Chapter 25 Lian Er's Suspicion
Upon hearing this, all three of them looked on with envy.
No child loves going to school, especially those from families like theirs, for whom studying is really just a way to pass the time.
However, being confined to the school for two hours every day was still quite tedious.
Daiyu, however, thought differently; she was very interested in the school for the girls of the Rongguo Mansion.
“Yu’er, if you feel it’s alright, you can go to the school with your sisters tomorrow to see what it’s like. You’ve never been to a school before, and it must be much more interesting than our study at home,” Yuan Hongqu said earnestly as she entered and overheard Daiyu’s words.
“Granny, I can do it.” Daiyu’s eyes sparkled.
"Sister Lin, there are only a few of you in our family's school. The teachers are quite interesting, especially the one who teaches poetry. He's an old man who retired from the Hanlin Academy, and I've heard he's very famous." Wang Xifeng chimed in, trying to make it more interesting.
Lin Daiyu's eyes darted around, and she pulled Wang Xifeng aside.
"Sister Feng, I heard from my grandmother that you are in charge of everything at home. Will you come with me to school tomorrow?"
"That's easy. I guarantee that everything will be arranged perfectly for the young lady after breakfast tomorrow morning." Wang Xifeng said with a smile, "The old lady instructed this morning that after Miss Lin has settled in at home for the past few days, if she wants to go to school, she can go to the school with the other ladies in the family to have some fun."
"Thank you so much, Sister Feng. I'll go thank Grandmother again tomorrow. Second Sister, Third Sister, Fourth Sister, what do you need to prepare for school? Do you need to bring a schoolbag?" Daiyu was overjoyed. After thanking Wang Xifeng, she pulled the three sisters aside and kept asking them questions.
"No need to prepare anything. Just take your servants with you. We're not going to study politics or economics, just some principles so that we don't completely lose sight of right and wrong."
Yingchun clearly didn't care much about whether or not she went to school.
I'll go to school just because my family wants me to.
She couldn't understand why Lin Daiyu not only didn't reject going to school, but also looked forward to it.
Xichun was the most enthusiastic. She had actually been so sleepy that she was doubled over. Now, her wet nurse was holding her, preparing to take her back to sleep.
Hearing that Sister Lin was going to school with them tomorrow, they were instantly wide awake and struggled to sit up, saying:
"Sister Lin, we'll come find you tomorrow morning so we can go to school together."
Tan Chun also hurriedly reminded, "Sister Lin, let's go together tomorrow. The school starts classes at the end of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), so let's come here at the middle of Chen Shi (7-9 AM) to go to the school together. Sister Lin, don't oversleep!"
When they arrived yesterday, Daiyu was sleeping, which led Tanchun to believe that Sister Lin was a sleepyhead.
"Is it really this late? When I was at home, the teacher would start teaching at the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM). Even now that I'm not in school, I still practice the Eight Pieces of Brocade for a while at the beginning of Chen Shi." Daiyu tilted her little nose up, looking very charming.
After seeing off the three springs, Yuan Hongqu busied herself coaxing Daiyu to wash up and go to bed, while Wang Xifeng was already drinking fish maw soup alone on the side.
Before she had finished her bowl of soup, Jia Lian's voice came from outside.
"Second Madam, I've been looking everywhere for you. Why aren't you coming home with me?" Without waiting for anyone to announce his arrival, Jia Lian strode in.
As soon as he entered the room, he saw Wang Xifeng dressed in casual clothes, comfortably drinking soup by herself, with no one else around.
This doesn't act like a matriarch at all; she's lost all of the prestige of Second Madam Lian.
When Wang Xifeng saw Jia Lian walk in so casually, accompanied by the old woman guarding the gate of Rongyue Courtyard, who looked troubled, she was clearly uneasy because she hadn't stopped Jia Lian from barging in.
"Second Master Lian, you're quite the big shot. Are you even showing off your power in your relatives' courtyard?" The moment Jia Lian entered, Wang Xifeng immediately switched roles, her acting skills kicking in again.
Jia Lian looked at Wang Xifeng with suspicion. She was no different from the tigress he remembered. Had he just imagined it?
This dignified and unapproachable Second Mistress was the Wang Xifeng he knew. Jia Lian chuckled.
"It hasn't been long since I've seen Second Madam. I heard from the servants that you've come here, so I came here specifically to take Second Madam home."
"Don't I have legs of my own? I don't need your fake kindness. Where are you now...?"
