Chapter 44: Lifting a Stone to Smash the Little Aunt’s Foot
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
“Would I, of all people, lie to you?”
“This is Madam Qin from the Zhongyong Marquis Manor, and this is her daughter, Lu Chao Chao. This child I’m carrying is thanks to Chao Chao,” the Eldest Princess declared, holding up two fingers. “Two children, to be exact.”
Even worshipping at the Bodhisattva didn’t bring results, but Chao Chao did. She’s given up on Bodhisattvas and now prays to Chao Chao.
Hearing mention of the Zhongyong Marquis Manor, Madam Qin’s eyelids twitched. As her gaze fell on Madam Xu’s dignified and virtuous demeanor, her heart filled with disdain for the Marquis Zhongyong. [How could he forsake his main wife and shelter some foxy temptress instead?] A hint of pity even surfaced in her expression.
Madam Xu stood up and offered Madam Qin a deep bow. “Thank you for your help last time, Madam Qin.”
Madam Qin waved her hand nonchalantly. “It was nothing, just lending a hand.” She paused, then added with a meaningful tone, “Madam Xu, when the time comes, you must make a clean cut.”
Recalling the way Lord Lu doted on that family, Madam Qin’s heart grew cold.
Madam Xu nodded slightly.
The Eldest Princess raised an eyebrow. “You two know each other?”
“A chance encounter, quite amusing actually,” Madam Qin replied, unwilling to elaborate. The Eldest Princess didn’t press further.
“Hey, hey, don’t tease me, you two,” the princess chimed in cheerfully. Her relationship with Madam Qin was quite close.
“I bowed a thousand times at the Protectorate Temple, but no child came,” Madam Qin said despondently, gently touching her abdomen. [In this world, it’s so unfair to women.] Her greatest wish was to leave a legacy for her daughter.
She stepped forward and picked up Lu Chao Chao. “Chao Chao, would you gift your auntie a child? Auntie vows to eat vegetarian for life, light an everlasting lamp for you, and worship you with utmost sincerity,” she declared with a resolute expression. Madam Qin knew the Eldest Princess never joked about such matters. Strange or not, she was willing to try.
Chao Chao raised her tiny hand and pointed at Madam Qin’s forehead. A surge of spiritual energy flowed into her consciousness, traveling through her meridians and into her Sea of Awareness.
“Baby… brother or sister?” the little one asked earnestly in her childish tone, her words barely coherent.
Madam Qin cradled her tenderly. “A healthy son, perhaps.” Her daughter was frail and childbirth arduous. She didn’t want her daughter to suffer or be forced into marriage. Over the years, she had endured much criticism. Without a son, the family estate would likely be divided by relatives, leaving even her daughter’s future insecure.
Chao Chao nodded, flashing a goofy smile. “Good… good…” She was repaying Madam Qin’s kindness.
“It’s done just like that?” Madam Qin touched her abdomen in surprise.
The Eldest Princess rolled her eyes. “Go home and find your husband.”
Madam Qin chuckled but refrained from making any inappropriate remarks in front of Lu Chao Chao.
“Chao Chao, if I do conceive, the gates of the Qin and Chen families will always be open to you,” Madam Qin pledged solemnly. She was the daughter of a general.
Not to be outdone, the Eldest Princess declared, “The Eldest Princess’s manor will forever welcome you.” She even removed the jade pendant from her waist and handed it over as if bestowing her presence.
“This… this is too valuable, we cannot accept it,” Madam Xu rose hurriedly to decline.
The Eldest Princess waved her off. “It’s not for you. It’s for our Chao Chao. Come now, Chao Chao, take it.”
The little one wobbled over, took the jade pendant, and hung it around her waist. “Pretty… pretty…” she babbled with a happy, milk-sweet voice.
“When Auntie gets pregnant, Auntie will also give you tokens from the Qin and Chen families. If anyone dares bully you…” Madam Qin’s eyes glinted mischievously, her smile sharp.
Lu Chao Chao patted her round little belly, creating a hollow sound. “Baby… baby… come!”
Madam Xu didn’t leave the manor until evening.
Upon stepping through the gates, she was greeted by the heart-wrenching cries of Lu Wan Yi.
“I won’t go back! I absolutely refuse to return! I won’t go home. Mother, save me, please…”
Pale and terrified, Lu Wan Yi was being forcefully restrained by two burly servant women.
This moment was when the Old Madam, having taken her medicine, had fallen into a deep sleep.
