Chapter 19 Protective Heart: "Return to the capital immediately."
Huaiyin was standing behind Meng Yu when she subconsciously turned her head and suddenly saw a bloody scratch on Meng Yu's earlobe. She was so frightened that her face changed color, and she said hurriedly, "Miss, you, you have a bloody scratch below your ear."
Aunt Shen's expression changed slightly. She was about to peek out anxiously when she heard Madam Yuan come out. She could only suppress her panic and bow her head to Madam Yuan, saying, "Greetings, elder sister."
Madam Yuan greeted her with a smile and helped her up: "Sister, you just got back today. Why didn't you rest properly instead of rushing here so quickly?"
Aunt Shen lowered her eyes, speaking respectfully and humbly: "I should have come to pay my respects to you when I entered the manor, but I had traveled a long way and was afraid that I might be unclean and soil your room, so I thought I would wash up and change into clean clothes before coming here."
Madam Yuan smiled and said, "In that case, from now on, you and the Third Miss will live comfortably in the manor."
As she spoke, she glanced at Meng Yu and suddenly noticed a bloody scratch below Meng Yu's earlobe, from which blood was seeping out. She immediately frowned and asked anxiously, "What happened to Third Miss?"
After asking that question knowing the answer already, she noticed the broken porcelain shards below and apologized profusely, "Look at my hand, how did I end up cutting the Third Miss?"
Before anyone could speak, she immediately berated the maids in the room: "Foolish things, what are you all standing there for? Can't you see that the Third Miss is bleeding? Hurry up and go fetch a doctor."
Aunt Shen quickly stopped her, about to raise her voice, but then changed her tone and said gently, "Thank you for your concern, sister, but it looks like it's just a minor injury. It's nothing serious. We can just go back and get some mugwort to stop the bleeding."
"Why go to such trouble?" Madam Yuan held Aunt Shen's hand, gently patted the back of her hand, and said with a faint smile, "I was originally going to teach Mama Deng a lesson, but I accidentally hit the Third Miss. It's all my fault. Someone, bring the wound medicine to stop the bleeding for the Third Miss."
Before Aunt Shen could speak, Yizhi hurriedly went to the storeroom.
Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Aunt Shen could only lower her head and agree.
***
Chunzhi quickly brought out the wound medicine. Huaiyin took it and applied it to Mengyu. Just as she was about to hand it back, Madam Yuan smiled and said, "Keep this wound medicine for the Third Miss. The Third Miss is so beautiful, she can't bear to have any scars."
The person seated smiled gently and gracefully, her words and actions befitting a mistress of the house. However, upon hearing this, Aunt Shen's eyes suddenly flashed with a strange light, but she quickly lowered her brows to suppress it and pulled Meng Yu up to offer her thanks.
After they finished walking, Madam Yuan raised her hand and said, "We're all family, so please don't stand on ceremony, sister and third young lady."
"Thank you, sister," Aunt Shen said, sitting back down. Knowing full well what was going on, she asked, "I just heard you say you were going to teach Mama Deng a lesson. Please forgive me for asking, but what did Mama Deng do to offend you?"
“Qingli Courtyard is secluded and far from the master’s study. Yet that old hag took it upon herself to order people to clean it without even asking me. How could I not punish her?” Madam Yuan raised her voice slightly, turned her head and glared at Mama Deng, her words seemingly tinged with anger.
Aunt Shen was eager to get away from these people, and upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "I think Qingli Courtyard is very nice. It is quiet and peaceful. Although it is a bit far from your Zhenhua Studio, if you want to pay your respects, you can walk over every day to get some exercise. This arrangement by Mama Deng is exactly what I want, so please don't punish Mama Deng for this. If you don't agree, I'm afraid I will feel uneasy."
Madam Yuan glanced at Deng Mama with a sharp look in her eyes: "If it weren't for your aunt pleading for you, I would never have let you off the hook."
Madam Deng understood immediately and hurriedly went to Aunt Shen, bowing her head and saying, "Thank you, Aunt Shen."
