Chapter 139 The conflict between the third room's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, she is the kindest
"you--"
The old butler didn't expect the maid to suddenly kneel down, and immediately looked at the prince.
The maidservant was only there to deliver a message. Even if she had some hidden intentions to test him, if the prince beat her to death for such a small matter and the news got out, wouldn't that completely confirm the rumors of his cruelty and inhumanity?
He looked at the princess with some worry, wondering how she would respond.
The maid spoke again, "I really followed Madam Zhou's words and came here to deliver the message. I beg the princess to have mercy on me and ask the prince to spare my life!"
Xie Yao's eyes darkened. This maidservant was crying and making a fuss, but she was actually pointing the finger at herself.
If she pleaded for him, she would appear cowardly and easy to manipulate. If she ignored him, she would be known as a cruel and ruthless bride who beat and killed servants on the first day of her marriage.
Moreover, the maid was so sure that she was Madam Zhou's woman, and her words were too deliberate.
Isn't it obvious that he is going to confront his third aunt as soon as he enters the mansion?
"Get up! The prince has his own rules and regulations. Why would he beat you to death for no reason?"
Xie Yao had a smile on her lips, looking very gentle.
The maid lowered her head, a hint of success in her eyes.
Before she could even stand up tremblingly, she heard the princess continue, "It's just right. You and I will go see the old lady together. Madam Zhou will definitely be there. Your master will decide the punishment. The prince and I will not interfere."
"Bring it to the old lady?"
The maid's face suddenly lost all color, and she was so frightened that her body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.
This time, she trembled all over: "I am just an ordinary maid, I dare not offend the old lady."
Xie Yao raised an eyebrow, not expecting her to be so scared.
Instead of punishing her, she pushed the punishment back and was brought before the master for a confrontation. A slap in the face or a monthly fine was inevitable, but she wasn't afraid of that.
It seems that there is indeed something else behind this.
"You mean, you dare to offend me and the prince?" she asked slowly.
"Then take it with you."
Xiao Yizi didn't even look at the person on the ground. He let Bai Zhu push the wheelchair and controlled the pace of his princess's walking.
Before leaving, Xie Yao recalled what Xiao Yizi said last night.
She called Xu Changsi: "Changsi, come with me."
Chang Si lowered his eyes: "Yes."
Soon, Xie Yao arrived at the Jingbei Palace, Ninghui Courtyard.
From a distance, one could see that the door to the main hall was wide open and the women of the Xiao family were already seated.
A green auspicious patterned carpet was laid beneath the chairs, looking noble and simple, extending from the doorway to the inner room. A gilded incense burner emitted curling wisps of sandalwood fragrance. There were many maids and nannies in the hall, and happy laughter could be heard from them, demonstrating the heritage of the Xiao family.
Mrs. Xiao, who was in the lead, sat in the main seat. When she saw her grandson and granddaughter-in-law, her eyes lit up.
She nodded to the old nanny beside her and whispered, "Nanny Luo, go get the things."
"Yes." Nanny Luo retreated quietly.
Sitting to the right of Old Madam Xiao was Madam Zhou from the third room. Madam Zhou was in her early forties, wearing a pomegranate red skirt, with a round face and a plump figure.
Next to her was Madam Zhou, the legal wife of Xiao Wenyuan, the eldest son of the third wife. She was dressed simply, her hand resting on her slightly bulging belly, and she was looking at Xie Yao.
Seeing Aunt Luo, who was beside Old Madam Xiao, leave, she frowned.
Mrs. Zhou and Mrs. Zhou are not only mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but also aunt and niece from the same clan.
Mrs. Xiao Zhou was not considered an elder, but because she was pregnant, she had a seat.
At her feet stood a little girl of six or seven years old with two buns on her head. She was her daughter Xiao Suirong, the only legitimate great-granddaughter of Old Madam Xiao. She was showing the old lady the bamboo dragonfly in her hand with a crisp laugh.
Xie Yao glanced at Madam Xiao Zhou's belly, which was obviously pregnant. She looked to be five months pregnant, and her belly was much more obvious than Aunt Sun's.
The situation of the Xiao family is somewhat similar to that of the Xie family. Both families have weak eldest sons and strong third sons.
The old marquis had passed away for many years, leaving him with only one son, Xiao Yizi. After Xiao Yizi inherited the title of marquis, he was also named King of Jingbei. Although he had made outstanding achievements, he had never married, so the eldest son had no descendants.