Wang Xifeng originally wanted to scold Jia Lian, but then she thought that since they were in Rongyue Courtyard, she shouldn't disturb Sister Yuan and Daiyu, so she decided to go back and deal with Jia Lian later.
She beckoned to an old woman by the door and gave her instructions:
"Go and tell Sister Yuan that you thank her for her hospitality. I've had the soup, so I'm going home now. I'll come again tomorrow."
Before the old woman could answer, the chubby girl Walnut came out.
She was holding a porcelain bottle, the mouth of which was sealed tightly with wax, and a note was stuck on the bottle.
"Second Madam, Granny Yuan is telling the young lady a story and doesn't have time to come out to deliver this to you. She asked me to give this to you, and the prescription is also on it. You can ask Granny Yuan for more when you run out, or you can ask a doctor outside to make more. Either way is fine."
Wang Xifeng took the bottle with a puzzled look. There was a note on one side of the bottle, which she glanced at and it seemed to be a Chinese medicine prescription.
Why did Sister Yuan send Walnut to deliver this bottle of medicine? Could it be...?
She had a guess in her mind, turned the bottle to the other side, and saw that there was a note stuck on this side as well.
"What a wonderful thing this is! Let me see it." Jia Lian saw Wang Xifeng looking at the bottle over and over, completely ignoring him, so he reached out to take the bottle.
Wang Xifeng quickly dodged, preventing him from getting it.
"You have to look at everything, and it's all your fault. Let's go home!"
She went out first, then turned back outside.
"Walnut, please thank your Granny Yuan for me."
She left Rongyue Courtyard like a gust of wind, her steps so fast that even Jia Lian could hardly keep up.
As soon as Wang Xifeng entered the house, she immediately ordered the servants to bring water, as she wanted to take a bath.
A quarter of an hour later, Wang Xifeng sat in the bathtub, gazing at the bottle beside her and muttering to herself.
"Sister Yuan, it's all thanks to you. You really saved me from this urgent situation."
One side of the porcelain bottle contained a prescription, while the other side had a slip of paper with some strange symbols that others wouldn't recognize. However, Wang Xifeng immediately recognized it as the pinyin of a domestic brand called "Women's Friend".
After she took a bath and applied the medicine, just as she was about to go to sleep, Jia Lian came over and teased her.
Wang Xifeng was furious that he had infected her with a sexually transmitted disease, so she avoided Jia Lian like the plague and immediately made excuses that she was feeling unwell.
Unexpectedly, Jia Lian was not buying it today. Seeing Wang Xifeng's anger, he grinned and tried to go to the bed.
Wang Xifeng threw off the covers, got out of bed, put on her clothes, sat on a chair, and pointed at Jia Lian:
"Second Master Lian, tell me. Which brothel owner did you come from today? Did you get humiliated by someone outside, and now you come here to mess with me!"
When Jia Lian saw that Wang Xifeng seemed genuinely angry, unlike her usual demeanor, he felt extremely disappointed by the cold treatment he had received from her over the past six months.
“Feng’er, we are husband and wife. Ever since Eldest Sister’s hundred-day celebration, you haven’t let me near you. You used to be on good terms with that young Rong from the East Mansion, did you learn that from her…”
"Jia Lian, you're a scoundrel!" When Wang Xifeng heard Jia Lian doubt her like that, she grabbed the teacup next to her and threw it at him. Jia Lian couldn't dodge in time, and although he wasn't injured, he was still covered in leftover tea.
"Lian Er, I'm under the watchful eyes of countless people all day long. Do you think I'll ever have the chance to do such a thing?" Wang Xifeng said bitterly.
“We grew up together. You’re not only my husband, but also my cousin. How could you doubt me like this?” she cried, tears streaming down her face.
Jia Lian felt both guilty and regretful for his careless words.
He was about to lean closer and say a few sweet words to coax Wang Xifeng.
But then they heard Wang Xifeng choke back tears and say:
"Second Master, since you look down on me so much, why don't you just take your mistresses outside as wives if they have clean backgrounds? I won't embarrass you. As for the family, if you want Ping'er, you should cut off all your affairs outside first. In half a year, I will open the storeroom and hold a banquet to properly arrange Ping'er's marriage for you."
As soon as Wang Xifeng finished speaking, Jia Lian immediately flew into a rage.
"Feng'er, are you really this heartless? You'd even tolerate this just to keep me away. You've never done this before! Tell me the truth, do you have someone else, that's why you won't let me come back!"
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