Aunt Shen immediately helped her up: "Mother, you don't need to be so polite. I was just telling the truth."
At this point, Aunt Shen exchanged a few more pleasantries with Madam Yuan. As evening approached, she got up to leave, but Madam Yuan smiled and urged her to stay: "Although Qingli Courtyard also has a small kitchen, I specially asked the kitchen to prepare dishes that you and the Third Miss like when I heard that you were returning to the mansion. Please give me a chance to welcome you back."
Seeing that she couldn't refuse, Aunt Shen had no choice but to nod in agreement.
Madam Yuan glanced at Meng Yu with an ambiguous expression, and after a moment asked with a smile, "Has the Third Miss seen her sisters?"
Meng Yu was still immersed in Aunt Shen's superb rhetoric when she suddenly heard Madam Yuan ask a question. She immediately snapped out of her daze, nodded hurriedly, and made a gesture.
Aunt Shen explained, "When we came back today, we happened to run into the Second Miss and the Fourth Miss in front of the door."
Just then, Deng's mother came to report that the meal was ready.
Upon hearing this, Madam Yuan said to Aunt Chen and Meng Yu, "That's good. They went to admire the flowers at Miss Song's invitation. They haven't returned yet, so Miss Song must have invited them to dinner. We don't need to wait for them; let's go to the table first."
Aunt Shen and Meng Yu took their seats as instructed.
***
Just as the group finished their meal, a loud shout rang out from outside the door: "The eldest young master is back!"
Upon hearing the sound, Meng Yu looked in the direction of the door and saw that the person was wearing a moon-white narrow-sleeved round-necked brocade robe, with a silver crown with latticed patterns on his head, and white jade pendants hanging down at his waist. He appeared elegant and aloof, with a figure as graceful as jade and as slender as a pine tree.
The visitor was none other than Meng Yanqing and Yuan's eldest son, Meng Zhangzhou.
The beaded curtain was lifted, and Meng Zhangzhou had already arrived in front of her. Meng Yu quickly stood up, smiled at him, and gave him a slight greeting.
Meng Zhangzhou also bowed slightly and greeted them with his hands clasped: "It's been a long time since I've seen my third sister. How are you?"
Upon seeing Meng Zhangzhou, Meng Yu's expression became much more lively, no longer as wooden as before. She raised her hand and gestured, "I'm fine. Where's big brother?"
Meng Zhangzhou understood sign language, so there was no need for Huaiyin to explain. He smiled and replied, "I'm fine too. It's just that my third sister looks a bit thinner than before. Has she suffered a lot along the way?"
Meng Yu explained, "I get seasick, and I don't have much of an appetite on the ship."
"Has Zhou-ge'er eaten yet?" As the two were exchanging pleasantries, Madam Yuan, seated in the main seat, asked with a smile.
Meng Zhangzhou lowered his head slightly: "Replying to Mother, Father and I just ate in the study."
The sky seemed to be covered by a thick black cloth, the outside was pitch black, thick and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.
Two more lamps were lit inside the room, and Aunt Shen said at the opportune moment, "Sister, it's getting late, we should head back now."
Madam Yuan nodded and ordered someone to bring over a crimson gauze lantern, handing it to Huaiyin: "Sister, you must be tired from your journey. Please rest well today. Tomorrow I will go with you to pay our respects to the old lady."
Aunt Shen nodded in agreement.
***
Back at Qingli Courtyard, Zhimian had already followed Aunt Chen's instructions and had all the toys on the shelves moved out, and even the bedding had been changed to a lighter color.
At first glance, the whole room seemed a bit too plain.
Aunt Shen didn't answer her directly, but pointed to the several boxes brought back from Xuzhou: "It's not nice to have empty shelves. They're full of books that the Third Miss likes to read, so let's put them all up there!"
The previous arrangement had made the room much brighter, and even if the master came and saw it, his gloomy mood might be swept away, so he could stay a little longer. Although Zhi Mian was puzzled by Aunt Chen's instructions, she did not ask any further questions and simply obeyed.
