Old Lady Luo immediately understood the situation. In her youth, she had been a formidable figure who had ousted several concubines. She laughed coldly, “You’ve rushed here in such haste. Did someone tell you something?”
Luo Chengzhang retorted, “Never mind where I heard it from. Tell me where that unfilial child is. I must teach her a lesson!”
Old Lady Luo replied icily, “If you want to punish her, go ahead.”
She turned and walked into the room, with Luo Chengzhang following close behind. However, upon seeing Yining lying on the couch, he was stunned.
His youngest daughter was indeed gravely ill. She lay curled up in a small ball, her face flushed red, mumbling deliriously. Lin Hairu sat by the bedside, wiping Yining’s face with a damp cloth while crying sorrowfully.
“Yining is…” Luo Chengzhang turned to look at Old Lady Luo.
Old Lady Luo raised an eyebrow and sneered, “Weren’t you going to punish her? Go ahead, drag her out of bed, and beat her to vent your anger. Or scold her and see if she can apologize to you.”
“I…” Luo Chengzhang was suddenly at a loss for words. “I heard she had defied Teacher Gu’s classroom rules and showed no remorse. I only wanted to reprimand her. I didn’t realize she was truly ill… But even if she’s sick, she still must respect her teachers!”
Old Lady Luo continued, “Isn’t the child respectful enough? Last night, she felt unwell, and I advised her not to attend lessons. She insisted on going, fearing the teacher would blame her for frequent absences. Xuezhi was merely bringing Yining some tea when Teacher Gu adamantly demanded she leave. Yining didn’t protest and sent Xuezhi away. Yet Teacher Gu still punished her with copying texts. Yining’s health hasn’t fully recovered, and she fainted at noon in Tingfeng Pavilion. When she was carried back, her body was burning hot.”
“If this doesn’t qualify as respecting teachers, then tell me, what does?” Old Lady Luo’s voice grew increasingly cold and sharp, causing Luo Chengzhang to shudder, unable to respond.
This account differed greatly from what he had heard from Luo Yilie. According to Yilie, Yining had been unreasonable at first and then refused to accept the teacher’s punishment, displaying the temper of a spoiled young lady. But now, seeing Yining lying in bed, terribly weak, and hearing Old Lady Luo’s resentful tone, how could he not understand?
Remembering how he had angrily called Yining an “unfilial child” earlier, Luo Chengzhang’s voice lowered, “I was too impulsive. Yining often causes trouble, so I assumed it was her fault… I didn’t realize she was truly ill.”
Hearing this, Lin Hairu turned to look at him, her gaze reproachful, “My lord, it’s not my place to criticize you. But if Yining were awake now, she certainly wouldn’t want to see you. Perhaps you should leave for now.”
Feeling embarrassed and seeing his daughter’s pale face, Luo Chengzhang recalled the harshness of his earlier words. He found himself unable to say more.
Old Lady Luo asked him to go to the main hall and continued, “Was it Concubine Qiao who told you about Yining’s situation?”
Luo Chengzhang shook his head, “Mother, it truly has nothing to do with Concubine Qiao. I overheard her speaking privately with Yilie when I suddenly entered the room… Neither of them is the type to spread gossip. Concubine Qiao even begged me to be lenient with Yining.”
Old Lady Luo snorted, thinking to herself that while her son was usually astute in court matters, he became soft-hearted when it came to that woman. She said coldly, “If Concubine Qiao truly didn’t want you to hear, how could you have barged in? When the two of them were having a private conversation, wasn’t there even a single maid guarding the door?”
Hearing his mother’s sharp criticism, Luo Chengzhang felt as if a cold wind had blown over him, sobering him up a bit.
If the mother and daughter truly didn’t want him to overhear, there should have been maids guarding the door. But there wasn’t a single one. Wasn’t it clear they wanted him to barge in?
However, he kept thinking of Concubine Qiao’s deep affection for him, how she never fought or competed over the years, in stark contrast to Lin Hairu. He felt he shouldn’t doubt her.
Seeing her son’s indecisive expression, Old Lady Luo lowered her voice, “Back then… how did Minglian treat you? When you brought Concubine Qiao back and insisted on making her your concubine, did Minglian try to stop you? Though she was also raised as a young lady of the Gu family, her nature was respectful and gentle, never holding anything against you. Now that she’s gone, are you going to let those two bully her poor child?”
Old Lady Luo became agitated as she spoke, her voice choking up, “If you can bear it, I cannot. This time, if you don’t discipline that gossipmonger, don’t consider me your mother anymore!”
Hearing Old Lady Luo mention Yining’s mother Minglian, Luo Chengzhang recalled that gentle, graceful woman. He remembered her pale face as she lay dying, her skeletal hands clutching Old Lady Luo’s, begging her to take care of the infant child, fearing the baby would be left alone and helpless after her passing.
Luo Chengzhang helped Old Lady Luo sit down and softened his tone, “It’s my fault, Mother. Please don’t be angry; I worry it will affect your health. I’ll go back and punish those two. I’ll make them apologize to Yining.”
As an official in court, filial piety was of utmost importance. If he were to be impeached by a censor for such a matter, his position would be untenable.
Old Lady Luo finally calmed down but added coldly, “If this happens again, I won’t be so forgiving.”
