Chapter 102 – Virtuous Concubine Dong
“Fifth Elder Sister, I think you knew well about what happened yesterday without my explanation. I heard that the old maidservant responsible for watching the front and back doors paid a special visit to my courtyard as if she wanted to talk to Nurse Mei privately. However, she was caught and escorted to grandmother’s place by Nurse Mei before she had a chance to say anything to her.”
Wei Qiuju’s face turned as pale as snow and her hands lost all their strength.
“Fifth Elder Sister, you’d better think about how you can get rid of your future identity as a concubine. If there’s a tough wife to suppress you, not only you but also your children will suffer from the fate of being born to a concubine. By then, Fifth Elder Sister, are you sure that your children will not hate you for having no self-esteem?”
The corners of Wei Yuewu’s lips curled into an icy smile. She narrowed her eyes slightly and said, “Is Second Aunt still willing to help you? Why don’t you go and beg that Imperial Academician Xie? Perhaps he will get soften-hearted and elevate you as his wife.”
If Wei Yuewu had fallen into the trap yesterday, she would be in a far more difficult situation than Wei Qiuju now. And Lady Li might even push harder to force her clear her name by committing suicide.
That was the plan of Lady Li and Wei Qiuju. Wei Yuewu didn’t believe that Wei Qiuju didn’t know the consequences of the plot. Thus, she didn’t save face for Wei Qiuju at this time. Seeing Wei Qiuju’s face becoming increasingly pale, the corners of her lips curled into a cold smile.
Those words sounded like thunderbolts, smashing onto Wei Qiuju’s heart so fiercely that she didn’t have the slightest bit of strength to fight back. How could she be willing to accept the fate that not only her but also her children were concubine-born? After all, she had painstakingly curried favor with Wei Qiufu and her mother with the sole purpose of securing a better marriage for herself.
Wei Qiuju stood there watching Wei Yuewu walking away. She stood where she was like a log. Her face turned from pale to green and became deathly gloomy in the end. Her hand holding her handkerchief kept trembling due to both anger and hatred.
Indeed, she had been the Second Lady’s begging her for help on this matter. She was willing to marry Xie Qingzhao, but only as his wife. She did not want to be a concubine and carried in a small sedan chair into the Xie manor.
However, Lady Li also had much on her mind at the moment. She didn’t have time for Wei Qiuju at all. She simply asked an old maidservant to send Wei Qiuju off without receiving her. Lady Li didn’t want to waste her time and energy on Wei Qiuju who was now useless to her.
Wei Qiuju was at her wits end. Now that she heard Wei Yuewu talking about the matter in such serious terms, she became utterly dejected. Her feet grew weak and her eyes looked expressionless. If Yueya hadn’t supported her on the side, she would fall to the ground.
Wei Qiuju gritted her teeth and collected herself. She no longer had the mood to argue with Wei Yuewu. She looked at the direction in which Wei Yuewu was leaving with a gloomy face and said to the maid Yueya, “Let’s go to the outer courtyard.”
“Miss, we can’t go to the outer courtyard. If the Madam Dowager finds out, she will break my legs.” Yueya was so upset that her face turned pale. She suffered quite a few floggings after that incident happened to Wei Qiuju. She was still a little limp now. When she recalled the expression of the old maidservant who executed the punishment, she was so scared that her entire body trembled.
“If you don’t go there with me now, I’ll break your leg immediately.” Wei Qiuju turned around and threatened Yueya fiercely as she walked forward.
“Mi… miss, who are we going to see?” Yueya didn’t dare to lag behind. She was so nervous that she couldn’t even speak fluently.
“Imperial Academician Xie.” Wei Qiuju gritted her teeth. After the incident had happened, she had thought it over and over. The first thing she thought of was to ask Lady Li to help her, because Lady Li also had a part in the plot against Wei Yuewu. Moreover, Lady Li was an elder on the surface. If Lady Li could stand on her side and testify for her, the Madam Dowager might think that it was an accident and reverse the decision of giving her to Xie Qingzhao as a concubine.
However, she didn’t expect Lady Li to be so heartless that she denied her a chance of meeting. She was all at sea now like a headless fly. She didn’t know to whom she could go and ask for help.
In the past, she would have thought of Wei Qiufu. However, ever since she saw that letter, she knew that Wei Qiufu and Xie Qingzhao were not only having an affair, but also likely to be the cause of the incident. She gritted her teeth with hatred. How could she seek help from Wei Qiufu again?
Just as she was out of wits and agitated, Wei Yuewu’s words reminded her. Right, there was no need to ask for help from anyone else. She could directly go to Xie Qingzhao. As long as Xie Qingzhao admitted that he had accidentally entered the backyard, or that he had been deceived into the backyard, he could help her out. As a matter of fact, she truly didn’t see Xie Qingzhao at that time.
As long as Xie Qingzhao was willing to change his attitude, the Madam Dowager would not necessarily force her to be a concubine. With this thought, Wei Qiuju was unable to hold back her excitement. She hurriedly went to the front courtyard with Yueya.
“Miss, Fifth Young Lady is really going to the front courtyard.” Shufei whispered to Wei Yuewu after seen through the shadows between the tree trunks.
The two of them hadn’t gone far. They happened to turn around a corner so they stood under several small trees, which had few leaves but many branches. The two of them had been standing between the branches. Because Wei Qiuju was utterly agitated, she didn’t notice those details at all, let alone Wei Yuewu who was standing there.
