In the first lunar month, people had to visit and entertain relatives, so they were really busy. This time, Jiang Yalan would get married in that month, which made the whole Marquess’s Mansion busier. Madame Shi had been insisting that she was sick since she became a widow, not going out. Chu Yitong was pregnant. Even the eighth madame Huang, who was about the same age as the grandchildren, was found to be pregnant when she returned to her maiden family on the second day of the month.
Only three people could help with it then, namely Madame Zhang, He Shuijin, and Qiu Yelan.
It could be imagined how busy they were!
They didn’t have time to inquire about the result of Yan Linxue and Old Concubine Fan’s affair at all. After welcoming Feng Hanyan to their home, the three granddaughters-in-law gathered their energy forcibly to tease the bride and the bridegroom and then send the guests away. After returning to their rooms, they didn’t have time to take off their coats but fell asleep directly. They didn’t get up until noon of the next day one after another, asking, “Why is it so late?”
Qiu Yelan recovered her calmness, got up slowly, and put on her clothes, asking about Jiang Yashuang and the children’s situation in the half day. On the contrary, Madame Zhang and He Shuijin had a headache. Madame He, their mother-in-law, was a little narrow-minded, and last year Madame Chi got pregnant again almost at the same time as Chu Yitong. Since then, Madame He had been making trouble with her daughters-in-law.
They got up so late this day and missed the greetings, so how would Madame He deal with them?
After finishing washing and getting dressed, they came to Madame He’s room anxiously. When they greeted her, Madame He said in a weird tone, “I thought that neither of you would get up today!”
“It’s all our fault!” Being Madame He’s daughters-in-law for so many years, both Madame Zhang and He Shuijin knew that they must not talk back at this moment, so they both showed a submissive look, “Please punish us!”
“Actually, you guys were so busy yesterday, so it’s okay for you to come late this morning.” Madame He snorted, “Although I am not so generous, I won’t make a fuss unreasonably! If you had sent someone in advance to tell me that, I would have agreed already. But you didn’t do anything and just let me wait here… How could you do that?”
Madame Zhang and He Shuijin both scolded in their hearts, “The master was so tired, but the trusted maid didn’t know to take a leave of absence on behalf of the master. If their trusted maids were really so stupid, how could they make a living then? She is just talking nonsense and making trouble with them, but she pretends to be reasonable. How shameless she is!”
But at this time, her identity of the mother-in-law made them not dare to refute at all, and they had to admit their mistakes and make amends according to Madame He’s intention. After they knelt for half an hour, Madame He let go of them. But when they stood up, Madame He still looked unhappy, so they stepped forward with their sore bodies, giving her a massage, lest she be unhappy and make a fuss with them again!
When it was finally time to leave, Madame Zhang and He Shuijin exited the door with a smile. And then they both sighed, looked at each other, and left with a wry smile!
“Madame really went too far!” Shan helped He Shuijin back to the room angrily. Seeing that there was no one on the road, she gritted her teeth and said indignantly, “My madame, you’ve been busy from before the New Year to after the New Year and you haven’t even had a good sleep in this period. Yesterday, you were so busy with the wedding of the Thirteenth Young Master! Not to mention that Madame did nothing but just sat back and enjoyed everything, she even made trouble with you today! She doesn’t act as an elder at all. She is not worthy of respect at all!”
He Shuijin looked indifferent, “She can’t get her husband’s love. She is no match for Mistress Chi, and even her sons and grandsons don’t like to hear her complaints and grievances… Except her daughters-in-law, to whom can she vent her anger?”
She sighed again, “It’s a good thing that she targets me. It’s good as long as she doesn’t make trouble with Ya’er.”
“Nevertheless, Madame is going too far now!” Shan bit her lip, leaned closer to her ear, and whispered, “My madame, since we have the poison Youmianxiang… Why we still…”
It had been five or six years since He Shuijin got the revenge weapon, the poison Youmianxiang, but Madame He still lived a good life. Even Shan couldn’t endure anymore as a spectator.
“I had planned to do it four years ago, but the eldest son of Yashuang just got poisoned at that time. In order to prove my innocence, I had to tell them about it!” He Shuijin couldn’t help gritting her teeth when she mentioned this. She secretly scolded the first branch for being insane. The most hateful thing was that even if the first branch had been so vicious, Jiang Jinglang was rescued finally and her plan, which she had designed for a long time to deal with Madame He, was delayed!
They really couldn’t do anything right!
“So don’t use this method unless it’s a last resort!”
Shan asked with confusion, “Why? I don’t think the Nineteenth Young Master and madame Qiu like Madame.”
“It’s not a question of whether they like my mother-in-law or not!” He Shuijin sighed and sneered, “After all, we belong to two separate branches. Even if they don’t care about Madame He’s life and death, they may not mind using this thing to suppress our third branch!”
“How could that be?” Shan pondered, “The first branch murdered the seventeenth junior young master before, but they just endured it! Not to mention that Madame…”
“You don’t understand!” He Shuijin said leisurely, “In the case of Lang’er, they did that for the sake of grandfather! Think about it. Grandfather has been on the bed since the last time he fell ill. We don’t even know how long he can last. Once grandfather dies, do you think they need to worry that the elders are too old to bear the news of fratricidal fighting?”
“Although the masters of the third branch and the fourth branch are brothers with the same mother, they are not very harmonious all the time. The root cause is actually our father. In the early years, he didn’t listen to grandmother and refused to join the army. When the fourth branch developed in the army, he turned regretful and jealous… If I were from the fourth branch, I would definitely be unwilling to let the third branch suffer from nothing and just take advantage of the identity as an official brother!”
