Chapter 72 - Offense Is The Best Defense 3
Chapter 72 – Offense Is The Best Defense 3
Commander Yuàn's mansion.
Xiao Nuan seeing that she got everyone's attention took her performance up a notch. She looked at Su Liya sorrowfully and cried out once again "Liya, my dear daughter. How I missed you!'
Su Liya was shocked by the over the top performance put on by Xiao Nuan, everything from her speech to her actions was all heated at garnering people's concern. Su Liya was impressed by the level of acting the women in this world could put on. It was like they were in one big telenovela, they were all seasoned actresses.
Take this mother of hers, for example, look at her rolling herself on the ground like she had been informed that her husband was dead. Su Liya was starting to pity the original owner of this body. Her life was hard, first, she was abandoned by her father before she was born, then it was her mother… It was no surprise she turned out the way she did.
Xiao Nuan was shameless, hear she was trying to get people's sympathy and the leach off on her "daughter's" new power to better herself. She didn't even care that her actions could hurt Su Liya, all she cared about was herself and her sons. Since the shameless woman made sure to key in her two sons into her cries.
All these years, Xiao Nuan didn't do well for herself. She managed to give birth to both an heir and a spare for her husband. However, it seems that even with her achievements, Xiao Nuan had gotten greedier.
If her performance today was anything to go by, she was aiming for something else but just what? Su Liya thought as she watched her supposed mother roll around silently. She watched Xiao Nuan like she was completely detached from the whole mess. It was easy to see that Su Liya had no intention of responding to her mother's cries
"Her mother" didn't hold back in her actions but instead got louder and more active. Su Liya felt so weird calling someone 'her mother' maybe because she had never called anyone that in her life. It was amusing that during her stay in this world she had somehow acquired two different mothers, none of whom seemed to have her best interest at heart.
Growing up she has always wished to understand the feeling of having a parent, someone who cared for your well-doing. However, as she got older age had come to accept that such things weren't possible for her. She wasn't lucky to her that umbrella of protection that most people overlooked. It just wasn't her faith.
Su Liya wasn't the only one irritated by Xiao Nuan's act, Eldest madam Yuan nearly exploded with anger. This little slut, that had been an eyesore for years for her was trying to ruin her relationship. She dared to show herself in this place, it was bad enough that she had to tolerate her devil's spawn of a daughter but now she was stomping on her reputation.
The other madams didn't bother to hide their disgusting expressions, she could hear them point at her. The main wife was responsible for giving birth to an heir for her in-laws but in the years she had been married, she had failed to do that. She had to tolerate her husband's continuous affairs and Mistresses.
However, like a cruel trick of faith, only this b***ch Xiao Nuan and the younger madam Lu had given birth to male children. This was her "shortcoming" as her mother-in-law put it since she couldn't give her husband a child, she could only tolerate all the new women put into his side Courtyard.
This little act was planned by this Xiao slut to use her daughter's new position to get her son to choose as the heir to the Yuan family. Whether knowingly or unknowingly this new Princess had ruined her reputation and for the part, she played in this she must pay double the price.
Eldest madam Yuan brought her handkerchief up to her mouth and said "Aiyo little sister Xiao, please don't be like this". She looked to her fourth sister-in-law who stood by the side and caught her eye. This sister-in-law was married to the last son who shared a mother with her husband.
The fourth madam was from a third-ranked official household and wasn't as high ranked as her eldest sister-in-law in the family. She usually just acted as the eldest madam attack dog, she jumped forward and said
"Princess, please don't little madam Xiao's words to heart. She is just being emotional, you see madam Xiao lost her child many years ago and hasn't quite recovered from the loss. If her child was alive, she would have been around your age".
Xiao Nuan seeing that the two women were trying to undermine her words and turn her into a mentally unstable woman rose her voice higher. "When did I lose my daughter? My Liya was never dead, she was kept away from me because of you" she pointed at eldest madam Yuan.
