Chapter 5: Unfilial and Unrighteous
Hu Qing finally swallowed the two large pieces of rose cake and burped loudly with satisfaction.
He clapped his hands, brushed off the non-existent snack crumbs, and smiled innocently and brightly at the old lady with a livid face and a shaky face.
"Thank you for the treat, Madam! This snack is really delicious! But... I feel a little irritated.
My throat is a little dry, Master, shall we go back? I still have half a pot of herbal tea left in my room this morning!"
Having said that, regardless of the old lady's appearance of being about to faint, he pulled Cui Xiao, who was still in a daze but whose eyes were already bright,
He turned around and walked away with a swagger, leaving Yanshou Hall in a mess and an old woman who was so angry that she almost fainted.
"It's a rebellion! It's a rebellion!"
It was not until the two figures disappeared outside the hanging flower gate that Mrs. Zhou took a deep breath and let out a shrill scream.
It was like the cry of an owl in the night, shuddering the maids and servants in the room into silence. Her vision went dark, and she fell straight back.
"Old Madam!" Nanny Zhang and several maids rushed over in a panic to support her.
There was a sudden chaos in Yanshou Hall.
A few days later, the drama of "grandson making grandmother faint from anger" in Weiyuan Marquis Mansion was spread out through the eloquent mouth of Madam Zhang, with exaggeration and tears.
Nanny Zhang is a shrewd person. She specifically targets the wives of low-ranking officials who have some dealings with Old Madam Zhou and are greedy for small gains, or whose families have some business dealings with the second wife, or the wives of housekeepers in impoverished noble families.
"...You don't know! Our old lady is so kindhearted. Seeing that the prince had just recovered from a serious illness, she was so distressed that she specially made his favorite rose cakes with her own hands!
Who would have thought... who would have thought that the prince would rush in with that wild doctor who came from nowhere. That wild doctor had no manners and started to rob people!
Not only did they rob it, they also said something else... They said this snack tasted better than rat poison!
Our old lady, remembering that he was a guest, held back her anger and persuaded the prince to try it in kind words... But the prince was so good!
Not only did he not appreciate it, he even…repeatedly retorted with cold words! Every word was so heartbreaking!
They say things like, "I can't bear my grandmother's kindness," or "I'm afraid I can't handle this blessing." Listen! Is that human language?
Our old lady has always been strong-willed. How could she have endured such humiliation? She fainted right then and there! She's still lying in bed, unable to eat or drink... Woohoo... God have mercy on her..."
Aunt Zhang spoke with tears and snot as she spoke with true feelings, vividly portraying the image of a poor old feudal lord who fainted from anger at his unfilial grandson.
As she cried, she calmly stuffed a few heavy silver ingots into the hands of the housemaid of the wife of the Minister of Personnel, who was well-dressed and listening with great interest.
The mother pinched the silver in her sleeve, and her face immediately showed sympathy and indignation.
"Oh my! How could such a thing happen? This Weiyuan Marquis' son is too outrageous! The old lady is his grandmother! It's really... really disobedient and unfilial! God will strike you with lightning!"
Aunt Zhang was delighted and was about to add fuel to the fire, but she saw that the indignation on the mother's face suddenly froze, her eyes flickered, and there was even a hint of imperceptible... contempt?
She quickly pulled back the hand that was being held by Aunt Zhang and laughed dryly.
"Um... Madam Zhang, I'll definitely report this to our Madam when I get back! You... please accept my condolences and serve the Madam well!"
After saying that, he turned around and walked away quickly, as if he was afraid of getting contaminated by something dirty.
Nanny Zhang was stunned.
This reaction... wasn't right? In the past, as long as the money was in place, which of these housekeepers wouldn't pat their chests and promise to "seek justice" for their old lady and discredit Cui Xiao?
What happened next made Aunt Zhang feel like she was falling into an icy cave.
She found Mrs. Liu, who ran a silk shop in the south of the city. Mrs. Liu used to love to curry favor with the Marquis's family and wanted to get in touch with the second wife.
As soon as Aunt Zhang started, Mrs. Liu interrupted with a fake smile.
"Oh, Aunt Zhang, your old lady is in very good health, you must take good care of her.
As for the Crown Prince...it's normal for young people to be hot-tempered, so why bother with the younger generation?
I think we should just let this matter go. If we make a big fuss, it won’t be good for anyone, don’t you think?
His words and actions seemed to indicate that he wanted to keep the peace. His eyes were wandering and he didn't respond at all.
She then found a rice merchant’s wife who was famous for her love of gossip!
The lady listened to the whole thing, but after that, she looked at Aunt Zhang with an extremely strange look, with naked inquiry and ridicule.
He slowly picked up the teacup and used the lid to skim off the foam, making a long drawn-out sound.
"Madam Zhang, let me say this, but your old lady... is truly generous. At this critical moment, you still have the mind to make snacks?
Tsk tsk, what's the stuffing in that rose pastry? Is it another tonic?
We are from a humble family and dare not ask, for fear... for fear of shortening our lives!"
After saying this, she glanced meaningfully at Aunt Zhang's cuffs - there was still a bit of snack crumbs on there that she had deliberately not wiped off from the snacks she had picked up in Yanshou Hall.
Nanny Zhang's face turned pale, and a chill rushed from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.
She did not give up and went to several ordinary families in the capital. They were all famous filial sons and grandsons, and the younger generations in their families were all filial sons. They would definitely not be able to tolerate the prince's behavior!
The results were, without exception, either perfunctory answers, strange looks, double entendres, or even worse, direct, sarcastic sarcasm:
"Oh, is Aunt Zhang still busy trying to 'vindicate' your old lady? Stop it! Who in the capital doesn't know your old lady's kindness? She's so capable of poisoning her own grandson, why are you still pretending to be pitiful?"
"That's right! With such a vicious heart, fainting from anger is the least of his worries! In my opinion, God should strike him down with a bolt of lightning!"
"Poor Weiyuan Hou's son, he has such a grandmother, what bad luck!"
"You still have the nerve to call the prince unfilial? You didn't flip the table on the spot, it's a sign of good self-control!"
"Stop talking, it's bad luck! I'm afraid I'll lose my luck if I get involved with a family like this!"
Rumors, sarcasm, and ridicule were like countless poisoned needles, piercing Aunt Zhang from all directions.
She stood at the busy street corner, looking at the women and stewards who used to envy her, but now their gazes were filled with undisguised contempt and disgust, and they even avoided her as if it were the plague.
Those whispers, those pointings, merged into a huge, silent torrent that almost drowned and tore her apart!
A great panic seized her.
It's over! It's all over! How could the old lady poison her grandson...? How could it have spread throughout the city?!
She was in a daze, stumbling back like a defeated dog.
No! We have to figure this out! Who did this? The Marquis? The Crown Prince? Or that damned little doctor?
She was like a madman, taking out the last bit of valuable jewelry and a few pieces of silver on her body, and blocking the way home for a steward of the princess's mansion who had some friendship with her but was extremely greedy.
When the heavy silver and gold hairpin were stuffed into the other person's hands, the young steward's eyes widened.
"Hurry up and tell me! What's going on with those words outside?" Aunt Zhang's voice was hoarse and filled with a desperate madness.
The steward looked around to see if there was anyone around, quickly put the silver and the hairpin into his arms, lowered his voice, and had an expression of fear and gloating on his face.
"Madam Zhang...you...you still don't know? This...this has been spreading like wildfire!"
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