Old Master Yun was so angry last night that he didn't sleep a wink. Now that his anger had subsided a bit, he drank some calming medicine and went to sleep.
When Madam Yun heard that Old Master Yun was willing to take his medicine, she breathed a sigh of relief. When Shen Wan returned, Madam Yun asked Shen Wan to sit next to her, patted Shen Wan's hand and said, "Your maternal grandfather is stubborn. If it weren't for you today, no one would have been able to persuade him."
Shen Wan asked, "Is my cousin alright?"
Madam Yun sighed, "Your cousin has been with her the whole time; she must be furious too."
Shen Wan said, "I'll go check on her."
"Alright."
Just as Shen Wan stood up, a maid came in and said, "Madam, the First Madam has returned."
Madam Yun went to the Zhao family to annul the engagement.
The maid had barely finished reporting when Madam Yun entered, her face full of anger, trembling with rage.
Upon seeing this, Old Madam Yun asked, "Why are you so angry?"
Madam Yun didn't even bother to bow to Old Madam Yun. She sat down and drank tea before saying, "It's not just anger. If I had a knife, I would have killed someone today."
Shen Wan got up from next to Old Madam Yun and sat down silently at the lower end.
Upon hearing this, Madam Yun asked, "The engagement hasn't been called off?"
Madam Yun was so angry that her lips trembled when she thought about Madam Zhao's face when she went to break off the engagement. She was too angry to speak. The maid standing behind her said, "Madam went to the Zhao family to break off the engagement, but Madam Zhao refused. She said that it was a great honor for our Yun family that the eldest daughter could marry her son. She also said that which man in the world doesn't have three wives and four concubines? She's already so jealous before the marriage. Once the eldest daughter enters the Zhao family, she will teach her to be a virtuous wife and loving mother."
"Madam scolded them for being ungrateful. Madam Zhao said that merchants are profit-driven. If it weren't for the fact that the old master valued her son's talent and knew that he would definitely pass the imperial examination, he would never have treated them well. He even arranged the marriage before the examination. If it weren't for the fear of being labeled as ungrateful, the Zhao family would have broken off the engagement long ago. Other top scholars marry into high-ranking families, or even princesses and noble ladies. Her son has already done more than enough to marry a merchant's daughter. She told our Yun family not to be ungrateful."
By the end, the maid was so angry that she clenched her fists.
Madam Yun's face turned purple with anger. If she hadn't just heard that the eldest prince was investigating cheating in the imperial examinations and that young master Zhao might lose his title as the top scholar, she probably would have been so angry that she would have vomited blood, just like the old master.
"My Yun family has been hunting geese all our lives, but this time we almost got our eyes pecked out by a goose!"
In the past, when Madam Zhao visited the Yun family, she was always careful and respectful. When her son became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he was a bit arrogant, but she didn't think much of it. It turns out that Madam Zhao looked down on the Yun family from the bottom of her heart!
Madam Yun said, "I was prepared for Young Master Zhao to go and break off the engagement today, since he did such a shameless thing. But I didn't expect that Madam Zhao would slander Mo'er in order to avoid breaking off the engagement!"
"Our Yun family has raised a heartless ingrate who eats people without spitting out the bones!"
Madam Yun asked angrily, "What did she say about Mo'er?"
There were maids and servants in the room, as well as the unmarried Shen Wan. Madam Yun didn't say anything, but Old Madam Yun could guess.
In fact, Shen Wan could guess that Yun Mo was already her son's woman, and no one else would marry Yun Mo except her son.
If it weren't for such humiliation, Madam Yun wouldn't have been so angry that she wanted to stab someone with a knife.
Yesterday, I heard that Miss Chen is two months pregnant. Although I don’t think my daughter would do that, I still asked her carefully. Yun Mo was so angry that she jumped up and down and said firmly that she and Young Master Zhao have nothing going on and have never even held hands.
Her daughter was innocent, yet she was slandered like this. Madam Yun almost didn't make it into the Zhao family upright, but was carried out horizontally.
