Chapter 115 – The Weird Mother-Son Relationship
Wei Yuewu looked out of the window again and didn’t find anyone. She put away the jade thumb ring, turned around to close the window, and quietly stood in front of the window for a while before going back to bed.
As she leant against the bed, she picked up the jade thumb ring with her slender fingers and put it on. It was a little large for her, but wasn’t too large. It was obvious that the fingers of the owner of the jade thumb ring weren’t thick either. It was more likely to belong to a girl.
Would a girl wear a jade thumb ring? Wei Yuewu frowned. At least she had never seen one before. Basically, jade thumb rings were worn by men. Women usually wore ordinary rings. However, judging from the size of this jade thumb ring, it did not look like one that was worn by men. The small size seemed to be only fit for a woman’s thumb.
Of course, there was another possibility: the finger of a boy, a boy who was still growing up. Such a boy could also wear this jade thumb ring. Nevertheless, did that have anything to do with her?
Why did it appear at her window in such a strange way? This way inexplicably reminded Wei Yuewu of the box that her maternal grandmother had sent her. Where was the mansion of the Prince of Bei’an, which was mentioned in the note left behind by her mother? She had asked Nurse Mei to inquire about it these past few days.
However, Nurse Mei shook her head first and after going out to inquire about it, she failed to obtain any clue whatsoever.
As for the Crown Prince, Wei Yuewu didn’t know what he had to do with her mother. Why would mother cry before that piece of paper? The Crown Prince Wen Tianyao could not possibly have anything to do with mother. Yet why was mother so sad when she wrote his name down?
After thinking for a while, Wei Yuewu still felt confused. However, she was certain that someone had deliberately placed this jade thumb ring at her window to let her discover it. She was surprised when realizing that someone was secretly spying on her.
She then put the jade thumb ring into the box that her mother had left her.
If someone wanted her to find this jade thumb ring, did it mean that some matters would slowly surface? She always felt that there was a big secret in it, a secret that was evidently related to her. It seemed imperative for her to go to the Plum Blossom Nunnery. She had to ask those noble young ladies of aristocratic families about the mansion of the Prince of Bei’an.
She believed that her trip to the nunnery would be fruitful tomorrow.
The next day, Wei Yuewu did not wake up early as usual. Instead, she was woken up by Jin Ling. The reason she was waken up was that Wei Yuewu would normally have gone to greet the Madam Dowager at this time. But today, she was not only going to greet the Madam Dowager, but also going to watch a good show. Jin Ling was afraid that Wei Yuewu would be late, so she specially came to wake her up.
As usual, Wei Yuewu took two mouthfuls of porridge after washing up and went to the Madam Dowager’s courtyard with Shufei to pay her respects.
When they arrived at the Madam Dowager’s courtyard, they saw a few old maidservants lowering their heads, each looking nervous.
Seeing Wei Yuewu coming, someone went to report to Nanny Hong. Nanny Hong immediately came out and whispered to Wei Yuewu, “This morning, the old maidservant that kept guard over Qianxi came to say that Qianxi tried to commit suicide by hanging herself. Fortunately, she was found in time. Otherwise she would have died. After we saved her, she said that she would tell everything to the Madam Dowager. She had come here just now. Second Master is also inside.”
Her description of the event was quite brief, but Wei Yuewu understood it all. She immediately nodded and followed Nanny Hong in. No one noticed the coldness that flashed in her eyes.
Hanging herself and found in time? Yes, indeed she was found in time. If it weren’t for Jin Ling yesterday, Qianxi would probably have died a long time ago. What nonsense it was about finding Qianxi committing suicide in time.
The room was very quiet. The Madam Dowager sat in the chief seat. The Second Master sat on a side chair with a gloomy face. Qianxi knelt on the ground with messy hair and was crying. Seeing Wei Yuewu enter, the Second Master became even colder but couldn’t say anything. He just glanced at Wei Yuewu.
Wei Yuewu saluted the Madam Dowager first and then the Second Master. Then, she obediently went to stand behind the Madam Dowager. She lowered her head and did not say anything, but was actually paying attention to their words.
“You said that Lady Li asked you to do this? And you were almost hanged by someone sent by Lady Li?” The Madam Dowager asked with a sullen face.
“Yes, I’ve been Second Lady’s pawn for a long time. When I was serving Your Ladyship, Second Lady sent someone to deliver money to my family. My mother was sick and needed money urgently. I was grateful for Second Lady’s kindness and kept Second Lady informed about what happened at Your Ladyship’s place. Later, Second Lady sent me to Sixth Young Lady’s courtyard, so it would be convenient to take actions against Sixth Young Lady. ”
Qianxi covered her face and cried. There was a deep mark on her neck. One could tell at a glance that she had been strangled, with weals on her neck that looked black and purple.
“Madam Dowager, if you don’t believe me, you can go to my home and ask around. It’s always the servants around Second Lady who gave money to my mother.”
The Madam Dowager’s face turned ashen when she thought that Lady Li actually dared to secretly arrange a spy around her. She was the most powerful person in the inner courtyard of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Even though Lady Li had been in charge of the internal affairs of the mansion, she still had to ask the Madam Dowager for her opinions and consents on important matters. The Madam Dowager had been satisfied with Lady Li in this regard.
