When everyone saw that he was about to leave, they all secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Unexpectedly, he suddenly asked about this matter again, and the breath they had just let out immediately caught in their throats.
Old Madam was also somewhat tense. She turned her head to glance at Duchess Wei and Lin Qingyun.
Compared with Lin Qingyun’s pure fear, Duchess Wei’s expression was far more complicated. Along with her nervousness was a trace of discomfort.
When she had first entered the Duke of Zhenguo's Residence, she had once wanted to move into Lingshuang Courtyard, which had belonged to Madam Mei. The Duke of Zhenguo had agreed, but five-year-old Xie Jinglan had stubbornly refused. He had taken up a sword and guarded the courtyard gate, forbidding anyone from entering.
The Duke of Zhenguo had scolded him a few times, and Xie Jinglan had nearly run his sword through his own father, leaving a bloody hole in him.
Later, when the matter had grown serious, Old Madam had stepped in and harshly reprimanded both herself and the Duke of Zhenguo. She had had a new lock put on Lingshuang Courtyard, and had given the key to Xie Jinglan alone.
From that point onward, Lingshuang Courtyard had become a forbidden place within the Duke of Zhenguo's Residence. Apart from Xie Jinglan, no one was allowed to approach it.
“What is it?” Seeing that no one was speaking, Xie Jinglan simply stopped. His cold gaze swept across everyone’s faces. “What shameful matter is it that you don’t even dare let me know about?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Duchess Wei gave an awkward laugh as she took Lin Qingyun’s hand. “Your sister-in-law is pregnant, and her current courtyard isn’t very suitable for her to live in. I was discussing with your Grandmother whether she should temporarily move to Caiwei Courtyard.”
“Sister-in-law?” Xie Jinglan turned around. Since entering the room, he finally looked Yun Shuangxu directly in the eye. “Isn’t my sister-in-law this one? What, she has given up not only her courtyard, but even her position as the principal wife?”
His offhand remark made Duchess Wei and Lin Qingyun flush with embarrassment.
Old Madam cast Duchess Wei an annoyed glance, blaming her for not knowing how to speak.
Xie Jinglan’s gaze made Yun Shuangxu’s heart tremble violently. She instinctively wanted to avoid his eyes, but she also did not want to miss this opportunity to borrow the tiger’s might.
Thus, she steeled herself and looked over at him, her palms damp with sweat. “Third Master, I haven’t given it up yet. But Mother and Fourth Master have both urged me to put the greater good first…”
“What greater good?” Xie Jinglan sneered. “She’s merely a concubine. What greater good is there to speak of? Aren’t you afraid people will laugh at us if word gets out?”
Everyone in the room held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
Lin Qingyun’s face flushed red, then turned pale. She wished she could find a crack in the floor and crawl into it.
Xie Jingbai cleared his throat and stepped forward to explain. “Third Brother, it isn’t what you think…”
“If it isn’t this, then what is it?” Xie Jinglan interrupted him coldly. “Is the tradition of snatching courtyards in the Duke of Zhenguo's Residence something we’re supposed to carry forward?”
Duchess Wei’s face instantly burned.
All the women in the room exchanged knowing glances as they secretly looked toward her.
Hearing Xie Jinglan say this, Old Madam suddenly recalled what had happened back then.
At the time, Duchess Wei had wanted to snatch Madam Mei’s courtyard, but Old Madam had felt sorry for her grandson and had firmly refused to agree.
Now that it was Yun Shuangxu and Concubine Lin, however, she had shown partiality, thinking that giving up one courtyard was no great matter.
Ultimately, it was because she held a prejudice against this grandson’s wife and could not be bothered to take her feelings into consideration.
Thinking of this, Old Madam could not help feeling awkward. She forced a smile and said, “It’s all that Daoist priest’s fault. He said the feng shui in Caiwei Courtyard was good. Your mother and I are getting old, and we like to believe in such things. If you feel it isn’t suitable, I’ll have someone find another Daoist priest to come take a look.”
Xie Jinglan’s expression eased slightly. “This is a matter concerning Fourth Brother’s household. Technically, it isn’t my place to interfere. I only said something for the sake of our family’s reputation. As for what should be done, I’ll leave it entirely to Grandmother’s decision.”
“All right, all right, I understand.” Old Madam nodded repeatedly. “Go tend to your business. I’ll handle this properly.”
Xie Jinglan inclined his head and said, “Your grandson has been discourteous.” Then he took his cloak from one of the maidservants and walked outside. From beginning to end, he did not look at Yun Shuangxu again.
Once he had left and the curtain had fallen, the entire room filled with the sound of everyone softly exhaling.
Second Madam Meng of the second branch, who was known for speaking her mind, patted her chest and said, “Amitabha! Judging by Third Brother’s manner, I was truly afraid he was going to drag every one of us to the Northern Command Office the very next moment.”
“…”
Everyone turned to look at her.
Her mother-in-law hurriedly jabbed her with an elbow. “Say less. You’re the only one who talks so much.”
