Chang Shuyin was a little—no, she completely couldn't believe her ears.
"Your maid?" This question was first directed at Xu Rong.
"Has she been brought back?" This question was directed at Madam Xiao. "Madam, should we keep her?"
Chang Shuyin's voice was extremely soft and ethereal; even she herself found it unfamiliar, as if it came from another world.
Madam Xiao, though trying to pressure her into acknowledging the sudden appearance of the unborn child, wasn't entirely assertive. She tried her best to be gentle and kind, saying, "I know Lun'er was wrong, and I will definitely discipline him when he returns. But now that the mistake has been made, we must find a way to make amends."
Chang Shuyin just sat there blankly.
She felt nauseous, but her chest felt so tight that she couldn't vomit anything or even move. From the outside, she seemed perfectly fine.
Madam Xiao was thus able to continue speaking: "Yinniang, don't take it to heart. Whether that child is a boy or a girl, he is far inferior to my grandson. As for that girl, she is not worth mentioning and will never presume to be ahead of you."
Chang Shuyin listened blankly, unable to speak, only vaguely refuting in her heart whether she cared about whether the child and the maid were overstepping their bounds.
no.
They shouldn't exist!
Xiao Lun—how could you lie to her like that!
“Madam,” she finally spoke, “when the young master returns, I want to ask him in person.”
"Of course I have to ask him," Madam Xiao nodded tolerantly. "I also want to ask him how he could have done such a foolish thing! Yinniang, don't worry, I will definitely stand up for you."
Chang Shuyin didn't want to hear it. Madam Xiao was making the decision for her, forcing her to acknowledge that bastard child.
She stood up to take her leave. Madam Xiao looked at her belly and didn't dare to ask her to agree immediately—she had said that the eldest grandson was important, and that wasn't a lie, so she nodded in agreement.
Chang Shuyin left, and Madam Xiao looked at Xu Rong again. There was no need to keep her, so she waved her hand and sent her out.
When Xu Rong came out, he saw that Chang Shuyin was walking slowly and had just left the courtyard.
She had nothing to avoid, so she naturally walked ahead of her.
Chang Shuyin, who was in a daze, hadn't noticed that she had followed her out. When she saw her now, she snapped back to reality and shouted, "Stop right there!"
Xu Rong turned her head: "Hmm?"
Seeing her nonchalant demeanor, Chang Shuyin's pent-up resentment and anger suddenly surged up: "You did this on purpose, you hate me, don't you?"
Xu Rong shook her head: "No."
Whether it was Chang Shuyin, Xiao Lun, or even Madam Xiao, she never truly harbored hatred towards these people. Such emotions were too intense and exhausting.
She didn't have that much emotion for them.
Chang Shuyin wouldn't listen. Her lips twisted into a cold smile: "You must be very pleased with yourself, aren't you?"
Xu Rong thought for a moment and admitted, "That's true to some extent."
Seeing Chang Shuyin's face contort even further, she laughed, asking her with a hint of surprise, "Shouldn't I be smug? Have you all forgotten what you did to me? You showed no remorse then, and now you won't even let me be smug?"
Chang Shuyin paused for a moment. This was an issue that they couldn't avoid. She hadn't forgotten it, but she thought it was all in the past.
"Then why did you send me to the clinic!" she said defiantly. "Wouldn't it be more to your liking if something happened to me?"
Her condition was not as "everything is fine" as she told Madam Xiao; in fact, it was dangerous. That's why the imperial physician warned her to take good care of herself.
“I didn’t mean that.” Xu Rong shook his head. “But you don’t need to overthink it, and you don’t need to thank me. Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, and people have the heart of compassion. That’s all.”
"You—" Chang Shuyin was speechless for a moment before she reacted and angrily said, "You don't need to pretend. You followed me and brought that bitch back. You were clearly scheming against me. What are you talking about morality!"
Although she had just suffered a huge blow, her mind was still clear. Xu Rong was not afraid and patiently told her, "Because Zhi Tao is in just as much danger as you are. I saved Zhi Tao just as I saved you. Do you think that virtue and compassion can only be used on you alone?"
Chang Shuyin blushed—not from shame, but from a strong sense of humiliation. Xu Rong had never confronted her directly, so she never knew that someone could inflict such a lashing pain with just words.
Seeing that she looked unwell, the maid who was supporting her quickly advised, "Grandma, let's go back first."