However, she did not expect that Lady Li actually dared to reach her greedy fingers toward her. So how could she not be angry?
What Qianxi said sounded true and logical. Qianxi even suggested the Madam Dowager to investigate the matter. It was obvious that the maid had spoken the truth. This kind of thing was not difficult to investigate. If Lady Li really gave money to Qianxi’s family, the coming and going of the servant who ran the errand would definitely be noticed by the neighbors. Therefore, Qianxi could not use this matter to trick the Madam Dowager.
Wei Luowu frowned at the side and asked, “If Lady Li asked you to hurt Sixth Young Lady, why did the pack of clothes end up in Wei Yan’s room?”
“I don’t know. I’m afraid I was in a panic and took the wrong clothes. I took the clothes from the sewing room. Second Lady instructed me to take them. There were quite a lot of people who were picking up clothes at that time. There were servants from Fifth Young Lady and Second Young Lady. The clothes were all packed in the same cloth. Perhaps that was why I took the wrong package. I didn’t know whose clothes I took.”
“After I brought them back, I didn’t dare to look at them any further. I secretly put the package into Sixth Young Lady’s room and thought that my mission was done. When Nanny Hong came to investigate, I deliberately knocked over the cabinet where the clothes were placed. I thought that I knocked out Imperial Academician Xie’s clothes.” Qianxi cried loudly.
The Madam Dowager turned her head to look at Wei Yuewu. After studying Wei Yuewu’s face for a while, she asked, “Yuewu, why did the clothes in that bag become your father’s clothes?”
Wei Yuewu answered calmly. “Grandmother, I asked about it after I went back yesterday. Shufei found the bundle when she was tidying up my clothes. She saw the clothes weren’t mine and put them aside and intended to send them back to the sewing room to ask whose clothes they were. I happened to be making clothes for father and wanted to find something suitable to wrap them up so they wouldn’t catch dust. So I used this covering and put father’s clothes in the bedside cabinet so that I could take them out whenever I want to do the needle work.”
“Didn’t you have anything suitable in your room to wrap up the clothes?” Wei Luowu asked coldly and looked at Wei Yuewu suspiciously.
“Second Uncle, I was making clothes for my father. I couldn’t use colorful materials to wrap up my father’s clothes!” Wei Yuewu smiled, her expression natural.
Wei Luowu was speechless at the answer. His face was still sullen and he didn’t say anything else.
“Madam Dowager, Second Lady knew that her scheme was brought to light and I was locked up, so she sent someone to take my life. Fortunately, I was lucky and saved. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to see you. Madam Dowager, I beg you to do justice to me.” Qianxi kowtowed heavily on the ground, tears rolling down her face.
“Take her away.” The matter was now clear. Lady Li wanted to scheme Wei Yuewu, but unexpectedly, Wei Yan became the victim. This could be considered as lifting a rock only to drop it on her own feet. The Madam Dowager waved her hand and Nanny Hong immediately took two old maidservants over to drag Qianxi away.
“Yuewu, Third Princess has invited you to the Plum Blossom Nunnery. You should set off now. Don’t be late, or Third Princess and other noble young ladies would laugh at you. Fortunately, your Fourth Elder Sister is also there. You sisters can take care of each other. Bring some extra clothes with you. Maybe you’ll stay with Third Princess for a few more days.”
The Madam Dowager rubbed her forehead and instructed Wei Yuewu with a tired expression, but she did not mention Lady Li at all.
“Yes, then I’ll be leaving.” Wei Yuewu obediently answered, as if what Qianxi had just said had nothing to do with her. After hearing the Madam Dowager’s words, she curtsied to the Madam Dowager and Second Master, and left with Shufei.
She made only one brief explanation in the entire process and remained silent afterwards, as if she had placed great trust in the Madam Dowager.
Wei Yuewu and Shufei left the courtyard one after another.
“Miss, will the Madam Dowager ask Second Master to divorce Second Lady?” Shufei asked softly.
“No!” Wei Yuewu shook her head as she cast a cold sidelong glance at the Madam Dowager’s courtyard. The corner of her lips curled into a trace of faint coldness.
“Why? Second Lady has repeatedly framed you and now Qianxi has testified against her. Why would the Madam Dowager continue to protect her?” Shufei said angrily.
“Nevertheless, she will make some gestures!” Wei Yuewu’s eyes grew slightly thoughtful. After all, there were Wei Ziyang and Wei Fengyao. How would the Madam Dowager easily cast off Lady Li for her sake?
However, even if Lady Li could avoid the fate of being divorced, she must face severe punishments. When Wei Yan was sent to Xie Qingzhao as his concubine as planned, there would be no strong reason for locking Lady Li up. If Lady Li played some tricks to persuade and convince the Madame Dowager, she would probably be released.
But under the current situation, the Madam Dowager must make a gesture to show her attitude. Father was coming to the capital soon! Recently, Wei Yuewu found that the Madam Dowager’s attitude towards father was really strange.
The Madam Dowager clearly wanted to elevate Concubine Dong to be father’s wife, but she couldn’t make the suggestion herself. That’s why the Madam Dowager had pretended to ask for her opinion on this issue. How was a mother supposed to take such an attitude towards his own son’s marriage?
A thought inexplicably flashed through Wei Yuewu’s mind. She couldn’t help but stop, her eyes filled with shock.…
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