When they arrived at Qin's place, Zhao Jingyu was waiting outside and asked Yun Yan to go in and report first.
Qin had been waiting impatiently for a long time. When she saw Yunyan coming in, she asked him, "I asked you to pass on a message. Where did you pass it on?"
Yun Yan said aggrievedly, "Madam, calm down. When I went there, the Second Young Master was there too. He insisted that I wait until the Fourth Young Lady had finished her meal before speaking."
Qin said angrily, "He is the one who is always nosy. I didn't know before that he likes to meddle in other people's affairs so much!"
The next moment, Zhao Jingyu stepped into the house: "Is mother talking about me?"
Qin didn't expect that he had come too. She gave Yunyan a fierce look and blamed her for not telling her.
Yunyan felt even more aggrieved. Before she could say anything, the lady started complaining. Could she be blamed for this
Qin smiled and called Zhao Jingyu: "I just asked your fourth sister to ask a question, why did you come with me?"
Zhao Jingyu said, "It's dark now, and I'm afraid that my fourth sister will be scared walking at night, so I came with her."
Then he called out to Zhao Lanzhi: "Fourth sister, come in!"
Xie Nanjia walked in with Zhao Lanzhi and greeted Qin. They saw that the room was full of people. Not only were there a few young ladies, but all the concubines except the fourth concubine were there, as well as their maids. It was like a court meeting.
Fortunately, Zhao Jingyu came along, otherwise it would have been difficult for the Fourth Miss to escape.
The two people who gave Qin the most headaches in the mansion right now were Zhao Jingyu and Xie Nanjia. She never thought that the two would get together today. Seeing them, she not only had a headache, but also her eyeballs hurt.
"No need for formalities." She raised her hand slightly and did not offer a seat. She hated seeing these two people and wanted to make a quick end to this.
"I called you here for no other reason." She said slowly, "Your second sister came back from school crying like a tearful person, saying that your maid beat her maid and also swore at her with many unbearable words. Can you tell me what happened?"
Zhao Lanzhi raised her head and glanced at the second young lady, Zhao Lanshu, who was also looking at her, with a look of arrogance and contempt on her face, with no sign of crying.
Zhao Lanzhi felt a little flustered. She didn't know how the Second Miss could confuse right and wrong in front of the Madam. She just thought that the Madam would definitely not believe her.
Xie Nanjia whispered, "Miss, don't be afraid. Just tell the truth. There is the Second Young Master next to you!"
Zhao Lanzhi looked towards Zhao Jingyu and found that Zhao Jingyu had already found a chair and sat down. He met her gaze and nodded almost imperceptibly.
Zhao Lanzhi felt confident and told the whole story. At the end, she said, "Although Yun Que was at fault first, I also have an unshirkable responsibility for not disciplining my maid. Please forgive me, mother."
Yun Que stood beside Zhao Lanshu and said, "I didn't mean to splash Fourth Miss. It was Su He who didn't know right from wrong and didn't listen to my explanation. She just started to scold me and scolded Second Miss as well. She was the one who started the beating first. Fourth Miss is too biased to blame only me."
"That's right, an uneducated master will raise uneducated servants." Zhao Lanshu followed.
Zhao Lanzhi lowered her head timidly.
Zhao Jingyu said leisurely beside him: "Second sister's servants don't seem to have any education. They dare to interrupt the masters when they are talking. How did second sister teach them?"
"You!" Zhao Lanshu's face turned red and white, and she slapped Yun Que in the face, "You bastard, who told you to talk too much?"
Yunque knelt down and apologized.
Zhao Jingyu clicked his tongue twice, with sarcasm evident in the corners of his mouth and eyebrows.
Zhao Lanshu said angrily, "What are you saying? Are you mocking me? When my servants make mistakes, I slap them in the face. But when Fourth Sister's servants make mistakes, I dare not even bring them with me. If you are not feeling guilty, what is that?"
Zhao Jingyu smiled without saying anything, and clicked his tongue twice.
Zhao Lanshu seemed to have been greatly insulted, and said angrily: "You bastards, in the end, are just raised by my wife, no different from our servants. It is only out of mercy from my father and mother that we have given you the face to be the master..."
These words were really heartbreaking. She had just said half of it when all the concubines and illegitimate daughters changed their expressions. Even the eldest daughter, Zhao Lanya, couldn't stand it anymore and quietly pulled her clothes.
Zhao Lanshu was angry, she shook off her sister's hand and said: "Why are you pulling me? Am I wrong? They are a bunch of "bastards" who don't know how to appreciate their blessings, especially the one raised by the concubine..."
