Chapter 80: Chapter 79: Scoundrel (JoJo and He Shi Bi+)

Miao’s grievances grew as she spoke, thinking of all the years she had devoted to her natal family, with tears almost falling from her reddened eyes.

Seeing her like this, Mrs. Zhen sighed quietly, patting Miao’s hand, and softly asked, "What about the others in your family? What do they say?"

"What can they say?" Miao snorted, recalling her family’s attitude and feeling even colder, "I don’t even know if that’s her family or mine. Some just watched, some tried to smooth things over, and a few sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law took advantage, turning it into a grand drama!"

Finishing her words, Mrs. Shen Changgen turned away to wipe her face, with her shoulders slightly trembling, while Quan Yin bit her lower lip hard, her almond-shaped eyes filled with tears.

Conflicts with one’s family are like arguments between spouses; whether others persuade or scold, it never leads to a satisfactory outcome for anyone.

Mrs. Zhen didn’t involve herself in such matters, simply inquiring about Miao’s situation.

Mrs. Shen Changgen, listening with attention, realized that Mrs. Zhen was wise and didn’t add to the chaos, allowing Miao to express her feelings, lest they fester and worsen her condition.

After speaking for a while, Miao felt somewhat relieved and awkwardly smiled, "I made a fool of myself, with a sister-in-law like that, sigh..."

"And Cai’er? Has she been brought back?" Seeing Miao nod, Mrs. Zhen said, "Smoking too much will always start to affect the throat and lungs eventually, not easy to remedy."

"It’s like that saying, retribution never fails!" Du Yunying suddenly interjected, "That day, my uncle’s wife had Mrs. Fang jump into the releasing pool in front of the Bodhisattva, it was karmic retribution waiting to happen."

It’s understood in the heart, but not proper to keep mentioning it aloud.

However, since Du Yunying is Miao’s daughter, Miao didn’t reprimand her, and neither did Mrs. Zhen see any need to intervene.

The two then discussed the matter of the startled horse.

"I found it strange, it’s true it was hard to travel with the heavy rain, but at the same time, with such heavy rain, there were few people on the street. It shouldn’t have startled the horse and hit someone..." Miao frowned, pondering carefully, "I went out yesterday and didn’t find the road hard to pass. The person who got hit is a scoundrel, not seriously injured, yet extorted quite a sum."

After talking for a while, they were informed that Du Huaiping had returned, and Mrs. Zhen felt it was inappropriate to stay any longer, so she took her leave.

Upon returning to Qinghui Garden, Du Yunluo persistently asked Mrs. Zhen a few questions.

Unable to resist her, and knowing Du Yunluo wouldn’t spread gossip, Mrs. Zhen recounted Miao’s words to her.

Du Yunru was stunned, and Du Yunluo was equally surprised.

But these were matters of others, once spoken of, they were set aside.

Miao lay in bed for seven or eight days.

Since taking charge of the household, she hadn’t rested for such a long time; it was fine for the first couple of days, but later on, some minor issues began to arise.

Moreover, with Du Yunru’s wedding day approaching, there was much to prepare and busy about, and Liao was watching closely, hoping Old Mrs. Xia would relent and let her take over the household management.

When Miao learned of this, she couldn’t stay lying down any longer and forced herself to get up to manage affairs.

After all, it was managing Du Yunru’s wedding, and Mrs. Zhen, seeing this, felt it inappropriate to be a hands-off manager, so she helped organize things every day.

Du Yunluo, after more than twenty days of recuperation, was finally allowed to walk around.

She slowly walked around the room twice until she adjusted, then led people to Lianfu Garden.

Upon hearing Du Yunluo had come, Old Mrs. Xia quickly asked Lanzhi to have her brought in. She hadn’t seen her in a while and lovingly hugged and kissed her.

In the end, being her cherished one, Old Mrs. Xia was more tender than cross, not having the heart to stay angry, and inquired carefully about what Du Yunluo had done and eaten during her recovery.

