by Ning er
Wang mama heard Yun Xuan Zhi yell from the inner room. Although she did not know what had caused Yun Xuan Zhi's emotions to spike up, her brows involuntarily wrinkled up, and her heart started to secretly curse Yun Qian Meng who knew perfectly well that furen and shaoye were weak. This slut would go as far as to anger xiangye and disturb furen. Someday, she hoped furen would punish this slut.
"Father?" frightened by Yun Xuan Zhi, Yun Qian Meng shyly retracted her steps. She turned around with some fear and her eyes appeared to be holding back the distress, pretending to be strong as she gazed at Yun Xuan Zhi.
"Meng'er, move aside! I have something to ask Xia mama." The anger had consumed Yun Xuan Zhi, without looking at Yun Qian Meng, he stared imposingly at Xia mama, pausing at every word, "Xia mama, please tell me clearly about what you said a while ago, from head to tail, word for word!"
Everyone trembled, acutely aware that Yun Xuan Zhi was livid. If what Xia mama said was only some made-up nonsense, then Yun Qian Meng would certainly be implicated as well.
When everyone glanced at Xia mama, she no longer seemed to be as weak as before and her eyes were flickered with unflinching determination. After she heard Yun Xuan Zhi's question, without hesitation, she said, "Yes, back when furen gave birth, those yatou and mama that had come along with furen's dowry had almost been fully disposed of by Su yiniang. Beside furen, aside from myself as her most trusted person, there is no one else left. That day, when furen suddenly felt the pain that indicated she was about to give birth, I was about to head out to seek the help of the midwife, yet unexpectedly Su yiniang rushed in together with her people. She said that she had already found a midwife for furen, afterwhich, those women restrained me, not permitting me to go near furen. None of the people Su yiniang brought cared about furen's life, they just allowed furen to roll about in the bed from the intense pain. Luckily, the heavens cared for her, and furen didn't have a difficult birth, and smoothly delivered xiaojie. Following which, she quickly delivered little gongzi! Yet unexpectedly…"
Despite Xia mama's firm expression, her voice choked with emotion and she was unable to restrain the tears that fell. After seeing her like that, Yun Qian Meng's hands tightly clenched into fists under her silk sleeves, her incomparably lucid and elegant face was full of austerity, intimidating at just a glance.
"Speak! Continue with what you are saying!" Yun Xuan Zhi banged the table and roared. He did not have the patience to watch Xia mama shed her tears and weep.
Xia mama resisted the pain in her heart and used her sleeves to wipe off the tears on her face as she hurriedly continued, "Knowing that the second child was a gongzi, Su yiniang immediately commanded… commanded her people to drown the child immediately after being born, inside a bucket of manure… Following which, she didn't give any consideration to furen who had just given birth; during the winter season, she commanded her people to open the windows. During the one-month confinement period following childbirth, how could furen bear the cold wind? Furen had already gotten sick from anger, but after the brief period of one month, she was gone!"
Xia mama covered her expression of suffering, while Yun Qian Meng's face slightly went pale. Her tightly pursed lips led people to become aware that she was enduring the pain in her heart, as she firmly held back her tears in front of everyone.
Behind her, Mi mama was already quietly sobbing, then knelt down before Yun Xuan Zhi and blurted out, "Xiangye, this humble servant is also guilty. Back then, my son had committed a crime, Su yiniang said she would be able to clear him of the charges on the condition that I left xiangfu. That's why I left the pregnant furen behind! If I had not left at that time, gongzi might already be a grown man right now!"
Afterwards, Mi mama incessantly knocked her head against the ground, kowtowing at Yun Xuan Zhi.
Yun Xuan Zhi was already furious at this point, and the veins on his forehead were threatening to burst. His lips were pursed yet he was unable to utter any words, his bloodshot eyes flickered with a blood-thirsty light as he stared at the two in front, following which he pointed at Mi mama and said, "Go inside! Bring Wang mama to me!"
Seeing her own son so furious, the old madam anticipated that Wang mama would be out of luck, and she secretly delighted. Yet her face was wearing a sorrowful expression as she said, "They were heartless people, what a waste to call them humans! They didn't even let my grandchild off! If the child was alive, he would already be a man who could support himself, Son, don't be so bothered over having difficulties with an heir. I originally thought you could not conceive a son because our Yun family didn't have enough good karma. As it turns out, it was all because of those vicious people full of hatred and jealousy that had caused the misfortune. We still don't know how many more children had suffered secretly in the dark!"