"presumptuous!"
An angry shout was heard outside the door, and Lord Dingyuan walked in with a gloomy face, emitting a raging rage.
Qin's heart skipped a beat and she stood up from her chair in a hurry.
The reason why she didn't stop Zhao Lanshu from talking nonsense just now was because she was distracted. Zhao Jingyu's smile had such ulterior motives that made her feel vaguely uneasy. As a result, before she could guess Zhao Jingyu's intention, the Marquis came in.
Qin's mind suddenly became clear. It turned out that this was Zhao Jingyu's trick. The Marquis came at this time instead of earlier or later. He must have sent someone to invite him. Then he didn't have to do anything. He just needed to anger Lan Shu with a few words, and then he could watch the show.
You little bastard, you’re so abominable!
Everyone in the room knelt down in a rush, leaving Qin alone standing in front of her seat.
Dingyuan Hou ignored her, walked straight to Zhao Lanshu, and asked in a deep voice: "Who taught you what you said just now?"
Zhao Lanshu was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she stammered, "No, no one taught me..."
"So you figured it out yourself?" said Dingyuan Hou.
“…” Zhao Lanzhi didn’t know how to answer and looked at her mother in panic.
"See what your mother is doing?" Marquis Dingyuan frowned deeply, "Do you think your mother can support you or teach you how to fool your father?"
"My daughter doesn't dare!" Zhao Lanshu said in a trembling voice.
"You dare not?" Dingyuan Hou sneered and suddenly raised his voice, "You dare to call your brothers and sisters illegitimate, what else are you afraid of?"
Everyone in the room was silent amid his loud rebuke.
Zhao Lanshu was so scared that she burst into tears.
Qin was eager to protect her daughter, so she knelt down and pleaded for her: "My Lord, Shu'er is still young and can't hold back her words..."
Dingyuan Hou raised his foot to kick her, but thought that everyone in the room was watching her, so he didn't kick her. He retracted his foot and said, "She has already reached the age of 18 and has been approached by many marriage proposals. You still say she is too young. Go and see what other girls who have reached the age of 18 are like. None of them are as aggressive and outspoken as her. How dare you use this as an excuse to despise your siblings? If word gets out about such an uneducated girl, who would be willing to marry her? You have spoiled her so much, so just keep her at home for the rest of her life!"
Qin was so ashamed by her husband's ridicule that she dared not say a word.
After Dingyuan Hou's temper flared up, he ignored Qin and instead ordered Cao Ma: "Send the second young lady to the ancestral hall and punish her by kneeling for three days. She will only have one meal a day. Anyone who dares to send an extra half cake will be punished for an additional three days."
"Hou..." Qin was about to object, but Nanny Cao quickly pinched her and said loudly, "I obey your command!"
After saying this, without waiting for Qin and Zhao Lanshu to react, he hurriedly asked someone to help Zhao Lanshu out of the door.
Qin's face looked extremely ugly, but she didn't dare to say anything more.
Marquis Dingyuan finally calmed down, asked everyone to stand up, and said to his children: "You are all my children, the bloodline of Marquis Dingyuan's Mansion. I don't care how other mansions treat legitimate and illegitimate children, it's all the same here. I don't care who your biological mother is. I just want you to always remember that you have a common father. I, your father, am your glory, your backbone, and your confidence. You must love each other, unite as one, and jointly support the lintel of our Marquis Dingyuan's Mansion. This is the responsibility of each of you!"
This passionate lecture brought tears to the eyes of the concubines and concubines. Although the eldest daughter was disdainful in her heart, she knelt down again with her sisters and said in unison: "I will follow my father's teachings!"
Zhao Jingyu bent down symbolically and took the opportunity to throw a coquettish glance at Xie Nanjia.
Xie Nanjia really couldn't do anything about him and chose to turn a blind eye.
Marquis Dingyuan comforted his children and left without staying for long. He glanced at Zhao Jingyu before leaving and said, "You kid."
No one else understood what he meant, except Zhao Jingyu, who bowed with a smile and said, "I respectfully bid you farewell, father."
After Marquis Dingyuan left, he took Zhao Lanzhi and Xie Nanjia away.
Qin was only concerned about her little daughter who was punished to kneel, and was too lazy to argue with them for the time being. She drove everyone away and only left a few confidants.
