Chapter 189 I don't believe it's just a coincidence
Yu Qingci was so angry after hearing about her mother's ordeal these past few days that her eyes turned red and her whole body was trembling. Old Madam Ning was no better off, sitting there with an expression of disbelief.
Granny Pei quickly comforted her, "Young Madam, don't listen to what Fourth Madam is saying. This matter is over. Our Madam has now been granted an imperial title, and no one dares to spread those rumors anymore."
Yu Qingci looked at Granny Pei: "So, Granny Pei knew about this all along but didn't tell me."
Granny Pei knelt down immediately: "This old servant dares not say, for fear that the young mistress will be anxious and upset. However, fortunately, the Lord returned in time, and this matter is over."
"Yes, Qingci, your mother has now been granted the title of Second Rank Imperial Lady, so no one outside will dare to spread rumors about her anymore."
Old Madam Ning also spoke up to comfort her, then glared at Madam Ma to signal her to shut up.
Madam Ma glared back defiantly and began to grumble, "Yes, niece-in-law, I've heard about what happened afterward. Because your mother became a Lady of the Imperial Decree, no one dared to spread the rumors anymore. I shouldn't have brought this up in front of you, niece-in-law, please don't hold it against me."
Yu Qingci had calmed herself down. She didn't want to listen to Madam Ma's nagging anymore, and said in a low voice:
"Auntie must be very busy, so we won't keep her any longer. Please see us out."
Ma then remembered that she should leave, and stood up, chuckling, "Then I'll go back. Remember to invite Yun Chu over to join in the fun the day after tomorrow."
After Madam Ma left, Yu Qingci reached out and helped Granny Pei up, then said in a low voice to Old Madam Ning:
"Mother. Your daughter-in-law is feeling a little unwell, so she's going back now."
Madam Ning knew that she was feeling unwell, so she offered a few words of comfort and then had Granny Pei help her back home.
Upon entering Guanlan Pavilion, Granny Pei dismissed everyone, leaving only the two of them, mistress and servant, in the room. Granny Pei stood before Yu Qingci, about to kneel down to beg for forgiveness, but Yu Qingci reached out to stop her.
"Granny, there's no need for that. I know you didn't tell me because you wanted what was best for me, but please remember this: this is a one-time exception, and it must not happen again!"
Granny Pei: "Yes, this old servant will never dare to act on my own again."
Yu Qingci felt a little better, but she still solemnly instructed, "From now on, you must inform me immediately about anything concerning my mother and brother, no matter how small. There's no one else here now, and what Fourth Aunt said earlier must have been untrue. Please tell me the truth clearly, Granny."
Granny Pei dared not hide it any longer and told the whole story again.
Yu Qingci frowned more and more as she listened. She couldn't believe such a coincidence could exist. Although there were no noble families in the Liuli Lane area, it was mostly inhabited by officials of middle and lower ranks, so the security was generally reliable. How could thieves appear so easily, and why did they only manage to enter the Su residence?
"I can't go out, so please send a letter to my father for me. Since he's taken some action, he should find out something."
He then quickly wrote a letter and handed it to Granny Pei: "Send it out immediately and deliver it to my father."
No sooner had Granny Pei left than Lu Yun Chu arrived with her half-finished needlework. Upon entering, she first congratulated her sister-in-law's mother on receiving the imperial decree, and then pestered her to teach her how to embroider new flower patterns.
Yu Qingci knew that her sister-in-law had come to keep her company because she was afraid she would be sad, so she composed herself and started chatting with her about flower patterns.
Meanwhile, Lu Yunbo learned from the Court of State Ceremonial that Lord Wen had already left the capital to take up his post elsewhere. Even if he was slow to realize, he understood that he had fallen into someone else's trap.
But he couldn't understand why someone from a branch of the family that had separated from the general's mansion would go to such lengths to punish him. Could it be his third brother's wife again?
Before he could figure it out, he was hit hard on the head as soon as he entered the house, followed by the second master's loud roar.
"You worthless, spendthrift wretch! Do you think you're still the second master of the General's Mansion? Gambling five thousand taels in one go! You're trying to kill me! I'll beat you to death!"
The second master ordered his servants to force Lu Yunbo to kneel on the ground and give him a severe beating. Although Madam Wei felt sorry for him, she was also furious and let the second master administer the family punishment. Only when the beating was almost over did she step forward to stop him, saying:
"Alright, alright, a few hits are enough. Do you really want to kill him?"
She snatched the whip from the second master's hand, turned around and scolded her second daughter-in-law, Ye, to help Lu Yunbo back into the house to apply medicine.
Lu Yunzhang and Yue Shi watched the show from the sidelines, but they were still not satisfied. If their second brother hadn't been so stupid, the family wouldn't have lost so much property all at once. Five thousand taels of silver! Just thinking about it made their hearts bleed.
After the family had finished arguing, they sat down. Seeing that no one was speaking, Yue secretly nudged Lu Yunzhang's thigh. Lu Yunzhang glared at her but still spoke up:
“Father, Mother, my second brother is back now. Let’s talk this over. I think since this debt was incurred by my second brother, it should be attributed to him. When we divide the family property in the future, you two must treat everyone equally.”
Madam Yue also chimed in, "Yes, in my opinion, it would be better to recalculate the accounts now, or just list my second brother's share separately, so that it won't be unclear when we divide the family property later."
After the two finished speaking, Madam Wei shot them a sharp glare:
"What nonsense are you spouting? We two old folks aren't even dead yet, and you're already talking about dividing the family property? Didn't your father say that your second brother was tricked this time? It's not like he wanted to owe so much money. How can you, as the eldest brother, say something like dividing the family property at a time like this!"
Besides, your second brother has already learned his lesson this time; he even lost his house. Everything of value in his house was taken to pay off debts. Now that he's finally back, he's been beaten so badly by your father. As the eldest brother, instead of showing concern for him, you're settling scores with him. How can you be so heartless?"
For Madam Wei, both sons were equally precious. She felt sorry for either of them if they were not doing well. Although her second son had caused a great disaster, he was still the son she had loved for many years, and she couldn't just stand by and do nothing. Unfortunately, her eldest son and his wife were adding fuel to the fire.
Lu Yunzhang already felt that the old couple had been favoring his second brother too much lately, and hearing Wei's words now made him even more upset. He couldn't help but ask:
"He should naturally pay off the majority of his debts, and it's only right that we sell his house. But let me ask you this: if my second brother still wants to pursue a career in government and spend money to find connections, are you two planning to keep spending money on him?"
Upon hearing about his youngest son's career prospects, the second master sighed deeply and fell silent.
Madam Wei's face was also extremely pale. She looked at the Second Master and gritted her teeth, saying:
"Of course we can't spend any more money. Yun Bo has been punished and needs to recuperate for a while. We'll talk about the job later. Let's not mention this matter for now."
"Oh, by the way, your fourth uncle's family is having a wedding tomorrow, Yunbing is getting married, we have to go to the wedding banquet."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com