Hu Sheng hadn't noticed He Jiuniang's anger yet, and stepped forward with a smile, saying, "It is indeed my wife. After bringing Susu back, I have been raising her by your side, teaching her some manners so that she won't offend the General's wife."
Seeing his self-righteous attitude, He Jiuniang was instantly amused and retorted, "Who are you? What is your relationship with Susu? What is your wife's relationship with Susu? Doesn't Susu have her own mother to guide her? Why do you need to meddle in other people's business?"
Hu Sheng was surprised to be scolded despite coming prepared, which he found quite perplexing.
Don't normal families prefer well-mannered and knowledgeable children? He had put in a lot of effort for this, but He Jiu Niang didn't seem to appreciate it.
Before Hu Sheng could speak, He Jiuniang looked at Yao Shi, who was standing to the side with her head down and didn't dare to utter a sound, and asked with a hint of disappointment, "You are Su Su's birth mother, right? Su Su was bullied like this by them, didn't you do anything to fight for Su Su?"
As He Jiuniang spoke, her eyes were fixed on Yao Shi, wanting to see how she viewed Su Su. If she, like Hu Sheng, only saw Su Su as a tool to curry favor, then she would immediately send her away.
Hu Sheng was just a minor official of the sixth rank, and he was no match for her.
"That's not how it is..."
Yao lowered her head, her voice trembling with tears.
She was naturally unwilling to see her daughter suffer like this, but as a concubine in the household, she couldn't protect Susu at all. Susu had resisted several times and was almost beaten to death by the mistress. So she could only tell Susu to be obedient and wait until she saw He Jiuniang before asking her for help.
She had opposed Hu Sheng's plan to pick up his daughter, but her opposition was useless. She was even beaten and forbidden from revealing anything to her family. They forced her to pretend to be doing well in front of them so that they would think she was favored. That's why they entrusted Su Su to her.
Her poor daughter was abandoned by her own father at birth, and then her mother abandoned her to remarry. Now, at just over three years old, she is being used by her new husband to climb the social ladder. It's all because she's useless; she can't even protect her own daughter.
Seeing her mother like this, Su Su gently tugged at He Jiu Niang's sleeve and said, "My mother is very good to me."
Her imagination of her mother had never stopped. But when she finally met her, her mother's appearance was quite different from what she had imagined. Her mother was not as young and beautiful as she had thought, and even looked a bit old. Her hands were also rough. But the look in her eyes was full of sorrow and tenderness. She knew that her mother loved her.
So, the little girl still wanted to be with her mother, and agreed to go back to the capital with them.
On the way to the capital, although the carriage ride was very bumpy, she was very happy because she could ride in the same carriage as her mother, and the uncle rarely paid attention to them.
During this time, she noticed that her mother would laugh when playing with her, but would secretly cry when she was alone. She even saw many injuries on her mother's body. When she asked who had hit her, her mother shook her head. It wasn't until they returned to the capital that the uncle said he would send her to be taught by his aunt. Her mother knelt down and begged for mercy, but the uncle kicked her away and then beat her severely.
She was terrified and wanted to save her mother, but she was too young to help. In the end, she cried and begged her uncle, saying that she was willing to go to her aunt's yard to learn manners, and only then did her uncle stop.
That night, she held her mother, who was paralyzed on the ground after being beaten, and cried until she lost her voice.
Seeing that the situation seemed to be developing in a direction he didn't like, Hu Sheng hurriedly smiled apologetically and said, "Madam, you misunderstand. We like Susu very much and would never bully her. She is Yao's daughter and naturally has some connection with me. I brought her back so that the mother and daughter could be reunited."
At this point, he even felt that he was being righteous by taking in and raising his concubine's ex-husband's daughter. What else could it be but righteousness?
"Lord Hu, what you're saying is really interesting. You're telling me it's for their own good to give Yao's daughters away to be raised by others?"
He Jiuniang immediately sneered and launched into a direct rebuttal.
"The fact that Lord Hu brought her to my side today should tell you what my relationship with Susu is. She is my goddaughter, and I made her call me 'Mother.' What gives you the right to think she's ill-mannered? Since she's my goddaughter, did you even ask my opinion before you gave her away to someone else to raise?"
"Furthermore, the feng shui of Lord Hu's house may not be very good. Yao is a young woman who has been in your house for two or three years, but she looks as old as Su Su's grandmother. Your Hu family treats Su Su's birth mother like this. You don't even like your own concubine Yao, so why do you like the child Yao had with her ex-husband? Don't you think it's ridiculous, Lord Hu?"
These words pierced Yao's heart like a needle. Throughout her life, she was disliked, and naturally, her daughter was also disliked, except by her parents.
Hu Sheng was speechless after being rebuked by He Jiu Niang. When he first saw her, he was marveling at how beautiful she was. But now, he was wondering how such a beautiful woman could be so unruly.
Doesn't Lu Baichuan discipline her for being so unruly?
However, it's understandable. Lu Baichuan is a military general, and he himself is a rough man, so naturally he doesn't understand those things, unlike civil officials who pay more attention to these etiquettes.
"Madam General, you jest. This child was abandoned by her father at birth and has received little education. I only entrusted her to you for her own good. Besides, Madam Yao agreed, didn't she?"
Hu Sheng ignored some of the more sensitive topics and chose an acceptable answer.
At the same time, he looked at Yao with a threatening expression, as if he wanted to drag Yao out to take the blame.
Yao didn't dare look at his face, and lowered her head, pretending not to see his hint.
Hu Sheng was a little angry and raised his hand to hit Yao Shi, but he held back because he was still in the General's Mansion.
That bastard! How dare he pretend he didn't see his hint? I'll just beat him to death when we get back!
He Jiuniang saw his actions clearly and was about to say a few more sarcastic remarks when Yao Shi knelt down before her.
"Madam, please save SuSu!"
Yao's hands gripped her clothes tightly, clearly showing her nervousness and fear.
She knew very well what would happen to her when she went back after saying such things. She might be beaten to death, or she might be severely beaten and then forced to continue using her relationship with Susu to curry favor with the Lu family.
But none of that mattered. She didn't care. She was willing to risk her own life to save her daughter.
She didn't dare to resist when she was at her parents' home because even if she did, her parents couldn't help her, and it might even make things worse for her family. But now, Hu Sheng can't do anything to the Lu family. As long as He Jiu Niang is willing to keep Su Su, she can die in peace even if she's beaten to death.
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