Chapter 72 is still a piece of cake.
Lu Yifang didn't know whether she should breathe a sigh of relief or feel a little regretful. It was a very complicated feeling.
“Mother, we can’t save the Jiangling Marquis’s mansion,” Jiang Yu said again. “What we need to do now is to prevent them from affecting us when they get into trouble. So we must be firm in our attitude toward the Jiangling Marquis’s mansion and resolutely refuse to have any further dealings with them.”
Lu Yifang nodded, "I know, Zhu'er, don't worry, I won't make a mistake when it comes to matters of principle."
Jiang Yu smiled, "I was just reminding my mother."
Lu Yifang held her hand and sighed again, "They say daughters are like little cotton-padded jackets, and that's so true. If it weren't for you, I don't know how I would have gotten through this."
"I know my mother is good to me too." Jiang Yu said this sincerely. No matter what shortcomings Lu Yifang may have, her heart is true to her.
"And... Jia Mu's side, I really don't know how to face them." Lu Yifang's face fell again.
“Take it slow,” Jiang Yu said. “As long as we are sincere, we will grow closer sooner or later, just like you are to me. There’s a long road ahead.”
Hearing this, Lu Yifang felt much less conflicted. She said, "You're right, take it slow. I'll go over in a bit and see if they need anything."
Jiang Yu smiled and nodded, "You know I own several shops. If you need anything, just tell me and I'll see if I have it."
“I have no need for your things,” Lu Yifang said. “Although I have given your father and… Jiang Jiarong a lot of money over the years, my dowry is substantial, and I know a bit about business. I don’t lack anything. When we open the storeroom later, you can take whatever you like.”
"Okay," Jiang Yu said without ceremony.
Lu Yifang liked her just the way she was, and her smile broadened. The mother and daughter chatted for a while, then Jiang Yu said goodbye and left, while Lu Yifang sat there in a daze for a long time.
She wasn't a strong or resourceful person; someone like her would have had a much easier life if she had a husband to rely on. But she married a scoundrel, and she had already struggled to make ends meet all these years. Now, suddenly finding out that her son had been switched, she could barely go on.
She wanted to be alone, to avoid facing anyone and anything. But she was the matriarch of the household; she couldn't do that. She had to be strong, she had to deal with things despite her pain.
I'm really tired.
"lady."
She heard Granny Feng's voice and came back to her senses. Granny Feng continued, "This old servant thinks that you should learn from the young lady at this time."
Lu Yifang paused for a moment, then stood up and said, "Come with me to Jiamu and the others."
Yes, her daughter was forced to divorce but she was able to face it bravely and even take revenge. As her mother, she couldn't let her worry about her anymore.
........
Meanwhile, the Jiangling Marquis and his family returned to their residence in a huff. After sitting down, the three of them vented their anger by cursing the Duke of Chu, Lu Yifang, and Jiang Yu. Then they began to discuss what to do next.
“I absolutely cannot be the wife of an illegitimate son,” Zhang Xiangling said.
When she first learned of Jiang Jiarong's death, she was heartbroken. Even if Jiang Jiarong was a scoundrel, he was still the man she relied on. But when she learned that Jiang Jiarong had known all along that she wasn't the legitimate son, had kept it from her all these years, and had left her in such an awkward situation, she felt no sadness at all.
She even now thinks it would be better if Jiang Jiarong died, so that the Duke of Chu wouldn't hold a grudge against her for what Jiang Jiarong had done.
The Marquis of Jiangling and his wife naturally did not want Zhang Xiangling to become the wife of their illegitimate son. Otherwise, if word got out, where would they put the face of the Marquis of Jiangling's mansion?
"I refuse to believe that if word gets out, the Duke of Chu won't feel ashamed," said the Lady of Jiangling Marquis through gritted teeth.
Marquis Jiangling squinted and pondered for a while before saying, "The only great-grandson of the Duke of Chu's mansion is Jiang Jiamu. In the past, Jiang Jiamu was born to a concubine from a brothel, and the Duke of Chu looked down on him and had no way to raise Jiang Yunkang as his heir. But now, Jiang Jiamu has become the legitimate son, and everything is rightfully his."
