Chapter 415 - 407: Stepping Forward
Mrs. Dong had already thought it through. Since Consort Zhou wanted to suppress Lin Youning, there was nothing she could do to stop it. Now that Consort Zhou called her out to question her, she couldn’t possibly not respond. When she returned to the Marquis Mansion later, Mrs. Gu Sr. couldn’t blame her, as what she said wasn’t a lie.
Consort Zhou nodded after hearing her, "So you say this isn’t really a matter. Dingyuan Marquis has quite a temper; just because of this, he sent the lady of the house to a temple. This is really unreasonable. I heard Madame just gave birth to a little legitimate son, the child is still young, and Dingyuan Marquis is really too ruthless."
"Speaking of which, this is also my fault. I contradicted Mrs. Gu Sr. and accused the Marquis of not coming back to the mansion often. Mrs. Gu Sr. accused me of jealousy, and I was not convinced. At that time, I also accused Mrs. Gu Sr. of not adhering to rules. After all, initially, the Marquis was responsible for two households, but now he only cares about one. I couldn’t control my temper back then, and the words I spoke were too heavy, which angered the Marquis." Mrs. Dong confessed her mistake.
Yet her confession pointed out in a roundabout way how biased Mrs. Gu Sr. and the Marquis were.
"Dingyuan Marquis has always been someone with a good sense of reason; such actions are unlike him. Is it really true that men can’t resist beauty and don’t even respect rules when they encounter it?" Consort Zhou shifted all the blame onto Lin Youning again. "This matter does indeed make sense. Since it’s the mentality of favoritism, naturally the bias would be towards the Marquis Mansion. Madame’s accusations aren’t wrong, but such words should be directed at Dingyuan Marquis instead of Mrs. Gu Sr., no wonder he got angry."
Before Mrs. Dong could respond, Consort Zhou added, "But Dingyuan Marquis has already been blinded by beauty, and I’m afraid whatever Madame says won’t reach his heart."
This statement sealed Lin Youning’s reputation as a seductress who only disrupts norms by enticing men.
Lin Youning sat there without retorting, as if they were talking about someone else altogether and not herself, ignoring the scrutinizing glances around.
Over at Mrs. Zhou Sr.’s side, she could no longer bear listening. "All right, all right, this is an internal matter of another’s house, it’s enough that you know some of it. Why inquire so meticulously? You should return to the palace, and not linger outside, it’s already this hour."
Consort Zhou, however, became displeased and speaking coyly said, "Mother, how considerate of you; your daughter hasn’t returned home for years, and now that I’m back, you are in such a hurry to send me away."
The old lady smiled, "I would like you to stay at the mansion longer, but your status is different now, naturally you can’t linger here."
Consort Zhou smiled faintly, "Mother knows, although the palace is vast and the Holy Emperor is usually busy with affairs. Now, it’s rare to come out and I met Yuanhua; I wanted to stay a bit longer. I have only one daughter, Yuanhua married abroad years ago, and now she’s back. Though her status has been demoted by the Holy Emperor, she is still my daughter. I’m afraid some people might bully her just because she’s not a princess anymore, and later when I can’t leave the palace often, I rely on you to look after her, preventing those people from bullying her casually and letting the child suffer grievances. Though Yuanhua doesn’t have the princess’s title now, she is still the Holy Emperor’s daughter, not someone anyone can easily oppress."
As Consort Zhou spoke, her eyes intentionally or unintentionally glanced towards Lin Youning.
Mrs. Zhou Sr. was so infuriated that her chest hurt, feeling her daughter had indeed made up her mind. She no longer listened to her, over and over targeting the other side. Even though she tried stopping her daughter several times, it was in vain.
At this time, there was a commotion outside, saying that Madam Liu was coming over. Mrs. Zhou Sr. hurried to stand and greet her. After Madam Liu entered and paid her respects to Consort Zhou, she stood up and said with a smile, "Speaking of which, the little girl in the Zhou Mansion is quite amusing. I just went out once and asked her to bring me back, but she couldn’t find the way back. Luckily, this old woman still has some memory, and managed to find her way back slowly. Otherwise, who knows how many times I’d have wandered around in this Zhou Mansion."
Lin Youning then understood why her grandmother wasn’t there; it turned out she had been led away by the Zhou Mansion.
After Madam Liu spoke, the people in the hall understood. They hadn’t expected the Zhou Mansion to do such a thing. Mrs. Zhou Sr. felt like she had been heavily slapped in the face, wishing she could find a hole to burrow into. She was just wondering why Madam Liu hadn’t returned after going to the restroom. It turned out she had been intentionally diverted by her daughter.
Now that Madam Liu had come over and pointed it out directly in front of so many noblewomen, how could they save face? People would say their Zhou Mansion bullied others and led the family members astray.
Mrs. Zhou Sr. felt utterly disgraced at the thought of her daughter’s visit causing such a disturbance. She would never have agreed to let her daughter come back if she had known.
Madam Liu walked over to Sister Ning, "Your grandmother is getting old. I should have called you when I went out earlier. Considering you’re pregnant, and the pregnancy is still unstable, I didn’t want to call you. But now, I almost got lost in the Zhou Mansion."
Seeing Madam Liu like this, Mrs. Zhou Sr. understood Madam Liu’s intention in saying those words and in coming to their mansion.
"I’m sorry for the embarrassment, I will have someone find out which unruly maid couldn’t even distinguish the paths of the mansion and sell her directly," said Mrs. Zhou Sr. hastily.
Madam Liu, however, waved her hand dismissively, "It’s just a little girl, no need to trouble her. No matter how big the Zhou Mansion is, it can’t be that easy to get lost. If it really were that way, the Prime Minister from our mansion would come to your Zhou Mansion to ask for me; they will eventually find me."
This playful remark left Mrs. Zhou Sr. unable to smile, sensing that Madam Liu was implying something.
Even comparing Madam Liu’s demeanor in handling matters, they were overshadowed. A little maid making mischief with the Prime Minister’s wife, yet the Prime Minister’s wife paid it no mind; what’s more, a maid is still a servant.
But in contrast, look at them. Her daughter caused such a scene, a noble consort targeting a house’s Madam, in front of so many noble family Madams no less. How could they save face when word of this got out?
Lin Youning couldn’t sit still anymore. After kneeling for so long, her belly started to feel uncomfortable. Now that her grandmother was here, facing her, she furrowed her brows, and Madam Liu hurriedly walked over to her side, concerned.