"Waaah..."
"Stop crying! Did your mother wrong you?!" Old Madam Zhang scolded, her brows furrowed. "At your age, you still act without thinking, doing whatever comes to mind. Do you think everyone else is a fool? Do you think you're the only smart one? You'll only stop when you suffer a serious setback!"
"Mother, haven't I fallen hard enough?" Madam Xiao sobbed, covering her eyes with her handkerchief. "Look at my life. My husband is estranged, my son is a worry, and now even my own mother doesn't care about me. What's the point of me living?"
"Pah, stop playing the victim with me. Not to mention this mansion, you get whatever you want from your maternal family and in-laws' homes. What could possibly be unsatisfactory to you?"
Madam Xiao shifted her body slightly, as if trying to dodge the question: "Mother, I didn't—I was the only one who suppressed the Xu family, and that was for Lun'er's sake, it was something I had no choice about."
Old Madam Zhang pointed at her: "You still deny it? Do you think I'm your own mother and can't do anything to you? Let me tell you, that Luo guy's confession was obtained by your son during his interrogation. By the time I found out, it was too late. The reason I've brought your son to our house and come to question you personally is to leave you some leeway. Otherwise, you know your son's temper—he's like a firecracker. He'd come knocking on your door demanding to know why you, his older sister, framed him, and make a scene that would be known throughout the whole mansion. What were you going to do then?!"
Madam Xiao's face under the handkerchief changed color slightly.
She really didn't know that it was Wei Ling who arrested and interrogated her.
Old Madam Zhang gave her a long, stern lecture. She knew things hadn't been handled carefully enough, and Old Madam Zhang had already noticed. But she hadn't expected the root of the problem to be with Zhang Weiling. This younger brother of hers, who spent his days gambling and chasing dogs, indulging in his usual纨绔 (wán kù, spoiled, dissolute) ways, how come he'd suddenly become so clever? Or had Luo Er betrayed her? No, he wouldn't dare; he wouldn't benefit from it himself—
Madam Zhang was disappointed: "Who else do you want to blame? The Xu family's mansion is like a sieve; it's not difficult for anyone to infiltrate it. But how can outsiders accurately predict your son's whereabouts? Only a traitor within the family—a traitor within the family is hard to guard against!"
Old Madam Zhang's voice became hoarse. Madam Xiao couldn't bear these words, so she dropped her handkerchief, looked up, and called out, "Mother!"
Madam Zhang stared at her intently, her eyes like dry wells: "Yingyu, no one knows a daughter better than her mother. I can't wrong you. If you're still being stubborn, I'll leave now. You don't need to come see me again. Just be a good wife to me."
Realizing that Madam Zhang was serious, Madam Xiao's knees went weak, and she slowly slid down from the head of the bed to kneel.
"...I didn't expect it either, Mother. Xu is utterly useless; all she does is cry. But when the time is right, that one skill of hers can make several families look bad. I just want to make her behave. But after thinking it over, I really can't do anything. So I'm thinking of seizing one mistake from her family first—"
"You've set your sights on your brother," Old Madam Zhang said coldly. "You know I love him, and I protect him no matter who offends him. Yet you scheme to get him into a conflict with the Xu family's boy, using your own mother to do this dirty work for you. You think you're so capable, making everyone run wild with you!"
Madam Xiao began to sob again: "Mother, I didn't. I really didn't expect your son to be so badly injured. He's always the one who gets the upper hand when he's fooling around with others. He's my own brother, and I love him dearly. Even if I made a mistake for a moment, how could I possibly want to harm him?"
"I believe you didn't think about it," Old Madam Zhang said calmly. Before Madam Xiao could breathe a sigh of relief, her voice immediately turned stern. "But if you truly love him, you shouldn't let him take even the slightest risk of injury! Even that girl from the Xu family understands this. As his own sister, do you expect me to tell you this to his face?!"
Madam Xiao was first startled, then stunned: "The Xu family? Xu Rong? What does she know?"
"She knows everything," Old Madam Zhang said coldly. "You chose a daughter-in-law, don't you know what kind of person she is? She dares to bully the whole family so arrogantly. Luckily, she understands things much better than her mother, otherwise, they would have been torn apart. Not to mention you, I wouldn't even be able to save face."
