Fourth Madam immediately stopped talking about helping Tenth Madam, smiled and changed the subject, and started talking to Eleventh Madam about Fifth Madam.

"...I didn't have much contact with her before, and I only heard that Fifth Aunt didn't talk to people much, and I thought she was aloof and arrogant. Now that I have more contact with her, I know that Fifth Aunt is just introverted, but in fact she is very kind to others."

"Thank you for the compliment, Fourth Madam." Eleventh Lady greeted her in a soft voice, "My aunt is said to be reserved, but in fact she is quite gentle. It is a rare fate that we can get along well with Fourth Madam now."

Fourth Grandma nodded and smiled, "Speaking of which, sometimes there are misunderstandings because there is not enough communication. Sometimes, it is better to move around more."

"yes……"

The two chatted and laughed, and soon arrived at Duke Mao's mansion.

Wang Lang's body is still lying in Shuntian Mansion, and the Wang family has no way to hold a funeral, let alone announce the funeral. Although there is no silver dress, the bright red curtains and furnishings have been replaced with dark blue, and the maids have also changed into dark clothes.

Luo Zhenxing and others were welcomed by the stewards to the main hall, while the eldest grandmother, Shiyi Niang and the fourth grandmother were taken to Old Madam Wang by a steward of the Wang family.

"...Please don't blame me, dear guests. Old Madam Wang collapsed upon hearing the news. The eldest grandmother is also ill in bed. It just so happens that the Sixth Madam returned to Beijing to visit. I can't help but feel sorry for my parents and sister-in-law, so I help to take care of some trivial matters. It is inevitable that there are some inconsiderate things, so please forgive me."

The housekeeper was in her early thirties, with a good-looking appearance. She wore a beautiful blue silk cotton jacket and dressed simply and neatly. From her tone, she didn't sound like a maid of the Wang family. Eleventh Lady couldn't help but look at her a few times.

When the housekeeper saw Eleventh Lady looking at her, she did not avoid it but bowed to Eleventh Lady with a smile.

Eleventh Lady looked a little strange and felt that the housekeeper seemed to be particularly kind to her.

The eldest grandmother also heard it. Seeing that she spoke and acted very appropriately, she did not dare to look down on her and asked politely, "What is your name, madam? From the tone of her voice, you are actually a servant of Madam Jiang."

"I dare not say your surname." The mother answered very respectfully, "My head of the family's surname is Yuan, and my humble name is Baozhu. Auntie, just call me Baozhu's family. It's just because something like this happened in the Duke of Mao's mansion, so the Sixth Madam asked me to come and help."

So, it turns out that he is someone close to Madam Jiang. No wonder he has such a magnanimous demeanor.

The grandmother suddenly realized and said, "It turned out to be Mother Yuan. No one can bear such a thing happening in the family. Fortunately, we are not outsiders. You are welcome."

Mother Yuan smiled modestly, bowed her head and said "yes", then quietly accompanied them into the main courtyard of the lady's house.

Just as she walked under the eaves, before the little maid had time to lift the curtain, a sneer suddenly came from the room.

"…What the eldest aunt said is really unpleasant to hear. A daughter who is married off is like water spilled. You are an honored guest. We will treat you as such. But the affairs of the family are handled by your brothers. It is not the eldest aunt's turn to make decisions. The Wang family is not without sons."

The words were very impolite.

"You have no right to speak here." The female voice retorted sharply, "Don't forget, this is the mansion of Duke Mao, and Duke Mao is my father."

The person who spoke was Mrs. Jiang Wang Lin.

The three of them pondered the meaning of these words, looked at each other in confusion, and stood at the door in a daze.

Unexpectedly, before Wang Lang's body was cold, the conflicts in the Wang family had already surfaced.

Mother Yuan blushed and immediately announced in a loud voice, "Sixth Madam, the two aunts of the Luo family and the wife of the Marquis of Yongping are here."

There was silence in the room over there for a moment, and then someone lifted the curtain.

"Please come in, please come in."

When Eleventh Lady looked up, she saw that it was Madam Jiang herself who lifted the curtain.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her crow's feet were full of wrinkles, and her face looked very haggard. She forced a smile.

The eldest grandmother, the fourth grandmother and the eleventh lady exchanged glances, and then the eldest grandmother whispered, "Excuse me, Madam Jiang," and led the fourth grandmother and the eleventh lady into the house.

Madam Wang's main house has five rooms, each with an annex, and in the middle is the hall. It is now full of people. Some are dressed gorgeously, while others are ordinary. The oldest is in their sixties, while the youngest is in their twenties. Everyone has a solemn expression and cold eyes, and it is hard to tell who was arguing with Madam Jiang just now.

The atmosphere in the room was heavy.

When they saw someone coming in, some people showed alertness in their eyes, and a few women shrank their shoulders, looking afraid.

Madam Jiang pointed at the people in the room and said, "I heard that something happened to Brother Lang, so I came to offer my condolences." After that, without introducing them, she led them directly to the inner room on the west side, "My mother is ill in bed, so I am sorry to have neglected you all."

The three of them hurriedly followed Madam Jiang into the inner room.

The inner room is different from the outside.

The room was filled with a faint scent of medicine. Two maids aged fifteen or sixteen and a mother in her fifties were serving carefully by the bed. All three of them had red eyes and sad expressions on their faces.

When they saw Mrs. Jiang come in, they all came forward and saluted with a very respectful attitude.

Madam Jiang waved her hand and whispered, "Mother is feeling better now!"

The mother replied in a low voice: "I took medicine and just rested."

Mrs. Jiang looked apologetic.

