Yining inwardly smiled bitterly. In truth, she hadn’t handled the situation incorrectly. Although her considerations weren’t as thorough as Old Madam Luo’s, if her responsibility were to be examined, it would be an unjust accusation.
Yining’s childish voice said, “Firstly, I thought if I told Grandmother, Fourth Sister would surely blame me.”
Indeed, they had just seen that even though it wasn’t Yining who revealed the secret, Luo Yiyu still hated her this much. If Yiyu knew it was Yining who told, she might have eaten her alive. Chen Shi would likely not treat her kindly either.
Hearing this, Luo Yiyu looked at the kneeling Yining.
Yining continued, “Secondly, Grandmother’s health isn’t good. I didn’t want to trouble her…”
Hearing Yining’s childish voice speaking slowly and deliberately, with such silence all around, Old Madam Luo tightly closed her eyes, almost in tears, clutching her prayer beads.
After a while, Old Madam Luo finally said, “So you told your Fourth Sister, trying to stop her, right?”
Yining nodded, hesitantly saying, “That day… I was afraid others might overhear, so I called Fourth Sister aside to tell her. I told Fourth Sister I wouldn’t tell anyone, and asked her not to continue. Fourth Sister agreed at the time…”
As Chen Shi listened to Yining’s words, she felt a rush of fear.
Luo Yining indeed hadn’t done anything wrong; she was acting for Luo Yiyu’s benefit. And she was still so young, her actions were reasonable. Yet when she first entered earlier, Luo Yiyu had immediately accused her harshly. At that time, Chen Shi had even thought Luo Yining was the one who had revealed the secret.
In reality, she was so innocent and wronged.
Old Madam Luo sighed inwardly. She knew this child had a good heart. She hadn’t misjudged her or loved her wrongly. But precisely because she loved her, today she insisted on punishing Yining.
Today’s incident appeared to be just about the note Luo Yiyu wrote to Cheng Lang. But examining it deeply, wasn’t it also about Luo Yiyu’s dissatisfaction with her favoring Yining? Wouldn’t others have such dissatisfaction too? Today, she had to do something to make those people see clearly!
Old Madam Luo made up her mind and, composing herself, continued speaking to Yining: “Do you know where you went wrong?”
Yining looked at Old Madam Luo’s slightly reddened eyes, still somewhat confused: “I… I don’t know!”
Lin Hairu could no longer bear to listen. Seeing that small child kneeling there alone, while Chen Shi embraced Luo Yiyu beside her, she also knelt: “Old Madam, we must be reasonable in everything. What exactly did Yining do wrong that you’re making her admit fault? I don’t believe it. Yining has already considered so much for Luo Yiyu, how can she still be wrong?”
Luo Yixiu had just entered and, although she didn’t understand exactly what had happened, she felt Yining’s words just now were reasonable. She also quickly nodded: “That’s right, what wrong has Yining done!”
“Her fault lies in knowing but not speaking up, thinking she could solve the problem herself. To protect Yiyu’s face, she insisted on speaking to Yiyu privately. This instead led to Luo Yiyu wrongly accusing her, causing so much trouble!” Old Madam Luo looked at the bewilderment on Yining’s face. Holding back tears in her eyes, she said resolutely, “Punish Yining to kneel in the ancestral hall for two hours. Take her there now!”
Hearing this, how could Chen Shi not understand? Although Old Madam Luo was punishing Yining, those words were directed at Luo Yiyu. The blame wasn’t on Luo Yining at all but on Luo Yiyu!
Old Madam was venting her anger! If Yining were truly punished, their branch of the family would be forever indebted to her.
Frightened, she quickly pleaded: “Old Madam, no one should be blamed for this more than Yining! She really shouldn’t be punished. I’m grateful to Yining! This is all Yiyu’s fault. Please punish Yiyu instead!”
Luo Chengzhang, hearing that Yining’s words were all reasonable, felt somewhat reluctant: “Mother, Yining did nothing wrong this time. Why punish her…”
Old Madam Luo tightly closed her eyes and suddenly said, “Mama Xu, quickly take her away!”
Mama Xu sighed and went forward to help Yining to the ancestral hall.
Yining looked back and saw Old Madam Luo’s face was already covered in tears. Her nose tingled, and she couldn’t hold back her tears.
That small figure disappeared at the door of the main hall.
