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墨書 Inktalez
That night, Yun Kexin slept uneasily. It wasn't just the things her sister Yun Yan had told her; it was also about her mother. From the questions asked before leaving, she could sense the fury hidden beneath her mother's calm exterior.
Moreover, beneath her unusually composed demeanor, Yun Kexin vaguely felt that a storm was about to break: had her mother decided to take some "action"?
The next day, Yun Kexin woke up early and went to check on Yun Ke. When she reached his door, she heard from Grandma Gui that the Third Young Master’s fever had mostly subsided and he was no longer cold to the touch. Only then did she feel relieved.
She quietly walked to the main hall to bid farewell to her parents and sister before returning to the Third House.
“Father, Mother, I’m back,” Yun Kexin said as she bumped into Yun Yang, who was about to leave. Fu Lianyin was also present. “Are you leaving already? Have you had breakfast?”
“We’ve eaten,” Yun Yang replied with a smile. “Sister Xin, how is Cousin Yun Ke doing?”
“He’s much better now, but he’s still a bit weak and needs to rest for a few more days,” Yun Kexin said lightly. “Father need not worry. By the way, I’ll see you off.”
“I’ll go with you,” Fu Lianyin said with a flattering smile. “Sister Xin, why don’t you keep Eighth Younger Sister company? She’s been calling for Seventh Sister all night.”
Yun Kexin frowned: it was Yun Xiao again; why was she so bothersome?!
Although in her previous life, Yun Kexin had a decent relationship with Yun Xiao—especially since the latter relied on her—it seemed that was why Yun Xiao always liked to follow her around.
This life was different; regardless of their past relationship, after learning the truth, Yun Kexin no longer wished to be as willing to take care of Yun Xiao as she had been in her previous life. She didn’t want any semblance of sisterly affection.
She didn’t want even this pitiful sisterly bond to be exploited by Fu Lianyin.
However, it would be inappropriate to refuse in front of Yun Yang. After thinking for a moment, she said:
“Alright, I can keep Eighth Younger Sister company,” Yun Kexin replied with a silly smile. “But I have to go to Grandmother's Haitang Pavilion at noon to copy scriptures; I wonder if Mother and Father would allow it?”
“Sister Xin, can’t you skip it just this once?” Fu Lianyin suddenly asked with a somewhat firm tone.
“Mother, I promised Grandmother…” Yun Kexin responded indifferently.
"Let her go," Yun Yang said succinctly, "I promised her this in front of everyone at the Third House."
"Go ahead." Fu Lianyin glanced at Yun Kexin reluctantly and walked away, stepping out with Yun Yang.
Yun Kexin walked coldly to the backyard. For a while, she moved back and forth between the Third House, Second House, and Haitang Pavilion, "living as usual" while carefully observing her mother.
She always felt that something was about to happen, but after a while, seeing no "unusual activity" at the Second House, Yun Kexin finally breathed a sigh of relief, hoping she was just overthinking.
On the third evening, Yun Kexin was once again copying scriptures and practicing calligraphy at Haitang Pavilion, with her grandmother watching beside her. Yue Ziyun stood at the door at some point, peeking inside and softly calling out, "Mother..."
Hearing the sound, Zhou and Yun Kexin both looked up simultaneously.
"Second Madam? Come in."
"Auntie," Yun Kexin greeted with a gentle smile.
"Ah." Yue Ziyun responded and entered.
Zhou instructed the maid to bring some tea and fruit before dismissing her.
The Yue Clan clearly regarded Yun Kexin as a child and did not mind her presence. As soon as she sat down, she got straight to the point: "Daughter-in-law requests Mother to make a decision."
Zhou seemed to know what the Yue Clan wanted and hesitated slightly: "What matter needs 'deciding'?"
"Dealing with the Third Madam and the Substitute Concubine, but regarding Third Uncle—"
Yun Kexin's hand holding the brush trembled slightly, causing her writing to go awry. At the same time, her heart raced: Mother is indeed going to take action!
She suddenly felt a bit excited: At this moment, Fu Yueze had not yet been conferred a title; dealing with Fu Lianyin now might still yield results for her. If there was solid evidence, the Fu Family would not dare to say much.
But once missed, in two years, Fu Yueze would have grown his wings and been crowned as the King of Han. It would be increasingly difficult for the Yun family to deal with Fu Lianyin. Yun Kexin secretly glanced at her mother and smiled in support.
