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墨書 Inktalez
"Mother," Yun Kexin called out, but her eyes did not look at Fu Lianyin. With a tone of impatience, she said, "Fourth Uncle just took me out for a meal. Why are you making such a fuss? What will Uncle and Aunt think?"
"You can still think about what Uncle and Aunt will think? Hmph," Fu Lianyin snorted, standing up and questioning without mercy, "This time, the birthday celebration for Three Old Lords has turned into such a mess. The entire Duke's Residence is in chaos. You didn't stay to clean up the 'aftermath,' and instead, you have the leisure to go out and feast with your Fourth Uncle. Does that make sense?" She crossed her arms and turned away, sneering, "When you're indulging in food and fun, how come you don't consider what Mother and Father might think? How come you didn't think about how our friends and family would view this?"
"Hmph, it seems my daughter really committed a 'grave sin' by having this meal," Yun Kexin was infuriated despite her usually good temper, but she suppressed her anger and replied coldly, "Since the meal has already been eaten, I can't spit it out. You can punish me however you like, Mother."
"You, you," Fu Lianyin never expected Yun Kexin to retort back. Her face turned pale with anger as she turned around, staring blankly at Yun Kexin for a while. Suddenly narrowing her eyes, she sneered, "Master, look at this! Look at this! Seventh Young Lady has learned to talk back to me!"
Yun Kexin stared coldly: So what if I talk back? Fu Lianyin, I wish I could chop you down with one strike!
"Kexin, apologize to Mother!" Yun Yang said lazily but with a hint of seriousness.
"Father, Mother. I don't understand what I did wrong," Yun Kexin replied without backing down. "I am not talking back; I'm just stating the facts. If I am wrong for this, then what about your words regarding Fourth Uncle? Doesn't that put Uncle and Aunt in an even more awkward position?"
"Rebellious! Rebellious!" Fu Lianyin paced the room with a trembling voice, her well-maintained fingers stained with rouge pointing at Yun Kexin. She hissed through gritted teeth, "Not only has the Fifth Young Lady opened my eyes today, but you too, Seventh Young Lady. Have you gone mad or become foolish just from one meal?"
"Lianyin, why are you getting so worked up? Why bother arguing with a child?" Wang Ling leisurely fanned herself with a pipa fan, her words sharp and biting. "Indeed, the Seventh Young Lady is naturally pampered; she can't miss a single meal. Meanwhile, we elders should just starve or freeze."
Yun Kexin remained silent, merely glaring back with raised eyebrows. In her heart, she thought it wouldn't be bad to let Fu Lianyin and her family embarrass themselves in front of the Third House! Originally wanting to speak up for Fu Lianyin, Yun Yang closed his lips upon hearing Wang Ling. His expression clearly showed his displeasure!
"Alright now, sister, hold your tongue," Fu Yueze couldn't bear to watch his sister lose her temper in front of her husband—he understood her temperament before marriage. He tugged at Fu Lianyin's sleeve and said, "Seventh Young Lady is still a child. Naturally, she can't consider as much as we elders do. Besides, it's just that the four elders took her out for a bite to eat. Don't exaggerate it as 'feasting,'” he frowned and turned to Wang Ling, saying, “Madam, you should also say less.”
Fu Lianyin, still staring at Yun Kexin, took deep breaths; her phoenix eyes were ablaze with anger as her lips pressed white: Not hearing an “apology” from Yun Kexin, she felt somewhat unwilling. However, her brother was right; especially in front of the people of the Third House, particularly in front of Yun Yang, maintaining the image of a "virtuous wife and good mother" was still necessary; otherwise, all the hard work put into building that image would be ruined.
It wasn't worth it for this six-year-old girl; after all, as long as the matter of being adopted wasn't exposed, the Seventh Young Lady would always be considered a child of the Third House. She would have time to "educate" her little sister! Thinking this way calmed down some of Fu Lianyin's anger. Thus, before Yun Yang could change his mind, she quickly changed her expression from furious to “friendly”:
"Kexin, perhaps my tone was a bit harsh earlier; my words may not have sounded pleasant," she slowly walked up to Yun Kexin, placing one hand on her shoulder and another on her arm. "But you must understand your mother's feelings. After such an incident tonight, it's fine if you don't help as the eldest daughter of the Third House, but how can you leave without saying anything? You should at least inform us! Have you forgotten—" Just as she intended to cite an example involving Yun Yan, she suddenly realized something and abruptly stopped mid-sentence. She only added the latter half: "If something were to happen to you, how would I explain it to your father?" With that said, she pretended to take out a handkerchief and lowered her head to wipe away nonexistent tears from the corners of her eyes.
Since Fu Lianyin has already acted in a "humble" manner seeking "understanding," how could Yun Kexin not respond? She spoke softly with guilt, "Mother, it was my words that were a bit harsh just now. I just feel that no matter how you blame me, it's fine, but Fourth Uncle is not wrong; he has good intentions."
