0003 Wuling Colors (Part 3)

The Shu Mansion is located in the northeast corner of Yonglefang. Although it does not occupy a large area, the courtyard design is ingenious.

Shu Fu's grandfather was passionate about garden design and loved Xie Lingyun's poetry. So when designing the Shu family mansion, he incorporated lines from Xie's poems into almost every part of the layout. The Yunxianju courtyard, where Shu Fu's matriarch, Madam Luo, now lives, embodies the line "Clouds and sun reflect each other, sky and water are clear and fresh."

Entering through the octagonal gate, one is greeted by a winding corridor. Beneath the corridor lies a large lotus pond, currently filled with withered branches and broken ice, offering little beauty. It is only in June or July, when the lotuses gracefully float on the clear water, that it becomes truly captivating. To appreciate the imagery of Xie Lingyun's poem, one must wait until a summer evening after a rain. At that time, the sky is bathed in a soft, orange-red glow, and the elegant lotuses, swaying gently in the radiant light, create a unique and serene beauty.

Luo was a beautiful woman in her thirties, wearing a light blue straight-collared top with a crane and cloud pattern on the bottom. She was slender, with gentle eyes and a black lacquered gilded sleeve in her hands. She leaned gently against the railing in the corridor pavilion, making people feel sorry for her.

Madam Luo's trusted confidante, Granny Li, walked over from the corridor with a displeased expression. She dismissed the other serving maids, leaned close to Madam Luo's ear, and whispered a few words, explaining in a few sentences what had happened at the Xu family's Spring Festival banquet.

Upon hearing this, Luo looked surprised.

“I always thought that Liang family boy was an exceptionally good young man, but who would have thought he would do something so shameful. My poor Afu, she lost so much face in front of so many people... Now, what message has the Xu family sent?”

Li Mama replied, "Madam Xu sent a maid to inform you that this matter was investigated behind the backs of the other guests. What the outside world knows is that the Third Miss was indiscreet and it did not implicate the Eldest Miss, but it was not kept from the Second Miss."

"Madam Xu really knows how to handle people," Madam Luo sighed. "Tomorrow, go to the storeroom and carefully select a gift to send to the Xu family."

At this point, Madam Luo suddenly paused: "You just said that the Second Miss knows the whole story?"

Granny Li remained silent, but nodded slightly at her.

Luo felt a sudden headache coming on and asked Li Mama, "Where is Afu now?"

"The gatekeeper delivered the message, and they should be on their way to Yunxianju right now."

"Quickly, help me into the house first, then go and get my white fox fur coat."

As soon as Shu Fu entered the main room of Yunxian Residence, she saw her mother, Madam Luo, wearing a thick white fox fur coat and leaning against a soft couch, while Granny Li sat on a small stool, tending to a pot of steaming tea.

Shu Fu stepped forward and bowed. As soon as she finished bowing, Luo Shi quickly pulled her up and invited her to sit on the couch.

When her mother's cool hand grasped hers, Shu Fu's pent-up grievances suddenly surged up. She buried her face in Luo's chest, her eyes red, and remained silent.

Madam Luo had a maid bring a handkerchief to wipe Shufu's eyes, and then gently coaxed her. After Shufu had vented her girlish emotions, Madam Luo asked her, "Why did you come back crying? Did someone wrong you at the Spring Festival banquet?"

Shu Fu then recounted the events of the banquet in detail, and finally turned her gaze to the maid, A Xing, who had been kneeling in the room.

“Please, Mother, deal with this girl for me. I’ve treated her fairly well, but she accepted favors from her elder sister and used my name to trick Brother Liang into seeing my third sister. After learning about their illicit affair, she even instigated me to lead a group of people to catch them in the act. She has utterly disgraced the Shu family. I dare not use such a servant again.”

After hearing Shu Fu's words, Ah Xing cried with tears in her eyes and kowtowed to her repeatedly: "Please forgive me, Miss. I have been loyal for many years. This time I was bewitched. I will never do it again. Please don't send me away."

Shufu ignored her sobs, turned her head away, and stared at the embroidery on the screen in the room.

Upon hearing this, Madam Luo's cold gaze fell upon Ah Xing. Ah Xing was terrified to see such a cold look in the usually gentle and delicate Madam Luo, and knelt on the ground, no longer daring to say another word.

Ah Xing had no idea that Madam Luo truly hated her to the core. She hated her for betraying her daughter, and even more so for almost ruining such a wonderful marriage.

Afu was born more competitive than most women. When the Liang family came to discuss marriage, she dared to tell Liang Zhiyan, the young master of the Liang family, "If you want to marry me, you must not keep any concubines in your house in the future."

At that time, Liang Zhiyan was attracted to her beauty and was almost infatuated with her, so he agreed to her without hesitation. Later, however, he accidentally discovered the wonderful taste of women and couldn't help but add two concubines to his room.

Luo knew about this, but Shu Fu did not. Luo had kept it a secret for a long time, fearing that Shu Fu would find out and cause trouble to break off the engagement. She had managed to keep it a secret for the past two years, and it seemed that she was about to get married. Who knew that this fool would cause such a scandal by revealing that her brother-in-law had slept with her future sister-in-law.

Mrs. Luo was in a terrible predicament. Afu was stubborn, but this marriage could not be abandoned.

Madam Luo took the brewed tea from Granny Li, took a sip, and then slowly said, "Disloyalty to one's master is the greatest taboo for a servant. My Shu family cannot tolerate such a servant. Let's lock her in the woodshed for now, and find a slave trader to come to the manor and sell her off tomorrow."

Granny Li bowed and agreed, then directed several strong servants to drag Ah Xing out of the house, ignoring her cries.

Inside the house, Madam Luo lovingly stroked Shu Fu's hair: "That Liang family brat is really too much. He actually did such a shameless thing. I'll tell your Aunt Liang to bring him to our Shu family so you can deal with him as you see fit. That will appease our Afu."

Listening to Luo's words, Shu Fu knew that Luo still regarded the Liang family as her future husband's family and wanted to downplay the matter, but this was not what Shu Fu wanted.

She opened her lips as if to say something, but Luo suddenly covered her face with a handkerchief, bent over, and coughed.

Shu Fu swallowed her words, leaned over to help Luo Shi catch her breath, and asked, "Didn't Mother's cough from the winter have gotten much better? Why has it flared up again?"

Luo smiled weakly: "It had gotten much better since the beginning of spring, but who knew that the recent cold snap would come back like a whirlwind, making my throat itchy and preventing me from eating or sleeping in peace."

The old nanny, Li, advised, "Madam coughed almost all night last night. She finally has some free time today, so why don't she take a nap on the soft couch?"

Even with her fierce temper, Shu Fu couldn't let it out in front of her sick mother. She had no choice but to hold back her anger, get off the bed, curtsy, and say, "Since Mother is unwell, I won't bother you any longer. I'll go back now."

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Luo looked at her with loving eyes and said, "After all, Afu is my dearest little cotton-padded jacket."

At the same time, she said, "Now that you don't have a head maid in your courtyard, why don't you pick one from here to take back, or bring up a second-class maid?"

Shu Fu refused in a huff: "Forget it, I'm too lazy to pick another ingrate for myself. Let's just leave it at that. At least I'll have someone to serve me."

Mrs. Luo wouldn't refute her on such a trivial matter, so after a moment's thought, she let it go.