by Ning er
Even after she heard this, Yun Qian Meng still didn’t angry, and still smiled to reply, “sunnü visited wai zumu before taking the journey. Her sixtieth birthday is coming soon, and longs to see you very much! She said that only a few of her good old sisters from the past are keft, only hopes that she could meet you on this year’s birthday!”
Hearing Yun Qian Meng say this, the old madam’s flat gaze suddenly turned towards her. Her cold eyes seemed to be mixed with a hint of excitement, as her voice had become somewhat joyful as she asked, “Is this true?”
Yun Qian Meng saw the old madam like this and felt inwardly satisfied, continuing, “If zumu doesn’t believe me, then follow sunnü back to the capital to directly ask laotaijun!”
The old madam was currently reminiscing about the scene when those sisters had been together in the past. Hearing Yun Qian Meng’s words, her lips curved into a smile as she nodded!
Li shi and the others saw Yun Qian Meng use just a few sentences to completely change the old madam’s attitude, and only felt shocked in their hearts. They couldn’t help but admire this xiangfu’s eldest miss!
Chapter 41: Second uncle's hatred | Chu Wang Fei
堂哥 tangge – elder male cousin from father’s side
堂妹 tangmei – younger female cousin from father’s side
老太太 laotaitai – old madam
妾 qie – I, your servant/concubine (deprecatory self-reference for women)
presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers – idiom; to win favor or influence with the use of another person’s work or property
Yun Xuan Mo – Yun Xuan Zhi‘s younger brother; Yun Qian Meng‘s second uncle
The old madam saw that Yun Qian Meng was very polite and modest, and slowly turned her gaze over. Only, with this glance, the old madam blanked out!
She had never expected, the granddaughter she had never seen before resembled her deceased daughter-in-law so much!
However, at the time, Qu Ruo Li had grown up cherished by Gu laotaijun; her temper gentle and aloof with worldly affairs!
On the other hand, Yun Qian Meng before her although gentle in appearance, but her shining eyes concealed an unyielding toughness. Mother and daughter looked very much alike, but their characters seemed to be complete opposites!
Through Yun Qian Meng‘s appearance, the old madam couldn’t help but recall the moments when she had interacted with her daughter-in-law. Although they were not flesh and blood, their intimacy surpassed blood relatives.
If not for her own disappointing son, how could that Su Qing have driven her out? Meng’er wouldn’t have lost her mother at a young age and had nobody to rely on. When she thought about this child’s current personality, perhaps it was the result of her difficult life!
Her heart moved, the old madam pulled Yun Qian Meng‘s tiny hands, grasping them in her palm while gently caressing them. She couldn’t help but lament, “Your wai zumu and I might not have been best friends that grew up together, but the both of us were fast friends, and enjoyed each other’s company! This was also the reason your wai zumu had been assured to let your mother enter Yun fu, a pity, a pity……”
The following words were drowned out by the old madam’s lamenting of ‘a pity’. Yet Yun Qian Meng managed to glean from the old madam’s ashamed expression that her relationship with Qu Ruo Li as mother and daughter-in-law was quite harmonious, otherwise why would she be so melancholic upon seeing her?
Yun Qian Meng liften her hands with the old madam, then comforted, “zumu doesn’t need to be sad. Father is now receiving you back to the xiangfu, because he wishes to do his filial duty! Moreover, Su yiniang is pregnant now, perhaps she could give you another chubby grandson. With so many happy occasions, zumu should be a bit more happy! After all, mother has already passed away for so long, if she saw that you are still feeling sad because of her, mother can’t be at ease even in the afterlife!”
These words, simply struck through to the bottom of the old madam’s heart!
Although right now she was deeply feeling gratitude mixed with shame towards Qu Ruo Li and Gu laotaijun, these were after all old matters that have occurred more than ten years ago. Besides, she and Yun Qian Meng had never met before, other than blood relations, they didn’t even have any trace of mutual affection. Her actions today, were really just to let Yun Qian Meng know that she was still in her heart, and only hoped that she wouldn’t say anything unnecessary in front of Gu laotaijun, to prevent their relationship from becoming awkward!
