Chapter 88 – Instigation: Who Was Fooling Whom
The nun who had just come didn’t look at Wei Yuewu. She hurriedly walked over to support the other nun and said with concern, “Senior sister, you have poor health conditions. Why did you come here? Go back and have a rest.”
“I…” The nun turned her head, as if she wanted to say something to the other nun who had just arrived, but she was interrupted by the latter. “I know, I know. Senior sister, you think this young lady looks like one of your old friends. You’ll be fine after a rest.”
As she spoke, she helped and dragged the nun out.
The nun did not struggle and she was obediently led out. When she reached the side door, she turned around and left Wei Yuewu with an emotional look and tearful eyes before leaving the door.
Wei Yuewu frowned. A strange nun, very strange. It seemed that nun wanted to say something to her but didn’t make it. Wei Yuewu hadn’t heard that the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang had any connections with the nuns from the Plum Blossom Nunnery…
When she left the nunnery, Wei Yuewu received a few unique twigs with plum blossoms from the nunnery.
The carriage quietly arrived at the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Wei Yuewu returned to her own Lotus Courtyard first. She picked a beautiful vase and put the plum blossoms in it. She then let Huamo follow her to the Madam Dowager’s Tranquility Pavilion.
She was most surprised to see Wei Qiuju and Lady Li there too. Did this mean that Wei Qiuju was acquitted so that she was let out?
It must be said that Wei Qiuju was quite capable if she actually made the Madam Dowager let her out so soon.
The Madam Dowager sat on a couch and let Wei Yuewu sit down beside her with a smile. She praised, “Yuewu, how considerate of you to bring me plum blossoms.”
“Grandmother, I can’t take the credit. Those in the nunnery picked them for me.” Wei Yuewu looked shy and answered with a smile as she lowered her head. “It must be that grandmother offered a lot to the nunnery, so they picked such beautiful plum blossoms for me.”
She leisurely spoke those words of ceremony.
“The plum blossoms there are famous. I went there several times but never received any plum blossoms as gifts. It seems that Yuewu has strong bindings with the Buddha. She is a blessed girl.” The Madam Dowager smiled and sighed.
So that strange nun was not familiar with the Madam Dowager? Wei Yuewu’s eyes blinked. That emotional face was still lingering on her mind. From whichever perspective, there must be some special reasons behind that look.
“Surely Sixth Younger Sister is blessed.” Wei Qiuju was sitting at the side with an obedient look. She said softly, “I really envy Sixth Younger Sister for being blessed with such good fortune.”
“Indeed. Madam Dowager, don’t indulge in your happiness alone. Tell Yuewu about the other good news that we’ve got today. Let her share the joy.” Lady Li put on a good show today. She called Wei Yuewu by “Yuewu” in an affectionate tone, as if she hadn’t had any grudge against Wei Yuewu because of Wei Yan.
An outsider would be led to think Lady Li treated Wei Yuewu very well.
Good news? The corners of Wei Yuewu’s lips curled up slightly and a trace of coldness flashed in her eyes. What made Lady Li happy must be something she would be unhappy about.
“Second Aunt, what is it?” Since Lady Li acted normally, of course Wei Yuewu should respond in a generous way. Both of them chose to selectively forget about their past feuds.
“Let your grandmother tell you.” Lady Li said smilingly.
‘”Your father will be back soon, together with Concubine Dong and your third elder sister. You and Qiuju go to see their courtyard later. If anything is needed there, make it up immediately. I wonder if they will be staying for a long time. Otherwise, they will have to go again with your father and won’t be able to stay for many days.”
The Madam Dowager looked like a loving mother who doted on her son and her face was all smiles.
The Madam Dowager wanted her to prepare the courtyard for the concubine? Wei Yuewu sneered in her heart. It was always the concubine who prepared chambers for the wife and the direct descendants. Since when had this rule been reversed? When she, the first daughter of the mansion returned, she was received in a lukewarm manner. However, the concubine and her daughter were valued so much by the Madam Dowager.
It seemed that this Concubine Dong was indeed occupying unique positions in the Madam Dowager’s heart. Nanny Han had said that Concubine Dong was once the Madam Dowager’s chief maid and had a close relationship with the Madam Dowager.
“Grandmother, are Father and Third Elder Sister are coming back? That’s great. I can’t even remember what father looks like.” Wei Yuewu sneered in her heart but her face did not reveal anything. Only the corner of her lips curled into a faintly sad expression.
The smile on the Madam Dowager’s face froze. Actually, Wei Yuewu’s return deserved to be a grand event in the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Even though it was rare for Marquis Hua Yang to come back, he would at least return once a year. By contrast, Wei Yuewu was cold-shouldered when she returned for the first time after being away for so many years.
“Yuewu, it’s great that you think that way. Actually, Lord Marquis has always been thinking about you. He has been busy with the matters at the border and has no time to look after you. But that’s not a problem now. Lord Marquis is coming back and so are Concubine Dong and Yuejiao. Madam Dowager will be happy to see you and your family gathering together.”
Lady Li saw the Madam Dowager’s expression and immediately came to her rescue. She smilingly uttered those words to Wei Yuewu. However, her words were actually sarcastic. They were husband and wife, and father and daughter. What was she?
They had been living together during these years, whereas she was abandoned for so many years. When did this father ever think of the daughter of his first wife?
