Since returning home, Xie Nanjia has been keeping a low profile, striving to be a little girl who poses no threat to anyone so as not to attract other people's attention.
After Zhao Jingping shouted this, it would be impossible for her to keep a low profile. Once the people who came to pay their respects in the courtyard went back, soon everyone in the mansion would know of her existence. Maybe they would even give her the nickname "fox spirit" because she attracted the prince's attention.
Then, her troubles will ensue.
In fact, there is no need to wait until then. Aren’t her troubles already here now
She was the Fourth Aunt's person, but the Fourth Aunt did not dare to defend her. Zhao Jingping, who had instigated the trouble, also shut up after his mother got angry and did not even dare to say a word to defend her.
There are only two choices before her now: either kneel down and apologize to Qin Wanru, or be beaten to death.
She wanted revenge and wanted to see her son again. She couldn't die, so she had no choice but to bow her head.
She knelt on the bluestone floor and said loudly, "I was wrong. Please punish me, my dear cousin."
There was silence all around, and everyone was staring at Qin Wanru.
Qin Wanru had just been pointed out by Xie Nanjia as a "guest", so she naturally couldn't punish the servants of the host family in public. She smiled generously and said, "It's hot and people are impatient. It's inevitable to have a few words. I was a little impatient just now, so I won't punish you. You just kneel here for a while and take it as a lesson!"
This was said tactfully, and no one could find any fault with it.
Qin's expression also eased slightly.
Xie Nanjia bowed and thanked: "Thank you for your tolerance, Miss cousin."
The Fourth Aunt secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that fortunately this girl still had some self-awareness and did not implicate me.
The door of the main room opened, and the maid beside the old lady came out and said that everyone could go in. Then everyone no longer paid attention to this brief farce, and as the maids poured into the hall like a tide, only Xie Nanjia was left kneeling in the yard.
The bluestone floor hurt her knees, and she stood straight as if she had no feeling.
From childhood to adulthood, whether in the general's mansion or the marquis's mansion, even when visiting the palace to pay respects, she had never kneeled for so long, let alone suffered such humiliation in public.
Her dignity and pride of more than ten years were shattered from the moment she knelt down.
From this moment on, she finally understood herself clearly. She was no longer a noble lady, but a little girl who could be trampled on by anyone.
Only when people recognize their own identity can they accept reality, and only when they accept reality can they change their destiny.
If she wants to take revenge and protect her son, she must accept her identity as a little girl, put aside her past glory, and willingly become a slave who is humble to the dust, a slave without dignity.
Outside the courtyard gate, a red figure flashed by and disappeared without attracting anyone's attention.
"Second Young Master." Wei Jun followed Zhao Jingyu and called him.
Zhao Jingyu waved her folding fan lightly, walked calmly, and picked a pink hibiscus flower and handed it to Wei Jun: "This flower suits Cheng Zhiye very well, ask someone to send it to him quickly."
"Yes." Wei Jun took the flowers, hesitated for a moment, and did not leave immediately.
Zhao Jingyu glanced at him and said, "Are you trying to ask me why I watched Xiu'er being humiliated and didn't save her?"
Wei Jun lowered his eyes and said nothing.
Zhao Jingyu said: "I didn't save her because I was giving her a chance to recognize herself. If a person thinks too highly of himself and insists on doing things that are not in line with his status, he will eventually pay a very high price. If she can't figure this out, it's useless for me to save her."
"I understand." Wei Jun bowed and retreated with the flowers.
Zhao Jingyu closed the folding fan and tapped it gently on his palm, looking at the colorful flowers in the garden thoughtfully.
No matter what the reason was that Xiu'er went to great lengths to come to the Marquis' Mansion, if she wanted to gain a foothold here, she had to put aside her pride and be cautious. She had to know that survival in the rear house depended not only on wisdom, but also on status.
It is easy for a stupid pig in a high position to kill a smart servant, but it takes some effort for a smart servant to kill his master.
However, he still hadn't figured out what Xiu'er's purpose was in entering the mansion.
He opened his folding fan and turned back to the old lady's yard.
He may not save Xiu'er, but that doesn't mean he can't vent her anger.
Anyone who dares to touch him will never get away with it.
…
Everyone greeted the old lady and sat in the hall chatting.
The topic turned to the seventh sacrifice of the Crown Prince's wife. Qin took the opportunity to report to the old lady in detail about her preparations for the ritual and asked for her instructions.
The old lady listened carefully and nodded, "You are a careful person who thinks everything through. I have nothing to worry about. Just take care of it."
