Chapter 435 - 434: Doubts
When Mrs. Zhou returned to Jingshui Hall, she held the family letter she was to send to Mu Lianxiao.
Earlier at Madam Wu’s place, she had waited and waited but Mrs. Xu didn’t come out of the study, so Mrs. Zhou sneaked a peek, and as expected, Mrs. Xu was crying again.
The letter Mrs. Xu handed her was light and thin. Although Mrs. Zhou didn’t know what Mrs. Xu wrote, she could guess that with so many thoughts in her heart, only a few words could actually be put into writing.
Nanny Su prepared the pen and ink, and Mrs. Zhou carefully wrote another letter to Mu Lianxiao.
At the top, she detailed what Mu Yuanjing had said before her death.
Halfway through writing, Mrs. Zhou felt uneasy, set down her pen, and softly asked Nanny Su: "Lianxiao wrote a secret letter specifically, and had Ming Liu deliver it quietly back. Is he also suspicious in his heart?"
Nanny Su lowered her eyes and pondered, saying: "Is there not also doubt in your heart, Madam? Ever since the lady confided to you about her birthing matters, to later when the fourth lady conveyed what Madam told you, if you never truly believed..."
Nanny Su was interrupted by a long sigh from Mrs. Zhou.
Mrs. Zhou leaned back against the chair backrest and massaged her brow.
Nanny Su walked behind her and gently pressed between Mrs. Zhou’s brows: "Madam, I understand your meaning.
The mansion lacks male heirs, and over the years, the second house has become more ambitious, generating unwarranted ideas which you can sympathize with and comprehend.
A snake tries to swallow an elephant, it’s not uncommon in any family, it’s all about the scale of what’s being contested.
The second house even obstructs the Princely Heir and his wife’s offspring, and that is not hard to fathom.
But as for Mr. Kang’s matter, while you’ve had some insight, you’ve often dismissed it as Madam’s malicious fabrications. To say something I shouldn’t, it’s because it’s that Madam, no matter the issue or words, nothing good comes from her mouth.
In your heart, you’re torn between belief and disbelief about Mr. Kang’s matter. If his disappearance wasn’t an accident, but was deliberate by the second house, their intentions were predatory not grown over these eight years, but already there eight years ago.
Eight years, just mentioning it is terrifying.
Was it only during the trip to the Northern Border to collect the remains that such ideas arose, or even earlier, waiting for such an opportunity?
Is that what you think, Madam?"
Mrs. Zhou closed her eyes, giving a bitter, dry laugh. She said mournfully: "You understand me best.
Obstructing offspring, a silent and bloodless tactic often seen in the inner court, something I’ve heard much about in the capital.
But Lian Kang...
He is a legitimate nephew, watched him be born, run and jump, could they really harm him? How can I believe it all at once?
I dare not believe, yet I must ponder this matter deeply, the more I ponder, the colder my heart feels.
Now it’s not just me, the fourth sister-in-law is likely pondering as well. The few words Yuanjing said, she said in the presence of her and the Old Madam, and I’m afraid even the Old Madam has doubts.
It’s one thing for the fourth sister-in-law and me, as daughters-in-law, but the Old Madam is different, her heart would be wrung like a knife.
Oh, there’s one more thing I’m mulling over.
Lian Xiao’s wife was personally chosen by the second sister-in-law, if the second house had ambitions early on, why choose such a girl?
That child seems straightforward and delicate, but she’s not easily fooled, and she manages things decently, while knowing how to please the Old Madam. Wouldn’t the second sister-in-law be shooting herself in the foot by doing this?"
Nanny Su was taken aback by this.
For the long house not to proceed smoothly, naturally they would choose a daughter-in-law who couldn’t manage the household, someone either troublesome or a doormat, someone who would obediently follow orders.
Just as Mrs. Zhou said, they shouldn’t have chosen a girl like Du Yunluo.
Du Yunluo knows how to please the elders, and after entering the house, with the Old Madam and several Madams guiding her, if anything happens, her family back home isn’t helpless, always there to back her up.
What’s most crucial is that Mu Lianxiao likes her, their marital relationship is sweet as honey.
She can take good care of her husband while managing household affairs to the extent that even the pickiest mother-in-law would have no complaints, let alone Madam Wu and Mrs. Zhou, who are not difficult to serve.
Nanny Su thought for a moment, then slapped her forehead, exclaiming: "Now that Madam mentions it, I recall something.
When the lady first married in, some gossiping maids said rumors were truly unreliable, as the outside used to say the lady was pampered, willful, wouldn’t tolerate grievances, and was very arrogant, but seeing her in person, she was none of those.
I was puzzled upon hearing that and asked some questions. They said that, for years, among the noble girls in the capital, this was the talk, and during matchmakings, they wondered how the family could have peace bringing someone like that into the house.
I thought to myself then, how terrifying words can be. A perfectly good girl was made out to be like that, and it was fortunate that Mrs. Shi had a close relationship with the lady’s mother, knowing the lady’s true character, otherwise, our mansion might have been misled by those words too.
Now with Madam bringing it up, I guess, maybe the second Madam believed those rumors, thinking the lady wasn’t a good girl, so she wanted her?
Mrs. Shi, unaware of the second Madam’s intentions, thought it a sincerely desired match, and thus happily acted as the go-between?
As Mrs. Shi and Du Family are on good terms, she wouldn’t speak ill of the lady, had she really spread those bad words in Baijie Hall, how could you and the Old Madam agree."
Mrs. Zhou frowned deeply.
Widowed for years, she wasn’t close even to nieces from her own family, much less interested in prying into other girls’ affairs.
She hadn’t heard a word of those rumors about Du Yunluo.
In retrospect, had she known back then, she wouldn’t have consented to this marriage.
If the Lian Family indeed orchestrated this, then by sheer miscalculation, Mrs. Zhou ended up with a good daughter-in-law.
"It actually makes sense." Mrs. Zhou said blandly, "Being muddle-headed has its blessings, figuring everything out makes one uneasy at heart.
But it’s about Lian Xiao, about this Dingyuan Marquis Mansion. If I’m muddle-headed and let them play my son, I wouldn’t face the Marquis even underground.
The Marquis entrusted everything to me before leaving the capital, and I wanted to live up to him, yet in the end, I failed him."
A light sigh escaped her, her chest felt heavy.
Hearing this made Nanny Su uncomfortable. Having served Mrs. Zhou for many years, she understood her well and knew of the bond between Mrs. Zhou and Mu Yuance.
Her husband fought for the court and entrusted the whole family to her, she could only repay him by managing the household well and taking care of the sister-in-laws and children.
Who could have foreseen that her dedicated heart would end up raising a house of ungrateful ones?
"Madam, you’ve done your best, and the Marquis knows it," Nanny Su comforted Mrs. Zhou, "Moreover, this is all our speculation, it may not be..."
"No need to console me," Mrs. Zhou opened her eyes, her gaze heavy, with a tinge of bitterness and determination, "If I feel bitter, the Old Madam feels even more so."