Chapter 70: Old Madam"s Fiery Heart
Of all virtues, filial virtue was most important. Old Madam didn"t say a single swear, but her meaning was that Gu Xinglang had been unfilial. It was a heavy fault. If Gu Xinglang could kneel, he would be on his knees and asking for punishment right now.
This was the first time in his life that grandmother had scolded him, leaving the filial Gu Xinglang at a loss.
Gu Xingnuo knitted his brows and said, "Grandmother, what"s wrong with you today?"
Old Madam glared at Gu Xinglang and said, "In any case, your days are your own now. How much longer can grandmother stay by your side?"
"Grandmother, you"ll live to a ripe old age," Gu Xinglang said quickly.
Gui Xingnuo added, "Grandmother, has someone in the estate angered you?"
Old Madam choked. She was currently venting her temper on Gu Xinglang, after all. Lady Xu saw that her eldest son had seen right through the old woman and rendered her speechless, so she spoke up. "The princess was speaking with your grandfather in the study. You two should join them, I"ll take a walk with your grandmother."
"Go on," Old Madam waved at them.
Gu Xingnuo pushed his little brother away before Gu Xinglang could speak. Once the siblings were gone, Lady Xu helped Old Madam towards the back gardens, her voice soft. "Mother, each of your grandsons must find their own ways as they ought. We cannot determine our children"s fortunes, so please calm your anger."
"How many more years can I still live?" Old Madam replied. "Go ahead and enjoy your days, how much longer can you bear them?"
Lady Xu only remained staring at the ground. Old Madam had plenty of complaints about Princess Linglong, which Lady Xu attributed to the wedding night when the girl had kept the old woman outside Gu Xinglang"s rooms. Then Qingyu"s affair had caused Old Madam to completely lose face in the estate, so it was no wonder the stubborn old woman had grown resentful.
After walking a few stps, Old Madam sighed. "Forget it, I"m the one overthinking things. In any case, it"ll be Xingnuo looking after you in your old age until you die. With a good eldest grandson and granddaughter-in-law, what else could I ask for?"
"Mother," Lady Xu said softly, "The princess has a kind heart. There"s nothing for this daughter-in-law to worry about."
Old Madam only snorted coldly. She hadn"t seen a trace of the princess"s compa.s.sion when she was beating people up. Oh yes, she was great at fighting their enemies, but what if Her Royal Highness grew dissatisfied with the Gu Clan one day? Then would they be the next ones to get thrashed?
"I"m about to worry myself to death over Xinglang"s legs!" Old Madam sighed. "The doctors said he needed quiet and rest, but look at him now, running out with the princess everyday. How is he supposed to rest like that?"
Lady Xu replied, "The princess said Xinglang"s legs will recover."
"Will recover?" Old Madam echoed icily. "Tell me that the day Xinglang can walk again."
Lady Xu broke into a wry smile. "Mother, the princess wouldn"t hurt Xinglang. In the past, Xinglang spent his days with father and his brothers in the army, so he"s never had a chance to really go out and play. Daughter-in-law sees that Xinglang and the princess are happy together and feels thankful to the princess for that."
Old Madam looked askance at Lady Xu. Now that her daughter-in-law had used up all the compliments, what was she supposed to say?
"Mother," Lady Xu coaxed, "She"s Her Royal Highness, ah. Even if she decided to kill Qingyu one day, what could you do?"
Now Old Madam was even more speechless. That"s right, ah. She"s an imperial princess. No matter how I think of her, I can"t do anything against her. Leaving aside how much Gu Xinglang likes her, the Gu Clan wouldn"t dare to divorce her even if he didn"t at all.
As the two women walked off into the distance, w.a.n.g momo brought Xiao Zhuang and Xiao Wei out from a copse of trees. "Pah!" w.a.n.g momo spat at the ground. "She still scorns our princess!"
Xiao Zhuang said, "Momo, is there something bad about the princess?"
w.a.n.g momo said, "She"s a senile old coot. What"s not good about our princess?"
"That"s right," Xiao Zhuang agreed, "Could she even come back if it wasn"t for our princess?"
Now that Yu Ziyi was out of danger and Yu Ziming taking his place, w.a.n.g momo was very happy, but hearing Old Madam disparage her princess from behind the trees had evaporated all traces of joy. She would rather run in front of that old woman right now and argue over just who had gotten the advantage of this marriage and who had suffered losses. What right does she have to disdain our princess?
Xiao Wei stood listening to w.a.n.g momo and Xiao Zhuang air their complaints before he smiled easily. "Momo, big bro, why do you guys care about Old Madam? Isn"t it enough if our Royal Son-in-Law likes the pincess? Would His Majesty just watch the princess be bullied by an old woman?"
w.a.n.g momo was still in a temper. "A green jade (Qingyu) might have left, but who knows if we"ll get a blue jade tomorow and a white jade after that! We don"t know what Old Madam could be planning!"
Hearing w.a.n.g momo mention Qingyu made the two guards recall Qingyu"s fate when she confronted the princess. They exchanged glances in silence. Seems like no jades will be lucky before princess. She"s not good at scheming, but she can break a pillar with one slap. Can any woman defend against that?
—
In the study, the old patriarch didn"t bring up Zhao Qiuming"s ancestors with Yu Xiaoxiao again before his two grandsons. After asking Gu Xinglang the details of his palace visit, he kept Gu Xingnuo with him and sent the young couple away to rest. Yu Xiaoxiao personally took over pushing Gu Xinglang"s wheelchair.
Gu Xinglang had the servant girls and pageboys following them retreat a little further away before he asked, "Just then, did grandmother and mother drop by?"
"They did," Yu Xiaoxiao replied. "But they didn"t come in, just stood around outside and left."
Gu Xinglang said, "Were you and grandfather talking then?"
"That"s right," Yu Xiaoxiao said, "Grandpa and I were discussing things together." For example, how to dig up the Zhao Clan"s ancestral graves, which was a very serious undertaking.
Gu Xinglang was even more confused. No one had provoked his grandmother outright.
"The flowers are blooming," Yu Xiaoxiao said as she stopped before a flowerbed so Gu Xinglang could see. Inside were a few cl.u.s.ter of autumn chrysanthemums in bloom. Their petals were a tender yellow and the whole bed had been left to grow wild, giving it a natural look.
Gu Xinglang asked, "Does princess like chrysanthemums?"
"I like all flowers," Yu Xiaoxiao replied, then added, "But that"s only limited to flowers." She didn"t like things beyond the realm of nature.
What does she mean, that"s only limited to flowers? Third Young Master Gu was about to ask when Gu Xingnuo"s two sons came running towards them. "Third Uncle, Your Royal Highness!"
Yu Xiaoxiao waited until they got close before stepping forward and picking them up by the backs of their collars. "Why do you call him Third Uncle but me "Your Royal Highness?""
Gu Xun tilted his head and said, "Because you"re Your Royal Highness, ah."
Gu Jin was four years old but still drooling like mad. As he slurped back some drool, he asked Yu Xiaoxiao, "Then what should we call you?"