"You were jealous of my daughter and me, so when the vice-minister left for official duty, you kicked us out of the mansion. If the vice minister didn't find out about my condition and try to find us….. I don't know what would have become of me and my Liya!!"
Eldest madam Yuan couldn't hold still anymore when she heard Xiao Nuan accusations. She pointed at Xiao Nuan at shouted "you you you lying thing when did I ever kick you out. Weren't you a foolish servant who used tricks to seduce your master and pass off another man's child as his? Do you think we don't know what you did, you were never pure when you jumped into my husband's bed!"
"I was a maiden when the master favoured me, you were just jealous that I got pregnant before you and spread false information about me. You are a malicious woman, because of your lies I was forced to be separated from my daughter. My daughter didn't get to grow up with a complete Family because of you!"
The louder they were the more the commotion could be heard by old madam Yuan and the high ranked wives of powerful court officials such as madam Lu and Zhu Fengyin who were seated inside. Old madam Yuan slapped the arm of her chair in anger and walked out of the pavilion.
The rest of the madams inside followed her to find out what was causing all the noise. They overheard Xiao Nuan's words as soon as they came out.
Eldest madam Yuan didn't notice old madam Yuan's presence and rushed forward to give Xiao Nuan a loud slap. "Xiao Nuan you bitch. How dare you slander your betters. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, you and the princess are really capable. She even managed to seduce a capable general, what a good mother and daughter pair".
As the side Su Liya could feel a headache coming along, she had been forced to endure this human torture at the hands of these women for nearly an hour. She was close to losing her patience and going grande level explosive on these annoying women.
Zhu Fengyin quickly got the gist of everything after just a few minutes. She didn't know what the Yuàn family was up to, her main interest was to de-escalate the whole mess before Su Liya and the Lu family's reputation was destroyed.
She walked forward quickly and from the balcony of the pavilion shouted "ENOUGH!!" The shouting stopped completely out everyone turned to look at her. Now that she had their attention, Zhu Fengyin walked to the centre of the whole mess. The Madams and other females guests patted aside and made way for her.
Soon she was in the midst of the four women, Eldest madam Yuan saluted her " Your Grace"
Xiao Nuan was quite knowledgeable of the major guest invited to the garden party. As soon as she recognized who this was, she rushed forward and grabbed Zhu Fengyin's hand. "Your Grace, please upload justice for me!"
Zhu Fengyin shook Xiao Nuan hands away with force, knocking her to the ground. She looked down her nose at the Xiao Nuan "How dare you a concubine speak when your betters are speaking!"
Eldest madam Yuan's heart gladden when she heard that, however, Zhu Fengyin's next words wiped the smug smile off her face.
"Eldest madam Yuan, is this how you teach your servants? To be unruly and lack respect for social norms!"
"I apologize, your Grace, for not teaching my servant well" Eldest madam Yuan replied with a stiff smile. She was embarrassed to be spoken to this way, by someone younger. Even if Zhu Fengyin was higher than her in social ranks, it was still a hard pill to swallow.
Xiao Nuan still wanted to push her propaganda and brought up the fact that Eldest Madam Yuàn made her abandon her daughter. She was expecting Zhu Fengyin to support her since she heard that Zhu Fengyin and Su Liya were close but she was surprised when instead Zhu Fengyin rebooked her in the most painful way possible.
"When did her highness get a mother like you, last I checked the Yuàn family nor you do not have a daughter in their genealogy. So where are these fantastical accusations of you coming from? According to every records the Princess is her highness, the Empress daughter. She is recorded under the royal genealogy, are you trying to accuse his majesty of lying?"
Xiao Nuan immediately fell to her knees "I don't dare, your Grace. Please forgive me, I was just a little mistake" she turned to the silent Su Liya and bowing low said "my apologies your highness".
Zhu Fengyin glanced from Xiao Nuan to eldest madam Yuan, fourth madam Yuàn had slipped off a little after she made her presence know. Zhu Fengyin grabbed Su Liya's hands and said "if there is nothing else, we will take our leave".. She pulled Su Liya away.