While they were talking, Nanny Xu came in to report, saying Ninth Madam Miao had arrived.

Ninth Madam Miao was the Mrs. Quanfu who had gone to the Xia Family to arrange the wedding date a few months ago.

Old Mrs. Xia had spoken with her a couple of times and had some fondness for this round-faced Mrs. Quanfu.

"What brings her here? What a rare guest, is Huaiping’s wife here too?" Old Mrs. Xia smiled and asked Nanny Xu.

Nanny Xu replied, "Second Madam came along."

As soon as she finished speaking, they heard an announcement at the door, and then Miao led a woman inside.

Du Yunluo hurriedly got up, greeting and politely paying her respects.

"You can move around now?" Miao didn’t expect to see Du Yunluo too; after paying respects to Old Mrs. Xia, she asked with concern.

Du Yunluo nodded with a smile, then quietly observed Ninth Madam Miao.

Ninth Madam Miao was wearing a light green and blue Hangzhou silk robe, with her hair neatly and brightly combed, adorned with three thin golden hairpins, and a gold collar button set with blue cloisonné and beads, looking spirited.

Ninth Madam Miao also observed Du Yunluo, realizing from Mrs. Zhen’s inquiry about her foot injury that this must be the Du Family’s Fifth Sister, whose injury was caused by her eldest sister-in-law. She stepped forward a few steps, took off the translucent jade bracelet from her wrist, held Du Yunluo’s hand, gently putting it on, and said with a full smile, "This is Yunluo, right? Such a lovely appearance. It’s your first time meeting your aunt, and though I didn’t prepare anything else, let this bracelet be a meeting gift."

This enthusiasm surprised Du Yunluo inwardly; a bracelet as a meeting gift wasn’t uncommon, so she smiled and thanked her, accepting it.

Old Mrs. Xia invited Ninth Madam Miao to sit, and asked Lanzhi to serve tea and snacks.

Ninth Madam Miao praised the tea and snacks before returning to the main topic, "I heard our madam was ill earlier, and I wanted to visit, but was delayed by family matters. Ah! Speaking of which, it’s all chaotic affairs at home, causing our madam much concern and frustration."

While Old Mrs. Xia was well aware of matters in the Miao Family, she differentiated between Miao and the Miao Family, not using family’s troubles to make things difficult for Miao, nor treating Ninth Madam Miao with disdain because she was from the Miao Family.

"Regarding the startled horse incident a few days ago, there are some things I thought I should mention to you." Ninth Madam Miao said, with a hint of embarrassment in her eyes.

Miao was equally taken aback, looking puzzled as she held her teacup, watching Ninth Madam Miao.

Ninth Madam Miao noticed Miao’s gaze but continued with feigned ignorance, telling Old Mrs. Xia, "My eldest sister-in-law is unwilling to suffer any loss. The person hit by the carriage was a scoundrel who extorted a lot of silver from her, which made her so angry that she had my eldest brother go find that scoundrel.

The scoundrel was found, drunk and oblivious, awakened with a bucket of cold water, and after some intimidation, he confessed. He said he was in collusion with someone who threw stones at the horse’s legs to startle it, and amidst the chaos, he pretended to have been hit by the carriage to extort silver, to be split between them."

"Such audacity!" Old Mrs. Xia slapped the Arhat Bed, "Wasn’t he afraid of being really trampled by the horse’s hooves?"

"He claimed that on a rainy day, the carriage traveled slowly, with few people on the street, and he already had an arm injury. If he skillfully lay by the wheel, no one would notice. The driver, panicked by the startled horse, wouldn’t know whether he hit someone or not."

Old Mrs. Xia listened with a furrowed brow.

The more Miao heard, the more troubled she felt, furrowing her brows as she asked, "Then why tell our madam about this?"

Ninth Madam Miao grew increasingly embarrassed, hesitating before saying, "The scoundrel claimed that the person colluding with him works for the Du Mansion."

Before she finished speaking, Miao’s head felt like it exploded, leaving her in a daze.