The old madam pinched a handkerchief in her hands, wiping off the glistening teardrops that squeezed out from the corners of her eyes.
Yun Xuan Zhi's expression grew all the more gloomy, he had an arm supporting his weight on the table, its knuckles already white, clearly showing how great the anger Yun Xuan Zhi contained inside his heart.
Inside, Wang mama was completely unaware of the events that were transpiring in the outer room. She left the inner room, being dragged by Mi mama and saw the extremely ugly expression on Yun Xuan Zhi. She thought he was still concerned about the child's situation, and immediately she reported, "Xiangye, Nie taiyi is still inside giving medical treatment to shaoye, would you like to go inside and take a look-"
"Wang mama!" before she could finish her statement, Yun Xuan Zhi coldly interrupted her.
Wang mama immediately lifted her head to look at Yun Xuan Zhi and found something odd in his expression, the excessively calm expression seemed to contain the unbearable anger. Wang mama looked around the rest of the people in the outer room. The old madam was sneering at her, Yun Qian Meng's face was as cold as ice, while both Xia mama and Mi mama stared at her with such hostility.
Suddenly with a loud thump in Wang mama's heart, she now understood that the worst had happened, so she immediately knelt down on the ground, crawling but not daring to lift her head.
"Wang mama, you are the old mama who's always by Su yiniang's side. You followed her from Su fu when she entered xiangfu. Keeping so close to Su yiniang, presumably, no one knows better than you what Su yiniang does." Before Yun Xuan Zhi could say anything, the old madam was quick to speak.
Although Wang mama was just a nucai and her position was not as highly respected as the old madam, all these years of staying beside Su Qing while she handled the matters inside the xiangfu, her abilities were incomparable to the old madam's. Although she knew that something bad was going to happen, on the surface she still did not seem confused or panicked. After hearing the old madam's words, Wang mama said in a low voice, "Su yiniang has served xiangye with all her heart all these years. With great effort, she perfectly handled all matters within xiangfu, anyone with eyes can see that. Nubi was just merely helping Su yiniang while staying by her side, just this and nothing more."
Bang!
Yet unexpectedly her words led Yun Xuan Zhi to violently beat the tabletop, as he flew into a rage and rushed towards Wang mama, pointing at her, he cursed, "You heartless old thing, what did furen do to you that made you follow yiniang's urge to murder furen's shaoye?!"
Wang mama's heart suddenly went cold at Yun Xuan Zhi's interrogation, she then looked at Yun Qian Meng, who was staring back at her with eyes that were as cold as black jade. The extremely cold gaze gave rise to fear inside Wang mama's heart, yet she knew that she could never admit to this accusation, if she did so, this criminal charge would not only implicate her furen, but even the second xiaojie and shaoye's futures would be completely ruined.
With what was at stake, Wang mama immediately crawled to Yun Xuan Zhi's feet, pulling at the corner of Yun Xuan Zhi's clothes and wept, "Xiangye, where did you hear of this rumor? Our yiniang has devoted herself wholeheartedly to you, why would you suspect her? I
n order to give birth to shaoye, she is still in a coma right now. If she woke up and learned that you are wrongly accusing her, yiniang would be deeply hurt. Xiangye, how can you believe the words of others without any evidence? They might be jealous of yiniang giving birth to a son and played tricks behind the scenes. If xiangye believed them so easily, don't you think yiniang will certainly be sad?"
Wang mama then tearfully and loudly wept, causing the audience to be so fed up with her.
But Wang mama was extremely clever; since she did not name the person who might have exposed her, there was no way to make her to confess without being pressed. Then, she made mention of Su Qing, who had recently given birth. The angry look on Yun Xuan Zhi's face somewhat decreased a bit compared to what it had been few moments ago, while his eyes looked at Yun Qian Meng with more skepticism.
Yun Qian Meng calmly looked back at Yun Xuan Zhi, following which she indifferently said, "Wang mama, you know very well that your yiniang needs to rest in silence. What a scandalous act you are committing, being noisy out here. Is this part of Su fu's customs, or xiangfu's customs? With so many masters here, the arrogance of a nucai like you surely surpassed your master's. A wicked person like you who doesn't respect the hierarchy of seniority, who knows what other atrocities you would dare to commit?"