Let’s not talk about the fact that my second aunt married the father of Lord Du, the prefect of Jingzhao.
Although the third master of the Xiao family only married one wife, Madam Zhou, and Madam Zhou only gave birth to two sons, Xiao Wenyuan and Xiao Lanzhou, Xiao Wenyuan was fertile.
As the prince's cousin, he is four years older than the prince and is already the father of three sons and two daughters. However, he only has one legitimate daughter, the little girl A Rong in front of him, and the other four children are born to concubines.
Right now, Mrs. Xiao Zhou is pregnant again.
If the third branch could have another legitimate grandson, the first branch would seem even more sparsely populated.
When Madam Xiao Zhou saw the maid behind Xie Yao being carried like a chicken by two of the prince's personal guards, her expression changed slightly.
Xie Yao looked at Madam Zhou and sighed:
"Third Aunt, this maid just came with a message saying that the prince had to go to the ancestral hall to burn incense first, and asked me to come alone. I'm new here and don't know the rules of the palace. Maybe Third Aunt looks down on the Jianfu Camp? If she looks down on the Jianfu Camp, she looks down on me. If she looks down on me... That's right. With my status, how dare I ask for the prince's company?"
Xiao Yizi looked at his princess with interest.
He had never met anyone who could speak so openly about whether others looked down on her.
Mrs. Zhou was shocked.
Oh my God, the first thing my niece-in-law said was to attack me.
Looking at the maid again, she recognized her, her face darkened, and she glared at Madam Xiao Zhou fiercely.
Although this maid is from her courtyard, she lives in the same courtyard with her daughter-in-law, so the maid actually belongs to her daughter-in-law!
Her daughter-in-law usually doesn't get along with her and always instigates matters like dividing the family property in front of her son.
Today I wanted to test the bride and actually hit her in the name.
何况，谢二小姐是谁啊，她最近听到对方多少震撼消息——狂揍文昌伯，暴打陆书生，王爷三十二抬花轿娶回，哦对了，前几日还在成佛寺，把安平侯暴揍了一顿，听说武功不俗。
Is this something she can mess with?
"I was hoping to learn a few tricks from my niece's wife, but I can't afford to offend you."
Xie Yao: “Ah?”
She thought Madam Zhou was scheming and wanted to intimidate her new bride, so she was prepared to disrespect her elders and sweep across the Xiao family. But...
Mrs. Zhou was stunned for a moment before she realized that she had accidentally spoken out her true feelings!
"Ahem, nothing, nothing."
She gave Xie Yao an awkward smile, then looked at the maid and put her hands on her hips.
"It is only natural that the prince accompanied the princess to offer tea to the old lady. But you, a servant, acted on your own and spoke nonsense. I will fine you three months' salary and send you back to the menial service. From now on, don't even mention being in this lady's courtyard!"
The maid glanced at Madam Zhou and saw that she was staring at her fiercely. She had no choice but to kneel down again and said, "Madam Zhou, please spare my life. I went to deliver the message because I listened to you. Please spare me."
Mrs. Zhou's face turned green visibly.
Xie Yao narrowed her eyes. Now she was sure that the maid belonged to Madam Xiao Zhou.
Mrs. Xiao Zhou is Mrs. Zhou's daughter-in-law. If Mrs. Zhou wants to give her son some face and doesn't want the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law to be exposed, she cannot defend herself in front of everyone.
Madam Xiao Zhou spoke softly, "Mother-in-law, please calm down. I think the girl was stupid and didn't explain herself clearly. Today is the day when the princess offers tea to Grandmother. In my opinion, it would be better to make a big deal out of a small matter and just fine her one month's salary. Why be so cruel and send a delicate little girl like her to do menial work?"
The maids and nannies serving in the hall sighed in their hearts that Madam Zhou was really kind-hearted as she pleaded for them, the servants.
Mrs. Zhou was so angry that her face turned blue. Well, she was a cruel and evil person, but she became a good person!
But this is her own daughter-in-law. If she explains it in public, it will only bring shame to the third wife.
But she became the scapegoat.
The princess will definitely blame her, so how can she learn from her...
Mrs. Zhou was extremely anxious and her face changed constantly, which was seen by Xie Yao.
Third aunt, your thoughts are all written on your face.
