Yining sat up before Xuezhi could wake her.
Unsure what to say, Xuezhi knelt beside Yining: “Young Miss, about Fourth Young Miss…”
Yining shook her head: “I overheard you and Songzhi talking. No need to explain. Help me change; we’re going to the main hall.”
Xuezhi held her hand, whispering: “Young Miss, though we discovered this, we didn’t expose it. It doesn’t concern us… You needn’t worry.”
But Yining thought differently.
When she found the note, she knew it was a delicate matter. Reporting it would surely incur Old Madam Luo’s wrath against Luo Yiyu, potentially ruining their already strained relationship. Not reporting it risked implicating them all if discovered. So Yining had chosen a middle path, warning Luo Yiyu to be more discreet.
She had thought the matter settled, assuming Luo Yiyu wouldn’t be foolish enough to get caught again. But somehow, it had been discovered.
Who had found out? And why report directly to Old Madam Luo?
Xuezhi helped Yining up, fixed her hair, and changed her into a short jacket before accompanying her to the main hall.
The courtyard was eerily quiet; even a falling pin would be audible. The silence felt oppressive.
Yining tread lightly, recalling a story from her past life about a young lady who fell for a servant. Their indiscretion became public, causing all the family’s daughters to be married off distantly or remain unmarried for years. The young lady eventually took her own life, unable to bear the shame. The family, enraged, beat the servant to death and refused his burial.
These thoughts filled her with dread.
The latticed doors of the main hall were closed tight, no sound escaping. Luo Yixiu and Luo Yilian waited outside under the eaves, surrounded by dismissed maids and servants.
“Yining, come quick!” Luo Yixiu pulled Yining to sit beside her, her palm damp with sweat.
Anxiously, Luo Yixiu said: “Grandmother just called Yiyu in. I’ve never seen her look so angry. Only my mother and Fourth Sister are inside. Even I was asked to leave by Nanny Xu!”
The gravity of the situation meant fewer people knowing was better. Yining felt relieved that even Luo Yixiu was unaware, indicating limited knowledge of the incident. She glanced at Luo Yilian, whose face seemed calm, but whose hands tightly clutched her silk handkerchief.
“Fourth Sister was with Mother doing needlework when she was summoned, so they came together,” Luo Yixiu whispered.
Luo Yilian, looking at Yining, felt uneasy. She smiled gently and asked softly: “Why is Seventh Sister here? Shouldn’t you be napping? Did you hear something?”
True to her mother Concubine Qiao’s nature, Luo Yilian was quick-witted.
Yining smiled: “Sixth Sister overthinks. I was just woken by the maids’ noise.”
Just as Yining sat down, footsteps approached from outside. Lin Hairu entered, wearing a scarlet jacket, accompanied by her maids. She beckoned Yining over, asking: “I’ve just been called. Do you know what’s happening inside?”
Yining shook her head.
Lin Hairu, recalling the messenger’s grim expression, furrowed her brow anxiously.
Suddenly, the hall’s doors creaked open. Nanny Xu emerged, bowing as she announced: “Old Madam requests Second Madam and Seventh Young Miss to enter.”
Yining frowned inwardly. While Lin Hairu’s summons made sense, why was she being called?
Lin Hairu took Yining’s small hand, adjusted her hair, and entered the hall.
Luo Yiyu knelt on the floor, her eyes red from crying. She looked up at Yining with cold, resentful eyes.
Yining sighed internally, realizing Luo Yiyu suspected her of informing.
Old Madam Luo sat in her chair, her face solemn. Madam Chen stood beside her, not daring to sit.
“Luo Yining, didn’t you promise not to tell anyone?” Luo Yiyu’s voice trembled with a sharp edge. “You promised me! Now others know. Are you satisfied? You’ve always disliked me, but I never knew someone so young could be so vicious! You wanted me ruined, didn’t you?”
Hearing this, Madam Chen’s gaze turned to the small Luo Yining standing beside Lin Hairu.
Luo Yiyu’s words were harsh, and she had indeed erred. But how did Yining know about this? If she had spread the information, Madam Chen wouldn’t easily forgive her. Though she wanted to slap Luo Yiyu herself, a mother must protect her child in such situations.
However, Old Madam Luo hearing this would only increase her disdain for Luo Yiyu.
