As I opened my eyes in the morning, a ray of sunlight pierced through the gap in the gauze curtains, shining like a fairy's jade cloak.
Li Shiyue shifted her body. She had slept very poorly that night, almost as if she had a nightmare, as she kept feeling someone making noise, sometimes near and sometimes far.
Chunling heard the noise and came in, her face hesitant, her feet stopping in her tracks: "Miss."
"What's wrong? This expression doesn't look good."
"I don't know the specifics, but I heard that the second and fourth branches of the family had a big fight last night. It was quite a commotion, and almost everyone except the old lady's Shousong Hall was alerted."
No wonder, she felt that the mansion was very noisy last night, it turns out something really happened.
She hadn't slept well; her forehead was throbbing, as if it were dancing incessantly on every nerve in her body, and she felt uneasy.
Li Shiyue raised her hand to rub her temples, her voice slightly tired: "Get up, I'm going to my grandmother's for breakfast."
Chunling clapped her hands and said, "Miss, get up." Then Qiufan and Cuixia came in carrying water. After getting dressed, Li Shiyue led Chunling towards Shousong Hall.
Perhaps because she arrived early, Madam Xu was still getting ready. Li Shiyue lifted the curtain and went in, took the wooden comb from Granny Chang's hand, and gently combed through her hair. This gentle touch would only relax Madam Xu's mind.
Li Shiyue had been raised by Madam Li for many years, and she was very attentive to the old lady.
"Grandma didn't sleep well either; she doesn't look well today."
Madam Xu opened her eyes and sighed softly, "Perhaps it's because of the long journey and the fact that I've been used to staying in the Zen temple for many days. It's a little strange to be sleeping on such an exquisite and luxurious bed at home."
Her temples were already gray, and even her neatly combed hair had hardly any black strands left. Li Shiyue chose a pair of red gold Ruyi hairpins and selected a gold hairpin adorned with lotus flowers and pearls, inserting it into the center of her hair bun.
Today's forehead ribbon is not as luxurious as before, but rather simple, with only a thumb-sized piece of Hetian jade in the center.
"Then please have a large breakfast. After you finish eating, Grandma can rest for a while, and I will accompany you to worship Buddha. I brought all the scriptures that my cousin and I copied over. Grandma, please take a look."
Madam Xu was gratified. With Li Shiyue by her side, the unease she felt when she woke up in the morning gradually subsided.
“I trust you to do things well. But it’s Liu Yatou who has finally been able to calm down and copy the scriptures. She couldn’t have done that before.”
It's not that serious, but Xu Lingzi needs a lot of time to copy the scriptures. After all, she is very active and it is not easy for her to finish copying them in a short time.
Li Shiyue, however, preferred quiet, and the two sisters, one active and the other quiet, created a unique harmony when they were together.
As the saying goes, "One should not speak while eating or sleeping," Old Madam Xu had just put down her chopsticks and was about to be helped by Li Shiyue to the wide wooden couch when she suddenly heard hurried footsteps in the corridor. Before she could react, someone had already entered, speaking with what sounded like a thousand grievances: "Mother!"
Li Shiyue recognized the voice and turned around to see that it was Liu Shi, whose eyes were filled with tears, as if she had suffered a great injustice.
Remembering what Chunling said today, the second and fourth wives seemed to have a big fight last night, and I'm afraid it wasn't because of this.
Even though Madam Xu disliked the second branch of the family, she was getting on in years and always disliked humiliating the younger generation. She hurriedly had someone help her up, but her furrowed brows showed nothing but displeasure.
"What is this? Making me unhappy so early in the morning."
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu raised her hand and wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve, and a tear immediately fell: "Your daughter-in-law dares not, I have suffered a great injustice, and I can only come to my mother to seek justice for me."
Old Madam Xu glanced at her and saw that she was being supported by Granny Chang, preventing her from kneeling down to make a scene. Taking Li Shiyue's hand, she couldn't help but exert a little more force, gesturing for Li Shiyue to help her sit down.
Li Shiyue glanced at Liu Shi, who was still wiping away tears, and helped Old Madam Xu sit on the wooden couch. She placed the shoes to one side and looked at Old Madam Xu with a questioning gaze.
According to custom, she was a junior, and it was not appropriate for her to be present at such a scene of an elder's weeping and wailing. However, Old Madam Xu remained silent, clearly not allowing her to leave. Should she go or not?
"Alright, how old are you to be crying and making such a fuss? Tell me in detail what happened so I can help you."
Granny Chang released Liu's hand, waved her hand, and led the maids out to guard the door.
Seeing that no one else was around, Madam Liu was about to speak when she saw Li Shiyue beside Old Madam Xu. Her eyes flickered, revealing a calculating look.
Noticing Madam Xu's gaze, almost instantly Liu's eyebrows drooped, looking utterly wronged.
"Mother, I meant well."
"Now everyone in the manor is saying that our cousin is going to be betrothed to Wulang as his bride. But last night, when we welcomed Mother back to the manor, the young men drank too much. Wulang went back and slept in his own concubine's room, the one whose incense sticks were sent by Fourth Sister-in-law earlier."
"Last night, the servant was caught off guard. In the brief moment he went to fetch Wu Lang's clothes, that maid named Xiangzhi actually stripped naked and climbed into Wu Lang's bed, and even—"
"Shut up!" Old Madam Xu snapped, interrupting Liu Shi, who was speaking with great enthusiasm.
Her gaze fell on Li Shiyue beside her. The little girl's cheeks were as red as the fiery clouds in the sky, as if they were about to burst into flames.
Li Shiyue knelt down: "I just remembered that there are still scriptures in Chengyu Pavilion. I'll go back and get them now."
Without waiting for Madam Xu to speak, Li Shiyue practically ran out, which was against the rules. But Li Shiyue knew that this was something an unmarried woman like herself should not hear.
Seeing her leave, Madam Liu seemed oblivious to Old Madam Xu's gloomy expression, and spoke with even greater enthusiasm: "Mother, you don't know, that maid lying naked in Wu Lang's arms, in her past life there was..."
The voice gradually lowered, and Liu suddenly met the gaze of Old Madam Xu, a sudden sense of fear rising in her heart.
Liu Shi called out timidly and tentatively, "Mother?"
Old Madam Xu closed her eyes, let out a long sigh, and as if she were about to fall asleep, finally opened her eyes: "You know quite a lot of details."
The old man's gaze was honed by the trials and tribulations of life; even if Madam Liu had her own schemes, they were no match for Old Madam Xu.
Meeting Madam Xu's calm eyes, Liu's heart skipped a beat, and almost without thinking, she said, "You love Yan Yan dearly and want to marry her off to the best young man in the Xu family. No matter how good Fifth Master is, he can't control himself when he's drunk. How can such a person be good to Yan Yan?"
"Then which young man from the Xu family do you think is worthy of my Yan Yan?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com