Wei Changying was favored by her grandparents. As a child of the first branch, she played in the garden since she was little, so she was familiar with the yard. Behind the wall that she climbed over was a magnolia tree. The flower season had already pa.s.sed, but the large tree was full of branches and leaves. Facing the sun, the leaves seemed to drip oil at any time. The dense canopy of the tree formed a shade under the tree.
After landing on the ground, Wei Changying stepped on the soft gra.s.s and made a fine turn as she hid behind a tree. She looked around, finding this magnolia tree was planted by the wall while another bush of winter jasmine was planted outside the wall. Although the flowers have withered, the bush was green and lush as the magnolia leaves, covering the scene under the tree.
Therefore, no one would come to the place she was hiding, and the people would not notice her as long as she was careful enough.
However, it was not easy to approach the house.... Wei Changying was quickly finding the nearby plants that she could hide when she heard a stiff greeting far outside the bush. A maidservant said, "Family Head, could I ask Doctor Ji to come?"
Huh?
Wei Changying worried that her grandmother would suffer after infuriating her grandfather in anger, so she stayed here to have a look. But now she suddenly realized….
She moved quickly to the bush and looked outside. As expected, Wei Huan stumbled outdoors with one hand covering his forehead and the other on his back. His clothes were in a mess as if he were being thrown into a panic. Soon after he went out, she heard Old Madam Song yelling angrily. "Why called a doctor! It was just a little bruise, take a box of ointment and rub it would be fine!"
She then scolded, "You always think about calling a doctor even having a small wound! Your granddaughter is facing a risk to be calculated for her whole life, but you want to reconcile! Bah! Did you think that I"m dead and that I can"t take charge?! Do you want to call a doctor? You know what, you would never get one pill even if you were feeling pain to death unless you complete the task that I gave you!"
Wei Huan was one of the six senior commanders in the Vi Dynasty and the Duke Changshan, which was t.i.tled by the emperor. As the Family Head of the Wei Family, he was regarded as a dignified person and no one could easily get close to him. But he was now standing on the corridor and listening obediently without saying a word.
Standing behind the magnolia tree, Wei Changying couldn"t see her grandfather"s expressions, but she could imagine how upset and helpless Wei Huan was.
"This... this is how we should rule our husbands!" Wei Changying"s empathy for her grandfather immediately changed into an admiration for her grandmother. She was afraid to be seen for being too excited, so she hid into the corner and blocked her mouth with her white fist in order not to laugh out loud. "Look! There"s no use being a virtuous woman if the husband is not obedient," she thought, "He would ignore you directly instead of scolding you fussy, which makes you the wordy one. One would become an obedient person after being beaten. There"s an old saying goes, "spare the rod, spoil the child". If a child could become obedient after beating, why couldn"t a husband? Look how prestigious my grandmother is today. My grandfather was beaten and scolded but he dared not to talk loudly.... This is the real Head Mother!"
Wei Changying began to understand why her grandmother didn"t oppose her practicing martial arts as her mother did.
"However, my grandfather is a literati who doesn"t know how to fight, so it"s easy for my grandmother to beat him." After the excitement, Wei Changying began to worry about herself after she calmed down. "I"ve heard since I was a child that Shen Cangfeng has excellent skills and strategies in martial arts. Could I ever beat him up as my grandmother did to my grandfather today?"
She supported her head with her hands and thought for a while. She then made a decision, "Forget about that. Uncle Jiang has told me so many things about him. Even though I couldn"t win him face to face, I could use schemes and intrigues. I believe I could win him!"
Wei Changying pinched her fingers with an aggressive expression. She decided that she would beat her future husband to what Wei Huan become today. She then secretly left the yard following the way she came and went to Jiang Zheng"s place to continue practicing martial arts.
Inside the house, after shouting at Wei Huan to let him dress his wounds in the study, Old Madam Song regained her serenity. She asked Chen Ruping and the others to come in and ordered, "Tidy up."
