Chapter 595: Scolding the Matriarch (2)
It was evening by the time Chu Lian returned to the Jing’an Estate, only to find a summons from the matriarch waiting.
Chu Lian didn’t even have time to return to Songtao Court to change out of her clothes.
Within the parlour of Qingxi Hall, the matriarch was resting her head in her hands while seated at the head of the room. Eldest Madam He Ying was glaring fiercely at her. Chu Lian had just finished bobbing in greeting to the matriarch when He Ying shot out a question. “Sanlang’s wife! Where have you been?!”
Chu Lian knew that she couldn’t hide that she had gone to Prince Wei’s Estate. There were so many servants in the estate; one of them had surely seen where she had gone.
The matriarch didn’t invite her to take a seat, so she remained standing upright in the middle of the parlour.
Although her voice was soft, her tone was calm. “Replying to Aunt, I went to visit Princess Wei today.”
“Why would you go to visit Prince Wei’s Estate without any reason? Prince Wei’s Estate hasn’t sent you any invites as of late! Sanlang’s wife, are you trying to break up Miss Zhen and Dalang’s marriage?!” He Ying’s face was twisted into a wretched expression and her face was flushed an ugly red. It was clear that she had lost all sense of rhyme or reason.
Chu Lian frowned with her lips pressed together. She didn’t want to answer He Ying.
Had the matriarch summoned her so urgently just for this matter? How absurd!
He Ying stood on the raised platform, her eyes fixed on Chu Lian’s pretty, young face. She was already hopping mad, but Chu Lian was as steady as a pine. She was acting like she was watching some monkeys playing around, and the look in her eyes was bordering on contempt.
The matriarch wasn’t too happy either. However, while she could hold back her rage with her years of experience, He Ying wasn’t able to keep her cool.
Seeing that Chu Lian didn’t want to reply her, He Ying stepped forward and raised her hand, intending to bring it down on Chu Lian’s fair, tender cheek.
Wenqing was shaken upon seeing what was about to happen, but unfortunately, she was standing at least two metres behind Chu Lian at the moment. She wouldn’t be able to block the slap for Chu Lian in time.
He Ying was enraged, so her slap carried all the force she could summon.
She had thought that the tiny and frail Chu Lian would be pushed down to the floor with a bloody lip. Unfortunately, she didn’t expect Chu Lian to grab her wrist instead, blocking her blow.
Despite how slender her wrist was, she actually had quite a bit of strength in her.
“I would advise you to save your energy, Aunt!” The look in Chu Lian’s wide eyes had turned sharp. The fierce aura around her actually shocked He Ying into paralysis.
“Y… Y-You….”
He Ying stuttered, but she wasn’t able to continue speaking.
She couldn’t believe that the normally gentle, easygoing Sanlang’s wife could actually be this strong.
Chu Lian threw He Ying’s wrist to one side, causing He Ying to stumble a few steps backwards.
She bobbed towards the matriarch and said, “Grandmother, it’s getting late. Granddaughter-in-Law won’t impose on you any further. Please have a good rest.”
After saying so, she turned to leave.
However, Matriarch He slammed her cane several times in succession, making dull thuds on the floor. Now angry, she roared, “Stop right there!”
The foot that Chu Lian had just lifted came back down again. She turned back around and looked up at the matriarch, whose face was turning as red as a pig’s liver.
Chu Lian cast a sideways glance at He Ying, who was showing off a gleeful glint in her eye.
Chu Lian’s voice was as calm as ever as she asked, “Grandmother, is there something you need?”
“So you still remember that I’m your grandmother? I thought that I was just a dying old woman in your eyes!”
It was the first time that Matriarch He had spoken such harsh words to Chu Lian.
The corners of Chu Lian’s lips curved up and she laughed mockingly to herself. “Granddaughter-in-Law doesn’t dare to bear Grandmother’s words!”
“Hmph! What wouldn’t you dare to do? If you really lacked the guts, would you have gone to Prince Wei’s Estate today? It must feel pretty good to have Princess Wei as your backer, huh?!”
The remaining servants in the parlour all huddled down and tried their best to become invisible. This was the first time that the matriarch and Third Young Madam had clashed with each other upfront.
One of them was the eldest member of House Jing’an, the other was the young madam with both authority and power. It was hard to say who had the upper hand between these two powerhouses.
Muxiang stood in one corner, her head lowered to hide the smile on her lips.
She was clearly satisfied with Chu Lian’s current situation.
If something happened to Matriarch He right now, regardless of whether Chu Lian was in the right, her reputation would be ruined.
Once Chu Lian was deemed unvirtuous by others, coupled with how she was still childless, Muxiang had ways to make her leave He Changdi, even if Princess Wei tried to protect her!
Chu Lian took in a deep breath of the cold spring air to calm her emotions. Following that, her limpid eyes landed on Matriarch He, resolution gathering in the clear depths of her gaze.
She parted her pink lips and said, “Grandmother, when are you going to wake up?!”
None of the people present in the parlour had expected Chu Lian to say that, let alone Matriarch He. She forgot to breathe for a moment, struggling with the weight of her fury as she glared at Chu Lian.
Before anyone could react, Chu Lian continued, “Grandmother, your bias has gotten out of hand! Aunt may be your daughter and Pan Nianzhen may be your granddaughter, but isn’t Father your son, too? Isn’t Mother your daughter-in-law, and Eldest Brother your grandson? Can’t you think more for their sake as well?
“House Jing’an has only had single heirs for generations. For the sake of giving birth to your three grandsons, Mother spent all the energy in her body and fell ill. While bedridden for decades, she used her own dowry on her medicine to the point of running it dry, but she never touched a single copper coin from the estate’s public funds!
“Hasn’t she successfully opened up the branches of House Jing’an’s family tree? A feat that hasn’t been done in generations! And yet, how have you treated her? She only just recovered from her longtime illness, but you immediately handed over the messy public accounts for her to handle, forcing her to compensate for the accounts with her own money! If Father were to find out that Mother was languishing under your unfair treatment while he was out defending the borders of this country, don’t you think that he would be bitterly disappointed with you?!”
