Since the Old Master had spoken, Yan Tingbai and Madam Bai dared not follow him further. After all, among those the Old Master intended to deal with was Madam Wang.
No matter what Madam Wang had done, she was still the Old Master’s wife. If a wife lost face, wouldn’t her husband, the Old Master, also lose face?
The eldest branch could watch the second branch’s desperate struggles, but they could not mock the Old Master. Thus, the couple obediently left.
Though they were leaving, Swallow Holding Branch refused to go. Wriggling like a thrashing fish in Yan Tingbai’s arms, she struggled for a long time before slipping from her father’s embrace to the ground. With her short legs, she immediately dashed toward the Old Master.
Yan Tingbai wanted to grab the child back, but Madam Bai stopped him. “Let her go. I think Yuan Jie’er knows her limits.”
…
Ning’an Hall and the Hall of Peaceful Longevity were quite far apart. Swallow Holding Branch feared that by the time she caught up with the Old Master, he would have already finished his business. She took a shortcut through the garden to catch up with his steps.
Seeing his eldest granddaughter suddenly dart out from the garden path, the Old Master did not stop her. After all, she was only three years old, not yet educated, and at an age where she loved to eat and play—what could she possibly understand?
Thus, Swallow Holding Branch smoothly followed the Old Master to Ning’an Hall. As soon as she entered, she saw the maidservants inside in a state of panic. It wasn’t that Madam Wang was dying.
However, the servants here had their indentures controlled by Madam Wang. With Madam Wang and the second branch falling, these servants naturally wouldn’t fare well either.
The Old Master was assisted by servants into the inner chamber of Ning’an Hall, with Swallow Holding Branch trailing behind like a little tail.
Upon entering, Swallow Holding Branch saw the second branch couple standing by the bed, watching the physician administer acupuncture to Madam Wang. The physician was clearly skilled—after a few needles, Madam Wang on the bed let out a muffled groan and slowly opened her eyes.
Seeing her son and daughter-in-law, Madam Wang, whose vision was not yet fully clear, smiled and said, “I just had a nightmare. I dreamed that your father was going to drive you out of the manor. It scared me to death.”
After saying this, Madam Wang did not hear any comforting words from her son or daughter-in-law. Instead, as her vision cleared, she saw the two by the bed with equally grim expressions, their foreheads covered in large bruises. In the dimly lit room, they looked like two unblinking corpses.
Madam Wang’s smile froze, and she abruptly sat up from the bed. As she rose, she saw the Old Master sitting nearby. With a howl, she lunged to claw at her husband.
If only the couple had been alone in the room, Madam Wang might have succeeded. But unfortunately, besides the second branch couple, there were also the servants who had followed them in and the physician hurriedly packing his things to leave.
Thus, Madam Wang only managed to lunge to the edge of the bed, ultimately failing to touch even a corner of the Old Master’s robe. She shrieked bitterly, “Yan Hang Zhou, you heartless man! How could you carve out my flesh like this? I curse you to die a miserable death!”
The pain of losing her son made Madam Wang speak recklessly, shedding all pretense of her former gentle and kind facade and revealing her true self to everyone.
The attending physician hurriedly fled the room, not even bothering to ask for his consultation fee, eager to leave. The waters of the marquis’s household ran too deep, and knowing too much was certainly not a good thing!
Swallow Holding Branch saw Madam Wang in such an agitated frenzy and dared not draw too much attention, lest she be caught in the crossfire. She slipped behind the beaded curtain at the back of the Old Master, using the floor-length bead strands and drapes to conceal herself, allowing her to continue savoring her enemy’s despair.
At this moment, no one in the room paid any mind to the departing physician, nor did they notice Swallow Holding Branch’s subtle movements.
Madam Wang stumbled out of bed, pushing the taller Yan Jingzheng behind her as if shielding him, and issued a threat:
“I’m telling you, I absolutely refuse to let my son be adopted out. If you want to make this happen, you’ll have to step over my dead body first.”
She had only one son—the hope and reliance of her entire life!
How could anyone be so biased, prioritizing the interests of the eldest branch while forcing a mother and son apart? This was even more painful to Madam Wang than being stabbed directly:
“I’m talking to you, are you deaf?
I said I won’t let my son leave me, can’t you hear?
Say something!”
Madam Wang, acting as if deranged, guarded her son like a mother hen protecting her chicks. It was clear to everyone that she was determined to trade her own life to keep her son in the Jingyuan Marquisate.
Both Yan Jingzheng and Wang Chenbi were worried that Madam Wang was overstimulated—one tried to soothe her, while the other searched for medicine to give her.
Yet the Old Marquis remained silent, watching Madam Wang as if she were a madwoman. He couldn’t understand how someone who had done wrong could still berate and curse him with such righteous indignation. Hadn’t the day’s troubles started with them?
But as his wife hurled these accusations, the son and daughter-in-law he had sent away earlier remained silent. It seemed they, too, believed they had done nothing wrong!
The Old Marquis was utterly disappointed. Just then, someone else walked in, bypassing the twelve-panel rosewood screen inlaid with mother-of-pearl, which depicted the Feast at the Jasper Pool—a scene of the Queen Mother of the West riding a blue phoenix through clouds, accompanied by celestial maidens holding banners and offering peaches.
Hearing the noise, Swallow Holding Branch looked over and saw a middle-aged couple enter—two more familiar faces: Wang Zishan and his wife.
Wang Zishan was a blood relative of Madam Wang and Wang Chenbi—he was Madam Wang’s elder brother and Wang Chenbi’s father, the Count of the Ankang Count’s Mansion.
As for Wang Zishan’s wife, she was naturally the Marchioness of Ankang.
In her past life, the deaths of the eldest branch had been secretly facilitated by this couple. They were also among Swallow Holding Branch’s enemies, and she vowed to deal with them one day.
The arrival of Wang Zishan and his wife brought joy to Madam Wang. As if finding a pillar of support, she tearfully complained to her elder brother: “Elder Brother, you’ve finally come.
You must stand up for us, mother and son. This old wretch is trying to tear us apart!”
Madam Wang and the couple from the second branch behind her expected to see their elder brother [both uncle and father-in-law] [father] take their side and confront the Old Master.
To their surprise, Wang Zishan and his wife both paled at Madam Wang’s words, their faces cycling through embarrassment, fear, and guilt—none of the righteous confidence of someone coming to offer support.
Madam Wang and the second branch couple keenly sensed something was amiss. Weren’t they here to back the second branch?
“Who do you think invited the Count and the Marchioness here?”
The Old Marquis, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke. He cast a mocking glance at everyone before fixing his gaze on his brother-in-law, Wang Zishan: “Brother-in-law, they may not know, but you should understand why I asked you to come!”
Wang Zishan gave a bitter smile and bowed deeply to the Marquis. This gesture of admitting fault caused Madam Wang and the second branch couple to turn pale with shock, instantly falling silent.
The Marchioness of Ankang followed her husband in performing a deep bow to the Marquis. The couple’s humble posture made it clear they were not there to support the second branch but to offer apologies.
Madam Wang finally realized the tide had turned against her. The Old Marquis not only knew of their schemes but also held leverage over her and her maternal family. Had the matter of the adoption already become irreversible?