“However, I am the daughter-in-law of the third branch, so of course, I have to consider for the third branch. Now the third branch and the fourth branch are on the same side to get separated from the first branch. On the one hand, father was cheated by Jiang Yashuang. When grandfather fell ill before, he told the fourth aunt all the things in order to obtain her understanding and support. On the other hand, the first branch brought back the second branch and the fifth branch this time, so we have to be aligned since we can’t know what they want to do. But there is still time. Nobody will know if there will be another conflict between the third branch and the fourth branch in the future.”
“Our third branch was the most incompatible with the first branch before, but in order to deal with the fourth branch, we stood together. And then because of the serious illness of grandfather, we were hostile against each other again. We don’t know what will happen tomorrow, so how can we know who is the enemy and who is the friend?”
“If I use the poison Youmianxiang to deal with my mother-in-law now, do you think the fourth branch will not expose me when the third branch and the fourth branch have a fight? Don’t forget that the elders from the maiden family of Qiu Yelan were just harmed by this poison. She knows the symptoms of the poison well!”
“The mother-in-law is poisoned by her daughter-in-law. Once it spreads out, can I still live and walk out from the He Family?”
He Shuijin sighed, “So, I can only continue to endure Madame He and think of other ways!”
“But they have no evidence!” Shan bit her lip and said decisively, “So what even if they are sure that Madame is poisoned by the poison Youmianxiang? Who can be sure that you are the one who poisons her? You are the niece of Madame, so how will you murder her! If the fourth branch insists that it is because Madame hurts you first… Neither the third branch nor the He family will admit it!”
“Don’t forget that the poison Youmianxiang is not a deadly poison!” He Shuijin said calmly, “People will die after being poisoned with it for many years. The fourth branch doesn’t need to disclose the matter publicly. They can just disclose it to my mother-in-law quietly who is not dead. What do you think my mother-in-law will do then?”
She gnashed her teeth and said, “I helped her manage her property and taught her to manage the backyard before I got married. I have done so many things for her! But she just treated my child, her grandson, like that without hesitation! And because of this, the eldest son of the sixth brother, Zhui, died as well!”
“She lost two grandchildren, but do you think she has ever felt guilty and ashamed these years?”
“If she knows that I poison her, she will definitely use all the vicious methods she can think of to deal with me. I’m really not afraid to fight her if she only deals with me! But what about Ya’er? What about the He Family? She is so selfish that she can ignore everything when she gets crazy. But I can’t!”
He Shuijin had a deep sigh, “So, I can only bear it!”
Shan said sadly, “Madame, it’s really so hard for you!”
Compared to He Shuijin’s forbearance, Qiu Yelan was much more relaxed. At this moment, she was standing in the corridor with great interest, watching Jiang Yashuang lead Jiang Jingkun and Jiang Jinglang to build a snowman in the courtyard.
“I forgot to ask for the past two days. So, what’s going on in the palace?” Looking at the sky and seeing the three of them sweating profusely, Qiu Yelan smiled and stepped forward to stop them. She sent the wet nurse to help the kids take a bath and change clothes, and then handed a handkerchief to Jiang Yashuang, asking, “Is our fourth aunt feeling better now?”
“Yan Linxue and Old Concubine Fan were executed, and their families were exiled.” Jiang Yashuang said while taking the handkerchief and wiping his face, “The old concubines in Zhenyu Palace were arranged to go to the imperial manor outside the city in order to avoid similar incidents in the palace… Our fourth aunt is much better now, but she has to rest for some more days.”
Speaking of this, he said in a strange tone, “Empress was punished and grounded, and the power was handed over to the maids temporarily… Noble Consort Jiang did not get involved, and she insisted on serving our fourth aunt.”
Qiu Yelan asked in surprise, “Wasn’t it the Noble Consort who did it this time?” But after thinking about it, she said, “Maybe she is trying to take the opportunity to clean herself! After all, even if she can deceive others, our fourth aunt and Empress know what kind of person she is.”
“Maybe.” Jiang Yashuang pondered, “If our fourth aunt and Empress let down their guard against her, of course, it will be a good thing for her. However, our fourth aunt is not so easy to fool. She is just going through the motions. Don’t worry about Empress! She was chosen by aunt personally.”
“That’s right.” Qiu Yelan thought about it. From the friendship between the elders or from the direct line selected by Empress Dowager Jiang, Jiang Huizhi was no match for Xin Fubing. There was really no need to worry that she would be able to shake Xin Fubing’s status by pleasing the fourth aunt.
She said with concern then, “The old concubines were sent to the imperial manor… To put it in a bad way, in the palace, they are under the eyes of our fourth aunt and Emperor and Empress after all. No matter how loose the palace rules are, they must be stricter than those in the imperial manor. What will happen there with nobody watching them?”
The imperial manor was also guarded by the Imperial Guards. Without Empress Dowager, Emperor, and Empress watching them, there might be more messy things! Who came up with this idea?
“But the imperial manor is far away from the Jing City!” Jiang Yashuang explained, “It’s easier to deal with what happens there, and things happening there won’t be known to the court and the public like this time!”
“…” Qiu Yelan was quite speechless. Just as she was about to say something, Jiang Yashuang said, “Speaking of this, I will accept Lu He as my apprentice after the Lantern Festival. Taking advantage of the time, you bring the fourth sister-in-law and her daughter into the palace to talk with our fourth aunt and Empress, okay?”
