Benevolent Mother, Filial Daughter
The previous Prime Minister, Li Chang Sheng, had pa.s.sed away in his mid years. His wife, Mengshi [1], had been so distressed that she had left the main court and moved into a lesser courtyard to recuperate. She was afraid the main court would remind her of her late husband so she had decided to move to He Xiang Yuan, which was the furthest away from the main court. He Xiang Yuan was very isolated, thus she rarely questioned the estate’s internal affairs.
This paternal grandmother, Meng shi, was quite reticent and was a woman of few words. She rarely socialized with others. Nonetheless, she was fair and just in the way she handled matters. She has never wrongfully accused or mistreated anyone. For this reason, Li Wei Yang had always harbored good feelings towards her. Unfortunately, in the previous lifetime, Lao Furen’s health was bad and had pa.s.sed away long before Li Wei Yang became the Empress.
In the chamber, Meng shi sat in the middle, adorned in a turquoise silk tunic with the five blessings pattern embroidered on it. On her head was a mink fur headgear with a jade piece st.i.tched in the middle. At Li Wei Yang’s graceful movements, she gently nodded her head and simply said, “It’s good that you’re back.”
For some reason, upon hearing this sentence, Li Wei Yang’s eyes became red. Everyone saw it and suddenly felt a rush of emotions.
A woman in a honey coloured Xiangzhou silk dress with a round neck, accessorized with a gold phoenix brooch in her hair, chuckled and approached Li Wei Yang. She helped Wei Yang stand up and studied her from head-to-toe. Then she smiled and said, “Lao Furen, take a look. She is truly well-behaved!” She looked at Da Furen who was sitting on the other side. “Congratulations to you, sister-in-law. You have gotten another beautiful gem of a child.”
Da Furen, Jiang shi, chuckled lightly but there was no humor in her eyes. She carefully studied Li Wei Yang and said, “She really is a well-behaved child. Come over here and let me take a closer look.”
Li Wei Yang glanced up from the corner of her eyes but kept on her face a bright smile. Her countenance was respectful and obedient. She gently walked past the second daughter-in-law, Wen shi—the person who had helped her stood up earlier. She demurely walked towards Jiangshi and slightly bowed down. “Mother.”
Jiang shi looked at her with affection and care. “They say Ping Cheng’s fengshui is very good, to the point it can help nurture someone into an exceptional and talented person. When you were just born, you were as small as a kitten. Your body and health wasn’t good either but now, you look a lot healthier. This is a good resulting from a setback!”
Good fengshui? Nurture into an exceptional, talented person? Li Wei Yang coldly laughed inside. She was just short of being nurtured into death, but that person has the nerves to say it was a good resulting from a setback. This kind of thick skin was definitely not normal.
She gently smiled. “What mother said is right. It’s because over the past few years, Wei Yang has received your care and concern.”
When these words were spoken, in other people’s eyes, Li Wei Yang would seem like a person who knew her manners. If she were to complain to Lao Furen at this moment that she had been abused, Lao Furen would simply scold Da Furen with a few simple words. At the same time, Da Furen could push the blame and responsibility onto the carelessness of the maids and servants. In the end, it would not affect Da Furen. Instead Li Wei Yang would be left with the impression of being an ignorant person.
So when Li Wei Yang said those words, Jiang shi was impressed and broke into a grin. She reached out for Wei Yang’s hand and said, “It’s good that you understand my well-intentions. Now that you’re back, you should spend more time with your sisters. If you lack anything, just come and talk to me.”
The third daughter-in-law, Zhou shi, quietly watched this scene without a word of opinion. On the other hand, Wen shi was smiling with ridicule. From the beginning to the end, Lao Furen had no expression as she fiddled with the Buddhist mala beads in her hand.
“Wei Yang will definitely listen to mother’s words. I will spend more time with . . . my sisters.” In other people’s eyes, Li Wei Yang’s face had turned pink and she appeared to be very acquiescent.
Da Furen briefly glanced at Zi Yan and Bai Zhi behind Wei Yang. She nodded and said, “It doesn’t look good to have only two maidservants with you. Hua Mei, from now on you will follow San xiaojie and take care of her.”
A pet.i.te maid with a pair of delicate phoenix eyes stepped forward and greeted Li Wei Yang with respect.
“You’ve grown up now, so it’s not enough to have only two first rank servants by your side. For now, you will be a.s.signed another one. After the New Year’s, another one will be a.s.signed to you. I have already prepared all of the second rank servants for you. As for the third rank servants, the selection process is still ongoing. It should be ready soon enough.” When speaking these words, Da Furen appeared to be a sincerely, benevolent mother.
