Chapter 115 The Scholar Who Favored His Concubine Over His Wife (Part 7) Carrying on Pure Love to the End…
At this time, at the Liu residence.
"How dare you! You actually set your sights on that girl's dowry! Are you trying to bring shame upon the Liu family?" Master Liu's neck turned bright red, and he slammed the teacup beside him onto the ground.
Madam Liu looked bewildered and quickly stood up, asking, "Sir, what are you saying? I don't understand a word you're saying."
"Don't you understand?" Master Liu snorted coldly and said angrily, "Now the rumors outside are quite detailed, saying that our Liu family's mistress mistreats her daughter, even trying to squeeze out a portion of her daughter's dowry, and using inferior items to make up the difference!"
Madam Liu stumbled, and Liu's mother, who was standing nearby, reacted quickly and steadied her.
"Master! Although I am heartbroken about this dowry, I would never allow that girl to be humiliated in public! After all, she is marrying in place of our Hui'er. If I were to do such a thing, wouldn't I be ruining the reputation of the Liu family? What will others think of our family in the future?" Madam Liu hurriedly defended herself.
Master Liu stared intently at Madam Liu's pale face. After a long while, seeing that she still looked wronged and aggrieved, his anger gradually subsided with the rise and fall of his chest. "Then... so this matter really has nothing to do with you?"
"Master, please investigate! If I have truly withheld that girl's dowry, may I be struck by lightning and suffer a terrible fate... um!" Before Madam Liu could finish speaking, Liu Mama covered her mouth with a handkerchief, choking out, "Madam, you must not say such things!"
After all, the lady was his childhood sweetheart. After hesitating for a moment, Master Liu finally stepped forward and reached out to help her up.
"If it wasn't done at your behest, who would have the audacity to do such a foolish thing behind the backs of the master and mistress of the mansion?" Master Liu asked in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, fine beads of sweat appeared on Liu's forehead, and her fingers unconsciously twisted the handkerchief in her hand. Madam Liu, standing to the side, sensed something was amiss. After all, Liu had served her for many years, and she believed she understood Liu's thoughts to some extent.
Madam Liu forced a smile and subconsciously said to Master Liu, "Master, my son-in-law and second... second daughter are both reasonable people. Why don't we send a decent servant to deliver some tonics and medicines over? It would be a small way to make up for it. I'm sure they won't hold such a small matter against us."
"Very well, this is the only way for now. Madam, I'll leave this matter to you to arrange!" Master Liu sighed and slowly left.
Madam Liu placed her hand on Liu Mama's forearm, and the two of them returned to Yingni Courtyard.
As soon as she entered the room, Madam Liu's face darkened. She turned to look at Liu Mama and asked in a cold voice, "Liu Mama, tell me, who did this?"
Upon hearing this, Liu's mother instinctively took a half step back. Seeing this, what else could Madam Liu not understand? Her voice suddenly rose, and she immediately shouted angrily, "Kneel down before me!"
"Madam! Madam!" Liu Mama knelt down on the blue brick floor with a thud, touching her forehead to the ground, and choked out, "It's all my fault, Madam! It was indeed me who replaced that girl's dowry, but... but I was only thinking of our young lady!"
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu closed her eyes and asked calmly, "Was this Hui'er's idea?"
"No, no! Madam, this was all my doing..." Before Liu Mama could finish speaking, the door to Yingni Courtyard was pushed open from the outside. Madam Liu looked closely and saw that it was indeed Liu Xinhui, dressed in a light yellow dress, carefully stepping in.
"mother."
Madam Liu smiled faintly, stood up and came to Liu Xinhui, then raised her hand and slapped her hard across the face.
"Mother! You... hit me!?" Liu Xinhui looked incredulous and covered her face where she had been hit.
"How could I, Qu Yunfei, raise such a stupid and foolish daughter!" Madam Liu's voice trembled almost imperceptibly as she spoke sharply.
"Mother! She's just a lowly maid who married into the Song family in my place. Why... why is she more respectable than me, the real Miss Liu?" Liu Xinhui's eyes immediately turned red as she stared intently at Madam Liu and questioned her.
