Chapter 9 Mrs. Yu felt a weight lift off her shoulders when she saw that Yaoniang, though young, understood matters clearly.Afraid that Yaoniang might not grasp the intricacies of the family dynamics, she explained, "Your third sister is not my own daughter. She shares the same mother as your eldest brother and was raised at her maternal grandfather's Marquis of Yanping's estate. So whatever she says, just listen. If anything seems amiss, tell me directly, but do not mention it to your father."Without reliable witnesses, her husband might perceive it as an attempt to sow discord, which would only tarnish Yaoniang's reputation. Currently, Luo Jingrou enjoyed an excellent reputation, while Yaoniang had just returned. If a conflict arose between the two, who would be blamed? That was obvious.For now, Luo Jingrou likely had no idea they had seen through her little schemes. With the enemy in the open and themselves in the shadows, they could remain vigilant—that was a good thing.After all, in three years, once Jingrou reached adulthood, she would be married off.Yaoniang understood Mrs. Yu's words and knew that Mrs. Yu had become alert. She felt her purpose had been achieved.As for Little Mrs. Jiang, she had received Old Madame Dou's orders to oversee the preparations for the eldest young lady Luo Shilan's wedding. She was eager to showcase her abilities.Mrs. Yu also discussed this matter with Luo Zhizheng: "Although this is a matter for the entire clan and I should help, the old lady has appointed Fa-ge's wife. I think that although she is young, she has always been shrewd and capable, so I find it acceptable." In truth, the main reason was that the second branch was funding the wedding, and since the two branches had long been separated, Mrs. Yu was reluctant to interfere too much in their affairs."What you say is true, but once we enter the capital, if you hand over the tally, wouldn't that be crippling yourself? Here's what you do—keep the tally. We have no say over their accounts or their household staff, but for our side, have them come to you," Luo Zhizheng said after a moment of deliberation.Mrs. Yu's eyes lit up with clarity: "Thank goodness for you, my lord. Otherwise, I would have lost all dignity without even realizing it." Because after arriving in the capital, both households would reside in the same compound, but the tally was held by Mrs. Yu. Little Mrs. Jiang would naturally try to establish her own tally, subtly shifting everyone's allegiance to her."I knew you'd be like this," Luo Zhizheng said, lifting his chin slightly.Mrs. Yu stepped forward and suddenly kissed his chin. Luo Zhizheng's ears turned slightly red, and Mrs. Yu embraced him.Since Luo Jingrou had sent over the Thousand Character Classic that time, she had been visiting frequently—sometimes bringing treats like thousand-layer cakes, sometimes coming to discuss studies with Yaoniang, but never bringing up anything else.Yaoniang couldn't help but admire her patience.However, Luo Jingrou had noticed that Yaoniang, contrary to her expectations, had not grown to dislike her father or seen her relationship with him deteriorate. Instead, she had become even more favored. Jingrou could only suppress her displeasure and wait for the right moment.Soon, the group arrived at the Tongzhou dock. Steward Sun hired a carriage. This time, Mrs. Yu was bringing the eldest branch's young ladies back to the capital. After everyone settled in, the carriage remained motionless for a long time.Mrs. Yu lifted the curtain and asked the servant, "What's going on? Why isn't the carriage moving?"Just then, Steward Sun came running over, panting, and said, "First Madam, it's not that we won't go—something has happened at the other household.""What happened?" Mrs. Yu frowned."Fourth Miss borrowed our eldest young mistress's Pekingese dog to play with a few days ago. The dog was usually very well-behaved, but for some reason it suddenly went mad just now and bit the eldest young mistress of that household. The eldest young mistress seems to have been so frightened that she miscarried." Steward Sun, as a man, was embarrassed to bring up such a matter as miscarriage, but he still had to report the truth to Mrs. Yu in full detail.Mrs. Yu exclaimed in shock, "What?"The girls had clearly overheard as well. Mrs. Yu instructed them to stay put in the carriage and hurried off with her attendants.Yaoniang thought to herself, I never expected such a thing to happen. She knew Mrs. Fan well—she and her eldest brother, Luo Jingxi, treated each other with mutual respect, and since they had no children, she had raised a little Pekingese. Because its belly was especially white, she had named it Fanxue. The dog was utterly adorable; even Yaoniang would play with it when she saw it.Last time when they went to pay respects to Old Madame Dou, Shifang had said she was bored on the boat and mentioned to Mrs. Fan that she wanted to borrow Fanxue to play with. Although Mrs. Fan had her reservations, since the eldest madam of the second branch, Mrs. Ren, had also spoken up, she had no choice but to agree.Who would have thought that today something would happen—and something serious at that."Third sister, why did Fanxue suddenly go mad?" Yaoniang asked Jingrou.Luo Jingrou shook her head. "I don't know either. Fanxue is usually very well-behaved." Inwardly, she only resented Shifang for causing trouble, which had now landed Mrs. Fan in a difficult position. Her relationship with Mrs. Fan was ordinary, but she was still her own sister-in-law.As for Shiyu, she snorted coldly. "I know. Fourth sister loves to tease the dog constantly. The dog must have gotten annoyed from all the teasing and bit someone."Yaoniang nodded. "That's possible." She was thinking—could Mrs. Fan's sudden death next year be connected to this incident? If she were to blame someone, Little Mrs. Jiang would be one thing, but that Mrs. Zhou was always cautious, humble, timid, and uninvolved in worldly affairs—she shouldn't have the nerve.Besides, if she really wanted to blame someone, she should blame Fourth Miss Shifang.When Mrs. Yu got off the carriage, she happened to see Mrs. Fan, who looked somewhat uneasy. Mrs. Fan