Gu Ling entered, dressed in a simple blue robe, exuding the demeanor of a gentleman. He addressed Madam Xu politely, “Sister-in-law, I’ve come to take Wan Yi back home. Wan Yi can be quite willful and unruly; I hope she hasn’t troubled you too much.” His gaze toward Lu Wan Yi was gentle and considerate, but it terrified her to the core, causing her to tremble.
“Dear sister-in-law! Sister-in-law, I was wrong! Please, save me!” Lu Wan Yi pleaded cautiously, her voice laced with desperation as she turned to Madam Xu.
“If you help me, I’ll tell you a secret. What do you say, sister-in-law?” she tried to bargain.
Madam Xu’s heart grew cold. From beginning to end, she had known the truth but had never thought to speak of it. Only now, when her own interests were at stake, did Lu Wan Yi choose to reveal anything.
But Madam Xu no longer needed her.
“Wan Yi, I have no interest in secrets. Disputes between husband and wife are inevitable. A quarrel at the head of the bed ends with reconciliation at the foot. I understand.”
She continued with measured poise, “Brother-in-law, Wan Yi has been spoiled by us. I’ll leave it to your family to properly instill discipline. The Lu family has no objections.”
Turning toward her husband, she added with a calm yet decisive tone, “If you ask Marquis Lu, he’d agree that an undisciplined Lu family daughter reflects poorly on us.”
Her words left Lu Wan Yi feeling as though she had fallen into an abyss.
Gu Ling, ever gracious, smiled as he responded, “Thank you for your understanding, sister-in-law.”
Once the pair had departed, Madam Xu issued an icy order: “From now on, any correspondence from the Gu family is to be delivered directly to my courtyard. The Old Madam has been ill multiple times this year. Another shock might result in a stroke. Anyone who disturbs her recovery will answer to me!”
Her sharp gaze swept across the gathered servants, who trembled as they knelt. “Understood,” they responded in unison.
After finishing her meal, Madam Xu waited until the Old Madam slowly awakened. When she heard that Lu Wan Yi had been taken back by her husband, the Old Madam grew alarmed. She called for inquiries and was reassured when told the couple had returned hand-in-hand, apparently in love. Her tension eased slightly.
Still uneasy, she sent someone to question Lu Wan Yi’s dowry maids at the Gu residence. Both maids, now Gu Ling’s bed maids, naturally answered in line with his wishes. The matter was thus concealed.
That evening, Lu Yuan Ze visited the Virtue and Kindness Hall and heard his son’s words: “Tell your sister to behave herself. Gu Ling is a man and an official in court. If he makes mistakes, how could we expect him to kneel? She must curb her temper and not act as if she’s still at her mother’s home.”
The Old Madam voiced her concerns uneasily, “Is Gu Ling truly trustworthy?”
Lu Yuan Ze furrowed his brows. “Mother, Gu Ling is the newly appointed Top Scholar, highly favored by His Majesty. Why wouldn’t he be trustworthy?”
The Old Madam’s expression darkened with displeasure.
“It’s all because of your wife. She couldn’t tolerate Wan Yi and insisted on sending her back to the Gu family.”
Expecting Lu Yuan Ze to scold his wife, the Old Madam was surprised when he became irritable instead.
“Mother, Shi Yun tried to stop you and Wan Yi from marrying him, but you both insisted! Now, Wan Yi has barely begun her married life and storms back to her family home. What would people think?” Annoyance evident in his voice, Lu Yuan Ze left the Virtue and Kindness Hall abruptly.
Outside Listening Wind Courtyard, laughter echoed within. Lu Yuan Ze paused at the flowered gate, hearing the joyous sounds from inside. His feelings were indescribable.
Since the moment he had chosen to marry Madam Xu, it had been a web of deceit.
Now, as he glanced at Lu Yan Shu in his wheelchair, the simple-minded Lu Yuan Xiao, and the eight-month-old Lu Chao Chao, who was only adept at coaxing others for food, he sighed softly and turned to leave.
If blame were to be assigned, it was because Madam Xu’s children lacked promise.
After Lu Yuan Ze’s departure, Lu Yan Shu raised his head toward the doorway. Inside, silver-threaded charcoal burned warmly. Lu Chao Chao, half-asleep, exposed her snow-white belly. Madam Xu hastily covered her up.
In her sleep, Chao Chao murmured, “More… eat more… slurp slurp…” dreaming of food and drooling.
The coldness in Lu Yan Shu’s eyes softened into warmth and tranquility as they rested on Chao Chao.