Conquering the Male Supporting Character – CH 021

Chapter 21. Family

“Cough, cough…”

The strong, sour, and astringent smell of medicine was pungent and irritating. Accompanied by the Old Madam’s occasional coughs, a somber atmosphere hung over Tingsong Hall. The maids moving about shuffled and whispered, afraid of displeasing the Old Madam.

“What is this?”

The Old Madam, clutching her chest and frowning, pointed tremblingly at the food on the plate.

A nearby maid named A-Mei examined it carefully and whispered, “Reporting to the Old Madam, this is mushrooms.”

“Mushrooms…mushrooms…”

The Old Madam seemed to realize something. Her face paled for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. She waved her hand impatiently. “Take it away.”

Trembling, A-Mei hurriedly took the food away.

But for three days in a row, dishes containing mushrooms were served. This time, the Old Madam frowned and simply swept the plates away.

Broth and shards were scattered all over the floor, a complete mess.

“Did I not tell the kitchen yesterday not to serve any more dishes with mushrooms?”

“This servant…this servant does not know either; I only know that’s what the kitchen sent.”

A-Mei knelt on the ground, holding the tray high, trembling with fear.

“I only let go for a few days, and they dare to be so perfunctory? Do these insolent servants think they are above the law? I am the mistress of this mansion!”

The Old Madam slammed her hand on the bed, choked on her breath, and coughed incessantly, the coughs heart-wrenching.

“Go—cough cough—tell someone to tell Lady Zhou that if she wants to force me to my death—cough cough—then let her come.”

“Yes, yes,” A-Mei murmured, receiving the order as if seeing a ray of light, and quickly got up and left.

As A-Mei walked away with her head down, she heard another series of heart-wrenching coughs behind her. She sighed in relief, then her worries returned. How could she tell Lady Zhou?

“Did the Old Madam really say that?”

At that moment, Lu Wan was checking the accounts with Lady Zhou. Hearing this, she knew her scheme had succeeded. A surge of joy welled up inside her, and she could not help but look up to ask.

“Yes,” A-Mei replied, not daring to lift her head. Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead; she was terrified.

Even if these were the Old Madam’s exact words, even if she was merely following orders, they were lowly servants; their lives were worthless. If their masters were displeased, beatings and scoldings were minor matters; even death was commonplace. How could they possibly cry foul?

“It’s just some dishes,” Lady Zhou said, somewhat puzzled but not overly concerned.

“Go tell the kitchen that I said not to serve her these things anymore. You can go now.”

Having grown accustomed to the Old Madam’s and Lady Zhen’s frequent outbursts of anger, A-Mei breathed a sigh of relief while also feeling envious of those working here.

Everyone knew that A-Li had previously worked for the Old Madam, only to end up like that; if it were not for Young Lady Wan’s intercession, she would probably be dead.

Heartless and ungrateful—that perfectly described the Old Madam, but these lowly servants only dared to grumble in their hearts.

Leaving the courtyard, she looked up at the leaden sky, then sighed. It was going to snow again.

After giving her instructions, Lady Zhou turned around and saw Lu Wan covering her mouth and giggling, her eyes crinkling, clearly very happy.

“What do you find so laughable, Ah Wan?”

Lu Wan, still laughing, paused, a drop of ink falling onto the ledger. Not intending to tell Lady Zhou, she gave a vague answer. “I found some errors in the accounts…” As she spoke, she quickly scanned the ledger, trying to find a basis for her fabricated explanation.

“Errors are common; why keep laughing?” Lady Zhou shook her head, thinking that Ah Wan was still too young and immature.

“Huh?”

The ink droplet barely covered a number, and Lu Wan could not help but take a closer look, only then noticing the problem.

She carefully compared the different months’ records and found that there seemed to be quite a few errors, causing her to gasp softly.

“Mother, this item seems quite off.” She pointed to the section on fabrics in the household’s income records. “These are just ordinary clothes worn by the servants, yet the price is almost as high as the plain silk we usually wear.

Not only that, but also…

Also, the purchase prices of items seem to have fluctuated a lot from month to month.” The fluctuations were quite drastic and abnormal.

Lady Zhou took the ledger and examined it carefully, confirming that it was indeed true.

She did not seem to care about these things. “I do not care about this mess of accounts in the household. It is good for you and Ah Ling to practice.

I did not expect Ah Wan to find so much on her first audit. She does have some business talent.”

This praise did not sound very sincere, and Lu Wan curled her lips.

“Mother, I can tell from your words that you are just being perfunctory; there’s probably only a sliver of sincerity in them.”

“Then what do you want to hear? Do you know that Ah Ling found all the flaws in her share of the accounts the other day? You, the eldest sister, have fallen behind. In my opinion, even a sliver of sincerity is rare.”

It was clearly just that she had not put in her best effort, Lu Wan thought dismissively, her pen still busy, carefully transcribing the errors she had found.

But then, unwilling to give up, she turned to look at Lu Ling, who sat obediently beside her, and saw her completely absorbed in her work.

Watching her skillfully manipulate the abacus beads, the clattering sound pleasant, the beads flying so fast they almost flew through the air, she had to admit that Lu Ling truly possessed some talent.

