When Wei Wenshi was helped up by this granddaughter who was not her biological granddaughter, she was a little impatient, but there was an old saying that one cannot hit a smiling face, so she could not refuse.
When they reached the screen, Madam Wei Wen suddenly stopped, took Wei Shuwan's hand in her own, and said earnestly, "Grandmother knows you are filial, but you should also think more about your own affairs. It's okay to break up with the Song family, but you should find a good family to marry into."
While Wei Wenshi was using this to stall for time, Wei Shuwan saw the shadow behind the screen disappear to the side. She smiled and said, "Grandmother, don't worry, Wanwan understands."
"Then you can leave this ointment here. Your aunt will come over in a little while and help your grandmother apply the medicine," Madam Wei said coldly.
Thus, Wei Shuwan had no choice but to leave with her mother first. However, after leaving the house, she suddenly stopped and pulled her mother to squat down by the window.
Sun Lurong looked at her with great confusion: "What are you trying to do?"
"Shh~" Wei Shuwan put a finger to her lips, then raised her chin to signal her mother to look through the window, while she herself poked a small hole in the peach blossom paper.
The angle was perfect for aligning with the screen, and Sun Lurong quickly saw Wei Hai hurriedly emerge from behind it.
Wei Hai asked excitedly, "Mother, will they really bring a thousand taels tomorrow?"
Madam Wei nodded, but her eyes revealed disdain: "I raised Wei Zheng to adulthood, what is a mere thousand taels? If my Wei family hadn't suffered this calamity, would we have lowered ourselves to come and seek refuge with him?"
“Mother is right. With this thousand taels, we can go back to Jiangzuo to redeem our ancestral home and no longer have to live at the mercy of anyone.”
...
Sun Lurong sighed briefly, "So that's what it was for."
“When Father returned to Jiangzuo, they knew they couldn’t hide their shameful deeds anymore, so they were in a hurry to swindle a sum of money and leave,” Wei Shuwan said in a low voice.
Then, observing his mother's expression, he asked, "Does Mother still want to give it to me?"
Sun Lurong stood up and said, "Here you go." Then she turned and left the courtyard.
Wei Shuwan quickly followed.
However, there was no need to wait until tomorrow for the silver. Sun Lurong went straight back to her room, retrieved two five-hundred-tael silver notes, and then returned to Songhe Residence. When she returned, Wei Hai was still there.
Upon hearing that Sun Lurong had returned, Wei Hai panicked and tried to hide behind the screen, but it was too late.
"Brother, there's no need to hide anymore. Come out and listen together," Sun Lurong called out to Wei Hai, who had only run halfway.
Wei Hai stopped awkwardly, then turned around with a smile on his face: "I...I just came to visit my mother..."
"Alright, since we're all family, there's no need for formalities. If my elder brother wants to use this thousand taels to redeem the ancestral home, I, as his sister-in-law, won't be stingy. But in the future, there's really no need to trouble Mother with these kinds of matters."
Upon hearing this, both Wei Wenshi and Wei Hai were startled. Then, a surge of anger rose to their throats, but it was not appropriate to express it, so they had to swallow it back.
Seeing that they had nothing to say, Sun Lurong decided to have a heart-to-heart talk with them.
“Mother, actually, Second Master and I knew about the incident at the Wu County Guard’s family a long time ago. But since you and Eldest Brother didn’t want to talk about it, we didn’t bring it up either, in order to save face for ourselves. But these things can’t be kept secret forever. Rather than let you leave quietly like this, your daughter-in-law would like to say a few words from the bottom of her heart!”
"Although Second Master is not your biological son, he has only recognized you as his mother since childhood. You also arranged our marriage. In my eyes, you are the only mother-in-law. Since the Wu County Guard family is in trouble, we should do our part. If this thousand taels is not enough, please just ask, and we will redeem the ancestral home no matter what!"
Sun Lurong's words were stern and righteous, leaving Wei Wenshi and Wei Hai speechless for a moment. After a long while, Wei Wenshi let out a long sigh: "Alas, it seems this old woman has been judging a gentleman by her own petty standards..."
Wei Hai also said, "Sister-in-law's words have truly made me, as the eldest brother, ashamed. Now that I have returned to Wu County, I will definitely turn over a new leaf and never do such foolish things again! I will bring glory to the Wei family once more!"
Hearing these words from the two men, Sun Lürong felt that her words had not been wasted, so she readily left the thousand taels and departed.
When Wei Hai returned and told Meng Shi what had happened that day, Meng Shi frowned: "What? You actually admitted to everything? How am I supposed to face my sister-in-law Sun Lurong in the future?!"
"What can we do if we don't admit it? She overheard everything outside the window, whether she should or shouldn't have!" Recalling his previous embarrassment, Wei Hai was also full of anger. "But I've thought about it. Let's go back to Jiangzuo first thing tomorrow morning, so we can avoid the awkwardness of seeing each other again!"
With things having come to this point, there was no better way, so Madam Meng had no choice but to accept it. "When Yao'er comes back in a while, I'll go and talk to her."
Wei Hai looked up at the crescent moon hanging above the treetops outside the window: "What time is it? She still hasn't returned? This is outrageous!"
Meng didn't bother to say anything more and just went to the carriage gate to wait for Wei Shuyao's carriage to return.
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), Wei Shuyao finally returned. She was beaming with joy as she got off the carriage, seemingly lost in her own happiness. It wasn't until Caizhu reminded her that the madam was waiting for her that she immediately stopped smiling and went over.
"Mother, why are you waiting for Yao'er outside the corridor?"
Meng reached out and brushed the tiny flower petals off the fox fur collar of her collar, then asked with a smile, "Who did you go out with today?"
The smile that Wei Shuyao had previously concealed unconsciously resurfaced on her lips. She blushed and lowered her head slightly, "They are my friends from the Begonia Society."
"Oh, when we return to Jiangzuo, Yao'er can start her own poetry club and make friends widely."
"Back to Jiangzuo?" Wei Shuyao suddenly raised her face, her delicate eyebrows furrowed. "When does Mother plan to return to Jiangzuo?"
"First thing tomorrow morning."
Those four simple words struck Wei Shuyao's heart like a thunderbolt, and she shook her head frantically: "No, I won't go back to Jiangzuo!"
"I don't want to go back to Jiangzuo!" Wei Shuyao shouted in near rage, and ran back to her small courtyard.
As she watched her daughter's retreating figure, Madam Meng was momentarily at a loss. She knew that Wei Shuyao always played until she was completely satisfied before returning home, and she had guessed that Wei Shuyao was still attached to Shengjing, but she hadn't expected her reaction to be so strong.
Could it be...?
Did Yao'er meet her sweetheart in Shengjing?
Thinking of this possibility, Meng Shi couldn't tell whether he was happy or worried, so he quickly chased after him.
Wei Shuyao's door was not closed. After Meng entered, she gently comforted her daughter, who was crying on the bed: "Yao'er, tell your mother the truth, do you have someone you love?"
Wei Shuyao cried a few more times before finally stopping. She looked up at Meng Shi, sobbing, and after a moment's hesitation, nodded.
"What kind of person is he? Is he married?"
Wei Shuyao sniffed, knowing that she could no longer hide it, so she told the truth: "His name is Du Xun. He is the only son of Du Changming, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy. He has just turned twenty this year and is not yet married."
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