expulsion
"I heard the princess had arrived early in the morning, so I ran to the old lady and made a scene..."
Cang Yi lowered his voice and spoke to his two sisters-in-law.
Song Mingyue responded in surprise, "Why is the Princess here? What happened last night? I'm so curious." Then, turning to look at Taishi Zheng, Song Mingyue said, "Second sister-in-law, weren't you there yesterday? Come on, talk to us before we get there."
Zheng was feeling very sleepy, her head drooping as she shook it. She wished she could use the sky as a blanket and the ground as a bed, and fall asleep on the path.
"Zheng, are you okay? Why don't you ask for leave from your mother-in-law and tell her that you are not feeling well and won't be coming over?" Cang Yi asked kindly.
Zheng declined her kindness.
"It's okay, sister-in-law. Since you're already going out, let's go over there. There's no need to ask for leave from mother-in-law. If I don't go, I won't be able to explain myself later. As for what happened last night..."
"Mingyue, come closer—"
Zheng waved her hand, and Song Mingyue immediately approached. Recalling the events of last night, Zheng recounted them to her two sisters-in-law without missing a word. After hearing the entire story, the two sisters-in-law came to a single conclusion:...
"Should!"
Song Mingyue's voice was the loudest. She said, "For offending the county lady, the Zou family deserved it. You don't know how slutty little Zou was when she woke up in the Ginkgo Pavilion that day and clung to Cousin Zhilin. But my cousin, too, was right. Anyone with a discerning eye could see it. Even my idiot stayed away from little Zou. How could he not see it? He actually trusted someone like that. If it were me, I would have kicked him out too. Not to mention the county lady."
"Not to mention the third brother, your eldest brother is even more bizarre..."
Cang Yi thought of her husband, who was known for his blunt manner and gruff manner. "He actually asked Miss Zou if there was something wrong with her tongue right in front of her. It was so embarrassing. Looking at the three brothers, only Erlang seemed to have a clear mind."
Song Mingyue laughed heartily upon hearing this. She simply said, "That's right, Second Brother. You always speak and act in an upright manner, never interested in women or worldly matters. You can be described as a gentleman, pure and clear. How can you be compared to them? Second Sister-in-law, don't you agree?"
Not interested in women?
Zheng felt a sudden pain in her body.
Seeing that Taishi Zheng didn't respond, Song Mingyue touched her, who was lost in thought, and asked, "Second sister-in-law, what are you thinking about?"
Zheng raised her eyes to look at Song Mingyue, and suddenly raised her own doubts: "Nothing, I just always feel strange. I don't know why the county lady came back so suddenly yesterday. Could it be that someone tipped off and spread the news deliberately? Logically, all the retainers of Xingchunzhai should have returned to the Prince's Mansion, right? This matter can't be spread so quickly. But I have to thank the person who brought the news, otherwise..."
The unlucky one is your own family.
Cang Yi also felt strange, but she didn't know why, so she didn't say anything.
Song Mingyue, however, softly raised her arm and the two sisters-in-law looked at each other, confused. Song Mingyue said, "My two sisters-in-law, I slightly polished the news and sent it to the Prince's Mansion."
-
There was chaos outside Fushou Pavilion.
Zou Shuangtong was grabbed by her mother-in-law early in the morning and thrown in front of the old lady's door, kneeling to apologize. With the elder Zou coming, the younger Zou naturally couldn't escape either. Chu Fanghua went to grab her early, but Cui Zhisong stopped her without shouting. After forcing his way through the door, he saw the younger Zou lying on the bed, her shoulders exposed.
Chu Fanghua felt ashamed and turned around and ran to Fushou Pavilion in anger.
However, when they arrived at Fushou Pavilion, the old lady was unconscious, so Yu Yuelan detained them and did not let them go in. She was afraid that if the old lady woke up and saw this group of people, she would be upset and pass out from anger, and then no one would be able to explain to the master.
Outside the courtyard, the third aunt pretended to be anxious and angry. She rushed over and kicked Zou Shuangtong, catching her off guard and knocking her to the ground. She cursed as she kicked, "You bitch, you are such a fool! You are the cause of all this. If anything happens to the old lady today, I will never let you and your sister off—"
The kick from the third aunt was not meant for the old lady.
She kicked for herself. She kicked because the Zou sisters were more of a nuisance than a help, and ruined her own good fortune.
If something happened to the old lady today, the tree they relied on would fall, and their days of showing off in the mansion would be over. One would return to her unwelcome home, while the other would live in fear of her husband from then on. Therefore, these two were tied to the same rope, and they knew it very well.
But because of their cowardice and mutual blaming, they started to fight each other.
Zou Shuangtong fell to the ground, and with a desperate look on her face, she accused her third aunt who had kicked her, "You're not done yet? Third aunt, why are you not done with me? It's not just me who made the old lady angry. Wasn't it you, third aunt, who first suggested taking a concubine? The old lady only agreed to your wishes now? There were so many people watching at the Kuaixue Banquet! And now you're pretending to be a good person? It's too late - don't think about putting all the blame on me. If anything happens to the old lady today, you can't escape either."
Zou Shuangtong crawled to the corridor and knelt in front of Yu Yuelan, kowtowed and shouted: "My dear lady, please be wise. On the day when the old lady allowed me to bring Zou Shuangqiao here, it was here that Third Aunt told my niece in person that if she could marry Brother Yun, she would enjoy endless wealth and glory in this uncle's mansion in the future. Third Aunt is spreading rumors and deliberately bringing up this matter just to disgust you and your Erlang's wife. Now that Third Aunt sees that Zou Shuangqiao has messed up the situation, she has turned her face against her and wants to clear herself. Little did she know that this matter was all caused by Third Aunt——"
When the third aunt heard her slander, she stepped forward and pulled Zou Shuangtong back.