...
Chang Shuyin left anyway; her body was too weak to stand arguing with Xu Rong on the way.
Xu Rong also returned to the courtyard, took her usual afternoon nap, and when she got up and dressed, she heard that Xiao Lun had already returned.
It was a little earlier than usual, so it seems that although the servant was much slower, he still managed to get the message into the palace.
Xu Rong decided it was inconvenient to go and watch the commotion, as she would be kicked out by Madam Xiao anyway. She simply wandered around the courtyard, occasionally listening to Hong Liu running back and forth, relaying bits and pieces of gossip.
When Zhi Tao revealed that she was pregnant with Xiao Lun's child, the extra maids in Madam Xiao's room hadn't had time to leave yet, and she had already gone to lie down in the main courtyard's side room. This news couldn't be kept secret and had already spread throughout the entire mansion. Now that Xiao Lun, the person in charge, had returned, even more people were paying attention to the main courtyard. Although Madam Xiao's accumulated prestige prevented them from getting close, they could still find out some of the things that were going on in public.
For example, Xiao Lun went straight to the main courtyard as soon as he returned; Chang Shuyin was also invited there afterward; Lord Xiao also returned to his residence and, upon hearing the news, turned back to the main courtyard from his way to Luomei Residence; and there was also a belated message gathered from the outer courtyard: the maidservant Chang Shuyin sent to her parents' home to deliver a letter was stopped...
"I just don't know what they were talking about in the main courtyard." Hongliu was both curious and regretful. "The guards there are very strict."
Xu Rong also felt a little sorry.
She roughly guessed what Xiao Lun would say. He would definitely bring up the three words that Zhi Tao had heard as his unavoidable reason. This was something she already knew, so it was nothing. But their conversation wouldn't stop there; it would extend further. If she could hear it, she might be able to learn more about the truth.
Inside the main house in the main courtyard.
"...So, Father, Mother, Yinniang, I just want to keep her calm for now."
The room fell silent for a moment, and Madam Xiao's expression was the first to calm down: "I knew it, you're not the kind of child who's blinded by lust. Besides, that Zhi Tao's looks are nothing special."
Lord Xiao frowned, not letting up: "That girl insists that she hasn't told Madam Xu about this matter yet. Is that believable?"
The Xu family he mentioned refers to Xu Rong.
Madam Xiao, driven by her desire to protect her son, dismissed the matter, saying, "What's so unbelievable about that? If she had told anyone, why would Madam Xu have brought her back? Madam Xu is currently with me; if she knew, she certainly wouldn't be acting so arrogantly. And even if this matter were to be exposed and couldn't be kept secret any longer, what can the Xu family do now?"
Although she was as arrogant as ever, what she said wasn't unreasonable. Lord Xiao had no answer and didn't argue with her. Instead, he seized on another question: "That girl, did she really only hear that little bit?"
Xiao Lun knelt and nodded: "Yes, I tested her repeatedly and recalled the events of that day. When I was talking to Yin Niang, only she approached first. I was caught off guard, but by the time those two girls ran up, we had already started arguing. She was determined to push and hit Yin Niang and questioned what Yin Niang had said to me. I protected Yin Niang and in the process, I lost control... Before those two girls could even get close, they ran down the slope and couldn't have heard anything."
Lord Xiao looked at Chang Shuyin again. Chang Shuyin had not expected that Zhi Tao's appearance was related to the past. It was a nightmare for her. The eyes that Xu Rong stared at her before falling gradually overlapped with the eyes that had mocked her outside the courtyard. She shivered: "I...I don't know."
Lord Xiao couldn't do anything to his pregnant daughter-in-law, so he had to ask Xiao Lun again in detail to confirm whether the danger of Zhi Tao was only limited to those three words—as Madam Xiao said, that was actually nothing, since Xu Rong was in the mansion, so there was no way to turn things around.
Madam Xiao, on the other hand, felt completely relaxed and said from the side, "Why has the Marquis been pressing Lun'er about what she did? That matter is over, and Lun'er didn't do it on purpose. In any case, she can't possibly report it."
Lord Xiao couldn't stand those two words. His expression changed, and he hissed, "Shut up!"
Madam Xiao was bewildered by his sudden outburst of anger and exclaimed in surprise and fury, "You—"
"Mother, Father, please stop arguing. It's all my fault," Xiao Lun advised.