"Thank you mother for your trust in me. I will definitely make this happen successfully." Qin's eyes were red as she said this. "My Jia'er has a miserable life. I can't let her suffer over there."
Everyone wiped their tears and remembered the Crown Prince's wife's beauty and talent that was unrivaled in Kyoto.
There was a sigh in the hall.
"Oh, what's going on?" Zhao Jingyu walked in, fanning herself as she wore a bright red dress like a red cloud. She walked to the old lady's square couch and bowed deeply, "Grandson greets grandma."
All the grandchildren in the mansion called the old lady "grandmother" except him. But the old lady liked him to call her that and smiled with joy when she heard him call her "grandma".
"Where did you come from, little monkey?" The old lady narrowed her eyes with a smile and patted the couch, asking him to sit on it.
Zhao Jingyu was not polite either. He lifted his clothes and sat on the right side of the old lady. He leaned his head over and rested it on the old lady's shoulder, just like an ordinary naughty and spoiled grandson.
More than a dozen brothers and sisters were all jealous, but it was a pity that not everyone could enjoy this kind of grandparent-grandchild relationship, not even the eldest son Zhao Jingping.
The old lady patted Zhao Jingyu's head cheerfully and said, "I haven't seen you for a few days and your head seems heavier. I wonder what delicious food you ate?"
"Grandma, you are wrong. My grandson's head is full of knowledge." Zhao Jingyu said, taking the old lady's hand and rubbing it on his belly, "Here is food."
The old lady laughed, tapped his forehead and said angrily: "You are always talking nonsense. Tell me, what have you learned recently?"
"Recently I have learned to respect the elderly and the young, not only my own but also others'," said Zhao Jingyu.
"Oh, then tell me what it means?" The old lady was happy to listen to his nonsense.
Zhao Jingyu said seriously, "It means that if you respect your own elders, you should also respect the elders of others. If you love your own children, you should also love the children of others. Just like my cousin, although my sister-in-law is gone, she is an unmarried girl who is willing to raise the children for my sister-in-law. Her character is even nobler than what Mencius said."
The old lady nodded frequently after hearing the first half, but the latter part shocked everyone.
Qin Wanru racked her brains but could not have imagined that this corner would suddenly turn to her, and her face immediately turned red with shame.
Qin glanced at the old lady and saw her face suddenly darken, and her heart skipped a beat.
The old lady lived in the backyard and rarely went out. As her status was unchallengeable, she was too lazy to worry about useless things, so she never asked the maids and servants around her to go out to inquire about gossip. Others only obeyed Qin's orders and would not be idle enough to come to the old lady to gossip.
The old lady took it for granted that the child must be raised in Qin's courtyard. Every time she saw Qin and asked about the child, Qin said that the child was fine, so she did not ask any further questions.
If Zhao Jingyu hadn't said it today, she would still be kept in the dark.
The old lady frowned and snorted coldly: "Why, is there no one in the mansion? They actually asked a young lady who lives here to help raise the child?"
Qin knelt down quickly and said, "Mother, you misunderstood. Please allow me to explain in detail."
Qin Wanru also knelt beside her aunt.
When Zhao Jingping realized that something was wrong, his first thought was to slip away. He looked around and found that there was nowhere to escape to, so he had to kneel down with his mother.
When the other concubines saw that their masters were kneeling, they certainly could not stand, and a large number of people knelt in the hall at once.
The old lady looked at him coldly without saying a word. She just grabbed Zhao Jingyu's hand and patted it gently like a toy.
Zhao Jingyu still felt that it was not lively enough, so he asked the old lady in a daze: "Grandma, did I say something wrong?"
"You're right, some people just feel guilty." said the old lady.
The hall was silent.
Qin replied tremblingly, "Mother, please forgive me. I was not thoughtful enough. A few days ago, because of Nan Jia's funeral, I was worried that I would disturb the child and that he would be exposed to unclean things. I thought that Wanru's yard was quiet, so I decided to put the child in her yard first and take him back to me after seven months. I only thought about the good of the child and ignored the rules. Please forgive me, mother."
The old lady sneered: "What are you saying? Nan Jia is the child's biological mother, how come she becomes something unclean in your mouth? Are you afraid of disturbing the child? Isn't there any other quiet courtyard in the mansion? There are so many concubines who have given birth to children, who can't help take care of the child for a few days
You said you ignored the rules for the sake of the child. I know exactly who you want to benefit. What you plan for your own child has nothing to do with me. But that child is the young master of the Marquisate, the future Marquis. I don't want to hear people say that he was raised by a nameless cousin!"
The old lady was the most distinguished woman in the backyard. She didn't need to worry about offending anyone when she spoke, and could just say whatever she wanted. This scolding was so sarcastic that Qin was so humiliated that she wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
"Mother taught me that it was all my fault. Please punish me."
