Four Seasons Brocade – CH 032

Chapter 32 ☆、 Confrontation on the Rooftop: The Brave Wins (Part 2)

Before Lady Cui could speak, Ah Wu stepped forward. “Fourth Sister was going to hit me, but luckily, my maid was quick-witted and pushed me away. She took the slap herself, and half her face swelled up immediately. But it’s nothing. Fourth Sister is of noble status; if she hit a maid, so be it.” Ah Wu’s tone suddenly changed.

Fourth Young Lady Rong felt a little better after hearing this.

But then Ah Wu continued, “But if word gets out that Fourth Sister is so arrogant as to discipline the maids on behalf of her Third Aunt, her reputation will be ruined.”

Ah Wu did not even look at Fourth Young Lady Rong, only saying to the Old Madam, “That’s one thing, but we are daughters of the same family. If Fourth Sister’s reputation is ruined, Fifth Sister and I will naturally be gossiped about too, since we are all raised by the same family. Therefore, Ah Wu implores Grandmother to do justice for Fifth Sister and Ah Wu.”

Lady Cui looked at Ah Wu with great surprise, not knowing that her daughter could speak so eloquently. For Ah Wu’s sake, the Old Madam naturally would not intervene, but now that the Fifth Young Lady was involved, the Old Madam would not let Fourth Young Lady off the hook.

In this household, the eldest branch was the Old Madam’s favorite, and the talented and beautiful Fifth Young Lady, whose reputation was widespread, was the Old Madam’s darling. Fifth Young Lady Rong’s reputation could not be allowed to be tarnished.

The Old Madam indeed looked ready to scold Fourth Young Lady Rong, but she also knew that Ah Wu was using Wan’er as a pretext. She could not let the mother and daughter get away with it so easily. If Yue’er had not acted so inconsiderately, the Old Madam might not have punished her. Even a dim-witted Old Madam like herself knew that her granddaughter’s habit of hitting others at the drop of a hat was not a good thing.

“You say your fourth sister wanted to hit you? She’s not crazy. Why would she hit or scold you for no reason? You must have done something wrong, and your sister is disciplining you on her behalf,” the Old Madam said sternly.

Ah Wu thought to herself, “I have both parents; why do I need a concubine’s daughter to discipline me? What a senile old woman, what a vicious old woman!”

But Ah Wu’s face remained expressionless. She glanced nervously at Fourth Young Lady Rong.

Fourth Young Lady Rong, thinking the Old Madam was still on her side, did not even look at Ah Wu, giving her a disdainful look, her eyelids practically pointing to the sky.

Ah Wu whispered, “Fourth Sister asked me if my heart had been instantly smitten with Cousin Yu. I’d never even heard of this Cousin Yu she was talking about, and when I did not answer, she raised her hand and hit me.” Ah Wu spoke innocently, almost bursting into tears, while nervously clutching Lady Cui’s hand.

In truth, Ah Wu had indeed seen Tang Xiujin that day, but it was on Qixia Mountain, and the dense trees obscured the view, so no one else saw Ah Wu and Zi-Shan. Ah Wu gambled that no one knew.

“Old Madam, our Ah Wu is just a little girl! How can Fourth Young Lady accuse us of this? She cannot assume everyone else thinks the same way. Besides, it’s shameful for a young lady to say such things. If word gets out, will our family’s daughters still be able to get married?” Lady Cui became agitated. She had not expected Fourth Young Lady Rong to hit Ah Wu for this; she was truly shameless.

Even if the Old Madam was confused, seeing Ah Wu, a little bean sprout, short and stocky, with a missing front tooth, how could she possibly be thinking about men? It must be that Fourth Young Lady Rong herself was frustrated with her own romantic feelings and was taking it out on others.

The second branch’s wife, hearing this, also understood where Fourth Young Lady Rong’s reckless anger to beat his sister came from. She pursed her lips contemptuously. Not even considering that she herself was a lowly child born of some harlot, yet she dared to dream of marrying into the family of the Cabinet Minister.

It must be said that the second branch’s wife was smarter than the Old Madam. While both disliked illegitimate children, seeing how well the second branch’s wife had raised Fourth Young Lady Rong was truly “satisfying.”

The First Madam, meanwhile, was also outraged. She glared fiercely at Fourth Young Lady Rong, thinking, “Does she not even take a good look at herself? She actually dares to try and steal my prized son-in-law!”

“Old Madam, you cannot let this go! Yue’er’s words are unacceptable. We are all sisters; how is Wan’er supposed to face the world? So young, yet so shameless, thinking about men! How can this be allowed?” the First Madam spoke up.

Fourth Young Lady Rong, now enraged, pointed at Ah Wu and berated her, “You, what nonsense are you spouting? When did I ever say such a thing?”

Ah Wu retorted, “So many maids were there then; just call them over to confront me. Besides, I’ve never heard of a Cousin Yu in our household.”

“Cousin Yu is the son of Cabinet Minister Tang! Did you not just go to his residence yesterday? You still will not admit it? Oh, right, did Cousin Yu not try to comfort you when you cried in public at the Marquis of Shouchang? You dare say you do not know him?” Fourth Young Lady Rong was desperate.

