Ji Yan’s face was sour.
Displeased by her appearance in public, his tone was sharp. “Leave.”
Lady Ji grew angry, glaring at him. “I was the one who asked Huan’er to come. Why can’t the wife of the Eldest Young Master attend his own mourning hall?”
Ji Yan was exasperated by his muddle-headed mother but couldn’t show it, forcing himself to hold it in.
Madam Cui noticed Ji Yan’s displeasure.
Her eyes shifted, and she reached out to link arms with Lady Ji.
She whispered intimately, “Sister Jiang, the Second Young Master has just become the Grand Tutor—that represents the Crown Prince’s dignity. You must consider that. Look at Huan’er’s delicate little frame, so fragile. If she grieves too much and harms the fetus, it would be terrible. She really should go inside and rest.”
Su Tanghuan glanced at her.
This Madam Cui seemed like Lady Ji’s good sister, always thinking of Lady Ji and Ji Yan, but in reality, she was full of schemes.
She was trying to make Ji Yan owe her a favor.
Lady Ji looked at Ji Yan and saw his dark expression.
There was some truth to it—after all, the Second Young Master had the Crown Prince behind him. She couldn’t just focus on the Eldest Young Master and his wife and hurt the Second Young Master’s dignity.
So Lady Ji coaxed Su Tanghuan, “Good child, you go back and rest first. The Second Young Master and I will keep watch here.”
Su Tanghuan sensed Lady Ji’s apology.
She didn’t want to show herself now either, as what she had done yesterday had indeed embarrassed the Ji Residence.
She obediently nodded. “Alright.”
Turning, she bowed slightly to Ji Yan and Madam Cui. “I take my leave.”
Lady Ji watched the young woman’s lonely retreating figure, worried she might overthink it, and said to Ji Yan, “You stay here and attend to things. I’ll be right back.”
Su Tanghuan noticed Lady Ji following her and stopped in surprise.
“Mother?”
“Come, I’ll walk you inside.”
Lady Ji took her hand and led her toward the inner courtyard.
“Don’t pay any mind to what others say. You’re my daughter-in-law, and I’m the one who likes you.”
Su Tanghuan’s nose stung.
Aunt had caused a scene because of her, and she had also been disrespectful to Lady Ji.
Because of her own selfishness, Lady Ji had suffered these criticisms, and she felt deeply guilty.
“Mother. Aunt came to reprimand me, thinking I’ve shamed Zheng Fu and the Ji Family. She said she had no face to see you. Please don’t let her rudeness upset your health.”
Lady Ji had no desire to see such a person at all. “It’s fine. I don’t want to see someone who’s so cruel to you either. As for those who love to gossip, I never take it to heart. If I were so easily angered, I wouldn’t have lived to this day.”
“Huan’er, you’re my good daughter-in-law. Don’t overthink it. After the funeral rites are over, I’ll immediately ask the clan elders to hold a formal ceremony for you, to record your name in the family register. I absolutely won’t let you or the child suffer.”
Su Tanghuan’s eyes reddened, her voice choked. “Thank you, Mother.”
Her heart ached for Lady Ji.
Her husband and eldest son were both dead, she had no grandchildren at her knees, only mother and son remained—the family line was thin, and she suffered from a difficult-to-treat Palpitation Syndrome.
At this moment, the desire to bear a true grandson for Lady Ji grew wildly in her heart.
But thinking of Ji Yan…
She felt a bit intimidated.
Ah, better to first fulfill her filial duties for Ji Dalang, serve Lady Ji well, and cure her Palpitation Syndrome to repay her kindness.
Coincidentally, her own mother had suffered from anxiety when giving birth to her and developed Palpitation Syndrome postpartum, which her father later cured.
But there was one special medicinal ingredient that was hard to prepare.
She would have to think of a way.
…
Over there, Madam Cui and her son also took their leave.
Once in the carriage, the two began to talk.
Madam Cui looked puzzled. “Third Young Master, do you really think Su Tanghuan is Ji Shizi’s woman? Given Ji Shizi’s character, how could he disregard social conventions and have a child before marriage?”
Cui Third Young Master had completely lost his earlier air of nobility, lounging lazily on the soft couch like a boneless creature.
“She must be a swindler.”
“Ah? Why are you so sure she’s a swindler?”
“Ji Yuan is straightforward and rigid. Apart from fighting and killing enemies, he’s clueless about everything else. What does he know about love and romance? Besides, he’s a devoted son. How would he dare to engage in illicit relations without a matchmaker, let alone get a woman pregnant before marriage? Isn’t he afraid his mother might have a heart attack from anger?”
Madam Cui deeply agreed. “I also find that girl strange. I must hurry and find an official matchmaker to visit the Ji Family to propose a marriage for your fourth sister, lest that swindler fool that foolish woman Jiang Sulan.”
Jiang Sulan was Lady Ji.