called out, "Madam.""Stay calm. No one wanted this to happen. Let's go see what's going on first." Mrs. Yu was quite close to this daughter-in-law of hers, and they had always gotten along harmoniously; she appreciated Mrs. Fan's steady and gentle temperament.But even so, Mrs. Yu's heart was far from calm.With her mother-in-law's comfort, Mrs. Fan felt somewhat better, but when she came over, Mrs. Ren's expression was very grim.Mrs. Yu quickly stepped forward and said, "Sister-in-law, how is Tian-ge'er's wife? If not, why don't we head to the capital early and use my husband's name card to invite a physician to treat her? What do you think?"Treat her? Mrs. Ren was far from appeased. She sneered, "I wouldn't dare trouble you, sister-in-law. Your daughter-in-law was eager to send us a Pekingese, insisting over and over how well-behaved it was. And now look what's happened. I know my position in this household carries little weight, not like yours, so I won't say anything more."Her words made it sound as if Mrs. Fan had done it deliberately. Mrs. Yu knew full well that it was Mrs. Ren's own daughter, Shifang, who had insisted on taking Fanxue to play with.Mrs. Yu then said, "Sister-in-law, look, no one wanted this to happen. Besides, Shifang is young—could it be that the servants tending the dog weren't careful enough, and that's what caused this disaster?"By saying this, she was giving Mrs. Ren a way out—if you don't want to bear the blame for your daughter causing your sister-in-law's miscarriage, you can't very well point fingers at my daughter-in-law either, can you?Mrs. Ren snorted coldly, "Sister-in-law, the servant who tends to the dogs is indeed from your eldest branch."Mrs. Yu immediately glanced at Mrs. Fan, who explained, "At the time, Fourth Sister begged me to give her the dog. I was worried the beast might bite someone, so I thought to have Zao'er, the maid who usually holds the dog, keep an eye on it. But Zao'er is a diligent person and would never—""You hear that, sister-in-law? You hear that? The one who keeps the dog is also Xige'er's wife's people. Don't blame Shifang—she's only a few years old and just plays with it a bit now and then. How could she possibly do such a thing?" Mrs. Ren grew more relentless with her reasoning.Mrs. Fan had no idea Mrs. Ren would be so unreasonable. Had it not been for Mrs. Ren pressuring her as an elder, she wouldn't have casually sent the dog over in the first place. She'd even brought a cage along out of fear something might go wrong.Seeing that Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Fan, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, had fallen silent, Mrs. Ren felt increasingly vindicated, as if she'd vented a pent-up grievance. This Mrs. Fan, having no children of her own, had harmed the child in another's belly—truly detestable.At the same time, she knew that if this matter were brought before Old Madame Dou or others, it would surely be smoothed over and minimized. But she couldn't let it go for nothing.So she pressed further, "Sigh, though I'm angry inside, we're all one family. Tian Ge'er's wife's brother originally intended to come to the capital to purchase an official post and travel north with us. He's got a hot temper—I myself can let go of my anger, but I'm afraid of that brother of his…"Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Fan exchanged a glance, both feeling that Mrs. Ren had finally revealed her true purpose—to extort money.The eldest branch had the money, but Mrs. Yu also knew it couldn't be given. To give it would be admitting that Mrs. Fan was at fault. But if they kept arguing here, with officials passing through Tongzhou constantly, it wouldn't be good if someone deliberately pried into the matter.Therefore, Mrs. Yu said, "Sister-in-law, let's discuss any family matters once we reach the capital. Otherwise, if the old lady gets wind of it and is frightened, that won't do."Mrs. Ren hadn't expected to hit a soft wall either. The usually meek Mrs. Yu was now hiding needles in cotton. She certainly wasn't afraid of taking the matter to the old lady—if the old lady truly passed away, they'd all have to observe mourning, and everyone would be on equal footing again.During those years of mourning, Mrs. Ren no longer had to watch her two sisters-in-law flaunt their titled honors in grand style. Now that they were heading to the capital, the disparity seemed clear—Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Jiang were titled ladies, while she remained a commoner.Feeling both unbalanced and reckless—having nothing to lose—Mrs. Ren sneered, "Go to the capital? What capital? Third sister-in-law, you need to come up with a solution here. It was your dog that bit my daughter-in-law and caused her miscarriage."She deliberately raised her voice on the word "miscarriage," loud enough that even Yaoniang and the others nearby could hear.Mrs. Yu and Mrs. Fan's expressions changed instantly, wondering if she'd lost her mind.Just then, a male voice rang out clearly, "Sister-in-law, aren't you leaving yet? And you two as well—whatever family matters you have, go home to discuss them."The three women looked over and saw Luo Zhizheng approaching. Mrs. Ren thought to herself, what business does a man have meddling in women's affairs? She was about to speak again, saying, "Third brother, it's just that I—""Sister-in-law, spare the idle talk and head to the capital first. If you wish to stay in Tongzhou for some reason, I'll leave a few men behind to look after you. Let's go." Luo Zhizheng was no ordinary man—he'd passed the imperial exams at a young age, was the first in the family to do so, the most favored disciple of the current Grand Secretary, and himself the clan head."Why? I'm not here to ask for your reasons. I don't have time for your nonsense. Leave if you're leaving; if not, then stay behind. Who do you think you're threatening?"Mrs. Yu quickly stepped forward to follow Luo Zhizheng, exclaiming in surprise, "Why has my lord come over?""It was Yaoniang who told me, so I came. Enough, let's hurry and go." Luo Zhizheng urged.Yaoniang, so it was Yaoniang…Mrs. Yu felt a warmth in her heart.

The Second Wife’s Daughter