I originally thought that apart from Old Madam Xiao and Xiao Yizi, the Xiao family was also full of treacherous situations and was a den of tigers and wolves.
I didn't expect this to be the case.
The fire at the city gate affected everyone in the pond. The eldest house was left alone, the second aunt married out, and the third house was busy with the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, which affected herself.
Madam Xiao Zhou added, "I heard that Lord He, the Minister of Rites, had vindicated the princess, saying that the second young lady of the Xie family was gentle and virtuous, and had a kind heart. I think the princess would not bother with a servant."
These words seemed to be a plea, but in fact they were saying that if Xie Yao argued with the servants, she would have a bad heart.
"Mrs. Xiao Zhou is right. I will not argue with servants who don't know the rules."
Xie Yao narrowed her eyes and finally found a familiar feeling in Madam Xiao Zhou.
"But what if the one who doesn't know the rules is the master?"
"What do you mean, Princess?"
Xie Yao smiled harmlessly, "I have just arrived at the palace and don't know the situation at home. If I had known that my cousin was blind, I would have gone to Shengji Hall and found the best doctor to cure her blindness."
Madam Xiao Zhou was shocked and angry, staring with watery eyes: "Princess, how dare you say I'm blind!"
Xie Yao shook her head: "If my cousin's wife wasn't blind, how could she put the maid in her own room on my third aunt's head?"
Mrs. Xiao Zhou was stunned. How did she know that?
Mrs. Zhou had been holding it in for a long time, but she finally relaxed and jumped up immediately: "Hey, I was wondering why she looked unfamiliar! Daughter-in-law, isn't this the one in your room!"
The servants suddenly realized what was going on and looked at Madam Xiao Zhou with complicated eyes.
"Just now I said that Madam Xiao Zhou was kind-hearted and pleaded for our servant. I didn't expect that this servant was sent by her!"
"She even framed her own mother-in-law. I've heard for a long time that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the third house are not getting along. I didn't believe it at first, but today I finally saw it for myself."
Xiao Yizi tapped lightly on the armrest of the wheelchair. After listening enough, he slowly raised his eyelids, his peach blossom eyes filled with a smile.
"The prince and the princess are both kindhearted. Although this maid delayed the princess from offering tea to the grandmother and delayed the prince from burning incense to the ancestors, wasting so much time, and also caused me a headache by crying, she really deserves to be beaten to death. However... since she was the one used by my cousin to frame my third aunt, I will spare her life. What do you think?"
Old Madam Xiao looked at her grandson in shock.
Yizi hasn't spoken such a long paragraph for a long time!
Is he protecting his granddaughter-in-law?
Xiao Yizi's tone was nonchalant, as if he was joking.
Except for Xie Yao and Old Madam Xiao, no one thought he was joking.
With every sentence he spoke, the maid and Mrs. Zhou's faces turned paler, and the warmth in the room diminished.
When the maid heard that she was going to be beaten to death, she felt dizzy and fainted on the spot.
Mrs. Xiao Zhou also wanted to pretend to faint, but because the maid fainted first, she could only sit restlessly and tremble in the chair.
She was pregnant and wanted to take advantage of the third wife's happy event to test Xie Yao's feelings.
Even if she couldn't find out anything, she could still trip up her mother-in-law and make her offend Xie Yao, and she would reap the benefits.
Who would have thought that Xie Yao's words were so sharp that she exposed her maid's identity in public, and Xiao Yizi also protected her.
"I know that Yizhi and the princess are kind-hearted," Madam Xiao said, unable to conceal her excitement. The corners of her mouth could not help but rise. "But I am not a soft-hearted person."
"She's talking nonsense and spreading rumors. Drag her away and give her thirty slaps on the face, a fine of six months' salary, and consign her to the maidservant's quarters."
After hearing what the old lady said, Mrs. Zhou no longer dared to beg for mercy, and Mrs. Zhou also gave up and put the matter behind her.
Madam Xiao’s punishment was much harsher than what Madam Zhou had said before.
However, no one dared to question her words.
After discovering this, Xie Yao's eyes became brighter.
At this time, Nanny Luo, who had been ordered to get something, returned to the hall.
Madam Xiao's eyes fell on Xie Yao, and she said with a smile: "It's not a big deal. Come, Yaoyao, come here and let me take a look at you. Yaoyao, can I call you that?"
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