The hall was frighteningly quiet. Shen Xiling knelt silently listening to Old Madam Qi’s lecture. Qi Ning, sitting to the side, secretly glanced at her expression and saw that Sister Wenwen’s pretty little face was crisscrossed with bloody marks and alarmingly pale.
There was pity in his eyes, and he had some special feelings for Shen Xiling in his heart. He also wanted to stand up for Shen Xiling just as Qi Le had protected Zhao Yao earlier. However, he had always known that as a concubine-born son, he wasn’t favored by his grandmother, so even if he forced himself to speak up, it would be useless. Moreover, from the corner of his eye he caught sight of his second brother’s outer robe lying on the ground, and his expression unconsciously grew cold.
Hah, why should he stand up for her? In the end, Sister Wenwen was no different from Zhao Yao—her eyes were only on that brilliantly talented second brother of his who surpassed everyone in everything. If he threw himself into defending her out of passion, wouldn’t he become as foolish as his fourth brother?
She might not even appreciate it.
With this thought, the emotion in Qi Ning’s eyes completely faded, and he turned his head away, no longer looking at Shen Xiling.
Old Madam Qi paused in her speech before continuing: “Child, what happened today may seem like a bad thing to you now, but if you could take a longer view, you would know this is actually a good thing. While those improper thoughts haven’t taken deep root, quickly pull them out completely, not leaving even a trace behind—this is what’s best for you. Do you understand?”
Listening from the side, Yao Shi felt the old lady’s words were becoming increasingly excessive. But Wenwen herself knelt there, only looking particularly pale, without showing any expression of grievance or sadness. A young girl, kneeling alone in the hall like this, suffering such humiliation before everyone’s eyes, yet she didn’t cry—not a single tear fell. She just listened in silence.
At this moment she even nodded and answered: “…Thank you for Old Madam’s guidance. I understand.”
Old Madam Qi nodded and leisurely hummed in acknowledgment, picking up her teacup to sip some tea. She slowly set the cup down again and said: “No matter what, this matter must have a resolution.”
“Actually, I always felt it was somewhat inappropriate for Miss Fang to enter the family school,” the old lady said with a stern expression. “Yao’er and Rong’er at least have family connections to the Qi house, so it’s reasonable for them to study together with Jing’an and the others. But for Miss Fang to join was rather improper. However, since I didn’t interfere before, the matter was settled as such.”
The old lady sighed and continued: “I know Jingchen also meant well in wanting to repay Minister Fang, but as a man, his consideration of such trivial matters is inevitably inadequate. In my opinion, it’s inappropriate for Miss Fang to live in the Qi house. It would be better for her to move out.”
Hearing these words, Yao Shi was shocked.
She had thought the old lady would just scold Wenwen and be done with it, never expecting her to actually intend to expel Wenwen! Wenwen was just a young girl whose parents had already passed away—if she were driven out of the Qi house, where could she go!
Yao Shi felt indignant and spoke up to persuade: “Old Madam, Wenwen is still young, and her relatives are no longer by her side. If she leaves the Qi house, where else could she go? Moreover, she was brought back by Jingchen, so surely we should ask Jingchen first before…”
Before she could finish, Yao Shi heard the old lady snort coldly: “Ask Jingchen? An unmarried man involving a young girl with himself—what good could come of it? As his mother, your handling of matters is far too absurd!”
Such harsh and severe words—she was even scolding Yao Shi along with her.
Though the old lady was advanced in years, her domineering nature remained unchanged from her youth. The hall became even quieter. Qi Ning and Qi Le sat in their chairs not daring to move, Zhao Yao knelt on the ground not daring to breathe loudly. Only Fu Rong remained calm, even gracefully pouring fresh tea for the old lady and urging her to calm down.
The old lady accepted the teacup but her anger remained unabated. She continued addressing Yao Shi: “The Qi family is not unreasonable. Since we received kindness from the Fang family, we should naturally look after their orphan. In a moment, you go find the accounting office and have them prepare some silver for Miss Fang—make it generous, don’t be stingy. In the future, if Miss Fang encounters any difficulties, she can come to the mansion to speak of them, and we’ll naturally help with what we can.”
Before Yao Shi could respond, she saw the old lady turn to look at Shen Xiling, slightly raising her chin as she asked: “How does Miss Fang find this arrangement?”
Everyone’s gaze thus followed the old lady’s question and focused on Shen Xiling.
Facing such circumstances of being swept out the door, this orphan girl still didn’t cry or make a fuss. Though her face was crisscrossed with wounds, her expression remained calm. Yao Shi even saw the young girl look toward her with a grateful glance, then quickly withdraw her gaze and bow to Old Madam Qi on the bed-couch, quietly answering: “This is very good. Thank you for Old Madam’s kindness.”
Seeing her bowing posture, Yao Shi felt her heart suddenly ache for some reason, and a layer of tears appeared in her eyes.
Old Madam Qi was completely oblivious, only feeling this orphan girl was quite sensible. Now that Jingchen wasn’t here, it was good to quickly send the person away. Her grandson had an aloof temperament—when he returned home and learned of this matter, he probably wouldn’t have any objections. It was better to nip such improper seedlings in the bud early.
Fu Rong sat gently and properly beside Old Lady Qi, taking in everything in the hall. At this moment she lowered her eyes, concealing the slight smile in them.
Her brother Fu Zhuo was indeed right—when dealing with troublesome matters, it was best not to act personally.
Look, she hadn’t acted personally, yet everything proceeded smoothly and successfully. How wonderful.