After all, even if her relationship with Qu Ruo Li was deep, it still couldn’t compare to the feelings between a mother and her own child. Even though she was angry at her son that time, she still wouldn’t ruin her son’s official career over just a daughter-in-law!
Seeing that Yun Qian Meng was so understanding, the old madam’s eyes showed her satisfaction, and looked towards Yun Qian Meng with tender affection. She only pulled Yun Qian Meng over to sit beside her, then pointed at the two boys and one girl while introducing them, “These are your shenniang‘s three children. These two are your tangge, Yi Heng, Yi Jie. And this one is your tangmei Yi Yi!”
Yun Qian Meng followed the old madam’s gesture to look, and only saw that her two tangge were youthful youngsters, but compared to Yun Yi Jie’s greasy powdered face, Yun Yi Heng seemed more steady and experienced. On the other side, Yun Yi Yi was very childlike, her big round eyes seemed simple and naive. When she saw Yun Qian Meng sizing her up, her face turned faintly red, and stealthily stuck out her little tongue, extremely adorable!
As the six of them greeted each other, Yun Yi Heng’s expression didn’t change, not warm nor cold, not allowing others to see into his mood; Yun Yi Jie’s lively eyes quickly circuited around the three sisters, as his smile became wider; Yun Yi Yi was amiable and smiled bashfully towards them, but her bearing and manners seemed natural and unrestrained. It seemed that Li shi had spent quite a bit of capital on her upbringing, other than Yun Yi Yi‘s bashfulness, in other aspects, she was not any less than the precious young ladies from the capital!
“Mom, Meng’er and the others must be tired after journeying for days. We should let them rest properly today, then during dinner, lord husband can meet with them!” Li shi came forward at this time, then smiled to state the following arrangements. The old madam also immediately nodded and waved her hands for a few mama to come over and prepare to lead Yun Qian Meng and the rest of them away!
At this moment, a mama hastily came in from outside. She immediately kneeled when she saw the old madam, then urgently said, “laotaitai, there is someone claiming himself to be a gongzi from Han Guo gongfu outside the gates, wanting to lodge in our fu!”
The old madam heard this and looked towards the three sisters with an odd expression. Finally settling her gaze on Yun Qian Meng, she only saw that her expression was calm and indifferent, but a trace of mockery was floating in her eyes. She thus ordered, “Just say that there are no free rooms in our fu, and ask that gongzi to look elsewhere!”
After that mama left, the three of them bent their knees and bowed towards the old madam, then followed behind Li shi to leave the warm room.
The three sisters were settled down in the southeast Die Ying Yuan. Yun Qian Meng pulled Li shi‘s hands, then let Mi mama take out the gifts they had brought, sincerely saying, “shenniang treats me like your own daughter, but Meng’er is presenting the Buddha with borrowed flowers. These are the gifts that father had prepared for shenniang, gege and meimei before we came. I hope shenniang will accept!”
Li shi saw that Yun Qian Meng had not forgotten her, then smiled to let the yatou accept the gifts. Sincerely telling them to rest properly, she walked out of Die Ying Yuan, then turned towards the east and walked towards Yun laoye‘s study!
At the moment, Yun laoye Yun Xuan Mo had a brush in his hand as he wrote. Seeing his furen enter, he didn’t stop the flowing movements of his hand, and only gestured for a manservant to stand guard outside, then seemingly unconcern
edly asked, “Arrived?”
Li shi inwardly understood what her husband was asking, and quietly answered, “Yes!”
Yun Xuan Mo heard that Li shi‘s tone was rather dull, then put down the brush and looked towards her with curiosity, puzzledly asking, “What’s wrong? Are those three girls hard to handle?”
Hearing this, Li shi smiled slightly, then hurried to answer before Yun Xuan Mo lost his temper, “Their da xiaojie has some capability! But today, laotaitai has already made her attitude clear; surely da xiaojie already understands, in the future, Heng’er‘s career will definitely be assisted!”
Listening to Li shi‘s words, Yun Xuan Mo didn’t show any happy expressions, instead stepping to the window-side with his hands behind his back. A trace of hatred flashed in his sharp eyes, if not for his elder brother being crazy for Su Qing, and drove him and his mother out of the xiangfu back to Su city, his two sons would already be noble gongzi that grew up in the capital! Would he really need to think up ways to send his children back to the xiangfu today?