Watching her disappear, Old Madam Luo wept uncontrollably, almost unable to speak.
After calming her emotions a bit, she said, “Luo Yiyu is not allowed to move about freely from now on. Someone must watch her at all times. She will practice needlework for two hours daily, and spend the rest of her time learning etiquette with the teaching matron.”
Luo Yiyu had no more tears to cry, her eyes swollen like peach pits. She watched Yining disappear into the distance, then stood up and agreed.
Old Madam Luo swept her gaze over those standing in the main hall and said coldly: “Yining has no mother, so I dote on her more. You all have objections to this, so I’ll be stricter with her from now on. Are you satisfied now!”
Without waiting for them to speak, Old Madam Luo stood up and had Mama Xu help her leave.
As if having endured a great catastrophe, she looked tired and aged.
Several people quickly pleaded for Yining, saying the child truly did nothing wrong and shouldn’t be punished further, but Old Madam Luo had already walked away.
Lin Hairu steeled herself and stubbornly left the main hall, heading towards the ancestral hall. Her maid Ruixiang quickly chased after her and held her back: “Madam, Madam, you can’t go!”
Old Madam Luo seemed to be punishing Yining but was considering her welfare. Kneeling for two hours wasn’t a big deal.
Fortunately, Lin Hairu was eventually persuaded by her maid to return. Just then, Luo Chengzhang wanted to ask her about today’s events, so they went back together.
Luo Yiyu was taken back by Chen Shi to reflect seriously, not saying a word the whole way.
Luo Yilien walked side by side with Concubine Qiao at the very back. Concubine Qiao suddenly looked back towards the main hall and sighed deeply: “Old Madam’s health… is getting worse and worse.”
Luo Yilien looked at her mother’s gentle profile, somewhat puzzled.
Concubine Qiao didn’t continue, but instead walked to her daughter’s side and asked, “What exactly happened today? How did it turn into such a big scene?”
Luo Yilien could guess about seven or eight-tenths of what had happened. She understood Luo Yiyu very well and knew some things about her and Cheng Lang. What she hadn’t expected was that Luo Yining would also be involved. She said, “It must be about Fourth Sister and Second Young Master Cheng… Grandmother found out. Yining knew but didn’t report it, so Grandmother punished her by kneeling too. But I feel something isn’t quite right…”
Concubine Qiao stroked her daughter’s hair and said calmly, “Old Madam is killing a chicken to scare the monkeys. She’s saying that even if Luo Yining is wronged, it has to be done carefully. Yining is indeed being punished, but look at everyone present – who wouldn’t want to take this punishment in Yining’s place?” She laughed lightly, “Your Fourth Sister is truly foolish. The marriage Old Madam arranged for her is quite good. She could only manage a family like the Liu’s. Even if your Fourth Sister had incredible luck and that Second Young Master Cheng truly saw her beauty and married her, she would be torn apart by others within days.”
Luo Yilien followed behind her mother, carefully considering the day’s events. Hearing her mother’s words, she nodded slightly.
It began to rain heavily in the evening.
Luo Shengyuan was reading in his study when Yining’s maid brought him a bowl of clear stewed pigeon soup.
The rain pattered outside the latticed window. Luo Shengyuan looked at it for a moment. He lifted the lid, and fragrant steam rose. A few scallions floated on the milky-white thick soup. It was not pig’s trotter soup. Remembering Yining’s words, Luo Shengyuan smiled and said to the maid, “Please thank your Seventh Young Miss for me later.”
The maid curtsied, her eyes slightly red, and said, “Third Young Master, Miss is being punished by kneeling in the ancestral hall. This servant cannot thank her on your behalf.”
Luo Shengyuan frowned: “She’s being punished by kneeling?”
The maid had been very reluctant when Xuezhi sent her to deliver the soup. Although she didn’t know the reason, Seventh Young Miss hadn’t done anything wrong. These maids and servants who attended Seventh Young Miss all loved her. The young miss had been pampered since birth; how could she endure such wrongful treatment? She was still better off; Songzhi, Cuizhi, and others were so upset they couldn’t even eat. They harbored some resentment towards Old Madam Luo. She usually doted on Seventh Young Miss so much, why did she insist on punishing her this time?
Luo Shengyuan looked at the heavy rain outside and said softly, “There’s a leak in the roof of the ancestral hall.”