Madam Chen’s face hardened as she quietly reprimanded her daughter: “Luo Yiyu, now is the time to admit your mistake! How dare you accuse others. Yining is young; what could she know? Don’t be foolish!”
“Yining does know,” Luo Yiyu stubbornly insisted. “Who else could it be? It couldn’t have been my maid.”
“Sister Yiyu, one shouldn’t speak rashly before matters are settled,” Yining said softly.
Though Yining had warned Luo Yiyu partly for her own sake, she had also wanted to help her. But Luo Yiyu showed no gratitude, immediately turning on her when the secret was exposed. Yining felt her good intentions had been wasted.
The more agitated Yiyu appeared now, the worse off she’d be later. Yining, having done no wrong, felt she had nothing to fear.
Luo Yiyu, tears on her cheeks, laughed coldly: “Still denying it? If you didn’t tell those two maids, who else could have?”
Lin Hairu, unable to bear hearing Yining spoken to this way, stepped forward: “We just arrived, not even knowing what happened, yet Fourth Young Miss attacks us immediately. One might think Yining had done something wrong when you’re the one kneeling, Luo Yiyu. How dare you keep accusing Yining!”
Yining noticed the glittering gold and jeweled hairpin atop Lin Hairu’s head.
She knew Lin Hairu meant to protect her but feared her words might provoke conflict with Madam Chen.
Indeed, Madam Chen’s expression darkened at Lin Hairu’s words.
Madam Chen’s grandfather had been a Hanlin Academy scholar. When she married into the Luo family, she considered it beneath her station. Fortunately, Lord Luo’s career prospered, offering some consolation.
But being sister-in-law to Lin, who came from a merchant family, irked her greatly. She avoided Lin, considering herself an educated woman who should “converse with scholars, not associate with commoners.” Seeing Lin Hairu defend Yining and speak harshly of Luo Yiyu, she couldn’t help but sneer: “What nonsense, Second Sister-in-law. You arrive ignorant of the situation yet immediately accuse Yiyu of wrongdoing. I’ve never seen an elder speak so harshly to a younger generation.”
If Madam Chen looked down on Lin Hairu, the feeling was mutual!
Lin Hairu always thought, could one eat poetry? Without gold and silver, how far could Madam Chen’s arrogance go? Despise money? Without it, how would one survive? How much dignity and grace could Madam Chen maintain?
Lin Hairu refused to back down, retorting: “If she hadn’t done wrong, why would she be kneeling? I may not have heard the details, but I’m not blind!”
Madam Chen, unwilling to yield, opened her mouth to continue.
Old Madam Luo, seeing them argue before addressing the main issue, slammed her hand on the small nanmu table, coldly saying: “Silence, both of you! What’s more important, your squabbling or the matter at hand? Can’t you tell the difference?”
Both women fell silent, their resentment simmering but not daring to continue.
Madam Chen knew Luo Yiyu was truly at fault; appearing too aggressive might incur Old Madam’s displeasure, which would be counterproductive. Lin Hairu realized that with all servants dismissed and the usually proud Luo Yiyu reduced to this state, she must have committed a grave error.
So when Old Madam Luo told them to sit, Lin Hairu felt curious about the situation.
Old Madam Luo glanced at both women, sighed deeply, and looked directly at Luo Yiyu: “Do you understand the gravity of your mistake?”
Luo Yiyu struggled to speak: “Grandmother, I…”
From the moment Yining entered, Luo Yiyu had accused her, seemingly oblivious to her serious wrongdoing. Already angry, Old Madam Luo now saw her stuttering and exploded: “You dared to do it, but not to admit it?”
Madam Chen’s face remained impassive, but her heart jolted.
For Old Madam Luo to speak so harshly to a young lady like Luo Yiyu, she must be furious indeed.
Lin Hairu grew even more curious about what terrible thing Luo Yiyu had done to anger Old Madam Luo so much.
Luo Yiyu, frightened and tearful, choked out defiantly: “Grandmother, I was wrong. But… but aren’t you at fault too? I grew up in Baoding, known as the best of the best. Why must you marry me to Liu Jing? How can he compare to Young Master Cheng? How is he worthy of me? Young Master Cheng and I are in love. Why won’t you bless our union?”