Chapter : 09
Mother! What on earth is going on!
In the midst of the chaos, Xie Zhaoshen seized the perfect moment, pulling Zhaixing to the outskirts, leaving the others to their commotion.
Although Lady Meng had people protecting her, she was still stepped on several times by servant women in the scuffle. Her meticulously arranged hairdo came loose, and her gold hairpins and jade ornaments fell offâshe was quite disheveled.
In the confusion, Xie Zhaoshen heard Lady Meng’s gritted-teeth voice: “Rebels! Every single one of you is rebelling!”
Taking advantage of their inability to pay attention to him, Xie Zhaoshen pulled Zhaixing and ran. They returned to his own courtyard, closed the door behind them, and laughed until they were breathless.
“Did you see that? That old harridan’s face was twisted with rage! And that Meng Zhuoâfor all his pretensions of being a scholar, he didn’t even spare an old woman. Absolutely hilarious!”
Zhaixing laughed uncontrollably as well. This time, they had truly vented a great deal of pent-up frustration.
But as her laughter subsided, Zhaixing grew worried again: “Miss, how could you just leave like that?”
Xie Zhaoshen said matter-of-factly, “If I didn’t leave, what was I supposed to doâstay there?”
Zhaixing was momentarily at a loss for words and couldn’t find a rebuttal. Still, she truly couldn’t figure out what had just happened, so she asked.
Xie Zhaoshen looked utterly innocent, spreading his hands: “How would I know what happened? I didn’t do anything!”
Zhaixing didn’t believe him: “If you didn’t do anything, how did Nurse Liu and the young master end up like that?”
Xie Zhaoshen said matter-of-factly: “You can’t ask me about that.”
He was the most innocent person in this entire affair.
With that, Xie Zhaoshen stretched lazily and went back inside.
He wasn’t lying to Zhaixingâhe truly hadn’t done much.
He was simply naturally suspicious by nature, so he hadn’t drunk that cup of tea and had secretly poured it into his sleeve instead.
Later, when Meng Zhuo suddenly went mad, he had no choice but to knock him unconscious. As for Nurse Liu, that was just a matter of convenience.
As for whatever other schemes were at play beneath the surface, he genuinely hadn’t figured them out.
Watching her young mistress’s nonchalant back as she walked away, Zhaixing sighed to herselfâher mistress had shoved her mother-in-law and run off. How thrilling.
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Nurse Liu knelt on the ground, sobbing. The unnatural flush on her face had faded, and she was now wailing with tears and snot running down her face: “The young madam jumped out of the window…”
Lady Meng pressed her forehead: “Absurd! That window is so highâhow could Chu Yun possibly have jumped out of it?”
Nurse Liu choked on her words: “It’s true! This old servant was terrified when she saw her too, and hurried to open the door. But who knew she would attack this old servant from behind? This old servant was caught off guard and collided with a flowerpot, then fainted.”
Lady Meng was getting a headache: “Even now, you still won’t tell the truth!”
Nurse Liu wailed: “This old servant is speaking nothing but the truth!”
Lady Meng was so angry she felt dizzy and saw stars: “Fine! Let’s set aside how she got out for now. How did that cup of drugged tea end up being drunk by Zhuo’er, while Chu Yun came out completely unscathed?”
Nurse Liu said: “This old servant doesn’t know either.”
It was also her own bungling that backfired. Originally, one packet of the aphrodisiac would have been enough, but she harbored a grudge against Xie Zhaoshen for making things difficult for her at Listening Snow Pavilion, so she used two full packets.
As a result, the tea was drunk by Meng Zhuo instead.
By the time she groggily woke up, Meng Zhuo was already as delirious as a wild beast, tearing at her clothes.
If the lady hadn’t arrived in time, she would have lost her chastity at her age.
Lady Meng slammed the table: “Idiot! You utter idiot! You must have been careless somewhere and Chu Yun discovered it!”
Nurse Liu kowtowed repeatedly: “This old servant was foolish! This old servant ruined the lady’s plan! This old servant deserves to die!”
