Chapter 61 – Tamed: The Imperative Surrender
Nurse Mei stood at the side, looking panicked from the very beginning. She had been following Wei Yuewu all that time. Although she was a little far away from Wei Yuewu later, she had rushed to her immediately after the accident occurred. She witnessed how Wei Yuewu tricked that ruffian and even heard those soft and gentle words of hers.
Yet it was precisely because of those words that the Second Young Lady blurted out her underhand move and almost admitted that she had a hand in the accident.
It was to Nurse Mei’s great surprise that such a thirteen-year-old little girl could make the Second Young Lady lose her composure to let the cat out of the bag in that situation. Furthermore, Wei Yuewu even managed to control the situation and reveal nearly all the truth before the Madam Dowager arrived. Was this young lady in front of her really only thirteen years old? Was she really an ignorant girl who just came back from the countryside?
Nurse Mei heard Wei Yuewu’s question. She raised her head and looked into the young lady’s watery eyes. She shivered involuntarily, a trace of fear flashing through her eyes.
“Nurse Mei, tell grandmother and Second Elder Sister if anyone came to my courtyard and asked me to check on the pavilion. I was sick at the time. You were in charge of everything in the courtyard, right?” Wei Yuewu repeated her question with a smile.
Nurse Mei felt suddenly struck by a sense of dizziness. She looked up at the Madam Dowager who was sitting on the seat high above. Sweat appeared on her forehead. How was she going to answer this question? She could choose the Madam Dowager and the Second Miss’s side and reply that the supervisor had come to ask to see the Sixth Young Lady.
However, given the Sixth Young Lady’s intelligence, she might let the cat out of the bag if the young lady asked her more questions.
According to her knowledge of the Madam Dowager, if she really let the cat out of the bag, the Madam Dowager would not stand on her side but make her a scapegoat.
She was in charge of the courtyard at the time, and with three maids as witnesses, her testimony wouldn’t necessarily nail the Sixth Young Lady. When Nurse Mei recalled that the Sixth Young Lady handled things so well under that circumstance, a sense of fear arose in her heart.
On the other hand, if she said no supervisor had ever come, would the Madam Dowager continue to trust her in the future?
“Nurse Mei, tell grandmother and Second Elder Sister. They are waiting for your answer!” Wei Yuewu was still wearing a gentle smile. Her manners seemed almost elegant. However, such elegance only struck fear into Nurse Mei’s heart…
The Sixth Young Lady knew that she was the Madam Dowager’s confidant.
Nevertheless, she was still able to maintain her elegance and calmness. That pair of clear eyes carried a sense of profoundness, making people feel that she could see through one’s mind.
Wei Yan became impatient at this time. She frowned and scolded Nurse Mei, “Nurse Mei, hurry up and tell the truth. Grandmother is waiting up there!”
Actually, Wei Yan wasn’t worried at all about what Nurse Mei would say because Nurse Mei was grandmother’s confidant. Grandmother had obviously been partial to her. Therefore, she wasn’t worried that Nurse Mei would dare to refute grandmother’s words.
She was just vexed at Nurse Mei’s dawdling. From Wei Yan’s point of view, Nurse Mei was her grandmother’s confidant so she should stand out without hesitation and stand on her side to testify against Wei Yuewu. Now she had a new idea—it would make her feel good to punish Wei Yuewu for neglecting her duty.
Nurse Mei’s eyes shifted from Wei Yan’s impatient and scornful face to Wei Yuewu’s smiling and calm face. She gritted her teeth and made up her mind.
As things stood this way, she must say either yes or no. No third answer was left for her.
“Madam Dowager, no one came to the Lotus Courtyard to report to the Sixth Young Lady about the matter of the pavilion.” Nurse Mei did not dare to look at the Madam Dowager’s sullen face. Although she was sweating in her vest, she made her words clear.
“How is that possible? You’re lying.” Hearing Nurse Mei’s words, Wei Yan was stunned for a moment. She then became furious. She turned around and shouted those words at Nurse Mei, wishing she could tear the old woman apart.
Since she was scolded by the mistress, Nurse Mei lowered her head, not daring to speak.
“Second Elder Sister, do you think that Nurse Mei must be lying unless she said that someone did come over so that it would be my fault? Did you choose to believe what those supervisors said but not me, who is your sister and who is related to you by blood?”
Wei Yuewu responded to Wei Yan’s words calmly and looked at Wei Yan with a look of disappointment in her eyes.
Even though they were trusted servants, those supervisors were no more than servants. However, Wei Yuewu was the first daughter of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Instead of suspecting that the supervisors lied, Wei Yan was suspicious of Wei Yuewu who was her family member. It was indeed disappointing.
“Someone, take down the maidservants who were in charge. Give each of them twenty strokes.” The Madam Dowager’s heart skipped a beat when she heard Nurse Mei’s words. She was very surprised. Since Nurse Mei was her confidant, the Madam Dowager was sure that Nurse Mei knew she wanted to play down the impact of the incident.
However, she gave the punishment immediately with a cold snort.
The Madam Dowager knew that if she pursued the investigation, responsibility would finally fall on Wei Yan, by which time the situation would become more embarrassing. There were some things that couldn’t withstand an investigation. She might as well end the matter now and make those old maidservants in charge take the blame.
However, as much as she wanted to deal with the matter this way, Wei Yuewu had no intention of letting Wei Yan off the hook just like that.