“Then it would be so much better if Ah Ling did all the investigations from now on, Mother. I still want to go out and travel more.”

Lu Wan simply put down her pen, snuggled closer to Lady Zhou, hugged her arm, and pleaded sweetly, her face full of childlike affection.

This chore was truly tedious, and she genuinely had no interest in it.

“Even if you beg me, it will not do you any good.”

Lady Zhou’s face hardened, her delicately drawn eyebrows furrowed, and her tone left no room for negotiation.

“While you can let servants manage these accounts, what if they intentionally deceive you, harboring malicious intentions? Servants who lie and deceive are like rats burrowing in a granary; you do not need many; just one bold one is enough to ruin your entire fortune.

A married woman relies on the power of her maternal and husband’s families, and also has her own savings. If you cannot even manage your own private finances, how can you protect yourself?”

Lu Wan opened her mouth but remained silent. What Lady Zhou said was all for her own good.

But seeing her movement, Lady Zhou thought she was about to object, and became even more serious.

“Ah Wan, do you think that marrying a doting husband will guarantee you a worry-free life? That’s a huge mistake. People’s hearts change easily; how many fickle men in this world can you rely on? You need to have your own integrity to stand tall and speak with dignity in your husband’s family.

Even if you and your husband grow to hate each other in the future, you will not have to live off him.”

Clap! Clap! Clap!

A burst of applause, growing louder, interrupted Lady Zhou’s admonition.

“Your mother is right; Ah Wan, Ah Ling, you must both remember this.”

Upon hearing that clear, familiar voice, Lu Wan stood up with a beaming smile. Lu Ling, snapping out of her reverie, looked brightly at Lu Yuan as he entered.

“Father, you are back so early today.” Lu Wan proactively stepped forward to help, hanging up his cloak.

She wrinkled her nose, looking quite charmingly naive. “Mother is teaching us.”

“Trying to be attentive now, acting all cute and silly with your father will not work. What your mother said is absolutely true.

There are plenty of fickle men in the world, but truly devoted men are rare.”

Lu Yuan, tall and imposing, bent slightly to meet his daughter’s gaze, his eyes full of sincerity.

“Someone like your father, whose private savings are all controlled by your mother, even buying an inkstone requires secrecy—that’s unheard of.”

“Youzhi, how dare you mention your inkstone in front of your children?”

Lady Zhou deliberately turned cold, glancing at him sideways. “You have over a hundred inkstones in your study, yet you have not shown any improvement in your calligraphy.”

Lu Yuan touched his nose, realizing he could not project the image of a father anymore, so he turned to Lu Xiao, who was secretly chuckling, and changed the subject.

“Ah Xiao, bring out what we bought on the way. I remember this is Ah Wan’s and Ah Ling’s favorite.”

“Chestnuts!”

Lu Ling loved chestnuts the most. She stepped forward and touched the chestnuts Lu Xiao was holding, her face beaming with joy.

“Have someone set up a stove to roast the chestnuts. Also, get some autumn pears and roast them too, so the chestnuts will not be too dry; they will soothe their throats.”

Seeing Lu Ling’s delight, Lady Zhou’s expression softened, and she instructed the maid to prepare the food.

The winter day was cold, the gloomy sky foreshadowing an impending snowstorm, and the howling north wind constantly shook the withered trees in the courtyard, snapping the grass.

But inside the warm house, the family gathered around the stove, roasting chestnuts and autumn pears. The chestnuts were soft and sweet, the pears translucent and juicy, and the air was filled with laughter and joy—a scene Lu Wan had never dreamed of before.

She was momentarily stunned, remembering the Old Madam’s vicious scheme, the mushrooms, and the account book, which only strengthened her resolve.

She absolutely could not tolerate and could not allow that wicked woman to ruin this scene that she could never even dream of.

No one could.

This was a dream she had longed for countless times, day and night, yet never fulfilled.

It could be called a dream of happiness.

However, the only flaw was that the smoke stung her eyes. Lu Wan blinked; otherwise, why did her eyes feel sore?

A strong north wind blew all night. When she opened the door again, she saw snowflakes fluttering down, covering the world, and everything was shrouded in silence.

The court officials rushing to court did not care about their appearance. After all, they had gotten up very early and had to brave the cold to get to court. They were all bundled up tightly, their heads and shoulders hunched.

Those from humble backgrounds, living in the south of the city and thus having to travel a long way, complained bitterly.

Xie Yu was not among them, but he was always an early riser and renowned for his diligence in official duties, so he also left home very early.

Before dawn, with a pale inky sky tinged with crimson, he rode his horse, accompanied only by Xie-Jue. The two of them rode along the wide Imperial Street, heading straight for the palace gate.

Snowflakes fell on everything, the white breath of the horses rising in wisps, the rustling sounds emphasizing the surrounding silence.

They encountered no one along the way, and naturally, they should not have noticed that someone was lying in ambush along his route.

A cold, sharp arrowhead was aimed at the handsome and refined Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. The assassin’s eyes were bloodshot, filled with hatred.

With a ‘whoosh’ sound, the arrow, released from its bow, flew like a whirlwind, unstoppable.

Someone was trying to kill Xie Yu!