Madam Yun grew angrier the more she thought about it, until her heart ached. "Madam Zhao said that the betrothal gifts had been given and the wedding date had been set, but my Yun family broke off the engagement on trumped-up charges. On the sixth day of next month, the Zhao family's bridal sedan chair will arrive at our door. If we can't pick them up, she will sue our Yun family."
This is no mother of a top scholar; she's clearly a scoundrel.
Fortunately, she knew the character of the Zhao family mother and son before her daughter got married. If her daughter had really married into the family, her daughter would have been tormented to death by them. Just thinking about it now makes Madam Yun's back feel cold.
Shen Wan said, "Don't upset yourself, Aunt. My cousin's marriage will definitely be called off."
Madam Yun knew she could return the money, but she still couldn't help being angry. In her nearly forty years of life, this was the first time she had been angered to this extent. She had thought Madam Zhao was easy to get along with before, but it was true that you can know a person's face but not their heart.
Madam Yun instructed Shen Wan, "Go see your cousin later, but don't let her know about these things."
Shen Wan nodded. "I know."
When Shen Wan went to see Yun Mo, she was startled by Yun Mo's swollen and red eyes. She said, "Is it really necessary to cry like this for a shameless person?"
Yunrui said, "It's not sadness, eldest sister is crying from anger."
Shen Wan said, "Getting angry only hurts your loved ones and pleases your enemies."
Yunrui sighed, "Grandfather thought my aunt had married well and assumed we could too. But not everyone is like my uncle, who holds a high position and doesn't look down on merchants."
Shen Wan said, "There are quite a few people in the world with good character like Father. It's just that Grandfather misjudged you this time, and he even fell ill because of it. If he knew that you thought this way, he would definitely feel bad."
Yunmo nodded, "I know that my grandfather did it all for my own good, it's just that I'm not fortunate enough to have it."
Shen Wan disagreed with this, saying, "It is said that a blessed woman does not marry into an unblessed family. If you really marry into that family, then you are truly unblemished."
Yunrui nodded emphatically, "My cousin is right, it's a good thing I didn't get married."
Yun Mo laughed too, "So, I really am lucky."
She was glad that she had been reserved and self-respecting, and hadn't been coaxed into giving herself away by Young Master Zhao's sweet words; otherwise, she would have been in a real predicament today.
Shen Wan asked a maid to bring some ointment and applied it to Yun Mo's swollen eyes. The three sisters chatted and their mood quickly improved.
Once Yun Mo's eyes had calmed down, Shen Wan told her to go see Old Master Yun to put his mind at ease. However, just as they reached Liushuang Courtyard, a young maid in a pale yellow dress ran over, panting, and said, "Young Miss, Young Master Zhao is kneeling in front of our Yun family gate, begging you and the Old Master to believe that he and Miss Chen are innocent."
They've already conceived a child, and they still have the nerve to claim innocence.
Not to mention how angry Yunmo and Yunrui were, Shen Wan was so angry she was practically fuming.
He admitted it in front of his cousin at the Chen family's gate, but now he's gone back on his word and is kneeling in front of the Yun family's gate, begging for forgiveness—no, not for forgiveness, but to make the Yun family believe him.
Without a doubt, it must be that the eldest prince was investigating the cheating in the imperial examinations, and they found out. They're now sacrificing the pawn to save the king.
Did they think that by using a self-inflicted injury ruse, they could make the Yun family change their minds?
Zhao Zhuangyuan and the Chen family really treated the Yun family like fools. The Yun family's business spans the entire Chu Kingdom, and they are incredibly wealthy. They are shrewd and capable. After suffering such a loss once, would they dare to suffer it a second time?
But thinking of Madam Zhao's angry words to Madam Yun, Shen Wan's face darkened a bit.
She was afraid that Young Master Zhao would give up and make a scene at the Yun family's gate, ruining Yun Mo's reputation. If that happened, it would definitely anger her maternal grandfather to death.
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