The silence in Qingsong Hall was so profound that a dropped needle could be heard. Li Jiǎo walked in with her head slightly lowered, and immediately spotted Old Du slumped on the ground, her heart skipping a beat.
Could it be that Old Du had said something he shouldn’t have?
“Grandmother, you summoned Jiǎo’er here. Is there something you need?” Li Jiǎo’s heart was pounding like a drum, but she maintained composure on the surface as she paid respects to Old Madam Deng.
The moment He Shi saw Li Jiǎo, her anger flared from nowhere. Her willow eyebrows shot up as she scolded: “Li Jiǎo, you black-hearted creature! You instructed servants to slander Zhaozhao’s reputation. What exactly are your intentions?”
Li Jiǎo dropped to her knees with a thud: “Grandmother, your granddaughter doesn’t know what Mother is talking about. Please give me clarity.”
“He Shi, Jiǎo’er calls you Mother after all. How can you pass judgment without even asking a single question?” Old Madam Deng said with a darkened face.
The palm and back of the hand are both flesh. Zhaozhao at least has her birth mother to protect her, but if Jiǎo’er truly suffered injustice, she would have no one to care for her.
He Shi was extremely displeased upon hearing this.
The old lady was favoring the eldest young lady, favoring her beyond all bounds!
He Shi was about to say more when Qiao Zhao gently tugged at her sleeve, and only then did she hold back.
Old Madam Deng stared at her eldest granddaughter kneeling on the ground for a moment, then spoke: “Jiǎo’er, Old Du, who manages the storehouse for you, has already confessed. He fabricated rumors about your third sister and even blamed Old Qian. Have you heard about this matter?”
Li Jiǎo was stunned, suddenly looking toward Old Du slumped on the ground with complete disbelief on her face.
Had this old fool lost his mind? Why would he confess to such a thing? If he had stubbornly denied it, at most, it would be considered loose lips. Who could split open his head to see what was inside?
“Old Uncle Du fabricated rumors about Third Sister? This is impossible! This is impossible! Grandmother, could there be some misunderstanding here?” Li Jiǎo steadied her mind and asked with an innocent expression.
Old Madam Deng looked at her eldest granddaughter and, after a moment of silence, said: “Your third sister did indeed have someone ride in her carriage yesterday, but that person was the Ninth Princess. If this truly came from Old Qian’s drunken rambling, how could such an important matter not have spread?”
Li Jiǎo was completely stunned.
The Ninth Princess? Yesterday when Li San vaguely mentioned someone riding in the carriage, it was actually the Ninth Princess?
She suddenly turned to look at Qiao Zhao, who sat quietly beside He Shi, her heart filled with hatred.
This must have been bait thrown by Li San to lure her into the trap. If Li San had clearly stated yesterday that it was the Ninth Princess, how would she have made an issue of this?
“Yesterday, it was the Ninth Princess who rode in Third Sister’s carriage? Why didn’t Third Sister mention it?” Li Jiǎo looked completely surprised.
Qiao Zhao said calmly, “Traveling in the rain is already embarrassing enough. Having the carriage break down halfway and needing to ride in someone else’s carriage is even more embarrassing. Putting myself in her shoes, I imagine the Ninth Princess wouldn’t want too many people to know, so I didn’t mention it in public. I originally planned to tell Grandmother privately, but I ended up sleeping until now after returning, only to find rumors flying around the residence about me letting men ride in my carriage.”
The young lady sat straight, speaking with light indifference, showing no trace of grievance. Yet hearing this, Old Madam Deng inexplicably felt some heartache. Thinking of those who spread wild rumors made her feel even more hateful. With a stern face, she said to Li Jiǎo: “Jiǎo’er, regardless of whether your third sister mentioned it or not, regarding Old Du’s matter, have you heard anything about it?”
This implied some suspicion of Li Jiǎo.
Li Jiǎo’s face immediately reddened, her fingers trembling slightly.
