin Yu Wan’s surprise, Lin Yu Jiao actually thought the little one had a point: “Right!” she clapped, a mischievous smile spreading as she added, “Mother must be curious too! Come on, let’s go together! More people, more ideas. Maybe Mother will have a plan!”
She instantly joined forces with the youngest, grabbed the still-struggling Lin Yu Ning, and rushed off toward Second Madam Wang’s courtyard.
Watching her two headstrong sisters, Lin Yu Wan sighed helplessly. This could not be kept under wraps. Better to go along and keep an eye on things than let them spread it with extra spice.
She lifted her skirt and followed at a quick pace.
The three sisters swept into Second Madam Wang’s main room like a gust of wind.
Second Madam Wang was leisurely arranging flowers. Seeing her daughters charge in like this, especially the youngest with crooked hairpins and heaving breaths, and the older two wearing odd looks, her heart gave a thump. She set down the shears and lowered her face as she asked: “What trouble have you three stirred up now? Did the three of you poke the same hornet’s nest?”
Lin Yu Ning opened her mouth, but Lin Yu Wan cut her off with a sharp look.
Catching the cue, Lin Yu Jiao spun on her heel and drove every maid out of the room: “Out, out! All of you, out! Shut the door. Unless you are called, do not come in!” She even hustled trusted Nanny Li to the threshold with gentle shoves.
Meanwhile, Lin Yu Wan went to the doorway herself and slid the bolt tight, then crossed to the windows and closed each carved lattice one by one. Her movements were calm, but a solemn air settled over the room.
Watching this series of actions, Second Madam Wang felt her nerves climb. Sending away all the servants, shutting doors and windows like this… the mess had to be major.
She sat straighter, her expression turning grave as she said: “Speak. What disaster did you cause?”
Given her chance, Lin Yu Ning chirped like a sparrow and relayed, with dramatic flair and extra seasoning, the “explosive scene” she had witnessed at the bathhouse door of the Auspicious Cloud Residence. This time she went even further, stressing that Xiao Man was “clothes in disarray,” “cheeks like peach blossoms,” “eyes dodging,” and “clutching the bath towel with a death grip, like she had just done something shameful,” while “Cousin must still be in the tub.” She even filled in her own guesses about what might have happened behind the screen, complete with “splashing water” and “low breaths and whispers.”
Listening on the side, Lin Yu Wan covered her brow: [My little sister’s skill at adding spice… why is her story a bit different every time? Last time she never said clothes in disarray.]
Second Madam Wang’s face ran a full range, from solemn, to shocked, to incredulous, and finally stopped at a complicated look that was hard to describe. When she heard the youngest finish with a firm “debauchery in broad daylight,” her well-kept face showed naked refusal to accept it.
“You… you saw it with your own eyes?” Madam Wang stared at her youngest, her voice rising.
“With my own eyes! Every word is true!” Lin Yu Ning lifted her small chest, proud as could be: “Just now! I saw her run out myself! That look could not be mistaken!”
Madam Wang drew a deep breath, trying to digest the bombshell. A thought struck her, and she asked: “Your father… does he know about this? Or rather, does he know about your Cousin and that maid?”
Lin Yu Ning looked even more pleased, like she was waiting to be praised: “Of course Father knows! I overheard it! That day Father and Big Uncle were whispering in the Martial Hall. Big Uncle gave Father banknotes, and Father gave him a little box, all filled with picture albums. Then Father said things like ‘the Young Master has finally awakened’ and ‘we need to help the Young Master win that girl’!”
“I told my sisters. If I hadn’t been eavesdropping, you would all still be in the dark!”
She wore the expression of a “major contributor.”
Madam Wang: “…”
She looked at her youngest daughter and, for a moment, did not know what to say. [Heavenly Lord! My youngest… is born to be a spy!] [Such a big matter, and your father hid it this deep from me? Not a whisper for me?]
The shock in her heart was quickly replaced by anger at being kept in the dark. Well then, Lin De Shang. Plotting with your Big Brother behind my back! Even hiding something as juicy as the Buddha’s Chosen awakening to chase a maid!
She forced down her temper, straightened her face, and told her three daughters, especially the youngest: “All three of you, keep your mouths shut. Not one word must leak. Especially you,” she pointed at Lin Yu Ning, “watch your tongue and do not babble to your Miss friends. If I hear even a whiff of rumor outside, I will tan your hides.”
She paused, shifted her gaze back to Lin Yu Ning, and added with a coaxing tone: “Yu Ning, in the next few days, go to your Cousin’s courtyard more often. Do not really ask about Buddhist sutras. Go see what that girl named Xiao Man looks like, what kind of temper she has, and… pay attention to whether there is anything special going on between your Cousin and her. Come back and quietly tell Mother.”
Hearing she had a mission and could openly go watch the “fun,” Lin Yu Ning nodded at once: “Mm, mm! Leave it to me, Mother! I will handle it!”
She felt she had been given a great task.
Off to the side, Lin Yu Wan rubbed her forehead again: [My Mother also loves a good show.]
She could already picture her little sister scampering all over the Auspicious Cloud Residence, “observing,” and turning the place upside down.
After sending off her three daughters, Madam Wang sat alone in the room. The more she thought about it, the more the whole thing felt shocking, strange, and a little funny. She plotted to herself: [Tonight I must properly “question” the General. How dare he hide something this entertaining from me! I have missed who knows how much fun. Let us see how he explains himself.]