Lady Meng pressed her forehead: “I can no longer keep you by my side.”
So many servant women and underlings had witnessed the scene of Meng Zhuo and Nurse Liu in disarray, so naturally, gossip was spreading.
Nurse Liu’s body stiffened, her face filled with grief: “My lady, this old servant can’t bear to leave you.”
Being sent off to the manor estate, spending all day looking at fields and farmlandâhow could that compare to the comfort of staying by Lady Meng’s side?
Lady Meng looked at her with disappointment: “You have only yourself to blame! You’ve dragged Zhuo’er’s reputation through the mud. Sparing your life is already an act of mercy.”
Nurse Liu regretted it bitterly. She had come up with the scheme, she had administered the drug, and in the end, it all backfired on her.
Seeing the lady’s attitude, there was no possibility of turning things around. But she couldn’t be the only one to suffer.
Nurse Liu kowtowed a few more times to Lady Meng: “This old servant knows she has erred and dares not beg for the lady’s forgiveness. I only wish the lady all the best in the future. However, the young madam has seen through our scheme and will surely badmouth us to General Xie. She simply cannot be kept any longer!”
After all, Nurse Liu had been by her side for decades. Sending her away naturally weighed on Lady Meng’s heart, but those last words truly struck a chord with her.
“I originally intended to spare her life,” Lady Meng said softly.
She had devised this scheme merely to make Chu Yun “willingly” give herself to Zhuo’er, so that she would no longer have any standing to sow discord in front of Xie Zhaoshen.
After all, no matter how devoted a man might be, he would never tolerate his beloved woman giving herself to another.
But after this incident, she had completely fallen out with Chu Yun, unable to maintain even a veneer of civility.
Lady Meng closed her eyes and sighed deeply: “She cannot be kept. Sister, don’t blame meâit’s because she, as a woman, simply doesn’t know how to rein in her sharp edges and be chaste, virtuous, and respectful.”
Lady Meng summoned Nurse Li: “Chu Yun has shown disrespect to her mother-in-law. From today onward, she is not to take a single step out of Listening Snow Pavilion.”
Nurse Li knew that the lady was furious: “Rest assured, this time this old servant will make her understand what a daughter-in-law’s duty truly means.”
Lady Meng gestured for Nurse Li to come closer and whispered instructions in her ear.
After hearing them, Nurse Li cast a rather disdainful glance at Nurse Liu, as if finding her useless, then said solemnly to Lady Meng: “Rest assured, this old servant will get it done properly.”
With her concerns settled, Nurse Liu left for the manor estate in tears.
As soon as Nurse Liu was gone, Lady Meng summoned the household physician for a report: “How is Zhuo’er doing?”
The physician said: “With Concubine Liu attending to him, the young master’s feverish heat has subsided, but…”
Lady Meng said anxiously: “But what?”
The physician said: “But the drug was truly potent. After this episode, the young master will inevitably suffer some depletion of his kidney essence.”
Upon hearing this, Lady Meng cursed Nurse Liu all over again in her heart.
Unable to stop worrying about her son, Lady Meng rose and went to find Meng Zhuo.
As soon as the door opened, the smell of debauchery wafted out, making Lady Meng frown.
Liu Sisi hurriedly gathered her clothes together in a panic. When she got off the bed, her legs gave way and she collapsed to her knees, not daring to utter a single word like a quail.
Meng Zhuo had finally calmed down, but now his face was pale, dark circles under his eyes, and his eyes blazed with fury: “I’m going to kill that shameless old hag!”
In all his life, he had never been so humiliated!
Nurse Liu was older than his own mother, yet under the influence of that drug, he had nearly committed acts of impropriety against her in front of everyone!
If this got out, how could he ever show his face again!
Lady Meng said: “I’ve already sent her off to the manor estate.”
Meng Zhuo was so angry he pounded the bed, demanding with red-rimmed eyes: “Mother! What on earth is going on!”
