Amid the chaos, Xie Zhaoshen seized the moment to pull Zhaixing to the periphery, letting them carry on with their commotion.
Though Madam Meng was being shielded, she was trampled several times by the jostling maids in the scuffle. Her meticulously styled hair bun came loose, and her gold hairpins and jade ornaments fell off, leaving her in a sorry state.
In the midst of the confusion, Xie Zhaoshen heard Madam Meng’s voice, gritted with fury: “Rebellion! Every last one of you has rebelled!”
Taking advantage of their distraction, Xie Zhaoshen grabbed Zhaixing and ran. Once back in her own courtyard, she closed the gate and burst into uncontrollable laughter.
“Did you see that? That old hag’s face was twisted with rage. And that Meng Zhuo, for all his boasting about being a scholar, couldn’t even spare an old woman—how ridiculous!”
Zhaixing laughed along heartily, feeling a great sense of vindication after finally venting her pent-up frustration.
But as her laughter subsided, Zhaixing grew worried again. “Young Mistress, why did you just leave like that?”
Xie Zhaoshen replied matter-of-factly, “Why stay there?”
Zhaixing was momentarily speechless, unable to argue back. Yet she couldn’t wrap her head around what had happened and finally voiced her confusion.
Xie Zhaoshen put on an innocent face, spreading her hands. “How should I know? I didn’t do anything!”
Zhaixing didn’t believe her. “If you didn’t do anything, how did Nanny Liu and the young master end up like that?”
Xie Zhaoshen shrugged casually. “That’s not something you should ask me.”
She was, after all, the most innocent party in the entire incident.
With that, Xie Zhaoshen stretched lazily and headed back to her room.
She wasn’t lying to Zhaixing—she truly hadn’t done much.
It was just that, being inherently suspicious, she hadn’t drunk the tea and had secretly poured it into her sleeve instead.
Later, when Meng Zhuo suddenly went berserk, she had no choice but to knock him unconscious. As for Nanny Liu, it was merely a matter of convenience.
As for any deeper schemes or hidden agendas, she genuinely hadn’t figured them out.
Watching her young mistress’s indifferent retreating figure, Zhaixing sighed inwardly. Pushing her mother-in-law and then running away—how thrilling!
Nanny Liu knelt on the floor, weeping and sniffling. The unnatural flush on her face had faded, replaced by tears and snot as she sobbed out her account. “The Young Mistress jumped out from the window…”
Madam Meng pressed a hand to her forehead. “Preposterous! That window is so high—how could Chu Yun possibly jump out of it?”
Nanny Liu choked back a sob. “It’s true! This old servant was terrified when I saw her. I hurried to open the door, but who would have thought she’d ambush me from behind? Caught off guard, I stumbled into a flowerpot and passed out.”
Madam Meng rubbed her temples, exasperated. “At this point, you still refuse to tell the truth!”
Nanny Liu wailed pitifully. “This old servant is telling the truth!”
Madam Meng felt dizzy with anger. “Fine, let’s set aside how she got out. How did Zhuo end up drinking the doctored tea while Chu Yun remained unscathed?”
Nanny Liu stammered, “This old servant doesn’t know either.”
It was her own doing that backfired. Originally, one packet of the aphrodisiac would have been enough, but resentful of how Xie Zhaoshen had humiliated her in Tingxue Courtyard, she had added two full packets.
In the end, it was Meng Zhuo who drank the tea.
By the time she groggily came to, Meng Zhuo was already half-conscious, acting like a wild beast and tearing at her clothes.
If Madam hadn’t arrived in time, her late-in-life chastity might have been compromised.
Madam Meng slammed the table. “Fool! You utter fool! You must have slipped up somewhere and let Chu Yun catch on!”
Nanny Liu kept kowtowing: “It was this old servant’s foolishness! This old servant ruined Madam’s plan, this old servant deserves death!”
Madam Meng pressed her forehead and said, “I can no longer keep you by my side.”
So many maidservants and servants had witnessed Meng Zhuo and Nanny Liu in disheveled clothing, and naturally, gossip spread like wildfire.
Nanny Liu stiffened her body, her face filled with sorrow: “Madam, this old servant cannot bear to leave you.”
Being sent to the manor estate, spending all day watching the fields and land—how could it compare to the comfort of staying by Madam Meng’s side?
Madam Meng looked at her with disappointment: “Blame yourself! You’ve dragged Zhuo’er’s reputation through the mud. Sparing your life is already an act of mercy.”
Nanny Liu deeply regretted her actions. The plan was her idea, the drug was administered by her, and in the end, it all backfired on herself.
Seeing Madam’s attitude, there was no room for reversal. But she couldn’t be the only one to suffer misfortune.
Nanny Liu kowtowed a few more times to Madam Meng: “This old servant knows she has erred and dares not hope for Madam’s forgiveness. I only wish Madam smooth sailing in all matters from now on. However, Young Mistress has seen through our scheme and will surely gossip to General Xie. She truly cannot be allowed to remain!”
After all, Nanny Liu had been by her side for decades. Sending her away naturally pained Madam Meng, and those final words truly struck a chord in her heart.
“I originally intended to spare her life,” Madam Meng murmured.
She had devised this plan, thinking only of making Chu Yun “willingly” lose her virtue to Zhuo’er, so she would have no grounds to spread rumors in front of Xie Zhaoshen.
After all, no matter how devoted a man might be, he would not tolerate the woman he loved submitting to another.
But after this incident, she and Chu Yun had completely torn face, making even superficial peace difficult to maintain.
Madam Meng closed her eyes and sighed deeply: “She cannot be allowed to stay. Sister, don’t blame me. As a woman, she truly does not know how to restrain her sharpness or uphold chastity, modesty, and respect.”
Madam Meng summoned Nanny Li: “Chu Yun disrespects her mother-in-law. From today onward, she is not allowed to take a single step out of Tingxue Pavilion.”
Nanny Li knew Madam was furious: “Rest assured, this time this old servant will make sure she understands what it means to be a proper wife.”
Madam Meng motioned for Nanny Li to come closer and whispered something in her ear.
After listening, Nanny Li cast a disdainful glance at Nanny Liu, as if finding her useless, then solemnly said to Madam Meng: “Rest assured, this old servant will handle the matter properly.”
With her mind at ease, Nanny Liu wept as she departed for the manor estate.
Once Nanny Liu had left, Madam Meng summoned the estate physician for a report: “How is Zhuo’er doing?”
The physician replied: “With Concubine Liu by his side, the fever has subsided, but…”
Madam Meng tensed: “But what?”
The physician said: “But the drug was truly potent. After this episode, the young master will suffer some deficiency in kidney essence.”
Hearing this, Madam Meng cursed Nanny Liu again in her heart.
Still worried about her son, Madam Meng rose to go see Meng Zhuo.
As soon as the door opened, a dissipated scent wafted out, causing Madam Meng to frown.
Liu Sisi hurriedly gathered her clothes, but her legs gave way as she stepped off the bed, and she knelt on the floor, trembling like a quail, not daring to utter a word.
Meng Zhuo had finally calmed down, but his face was pale, with dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes were filled with rage: “I’ll kill that shameless old hag!”
In all his life, he had never been so humiliated!
Nanny Liu was older than his own mother, yet under the influence of the drug, he had attempted to assault her publicly!
If word of this got out, how could he ever show his face again!
Madam Meng said, “I have already sent her away to the estate.”
Meng Zhuo, pounding the bed in fury, glared with reddened eyes and demanded of Madam Meng, “Mother! What on earth happened here?”