The two old women breathed a sigh of relief as they left the courtyard; they had finally come out.
Before Jiang Wei could speak, Dewdrop said, “Aunt Liu is the master’s concubine, not even a concubine. Over the years, she has always acted as if she were the mistress of my family because she thinks my young lady is young.”
She tricked my daughter into calling her "mother." My daughter, being kind-hearted, was extremely filial to Aunt Liu because of this title, and even entrusted her with managing my late mother's shop.
The good things that my daughter's maternal grandfather sent for her must be given to my daughter and me, but Aunt Liu can't accept the kindness my daughter shows her.
From this day forward, act in accordance with the rules. Know what you should and shouldn't say, and know who your true masters are. Never again misbehave.
Below, he replied respectfully, "Yes."
Dewdrop walked to Jiang Wei's side and quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Although it was the first time, she didn't want to embarrass her young lady. Finally, her young lady wouldn't have to be bullied anymore.
Jiang Wei smiled when she saw the slight nervousness in Lu Zhu's eyes. This girl usually acts innocent and naive, but when it really comes down to it, she's incredibly useful—no, the most, most useful.
In her past life, she was the same. She went to the Marquis's mansion to help her deal with the evil spirits there. She was clearly very afraid, but she never showed any fear, just like today.
Jiang Wei's smile vanished in an instant, replaced by hatred, before returning to normal in the blink of an eye.
"Hasn't Aunt Liu finished organizing her account books yet? I'll send someone to pick them up after lunch." Jiang Wei walked past her. "Take these two away."
After Jiang Wei left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and an invisible sense of oppression disappeared.
Aunt Liu was helped back to her room by Xinzhi. She lay on the bed and Xinzhi used a warm water towel to apply a compress to her face and then applied medicine.
She had never suffered such a loss or been wronged like this before. She clenched her fist and slammed it hard on the bed. The force was so great that she grimaced in pain, which made her face hurt even more.
She gently opened Xinzhi's hand, "Go see if Master has returned?"
The medicine on the new branches was almost finished, so I took the basin and went outside.
A moment later, a voice came from outside, "Master is back."
Jiang Zai Shui walked in from the courtyard gate, a sound of "Ouch... Ouch... Hiss..." coming from his arms.
Xinzhi lifted the curtain, and he went inside. "What's wrong?"
Aunt Liu feigned panic, turning her body to the inside of the bed, suppressing a sob, and tried to speak calmly: "Master is back? I was in a bad mood today, so I came to dine with you."
Jiang Zai Shui sat on the edge of the bed, his hand resting on Aunt Liu's arm. "Turn around, let your husband take a look."
Aunt Liu turned around halfway, reluctantly, but then turned back again, saying, "Don't frighten the master."
"It's nothing. Turn around. I've seen you before, haven't I?" Jiang Zaishui teased her.
Aunt Liu turned around and gently tapped Jiang Zai Shui's body, saying coquettishly, "Master... in broad daylight."
She then covered her face, but it was too swollen to cover. Jiang Zai Shui pried her hands away and asked, "What happened?"
Aunt Liu sat up and looked at the river. "Master..." she hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back, and two lines of clear tears flowed from her eyes.
Jiang Zai Shui used to adore her when she was like this, but now he couldn't bear it and said, "I will stand up for you."
Aunt Liu forced a smile, "I don't need my husband to stand up for me. The eldest young lady just wants to use us, mother and daughter, to establish her authority. I'm fine, but I feel sorry for Rou'er, who was stripped of her clothes and thrown into the ancestral hall to be forced to kneel as punishment."
"How can she stand such cold weather?" Aunt Liu wanted to wipe away her tears, but dared not, afraid of touching the wound on her face.
“Master, please don’t blame the eldest daughter. She is young and naive. She was raised by me since she was a child, but she doesn’t recognize me as her aunt. I still feel sorry for her. I only beg you to release Rou’er.”
Xinzhi knelt on the ground, "Master, the eldest young lady has bullied our concubine time and time again. Today, she even ordered her servants to beat our concubine and publicly cursed her, saying that she is not the madam but still acts like one, saying that our concubine is just a lowly concubine and that she is the legitimate eldest young lady and the rightful mistress of this mansion."
These words were taught to her by Aunt Liu. Aunt Liu had mentioned several times that Jiang Zai Shui should make her his official wife. At first, he said that his first wife had just passed away, and he didn't want outsiders to say that he was heartless, so he would wait until more time had passed. Later, after a few years, he said that everyone respected her as his wife, and she would continue to attend banquets outside as usual.
Whether or not she gets promoted to the official position isn't really important to her, since she has a son who is successful. The position will be hers sooner or later, so why should she provoke him? Little did she expect that this would give that bitch Jiang Wei an excuse.
Let a servant bring it up today and see his reaction.
As expected, Jiang Zai Shui was furious. "Outrageous! Does this rebellious daughter think she can get away with anything?" She stood up from the bed.
"Master, please don't confront her head-on. She has a maidservant with her who knows full-body kung fu; it seems she was sent by the Marquis of Chang'an's mansion," Aunt Liu said with concern, tugging at Jiang Zai Shui's clothes.
Jiang Zai Shui got even angrier. "She dares to hit me? She's gone too far!"
As soon as Jiang Zai Shui left the house, Aunt Liu breathed a sigh of relief. Although her face still ached, she felt relieved and lay down for a comfortable rest.
Jiang, his face flushed with moisture, headed straight for Breeze Courtyard.
Jiang Wei returned to Breeze Courtyard, went inside, and then hurriedly came out again.
I went back inside a little while later, but nothing seemed different. Even though the sun was shining brighter than usual today, it was still so hot in the dead of winter! Even the floor was warm!
Jiang Wei was a little confused, but Yu Zhu greeted her with a smile, "Give me the cloak, miss!" She reached out to untie the rope.
"Why is it so hot inside?" Jiang Wei asked.
“Miss, this was arranged by Miss Chen Hui before she left. This morning, as soon as you left, Miss Chen Hui’s brother, Chen Lie, brought a lot of iron pipes and installed them under the floorboards. They built a hot water boiler outside the house, and the hot water flows back and forth, making the house bright. You have to admit, it’s much warmer than the brazier we usually use.”
Is it really that hot? The floor is hot.
Jiang Wei couldn't stand the heat any longer. "I'll go outside for some fresh air and come back in when the temperature is more comfortable."
Dewdrop draped the cloak she had just taken off back over Jiang Wei's shoulders, but Jiang Wei refused, saying it would only be for a moment and wouldn't matter.
Dewdrop looked at her with red eyes and tried to take the cloak away.
Seeing her like this, Jiang Wei had no choice but to put it on. What could she do? She was her own girl, so she had to spoil her!
Jiang Wei walked up to the loquat tree and looked up at the tree full of flowers.
Dewdrop knew that her daughter was missing her mistress. "With so many flowers blooming, there will be plenty of loquats to eat next year. We can also make loquat syrup, loquat syrup, loquat honey, and loquat plums. Just thinking about it makes my mouth water."
Jiang smiled, her eyes brightening slightly. Everything was fine now, and there was still time. She gave a soft "Mmm..."
"Master." The old woman at the door bowed.
Jiang Wei looked in the direction of the sound and saw her father staring at her with unkind eyes.
Jiang Wei walked over, bowed, and said, "Father."
After performing the ceremony, she stood aside without saying a word, waiting for her father to speak.
"Don't you have anything to say?" Jiang Zaishui asked, his hands behind his back.
“Didn’t Father already hear it?” Jiang Wei replied.
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