The sound was huge when Old Madam Song beat Wei Huan, so the house was in a mess as expected. Five or six fine porcelains, big or small, were shattered into pieces everywhere, and a red sandalwood couch on the right has moved from its original position. Chen Ruping took a glance at the couch and compared it with Wei Huan"s wound. She realized that Wei Huan was pushed onto the couch by the furious Old Madam Song, the couch was so heavy that it could only be moved by two strong servants. Now they could imagine how hard Wei Huan was. .h.i.t.
However, Old Madam Song was still in anger without any regretful expression on her face. She ordered the servants, stood up by holding Chen Ruping"s hand, and then entered the inner room.
Chen Ruping helped Old Madam Song sit on the couch by the window in the inner room. She then closed the door. And gently persuaded, "Our Family Head is at an old age now, what about beating him more softly next time?"
"You don"t know him," said Old Madam Song. As dowry of Old Madam Song, Chen Ruping had been serving the Old Madam in her teens from a maid till now. She has companied Old Madam Song through decades of ups and downs. She dared not to break the rules on big occasions, but she would be more casual in a private talk with the Old Madam. Old Madam Song was not angry after hearing what Ruping had said. She shook her head and said, "Zhenghong is constantly ill, and he was incompetent in his robust years. Changfeng and his siblings are still little, so only Wei Shengyi could take charge of the Ruiyu Hall in the capital. Therefore, before Changfeng became mature, I couldn"t do anything to that Wei Shengyi, and Wei Shengyi was clear about this! If Zhenghong was alright, n.o.body would ever dare to take advantage of Changying! If I give in, how could I frighten the second branch!"
Chen Ruping said softly, "The fifth young master is over fifteen, and in the next year, he could learn how to manage the affairs with our Family Head and the Third Master in the Yamen. After a few years, he could seek a position himself. When such days come, how long could Wei Shengyi stay? It"s not worth being exasperated with our Family Head for him."
Old Madam Song sighed and said, "It couldn"t be so easy. Zhongyi is impossible to leave Fengzhou, and Shengnian couldn"t become a commander on big occasions. I can"t rest a.s.sured to let him leave Fengzhou alone, not to mention letting him take care of his nephew. Wei Shengyi is not reliable, so before Changfeng reaches his twenties and has the ability to protect himself, how could I let him go to the capital?"
"Madam Wei Zhengyin is also in the capital!" Chen Ruping said as she turned around the five-petal sunflower shaped porcelain bowl covered with gold foil which was buckled in the lacquer plate. She lifted the silver pot and poured some dark plum juice into the bowl. She then opened the cupboard, took the pickled plums made in last summer, scooped out some plums with a silver spoon and put them in the juice. She then added a spoon of honey and gave it to Old Madam Song with both hands. "Your daughter and son-in-law are both in the capital," she said, "They would look after the fifth young master. What"s more, Miss Wei is going to get married in the capital next year."
The "Madam Wei Zhengyin" that Chen Ruping had said referred to Old Madam Song"s natural daughter.
Old Madam Song sipped the dark plum juice and said, "However, Zhengyin and Changying are women, they can"t concern about so many things. Zhenghong has only one son, and even Changfeng is 15, his condition is still not optimistic.... I"m afraid that there would be no more children in the eldest branch except for Changying and Changfeng, so how could I put Changfeng at risk?"
"Are you going to alert the Second Master?" Chen Ruping thought for a while and said, "Are you really going to call the second young master and the third young master back?"
"Of course," Old Madam Song said as she lifted the bowl. A cold light appeared in her eyes as she said, "If not that Changwan has got married, the second branch only has two sons. No matter how many children they have, all of them have to stay in Fengzhou! If my Changying and Changfeng were well, I wouldn"t care about those younger generations. If they were not, the second branch... would die without descendants!"
As Old Madam Song was talking, she put the porcelain bowl harshly on the begonia style small table, and the juice spit on her sleeves. Chen Ruping came up immediately and wiped the juice with a handkerchief. She gently persuaded, "You just need a word to let the second young master and the third young master back. As a grandmother, letting the children of the second branch back here is their honor! You can let them do anything in Fengzhou. It"s not worth getting angry for the second branch, you are thinking too highly of them."
Old Madam Song lifted her hands to let Chen Ruping clean the juice. Without replying, she asked, "Someone has come into the yard just now, was it Changying or Changfeng?"