Zhao Lanzhi was still shaking with excitement even when she returned to her own yard. On the one hand, she was grateful that her father had appeared in time and saved her from danger. On the other hand, she was deeply moved by her father's words, which made her experience fatherly love for the first time in her life.
She cried and said, "I always thought that I was dispensable in my father's heart, but I didn't expect that he would value us so much. I have wronged him. If I have the chance, I must apologize to him in person."
Xie Nanjia didn't take it seriously. Marquis Dingyuan had been leading troops for many years, and what he had just said was just a trick that generals often use to stabilize the morale of the army and motivate the soldiers. Only someone as naive as the fourth young lady would believe his words.
But it’s better this way. At least the Fourth Young Lady will live with more confidence and hope in the future.
She felt that Zhao Jingyu should share the same opinion as her, because he was not moved at all throughout the whole process, and even wanted to laugh at one point. If there hadn't been so many people around, he would probably have laughed out loud.
Therefore, he did not communicate more with the fourth daughter about his father's encouragement, but told his sister that if she was framed again in the future, she should stand up straight and argue with reason, and not put the blame on herself at every turn, as this would be tantamount to walking herself into the tiger's mouth.
Zhao Lanzhi was extremely grateful to him, because they were brother and sister, otherwise she would have kowtowed to him to express her gratitude.
Zhao Jingyu accompanied her all the way back to the yard, and waited until Su He and Nanny Li came out to greet him before he said goodbye and left. Before leaving, he asked Xie Nanjia to see him off.
Xie Nanjia didn't want to see him off, but Zhao Lanzhi asked her to send her second brother off properly. She couldn't refuse, so she reluctantly sent him out of the yard.
He turned around to leave, but Zhao Jingyu grabbed his sleeve and refused to let him go: "I ate a little too much just now, can you walk with me in the garden to help me digest the food?"
Xie Nanjia refused: "I still have to serve the young lady, let Wei Jun accompany you!"
Zhao Jingyu cleared his cough, and Wei Jun disappeared like a ghost.
"Where is Wei Jun?" Zhao Jingyu asked with a smile.
Xie Nanjia turned around and looked back, and was stunned: "Huh, he was still there just now."
Zhao Jingyu laughed and pulled her forward.
The night was deep, and lanterns were lit along the way in the garden. The flowers, plants and trees were shrouded in light and shadow, casting high and low shadows. The cicadas that had been chirping all summer had run out of life, and were replaced by the endless chirping of crickets.
The two walked side by side, and the breeze blew past, bringing the scent of ambergris on Zhao Jingyu's body into Xie Nanjia's breath.
Xie Nanjia said, "There is a question I have wanted to ask you for a long time. Isn't ambergris only used by the royal family? Why can you use it too?"
Zhao Jingyu turned her head slightly to look at her: "You are a country girl, but you know how to smell fragrance. Who taught you?"
Xie Nanjia's heart skipped a beat, and she said casually, "That's what the fourth young lady said."
"Oh? Didn't the Fourth Miss tell me why I can use it?" Zhao Jingyu asked.
"No." Xie Nanjia shook her head.
Zhao Jingyu said, "Because I beat the prince, the emperor thought I did a good job and asked me what reward I wanted. I said I had everything, but I smelled the fragrance on his body, which was nice. The emperor was so happy that he gave me the fragrance as a reward and told me to send someone to the palace to get more when I ran out of it."
Xie Nanjia knew about the beating of the prince, but she had never heard that the emperor had rewarded Zhao Jingyu for this matter, so she couldn't tell whether what he said was true or false.
There is a reward for beating the prince. How can it be such a good thing
She asked again: "Did you ask Wei Jun to inform the Marquis just now?"
Zhao Jingyu asked back: "How do you know?"
Xie Nanjia said: "You are always so mean and like to use dirty tricks."
"..." Zhao Jingyu choked and said, "I'm in a good mood today. I won't argue with you. I just think you are praising me."
Xie Nanjia said, "Why did you think of asking the Marquis to come? It's not a big deal. I thought you were going to support the Fourth Miss yourself."
Zhao Jingyu said seriously, "In my opinion, it doesn't matter what method is used to solve the problem, as long as it is fast and hits the target, it is the best method. My time is precious and I don't want to waste it on meaningless arguments."
"You are so bored all day long, and you still think time is precious?" Xie Nanjia asked with a smile.
"There are many kinds of boredom. Being with someone you don't like, boredom is a waste. Being with someone you like, boredom is a kind of fun." Zhao Jingyu said, looking at her meaningfully, "For example, with you."
(End of this chapter)