Li Wei Yang grinned with gratefulness. She knew that it wasn’t only Da Furen who was judging her at this moment, but there was also Meng shi, Wen shi and Zhou shi. They were all studying her and judging her. In this entire family, father was the Prime Minister and Da Furen Jiang shiwas the official person in charge of managing the estate’s internal affairs. However, in these past few years, Erfang and Dafang [2] was caught in a cold war and then there was also Sanfang. . .All in all, their scheming and psychological warfare were inevitable.
For a person who had just returned like her, the most important thing was to have a strong support.
Da Furen looked at her, furrowed her brows and said, “Child, why are you dressed so thinly?” She then waved her hand. “Bring over the cloak I’ve prepared.” In front of everyone, she smiled and personally wrapped the cloak around Li Wei Yang.
The cloak was light but warm. On the light pink silk cloak was the dotted pattern of a peony flower, which was sewn on it with gold thread. Beside it, there were also cloud patterns sewn in black thread. The interior of the cloak was made of white mink fur, making it look very warm and soft.
However, when Li Wei Yang touched it, she immediately discovered the cloak was old and had already been used. Clearly Da Furen wanted to emphasize her dignity and magnanimity in front of everyone, so she had especially looked into the back of her wardrobe and found the cloak, using the second-hand cloak to appear benevolent and conscientious.
Wei Yang said, “Thank you, mother.”
Precisely then, someone came in to relay a message to Jiang shi. “Da Furen, Yu Shi Furen has gifted 5 rolls of Liu Yun Ge silk from Ning Zhou. You should take a look.”
Da Furen nodded and smiled happily. She said, “Lao Furen, I shall take my leave. There’s a few things I have to take care of. Wei Yang, when I’m done, I will bring you to your father.”
Li Wei Yang hurriedly replied, “Yes, mother. Please don’t worry.”
The mala beads in Meng shi’s hands subtly moved as she simply nodded her head. Da Furen quickly took her leave. The moment she left, Erfang and Sanfang also stood up. Erfang Wen shieven glanced at Li Wei Yang with disappointment. She thought she would be able to watch the concubine’s daughter incriminate Jiang shi, but it turns out, Li Wei Yang was a mere coward. She had suffered through so much hardships and abuse and yet she had no courage to say it.
Once the three furens left, it was calm and quiet.
Meng shi glanced at Li Wei Yang with her delicate features. For some reason, she suddenly sighed and then said to Luo mama standing beside her, “Lead this child out.”
Li Wei Yang kneeled down on the ground and earnestly kowtowed in front of Meng shi. Afterwards she followed Luo mama out.
As Luo mama led Li Wei Yang towards the canopy, she abruptly heard Li Wei Yang yelped out loud. She stopped in her footsteps. “San xiaojie, what’s the matter?”
Li Wei Yang shook her head, but there was a strange expression on her face. As if without thinking, she touched the back of her neck. Luo mama didn’t say anything further and resumed her steps, but purposely slowed down. She tossed a look at the back of Li Wei Yang’s neck and noticed the presence of red spots, similar to wounds caused by needles. Blood was slowly oozing out as well. Luo mama froze up.
Li Wei Yang seemed to be enduring it to the best of her ability, but tears were already appearing.
Luo mama couldn’t stand it any longer. Smiling, she said, “San xiaojie, this embroidered cloak is beautiful. Recently Lao Furen has wanted something similar to it. Could you possibly let me borrow the cloak for two days so I can study the embroideries?”
The kind of garments Lao Taitai wore would definitely have a different kind of colour and pattern than the ones she would wear. Li Wei Yang immediately understood the hidden meaning but feigned ignorance anyway. She obediently removed the cloak and gave it to Luo mama. Luo mama received it. Perhaps it was by accident or it was on purpose, her fingers brushed against the mink fur inside the cloak. Luo mama’s expression changed.
“Luo mama, what’s wrong?” Li Wei Yang innocently asked.
Luo mama briefly glanced at the bunch of servants surrounding them. The smile on her face didn’t go away. “Nothing’s wrong. San xiaojie should go and familiarize yourself with your new residence. I have to return to Lao Furen’s side.”
Li Wei Yang looked at the cloak that Luo mama was tightly holding in her hands. She gently smiled and said, “Yes, Luo mama should hurry back.”
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Translator’s Note: Sorry guys! Updates will be a bit slower from now on since I have a few things on my plate at the moment. The chapters are slowly getting longer and more descriptive as well now that Wei Yang is back in the Capital.
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