Luo Yilie immediately understood that something had gone wrong. She had thought Luo Yining was merely throwing a tantrum, not realizing she had fallen ill.
She quickly knelt as well, her eyes moistening as she said, “Father if you want to punish me, go ahead. But if you truly intend to punish me, I have a few words to say. I didn’t want to speak when you arrived, but you insisted I do so. Seeing that my sister didn’t come, I assumed she was absent, especially since her maid had indeed spoken disrespectfully to the teacher. Father, please tell me, where exactly did I err?”
Concubine Qiao also cried, “My lord accuses us of gossiping. But everything Yilie said was what she witnessed. How is that gossiping? It’s a fact that the Seventh Miss didn’t attend lessons, so Yilie truly didn’t lie. My Yilie has always been obedient and sensible; why would she need to speak ill of the Seventh Miss?”
Luo Chengzhang snorted, “You think I don’t know? No one was guarding the door, just waiting for me to overhear. Qiao Yuechan, you’ve become quite cunning, even scheming against me!”
Concubine Qiao felt somewhat fearful. Luo Chengzhang had never been this angry with her before. While part of it might be due to Yilie’s mistaken words about her sister, he probably disliked even more the idea of being manipulated. Concubine Qiao immediately changed her tone, sobbing, “My lord, you’re wrongly accusing me. How could I scheme against you? There was no one at the door because the maids had gone to receive their monthly wages from the Madam. She never lets me handle such matters. If you truly believe I deliberately planned this, you should have said so when you first asked. Why would I need to hide it?”
Hearing Concubine Qiao’s tearful pleas, Luo Chengzhang’s anger dissipated slightly.
Luo Yilie, meanwhile, cried even harder, “I’ve never suffered such injustice. Please punish me, Father, to prove my innocence. I’ve always avoided quarreling with Seventh Sister, so why would I speak ill of her in this matter? If Father doesn’t believe me, then I… I…”
Luo Yilie spoke increasingly rapidly until she couldn’t catch her breath and fainted.
Concubine Qiao hurriedly tried to embrace her daughter, both anxious and heartbroken. The room descended into chaos.
Having upset his daughter to the point of fainting, Luo Chengzhang forgot all about punishing her. He quickly called for a doctor, barely able to wait.
That evening, as Old Lady Luo knelt before the Buddha statue reciting sutras, she heard a report that the Sixth Miss had cried herself unconscious, and Concubine Qiao’s courtyard was in an uproar.
Old Lady Luo merely laughed coldly, “Let her cry.”
She then lowered her head to continue reciting sutras, praying for Yining’s well-being.
When Yining woke up the next day, Lin Hairu came to see her, beaming with joy. She told Yining that Luo Chengzhang had disciplined the mother and daughter upon his return, scolding them severely. He had even slept in his study that night, not resting in Concubine Qiao’s quarters.
“When your father was reprimanding your Sixth Sister, she was so weak that she cried until she fainted,” Lin Hairu said.
Yining had also heard from Xuezhi about yesterday’s events.
Lin Hairu changed the subject, saying softly, “Your Sixth Sister is quite healthy. She eats two bowls of rice at each meal, more than I do. Fainting from crying? I don’t believe it!”
Yining smiled and asked, “After she fainted, did Father stop scolding her?”
“Your father couldn’t wait to have someone support her. He was so concerned, it was as if…” Lin Hairu peeled a grape for Yining to eat, then leaned in and said with a smile, “Yining, don’t think I’m being unkind, but your illness has turned out quite well. I’m happy to see that Vixen put in her place. In a while, your father will bring them here to apologize to you.”
Seeing Lin Hairu’s animated expression, Yining secretly laughed to herself. Her stepmother Lin Hairu was so transparent and straightforward in her thoughts; no wonder she was constantly outmaneuvered by Concubine Qiao.
A while later, Luo Chengzhang indeed brought Concubine Qiao and Yilie to apologize to Yining.
Yilie appeared sickly, looking even worse than Yining who was ill. Crying like a fragile flower in the rain, she said, “Sister, it was just a misunderstanding. I carelessly let Father overhear, causing you to suffer. Please forgive your sister.”
Watching his delicate sixth daughter cry like this, and remembering how she had fainted from his scolding the night before, Luo Chengzhang couldn’t help but say, “Yining, your Sixth Sister is not well. She fainted yesterday… Her apology seems sincere. You should forgive her.”