Every word that came out from Yun Qian Meng's mouth was deadly, every statement contained a hidden dagger, and suddenly Wang mama's face went deathly pale. But before she could argue back, Yun Qian Meng quickly added, "In father and grandmother's presence, you are still quite presumptuous. Who knows how arrogant you are without the presence of your masters? Besides, Shang Guan mama of Chu xiangfu is also here, what a scandal for you to make a big fuss now. Are you deliberately causing Yun xiangfu to become a joke in front of other people, or you cannot bear to see me do well before I will be married into Chu xiangfu? Did you want everybody to see that I'm not able to control a nucai?"
Yun Qian Meng was now breathing harshly, her face was a bit ghastly, and her cheeks were slightly blushing. It was clear to everyone that she was angry. How else would she get mad at a servant so sternly and harshly, and at odds her usual calm composure?
Yun Qian Meng had stirred up Yun Xuan Zhi's emotions. He knew that since Su Qing had always been his favorite, the servants beside her were domineering. But today, in the presence of the old madam as well as Shang Guan mama, Wang mama still did not curb her arrogance, costing him his reputation. For a moment, all the anger in Yun Xuan Zhi's heart came rushing out towards Wang mama, he called Liu huwei inside to drag Wang mama out and beat her thirty times.
Immediately, the sound of wooden bench shifting echoed in the courtyard, and after a few moments, the sound of wood beating upon flesh could be heard. Lesson learned from a while ago, Wang mama did not dare to shout loudly, and could only firmly clench her teeth to endure the beating on her body with all her might.
It was during this moment that Shang Guan mama stood up and spoke in a solemn tone, "Since Yun xiang is handling family matters, nubi will just take my leave."
Yun Xuan Zhi immediately nodded his head, permitting the old women outside to see Shang Guan mama off.
But before leaving, Shang Guan mama caught a glimpse at Yun Qian Meng and immediately stood still. Her eyes stared at Yun Xuan Zhi respectfully but with great determination, then she coldly said, "Yun xiang, nucai has something to say, may I speak it?"
Although Yun Xuan Zhi wished that Shang Guan mama would leave already, Chu xiangfu and Chu wangfu were behind her, thus he had to be respectful towards her. He nodded and said, "Speak it, mama."
Shang Guan mama bluntly said, "Xiangye, based on the today's matter, whether true or not, in my humble opinion, the eldest xiaojie has suffered quite a lot. You cannot allow a nucai to bully her master. If the master is weak and the nucai strong, they would certainly not respect their master. It will cause the wicked ones to ignore their master and disregard the one who is really in charge of the house. Secondly, if the incident the two mama mentioned were true, then I request xiangye to handle this matter justly, so as not to let the eldest xiaojie remain wronged. In less than half a year, the eldest xiaojie will be married into Chu xiangfu; in the future she could become Chu wangfei. Xiangye, you must not give in to your selfish desires and ruin your relationship as father and daughter. That is all what I had to say, I shall take my leave now."
Shang Guan mama slightly bowed her head towards Yun Qian Meng, then she stepped out of Feng He Yuan.
Yun Xuan Zhi's grew ashen and anger spread across his face. Without hesitation, he lifted the curtain to the inner room and stepped inside.
Su furen was carrying the child and Nie taiyi was using needle and thread to stitch the child's arm back.
Faced with this situation, Yun Xuan Zhi could not bear to watch, so he immediately stepped forward then pitifully said, "Nie taiyi, this…"
Nie taiyi did not stop to glance back at Yun Xuan Zhi, but replied, "Even if we reconnect it, the child's arm has been damaged, but this way would attract less attention, that's all."
Yun Xuan Zhi looked at his pale son, watching him suffer from this kind of pain just a short moment after his birth, aside from the pain he felt in his heart, he was also thinking of Xia mama's words. If everything that Xia mama said were true, then Su Qing had already committed a grave sin, and his perfect son was already supposedly lost.
Bearing this thought, intense anger emitted from Yun Xuan Zhi's body. Even Su furen, who was beside him, felt it. She lifted her eyes to look at Yun Xuan Zhi; his face was gloomy, his eyes were fierce, and she could hear the echoing sound of wooden planks beating something. On top of that, Wang mama still had not returned after leaving a while ago. Suddenly, Su furen's heart felt that something was wrong. She feared that something serious would happen today...
