Chapter 379
~ THE RESTLESS EAST COURTYARD ~
Mu Yunyao had just finished eating and was about to rest when she heard Jin Qiao say that the East Courtyard was in an uproar.
“Do you know the reason for the ruckus?”
“In reply to Miss, it sounded like the Eldest Young Miss was very ill and had been burning in a daze. When she goes back, the Eldest Madam saw this scene. She felt distressed and blamed the Second Madam for purposely treating the Eldest Young Miss harshly when she was in charge of the house. Naturally, the Second Madam refused to comply. She even took out a list of the medicinal ingredients and recited the details of the meal that had been sent to the East Courtyard during this period of time to the Eldest Madam… The Eldest Madam did not believe her, saying that she wanted to seek the Old Madam to seek justice. Now, they are in Ning He Garden.”
Mu Yunyao chuckled, “Don’t worry about it. Just close the courtyard gate and rest well.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Jiyue Pavilion was completely silent, but the other places were in an uproar.
The Eldest Madam spoke aggressively while the Second Madam wiped tears of grievance from her eyes. It wasn't until the second half of the night that Old Madame gave each of them a beating and was temporarily calmed down.
The next day, Mu Yunyao stood up early and paid her respects to the Old Madam with Su Qing. When she arrived at Ning He Garden, she found out that the Old Madam had a headache. She couldn’t get up from her bed, and she didn’t want to see anyone.
Mu Yunyao raised her head to look at the courtyard gate and worriedly said, “Wen Mama, you all must take good care of Grandmother. This headache is quite serious. You can’t let her take it on her own. If it’s always bad, you might as well ask an Imperial Physician to come over and take a look.”
“Yes, this servant will definitely pass on the message to the Old Madam.”
Mu Yunyao smiled and held onto Su Qing’s arm as she walked back.
When Wen Mama returned to the courtyard, she relayed these words to the Old Madam.
The Old Madam, who had been resting with her eyes closed, slowly opened them. Anger flared up in her eyes as she said, “Get someone to call Wenyuan over.”
Very soon, Su Wenyuan arrived. When he saw the Old Madam, his face was full of guilt. “Greetings to Mother. It’s all because This Son is not good and made Mother furious. It was so late, and we even caused a ruckus last night.”
“There’s no need to talk about pleasantries between Mother and Son. Right now, the most important thing is to settle Mu Yunyao’s matter first.” Mu Yunyao had actually gotten involved with Yue Wang and Grand Princess Yi De in the hunting grounds. Such a development made her feel uneasy and fearful from the bottom of her heart. She shouldn’t have a bright future. Because the more brilliant she was, the more dangerous the Su family would face.
Su Wenyuan couldn’t help but fall silent. After a long while, he finally said, “Things are getting more and more complicated. Even if we want to control it, we might not be able to to control.”
The Old Madam let out a deep breath. “Who would have thought that a young lady raised in the countryside would have the power to enter the eyes of the Emperor and even make Grand Princess Yi De look at her in a different light?”
Su Wenyuan sighed as well, “Currently, Grand Princess Yi De treats Mu Yunyao extremely well. She might even recognize her as her granddaughter. In that case, we can’t touch her even more. If we knew earlier, even if we had to take the risk at the beginning, we should have sent people to deal with them secretly.”
At first, they thought once Su Qing and Mu Yunyao arrived in the Capital and entered the Su family, even if they were sheep entering a tiger’s den, they would have no chance of escaping. However, no one expected that once they returned, they would cause chaos in the Su family as soon as they came back. Especially, Mu Yunyao was like a stone. They thought that she didn’t have great ability, but they didn’t expect that as long as she dared to speak her mind, she would be able to destroy a mouthful of their teeth.
The Old Madam twirled the Buddhist beads in her hands and creased her eyebrows in a headache: “Currently, Mu Yunyao has an overwhelming presence. In addition, the Fourth Prince expressing his affection for her, we absolutely cannot face her head on. We can only think of a way to deal with her slowly in the dark.”
“Mother, I thought that my wife would get rid of her, but who would have thought that they would not get even the slightest bit of advantage? Even Yuyi had suffered greatly. I wonder if Mother has any ingenious plan to solve this problem in her heart?”
