Chapter 4 Making Things Difficult
"Oh? Grandmother is ill?" Her voice suddenly rose a few decibels, carrying just the right amount of concern. "Then we should go and take care of her. Ruchun, go and invite Physician Wang. Tell him that the old lady is unwell. After all, she got an imperial title thanks to Father, so getting a physician shouldn't be a problem."
Ru Chun responded loudly with a "Yes," and turned to leave.
The old servant panicked and hurriedly waved his hands, "No, no need! The old lady is just slightly unwell and will be fine after some rest. How could we trouble the imperial physician..."
The old lady is as strong as an ox; if they really invite the imperial physician, how will they explain it to the palace?
"What are you saying?" Xie Sangning frowned, her tone suddenly turning sharp. "Grandmother is unwell, isn't it only natural for a granddaughter to invite a royal physician to examine her? Or," she said, her eyes flashing like knives, piercing the old servant, "do you think I, Xie Sangning, am unworthy to be filial to my grandmother?"
The old servant trembled at the look in his eyes, his knees buckled and he almost knelt down: "This old servant wouldn't dare! This old servant wouldn't dare!"
"If you don't dare, then get out of here." Xie Sangning's voice was soft and cold. "Ru Xia."
Ru Xia immediately stepped forward and shoved the old servant aside.
Xie Sangning stepped inside, leaving the old servant standing there helplessly.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, the door to the main house creaked open, and Madam Wang hurried out with Xie Wuyou, a forced smile plastered on her face: "Sang Ning is here? Your grandmother just went to sleep. Wait outside..."
Xie Sangning didn't even glance at her and walked straight ahead.
Wang tried to stop her, but Ru Dong blocked her with a slight step.
Xie Wuyou was so angry that he wanted to curse, but Wang Shi held his sleeve tightly.
Inside the room, the old lady was indeed sitting properly in the main seat, holding a teacup in her hand, showing no signs of illness.
Upon seeing Xie Sangning enter, his expression immediately darkened.
"Grandmother, I am well." Xie Sangning bowed respectfully, and as she stood up, the corners of her lips curled slightly. "Your granddaughter sees that you are in good health. I suppose that old servant at the door lied about his illness? Such a treacherous servant should be sold off."
The old lady slammed her teacup on the table.
"As expected of someone who has returned from the barbaric lands, so utterly lacking in manners! I'll have to find someone to properly teach you the rules you haven't learned all these years!"
Xie Sangning scoffed lightly. After Ruqiu took out a fur cushion and laid it out properly, she sat down on her own: "Grandmother has a bad temper and a good memory. I went to the desolate land. You and I both know why. The only legitimate daughter of the General of the State was sent away for ten years. I don't know who is so ignorant of manners and rules!"
Upon hearing this, the old lady's face turned pale and then red. After a long pause, she finally said, "You certainly have a sharp tongue."
Xie Sangning sat upright in the chair, her fingertips twirling the hand warmer absently, as if she hadn't heard the reprimand. She only said to Ruqiu, "The smell in this room is too strong, it's giving me a headache. Go, open the south window a crack and let this foul air out."
Ru Qiu responded swiftly and moved quickly.
"When you get old, you should ventilate the house more often, otherwise the old smell will never dissipate."
"You!" Upon hearing this, the old lady gripped her well-maintained fingers tightly around the prayer beads.
She took a deep breath, trying to intimidate him with her seniority and authority: "Xie Sangning, I am your grandmother! In this mansion, it is not your place, a junior who has just returned, to be so presumptuous! Do you have any respect for filial piety? Do you have any sense of hierarchy?!"
"Filial piety? Hierarchy?"
"Grandmother, have you forgotten which elder, with any sense of hierarchy, tacitly allowed the second branch of the family to abandon their own granddaughter to Xihan ten years ago, leaving her to fend for herself? Which elder, with any sense of hierarchy, condoned Xie Wuyou from the collateral branch occupying the legitimate daughter's courtyard? After doing all this, you still expect me to be filial! How utterly laughable! Do you think I'm afraid of the word 'filial piety' now that I've returned?"
Xie Sangning wore a mocking smile.
"Shut up! How dare you talk back!" The old lady trembled with anger, slamming her hand on the table, causing the teacup to jump and spill tea all over the tablecloth. "Why bring up the past! You've come back safe and sound, haven't you?"
“We brought you back to enjoy a life of luxury, but instead of being grateful, you’ve caused chaos in the household, made your second aunt and cousin faint from anger, and now you even dare to talk back to your grandmother! How are you any different from a shrew from the streets!”
Madam Wang quickly chimed in, clutching her handkerchief and wiping away tears: "Yes, Mother! You must stand up for your daughter-in-law and Wuyou! We meant well, but we've raised an ungrateful child..."
Xie Wuyou's face turned red with anger upon hearing that she was from a collateral branch of the family. For so many years, who in Jinling didn't recognize her as the daughter of the General's Mansion! And today she was being called a member of a collateral branch!
This is an insult to her!
"Shut up." Xie Sangning swept a glance at her, and Wang's crying stopped abruptly, like a chicken being strangled.
"Bring them back to enjoy a life of luxury? Is it really a life of luxury? I really look down on the General's Mansion now; it's so poor that it's laughable."
At this point, Xie Sangning gave Wang a disdainful look.
"Besides, didn't you ask me to come back because my father was returning to the capital? How is it that my returning to my own home to welcome my father back to the capital being considered a favor from you?"
“Grandmother, let’s not beat around the bush. You say I’ve caused unrest in the household? Then tell me, who broke the rules first, causing the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children to be blurred and the hierarchy to be reversed in this General’s Mansion?”
"What my granddaughter did today was nothing more than to teach those vicious dogs that turned on their master a lesson and to set this chaotic mansion back on track."
"As for talking back?" She chuckled lightly, her tone utterly mocking. "Every word my granddaughter uttered was reasonable and true. How could it be considered talking back? Is it that Grandmother cannot bear to hear the truth? Or is it that in this General's Mansion, only officials are allowed to set fires, while ordinary people are forbidden to light lamps?"
"You...you..." The old lady was speechless, choked by her barrage of questions. Her chest heaved violently, clearly she was furious.
She valued her reputation above all else and was adept at manipulating people with the rules of filial piety. She had never encountered someone as stubborn and unyielding as Xie Sangning.
"Good! What a sharp tongue! What a great way to set things right!"
The old lady, panting heavily, said, "If I can't handle you, someone else will! Tomorrow, I will submit a petition to the palace and request an audience with the Empress Dowager! I will ask her to send the strictest governess in the palace to teach you what real manners are!"
"Let your father see what kind of lawless daughter he's neglected for the past ten years has become!"
Bringing out the Empress Dowager and her father was the Old Madam's last trump card.
A glimmer of hope instantly ignited in the eyes of Wang Shi and Xie Wuyou.
Xie Sangning, however, seemed to have heard an extremely funny joke, and covered her mouth to chuckle. Her laughter was crisp, but it sent chills down one's spine.
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