Yining slept fitfully, feeling a warm body embracing her before it left. When she awoke, she felt much better. Opening her eyes, she saw Lin Hairu with swollen eyes like peaches. Xuezhi helped her sit up, propping her with a soft pillow.
Yining remembered seeing Luo Shengyuan before she fainted, but looking around, she didn’t see him.
“Xuezhi… how did I get back here?” Yining asked.
Xuezhi wiped her tears and said, “Young Miss, the Third Young Master carried you back.”
So it was Luo Shengyuan who saved her. Yining felt conflicted. Despite his ruthless thoughts, Luo Shengyuan was indeed tolerant and indulgent towards his legitimate younger sister, always rescuing her in times of crisis.
Xuezhi picked up a booklet from the side table. “The Third Young Master sent this for you. I brought it back from Tingfeng Pavilion.”
Yining took it and saw that the ink was still fresh on the calligraphy copybook. Although written in small plum blossom script, the strokes were strong, clearly a man’s handwriting.
Yining pondered silently, setting the booklet aside as she tried to get out of bed.
Lin Hairu quickly stopped her, “Don’t move. Rest well. The kitchen just prepared some medicine for you; you’ll need to drink it soon.”
Yining smiled wryly, “Mother, I’m fine. I don’t have a fever anymore.”
Lin Hairu glared at her, “You’re still not allowed to get up.”
Soon, Old Lady Luo came in and supervised Yining as she drank the entire bowl of medicine. Yining had no choice; after all, she had fainted during lessons. After drinking the medicine, both women insisted she lie down to rest.
Yining shook her head, “Teacher Gu punished me for copying ‘The Rules for Students’ five times. I haven’t finished yet. I should complete it and send it to her.”
Old Lady Luo angrily pressed her little head, “Usually, you’re so mischievous and arrogant that no one dares to bully you, and I have to advise you to be gentler. Now you’ve become too gentle, letting people bully you without fighting back! What copying? I’d like to see who dares to make you copy anything.”
Seeing Old Lady Luo’s furious expression, Yining smiled.
She felt sorry for the original little Yining in her heart. Little Yining had lived so arrogantly and willfully, perhaps because people always treated her this way, and she had no way to reason with them, so she could only rebel in her way. The world often sympathizes more with the weak.
But in the end, she was just a pitiful child.
She hugged Old Lady Luo and said, “Grandmother, I’m not being bullied by her. It’s just that if I don’t listen to her, others will say I’m spoiled!”
Old Lady Luo remembered how Luo Chengzhang had stormed in earlier, and now hearing her granddaughter speak so gently yet truthfully, her eyes reddened. The little girl wasn’t ignorant at all; she clearly understood everything but had been silently enduring it all along.
Meanwhile, Concubine Qiao was in her room, cradling young Xuan and comforting him. Luo Yilie sat nearby, helping her mother wind silk thread.
Seeing her brother crying incessantly, Luo Yilie said softly, “Mother, how can you be so sure Father will punish Seventh Sister…”
Concubine Qiao, having lulled the child to sleep, handed him to the wet nurse and said to her daughter, “Your father has been tolerating her for a long time. Moreover, the one thing your father can’t stand is disrespect towards teachers. He owes his smooth career in officialdom to his teachers’ support.”
Concubine Qiao’s gaze became distant as she looked at Luo Yilie.
Feeling uneasy under her mother’s gaze, Luo Yilie couldn’t help but ask, “Mother, what is it?”
Concubine Qiao sighed and said, “My child, you are a daughter born of a concubine. If you don’t win your father’s favor, you’ll have nothing. Fortunately, our Madam is barren; otherwise, you’d suffer even more.”
Hearing her mother’s words, Luo Yilie felt aggrieved. She said resentfully, “Even though I do everything better than Yining, what good does it do? Grandmother’s favoritism towards Yining is simply outrageous. Sometimes I despise Yining. She used to humiliate me so much, and Father would only scold her a bit. In my heart, I wanted to slap her face…”
Concubine Qiao smiled slowly, “You must endure it. The more Yining bullies you, the more pitiful you appear, and the more your father will cherish you. When you’re bullied by her, you may be unhappy, but I’m happy for you. Each time your father dislikes Yining, he loves you more.”
Luo Yilie realized this was indeed true. While it appeared she was being bullied, apart from some mistreatment, all the benefits came to her. As the two were about to continue winding silk thread, they heard a maid’s voice outside. Luo Yilie was about to look up when she saw Luo Chengzhang enter with a gloomy face.
Seeing his expression, Concubine Qiao’s heart sank. She stepped forward with a gentle smile, “My lord, what’s the matter… Is it about the Seventh Miss…”
Luo Chengzhang brushed her hand away coldly, “Kneel!”
Pushed back a step, Concubine Qiao didn’t dare defy him. She quickly knelt, her face pale as she said, “My lord, if you have something to say, please speak calmly. I don’t know what I’ve done to displease you…”
“Shut up!” Luo Chengzhang said coldly, then pointed at Luo Yilie, “Who said today that Mei’er defied her teacher and refused to attend lessons out of spite? Mei’er was ill and fainted because she couldn’t endure it. You can’t distinguish right from wrong, gossiping about Mei’er behind her back, and almost made me wrongly accuse her! If I don’t punish you today, how can I face your Seventh Sister!”