"How could she know?" Madam Xiao was utterly bewildered, momentarily forgetting everything that had happened to her. "Could it be that she instigated Luo Er—"
"It was the elders of the Luo family who went to the Xu family first," Old Madam Zhang said irritably. "Your son is impetuous. He grabbed Luo Er on the street. When the elders in the family found out, they were naturally anxious. Since they couldn't talk to our family, they went to the Xu family for help. Mrs. Xu is living in a dream and didn't see anything, but Xu girl figured it out."
Madam Xiao was shocked to learn that not only her mother had heard about it, but the Xu family had also found out. She was in a state of utter confusion: "Mother, what happens next?"
"Then I sent them all away. Xu girl is very sensible. I took it upon myself to cancel the foolish marriage you arranged, and she didn't say anything more. As for that Master Luo, I told him to keep his son in check and stop him from talking nonsense outside." As she spoke, Madam Zhang glared at her daughter resentfully. "You're such a grown man, and your daughter-in-law is almost married into the family. I still have to clean up all this mess for you."
Old Madam Zhang felt she had worried herself sick, but Madam Xiao was ungrateful and anxiously cried out, "Mother, how can we return it?"
Madam Zhang's face darkened with anger: "What?"
Madam Xiao wanted to say something, but stopped abruptly before she could speak. She frowned and thought for a moment, then, unwilling to give up, changed the subject: "I know that girl Xu Rong. She's not much better than her mother. I don't think she necessarily understands anything. Mother has probably misunderstood. Since you haven't brought it up—"
"What else do you want to say!" Old Madam Zhang swung her cane and struck him directly. "Do you have to be slapped across the face by someone, so slapped that everyone can see it, before you'll back down? You've suffered your whole life because you're too stubborn, and you still haven't changed. I can't control you anymore. This time, you have to listen to me. Tomorrow, go to the Xu family and tell Madam Xu that the marriage is off. It was you and Lun'er who were in the wrong. You bullied them too much and made them mortal enemies. You've ruined your own future!"
Madam Xiao said anxiously, "Mother, we really can't back out. What will happen to Lun'er if we back out?"
Mentioning her grandson, Old Madam Zhang softened her tone: "Lun'er is still young and his temperament is not yet settled. He makes a mistake once and that's it. It's not a big deal. He likes the Chang family girl, so let him get engaged to her. If you force him to marry Xu girl, like you and your son-in-law, you'll never get along. That wouldn't be good."
"No, Mother..." Madam Xiao sat half-paralyzed on the ground, tears streaming down her face, "I didn't mean to deceive you, I really had no choice, Lun'er..."
With nowhere to retreat, she uttered a sentence that shocked Old Madam Zhang, making her dizzy and nearly causing her to collapse.
Madam Xiao hurriedly crawled over on her knees: "Mother, Mother, what's wrong?"
Old Mrs. Zhang sat in her chair and weakly pushed her away: "Don't call me, you, you all—"
She sighed from the bottom of her heart: "How foolish!"
**
In the Changxing Marquis's residence, Old Madam Zhang was teaching her daughter, while in the Ji'an Marquis's residence, Madam Xu was teaching her son.
"Zhang'er, from now on you will stay obediently in the manor. Without your mother's permission, you are not allowed to go anywhere." Madam Xu looked very stern. "If I find out you've gone out without permission, I will—I will—"
She stammered and couldn't continue, so she quickly lowered her head and started thinking about what punishment would be appropriate.
Xu Rong, who had just returned, sat down casually and said, "Break his legs."
Madam Xu was startled: "How can that be!"
“That’s right, that’s right.” Xu Huazhang knelt on the ground and shouted repeatedly, “Sister, why are you so fierce now?”
He had just eaten, taken a bath, and changed into new clothes. He looked much cleaner and more energetic now. He looked different from Xu Rong, and probably resembled the deceased Lord Xu more. He had thin eyebrows and eyes, and every little expression exuded cleverness.
Xu Rong glanced at him and wondered if it was because he was young and recovered quickly or what, but his mental state didn't look like someone who had just been released from prison after serving half a month.