Of course Li shi understood her husband’s grudge. Thinking back to the time when she was being kicked out of the xiangfu, even if she closed her eyes, she only felt her whole body shiver with cold. However, now that they were seeking aid from her brother-in-law, they naturally needed to lower their attitude, “Lord husband, qie sees that the three sisters don’t have a close relationship. da xiaojie is able and clever, san xiaojie is quiet and obedient, but only er xiaojie is unreasonable and obstinate!
When her words fell, Li shi heard Yun Xuan Mo snort, then heard a soft growl between his gritted teeth, “With a mother like that, how can you expect the daughter to be any good? Tell Yi Heng and the others, they must definitely maintain a good relationship with Yun Qian Meng. In the emperor’s eyes, Fu Guo gongfu is much more important than my dage!”
Li shi saw that Yun Xuan Mo’s eyes were vicious, and naturally understood that he was reminded of the disgrace from all those years go. Somewhat worried about his health, she immediately nodded gently, then turned to leave the study……
Chapter 42: Grandmother's scheme | Chu Wang Fei
叔父 shufu – father’s younger brother, uncle
At dinner, Li shi sent some yatou to lead the three sisters to the old madam’s house. At the moment, Yun Yi Heng had already brought his brother and sister to spend family time with the old madam. When Yun Qian Meng and the others entered, they each exchanged greetings. Only, in comparison to their attitudes to Yun Ruo Xue and Yun Yan, the three brothers and sisters treated Yun Qian Meng with even more warmth; even Yun Yi Heng had given Yun Qian Meng a rare smile!
The old madam nodded with satisfaction at the three siblings’ behavior, then allowed Li shi to help her to the main seat at the dining table. Leaving the first seat on the left for Yun Xuan Mo, the rest of them took their places according to age.
Yun Qian Meng carefully took everything in with her eyes, and recalled the old madam’s attitude against Yuan Qing Zhou, and seemed to come to an understanding within her heart. She pursed her lips up into a smile, not allowing others to see through her inner thoughts!
As they quietly waited, the sound of footsteps came from outside the door. When the curtains at the door were pulled apart by yatou, Yun fu’s master, Yun Xuan Mo set foot into the room with a pale face!
“Paying respects to dad!” “Greetings to shufu!”
The six juniors immediately stood up and bowed, yet Yun Xuan Mo only lightly nodded, then with a slight cough, took Li shi’s support to walk before the old madam and stooped and bowed with his hands clasped in front, “This son pays respects to mother!”
The old madam seriously took a look at her son’s complexion. Her smiling eyes flashed with a trace of worry, but she maintained the appropriate poise, smiling, “Today, you’re quite late, Meng’er and the girls have waited for a long time!”
After Yun Xuan Mo heard this, he smiled and turned towards the three sisters who were standing. His warm eyes carried a slightly apologetic expression, “I’ve made my nieces wait for a long time!”
Yun Qian Meng and the others didn’t dare to be arrogant, and immediately bent down to refuse, “What is shufu saying? We are juniors, waiting for our elders is natural!”
Li shi saw that everyone didn’t stop exchanging pleasantries in front of the dining table, and immediately covered her mouth with a slight laugh. She then looked towards the old madam and said playfully, “laotaitai, these pleasantries aren’t any pressing matters, we should hurry and start the banquet, otherwise the dishes will get cold!”
Everyone heard her and showed knowing smiles. After waiting for the old madam and Yun Xuan Mo to sit, the juniors gradually sat down; while Li shi stood at the left of the old madam, serving the food and soup to her!
Throughout the banquet, other than the slight sounds of Li shi picking dishes, there wasn’t much noise. Yi Heng and his siblings showed etiquette that didn’t lose out to Yun Qian Meng and her sisters. This inevitably caused Yun Ruo Xue and Yun Yan to feel some astonishment!
Yet Yun Qian Meng had already observed these particulars from the start, and partook in the dinner with a natural expression. Calmly eating until she was seven parts full, she put down the cutlery and received a cup of tea from a yatou to rinse her mouth. She then wiped away the traces of water from her mouth, and waited for everyone to finish and follow to the old madam’s warm room!
