“Mother,” Liu Xun lowered his eyes to hide his thoughts, “I am not as good as you say.”
"My son, there's no need for modesty," Madam Liu said proudly, raising her chin. "There is no one in the world more sensible than you. At just ten years old, you already know to bring your mother water to wash her feet. How many boys in the world can do that?"
“Mother,” Liu Xun blushed, “they were all trivial matters, how come you still remember them now?”
Definitely a dark history.
Every time I mention it, it reminds me of the time when I had to grovel and fawn over people.
Every time this topic comes up, it feels like the wounds are being reopened.
“My son is so filial to his mother, I will remember every little thing he does.”
“Mother, let’s not talk about this anymore, it’s embarrassing,” Liu Xun changed the subject. “I really have no way to help Father, so I can only ask you to step in.”
"Don't worry," Madam Liu said, unconcerned. "Hongzhuang, get me a change of clothes. Find me any servant's clothes. Let's go meet the young masters of the Lady of the State's family."
"Mother," Liu Xun turned his eyes and asked hesitantly, "Will this work?"
“Why not? No matter what happens inside, I am Liu An’s wife and the mistress of the Liu family. To outsiders, we are one.”
"That's true, thankfully you, Mother, are thinking of your son."
"It's alright. As a mother, I will definitely think about my child."
When Madam Liu, supported by her personal maid, arrived outside the city, she saw a dense crowd of people queuing up, many of whom were people from the nearby capital who had traveled from afar. She immediately frowned.
"Why are there so many peasants?"
"Madam, please be careful with your words. There are many eyes and ears here."
“It’s alright, my voice isn’t very loud,” she said, then frowned and pointed ahead. “Hongzhuang, go and call them out.”
Upon hearing this, Hongzhuang's expression showed surprise for a moment, and then, "Madam, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"After all, the master is the steward of the Lady of the Protectorate's household."
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu's face immediately darkened.
She was repeatedly reminded of things she had deliberately forgotten, and she couldn't bear to lose face.
Unable to reprimand her verbally, he could only glare fiercely at the maid.
After a short while, he casually instructed, "Lead the way, let's go take a look."
The closer she got to the crowd, the stronger the smell became; the sweat mixed with a fishy stench made Mrs. Liu unable to resist covering her nose with a handkerchief.
Deep in his eyes, there was no concealment of disdain and impatience.
Jiang Chao had long noticed the master and servant who seemed out of place among the others. He initially thought they were just ladies from a wealthy family and didn't pay them any attention. But then the two of them started getting closer and closer to him.
"You can't cut in line here, you go to the back of the line."
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu's smile, which she had managed to force open, immediately froze.
“Young Master Huang, my wife is a member of Grand Secretary Liu’s family; she is not here to wait in line.”
"Oh?" Jiang Chao narrowed his eyes. "What brings you here, Madam Liu?"
“It is so,” Hongzhuang said nervously when she saw that Madam Liu remained silent for a long time. “My lady wants to see the master. Please do me a favor, Young Master Huang.”
Upon hearing this, the four exchanged glances.
Huang Chuan spoke first, "We don't know where Uncle Liu is, but as his wife, Mrs. Liu certainly knows better than we do."
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu's face immediately turned pale.
She suspected that the young man in front of her was deliberately alluding to her, but she had no evidence.
Surely Liu An wouldn't be telling outsiders about his marital affairs, would he?
Can he afford to lose face like that?
"If you are unwilling, I will not force you."
"It's not that I'm unwilling, it's just that I don't know."
Jiang Chao refused to leave any room for criticism.
“It’s alright,” Madam Liu said calmly. “I will just stand here and wait.”
She refused to believe that old bastard Liu An would abandon his young masters here.
This time, she deliberately wore old clothes and only brought one maid. Although it did not conform to the grandeur of the Grand Secretary's wife, it was enough to let the people of the capital see Liu An's miserable state after donating all his wealth, and they would surely pity her for the injustice she had suffered.
Liu An will be made to repay what he owes tenfold or a hundredfold!
“Sure,” Jiang Chao pointed to the back of the line, “but please move to another spot so you don’t block the people behind you from receiving blessings.”
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu's face immediately fell, looking ashen as a donkey's.
She glared angrily at Jiang Chao, snorted, and then flung her sleeves and left. "Hongzhuang, let's go to the shade of the tree over there."
"Yes, madam."
After Madam Liu left, the four of them whispered among themselves, “We’ve always heard of Madam Liu, and seeing her today, we can see that she truly lives up to her reputation.”
"That's too domineering," Huang Lao Er muttered, resting his chin on his hand. "With such a tigress in the family, no wonder Uncle Liu doesn't want to come back."
If they're this tough on outsiders, imagine how tough they'd be on their own home.
"I guess he's angry," Huang Xiaosan couldn't help but shake his head. "Anyone who knows that all the family's money has been donated would probably not be able to remain calm."
"Let's not talk about that now. It's not a good idea for this guy to keep refusing to leave. Let's find a way to notify Uncle Liu right away."
“I just had someone notify him,” Huang Chuan said, frowning, “but I still have a feeling he won’t come.”
It's the same for him.
When a tigress comes to settle scores, you'd better run away than provoke her.
"Uncle Liu will definitely handle it himself. Let's not get involved in this. Just focus on our own work. There are still two days left. Let's hope nothing unexpected happens."
"Too!"
Jiang Chao guessed correctly; Liu An acted swiftly.
No sooner had Lady Liu found the man than Liu An, upon hearing the news, found a pretext to deal with Liu Xun.
He was made to run around the city on official business all day, and before two hours had passed, he collapsed from the heat and was sent home.
Upon hearing the news, Madam Liu could no longer sit still and rushed back to take care of her son.
After everyone left, Liu An walked out unhurriedly. "If you run into her again, just ignore her. There's still some hope for us. She won't dare to act shamelessly. But if she finds out we're leaving the capital soon, who knows what she might do."
He had tricked his wife badly, and she certainly wouldn't let it go so easily; she was probably up to something.
“We have already learned something about your wife’s character,” Jiang Chao said meaningfully.
He was truly arrogant and cunning. Although he acted superior, he was perfectly measured and never gave anyone cause for criticism. Instead, he was able to test the strength of his group.
Fortunately, they weren't as hopelessly stupid as the Emperor had described, and were able to handle this kind of trick.
He realized that both Grand Secretary Liu and his wife were cunning and treacherous, neither of them easy to mess with.
Jiang Chao, who was always looking forward to watching the show, wondered what it would be like if the old couple started arguing.
"Anyway, just stay away from her," Liu An said awkwardly. "Women only have these low-class tricks. If you can't even handle these, you can forget about avoiding all sorts of open and hidden attacks in the future."
After hastily giving his instructions, he immediately made an excuse to leave.
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