In just one day, quite a few changes had occurred in the Qi family mansion.
Zhao Yao was punished—not only scolded and made to kneel by Old Madam Qi, but news of her troublemaking also reached Wang Qing, enraging Teacher Wang who declared he would never teach her again and directly expelled her from the study hall. As for that Fang family orphan girl, she was even more pitiful—directly driven out of the mansion by Old Madam Qi. It was said she had barely left Rongrui Hall in the morning when she departed through the Qi family gates that very afternoon.
It had been a long time since such disorder had occurred within the Qi family compound. Today’s commotion naturally led to gossip behind people’s backs.
Such as between Qi Yun and his wife Han Ruohui.
That night, after the wet nurse took Hui’er away to sleep, the couple sat on their bed talking. Han Ruohui massaged Qi Yun’s shoulders while telling him about how Old Madam Qi had expelled the Fang family orphan from the mansion that day, which greatly surprised Qi Yun.
Qi Yun frowned: “How could Grandmother act this way? Minister Fang showed kindness to Jingchen, and that Miss Fang is Minister Fang’s orphaned daughter. Now to expel her from the mansion—it doesn’t make sense morally. If word spreads, how will others view the Qi family?”
Han Ruohui gently massaged her husband’s neck as she replied: “You know our old lady’s temperament—she’s always been absolute in her decisions. Today Mother also tried to persuade her for a long time, but it was useless.”
Qi Yun sighed, worry showing in his eyes. After hesitating for a while, he said: “I should go speak with Grandmother again. This is truly inappropriate.”
As he spoke, he was about to get up, but his wife pulled him back, chiding: “Are you confused? You haven’t even understood this matter clearly—why are you interfering?”
Hearing this, Qi Yun raised an eyebrow, not understanding what complications this matter could have. Han Ruohui found it both helpless and amusing: “Can’t you see? The old lady wants her grand-niece to marry Jingchen. She dislikes that Fang family girl getting in the way, so she’s expelling her. How could talking about morality with her work?”
“Such a thing?” Qi Yun was very surprised to hear this. “Rong’er and Jingchen?”
This seemed far-fetched at first, but upon closer consideration, it seemed plausible. Grandmother had always favored her maternal family, so wanting to look after Fu Rong wouldn’t be surprising. If Rong’er married Jingchen, the Fu family’s currently somewhat precarious position would be stabilized. For Jingchen, someone with Fu Rong’s dignified and steady temperament would indeed be a good match.
However…
“But Grandmother is being overly suspicious,” Qi Yun laughed. “That Miss Fang is so young—surely Jingchen wouldn’t…”
His wife laughed: “Why wouldn’t he? I think the old lady’s worries aren’t excessive—don’t you think Jingchen treats her rather differently?”
Qi Yun thought about it and shook his head: “Not really…”
Han Ruohui covered her mouth and laughed, lightly patting her husband: “You—what could you possibly notice?”
When Qi Yun pressed further, his wife said leisurely: “You know your brother’s temperament better than I do. Actually, what the old lady said today had some merit. This matter of caring for a deceased friend’s orphan—giving some silver would suffice. Taking someone to live nearby like this is rare—it would be rare for anyone, let alone Jingchen. Hmm?”
This reasoning was quite sound.
Qi Yun came around to understanding. Thinking of his second brother’s usual indifference to worldly matters, he had indeed been overly considerate toward that Miss Fang. Thinking carefully, when Second Brother originally proposed letting Yao’er enter the family school, perhaps he was also making arrangements for that Miss Fang.
Qi Yun began to sense something, though he still completely trusted his second brother’s character—he would never harbor improper thoughts toward a twelve-year-old girl. His wife, hearing his words, smiled: “Perhaps right now there truly isn’t romantic feeling between them, but who can say about the future?”
Qi Yun remained half-convinced, then heard his wife continue: “I just can’t gauge Jingchen’s attitude toward this matter… With his temperament, if he returns to find the young girl he brought back has suffered such bullying, who knows what he might do.”
With these words, Qi Yun also felt uncertain.
Though Jingchen was always filial to his elders, he always had his own ideas. If what Hui said was accurate—that Jingchen truly gave special care to that Miss Fang—but upon returning learned that Grandmother had bullied her, then…
Qi Yun felt his head growing as large as a bushel.
Han Ruohui sighed again: “Second Brother isn’t having it easy either. He’s already so tied up with court duties that he can’t get away, and when he returns home, he’ll have to clean up this mess—I think you’d better not interfere with this matter and save yourself from unclear entanglements.”
Qi Yun wanted to interfere, but with Grandmother on one side and Second Brother on the other, there was simply no way to insert himself.
After hesitating for a while, he thought again and started to get up. Han Ruohui pulled him back, asking: “What are you doing?”
Qi Yun turned back and answered his wife: “Going to write a letter to Jingchen. Better for him to know in advance than to suddenly return and see such a scene.”
Jingchen’s temperament was the most difficult to fathom. You’d say he had a bad temper, but he rarely argued with anyone; you’d say he had a good temper, but sometimes when truly angered, he could be genuinely frightening. Qi Yun felt this matter should be communicated to him early to avoid further complications.
Qi Yun patted his wife’s hand gently: “You sleep first. I’ll come to bed after I finish writing.”
Han Ruohui nodded, watching her husband go to the lamp to write the letter.
Author’s Note: I can only say sister-in-law is a perceptive person. Respectful violent words: If they don’t meet in the next update, the male lead is a dog.