Nanny Han had said that Marquis Hua Yang had a deep affection for Mother and that he even disobeyed the Madam Dowager’s wish and insisted on marrying Mother. Wei Yuewu truly despised a man like Marquis Hua Yang. If he could not protect Mother, why must he marry her?
And he had never investigated seriously after Mother had died. Instead, he cast his daughter aside and ignored her, and went to lie with his concubine, who had caused Mother to have a difficult labour. What he did was truly despicable.
“Second Aunt, you are right. I will go to Third Elder Sister’s courtyard with Fifth Elder Sister to see if there is anything we can help with.” Wei Yuewu smiled very gently. She would like to see what Lady Li was up to this time.
“Alright, alright. Then you two go first. I have something to discuss with your Second Aunt.” The Madam Dowager nodded repeatedly with a smile.
Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiuju stood up to take leave of the Madam Dowager and walked out together.
As the two of them walked on, Wei Qiuju raised her face with a pitiful look and asked Wei Yuewu in a low voice, “Sixth Younger Sister, did anyone try to harm me that day?”
“Why did you say so, Fifth Elder Sister?” Wei Yuewu glanced at Wei Qiuju, who looked as weak as a little chrysanthemum in the wind. A trace of coldness flashed in her eyes. When Wei Yan plotted against her that day, Wei Qiuju was not innocent at all and she even wanted to throw her out together with Wei Yan.
What a hypocrite this delicate- and fragile-looking Fifth Young Lady was!
“How on earth did that happen? And where did that man come from? I heard he ran away. I fell into the river but he slandered you. It’s obvious that someone must be jealous of us.” Wei Qiuju said as she gritted her teeth.
How could she not harbor resentment? She had calculated everything. However, in the end, the other two were alright and she took all the responsibilities. She had been severely reprimanded by the Madam Dowager and confined in the deserted family temple. She still remembered the mocking words of the two old maidservants keeping the temple.
Whenever Wei Qiuju thought of their words, her hatred toward Wei Yuewu soared in her heart.
Wei Yuewu was the cause of all this. If she hadn’t returned to the mansion, none of the ensuing incidents would have happened. And she would not have fallen into the river and been carried ashore by a man. Although she was a concubine’s daughter, she always tried to climb to where Wei Yuejiao was. She believed that if Wei Yuejiao could receive the same treatment as the first daughter, she could too.
She would usually cautiously follow behind Wei Qiufu and did not dare to provoke Wei Yan. However, she was very dissatisfied with Wei Yuewu who had appeared like a bolt out of the blue. She felt that she herself was a real young lady of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang and was completely different from Wei Yuewu who came from a small place.
If she had been dissatisfied before, she was now totally jealous and resentful. Although she didn’t dare to hate Wei Yan, she thought that all her bad luck was because of Wei Yuewu. When she thought about the letter sent by Fourth Elder Sister, her belief was strengthened that it was Wei Yuewu who caused her to fall into such a situation that even two useless old maidservants at the family temple dared to laugh at her.
Fourth Elder Sister was right. Wei Yuewu’s arrival at the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang brought about sufferings for everyone. With Wei Yuewu being here, who could justifiably claim to be a young lady of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang?
Now that there was an opportunity for her, she would never let it go. Moreover, Second Lady had promised to persuade Third Lady to find a good match for her after their plan succeeded…
Wei Yuewu smiled faintly. She glanced sideways at Wei Qiuju and asked blandly, “That makes sense, Fifth Elder Sister. But who is that person?”
Wei Qiuju did not expect that Wei Yuewu failed to follow her mind when she made it so clear. She could not help cursing Wei Yuewu as an idiot in her heart. She was now more puzzled why she had fallen into the water that day. From the looks of it, could the reason be that Wei Yuewu was lucky, while she had bad luck because she was outshined by Wei Yuewu?
Fourth Elder Sister had divined correctly for her!
Since Wei Yuewu’s good fortune blocked her way, she wouldn’t relent. She had disliked Wei Yuewu, and now, she hated her more. If it wasn’t for Wei Yuewu, she wouldn’t be in a situation like this.
Wei Qiuju looked around. The two maids were following behind a few steps away and there was no one else. She carefully leaned closer to Wei Yuewu and whispered in her ear, “Sixth Younger Sister, I think it’s Second Elder Sister.”
“Second Elder Sister?” A trace of coldness flashed in Wei Yuewu’s eyes under her long eyelashes when she saw this series of actions of Wei Qiuju. This Fifth Young Lady, who looked like a pure white lotus, was indeed good at acting. She did not dare to provoke Wei Yan, so she pushed Wei Yuewu out to bear the brunt, hoping to cause destruction to both Wei Yuewu and Wei Yan.
“Yes, it must be Second Elder Sister. Just think about it, Sixth Younger Sister. I was unconscious after I fell into the water and your reputation was tainted. That rascal who came out of nowhere said that he had a good relationship with you, but he actually didn’t know you at all. Both of us were landed in serious trouble. Only Second Elder Sister was fine. Isn’t it very obvious as to who set us up?”
Wei Qiuju acted like she was whole-heartedly considering for Wei Yuewu and was on Wei Yuewu’s side. She put on an indignant look. “Sixth Younger Sister, you are the most respectable young lady of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang. Second Elder Sister must be jealous of you. I guess you don’t know the thing between Second Elder Sister and Marquis Jing Yuan. In fact, their relationship had begun long ago.”
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