She didn't respond, but Xu Huazhang continued, "Sister, don't worry, I guarantee I won't let that Xiao Xin marry you. If he dares to come, I have plenty of ways to kill him."
Xu Rong raised an eyebrow, thinking he should be locked up back in jail.
"Oh? You mean those tricks of yours, like choking people and spitting out their saliva?"
Xu Huazhang was a little embarrassed and annoyed: "I wasn't prepared! I have a lot of powerful moves. I'll make sure he's beaten to a pulp and will avoid us from now on."
But Xu Rong's words stirred up Madam Xu's memories, and she said worriedly, "Zhang'er, your sister is right. How could you do that? That was all wrong, and you shouldn't have said those things. By the way, you weren't like this before. Where did you learn this?"
Xu Huazhang was clearly spoiled and dared to speak the truth in front of Madam Xu. He said frankly, "I learned it in prison. Mother, let me tell you, there are two enemies living across from me. Their other enemy paid money to lock them up together. The two of them fight and curse every day in there. It's quite a scene."
"What's all the commotion about? Stop talking!" Madam Xu was almost fainting. "Zhang'er, why don't you learn good things from others? Those people who go to jail are all guilty. You've inherited a title and are a proper marquis appointed by the imperial court. You need to know your status. You're not the same as those people, and you absolutely mustn't follow their example, okay?"
Xu Huazhang said, "I understand, Mother."
His appearance clearly shows that he doesn't mean what he says.
Madam Xu was still worried, and then added, "You're not allowed to go to those unclean places either. You're still so young. There's no good person there, and that second son of the Luo family is the one who invited you there, which led to this whole mess. You should stay away from him from now on."
This time, Xu Huazhang didn't immediately give a perfunctory answer. Instead, he narrowed his long, thin eyes and said, "Luo Cheng'an—"
Luo Cheng'an is the name of Second Master Luo.
Madam Xu was surprised to hear this: "You used to call him Second Brother Luo, what's going on?"
Xu Huazhang touched his chin with his equally slender fingers, and uttered a sentence from his thin lips: "Mother, I suspect he framed me."
Oh.
Xu Rong sat up straighter. She hadn't wanted to speak again, but now she asked, "How did you come up with that idea?"
Xu Huazhang said, “I’ve been locked up in that tiny place for so long, unable to go anywhere or see a single outsider. I can only sit there and think about things. I keep thinking about what happened that day. When Luo Cheng’an met me on the road, it didn’t seem like a chance encounter. The way he craned his neck to look around made it seem like he was specifically looking for me. Later, when I got into a fight with Zhang Weiling, he tried to pull me apart, but he didn’t do it very hard. Humph—the more I think about it, the more suspicious I feel.
Xu Rong nodded slightly. This time in prison wasn't wasted; he actually gained some insight from it.
Xu Huazhang got excited: "Sister, am I right? This isn't over. I'll settle the score with him tomorrow."
Madam Xu couldn't stand it anymore and hurriedly said, "Zhang'er, what did you just promise me? Luo Er was wrong, but that devil from the Zhang family just captured him and beat him half to death, so that's enough. You mustn't pay any more attention to those things. Staying at home and taking care of your health is the right thing to do."
Xu Huazhang burst out laughing upon hearing this, grinning as he said, "Zhang Weiling beat him up? Heh, he must have realized there was something wrong with him too. Good for him. How did he beat him up?"
"Master Luo said his face was swollen twice over—" Madam Xu realized her mistake halfway through her answer and forced a stern face, saying, "Zhang'er, are you going to listen to me or not?"
Xu Huazhang was barely satisfied with this description and nodded, saying, "Mother, I'm listening."
Madam Xu's face hardened for only a moment before relaxing: "That's right. Alright, get up now."
Xu Huazhang chuckled, got up from the ground, ran to Madam Xu's side and leaned against her. Madam Xu quickly put her arm around him.
Xu Rong also stood up.
The scene of motherly love and filial piety at the head of the table was like a play to her. She stepped off the stage, down the steps, and looked up to see the stars filling the night sky.
Tomorrow should be a good day.
She was really looking forward to it.
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