"Then what do you suggest we do?" asked the Lady of Jiangling.
Marquis Jiangling pondered for a while and said, "The only solution now is to let Xiangling also have a son, a grandson of our Marquis Jiangling family. Isn't that status much better than that of the fifth-rank Wu family?"
"Isn't that just pointless? If Jiang Jiarong dies, how will Xiangling give birth to a son?" said the Lady of Jiangling.
Marquis Jiangling looked at her and said, "Isn't this readily available?"
"You mean Jiang Yunkang?" asked the Lady of Jiangling.
Marquis Jiangling nodded. "I think Duke Chu intends to groom Jiang Yunkang. Lady Jiang Jiamu's father is only a fifth-rank official. How can he compare to our Marquis's family? Doesn't Duke Chu want his great-grandson to have a more powerful maternal family?"
Lady Jiangling nodded, agreeing with the Marquis's words. If he were the Duke of Chu, he would have suppressed the matter, firstly to avoid being ridiculed by outsiders, and secondly because adopting Jiang Yunkang into their Xiangling family would be more beneficial to Jiang Yunkang's future development and would also strengthen the relationship between their two families.
“Jiang Jiamu and Wu Zhengyan definitely won’t agree,” Zhang Xiangling said.
Marquis Jiangling snorted, "How can such an important matter be left to their opinion?"
He looked at Lady Jiangling and said, "I heard that Jiang Jiamu's wife has a stepmother. Go and visit the Wu family and offer some benefits. As long as the Wu family agrees, how could Jiang Jiamu's wife dare to disagree? Jiang Jiamu is a sickly man. If his wife is willing, how could he disagree?"
Lady Jiangling thought it was a good idea, stood up and said with a smile, "I'll go to the Wu family now."
She could easily deal with the family member of a fifth-rank official.
She got up and left. Marquis Jiangling said to Zhang Xiangling, "Don't worry, your father won't let you suffer."
Zhang Xiangling nodded, but she wasn't entirely at ease. The Duke of Chu had been acting very differently lately, noticeably more aggressively than before. For example, regarding Jiang Yu's divorce, he wouldn't have fought so fiercely with the Qingshan Earl's family in the past.
Thinking of this, she gritted her teeth again. It was all Jiang Yu's fault. Since Jiang Yu returned, one thing after another had happened at the Duke of Chu's mansion, and many of them were detrimental to her.
It seems that Jiang Yu is her natural nemesis.
........
When Lady Jiangling arrived at the Wu family's gate, she looked at the rather shabby gate compared to her own mansion and curled her lip in disdain. She then instructed her servant to step forward and announce her arrival.
The gatekeeper of the Wu family, upon hearing that it was the Lady of Jiangling Marquis visiting, was so surprised he didn't know what to say and hurriedly ran to report it. He first told the master of the Wu family, Wu Ruzhou, who even thought he was hallucinating. Only after the gatekeeper repeated himself did he believe it was true.
"Hurry up and inform Madam," Wu Ruzhou said urgently.
The servant hurriedly ran outside, but just as he reached the door, he heard Wu Ruzhou say, "I'd better go with you. You're clumsy with words and might not be able to explain yourself clearly."
servant: "......"
The master and servant hurried towards the backyard. When they arrived at Madam Wu's courtyard, they saw Madam Wu's married daughter, Wu Zhenghuan. Upon seeing Wu Ruzhou, both of them stood up and bowed.
"Alright, stop with the formalities, something terrible has happened," Wu Ruzhou said.
Upon hearing this, both Madam Wu and Wu Zhenghuan looked worried. Madam Wu hurriedly asked, "Master, what happened?"
Seeing her worried expression, Wu Ruzhou realized he had been too hasty. He coughed and said, "Perhaps it's not a bad thing. The Lady of Jiangling Marquis is visiting?"
"Who?" Madam Wu's voice trembled slightly.
Seeing that he was not as good as himself, Wu Ruzhou felt better and said, "Lady of the Marquis of Jiangling".
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