"That's a matter for the Third House," Zhou interrupted Yue Clan's words decisively, saying blandly, "It's better for the Second House not to get involved."
"But the problem now is that their wrongdoing has already affected the Second House," Yue Clan said anxiously. "Mother, you didn't see how they were last night."
"Shut up!" Zhou said coldly. "Haven't I seen enough of their 'behavior'?!"
"Mother!" Yue Ziyun could no longer hold back. She knelt down in front of Zhou and said, "Do you know? If it weren't for the Seventh Young Lady discovering it in time last night and rushing to find Yun Jie and Yun Yao, the Fourth Young Lady would have been abducted by human traffickers, and Yun Ke would also have been implicated and bedridden, missing the autumn examination."
"I heard about this today," Zhou said, her heart numb. She spoke slowly, "The Third Madam must have heard wrong, which is why Yun Ran passed on the wrong message. Didn't the Third House come to apologize with their family members? Second Madam, you should look at things more openly."
Yun Kexin nearly threw down her brush.
"If it really was a misunderstanding, why would I care? They found someone else," Yue Ziyun knocked her head once and said with deep resentment, "What I'm afraid of is that such things will continue to happen one after another. The Second House will never have peace, Mother!"
Zhou still did not want to say much. With her eyes downcast, she replied lightly, "How can you be sure that the Third Madam is targeting the Second House?"
"Mother, Xin Jie told me," Yue Ziyun glanced at Yun Kexin before turning to Zhou and said, "During dinner that night, both the Third Sister-in-law and the Substitute Concubine were right next to her, very close. The Substitute Concubine heard everything clearly; how could the Third Madam have misheard? What’s more suspicious is," Yue Clan paused slightly, her expression cold, "no matter how Xin Jie mentioned it, she never indicated that the Fifth Young Lady should pass on messages to the Second House. Why did the Third Sister-in-law take it upon herself to claim it was Xin Jie passing on messages? That’s why I was careless and let Yun Yan go. Mother, isn’t this intention obvious?"
Yun Kexin revealed a faint smile: it turned out that her mother's mind had always been as clear as a mirror. The Third House's performance would only increase her suspicion and vigilance rather than make her let down her guard.
Zhou smiled bitterly and looked at Yue Ziyun: "Even if what you say is true, what can be done?"
Yue Ziyun showed no signs of fear and calmly said, "I want you to step in and negotiate with the clan elders about opening the ancestral hall—"
"This action is too big; it's not possible," Zhou suddenly stood up and said decisively. "Moreover, dealing with a legitimate wife is different from dealing with a concubine. Without major faults, one cannot act rashly. This also requires the decision of the head of the Third House. Do you think Yang would risk offending his legitimate wife?"
"What about the Substitute Concubine?" Yue Clan asked unwillingly.
“Substitute Concubine?” Zhou repeated with a cold laugh, her eyes filled with deep resentment. She paced the room and said, “If it weren't for that old fool, she would have died a long time ago, probably eight hundred times over. If it weren't for the Dai family colluding with the tiger, our city wouldn't have fallen to this state.” Zhou choked back tears, her face streaked with old sorrow. “That old fool is now rising in the court, sailing smoothly. Who would have thought he climbed up on the shoulders of my son…”
Yun Kexin was taken aback: Climbing on Fourth Uncle's shoulders? What does that mean? Third Uncle holds such a high position in the court now, even greater than my father and adoptive father's ranks?
No wonder my father's Wei Qihou is practically nonexistent.
“Mother, I'm sorry, it's all my fault,” Yue Ziyun quickly stood up to support the trembling Zhou and said apologetically, “I only brought up your painful memories… I just thought, after all, you are the widow of a Duke. No matter what, Third Uncle would at least consider your face—”
“My face? Hmph,” Zhou turned around and looked at Yue Ziyun with an even colder smile. “Do you think he sees me as the widow of a Duke? Do I have any say in this Duke's residence?”
“Mother, so you are unwilling to step forward!” The heart of the Yue Clan sank to the bottom.
“I'd rather wait for him to die of old age; that would be best for everyone!” Zhou's face darkened sharply.
However, what worried Yun Kexin was that the more her grandmother acted this way, the more her mother seemed determined to be “more resilient in adversity.”
While she muttered things like “Well then, I will take my leave” under her breath, there was a glimmer of desperate determination in her eyes!
She felt a drumbeat in her heart: Is Mother really going to seek out Third Uncle herself? This absolutely cannot happen!
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