As he spoke, he looked at Lord Xiao, and their eyes met, a meaning that only they understood.
There are some things that even Madam Xiao doesn't know, and it's inconvenient to say them to her face.
Lord Xiao calmed himself down and said, "Lun'er, come to my study."
He took Xiao Lun with him and left, leaving only Madam Xiao and Chang Shuyin in the room.
Madam Xiao had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but the men had their own matters to discuss or official business to attend to, and it was not something she could interfere with. Ultimately, her reach was limited to the inner quarters of the house.
“Yinniang,” she calmed down and continued speaking to Chang Shuyin, “If you really don’t want to, there are still seven or eight months until the child is born. During this time, dig out her brother and sister-in-law who are outside, eliminate the threat, and then it’s not impossible to keep the child and remove the mother…”
**
North Campus.
It was already dusk.
Footsteps sounded outside the door. No outsiders would come at this hour. Hongliu was carrying flowerpots down to the porch when she called out, "Second Young Master is back—"
He turned his head to look, and was stunned to see that it wasn't Xiao Xin who had arrived, but Xiao Lun.
Xu Rong had already returned to her room. Hearing the noise, she answered through the window, "I know. Tell your sister Xin Cheng to go get the food."
Then when I came out again, I was stunned when I saw it.
Hongliu shrank to the side and stuck out her tongue: "Grandma, I made a mistake."
Xu Rong waved his hand to indicate that nothing was wrong, and stepped down the stairs: "Is there something you need, Your Highness?"
This was Xiao Lun's first time stepping into the North Courtyard.
He stopped at the gate of the courtyard and did not go any further. Xu Rong did not invite him in. He stopped by the osmanthus tree.
The last tip she received was that Xiao Lun and Lord Xiao had gone to the study in the outer courtyard for a private talk. She had no idea what they were talking about, and she stopped paying attention. She didn't know that after he finished talking, he would come looking for her.
But it wasn't entirely unexpected.
She had just given him a very generous gift, so it was inevitable that he would react.
What exactly do you want to do?
As dusk fell, Xiao Lun gazed at her with a deep look in his eyes.
Xu Rong laughed and said, "Didn't you see what I did? I helped you twice and saved your two children. I didn't hold grudges and treated everyone equally. Why are you questioning me?"
Xiao Lun didn't answer—he couldn't answer; to him, it sounded like sophistry, but he couldn't press her for an answer. He asked again, "Do you know—or, have you remembered something?"
Xu Rong countered, "If I told you, would the Crown Prince believe me?"
Xiao Lun didn't answer, because there was no need to answer; of course he didn't believe it.
He could only warn: "There are some things that are not for you to know, and certainly not for you to meddle in. You are now a member of the Xiao family, and you should understand the principle that we all share the same fate, whether it is good or bad."
"Is Your Highness trying to warn me not to get myself into trouble?" Xu Rong laughed. "I also have a word for Your Highness: be careful, or you'll get a sore face."
She paused for two words, and Xiao Lun's expression changed.
That night actually happened several months ago.
But for some reason, with those words, Xiao Lun seemed to be transported back to that slightly tipsy night, with the moon, the fragrance of flowers, and—
Bang.
He felt a pain in his back.
Xiao Xin, who bumped into him, took a step back while holding his book bag. When he turned around with a slight anger, Xiao Xin looked at him without flinching and said, "Brother, I didn't know you were here. I made a mistake."
Xiao Lun: "..."
I couldn't help but glance at his book bag, which was as thick as a brick. I wondered how many books were inside.
"Brother, is there anything else?"
Not only did they not invite him in for tea, they also directly asked him to leave. Xiao Lun couldn't say anything more, and he was really feeling a tightness in his chest. He swallowed his anger and left in a hurry.
Xu Rong didn't think much of it and naturally instructed his men, "Prepare dinner once it's brought back. Second Young Master, I have something to tell you after dinner—"
It's necessary to inform him about Zhi Tao's matter.
Xiao Xin hummed in agreement. He seemed hungry after a long day and ate dinner with her in silence. After they finished eating, they went to the warm pavilion. Just as Xu Rong was about to speak, he suddenly asked first, "What do you mean by 'face hurts'?"
Xu Rong: "..."
She blinked. If she told him it was just a joke, would he believe her?
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