Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiaru knelt even more motionless. She had considered that her mother-in-law might give her a cold reception. She had also thought that for the sake of her husband’s future, her mother-in-law might maintain a superficially harmonious relationship with her, pretending to be a loving mother-in-law and a dutiful daughter-in-law.
But she never expected her mother-in-law to be the kind of person who would say anything openly, no matter how blunt.
If word got out again that she and her husband were unfilial, they wouldn’t even need to think about rebellion. Who would dare follow someone who didn’t even respect their own mother?
Xiao Jiaru had no choice but to grit her teeth and make a decision she least wanted to. “Mother, I’ve come to take you back to the Wangfu. Living out here in the wilderness, both His Majesty and I are worried about you.”
Jiang Wanwen watched as her eldest daughter-in-law spoke these words, her smile twisting into something almost grotesque, and directly called her out: “Stop smiling. Your smile is truly unpleasant.”
At Jiang Wanwen’s words, Xiao Jiaru, whose smile was already strained, stopped smiling altogether. Her face instantly took on a tearful expression, her features contorted with grievance:
“Mother, even if you don’t like me, you shouldn’t speak to me like that. I sincerely want to invite you back.”
In her heart, Xiao Jiaru cursed ‘old witch,’ but on the surface, she managed to squeeze out a few tears.
Jiang Wanwen couldn’t be bothered with this hypocritical eldest daughter-in-law. She simply instructed the others to continue working and turned to leave.
They couldn’t just stand there talking in the fields!
Just as Jiang Wanwen finished speaking, Fu Xuanzhao arrived with Jiang Ping’an and Fu Zhuoxu.
Fu Xuanzhao had heard from the servants that the Empress had arrived and had specifically gone to fetch her eldest nephew.
Seeing her daughter, Jiang Wanwen called out, “You three, come quickly and pay your respects to Her Majesty the Empress!”
Though Fu Xuanzhao was puzzled as to why her mother referred to her sister-in-law as the Empress, she obeyed her mother’s words and, taking the two children’s hands, bowed. “Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress!”
In front of her peers and juniors, Xiao Jiaru still cared about saving face. The previously victimized expression vanished, replaced by a beaming smile.
Xiao Jiaru stood up and warmly took Fu Xuanzhao’s hand. “Sister, cousin, please rise. This must be Xu Er!”
With a smile, Xiao Jiaru reached out to hold her son.
Fu Zhuoxu immediately darted behind Jiang Wanwen to hide. Despite his young age, he knew exactly who held the real authority here.
Fu Zhuoxu had been sent back to Shengyang when he was just three months old. He had virtually no memory of Xiao Jiaru as his mother.
Xiao Jiaru was genuinely hurt by her son’s reaction and looked at her mother-in-law in disbelief.
Jiang Wanwen felt more uncomfortable than if she had swallowed a fly. The original host had been indifferent to Fu Zhuoxu and would never have taught him to distance himself from his birth mother.
Since Jiang Wanwen arrived, she had been busy preparing to flee and had no time to teach the boy such nonsense.
Holding Fu Zhuoxu with one arm and leading Jiang Ping’an with the other, Jiang Wanwen walked away without so much as a glance at her eldest daughter-in-law, who always blamed others.
Seeing her mother-in-law and son leave, Xiao Jiaru could only smile, take Fu Xuanzhao’s hand, and hurry after them.
Once everyone was seated inside the house, Xiao Jiaru tried to hold Fu Zhuoxu again. “Come, let Mother hold you!”
Having experienced the escape with Jiang Wanwen and the others, Fu Zhuoxu had grown somewhat sensitive.
He first looked at Fu Xuanzhao, and after seeing his aunt nod, he turned his gaze to Jiang Wanwen.
Jiang Wanwen wasn’t the type to involve children in adult conflicts. She gently pushed Fu Zhuoxu forward, saying, “Go ahead! That’s your mother.”
With each step Fu Zhuoxu took forward, he glanced back at Jiang Wanwen and Fu Xuanzhao.
It was as if he was waiting for either of them to change their minds so he could immediately run back.
Seeing her grandson like this lifted Jiang Wanwen’s spirits considerably. It made their efforts to bring him along during their escape feel worthwhile.
In contrast, Xiao Jiaru’s mood soured at her son’s behavior, though the smile on her face remained unchanged.
Xiao Jiaru stepped forward directly, sweeping Fu Zhuoxu into her arms. “Mother’s Xu Er, have you missed me?”
Fu Zhuoxu noticed that neither his grandmother, aunt, nor even Uncle Ping’an made any move to call him back, which displeased him.
Nevertheless, he obediently allowed the woman who called herself his mother to hold him and replied dutifully, “Yes.”
Though Fu Zhuoxu only uttered that single word, it was enough to delight Xiao Jiaru. Her smile grew noticeably more sincere. “Mother’s good boy, how about you come back to live with me in the Wangfu?”
Fu Zhuoxu didn’t know what the Wangfu was, but he understood that this “mother” wanted him to go with her.
Unwilling in his heart, he could only start counting on his fingers: “Then what about Grandmother, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Aunt, and Uncle Ping’an?”
“Your grandmother and the others will come back with us too,” Xiao Jiaru replied without hesitation. It had never crossed her mind that the Empress Dowager would refuse her proposal.
What was so good about living in this desolate wilderness without food or silver?
Hearing her daughter-in-law’s words, Jiang Wanwen immediately refused. “You take Xu Er back yourself! A child should grow up with their parents. Ming’er and the others and I won’t be returning. It’s quite fine living here.”
Xiao Jiaru’s face showed clear disapproval. “Mother, please don’t be willful. You must think of me and the Emperor, as well as Second Brother, Third Brother, and Little Sister. How can we rest easy with you living here? Moreover, Second Brother and the others need to continue their studies. How can they do that in this remote wilderness?”
Jiang Wanwen found her daughter-in-law’s attitude irritating. If they were truly so filial, they wouldn’t have rebelled without even sending a message to them in Shengyang.
They had already abandoned them, yet now they spoke of having their best interests at heart.
Jiang Wanwen had no desire to argue further with her daughter-in-law. “This isn’t a discussion. Xu Er is your son. If you miss him, take him with you. The rest is none of your concern.”
Xiao Jiaru feigned astonishment on the surface while inwardly rejoicing. She saw nothing wrong with her thoughts—who would want a mountain pressing down on them?
Putting on an expression of helplessness and difficulty, she said, “I will obey you, Mother. However, when I came this time, I assumed you and my siblings would be returning with me, so I only brought one thousand taels of silver and one thousand jin of fine grain…”
“That’s no problem. You can send someone to deliver more after you return.” Jiang Wanwen would never voluntarily refuse such offerings.
“Very well. Once I return to the Wangfu and have gathered and sent the provisions to the front lines, I will immediately find a way to send more to you, Mother.”
Xiao Jiaru answered without fear of her mother-in-law finding fault, for in such circumstances, the frontline took precedence.
If the Empress Dowager were to make a fuss over this and chill the hearts of the frontline soldiers, it would make it much easier for her to move against the Empress Dowager later on.