"It was my impatience," Fu Lianyin raised her head and smiled, "I will apologize to Fourth Uncle right away."
"Sister-in-law, please don't," Yun Cheng was a straightforward person and had no idea of Fu Lianyin's hidden motives. He thought she really intended to apologize and hurriedly stopped her, "It's just a trivial matter, not worth mentioning. We're all family; there's no need for that."
"Alright, let's drop it," Yun Yang said a bit impatiently to Fu Lianyin, "Madam, can you take care of one thing?" Then he turned to Yun Cheng and said, "Fourth Brother, you should go check on Mother. After what happened tonight, I'm afraid she might be in a bad mood."
"Yes, Third Brother," Yun Cheng replied, "I will go lie down with Mother right away."
Yun Cheng left.
Afterward, Yun Yang asked Fu Lianyin to instruct the servants to prepare some late-night snacks in the kitchen and set up beds for them to stay overnight, planning to depart the next day. This matter came to a temporary conclusion. Yun Kexin and Yun Ran subsequently withdrew, washed up, and went back to their rooms to sleep—this night, she slept more soundly: among the four elders of the Yun family, Zhou's situation remained unclear; Second Master Yun Jinyu was like a fence-sitter who would lean whichever way the wind blew. He always turned a blind eye to the struggles among the families. Second Matriarch Qian Hanqiu had relied on Yun Jinxiu to confront the Second House. Now that Yun Jinxiu had been "cursed" at his sixtieth birthday celebration, she feared he would never recover from it. Naturally, Qian Hanqiu would also keep quiet and restrain her arrogance. The Duke's residence might enjoy a brief period of peace, with less threat and oppression from the Second House.
However, it was rare for anyone like Yun Kexin to sleep soundly after such an incident occurred that night; for instance, Grandmother Zhou had already gotten out of bed for the third time, anxiously waiting in the courtyard of Haitang Pavilion for Yun Cheng's arrival.
"Mother, it's so late; why haven't you rested yet?" Seeing the elder trembling in the autumn wind while waiting, Yun Cheng felt very sorry and quickly went forward to support Zhou into the study. "I'm sorry; I should have come to see you first. I just feared what others might say, so I avoided it for a while."
Yun Cheng helped the elder sit down beside a purple sandalwood chair carved with peonies and placed a cushion behind her back. Finally, he poured her a cup of hot water. His filial piety and thoughtfulness were evident; no wonder Zhou cherished this son so much. But today, Zhou seemed not in the mood to accept her son's kindness; she looked at Yun Taicheng with complex feelings.
"Cheng'er, tell me... did you do this?" Zhou gazed at him for a long time before finally hesitantly whispering those words.
"Why does Mother think it was me?" Although Yun Cheng was somewhat taken aback, he calmly replied with a smile to Zhou, "I was still worried it might be you; now I can rest easy."
"If I wanted to kill him, I would have done it long ago; why let him be so arrogant until now?" Zhou suppressed her voice as much as possible. "But no matter how much I resent him or want to tear him apart, I must endure it because I don't want to cause trouble. If I want to pursue academic success or anything else in the future, it would leave a stain."
Yun Cheng choked up with emotion as he spoke: "Son thanks Mother for her protective heart." After pausing for a moment, he continued, "The sins he committed back then are irreparable; the consequences are something I am bearing now. What would killing Third Uncle change? So many years have passed; I'm still hated."
Zhou was momentarily stunned, then suddenly widened his eyes, took a deep breath, and stammered, "Cheng'er, do you... know who did this?"
Cloud City smiled bitterly and said softly, "If I’m not mistaken, it’s her..."
Zhou was so shocked that he could hardly describe it, speechless for a moment. Then, as if he understood something, he cautiously said, "This... this is impossible. She is the current... the current..."
"Mother," just as Zhou was about to blurt it out, Cloud City covered his mouth with his hand and said, "Some things are better left unsaid; we know them in our hearts. There's no need to make them explicit and bring trouble upon ourselves. Besides, this is just my speculation; we cannot draw conclusions yet. You don’t need to worry."
"I only feel heartache seeing you live like this," Zhou sniffed and sighed, "Look at the households in the residence; which one isn’t filled with happy wives and children? You alone are all by yourself."
"Mother, this is my fate and also what I owe her," Cloud City seemed to be lost in past memories, murmuring to himself, "Now I can only hope that her hatred towards me lessens and her hatred towards Duke's Residence also diminishes..." He didn’t want to say more, his gaze drifting towards the dark and desolate world outside, remaining silent for a long time.
"It can only be this way," Zhou wiped away a tear and vented angrily, "That old fool won’t die; he still has to make life difficult for everyone in the residence, dragging everyone down with him."
"Don’t worry; he won’t last long in court or even in Duke's Residence." Cloud City suddenly turned back with a cold smile and said, "What goes around comes around; this is his retribution. It’s coming!" (To be continued)
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