Mu Yao glanced at Zhang Shi in surprise, the smile at the corners of her lips fading.
“That black pot you’re trying to pin on me, Madam Pingyang Hou, I dare not accept.”
“Besides, what happened at the boat gathering is known to everyone in the capital.”
“Your son so thoroughly spoiled Zhang Gongzhu’s enjoyment, yet instead of rushing to apologize to Zhang Gongzhu, you have the leisure to come all the way to Qingshan Si to find me?”
Zhang Shi’s heart suddenly skipped a beat!
Everyone in the capital knew that Zhang Gongzhu was a woman of unwavering integrity who tolerated no fault in her sight.
If her Zhi’er had so thoroughly ruined Zhang Gongzhu’s enjoyment that day, even if Zhang Gongzhu said nothing out of consideration for her husband’s face—
Wouldn’t those old ministers in court, who were adept at trimming their sails to the wind, have something to say!
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Zhang Shi gritted her teeth and glared at the calm-faced young woman before her.
“Miss Mu has truly opened my eyes today. It seems all your previous obedience was nothing but an act!”
“I still have ancestral rites to prepare, so I won’t see Madam Pingyang Hou out.” Mu Yao gave a slight bow, then turned and walked back toward the meditation room.
Zhang Shi was furious, but her mind was preoccupied with her son’s affairs. She shot one last venomous glare at Mu Yao’s retreating figure before hurriedly boarding the carriage with Mama Fang.
Back in the meditation room.
Mu Yao accepted the tea Ningzhu handed her and took a sip, only to see the young maid’s face full of smiles.
“Miss, Madam Pingyang Hou must be absolutely livid today! Miss is truly formidable!”
She smiled and took out the letter she had written last night from her sleeve, handing it to Ningzhu.
“While there aren’t many eyes on us right now, deliver this letter.”
Ningzhu took it with confusion, but after glancing at the handwriting on the envelope, she hesitated.
“Miss, Madam severed ties with the Lan family back then. Even if you send this letter, the Lan family might not…”
Mu Yao remembered that her aunt had once told her that when her mother chose to marry her father—then still a poor scholar—she had a great falling out with her maternal grandfather before resolutely following him to the capital.
Her grandfather had been so furious back then that he wrote a letter severing relations with her mother—yet he still gave several boatloads of dowry.
If he had truly meant to sever ties, why would he have given so much?
Later, her father was dispatched to relieve disaster-stricken areas, and her mother left her in her aunt’s care before departing—never to return.
Her aunt, upon receiving the sudden news of their deaths, also succumbed to a heart attack that very night.
And so, the vast Mu Fu was left with only her.
In recent days, Mu Yao had returned home to go through old records and the dowry her mother had brought, and she always felt that the letter of severance from those years might hold some hidden truth.
And her aunt’s death…
Mu Yao’s eyes flickered as she pulled herself away from her memories. “Just deliver it. If the Lan family refuses to accept it, we’ll discuss other matters then.”
“Yes.”
Ningzhu took the letter and hurried out.
Finding herself bored in the meditation room, Mu Yao decided to take a stroll through the front courtyard of Qingshan Si.
Meanwhile, Zhang Shi, worried about Lu Zhi, rushed back to Pingyang Hou Fu from Qingshan Si.
The moment she entered, she grabbed a maidservant and asked with a frown, “Has the Marquis returned?”
The maidservant was startled and quickly shook her head.
Seeing this, Zhang Shi let out a breath, and the hand Mama Fang was supporting relaxed slightly.
“Don’t worry, Madam. Both the Marquis and the eldest young master have offered counsel to assist His Majesty.”
“Moreover, that day at the boat gathering was only hearsay. It can’t be directly proven to be the eldest young master’s fault. Surely nothing will come of it.”
Mama Fang’s words greatly comforted Zhang Shi’s anxious heart.
She sat in the main seat of the main hall, took a sip of tea to steady herself, but when Mu Yao’s face flashed through her mind, she slammed the teacup down in fury.
“Did you see how that Mu girl looked down on me when I went today?”