She knelt down in front of the Madam Dowager. “Grandmother, if it were me who fell into the water, with that man saying again and again he had an affair with me, Grandmother, I guess I could only redeem myself with death! It’s only been a few days since I arrived in the capital and yet so many things happened. Grandmother, you’d better let me go back to my grandpa’s house!”
Wei Yuewu showed a bitter look on her face but she sneered in her heart. The Madam Dowager wanted to shift the responsibility from Wei Yan to the supervisors at this point. She didn’t even mention that ruffian-like man who appeared in the mansion from nowhere, as if there was no such a person at all.
The Madam Dowager’s eyes flashed with a trace of unease when she heard Wei Yuewu asking to go back. Her face immediately revealed a trace of kindness. “Yuewu, what are you talking about? You are the first daughter of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. No one can plot against you so easily. Help Yuewu up. Say no more about returning to your grandpa’s house. Now you have returned home, I will do you justice.”
Nurse Hong, who was standing at the side, immediately came to help Wei Yuewu up. She said with a smile, “Sixth Young Lady, Her Ladyship will be heart-broken if you leave. You stayed at your grandpa’s house for so many years. Every time Her Ladyship mentioned this, she would have tears in her eyes. If Lord Marquis hadn’t stuck to this arrangement, Her Ladyship wouldn’t have let you stay there for so long.”
Sure enough, the Madam Dowager’s attitude changed completely when Wei Yuewu asked to leave. And Nurse Hong’s words made it seem like the Madam Dowager treated her fairly well.
However, the Madam Dowager never showed any care for her during all those years. The only thing about her in the capital was the rumor of her being untalented and plain-looking. If the Madam Dowager really loved her, why was she in such a situation?
Wei Yuewu was helped up by Nurse Hong’s hands, and she looked towards Madam Dowager with evident sadness in her eyes. The topic, however, was abruptly changed to another one. “Grandmother, you know, the engagement between Marquis Jing Yuan and I is bound to be broken off anyway. If Second Elder Sister… really loves Marquis Jing Yuan, I… have no problem with that at all.”
The relationship between Mo Huating and Wei Yan was no longer a secret in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. The few people who stayed in the room were all trusted servants who would not talk about this outside the mansion. Wei Yuewu was of course suggesting that the Madam Dowager let Wei Yan take her place in the marriage.
However, the problem was that this was not the right time to talk about this.
Just as they were discussing who was framing Wei Yuewu, she abruptly said that the engagement between her and Mo Huating actually did not exist and that she had no problem at all if Wei Yan married Mo Huating.
All the words put together, it would occur to one that Wei Yan was the one who wanted to frame Wei Yuewu. Therefore, Wei Yan was ecstatic at first, but was then frozen, and finally she glared at Wei Yuewu hatefully gritting her teeth. Yet she knew that she could not say anything at this time. Otherwise, her grandmother might directly break off the marriage.
She set her mind on marrying Mo Huating, so how would she be willing to let the Madam Dowager dismiss the possibility?
“Yuewu, I will continue to investigate today’s matter and give you an explanation. When Qiuju wakes up, I’ll send her to do the Buddhist rituals with Qiufu together.” The Madam Dowager said with a frown.
In Wei Qiuju’s situation, she actually should marry that man. The two of them had hugged each other in public so tightly. Fortunately, it was winter. If it were in summer, with thin clothes, they could be said to have direct physical contact. Thankfully, Wei Yuewu had exposed the ruffian’s true identity and saved Wei Qiuju from marrying the man.
Nevertheless, it was a public disgrace. The Madam Dowager intended to send Wei Qiuju to a quiet place so that she could delay the discussion until this matter died away for some time. Anyway, it was true that Wei Qiuju was framed. Moreover, she was born by a concubine and didn’t weigh much in the heart of the Madam Dowager.
In the worst-case scenario, with the background of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, it wouldn’t be a problem to marry her to an ordinary wealthy man in the future!
“Thank you, grandmother.” Wei Yuewu knew that she shouldn’t reach out for a yard after taking an inch. Today’s incident caught the Madam Dowager off guard and even made her lose a most trusted servant. With the situation going this far, Wei Yuewu believed the Madam Dowager would give her an explanation. Her long thick eyelids flapped twice: the Madam Dowager’s attitude towards her was really suspicious…
Did the Madam Dowager really see her as her own granddaughter?
It seemed that she must step up her efforts in investigating some things…
However, for now, what she needed was the Madam Dowager’s statement of her stand. She glanced at Wei Yan whose face was filled with worry, revealing a sneer at the corners of her lips. In the present situation, it was Wei Yan who should be anxious.
The more anxious she was, the easier it would be for her to get into a mess. After all, Wei Yan had mentioned the drug powder in her letter…
Now the Madam Dowager had expressed her stand, she would naturally let Wei Yuewu go back to have a rest. As Wei Yuewu had said she was still sick, in order to show her care about Wei Yuewu, the Madam Dowager ordered a servant to send some medicinal ingredients over and even asked Nurse Hong to personally accompany Wei Yuewu back to the Lotus Courtyard.
Nurse Mei heaved a sigh of relief in her heart when she saw that she was out of danger along with Wei Yuewu. She secretly made up her mind.
After Nurse Hong left, Wei Yuewu looked at Nurse Mei with a smile and said, “Nurse Mei, thank you for telling the truth today.”
Nurse Mei clenched her hands a few times and suddenly knelt down in front of Wei Yuewu. “Sixth Young Lady, I… I will follow you with all my heart in the future.”
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