Chapter 101: Retrieving the Divorce Letter
Yu Zongzheng suppressed his anger and continued, “Ever since this matter, not only in the capital, but even in the entire Great Zhou, it has been many years since anyone had seen any Tian-tsui craftsmanship. No one has touched this due to bad luck, so no one wears any more Tian-tsuis. Those who know this skill are also hiding it, but you said that you bought it from a shop.” He suddenly raised his voice and shouted, “Yang Shuwan, how dare you fool me!”
Yang Shuwan was so frightened that her face turned ashen. She cried out, “Master, I-I didn’t know about this!”
Fortunately, back then, she was afraid that Old Madam would find out that she had done it behind her back, so she didn’t let anyone know. After receiving the money, the old craftsman returned to his hometown.
If others found out that she had caught kingfishers and made a Tian-tsui, the Imperial Consort Lu of the palace and the Marquis of Weining’s Residence would definitely not let Master off easily. If they were not careful, he might even lose his position as an official!
But she really did not know about this!
“Master, please calm down. This is indeed my fault. If I had known about this, I wouldn’t have dared to cause trouble for you.” Now that things had come to this, it was useless to deny it. Instead, it would completely anger Master. Yang Shuwan regretted it so much that her intestines turned green.
However, she did not expect that she would cause such a huge trouble just by giving her a Tian-tsui. It made Master so angry. It was not easy for her to take advantage of Master’s injury and serve him inside and out to coax him. However, Master was unhappy with her again.
If she had known earlier, she wouldn’t have wanted to compete with Madam Yao and given Yu Youyao the Tian-tsui. Now that she had given it to her, she hadn’t received anything good at all. Instead, she had gotten herself into trouble.
It was also Yu Youyao’s fault for not keeping it after receiving it. Instead, she was attracting attention everywhere, only to let Master know about this!
Fortunately, this matter happened in the residence and did not cause any trouble outside. She thought that if she apologized to Master and coaxed him, he would probably calm down.
However, she had miscalculated this time. Yu Zongzheng was not appeased by her apology. Instead, he became even angrier. “Don’t you know? But if you don’t know how to see with your eyes, can’t you use your brain to think?”
Yang Shuwan’s eyes turned red from being shouted at. She stared at him with a pitiful expression, looking heartbroken and aggrieved. Master had always liked this look the most. Usually, as long as she showed this expression, Master would definitely feel sorry for her.
However, in his anger, Yu Zongzheng couldn’t be bothered to look at her. “All these years, you’ve been to many other houses. Have you seen anyone wearing a Tian-tsui? No one else is wearing it. Even if they’re stupid, they should have noticed the problem. Can’t you learn from others? You’ve been following Mother’s rules for nothing!”
It had been eight or nine years since the incident at Dian Cui. It had probably happened before Yang Shuwan had even arrived.
However, as the mistress of the household, Yang Shuwan’s eyes were fixed on the small plot of land in the house. She was not observant at all. Not only was he furious, but he was also extremely disappointed!
Yang Shuwan was speechless after being lectured. She could only pinch her handkerchief and cry.
Large families interacted with each other. Other than socializing, they also probed for information. If there were any major events in the imperial court, it was possible to see some clues from the women in the backyard. Their clothes, words, and even which family they were close to or distant from could all be seen.
Yu Zongzheng was even more furious. “What are you crying for? Have I wronged you? Mothers pay respects to Buddha for the future generations of the family. As children, even if we don’t follow our family, we have to be kind and do good things. If you had any filial piety, you wouldn’t have done such a ridiculous thing!”
These words made Yang Shuwan feel so flustered and afraid that she even forgot to cry. “Master, I was negligent. I was wrong…”
Yu Zongzheng couldn’t wait to hear her explanation. “Fortunately, this matter happened in the residence and wasn’t spread outside. Otherwise, I would be at a disadvantage. You would have received the divorce letter and returned to your maiden home.”
Yang Shuwan was so aggrieved that tears streamed down her face. Yu Zongzheng had never said such serious words to her. She did not know that once he said them, it would hurt their relationship as husband and wife.
However, Yu Zongzheng was too angry to care about their relationship as husband and wife. “I originally thought that although you were the daughter of a concubine, you had some literary talent and were a sensible person. I didn’t expect you to be inferior to Madam Xie. Back then, regardless of whether it was the Xie family’s butler or being filial to the elders, there was never a single mistake. Look at you, you’re simply a mess!”
At the mention of this, he thought of Yu Qingning. Although Yu Qingning had been led astray by Concubine He, didn’t Yang Shuwan, her stepmother, have some responsibility?
He remembered that the second son’s concubine’s daughters were also raised by his aunt. However, the second son’s concubine’s daughters were all well-behaved and obedient. They were all matrons of the household. Why was there such a big difference?
“Master, Sister is the first wife’s daughter, but I can’t compare to her. However, I’ve been married to you for so many years and have given birth to your children. I haven’t contributed much, but I’ve also worked hard…” Yang Shuwan’s eyes were red from crying. In the past, she had always pretended to cry in front of Master. If Master were to see this, his heart would definitely ache a little. But today, she was really crying!
No one could stand being compared to a dead person!
These words were the most hurtful!
Hearing this, Yu Zongzheng was filled with frustration. He swallowed his words of reprimand and flicked his sleeve. “I can’t be bothered to talk to you!”
With that, he went straight to the study.
Yang Shuwan cried a little louder, but Yu Zongzheng did not even turn around to take a look. He did not even stop in his tracks!
Yu Youyao had stolen the limelight in the morning’s literary class. Yu Jianjia felt suffocated, and she became even more focused on the talent class in the afternoon, wanting to surpass Yu Youyao in the four arts.
Therefore, after receiving Ms. Ye’s praise in the zither class today, the depression in Yu Jianjia’s heart dissipated a little, and her face revealed a satisfied look.
After school, Yu Jianjia did not even return to the courtyard. She went straight to the main courtyard, planning to tell her mother the good news so that she would be happy too.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she stepped into the main courtyard, she sensed that something was wrong.
Yu Jianjia quickened her pace and walked into the main room. She lifted the curtain and entered the inner room. She saw Yang Shuwan lying on the bed with Nanny Li serving her.
There was a thick medicinal smell in the room. Yu Jianjia was shocked and quickly walked forward. “What’s wrong, Mother? Are you feeling unwell?”
Nanny Li hurriedly said, “Madam’s head hurts badly. In the afternoon, she found a doctor to take a look. The doctor said that Madam’s liver was stagnated so her head hurt. He prescribed some medicine. I boiled it and fed it to Madam, but it didn’t seem to have any effect. She lay down for the entire afternoon.”
Yu Jianjia was worried about her mother, and her face turned much paler. “Mother was fine this morning. Why is she suddenly having a headache?”