Old Madam had lost all interest by this point. Massaging her temples, she said, “That’s enough. All of you may return. No one is to gossip about what happened just now. I’ll make a decision after I’ve had some time to recover.”
Everyone was no longer in the mood for idle chatter either, so they answered in agreement and took their leave.
Only after everyone from the second and third branches had left did Old Madam say to Xie Jingbai, “Take your mother and your wife back. Don’t bring up changing courtyards for now.”
Then she looked toward Yun Shuangxu, her tone faintly displeased. “I know you feel wronged, but you’re your husband’s elder brother’s sister-in-law. Why would you go complain to your Elder Brother-in-Law? You must not do this again in the future.”
Yun Shuangxu lowered her eyes. “Your granddaughter-in-law was not complaining. Third Master asked about it, so I merely told him the truth.”
“…” Old Madam gave a snort, too lazy to say anything more, and waved for Xie Jingbai to take them out.
Once they stepped outside, Lü Bo came forward to help Yun Shuangxu.
Yun Shuangxu gave her a deep look but said nothing.
Duchess Wei, however, snapped at Yun Shuangxu in irritation. “It was something that could have been resolved behind closed doors, yet you had to make sure everyone knew about it. Are you satisfied now?”
After a pause, she gave another cold laugh. “Then again, you already have a mother who loves making a scene. At the Commandery Princess’s banquet back then, your mother made a far bigger commotion than you have.”
The words were truly vicious, and anger sent Yun Shuangxu’s blood rushing to her head.
Just as she was about to argue with her, Xie Jingbai stopped her in time. “Mother, accompany Yun-niang back first. I have something to discuss with Shuangxu.”
Without waiting for Yun Shuangxu to object, he put an arm around her shoulders and led her out of the covered corridor.
Such intimate contact made Yun Shuangxu extremely uncomfortable. She secretly exerted force, trying to break free.
Xie Jingbai tightened his hold, not allowing her to escape.
Lü Bo wanted to help Yun Shuangxu out. Pointing at the two older women carrying a shoulder sedan chair, she said, “Fourth Master, Young Madam has injured her foot. You should let her ride in the sedan chair!”
Xie Jingbai glanced at Yun Shuangxu’s foot and no longer insisted. He let Lü Bo help her into the chair, then accompanied her out of Rong'an Hall.
Behind them, Lin Qingyun stared at their retreating figures, her teeth nearly ground to pieces.
She had taken such a great risk to lay this scheme, yet in the end she still had not gotten her way. How could she not hate it?
It was all that Xie Jinglan’s fault. As an elder brother-in-law, what did his younger brother’s wife’s affairs have to do with him? Yet he had insisted on barging in and interfering.
If not for him, Old Madam would certainly have made Yun Shuangxu move out today.
Hadn’t Yun Shuangxu been clamoring for a marital separation from Fourth Master? Who was she putting on that aggrieved expression for?
Clearly, she had only been saying it with her mouth. She had never intended to seek a marital separation at all.
Now that things had turned out this way, what was she supposed to do?
The Daoist priest was a fake, and so was the child in her belly. If she was exposed one day, everything would be over.
If there was truly no other choice, she could find an opportunity to bump into Yun Shuangxu and pretend to cause the child’s miscarriage. She could then make a huge scene and use it to get Fourth Master to repudiate her.
But why did it seem to her that Fourth Master’s attitude toward Yun Shuangxu had changed?
Could it be that because she was “pregnant” and it was inconvenient for him to have intercourse with her, he wanted to be with Yun Shuangxu instead?
Yun Shuangxu was equally curious about Xie Jingbai’s attitude.
In the past, if she had embarrassed him in front of everyone, he would have become angry long ago.
Yet today, he had been unexpectedly gentle and even escorted her all the way back.
What medicine had he taken?
After returning to Caiwei Courtyard, Xie Jingbai told Lü Bo to wait outside, then entered the room with Yun Shuangxu.
He had expected Yun Shuangxu to pull out a chair for him as she had in the past, then pour him tea and water.
Instead, Yun Shuangxu went straight into the heated chamber and sat down on the warm brick bed beside the window, not even bothering to acknowledge him.
Xie Jingbai froze for a moment, then followed her in and sat across from her at the rosewood kang table. “Lü Bo went to find me last night, but Yun-niang happened to have a stomachache, so I couldn’t get away. Be understanding and don’t take it to heart.”
Yun Shuangxu had heard similar words so often that her ears had nearly grown calluses. She turned her head away, too lazy to pay him any attention.
Xie Jingbai studied her profile, deep in thought. “Lü Bo said you fell near Lingshuang Courtyard. Why did you go there when everything was fine?”
Yun Shuangxu’s heart jolted. To keep him from becoming suspicious, she said calmly, “The snow was too heavy, so I couldn’t see the road clearly.”
A flicker passed through Xie Jingbai’s eyes. It was impossible to tell whether he believed her. As if asking casually, he added, “Third Brother came to the rear courtyard last night. Did you happen to run into him there?”