Chapter 431
“Sixth Young Lady, what a flawless move. Everyone has misjudged you!” Concubine Dong gritted her teeth as she looked at Wei Yuewu.
They were talking at a bend in the path, and no one was around. Even if someone came over, they could be seen from afar.
“What are you talking about?” Wei Yuewu blinked her eyes and asked indifferently.
“Sixth Young Lady, there is no one else here. You don’t need to put on an act anymore. I’m afraid that Madam Dowager has fallen for your tricks too!” Concubine Dong sneered, and her eyes were almost burning.
It wasn’t just about the shops. Thinking about how Wei Yuewu had instigated Lord Marquis to marry a noble lady of an aristocratic family, she couldn’t take it anymore. Therefore, she specially waited at the courtyard entrance for Wei Yuewu to come out.
“Concubine Dong, I heard that my mother was supposed to have a smooth pregnancy back then, but you and Second Aunt made a ruckus at the entrance and disturbed Mother’s labor. That was why Mother almost died with the baby!” Wei Yuewu didn’t reply to Concubine Dong’s words. Her eyes turned cold. She looked at Concubine Dong coldly while she spat those words harshly.
“I…” Concubine Dong was intimidated by Wei Yuewu’s gaze, and she subconsciously took a step back. She felt as though Wei Yuewu’s beautiful eyes had turned into an icy sword that could impale her heart.
But Concubine Dong quickly reacted and hurriedly said, “What are you talking about? How could I dare to do such a thing? It was obvious that Second Lady didn’t like me and tried to pick a fight with me. At that time, I begged Second Lady not to make a fuss too. I was willing to bear the consequences if I did anything wrong. I tried to delay this fight until Madam had given birth, but Second Lady still wouldn’t let me go.”
Lady Li was not here, so Concubine Dong could naturally say whatever she wanted. Moreover, Concubine Dong was sure that no one knew about her secret back then.
“Then what about the medicine?” Wei Yuewu stared at Concubine Dong as her pale lips silently curled into a mocking smile.
“Medicine? What medicine?” Concubine Dong’s lips trembled for a moment before she asked.
Wei Yuewu switched the topic quickly, but Concubine Dong caught on immediately. She couldn’t help but look away, but her averting gaze fell straight into Wei Yuewu’s eyes.
Wei Yuewu thought, “Sure enough. Concubine Dong had something to do with Mother’s medicine!”
“Don’t you know what medicine I’m referring to? I heard that my mother had been taking medicine since she was pregnant. She still took them after giving birth to me. Aren’t you aware of that?” Wei Yuewu’s firm gaze was still on Concubine Dong.
“H-How would I know about this? Madam’s courtyard is not a place I can enter as I wish.” Concubine Dong felt a sense of guilt from Wei Yuewu’s staredown. Suddenly, she realized that Wei Yuewu was only a thirteen-year-old girl. For a moment, Concubine Dong became angry from the embarrassment she felt and retorted.
“In that case, was it a lie when you said you were close with my mother? Otherwise, why can’t you enter my mother’s courtyard?!” Wei Yuewu immediately identified the inconsistency in Concubine Dong’s words and said coldly.
This question made Concubine Dong tongue-tied for a moment, but she immediately spluttered, “I am merely Lord Marquis’ concubine. Even though Madam is close to me, I can’t enter her courtyard as I please.”
“Aren’t you longing after the title of Marquise Hua Yang? Unfortunately, my father thinks otherwise. What my father wants most now is to marry a young lady from an aristocratic family that can be the head of the backyard and helps him deal with the backyard’s affairs. Besides, Third Elder Sister has been getting out of control and misbehaving.”
Wei Yuewu said contemptuously. Then, she walked away delightedly with Huamo as Concubine Dong glared at her furiously.
She was now certain that Concubine Dong was related to the medicine that harmed her mother. A trace of resentment flashed in her eyes.
Didn’t Concubine Dong covet the position of Marquise Hua Yang? Wei Yuewu wanted to destroy her hope so that she could only dream about this position forever. Didn’t Concubine Dong lose her calm just now? She even brought up Lord Tu.
That was good. Things would be better when Concubine Dong used her last move in a hurry…
“Huamo, can Nurse Mei move now?”
“Miss, Nurse Mei can walk around but can’t do anything intense. It’s best if she doesn’t strain her body.” Huamo thought for a while and answered.
“Ask Nurse Mei to find out if someone in the mansion knows about Lord Tu’s matter.” Wei Yuewu said after pondering for a while. In her own courtyard, only Nurse Mei had been working for many years in the mansion and knew many people. She wouldn’t garner too much attention even if she gossiped around.
Just now, Wei Yuewu had forced Concubine Dong to bring up Lord Tu. Then, she recalled the delicate pastries Concubine Dong had made before and how they were strategically placed in her father’s study. She knew the visitor that day must be Lord Tu!
This meant Concubine Dong had a plan for Lord Tu. When she thought of Concubine Dong’s current situation and Lord Tu’s situation, some things were not that difficult to figure out.
Concubine Dong messed up, and it was all her own fault!
Wei Yuewu’s scheme was working out nicely…
“Ask Jin Ling to keep an eye on Concubine Dong’s servant Jinzhu. Without Nanny Dong, the most trusted servants she brought from the border were only Jinzhu and Yuzhu. Right now, there was only Jinzhu by Concubine Dong’s side.
“Yes. I got it!” Huamo nodded.
Although it was chaotic in Marquis Hua Yang’s mansion, it still looked calm on the surface. However, there was a massive commotion on Prince Nan’an Mansion’s side.