The eldest grandmother didn't wait for Madam Jiang to speak before she whispered, "In that case, we won't bother you anymore. When the old lady wakes up, please give her our regards."

Mrs. Jiang thought for a moment and said, "Okay. I'll go with you to see Shi Niang. She hasn't been feeling well these days." As she spoke, her eyes were slightly wet.

The three of them felt relieved after seeing Madam Jiang's attitude. They followed Madam Jiang out of the inner room and went to Shi Niang.

* * * * * *

The situation at Shi Niang's place was the exact opposite of that at the old lady's. The three main rooms were deserted, and a little maid of eight or nine years old stood listlessly at the door. When she saw Madam Jiang bringing people over, she saluted in a panic and hurried in to report.

When they approached, Yinping had already opened the curtain.

"Grandma, eldest uncle's grandmother, fourth uncle's grandmother, aunt's wife."

"Your great grandmother..." Mrs. Jiang asked in a low voice.

Yin Ping's eyes turned red, and she whispered, "Sitting in front of the window in a daze!"

Madam Jiang sighed and turned to explain to the eldest grandmother and others: "Since I knew that Langdi was in trouble, my sister-in-law often sat on the big kang by the window and was in a daze. If I am impolite later, please don't be offended by the two aunts and maternal aunts."

Will Shi Niang be sad about Wang Lang’s death?

Eleventh Lady seemed a little confused when she heard this.

But the grandmother said: "She is young, and it is natural that she feels very sad when she encounters such a thing. We are her family, so there is no reason for us to be surprised."

The two exchanged a few polite words and went into the inner room.

Sitting on the big kang by the window in the inner room was a thin woman. She was wearing a lake-colored brocade jacket and a moon-white skirt. She sat quietly on the kang by the window, as quiet as a lifeless puppet.

Jinlian, whose eyes were red and swollen like walnuts, was serving by the side.

"Grandma, Grandma, Grandma, Grandma, Grandma, Grandma, and Grandma are here to see you!"

Yinping stepped forward cautiously and reported.

The person on the kang turned around.

Her face was thin and pale, with a pointed nose and a pair of eyes with dark circles around them that were so big that they looked a little ugly.

Eleventh Lady was stunned for a moment.

Is this Shi Niang? The Shi Niang who is as proud as a peacock and as gorgeous as a summer flower?

"Tenth aunt..." The eldest grandmother choked with sobs.

Shi Niang glanced at them blankly, then turned her head and looked straight out the window, as if there was some rare and beautiful scenery outside the window that made her linger.

"Grandma," Jinlian stepped forward and bowed to them, "Grandma has been in a bad mood these past two days." She then hurriedly brought over a brocade stool, "Grandma, Fourth Aunt, Madam Auntie, please take a seat."

The four of them sat down, and Yinping and Jinlian brought them some tea.

The eldest lady asked about the daily life of Yinping, Jinlian and Shi Niang.

"…Although I still eat three meals a day, I eat less than usual. I am even less talkative. I often sit alone for the whole day."

It’s not so bad if you can eat!

Eleventh Lady sighed slightly.

For a moment, everyone was speechless and drank tea in silence.

Madam Jiang smiled bitterly and said, "I'm sorry to have embarrassed you, aunts and concubines. It's a misfortune for our family. My brother Lang hasn't even been buried yet, but those who wanted to get a piece of the pie are getting impatient." She looked as if she wanted to talk to them.

The eldest grandmother was indeed concerned about Shi Niang. Seeing that Madam Jiang was angry, she did not avoid the question and asked directly, "Who were those people? What did they say?"

Mrs. Jiang breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the Luo family had spoken up.

"My great-great-grandfather's generation was a single-line family. By the time of Langdi's generation, they were all side branches within the fifth degree of mourning. He was often helped by my father. But when Langdi got into trouble, no one cared about who the murderer was. Was Langdi's death unjust? They just rushed to say that their family was the closest to us, and asked Dad to choose an adoptive parent from among them and to report to the Ministry of Rites to the emperor as soon as possible." As she spoke, her eyes were like sharp arrows. "Who did Shuntian Prefecture arrest? It was Ren Kun's personal servant. How could he, a lowly person, be so bold as to kill the prince of Duke Mao's Mansion? Either Ren Kun ordered it, or he took the blame for Ren Kun. No matter what it was, the culprit was Ren Kun. How could I let him get away with it?"

She gnashed her teeth and said, "Those people are blinded by greed and say that Shuntian Prefecture has already decided the case and will just wait for the execution in autumn. What is there to investigate? I made up this story out of nothing because I am afraid that the prince of the Duke of Mao's Mansion will not be my own brother and I will not get any benefits from my mother's family..."

At this point, her eyes turned red. "But Daddy is a soft-hearted person. He listened to those people's instigation, fearing that the Wang family would lose the title due to the lack of heirs. He agreed to choose one from those families to adopt. If it weren't for those families' own plans, I'm afraid the petition for the heir would have been reported to the Ministry of Rites long ago."

She looked at Shiyi Niang and wiped her tears, "I feel sorry for my sister-in-law, she has to endure such hardships..."

But Eleventh Lady sensed something.

She looked at Great Grandma and Fourth Grandma.

The grandmother was accompanying Mrs. Jiang and wiping her tears.

But Fourth Grandma looked at her.

The two of them looked around in the air.

Fourth Madam nodded slightly to Eleventh Lady and whispered to Madam Jiang, "From what the eldest aunt said, the Duke wants to adopt a son from a branch family?"

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There are some minor changes in the previous text. If you feel it doesn’t make sense, just read the previous chapter!

O(∩_∩)O~