“The Eldest Daughter-in-law has always been smooth sailing the entire way. She normally wouldn’t have much to show for it, but now she gradually loses her sense of propriety. You have to give her a good beating. If she continues like this, it will destroy Yuyi and Qingwu. As for Mu Yunyao, I have an idea....”
The Old Madam slightly closed her eyes, and the Buddhist beads in her hands moved even faster and faster, “October fifteenth is Mu Yunyao’s birthday. On that day, she will has a coming of age ceremony, and I will prepare to start a big event for her. It just so happens that Su You hasn’t done it because Su You’s body isn’t has good health, so let the two sisters do it together.”
“Mother, it’s not a problem for you to made coming of age ceremony event for them. It’s just that Su You’s body is too weak. Do you think Second Brother and Second Sister-in-law would agree?”
“Is it up to her whether she agrees or not, but we still have the final say?” The Old Madam opened her eyes and looked even calmer, “I will take care of this matter, so you don’t need to worry about it. As for Qingwu … had the Sixth Princess taken a fancy to him?”
Su Wenyuan nodded his head, “Yes, and it caused a huge disturbance. Zhang Wan from the Great Scholar’s residence is heavily injured and still unconscious by now.”
“The Eldes Daughter-in-law is confused, so you can’t be confused. In a while, get Qingwu to prepare a gift and personally visit the Great Scholar’s residence later. Our Su family must not bear the reputation of treachery.”
“Mother, Zhang Wan is seriously injured. We don’t know whether she could be cured or not? In serious comparison, the Sixth Princess is more beneficial to our Su family.”
The Old Madam frowned. “You have been a court official all day. Don’t you know how to be flexible? Our Su family cannot go back on our word, so we can only have the Zhang family take the initiative and give up the marriage. The initial reason we had arranged this marriage for Qingwu and Zhang Wan was because Great Scholar Zhang can be regarded as Qingwu’s teacher. He also has quite great influence in the Imperial Court. But these days are not the same as in the past. Since we have a better candidate, we can’t delay Qingwu’s future. Moreover, who knows if that Zhang Wan will be able to survive or not?”
“Mother, annulling the engagement is a big matter. Would the Zhang Family be willing to do so?”
“It doesn’t matter if the Zhang family is willing or not. The important thing is how the Sixth Princess does it, the Emperor dotes heavily on her, so it’s hard to avoid her becoming somewhat arrogant. If she comes out to be the villain, then it’s fine, but the Zhang family still dares to be dissatisfied with the Emperor?”
Su Wenyuan was still worried. “Mother, you know Qingwu’s character very well. That child values his feelings and keeps his promises. I’m afraid that he will reject the Sixth Princess and won’t be willing to give up on the marriage with Zhang Wan.”
“Don’t worry about it. Many things don’t come to an end if you insist. Qingwu will know how to choose. After you go back, you will comfort him, and also tell Yuyi to let her recuperate peacefully during this time and not to continue fooling around. No matter how foolish she is, if she doesn’t know her limits any longer and doesn’t know how to behave, our Su family won’t allow it either. She wasn’t the only young lady in the Su family. Yaxian saved the Sixth Princess. Yajing and Yaling have good appearances and are very obedient. If she still doesn’t know her importance, don’t blame me for not cherishing her.”
“Mother, you don’t need to worry. I’ll definitely teach Yuyi when I get back.”
“Mm, then go back.”After Su Wen Yuan bowed and left, the Old Madam snapped the beads in her hands and allowed the round beads to fall to the ground.
Wen Mama hurried over and picked up the Buddhist beads. “Old Madam, aren’t these your favorite strings of Buddhist beads?”
“In this world, one cannot avoid the inevitable. Wen Mama, go and get two volumes of the Buddhist scriptures. Tonight, I will transcribe them and pray for my granddaughter’s blessings.”
Wen Mama’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. “The Old Madam hasn’t had a good rest in the past two days. If you’re going to pray for Fifth Miss’s blessings, it won’t be too late if Madam do it later.”
“If I order you go, you will go. This can also be considered as doing grandmother’s last bit of kindness.” The Old Madam looked at the scattered Buddhist beads, a cold glint flashing across her eyes. Su You had received support from the Su family since birth. She had spent much silver for beautiful dresses and precious medicinal herbs, so it’s time for Su You to repay the Su family’s upbringing.
Wen Mama’s heart trembled even more violently, but she didn’t dare show it. After lowering her head in response, she slowly withdrew.