“Let’s go!” Wei Yuewu nodded, a trace of coldness flashing through her eyes. She turned around and walked towards the Madam Dowager’s Tranquility Pavilion.
Wei Qiuju wouldn’t give up right now without trying every means, so Wei Yuewu offered her a way that would help her drop the idea forever…
In this way, it would be easier for her to handle the subsequent matters.
Tranquility Pavilion was very quiet. The courtyard looked gloomy. It could be seen that the servants were walking lightly for fear that they would make some noise and disturb the Madam Dowager, who was resting inside.
Nanny Hong happened to lift the curtain and come out. Seeing Wei Yuewu, she immediately came over and said in a low voice, “Sixth Young Lady, the Madam Dowager was just talking about you.”
“How is grandmother?” Wei Yuewu asked softly.
“The Madam Dowager is well, but she was in a bad mood before the Fourth Young Lady sent news that she would be back soon. The Fourth Young Lady also sent a Buddha statue to the Madam Dowager. It’s said that the Fourth Young Lady begged an eminent monk for it for three days. The Madam Dowager once asked for a similar statue when she went there to worship the Buddha.”
Nanny Hong uttered those words with a smile. Her expression was not as serious as yesterday. It could be seen that Wei Qiufu was really capable of pleasuring the Madam Dowager. By using merely a Buddha statue, she succeeded in making the Madam Dowager relax from her worries. Even Nanny Hong seemed much more light-hearted.
“When will Fourth Elder Sister come back?” Wei Yuewu asked casually. A cold smile appeared on the corner of her light-colored lips. In the current situation, Wei Qiuju was useless, and Wei Qiufu couldn’t manipulate from afar anymore. Therefore, it was time for her to be back soon…
Since Wei Qiufu had offered her such a “big gift”, how would Wei Yuewu reciprocate?
“It should be soon, but I wonder who will come back first, Third Young Lady or Fourth Young Lady? The Madam Dowager has been thinking of the two young ladies these days.” Nanny Hong smilingly led Wei Yuewu to the door. A smart maid had already come up to lift the curtain for them.
After Wei Yuewu entered, she turned around the screen and saw the Madam Dowager dressed in dark green clothes sitting on the couch in the middle. The clothes were embroidered with an exquisite character meaning “longevity” and a black hem. The Madam Dowager looked pleasant, at least much better than last night.
Wei Yuewu curtsied to the Madam Dowager.
The Madam Dowager waved her hand as a signal for Wei Yuewu to come to her.
Wei Yuewu stood up and walked to the Madam Dowager’s couch. The Madam Dowager stretched out her hand and pulled Wei Yuewu to sit down. She looked at Wei Yuewu up and down in a sort of kind expression.
“Yuewu, your third elder sister and Concubine Dong are coming soon. Your mother has been dead for so many years, Concubine Dong has suffered a lot in order to take care of your father and accompany him at his post. Your father has no one else but only her to take care of him. Well, we have to acknowledge that Concubine Dong has done her duty faithfully even if that’s not so much meritorious!”
The Madam Dowager sighed. She held Wei Yuewu’s hand and patted her gently.
Wei Yuewu lowered her head, so it was difficult for people to see her expression clearly. A long while after the Madam Dowager finished her words, she slowly said, “Yes, Concubine Dong has indeed performed her duty well!”
A look of displeasure appeared on the Madam Dowager’s face due to Wei Yuewu’s slow response, but it was soon concealed by a smile.
“Perhaps your father will stay in the capital in the future. As Marquis Hua Yang, he doesn’t have a wife to serve him and that’s not proper. People will gossip. The mansion of Marquis Hua Yang needs a chief mistress. After all, your Second Aunt is not the official Marquise.”
After these words, the Madam Dowager closely observed Wei Yuewu’s expression. She believed that she had made it very clear. If Wei Yuewu was sensible, she would suggest at this time elevating Concubine Dong to the position of the wife of Marquis Hua Yang. Moreover, the Madam Dowager believed that Wei Yuewu would agree because this matter had little adverse impact on her.
Wei Yuewu was just a little girl who had been abandoned in a remote place. This matter actually did not require her consent. The Madam Dowager only wanted Wei Yuewu to make known her position.
Wei Yuewu saw through the Madam Dowager’s mind from those words. A hint of coldness flashed across her beautiful eyes. Sure enough, Concubine Dong was not contented and was so artful as to get the Madam Dowager into agreeing to elevate her to the position of a wife, despite her origin as a maid.
The meaning behind this was deep.
However, the more artful Concubine Dong was, the more suspicious Wei Yuewu became of the death of her birth mother. Concubine Dong was no less artful than Lady Li. How could she possibly start a quarrel with Lady Li when Wei Yuewu’s mother was giving birth? It was just because of the quarrel between the two that Wei Yuewu’s mother was panicked and had difficulty in giving birth.
Wei Yuewu was even sure that Concubine Dong wasn’t innocent. During so many years in which Concubine Dong served Marquis Hua Yang, no new concubine was actually accepted. Concubine Dong was just a concubine but she was able to do things that were even impossible for official wives. This showed how capable Concubine Dong was.
Therefore, no matter what, Wei Yuewu would not allow Concubine Dong to climb up to the position of a wife. Concubine Dong had better dismiss the idea of stepping on her to become the Marquise….
“Grandmother, you are right. I wonder which family’s daughter you are considering. My father is Marquis Hua Yang. He can marry even the first daughters of those big families.” Having made up her mind, Wei Yuewu lifted her eyes and smiled softly. She skillfully changed the topic of the conversation.
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