“An orphan girl, daring to act so arrogantly before me—she must be tired of living!”
The more Zhang Shi thought about it, the angrier she became. She turned with a furrowed brow. “That matter I told you to convey to Granny Wang—did you make yourself clear?”
Mama Fang quickly nodded and assured her, “For this month, Mu Fu will certainly not receive a single visiting card.”
With her confidante’s confirmation, Zhang Shi’s mood improved somewhat.
However, before she could even swallow the tea in her mouth, she saw Lu Zhi kicked into the hall by the black-faced Pingyang Hou!
“Marquis, what are you doing?!”
Zhang Shi rushed forward to protect her precious son, terrified that the kick might have hurt him.
“What am I doing? Why don’t you ask this worthless brat! Zhang Gongzhu has taken the matter of the boat gathering before the Emperor!”
“Not only did the Emperor severely reprimand me before all those court officials for failing to discipline my son, he also revoked this brat’s official post!”
“What!” Zhang Shi cried out in shock.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Liu Xiyin rushing over, and in a fit of rage, she shook off Mama Fang’s supporting hand, strode over, and delivered a vicious slap across her face!
“You little wretch! Was the scheme at the garden gathering your idea?!”
“My Zhi’er has always been upright—he would never resort to such base tricks! Was it you?!”
Liu Xiyin had originally come from the rear courtyard upon hearing Pingyang Hou berating Lu Zhi, intending to defend him a little so that he might feel some sympathy for her.
She never expected to receive a harsh slap the moment she arrived!
Her eyes instantly reddened as she covered her cheek and stepped back with lowered gaze. “Madam, Xiyin didn’t do it, Xiyin…”
“Shut up!”
Pingyang Hou was truly irritated by the noise and barked out a rebuke, instantly silencing the hall.
Zhang Shi shot a resentful glare at Liu Xiyin, then turned to help Lu Zhi up from the ground.
“My lord, I shall go visit Zhang Gongzhu at once and appease her anger.”
“Enough!” Pingyang Hou glanced at Lu Zhi, who remained silent with a defeated look, and let out a deep sigh through pressed lips.
“What use would it be if you went now? His Majesty has already bestowed this wretched official post—even if you begged at the imperial court, it would be useless.”
“For now, we can only wait until this wretch wins the poetry gathering’s top prize, and I’ll take the opportunity to put in a good word.”
With many matters still weighing on his mind, Pingyang Hou, before leaving, kicked Lu Zhi once more out of lingering frustration before storming off in a huff.
Once Pingyang Hou’s figure was out of sight, a venomous glint flashed through Zhang Shi’s eyes.
“Zhi’er, your mother has already instructed Granny Wang.”
“In this one month, that Mu girl certainly won’t find a husband. When the time comes and you take her back through the door, seize her dowry, and settle both old and new scores—you’ll have your proper revenge!”
At the mention of Mu Yao, a cruel glint flickered in Lu Zhi’s eyes.
He also fiercely attributed the demotion of his official post to Mu Yao.
“Mother, rest assured—your son knows what he’s doing! I will surely make Mu Yao waste away her life in the inner chambers, regretting everything she’s done!”
Although his official post had been stripped and Lu Zhi would be idle at home, Zhang Shi still wanted to probe Zhang Gongzhu’s stance, so she hurried out the door with gifts in tow.
After everyone had left, Liu Xiyin stepped forward with a flushed face and tugged at the man’s sleeve.
“Lu Zhi-gege, Xiyin’s face hurts so much. Take a look—is it swollen?”
Already restless with irritation, Lu Zhi’s mood soured even further at the sound of her sobbing. He shook off the hand tugging at his sleeve.
“Which concubine doesn’t endure scolding from her mother-in-law? I’m annoyed enough as it is—if you want to cry, go cry somewhere else!”
Liu Xiyin hadn’t expected Lu Zhi to treat her this way. A flicker of disbelief passed through her eyes.
When she turned around again, all she saw was the man’s resentful figure storming away.
Clearly, he hadn’t given her a second thought!