Chapter 1449 - 1447: The Truth Is...
This time, no matter what, she would not help.
Of course, she actually had no way to help.
The Shi Mansion was not someone she could afford to offend, but she still had to keep a tight hold on Lady Sun!
When she sent Lady Sun off, watching her desolate back, Madam Imperial Concubine’s eyes were full of smug satisfaction.
...
She hadn’t managed to get anything out of Madam Imperial Concubine.
Her own son was angry at her again, and she had no idea how to explain things to the Old Madam.
As for the Master, she had even less of a sense of presence in front of him.
The concubines under her were all younger and prettier one than the other, bewitching the Master until he was utterly enthralled.
She couldn’t remember how long it had been since he last came to her room—three months? Six months? Or half a year?
Maybe the Master had already forgotten what she even looked like.
"Ai!"
For the first time, Lady Sun felt that living held no promise; so what if she had a son?
...
Shi Mansion.
Ever since coming back from Prince Zhuang’s Mansion, Madam Shi’s face had been dark the whole time.
That night Jiang Wanrong developed a high fever, and she didn’t sleep a wink.
The Imperial Physician whom Consort Zhou Taipin had requested from the palace followed them back all the way to the mansion, taking her pulse, prescribing medicine, and applying needles overnight to save her.
After toiling the whole night, Jiang Wanrong finally broke her fever at daybreak.
Madam Shi looked at the little girl who just yesterday had still been bright and radiant like a flower, and in only one day had turned pale and wilted like an eggplant struck by the first frost in autumn; her heart twisted in pain.
She only felt she had failed her dead younger sister, and her tears fell wave after wave.
"Aunt!"
Jiang Wanrong, face wan and weak, tried to sit up.
Madam Shi hurriedly pressed her back down.
"Don’t move!"
She wiped her tears and choked out.
"The spring cold is still biting, and the ice in that pond had only just melted; it’s freezing!"
"You must lie obediently for the next few days and not move; the medicine the Imperial Physician prescribed is all the finest. Take it properly, drive out the cold properly, and absolutely must not be left with any lingering illness!"
Jiang Wanrong gave a pale smile.
"It’s all my fault for making Aunt worry!"
Her eyes reddened as she sighed.
"Other than my mother, there’s no one who loves me more than you do! Aunt, you must stand up for me!"
Once she finished, she started sobbing.
The tears Madam Shi had just managed to stop flowed again.
Although there was always that layer between her and Jiang Wanrong, she truly felt for her own younger sister’s child!
The blood-deep kinship fused in her bones grew even stronger at those words.
Madam Shi looked at her with aching tenderness.
"Good child, you’ve been wronged!"
"Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, I won’t let them bully you again!"
A child with a stepmother—who knew how many grievances she must have suffered!
After they clung to each other and had a good cry, Madam Shi wiped away her tears.
"Do you still remember what happened at the time?"
"Why did you end up at the pond for no reason?"
Whatever happened then, she had to know the truth!
Jiang Wanrong went over what had happened again in her mind, and felt even more aggrieved; tears fell again at once.
"Aunt!"
"That man, he... he..."
"It was he who tricked me into going over there!"
"I was originally standing by the flowerbeds, when suddenly a maid came and told me someone was looking for me by the pond!"
"I thought this garden was full of girls; there was no one else, so I let my guard down and went!"
"I never expected that once I got there, it would be a man!"
"He first stared at me with a leering grin, then said a bunch of strange things. Right..."
"He even cursed me and humiliated me, saying I was shameless, that no one in Dengzhou wanted me, and I’d come to Capital City to look for a husband’s family!"
"Since I wanted to marry so badly, I might as well marry him!"
"Aunt!"
Those words were far too crude; Jiang Wanrong couldn’t bear to repeat them and cried again.
Madam Shi’s face went white as she listened, her whole person petrified.
"That’s nothing like what he said yesterday!"
Jiang Wanrong: "???"
With a pale face, Madam Shi repeated Lv Zhaoliang’s words from the day before.
Jiang Wanrong was shaking all over with rage, both ashamed and furious.
"Aunt, he’s a liar, he’s a shameless scoundrel!"
"Aunt, you must stand up for me!"
Madam Shi narrowed her eyes.
"Don’t worry. If the truth is really as you say, our family will not let this go!"
"So what if that Fuguo Duke’s Mansion is powerful; our Shi Mansion is not for others to bully either!"
Jiang Wanrong finally calmed her anger somewhat, and said resentfully,
"It’s hateful that he pushed me into the pond and even... molested me!"
"Aunt, you mustn’t make me marry him!"
"I’d rather die than marry a man like that!"
Afraid she would do something foolish, Madam Shi hurriedly soothed her.
"No one is making you marry him!"
"Don’t let your thoughts run wild! You still have me. Focus on getting better first; I’ll take care of everything else!!"
Only then did Jiang Wanrong feel slightly relieved, exhaling as she lay back down.
Madam Shi waited until she had taken her medicine and fallen asleep before leaving.
...
When she returned to her own courtyard, there was no time to rest.
She immediately summoned the maid she had sent to Wanrong yesterday.
"Tell me yesterday’s events, every single detail, from start to finish!"
The maid was likewise full of indignation; with a thud she fell to her knees and sobbed out,
"Madam, you must stand up for this servant!"
"Yesterday, Young Lady was admiring the flowers by the flowerbeds when a little maid suddenly came and said someone was inviting Young Lady to the pond!"
"Young Lady went, and this servant followed as well!"
"But before this servant had taken more than two steps, someone knocked me out from behind!"
"When this servant woke up again, I saw..."
At this point she suddenly stopped; her tears fell like broken beads, ceaselessly.
Her whole person was wracked with pain, humiliation, and fury; her gaze was filled with bone-deep hatred.
She steadied her emotions and ground out between her teeth,
"This servant discovered that a servant boy was... was trying to violate me!"
"Fortunately, this servant had previously learned two years of martial arts from Master in the stables!"
"I kicked that servant boy away in one strike and got up to run at once!"
"I had barely run a few steps out when I heard Young Lady had fallen into the water. As for what happened afterwards, Madam should know already!"
The maid was beside herself with grief, hurrying forward on her knees a few steps, weeping bitterly.
"Madam!"
"After suffering such humiliation, this servant’s death would be nothing to regret; I only beg Madam, for the sake of the many years I’ve served by your side, to seek justice for this servant!"
Madam Shi was so furious she almost fainted; this maid was her trusted confidant.
She knew some martial arts, and was usually lively and delightful, very much to her liking.
And now something like this had happened, yet she hadn’t even known!
"Yesterday, all my attention was on Wanying; you’ve been wronged!"
"Don’t worry, I will never let this matter go!"
There was no need to question the truth any further.
If she didn’t believe her own niece or her own trusted maid, was she supposed to believe some infamous outsider?
"Many thanks, Madam!"
"This servant does not feel wronged. With Madam’s word, this servant is willing to die in gratitude!"
The maid kept kowtowing desperately.
Madam Shi frowned.
"What death, don’t talk nonsense!"
"You did nothing wrong! They are the ones at fault in this matter. Fortunately, a greater disaster didn’t happen!"
"Don’t come serve for the next few days—go have the mansion physician prescribe you some calming medicine and rest well for a few days!"