Qi Jingxuan is currently swamped with official duties, and despite the numerous matters in the backyard, she doesn't want to get involved. Her priority now is to focus on advancing her career.
After Ruan Yumu regained consciousness, Jiang Meng was the first to receive the news and came to visit her. She sat by the bed and tried to take Ruan Yumu's hand, but Ruan Yumu pulled her hand back.
Jiang Mengyi's hand awkwardly froze in mid-air, her expression slightly taken aback. She looked at Madam Ruan, managing to force a smile, "Is my sister angry with me?"
"What are you saying, sister? Is there anything I've done to upset you?" Ruan Yumu said calmly.
"The old lady has been sent to the mountain villa to chant scriptures for a year by General Qi. The general has already made arrangements for you. Sister, you can rest assured."
"What?"
Ruan Yumu suddenly perked up and immediately sat up in bed, "You wretch, how dare you treat my mother like this!"
"Girl, girl! Where are you going?"
Ruan and Mu didn't even have time to put on their shoes before Zi Ling quickly grabbed them and chased after them, leaving Jiang Meng standing there completely bewildered.
"Madam, what's wrong with Consort Ruan? Shouldn't she be happy?"
"Yes, I don't understand either."
Ruan and Mu walked from the backyard to the main hall. Seeing that no one was there, they rushed into the study. Unexpectedly, Eunuch Li was there to deliver an invitation to a banquet in the palace.
"Qi Jingxuan!"
When Eunuch Li turned around, he saw Ruan Yumu with disheveled hair and no shoes on.
"Girl, put on your shoes." Zi Ling finally caught up, panting.
"General, I think you still need to manage the affairs of your household well. I'll take my leave now." With that, Eunuch Li left.
"Xu Yunchuan, please see Eunuch Li off." Qi Jingxuan suppressed his anger and decided to see Eunuch Li off first.
Seeing that Eunuch Li had already left, Qi Jingxuan immediately flew into a rage, "You wretch, do you know that Eunuch Li is a favorite of the Emperor? How dare you act like this, where do you think you are putting your husband?"
"Qi Jingxuan, you're using my identity quite appropriately! Where is my mother? Find my mother quickly!" Ruan Yumu rushed forward and grabbed Qi Jingxuan's collar as if she had gone mad.
"You should be grateful to me! I'm helping you get revenge! You haven't learned a single thing about the virtues of a wife, look at you like a shrew! Zi Ling, pull your master away!"
"Why does this sound so familiar?" Oh, it turns out that I said the same thing to Ruan Yumu a few years ago, telling her that someone from the countryside like her still needs to learn how to be a wife.
"Madam Ruan has lost her virtue. From this moment on, close the gates of Yunxiang Tower. Only deliver meals to her daily. No one is allowed to meet with her in private! Remove the old women and maids from her room, leaving only one!" Qi Jingxuan said to the servants outside.
Ruan Yumu felt both ironic and helpless at that moment, letting Ziling pull her away.
Back at Yunxianglou.
"Young lady, you have just suffered a miscarriage and should take good care of your health so that you can give the general a son or daughter in the future and have someone to rely on for the rest of your life. If you continue like this, what will you do in the future?"
Ruan Yu Mu couldn't hear anything and sat there blankly as usual. He couldn't believe what was happening in the backyard. He hadn't done anything, so why were there one misunderstanding after another?
"Sister-in-law, sister-in-law!" She was sitting in the house in a daze when she heard a voice calling from somewhere. It seemed to be her younger sister, Qi Yuandong's voice.
He walked into the yard and looked around, but saw no one. "Sister-in-law, I'm here! Help me out!"
Looking towards the dog hole next to me, I saw a beautiful woman struggling to crawl through it.
"Zi Ling, Zi Ling, come quickly and pull the young lady up." Upon hearing this, Zi Ling hurriedly came over from the backyard.
"My dear lady, what are you doing?"
"Sister-in-law, I brought you some hot chicken soup. You should nourish yourself." She really is my own sister. She's the one who's good to me when it matters.
“Sister-in-law, I heard that my brother has locked you up again. I’m worried something might happen to you. That’s my secret route. I’ll bring you two food every day from now on.”
"Young Miss, you're the kindest to our lady." Zi Ling's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at the steaming black chicken soup. Her mistress had just suffered a miscarriage and needed nourishment right now.
"Eat quickly, it will get cold later. Although my brother was wrong, he has already avenged you, so don't worry, sister-in-law!" Qi Yuandong said as he started serving the soup.
"What revenge?" Ruan Yu Mu didn't know what she was talking about. Was locking himself up here his way of taking revenge?
“I’ve already sent Mother to stay at the mountain resort. Sister-in-law, please take good care of yourself. I’ve seen Mother bully you far too much these past few years.”
"Dong'er, how can you speak to your mother like that? How can you be so disrespectful?" Upon hearing this, Qi Yuandong's gaze towards Ruan Yumu suddenly changed. This was clearly the tone her brother used when speaking to her. What was wrong with her sister-in-law today?
Seeing that the young lady didn't speak, Zi Ling hurriedly told Ruan Yu Mu to drink the soup to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"What happened?" Ruan Yumu was still unwilling to give up and continued to ask.
“Sister-in-law, have you forgotten? Mother was so ruthless. When we were little, there was a concubine in our backyard who died in childbirth when she was eight months pregnant. You and I were playing hide-and-seek in the woodshed and fell asleep. In the middle of the night, the concubine had a stomachache and was thrown in by Granny Yun. Later, she died alone in the woodshed because of the difficult childbirth. We were so scared that we ran out of there, and I even got very sick.”
Ruan Yumu was lost in memories. When she was a child, her father had several concubines, but all of them either had difficult childbirth or ran away with someone else, which resulted in only the two of them, brother and sister, being born of the legitimate wife.
So that's how it is. I've witnessed my mother's ruthlessness during this time; she's not the person I used to know.
"I remember, of course I remember." Ruan Yumu began to give a nonsensical reply in an attempt to cover up his mistake.
“Girl, listen to Ziling, take good care of yourself. You are still young and have a long road ahead of you! Now that the old lady has passed away, all you need to do is keep the general by your side.”
“Yes,” Qi Yuandong chimed in, “Brother is not a bad person at heart, he is a good man. I will be getting married in two years, so I should hold my nephew as soon as possible.”
Ruan Yumu reached out and flicked Qi Yuandong's head, "How can a girl who hasn't even married yet be so shameless?"
Seeing this gesture that was unique to her and her brother, Qi Yuandong panicked again, but then she thought that it must be because her brother loved his sister-in-law so much that he shared their secret with her, so she stopped being suspicious.
"I'm leaving now, sister-in-law. I'll come again tomorrow." Qi Yuandong then crawled out through the dog hole again, still holding the soup pot.
"The young lady has returned from the academy, so the young lady will suffer less."
Ruan Yu Mu watched Zi Ling working alone, her mind racing with thoughts of what had happened recently. Had she been living like this in the backyard all along? This was worse than a battlefield.
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