As the atmosphere grew awkward, the wet nurse rushed out and slapped Old Du twice across the face, cursing as she hit: “You old undying fool! Didn’t I tell you that if things went wrong, you should explain clearly to the old lady, and under no circumstances implicate the young lady!”
After hitting him, the wet nurse crawled on her knees to Old Madam Deng, kowtowing repeatedly: “Old Madam, please don’t misunderstand the eldest young lady. It’s all this old slave’s fault. This old slave saw that the third young lady was becoming more and more capable in the residence, and feared there would be even less room for the eldest young lady to stand in the future, so I took it upon myself to have my husband spread those rumors—”
As the wet nurse spoke, she used all her strength to slap herself, one blow after another, her cheeks quickly swelling up.
Qiao Zhao watched coldly from the side, finding it amusing.
Here was another one slapping herself. Lí Residence could sell pig head meat today.
“Wet nurse, stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself—” Li Jiǎo rushed over to stop the wet nurse, then turned around crying to plead with Old Madam Deng: “Grandmother, the wet nurse did everything for my sake. If anyone should be blamed, it should be me. If you want to punish someone, punish Jiǎo’er. The wet nurse is old and can’t withstand such torment.”
“Is Big Sister trying to force Grandmother to let this matter go?” Qiao Zhao, who had been sitting quietly all along, finally spoke.
Li Jiǎo was startled and retorted: “Third Sister, how can you say such things? How would I dare force Grandmother?”
“Whoever makes a mistake should accept punishment. Big Sister won’t let Grandmother punish the wet nurse and Old Du, but wants Grandmother to punish you for their mistakes. Yet they are servants, and you are Grandmother’s granddaughter. Can Grandmother’s feelings about punishment be the same? Big Sister only thinks about showing filial devotion to your wet nurse, but have you forgotten your filial duty to Grandmother?”
Qiao Zhao continued, glancing at Old Madam Deng’s darkening face before asking: “Or is it that Big Sister was certain Grandmother wouldn’t bear to punish you, which is why you took responsibility? So the matter of your servants slandering a young lady of the residence can just be brushed aside?”
Qiao Zhao threw out question after question, each one piercing the heart, pressing Li Jiǎo until she could barely breathe.
“No, no, Third Sister, don’t talk nonsense!”
“No, what? No pleading for your servants? Or not treating your wet nurse as more important than the elders of the residence?” Qiao Zhao asked calmly, without a trace of emotion: “Big Sister, I never talk nonsense.”
Old Madam Deng’s face was already iron-blue: “Jiǎo’er, your third sister is right. Wrong is wrong. How can you, as the master, take responsibility for servants’ mistakes? Where does that leave the elders of the residence? Moreover, when your servants do such things, whether you knew about it or not, you bear responsibility!”
“Grandmother—” Li Jiǎo’s face was deathly pale, already beyond tears.
At this moment, Miss Li finally understood what it meant to lift a rock only to drop it on one’s foot. But what made her even more panicked was that how much the foot hurt from being hit by the rock remained unknown.
How would Grandmother deal with the wet nurse?
“Old Du, Old Du’s wife, since you two harbor ill intentions toward the young ladies of this residence, regardless of your motives, this residence cannot keep you. So be it, return to wherever you came from.”
“Grandmother, Granddaughter only has the wet nurse as someone close to care for me. Please don’t send her back to the Earl’s residence!” Li Jiǎo panicked upon hearing this.
If the wet nurse was sent back to the Earl of Guchang’s residence, while the Earl’s household certainly wouldn’t mistreat her out of consideration for Li Jiǎo’s sake, from then on, she would truly be all alone in the Li family’s inner quarters.
The wet nurse couldn’t be sent back!
“Grandmother, I think sending Big Sister’s wet nurse back to the Earl of Guchang’s residence isn’t quite appropriate.”
Li Jiǎo suddenly looked at Qiao Zhao.
Could Li San be pleading for her?
Yes, at this time, for Li San to show magnanimity by pleading for her would be quite normal. She wouldn’t be grateful though.
“Grandmother, I think this punishment is too light,” Miss Qiao said matter-of-factly.