Chapter 107: Part 1: Su Qing's Fallout | Chu Wang Fei
"Nie taiyi, you must be tired." When the wound was almost completely patched together, Yun Xuan Zhi coldly expressed his gratitude to Nie taiyi. The taiy only packed up his things back into the medicine box, then turned around and stepped out of the inner room.
"Thank you, Nie taiyi." That Nie taiyi had still come over to provide medical treatment despite his age prompted Yun Qian Meng to immediately stand from her seat and courteously express her gratitude.
Nie taiyi glanced at Xia mama and Mi mama behind Yun Qian Meng, then in a relatively gently tone, he voiced out, "Xiaojie, if in case you feel unwell again someday, just ask the mama beside you to come over to the Nie fu, don't trouble xiangye's huwei again."
Immediately understanding the implications behind Nie taiyi's words, Yun Qian Meng smiled and approached his side. She then turned to face the still seated old madam and said, "Grandma, granddaughter will accompany Nie taiyi out of the house."
The old madam eyed the cold as ice Nie taiyi, he seemed to be someone who was arrogant and disinclined to engage in conversation with others. He had not even greeted her when they met, much to her displeasure. Hearing Yun Qian Meng's words, she only waved her hand in annoyance, wishing the people she hated to quickly disappear from her sight.
With regards to the old madam's rude behavior, Yun Qian Meng merely smiled. Turning back to Nie taiyi, she gestured for them to leave Feng He Yuan.
"Yatou, what had happened to the child?" although Nie taiyi was extremely miffed with Yun Xuan Zhi and his people, faced with Yun Qian Meng, who looked exactly like Qu Ruo Li, he was unquestionably affectionate towards her.
A while ago, he had not inquired more in front of Yun Xuan Zhi because he was absolutely irate with Yun Xuan Zhi. Moreover, he felt that Yun Qian Meng's words were more trustworthy, so he asked the question that had been lingering in his heart all this time.
Sighing softly, Yun Qian Meng then briefly narrated the details of Su Qing's difficult birth, but made no mention of her involvement in Qu Ruo Li's death. It was, after all, still Yun xiangfu's family affairs. If it were to spread around, whether for Yun xiangfu or Fu Guo Gon
gfu, it would not bring the least bit of benefit.
After hearing Yun Qian Meng's explanation, Nie taiyi's brows wrinkled and his eyes held a little apprehension. "I'm afraid that child will barely survive. Staying inside the his mother's belly for so long, in addition to not being born naturally, and losing a large amount of blood, I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to survive."
Despite his extreme abhorrence towards Yun Xuan Zhi, Nie taiyi was a physician, this was an undeniable fact. Moreover, he was a physician with a parental heart, the child was only a newborn baby, indeed it was too pitiful.
After hearing those words, Yun Qian Meng also nodded her head.
The child was also born half a month earlier. After suffering from his mother's crimes inside her body, if he had died prematurely before his birth, that was as lucky as he could ever be. Even in modern times, premature babies had to undergo observation in a hospital before being discharged. In ancient times wherein the technology was further behind, how he would survive was a matter that would cause unending headache.
Yun Qian Meng walked with Nie taiyi away from the rear courtyard until they reached the guest hall. Nie taiyi then hopped onto the horse carriage of Nie fu, yet he did not immediately return to Nie fu, instead he instructed the driver to proceed to Fu Guo Gongfu.
"Xiaojie, let's go back to Feng He Yuan." Once Nie taiyi had already left, Mu Chun quietly reminded Yun Qian Meng as the light outside gradually grew dark.
"No, let's head back to Qi Luo Yuan." The incident today was already good enough and Su Qing was still unconscious. Even if they returned, there was nothing more they could do, so they might as well just be wasting time.
"Yes." Mu Chun helped Mi mama support Xia mama as they headed towards the direction of Qi Luo Yuan in a line.
The sky grew increasingly darker, when Yun Qian Meng failed to return after almost half a day, the old madam knew that she had already returned to Qi Luo Yuan. As for Yun Xuan Zhi, since he had gone into to the inner room, he had yet to come out as well, leaving only the old madam sitting in the outer room. She was indeed feeling somewhat tired already, acting a bit bored, she stood up with an indignant expression and left for Qi Luo Yuan.