"You are the mistress of the house. Wouldn't it be difficult for you to live a normal life if I punished you?" The old lady said, her eyes falling on Zhao Jingping. "The root of everything is this unfilial son. If he hadn't always given people the wrong thoughts, how could he have caused so much trouble? As a prince, his mind is all on women. If that's the case, why bother being a prince? You should just be an idle young man like Yu'er."
Qin was shocked when she heard this and kowtowed, saying, "Mother, please calm down. It's my fault for not educating my son well..."
"You really are a bad parent!" The old lady slammed the table. "Since ancient times, loving mothers often spoil their children. I just said a few words and you were busy taking the blame for him. How can you raise a responsible son like this?"
When Zhao Jingping saw that his grandmother was really angry with his mother, he had to stand up and said, "Grandma, calm down. It's my fault. It's all my fault. Please punish me!"
The old lady looked at him coldly and said, "In that case, go to the ancestral hall and kneel for two days to reflect on your actions!"
Ancestral hall? Qin Shi subconsciously came to protect her son again. Before she could say anything, Qin Wanru felt sorry for her cousin: "Grandma, it was Wanru who took the initiative to take care of the young master. If you want to punish me, punish me too. Wanru is willing to accompany my cousin to kneel in the ancestral hall."
Before he finished speaking, there was an uproar in the hall.
Zhao Jingyu sneered lazily: "My cousin is really infatuated, but the ancestral hall of my family is named Zhao, not Qin."
Qin Wanru regretted what she said. She was in a hurry at the moment and was only concerned about her cousin, forgetting her status in the Marquis' Mansion.
Her identity as a cousin was just mentioned by the maid Xiu'er, and now she was sneered at by Zhao Jingyu. She fell to the ground in shame and wanted to die.
Qin was also quite helpless with her brainless niece. She signaled her with her eyes to stop talking, and she pleaded with the old lady: "Wanru is young and ignorant, please bear with her mother."
"Since she is still young, she should be raised and educated by her parents," said the old lady. "I know you love your niece, but it is the responsibility of parents to educate their children. If my cousin doesn't get a good education in our house, will people blame the poor upbringing of the Marquis's family or the poor upbringing of the Prime Minister's family? If your brother and sister-in-law complain that you didn't take good care of their daughter, wouldn't you be a nobody?"
Qin was speechless and nodded, saying that she would choose a suitable aunt to help take care of the child when she returned. After finishing the current tasks, she would personally send her niece back to her parents' home and return her to her brother and sister-in-law.
Such a big show was put on just to pay respects, and everyone watched it with great interest. If the old lady hadn't said that she was tired, no one would have wanted to leave.
Thanks to Zhao Jingyu, the fourth concubine, who was most likely to eat the first meal today, easily escaped the disaster. She chanted "Amitabha" several times in her heart, followed everyone to bid farewell to the old lady, and hurried away with Yunxia and Xie Nanjia who was kneeling in the yard.
Xie Nanjia had no idea what was happening inside. She only knew that Zhao Jingyu passed by her like a gust of wind, saw her kneeling there, and went in without saying anything.
She was a little puzzled, but didn't take it to heart. She couldn't figure out the mood of such a moody person, and she was too lazy to guess.
After the people who came to pay their respects came out, she originally thought that based on Qin Wanru's personality, she would definitely come over and pretend to persuade her, and then let her go magnanimously to earn a reputation for being a good person. But the strange thing was that the aunt and niece were like defeated roosters. When they passed by her, they didn't even look at her and walked away in shame.
Xie Nanjia was very surprised, but she didn't ask any more questions and followed the Fourth Aunt back to Qingfeng Courtyard.
The Fourth Aunt luckily escaped the disaster, but she was still frightened by Xie Nanjia's behavior. She decided to have a good talk with her and send her somewhere else.
Xie Nanjia also had the same idea.
In fact, when she suddenly exploded in the old lady's courtyard, she was also trying to find an excuse to leave the Fourth Aunt.
She returned to the Marquis' Mansion with the help of the Fourth Aunt, and as a reward, she also helped the Fourth Aunt solve some problems. The fate between the two of them was almost over here. From now on, the Fourth Aunt could no longer help her, and she no longer needed her help.
It was better for the Fourth Aunt to bring this up than for her to bring it up, because out of guilt, the Fourth Aunt might ask for her opinion and arrange her where she wants to go. This was the last value of the Fourth Aunt to her.
Now it depends on whether Fourth Aunt can help her realize her wish.
(End of this chapter)