Chapter 122: Death

My grandfather is a typical male chauvinist. Even if he doesn't want it, he will allow others to get involved. As for the mistress, she probably wants to sell it, but she doesn't have the courage.

Cheng Weiyao was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice that there was another person sitting at the stone table in front of her. Wen Chengyun chuckled as he looked at Cheng Weiyao who was lost in thought.

"Is the matter of my aunt's divorce difficult for Madam?"

"There is some attention, but it's a little damaged."

Cheng Weiyao blinked and had already made up her mind. Judging from her aunt's situation and the character of her grandfather's family, the third option was more suitable.

The concubine is old and ugly, and the mistress dares not and despises to sell her for a good price. She is also alone and has no family to take her in. If she does not want the news to spread and cause damage to the family's reputation, she can choose to release the concubine and expel her from the house, leaving her to fend for herself, calling it releasing her.

"I'd like to hear more about it."

Wen Chengyun raised his eyebrows in surprise. With his wife's extraordinary intelligence, it should not be difficult for her to guess his grandfather's character from the few words he said at that time. It would be difficult for her to get a letter of release from his concubine!

Cheng Weiyao hadn't pinned any hopes on her grandfather showing mercy. As for the mistress, she probably wouldn't let him go easily if she had a docile servant to serve her. The best solution was to make her concubine completely useless, preferably one that required money to support...

"I can make some five-element counteracting medicinal food for Auntie to eat for a few days. She might experience some abnormalities in her body, but she'll be able to recover later. However, it might not be good to have a sickly reputation..."

Cheng Weiyao pursed her lips. Medicinal food is a required course for chefs, and the theory of the Five Elements' mutual generation and mutual restraint is its fundamental theory. Used well, it can nourish the body, but misused, it can kill people. Since she dared to bring up this idea, she must be very adept at handling medicinal food.

The difficulty lies in the fact that my aunt may not agree and her reputation will be damaged. My trip with Wen Chengyun in the evening will undoubtedly make my aunt's situation worse.

Not to mention how my grandfather views my aunt, the mistress of the house alone is most afraid of even more severe revenge...

"I'll go and persuade Auntie, you just do your job. But if it's just a minor fight, I'm afraid the family won't let you go easily, especially since the old lady is still alive. She's always been a tormentor!"

The sound of the door opening was suddenly heard, and the imperial concubine approached quickly with a worried look on her face. She had fallen asleep in a daze, but she dreamed that her aunt died of exhaustion at her maternal grandfather's house, and was wrapped in a hastily rolled mat and thrown into a mass grave. She was so scared that she woke up in a cold sweat.

As soon as she woke up and heard Cheng Wei Yao's idea, she immediately agreed without hesitation. No matter how important reputation is, it should be taken seriously while one is still alive. If one loses his life, it is useless to leave a chastity arch after death.

"Mother, you're awake. Why didn't you put on some clothes before going out on such a windy night? No matter how important Auntie's matter is, you have to take care of yourself..."

Wen Chengyun frowned, took off his outer coat and draped it over the Imperial Concubine, while the Imperial Concubine threw herself on Cheng Weiyao, asking for a definite solution.

"If it's the plague, then no matter how much the old lady tortures people, she wouldn't risk her own life to keep them alive, right?"

Cheng Wei Yao was slightly stunned, and then she vaguely remembered that there was indeed a hint of incense wafting from her grandparents' house. Even with such a commotion outside, the old lady was still able to keep her composure, which showed how cunning she was.

But the older people get, the more afraid they are of death. When they pray to gods and Buddhas, they are asking for wealth and glory or immortality. Given the old lady's age, the latter is more likely.

"Plague...isn't this a bit too much of a scare? It's easy to spread rumors, but it's hard to stop them."

The Imperial Noble Consort's face showed some hesitation. When she was still in the palace, she had heard about the great epidemic in the capital and the death toll reaching tens of thousands per day. Although she was protected in the deep palace and had never seen it with her own eyes, the phenomenon of "nine out of ten houses are empty and all the people in each household have died" became a nursery rhyme that could be often heard outside the palace walls for a long time afterwards.

If the disease is really that serious, not only will my maternal grandparents expel my aunt, I'm afraid the local government will also intervene if they hear about it.

"Don't worry, mother. My grandfather's family is so snobbish and cares so much about their reputation. How could they let the news of someone in the mansion being infected with the plague get out? Living under the same roof, if the news really leaked out, who would believe that they were completely innocent?"

Cheng Weiyao smiled confidently, and the Imperial Concubine nodded slightly. There was no other way at this point, so they had to try Cheng Weiyao's method first.

"Good things should be done as soon as possible. Mother, please send a letter of divorce tonight and ask your husband to deliver it to Auntie. We have angered my grandfather's family today, and I'm afraid it will be inconvenient for us to visit them in the future. These things can only be done in secret..."

Seeing that the Imperial Noble Consort had nodded, Cheng Weiyao decided to strike while the iron was hot. Women are soft-hearted and it is common for them to change their minds every day. The best way is to start without looking back.

The Imperial Noble Consort was also a person of action. She immediately took a pen and paper and wrote a long letter. At the end, she did not forget to bite her finger to leave a bloody fingerprint to express her pain as a mother and her heart as a son.

When Wen Chengyun arrived at his grandparents' house with the written letter, the small courtyard was quiet. In order to avoid suspicion, Wen Chengyun did not push the door open, but just called out softly from the small window.

Being disturbed by her grandfather, my aunt, who already had a light sleep, couldn't fall asleep anymore. She vaguely heard someone calling her name and got up to look over.

There was a letter stuck in the gap of the small window. The aunt glanced at Wen Chengyun, who was half in the dark, and vaguely recognized that it was the grandson who came during the day. She immediately stopped talking and just silently opened the letter and read it.

She originally thought that her daughter could not bear the pain of missing her daughter and sent her grandson to write a letter to comfort her. Unexpectedly, the letter contained not only overflowing longing and heartache, but also a plan to conceal the truth. The aunt's hand trembled slightly, and the letter fell to the ground.

This plan is risky. If one makes a wrong move, there will be no return. Exiles are not allowed to leave the place of exile. Once they step out, death is the only thing waiting for them.

"Grandma, you must face death before you can live again."

Wen Chengyun glanced at his grandmother through the moonlight, who looked somewhat like his mother, and gave a dry word of advice.

As soon as the word "grandmother" came out, my aunt was slightly stunned. She was trying to save face even if she couldn't make steamed buns.

She had been called "Auntie" for most of her life. Because she was a concubine, she could not call even her own daughter or grandson "mother" or "grandmother" with dignity.

She was already this old, but none of the younger generations were as insightful as her. The aunt realized this, picked up the letter that had fallen on the ground, and returned it to Wen Chengyun with a firm look.

She believed that since her daughter and grandson's family could come up with such a bold idea, they would certainly not despise her old age and frailty. If she stayed in the mansion with the old woman and the mistress of the first house, she would die anyway!