“Didn’t you previously tell Lady Ji that you wanted to match Fourth Sister with Ji Dalang? Changing your mind so quickly—do you think Lady Ji will be pleased?”
Madam Cui dismissed it. “Well, he’s dead now.”
“Shouldn’t we at least wait until the mourning period is over?”
Madam Cui shot him a glare. “We can’t wait. Ji Yan is the youngest first-rank official. Appointed by the emperor to assist the Crown Prince, his future is limitless. He’s at the peak of his influence now—we must act first. With my childhood friendship with Jiang Sulan and the longstanding relationship between the Ji Residence and the Cui Residence, I’m confident.”
Cui Third Young Master disagreed. “Don’t be fooled by Ji Yan’s refined appearance. He has eight hundred schemes in his mind, and his temper is even worse than Ji Yuan’s. Also, have you forgotten his reputation for being a wife-killer?”
Madam Cui brushed it off. “The young lady he was betrothed to back then was sickly and wouldn’t have lived long anyway. What does that have to do with Ji Yan? The ‘wife-killer’ label is just his shield.”
Cui Third Young Master laughed. “If you already know Ji Yan doesn’t want to marry, why rush to propose? When he rejects you and you lose face, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Madam Cui glared at him. “You were childhood friends with him too. Instead of helping your sister, you just make sarcastic remarks. Isn’t this all for your sake? With the Grand Tutor as your brother-in-law, wouldn’t you have a better official position?”
“I could help with others, but Ji Yan? That stubborn fellow—forget it.”
Madam Cui was furious. “Get out, you useless thing!”
After fuming for a moment, she thought, “I might as well bring your fourth sister tomorrow to keep Jiang Sulan company, remind her to be wary of the swindler, and incidentally deepen her relationship with Ji Yan.”
Cui Third Young Master shrank back. “Don’t involve me. I won’t touch this bad luck.”
Enraged, Madam Cui reached out to hit him.
…
Zheng Su-shi returned to her room, plopped down, grabbed a fan, and began fanning herself vigorously.
She was furious!
A maid, seeing this, quickly took the fan to fan her.
With nowhere to vent her anger, Zheng Su-shi swung the fan hard at the maid’s face.
“Stand farther away! The wind is blowing into my eyes!”
The bamboo edge of the fan scraped harshly into the maid’s eye, causing such pain that she couldn’t open it, yet she dared not cry.
Biting her lip, closing her eyes, trembling, she took a step back and continued fanning.
But two streams of bloody tears flowed from the corners of her eyes, tracing down her cheeks.
Seeing the young maid endure excruciating pain while pretending to be meek and submissive reminded Zheng Su-shi of the hypocritical act of that ungrateful wretch Su Tanghuan.
Her rage erupted. She sprang to her feet and kicked the maid in the stomach.
“You worthless wretch, you can’t even fan properly. What use are you? Someone, call a human trafficker and sell her off!”
The maid, ignoring her stomach pain, tearfully begged for mercy, her blood and tears mingling and streaming down her face.
The other maids dared not step forward, fearing they might invite misfortune and suffer alongside her.
The steward, Nanny Liu, hurried in, waving her hand to signal for the maid to be gagged and dragged away.
She stepped forward to support the trembling Madam Zheng Su-shi, who was shaking with rage, and gently advised, “That worthless wretch is useless. Just sell her off. It’s not worth harming your health over her.”
Nanny Liu had been specially trained by Madam Zheng Su-shi’s own mother and had watched her grow up since childhood, making her entirely trustworthy.
Madam Zheng Su-shi’s eyes reddened: “Tell me, where did I treat that wretched girl poorly? I traveled thousands of miles to fetch her, rescued her from those hungry wolves, brought her into Zheng Fu, and provided her with food, drink, and luxuries comparable to those of the Zheng family’s young ladies.”
She grew more sorrowful as she spoke: “I even made her the Second Young Mistress of a prestigious and wealthy clan—a position above all others. How have I wronged her?”
Nanny Liu soothed her: “Madam, you treated her too well. It’s her own greed that made her reach for a higher branch.”
“A higher branch?”
Madam Zheng Su-shi fumed: “How can the Ji Family compare to the Xingyang Zheng Clan, a century-old prestigious family? She ruined her own reputation, eagerly rushing to become a widow before even marrying? That ungrateful wretch, she’s simply infuriating me to death!”
Nanny Liu poured her a cup of tea: “That girl, don’t be fooled by her obedient and docile appearance—she’s full of cunning schemes. Since she was little, she loved clinging to Master Su. From the age of six, she followed him around the medicine shop, playing there. Her heart has always been wild.”
“I chose her precisely because my brother runs a medicine shop and that wretched girl knows a bit of medicine. Not only would she prevent my brother’s daughter from being taken advantage of as the sole heir, but she could also serve the Second Young Master. And how did she repay me? Tell me, isn’t that wretched girl an ungrateful wretch?”
Nanny Liu: “Exactly, an ungrateful wretch who can never be tamed.”