Compared to Fourth Young Lady Rong’s furious outburst, Ah Wu was noticeably calmer, asking with a bewildered expression, “Was the one who advised me that day the Cousin Yu that Fourth Sister mentioned?” Ah Wu denied that he was her cousin.

“You still dare to say you do not know Cousin Yu?” Fourth Young Lady Rong’s face was filled with arrogant smugness. But the more agitated she became, the more her guilty conscience was revealed.

“I truly did not know he was the Cousin Yu you mentioned. Besides, yesterday, I was invited by Young Lady Tang to congratulate her on her birthday. We were all very proper; we would not meet any men. Yesterday, not only were Young Master Tang and Second Young Master Tang forbidden, but even children were not allowed to walk in the garden by Madam Tang. Fourth Sister, are you trying to slander Young Lady Gu of the Duke of Wei’s Mansion and Young Lady Liu of Scholar Liu’s family? They were both there.”

This accusation was really serious.

Actually, everyone believed Ah Wu. The so-called Cousin Yu was someone Fourth Young Lady Rong and Fifth Young Lady Rong had called out on the spur of the moment when Tang Xiujin visited the Duke of Anguo’s mansion. How could Ah Wu know? She had clearly been turned away by the gatekeeper that day and had no idea who the guest at the mansion was.

As for the Tang family, everyone believed Ah Wu’s words. Madam Tang was not someone who acted without careful consideration; she would not allow her son to meet female guests so casually.

“Alright, Yue’er, your behavior was inappropriate. Go and copy the Precepts for Women ten times. You are not allowed to go anywhere until you finish.” The Old Madam decisively punished Fourth Young Lady Rong, then turned to Ah Wu and said, “Knowing your sister’s behavior was inappropriate, you did not even try to stop her. Your intentions are malicious. Go back and copy the Precepts for Women ten times, too.”

The Old Madam never forgot to suppress the third branch of the family.

Today, Ah Wu truly learned what it meant to “find fault where none exists.”

Although she was punished today, Ah Wu was extremely happy. Fourth Young Lady Rong had learned her lesson this time, so she would be more restrained and would not dare to insult her so freely again. This time, even though she suffered heavy losses herself, it was worth it.

That evening, Lady Cui told Third Master Rong everything Ah Wu had said in the main room, which made Third Master Rong nod repeatedly. “As expected of my daughter,” Third Master Rong said with great pride. “I must say, Ah Wu, at such a young age, is more eloquent than you.”

Lady Cui was not annoyed; instead, she felt proud. “Of course, look who my daughter is! Besides, I am clumsy with words; she must be criticizing me.” Her words became somewhat flirtatious.

Third Master Rong quickly coughed.

“What’s wrong with Ah Wu?” At this moment, Rong Jie and Rong Yin, hearing the word “daughter,” entered and asked Third Master Rong and Lady Cui. Upon seeing the two boys, Lady Cui quickly rose to her feet. “Oh, come here! You’ve both lost weight. Have the boys from the outer courtyard been neglecting you?” Lady Cui felt sorry for her two sons, constantly worrying about them during their separation. Had they been hungry or cold? Had her sons been taken good care of? Had any bad boys been leading them astray?

“I think they are still the same as before,” Third Master Rong shook his head.

“You are a grown man; of course, you do not notice.” Lady Cui glared at Third Master Rong, then quickly made room for Rong Jie and Rong Yin to sit down, showering them with concern.

Rong Jie and Rong Yin could not resist Lady Cui’s enthusiasm and quickly changed the subject. “What happened to Ah Wu?”

Hearing this, Lady Cui’s eyes reddened. She thought of her two sons’ lack of closeness and Ah Wu’s constant humiliation. To isolate the third branch of the family, the Old Madam decreed that the younger males living in the outer courtyard could only enter the inner courtyard once every ten days. She claimed they were getting older, and with so many women in the inner courtyard, she feared scandals and that a group of seductive women might seduce the young men.

While her words sounded noble, everyone knew it was a ploy to torment Lady Cui.

The older women servants dared not stop the sons of the first and second branches from entering the inner courtyard, but they were unyielding when it came to Rong Jie and Rong Yin.

Lady Cui, her eyes red, recounted how Fourth Young Lady Rong had slapped Ah Wu. Upon hearing this, Rong Yin immediately jumped up, “I am going to find her! What right did she have to hit my sister? If she cannot give me a straight answer, I will teach her a lesson!”

“Nonsense! That’s your fourth sister! How can you teach her a lesson?” Rong Jie quickly restrained Rong Yin, who was about to rush out of the room.

“I…” Rong Yin did not know what to say. “Am I just going to swallow this? I cannot take it anymore! I am so angry! Let me go! Let me go!” Rong Yin began to struggle. Despite his young age, he was surprisingly strong. He had learned martial arts from the Old Master, and even Rong Jie was no match for him.

“Sigh, I always tell you to study hard and use your brain, but you refuse. If you go and make Fourth Sister pay, will you not just give her something to talk about? Have you forgotten what happened last time…?” The incident of Ah Wu kowtowing…

At this, everyone in the room fell silent for a moment.

“I am not convinced! I am not convinced!” Rong Yin pounded the table in anger, but he knew Rong Jie was right.

Lady Cui and Third Master Rong finally managed to persuade Rong Yin.

They thought the matter was over, but the very next day, Rong Yin got into trouble.