"Even now, you still don't know why your mother hit you?" After saying this, Madam Liu sneered, "With your shallow nature, the manor only gave that maid a little more dowry, and you lost your temper! How can you face the painstaking upbringing your father and I have given you all these years?"
"Mother! How dare that wretched girl have so many good things? I'll make sure she can't hold her head up in the Song family! This matter will definitely become a point of contention between the two of them..."
Before Liu Xinhui could finish speaking, Madam Liu raised her hand again and slapped her once more.
"Shut up!" Madam Liu trembled with anger. "You're going to marry into the county magistrate's family and become an official's wife. If word gets out that you instructed the servants to switch your sister's dowry, will Young Master Wang still want a wife with such a wicked heart?"
Liu Xinhui stood there, stunned, staring blankly at the embroidered patterns on the shoes.
"Mother, please calm down. I just wanted to teach that lowly maid a lesson. Why should she get married in such a grand manner? I am your biological daughter, the young lady of this mansion! I am not reconciled, that's why I... that's why..." Liu Xinhui's hair was slightly disheveled. She touched her swollen cheeks with both hands, her eyes glistening with tears.
"Hui'er, my good child." Madam Liu sighed deeply, personally helping Liu Xinhui to sit on a low couch beside her. Her tone softened in the end: "If you hadn't pretended to be sick in the first place, how could this marriage have fallen to that servant? You were so angry that you did something foolish, and now our Liu family has lost face. If you really can't get over this, if you feel so upset, you can come and tell me. I have ten or a hundred ways to deal with her! You... sigh!"
"Mother, daughter, daughter knows she was wrong!" Liu Xinhui said, her fingertips digging deeply into her palm.
Looking at her daughter's tear-streaked face, Madam Liu's eyes also reddened. She reached out and pulled her into her arms. "Silly girl, look at how angry your father is today. If he finds out it was you who caused this trouble, he will definitely not let you off easily. Next time, you must not do such a foolish thing again!"
"Yes, I will listen to Mother," Liu Xinhui replied meekly.
"Mama Liu, later you go to my little storeroom and send that set of cloisonné sapphire jewelry over there," Madam Liu instructed in a low voice.
"Mother! This jewelry was meant for your daughter..." Liu Xinhui suddenly raised her head, but the movement was too large, pulling on her swollen cheek, and she couldn't help but gasp in pain.
Madam Liu smiled faintly and reached out to stroke the delicate embroidery on her sleeve. "Hui'er, remember this: once your marriage to the magistrate's family is settled, we'll have plenty of opportunities to get back everything we gave away."
"Yes, Mother."
Three days passed quickly, and before we knew it, it was time for the bride to return to her parents' home.
In front of the Liu residence, the imposing vermilion gate was wide open. Two gatekeepers stood on tiptoe, constantly peering into the alleyway. Soon, they saw a blue-curtained carriage slowly approaching in the distance.
The head servant's eyes lit up, and he quickly nudged his companion with his elbow, whispering, "Quick, quick, go to the mansion and report to the master that the second young lady and her husband have returned home!" He hurriedly said to the people around him.
"Alright, I'll go right away!" The servant nodded and quickly ran into the mansion.
When the green-curtained carriage stopped in front of the door, Song Ce lifted the curtain and then carefully helped Liu Wanyao down from the carriage.
The servant stepped forward, bowed to the newlyweds who were coming hand in hand, and said ingratiatingly, "Second Miss, Young Master, please come in! Master instructed me to wait at the door early this morning, and we've been waiting for you!"
Liu Wanyao nodded slightly, smiled, and took out a silver coin from her sleeve, handing it to the servant. "You've worked hard this early in the morning. Go buy some warm tea!"
The servant was flattered and, after accepting the silver, bowed repeatedly and said, "Second Miss, what are you saying? This is just my duty, I'm not tired at all! You and your husband should hurry up and enter the mansion!" He grinned and led the way for the couple, his steps even becoming lighter.