Cui Banqin scolded, "Zou Shuangtong, what are you talking about? Don't be so frivolous here! You're in dire straits, and you're still trying to drag me down with you—your Zou family is truly a 'good' family! Let me ask you, were you the one who rushed to insert your own shabby engagement letter into Yun Ge's proposal? It's true that I proposed to the younger generation to take concubines at the Kuaixue Banquet. I dare to do it, and I dare to accept it."
"But I didn't mention any names. Besides, everything I did was for the sake of the Cui family's heirs. How can that be compared to your desire to curry favor with the rich and powerful? Don't make a big deal out of this to cover up your dirty deeds."
"No one is stupid. Who would believe me if you said that I instigated this?"
Fushou Pavilion is really a mess.
The three sisters-in-law came over at the right time and stood there in shock. When they looked at each other, they thought...
Today is quite lively.
Over there, Chu Fanghua was sitting on the porch with her hands covering her chest, complaining bitterly. Yu Yuelan slammed the table and said, "That's enough! Shut up! I'm still here! Don't you think too little of me? I'm still the mistress of the family. You know better than anyone what you did and didn't do. Who are you putting on this show for? The old lady is in trouble, and none of you want to worry or think of a solution. The elders and the younger generation are pointing fingers and scolding each other. It's really a misfortune for our family and shameful!"
Yu Yuelan has made it known that she is now the boss in the courtyard.
No matter how arrogant Third Aunt and Zou Shuangtong were in the past, they had to listen to her lecture obediently in the current situation.
They silently chanted "Amitabha", hoping that the old lady would get better soon.
The courtyard was dead silent. The three sisters-in-law, arm in arm, stood under the pine tree in the courtyard, not daring to speak. Yu Yuelan, on the other hand, wore a worried look on her face, but inwardly she was amused by the chaos in the second house. If the old lady hadn't been ill and couldn't show too much pride, she would have dragged Chu Fanghua out for tea.
Turning back, the door opened slightly, and Doctor Li came out with a medicine box on his back, looking worried. He glanced at the women in the courtyard, then came to Yu Yuelan and asked, "Sister."
Yu Yuelan quickly stood up and asked, "Doctor Li, how is the old lady? Is she seriously ill?"
Doctor Li sighed when he heard this.
It was this sigh that frightened Chu Fanghua so much that her heart tightened, and made Third Aunt and Zou Shuangtong pale with fear.
Doctor Li said, "The old lady suffered from chest pain last year due to the cold weather. If she had taken care of herself as usual, she would have survived the winter. However, she got angry early, and her emotions caused her qi and blood to flow in disorder, blocking her brain vessels. This aggravated her condition and led to a stroke. I have just given her acupuncture and prescribed medicine. As for whether she can survive the winter, it depends on fate. However, she is old, so please don't be too sad. Let everything be in accordance with fate..."
That’s all Doctor Li has to say.
Yu Yuelan screamed, Chu Fanghua cried out even louder, and Zou Shuangtong collapsed to the ground. The three sisters-in-law looked at each other in confusion.
Zheng also couldn't believe it.
How did this matter get to this point?
Is it karma? Or retribution?
The third aunt was about to rush into the house, muttering disbelief and cursing the quack doctor, but she just couldn't believe that her good days would end so soon. If she no longer had her mother's pampering, who would tolerate her wanton behavior?
At this moment, the maidservant of Fushou Pavilion hurriedly pushed open the door and said, "Wake up, wake up, the old lady is awake."
The third aunt seemed to see hope, crying and shouting: "Mother, Qin'er is here——" But she was stopped by the maid and was not allowed to go in. This was the first time for her to be treated like this. She only heard the maid say bluntly: "Hey, third aunt, you can't go in."
"I can't go in? Who do you think you are to block my way?"
The third aunt got anxious and pushed the maid to force her way in, but the maid was loyal and didn't give in at all.
The maid turned and said, "Third Aunt, it's not that I don't want you to come in, it's the old lady—even though the old lady's words are unclear, but I still heard clearly, the old lady asked you and the second young lady of the second house..."
The maid hesitated halfway through her words.
Yu Yuelan raised her hand to push the Third Aunt away and instructed the maid, "Tell me, what did the old lady want them to do?"
The maid held it in for a long time, looked at everyone outside the room, and then said harshly, "Get out."
"What! The old lady told me to get out?"
After hearing this, Third Aunt couldn't believe it, and Zou Shuangtong was completely deflated. But how could Cui Banqin let it go? She just looked at her and started to quarrel, "Mother, I was wrong. Just let me look at you, so that I can feel at ease——"
Cui Banqin cried loudly, but not a single tear fell.
Yu Yuelan frowned. Who was she putting on this act for? Did she really want to send the old lady away? Then, with a wave of his hand, Fu Qile, without a word, ushered Third Aunt out of the corridor, so as not to disturb the peace of the people in the house.
The old lady is now bedridden due to a stroke, and the power has passed to her.
Yu Yuelan finally didn't have to endure the pressure anymore. She raised her hand to push the door open, taking advantage of the situation to kick the man who refused to leave out of the house with good reason. "Third brother, it's the end of the year. The regiment commander should be returning to the capital from Linzhou to report on his work. And the old lady doesn't want to see you either, so you should pack up and go home. The old lady is here, we are here, you don't need to worry about her."
Yu Yuelan's order did not allow Cui Banqin to refute it. She turned her head to look at the pale face of the third aunt, and said loudly: "Daughters-in-law, let's go inside to see the old lady——"
But when the words fell, the three sisters-in-law responded in succession, "Yes, mother-in-law."
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