After all, Yilie had been raised by Luo Chengzhang himself, and he was familiar with the child’s gentle nature.
She had always been mild and timid, often yielding to her younger sister. Surely she wouldn’t intentionally harm her.
Before Yining could speak, Lin Hairu coldly interjected, “My lord, what are you saying? What illness does Yilie have that makes her unwell? Yining just recovered from a fever. Which one should you be more concerned about, my lord? Don’t you know?”
Her stepmother had unexpectedly sided with her for once.
Yining thought to herself that if she were still the original little Yining, how stifling this would be. She was the one who had been sick, yet somehow Luo Yilie appeared more delicate. It was nothing more than an act of fragility and pitifulness.
Yining contemplated for a moment, then with reddened eyes and a weak voice, she responded, “Mother, please don’t say that. Although the Sixth Sister is older, she has always been delicate. Besides, Father often says that as the younger sister, I should yield to my elder sister.” She then looked at Luo Chengzhang with a bewildered expression and said, “I’ve forgiven my sister. Father won’t blame me now, will he? I didn’t follow the teacher’s rules, and that was wrong of me. I had intended to finish copying the text. I only fainted because I felt unwell. It won’t happen again…”
Her small face looked both frightened and pitiful. Though it wasn’t her fault, she appeared so anxious, afraid that others might blame her for it.
Seeing the usually spoiled Yining looking so frail, her small face glistening with tears, the tiny mole at the end of her eyebrow so endearing, vaguely resembling her mother, Luo Chengzhang was moved. Her tone was both helpless and aggrieved, reminding him that she was still just an innocent child, even two years younger than Yilie.
He realized he had been too harsh with her, even telling her to yield to her elder sister as the younger one. It was a bit too much.
Luo Chengzhang sat down by his daughter’s bedside, stroking her hair, his voice softening, “Mei’er, don’t cry. Father doesn’t blame you. You were sick, it’s not your fault.”
Concubine Qiao and Luo Yilie stood behind them, their faces rigid.
Old Lady Luo watched from the side, secretly amused. Yining was becoming increasingly clever.
But this was good! The squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you don’t make a fuss, how will others know your grievances?
Yining, however, thought that back in the day, among all the sisters, she had been unparalleled in crying scenes. She had cried her way into a marriage with the Marquis’s family from her original grandmother and had cried out a full eighty loads of dowry. Now Luo Yilie wanted to compete with her in crying? If she were truly outdone, it would be quite embarrassing.
Yining’s hands clutched the quilt tightly as she said, “Mother passed away early, and I can’t even remember what she looked like… I sometimes wonder, is it because I’m too naughty that Mother doesn’t want me anymore? That’s why I can never wait for her to come back. I’ll try to improve in the future. If Mother were here and saw me being good and not mischievous, she would surely like me…”
It was truly heartbreaking to hear, moving listeners to tears.
Seeing the girl speak so pitifully, Luo Chengzhang couldn’t help but feel compassion. She was so young, just a small child. Without a birth mother to care for her, a motherless child was always pitiful.
Thinking of this, Luo Chengzhang turned to Luo Yilie and said, “Yilie, you’re the elder sister. In the future, don’t engage in such rumor-mongering, even if it’s unintentional. Your sister has no mother, so you should look after her more.”
Luo Yilie, still just a half-grown child herself, couldn’t fully control her expression and could only reluctantly agree.
Luo Chengzhang comforted his crying youngest daughter with many more words before leaving with Concubine Qiao and the others.
After her second son left, Old Lady Luo took out a handkerchief to wipe Yining’s tears.
“You’ve certainly become clever now,” Old Lady Luo said with a smile. “You know how to advance by retreating.”
Old Lady Luo understood her thoughts and didn’t blame her at all. Yining had a soft heart, and the old lady, having seen much in her long life, now in her seventies, indulged and pampered only this granddaughter.
Yining smiled and grabbed Old Lady Luo’s arm, saying, “Grandmother, we owe thanks to Third Brother this time. Otherwise, no one would have cared about me lying sick there.”
Old Lady Luo kept a straight face and said, “Even if he hadn’t come, Xuezhi would have gone to look for you.”
Yining just looked at Old Lady Luo pitifully, until the old lady finally burst out laughing and waved her hand, “Alright, alright, what do you want?”
“Let’s be nicer to Third Brother in the future,” Yining said after some thought.