She wasn't born into a family here. When the Meng family first moved to the capital, Steward Lin bought a batch of maids, and she and Yan'er were among them.
Her previous mistress was a concubine of a wealthy merchant in Yichuan. At that time, the concubine tried every means to keep the master, even decorating the house to suit his preferences. Later, the mansion lost money in business and had to lay off staff. Because of her dull nature and lack of flattery and obsequiousness, she was naturally on the list of those to be laid off.
Later, in order to make a living, she came to the capital. By chance, she ran into Steward Lin, who was buying maids. After inquiring about them and going through a lot of trouble, she was finally able to get a job at the Meng residence.
When you are a slave or maid, the most important thing is to keep your mouth shut and control your hands.
Zhimian is quite clear about this.
By the time Zhi Mian had placed all the books on the shelf, it was nearly 9 PM. Since no one needed to serve them, Meng Yu had Huai Yin take Zhi Mian and Yan'er out.
Aunt Shen went to bed early and had already changed into her pajamas. Seeing the door close, she smiled at her and asked, "Say what you want to say!"
Meng Yu sat down next to her and slowly began to make hand gestures.
Aunt Shen was slightly surprised, and paused: "Why would you suddenly say that?"
Meng Yu thought for a moment, her eyes welling up with tears, and she raised her palm: "I used to think that Mother was weak and cowardly. Even when others bullied you, you were still so good-natured. Whenever you and Madam talked, I would close my ears and let my mind wander, because I didn't want to remember your servile appearance. But today, for the first time, I listened carefully to what you and Madam were saying, and I suddenly realized that you are not weak and cowardly. You were humble and subservient, but only because you wanted to protect me."
As she spoke, Meng Yu's eyes became increasingly sore and swollen, and by the end, tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
Aunt Shen sighed and took out a handkerchief to gently wipe away the tears on her face.
Seeing the scar under Meng Yu's ear, Aunt Chen felt a pang of sadness and quickly pulled her into her arms.
She glanced outside, where only the lights were dimly lit, and then lowered her voice earnestly.
"Madam is very calculating, and there are precedents for this. If I hadn't been so, how could I have raised you safely? I know you don't like it here and didn't want to come to the capital, but we are women after all. If we want to find you a good marriage, we still have to rely on your father. You are his daughter, and he values his reputation. No matter how much he despises you, he will still try to find you a good marriage. That's why I didn't hesitate to travel thousands of miles to bring you to the capital."
It turns out that Mother knew what kind of person Meng Yanqing was.
Meng Yu's eyes welled up with tears again.
However, she still harbored some doubts about her mother's words.
The mother and daughter chatted for a while longer. As it was getting late, Aunt Chen urged her to go back and rest early, saying that she had to get up early the next day to pay her respects to Old Madam Meng.
As Meng Yu approached the door, Aunt Shen remembered something and gently instructed her, "Yu'er, don't call me Mother anymore. Although it's sign language, there are still people in the mansion who can understand it besides us."
Meng Yu understood Aunt Shen's caution and nodded in agreement.
***
Longtang.
Inside the post station.
A gust of cold wind blew in through the window, causing the lamplight to flicker. Suddenly, a rapid knocking sounded, piercing the stillness of the night, followed by the rustling of clothes being put on inside the bed curtains.
Lu Xiuyi sat on the couch with one knee bent, his long hand supporting his temple, looking as if he were in a serious illness: "What is it?"
“We’ve found the ledger,” Chu Ze’s voice came through the door. “That family’s money was withdrawn from a money exchange under Tang Que’s name.”
This news is not surprising.
After receiving a definite answer, Lu Xiuyi's splitting headache eased slightly. He smiled coldly, his deep voice like ice on a snow-capped mountain: "Very good. In other words, this matter is inextricably linked to Lu Jiayan."
"Return to Beijing immediately."
"yes."
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