The ancestral hall was already cold and damp, even more so at night with the chilling wind. Add to that the heavy rain – a child kneeling in that cold ancestral hall, surrounded by the ancestral tablets, must feel so frightened and alone.
Old Madam usually spoiled Yining so much. What could have happened to make her punish Yining?
The maid looked up blankly, wanting to ask how Luo Shengyuan knew there was a leak in the ancestral hall. But then she remembered that last time, because of taking Seventh Young Miss out, the Third Young Master had been punished to kneel in the ancestral hall for a full half month. He would know better than anyone what it was like in there.
Luo Shengyuan was lost in thought for a moment, remembering Yining’s bright smile as she asked if he wanted pig’s trotter soup. He also recalled how, when she had a high fever last time, she had clutched his sleeve in her delirium, refusing to let go, as if she depended on him greatly. Something seemed to tug at his heart.
“Is anyone attending to her in the ancestral hall?” he continued to ask.
The maid shook her head: “Old Madam said she must kneel for a full two hours. Because it’s the ancestral hall, we servants are afraid of offending the ancestors, so we can only keep watch outside. The First Madam is also very anxious. After sending the Fourth Young Miss back, she went to kneel and beg Old Madam for mercy, but Old Madam hasn’t said anything…”
Before the maid could finish speaking, Luo Shengyuan had already taken an umbrella and walked out of the study into the rainy night.
She watched as the blue oil-paper umbrella opened and quickly disappeared into the distance. The stewed soup on the table was still steaming; it seemed no one would drink it now.
Yining understood clearly why Old Madam Luo was punishing her. Thinking of her grandmother’s tear-stained face as she left, Yining felt very upset. After this, even if First Aunt and Luo Yiyu were dissatisfied with her, they certainly wouldn’t voice any complaints.
Yining stared steadily at the Luo family’s ancestral tablets, above which hung a plaque that read “Ancestral Virtue Flows Far”.
The ancestral hall was extremely cold at night. During the day, the sun had been strong, so Yining had only worn a light Hangzhou silk robe. Now that it was raining at night, it was unbearably cold. She looked at the burning incense and candles, wondering how much time had passed…
Kneeling on the cold floor, her knees had gone numb and was beginning to feel a prickling pain.
After all this commotion, she still hadn’t eaten dinner.
She wondered how her grandmother was doing. She was still ill, yet had become so angry today…
Yining tried to distract herself, but her body seemed to have a mind of its own, shivering uncontrollably. There was complete silence all around, with just a faint scent of sandalwood in the ancestral hall. Yining felt her consciousness becoming hazy.
“Yining.”
She suddenly heard someone calling her name.
Yining turned her head to see Luo Shengyuan standing in the doorway. His shoulders were slightly damp. He closed his umbrella and strode in, lifting his robe to kneel beside her.
“Third Brother… why did you come?” Yining heard her voice sounding weak.
“There’s half an hour left,” Luo Shengyuan’s tone was calm but reassuring. “Don’t be afraid.”
Yining’s small face was pale, the tiny mole at the end of her eyebrow appearing even redder. She tried hard to smile: “I’m… not afraid.”
Yining looked at his tall figure, wondering if this was how he had knelt in the ancestral hall too. Silently facing the ancestral tablets, with no one knowing what he was thinking.
Time passed slowly. As the time was almost up, Luo Shengyuan’s servant came running in to report: “Third Young Master, it’s time.”
Luo Shengyuan turned back to see Yining with her eyes closed, almost completely drained of energy.
He stood up and went to Yining’s side: “Yining, are you alright?”
Yining forced her eyes open, her voice barely a whisper: “I’m… fine. Just my knees hurt…”
Before she could finish speaking, Luo Shengyuan suddenly picked her up in his arms.
Seeing her lying weakly in his arms, Luo Shengyuan said nothing and carried her out of the ancestral hall. At the door, the waiting maids were all surprised. Luo Shengyuan said calmly, “Bring an umbrella and follow.”
He walked in front, his steps steady and quick.
It seemed to be Third Brother carrying her. Yining smelled his familiar, warm scent.
She suddenly relaxed, grasping Luo Shengyuan’s robe. As long as Third Brother was here, she shouldn’t have to worry.
She closed her eyes, feeling safe.