Before Princess Nan’an and Madam Dowager could say anything, someone reported that a commotion had taken place in the backyard. It was said that Prefectural Princess Jia’nan had dragged Wei Fengyao, who was recuperating on the bed, into the courtyard and left her there. She even kicked Wei Fengyao a few times, causing her to faint on the spot.
When Princess Nan’an and Madam Dowager hurried over, Wei Fengyao had already woken up and been sent back to the mansion by her maids and old maidservants. However, she was hurt badly. She hugged her arms and was in so much pain that she couldn’t say anything.
When Prince Nan’an Mansion’s imperial doctor arrived, he only shook his head, implying that Wei Fengyao’s arm had been crippled completely.
Princess Nan’an trembled in anger and ordered someone to search for Prefectural Princess Jia’nan. However, she was informed that after Prefectural Princess Jia’nan came out of Wei Fengyao’s courtyard, she took her most trusted maid and rode away.
At this time, it was unknown where she had ridden off to.
When Princess Nan’an asked about the details, the servants in the mansion did not dare to conceal anything from her. They said that after Prefectural Princess Jia’nan came in, she slapped Wei Fengyao cruelly. She scolded Wei Fengyao for deliberately instigating her to harm Wei Yuewu. In the end, she got ruined instead.
After that, Wei Fengyao mocked Prefectural Princess Jia’nan. She said that Prefectural Princess Jia’nan was stupid and could only blame herself. With that, Wei Fengyao had infuriated Prefectural Princess Jia’nan. This was why Wei Fengyao was dragged to the courtyard.
“Madam Dowager, what do you think?” Princess Nan’an, who had understood the details of the matter, frowned and looked at Madam Dowager.
They were now sitting in the main apartment of Wei Fengyao’s courtyard.
Wei Qiuju was trembling with fear as she stood next to Wei Yuejiao. At this time, Wei Yuejiao had a sour expression. When she recalled the matter, she was scared. If the ruthless Prefectural Princess Jia’nan had beaten her up and left just like that, she would have suffered a loss and lost her pride.
As of now, the two of them did not dare to speak a word.
“This matter is Jia’nan’s fault indeed, but Fengyao was in the wrong too. Why does she have such great hatred for her cousin sister? I heard that they did not grow up together in the same mansion. Now, they have grown up and are living in different mansions. Why can’t she tolerate her own cousin sister? They seemed to have an ill relationship. If Sixth Young Lady had really been bitten by a snake just now, she would have been dead! What a daughter-in-law… How can our mansion…”
Seeing that Madam Dowager was silent, Princess Nan’an sighed again.
Madam Dowager was fuming with anger. There was a hidden meaning behind Princess Nan’an’s words, implicating that Wei Fengyao was in the wrong first. Moreover, this kind of behavior could have led to someone’s death. She was vicious indeed, and it would be necessary to divorce such a ruthless person. However, Prince Nan’an Mansion was willing to let this matter go for the sake of the friendship between the two families.
However, if Madam Dowager wanted Prefectural Princess Jia’nan to bear the responsibility, then Princess Nan’an would publicize this matter too. Marquis Hua Yang’s mansion would lose its pride entirely when people discovered that they had raised such a daughter.
“I’ll do whatever you ask of me, Princess Nan’an!” Madam Dowager buried the anger in her heart.
She had to say this. Wei Fengyao had schemed against Wei Yuewu, and someone got a hold of evidence against her. Even Madam Dowager couldn’t get her out of this rut this time.
“Since you have said so, I will write a letter to my elder brother and let him teach Jia’nan well. I must not let her be this unruly. As for Fengyao, I promise her position as the heiress-apparent will remain unchanged. The next Heir-apparent of Prince Nan’an Mansion depends on Fifth Young Lady’s belly now!”
Princess Nan’an smiled and looked warmly at Wei Qiuju, who was standing at the side.
In other words, Prince Nan’an Mansion gave Marquis Hua Yang’s mansion two promises. First, Wei Fengyao’s position as the heiress-apparent and the future princess would never be threatened. Secondly, if there was good news from Wei Qiuju’s belly, the next heir-apparent would be her son.
These promises proved Princess Nan’an’s determination on this matter. Madam Dowager recalled how she had planned to give up on Wei Fengyao. Even though she was reluctant to make concessions regarding what happened today, she couldn’t deny Wei Fengyao’s wrongdoing.
“Let’s do as you say! Please take good care of Wei Fengyao, Princess. It would be even better to invite a few more imperial doctors for her. I will bring my granddaughters back first if there’s nothing else!” Now that things had reached this point, Madam Dowager was embarrassed to stay. She bid her farewell and stood up.
“Madam Dowager, you’re acting like a stranger. If we can cure Fengyao, we will try our best to make her feel better. I will go to the palace in a while and ask the Empress to send more imperial doctors to treat Fengyao!” Princess Nan’an’s words were polite. She smiled as she sent Madam Dowager out.
“Thank you, Princess!” Madam Dowager thanked her again. “Princess, there’s no need to walk me out!”
“Madam Dowager, you are too kind. I don’t mind sending you off. It is rare for you to have time to come here today. I didn’t expect things to escalate to this point. If I have the time in the future, I will go to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang to apologize personally!” Princess Nan’an was very good with her words. Although she stopped her footsteps, she still smiled politely.
Therefore, Madam Dowager said a few more words of courtesy and brought her two granddaughters to the carriage waiting outside the gate. With that, the carriage returned to Marquis Hua Yang’s mansion.
Just as they got off the carriage, they saw Wei Luowen’s lad servant standing guard at the gate. It seemed as though he had been standing there for quite some time. When he saw Madam Dowager coming over, his eyes lit up, and he hurried forward to greet them. “Madam Dowager, Lord Marquis is asking you to meet him at his study!”