It was until the old madam had taken a newly steeped cup of hot tea when she spoke, “Meng’er, I have discussed a little with your shufu. Your dad still doesn’t have a male heir until now, and serving as an official by himself for these years really wasn’t easy. Why don’t we take this opportunity, and let Yi Heng and Yi Jie follow along? In the future, when they pass the Imperial Examination, they can also lend a helping hand to your dad!”
Hearing this, Yun Qian Meng’s lowered eyes flashed with coldness, and couldn’t help but smile coldly in her heart!
It seemed, that the sentimental words the old madam had said before were actually just her attempts to pave a path for her grandsons!
While she wanted to use the old madam to suppress Su Qing, she was afraid that the old madam also coveted Fu Guo gongfu behind her, making preparations for her grandsons to take official posts!
Gently twirling her cup in her slender fingers and carefully skimming the tea dregs on the surface, Yun Qian Meng gracefully took a sip, then slowly put down the teacup. She was just about to speak when Yun Ruo Xue rushed over, “zumu, daddy only instructed shunnü to take you back to the xiangfu!”
At her words, the old madam and Yun Xuan Mo both had a sliver of coldness flash in their eyes. The old madam’s lightly smiling expression momentarily sank, and spoke while showing extreme displeasure, “Your dajie is here, when did it become your turn to speak? Just a shu daughter, still dares to speak before the di daughter. How does Su yiniang teach her own daughter?”
The old madam had put considerable emphasis when she had said ‘yiniang’, momentarily causing Yun Ruo Xue’s eyes to redden. However, with her status in open display, she couldn’t find any words to refute, and could only bite down on her lip and hatefully glare towards the lightly smiling Yun Qian Meng!
Yet Yun Qian Meng didn’t seem to notice the hatred Yun Ruo Xue was directing at her. Her graceful brows slightly knitted because of her sister’s lack of propriety, then gently said, “zumu don’t be angry, meimei doesn’t have any other meaning! From what Meng’er has seen, Yi Heng tangge is truly a talent amongst men, trust that even father will like him when he sees him!”
From her words, the old madam and Yun Xuan Mo understood, Yun Qian Meng was already agreeing to their request on behalf of Yun Xuan Zhi. Both of them looked towards Yun Qian Meng with eyes full of praise!
Yet Yun Qian Meng was cautiously examining Yun Xuan Mo. She only saw that his complexion was pale, his cheeks protruding, and his stature thin and gaunt, seeming to have suffered from a long-term illness. Remembering the past events that M
i mama had told her, she wore a face of concern to say, “Meng’er sees that shufu’s expression is haggard, still hopes that shufu will take care to nurse your body!”
These seemingly caring words, unexpectedly caused the old madam and Yun Xuan Mo to glare at Yun Ruo Xue with hatred!
That year, if not for Su Qing kicking them out of the fu without regard for the frozen ground and the heavy snow, Yun Xuan Mo wouldn’t ended up with a body stricken with disease. On top of that, the proud and arrogant him could never swallow this insult, causing these illnesses to only get worse. These years, he could only count his days as they passed!
If not because he knew that he didn’t have any prospects for the future, he wouldn’t once again return to seek aid from Yun Xuan Zhi!
Yun Ruo Xue also knew from Su Qing’s side how the old madam tried to supplant her own mother. If Su Qing had not taken action, then she was afraid that the old madam would have put her to death. Hence, facing the old madam right now, Yun Ruo Xue didn’t have any good feelings either!
Yet the concern from Yun Qian Meng just now, not only aroused the Yun family’s mother and son’s hatred towards Su Qing and her daughter, but also caused Yun Ruo Xue to harbor a grudge against them!
Yun Qian Meng however appeared not to perceive the atmosphere in the warm room, smiling to say, “zumu, since everything has been decided, we should get moving shortly, so that father doesn’t worry!”
Due to Yun Qian Meng’s earlier promise, the old madam was currently very pleased with this granddaughter. After exchanging a look with Yun Xuan Mo, she nodded, “If that’s the case, we will depart the day after tomorrow, all of you can go back to rest for the night first!”