After all, except for the two beloved grandchildren, Changying and Changfeng, n.o.body would prefer to stay here after seeing that scene.
Chen Ruping was a little embarra.s.sed as she said, "It was Miss Wei, she seemed to come for you. I tried to stop her, but she refused to leave. I was also afraid that we were too loud, but you have noticed it anyway."
Old Madam Song said, "I didn"t hear you, but the window in the living room was unlocked and I saw the shadow of a hairpin moving twice behind the window. I was thinking that you were outside at that time, and my maidservants wouldn"t walk around, so it must be someone or someone"s maidservant. That"s why I ask you."
She then laughed and said, "What a child! What is so important that made her come here at such a moment!"
Although Wei Changying didn"t enter the house, she saw the scene that Old Madam Song was losing her temper, which made Old Madam Song a little embarra.s.sed.
Chen Ruping knew that although Old Madam Song sounded like complaining, she was not angry with her granddaughter. Ruping then smiled and said, "By the way, Miss Wei didn"t insist to stay at first. She decided to stay because she heard some noise. She was worried that you would suffer from this, so she didn"t leave until I persuaded earnestly for several times."
Hearing this, Old Madam Song smiled and said, "How would I suffer? It was her heartless grandfather who suffers!"
"Miss Wei doesn"t know this. You always look kind and gentle, but our Family Head looks serious and dignified. No wonder Miss Wei would worry about you, she favors you more after all," Chen Ruping said as she chuckled.
Old Madam Song sighed and said, "She is my direct granddaughter, who would she favor instead of me? It"s a pity that I have only one granddaughter. I have watched her grow up and loved her dearly as if she were a flower, but now she is going to marry someone else. What"s worse, she is going to get married in the capital, who knows whether I could see her again in my entire life!"
Having heard the melancholy and anxiety in Old Madam Song"s words, Chen Ruping said, "Look what you"ve said. You are still healthy now and you could educate your great-grandson in the future. How could it be difficult to see Miss Wei? Although the capital is far from Fengzhou, if Miss Wei can win her husband"s support, they could come back to see you together in the future."
She then said, "What"s more, if you miss your granddaughter, you can order the servants to send a letter to the Shen Family. I believe that Madam Su wouldn"t refuse your requests."
Old Madam Song smiled and said, "Actually, it is not a big deal whether I could see her in the future or not. I"m concerning about her future.... If she could live a good life, I would rest a.s.sured."
"Miss Wei has an innocent heart, and she is always obedient and clever. Or else, why do you like her the best? According to your judgment, if you love her, why wouldn"t other elders?" Chen Ruping consoled her and said, "Also, what if her idea is effective? The young master of the Shen Family is cultivated to be the future Family Head in the Mingpei Hall, so he must have excellent civil and military skills. The Shen Family guards Western Liang, and martial arts is fundamental to them, so maybe he wouldn"t like those delicate and virtuous ladies. Perhaps he would prefer a girl as Miss Wei, with both softness and strength as well as bravery. At first, Miss Wei was afraid that she would suffer after marrying Shen Cangfeng, so she said that she would beat him. However, if they were harmonious, how would Miss Wei beat him?"
She then lowered her voice and said, "Forgive me for saying this, although you have beaten him so hard today, our Family Head would not hate you. After all, all is fair in love. You two are quarrelsome lovers and are both enjoying this!"
"I hope so," said Old Madam Song. Although she was brilliant, she dared not to decide anything about the whole life of her only granddaughter. She sighed and said, "Changying will get married next year, but we have to get down to business first, go and write a letter, saying that I was not well recently and that I miss my grandsons Changyun and Changsui very much. Also, tell them to visit me together with their wives. Remember to sign Zhongyi"s name in the letter!"
Chen Ruping smiled and said, "I"ll do it right away."
The second branch was too stupid this time. How dare they had designs on the first branch when Old Madam Song was still alive?
Maybe it was because that Wei Shengyi had taken charge of the family in the capital for years and had forgotten how drastic the methods of Old Madam Song was. Maybe he had forgotten how he had knelt for four days and entreated for himself earnestly, and how he was forgiven by Old Madam Song only because of Wei Huan.