At this moment, a banquet had already been set up in the flower hall of the Liu residence. Master Liu sat upright in the main seat, while Madam Liu beside him smiled radiantly. However, when she glanced at Song Ce and Liu Wanyao's clasped hands and the maid's blushing face, a fleeting, subtle displeasure flashed across her eyes.
Soon, Madam Liu composed herself, greeted them with a beaming smile, and said kindly, "Yao'er, son-in-law, our family has been waiting for you two! Come quickly, the food is ready!"
The couple first bowed to Master Liu and Madam Liu before taking their seats one after the other, following Madam Liu.
After all, Liu Wanyao was not his biological daughter. Old Master Liu stroked his teacup, coughed lightly, looked at Song Ce's increasingly handsome face, and joked with a smile, "My dear son-in-law, I see that you have become much more energetic these past few days."
Song Ce put down his teacup and smiled, "I'm so grateful for your concern, Father-in-law. It's a joyous occasion, and I'm so lucky to have married such a wonderful girl like Yao'er." As he finished speaking, his eyes unconsciously fell on Liu Wanyao beside him.
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu reached out and patted Liu Wanyao's hand, feigning concern, and said, "Yao'er, from now on you must live a good life with your husband. You can no longer act willfully and according to your own nature."
Liu Wanyao smiled faintly. Just as she was about to speak, a sweet voice suddenly came from outside: "Father, Mother, has my little sister come home?"
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Liu Xinhui, dressed in a light red dress, walking gracefully towards them. The double jade bracelets on her wrists made a crisp sound as she walked.
Seeing this, Master Liu's face hardened, and he scolded in a low voice, "Hui'er! Today is your sister's homecoming day. As the eldest sister, how can you be so rude? Apologize to your sister and brother-in-law!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Xinhui gracefully bowed, her eyes and brows full of tenderness, and stared straight at Song Ce, saying, "I am late today and have not personally welcomed my sister into the mansion. I hope my sister and... brother-in-law will not blame me."
As she called out "brother-in-law," Liu Xinhui intentionally or unintentionally touched the pearl flower ornament at her temple, thinking, "I hope my sister and brother-in-law won't blame me for being impolite as their older sister?"
"Sister, you flatter me. Yao'er knows her place and would never blame you," Liu Wanyao replied gently.
Upon hearing this, the air in the hall suddenly froze.
Liu Xinhui's smile froze on her face, her eyelashes trembling slightly as she said, "What are you saying, sister? We sisters are both daughters of the Liu family, how can there be any distinction between high and low status?"
After saying that, she deliberately walked over and sat down next to Song Ce, the scented powder she had intentionally applied to her sleeves instantly wafting towards him. Song Ce frowned slightly and subtly moved closer to Liu Wanyao.
Upon seeing this, Master Liu's face darkened. He was about to reprimand Liu Xinhui for her lack of manners, asking how an unmarried elder sister could sit next to her brother-in-law. Moreover, the two of them were previously engaged, and they should avoid suspicion at this time.
Upon seeing the solemn face of Master Liu, Madam Liu knew that her daughter's actions were inappropriate. She coughed lightly and took the initiative to pick up a piece of mung bean pastry and hand it to Liu Wanyao. "I remember that Yao'er has always loved this salty mung bean pastry. Try it. This was specially ordered by Mother to be made by the kitchen."
Liu Wanyao lowered her eyes, staring at the red bean pastry in her bowl, a lump forming in her throat. Suddenly, Song Ce's hand, which was hanging under the table, tugged at her sleeve. Before she could react, a warm hand quietly reached out, its warm palm covering her cold hand and gently squeezing it.
Instantly, Liu Wanyao's face flushed red. She looked up at Song Ce beside her and saw a gentle smile on his lips, his eyes filled with silent comfort and pity.
The intimate interaction between the two under the table did not escape Liu Xinhui's eyes. She immediately frowned, turned her head away, and dug her nails deep into her palms.
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Author's note: Adding more and more until I'm completely bored [splitting face]
There's new content, let's take a look, cutie! [Cracking face][Floppy-eared bunny head]
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