Old Lady Luo held her small granddaughter in her arms and sighed, “…As you wish.”
Just as Nanny Xu had said, if she truly wanted to protect Yining, she should be kinder to Luo Shengyuan. In the future, Luo Shengyuan will certainly look after Yining.
The next day, when Teacher Gu went to teach, she found that her four students had suddenly become three, and then overnight, only one remained.
She found it strange. Even if Luo Yining didn’t come, how could Luo Yilie, who always followed the rules, be absent?
As she and Luo Yixiu stared at each other in confusion, Luo Yixiu said, “Yining is sick, and Luo Yilie has been punished. Neither can come.”
Teacher Gu frowned, about to say something when the side door opened, and Nanny Xu supported Old Lady Luo as she walked in. Both of Old Lady Luo’s sons were jinshi degree holders, known for their kindness, and donated thousands of taels to Baoding’s temples each year, earning great respect in the area.
Teacher Gu didn’t dare to be negligent. She hurriedly went forward to welcome Old Lady Luo to sit down, asking, “Old Madam, what brings you here? If you had any instructions, you could have just called for me to see you.”
Old Lady Luo smiled, took a sip of tea, and said slowly, “How could that be proper? I’m here because of my unworthy granddaughter.”
Granddaughter? Old Lady Luo had so many granddaughters; which one was she referring to?
Before Teacher Gu could ask, Old Lady Luo continued, “My granddaughter was gravely ill yesterday. I advised her not to attend lessons, but she insisted on coming. She said the teacher would blame her for not attending. Though Yining is usually hot-tempered, she’s particularly tolerant of the teacher. That’s because I taught her to respect her teachers. I told her, ‘The teacher is most reasonable. If she punishes you, there must be a reason. Just listen to her.’ After that, Yining never complained about you again.”
Teacher Gu’s smile froze.
Old Lady Luo continued, “Yesterday, she was unwell and had her maid pour her some hot tea. I heard that the teacher was adamant about sending the maid away, and Yining didn’t say anything, just let the maid leave. But the teacher still wanted to punish her by making her copy texts, which led to her fainting and being carried back to me… I was extremely distressed when I saw this. I’ve always taught her to respect her teachers, saying that the teacher’s words must have reason.”
“But reality has left this old woman speechless. I’m ashamed of the advice I gave her. Is strictly following rules what you call reasonable? Then let me ask the teacher: If you passed by a house and saw a fire inside with no one to put it out, and a child about to be burned to death, should you adhere to the rules then? Would you let the child burn to death inside, or would you break down the door to save them?”
Teacher Gu was somewhat stunned, then her face reddened, “Of course… of course, we should save the person, but that’s a matter of life and death.”
Hearing this, Old Lady Luo’s voice suddenly became sharp, “So the teacher means to say that Yining’s life is not a human life?”
Teacher Gu became uneasy. Old Lady Luo, who usually seemed gentle, could be utterly merciless when speaking about people. Her gaze was so authoritative that it made one break out in a cold sweat. Frightened by this, Teacher Gu immediately said, “Of course, the Seventh Miss’s life is a human life.”
Old Lady Luo’s tone softened again, “My granddaughter lost her mother at a young age. I’m old and fear I can’t protect her much longer. Others look for opportunities to bully her. Even last time, when you saw Yining punish that little maid, it was because the maid had spoken disrespectfully to her, and Yining punished her in anger. If Yining doesn’t show some strength, others will bully her as you have done.”
“But if the teacher had good judgment, she would know that Yining has never committed any major offense. Though her temper isn’t good, she is kind-hearted. The teacher can say to herself, has Yining ever done anything excessive to you? You’ve been overly harsh with Yining daily, yet Yining has never complained to this old woman.”
Teacher Gu was unable to respond to this series of questions.
She indeed had been prejudiced against this Seventh Miss, treating her so harshly.
Yet she hadn’t expected that the Seventh Miss had truly been ill yesterday, and all these incidents clearly showed that she, the teacher, had been unable to distinguish right from wrong. It also plainly accused her of being cold-hearted.
Teacher Gu was speechless for a long while before finally saying, “Old Madam’s words are reasonable. I have learned my lesson.”
Only then did Old Lady Luo let her sit down, sighing, “It’s good that you understand. This child has not had an easy life. I hope you will look after her more in the future.”
Teacher Gu listened to Old Lady Luo’s words, pondered for a long time, and slowly nodded.