Chapter 51: A Slap
Madam Chun reclined on the Arhat Couch, a crab-apple colored brocade blanket with cloud patterns covering her knees. As the spring temperature rose, she still felt a chill during the day and rarely went out.
Several maids and old women, to entertain her, took turns telling interesting stories, not daring to mention any of the gossip circulating in the marketplace about Xue Yueying and Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion.
“You say, if the Sixth Miss were to marry in, how comfortable I would be right now…”
Madam Chun finished speaking with a smile, and unexpectedly saw her son standing at the doorway, causing her to frown.
“Why didn’t you announce yourself when you arrived?”
Gu Jie then came back to his senses, stepped forward to bow and pay his respects, and then said to the servants in the room:
“You all go out. I have something to say to Mother.”
Madam Chun knew he was here for Xue Yueying, so she snorted and waved her hand. After the maids and old women had all withdrawn, she pulled the blanket closer and asked indifferently:
“Are you here to blame your mother for your new bride?”
Gu Jie’s cheeks burned. Yesterday, Ying’er had sprayed his parents in the face, and his father had almost lost his temper, but it was his mother who calmed him down. Not only did she not blame her, but she also comforted Ying’er in front of everyone. Although he knew his mother was doing it for the grandchild in her womb, for a mother-in-law to act this way was already very generous.
Gu Jie lowered his head: “Your son wouldn’t dare. Your son is just here to check on Mother’s health. Is she feeling better?”
“I won’t die,” Madam Chun snorted impatiently. Seeing his expression, she frowned slightly.
“You’ve been looking troubled since you returned. Did something happen?”
Gu Jie hesitated, his lips pressed tightly together, his heart tangled like a knot.
No one in the world loved their son more than a mother.
But Mother was ill; how could she be allowed to know about the affairs of the Treasury Department…
Gu Jie’s heart was in turmoil. He wanted to confess honestly to his mother, yet he held onto a sliver of hope.
Perhaps the Treasury official was just doing a perfunctory check. After all, it was like this every year; a bit of deception from top to bottom would suffice. He had acted discreetly; where would they even begin to investigate so many old accounts?
Gu Jie gritted his teeth inwardly and dared not mention another word. He only said: “Ying’er has been suffering from morning sickness lately. You don’t need to worry about her food, Mother, lest it upset her mood and affect the child in her belly…”
Upon hearing this, Madam Chun couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh.
“I knew it. You didn’t come to visit me because I was sick. Do you also think that I deliberately treated your new bride harshly? In your heart, is your mother such an unreasonable person?”
After speaking, she closed her eyes and waved her hand.
“You foolish creature, leave. I’m tired.”
Gu Jie’s heart tightened. “Mother…”
Usually, when he came, his mother would be beaming, and even if she wasn’t feeling well, she would force a smile for him.
Now, she didn’t even want to say another word?
–
Xue Yueying had not left Marquis Jingyuan’s Mansion since her wedding day and was not fully aware of the rumors outside.
Following Qiao’er’s suggestion, she prepared a generous gift and went to find Ping Le.
Today was not a gathering day for the Women’s Society, and only those handling administrative matters were present. The Princess was not there, so after some thought, she decided to go directly to Princess Ping Le’s mansion.
Ping Le was the only Princess in this dynasty with a rank equivalent to a Prince.
She had her own establishment and officials, no different from a Prince. The mansion was vast, with a towering vermilion gate and intricately carved beast-head door knockers that looked lifelike, exuding a royal bearing at first glance.
However, after her marriage, Ping Le and the Imperial Son-in-law were very affectionate, and their life together was harmonious. They usually met to discuss matters at the Women’s Society and did not like people from the society coming to their door.
Therefore, Xue Yueying was very cautious and specifically gave the gatekeeper a generous reward.
“Young man, when you announce my arrival, please put in a good word for me.”
This was how she usually did things; money paved the way, and everything was easier to discuss.
Unexpectedly, today the gatekeeper seemed to find the money too hot to handle. He retracted his hand, and the money bag fell to the ground.
“Fourth Miss Xue, please return. The Princess will not see you right now.”
Xue Yueying was slightly taken aback and smiled very gently.
“This… I have an urgent matter to see the Princess about. I beg for your accommodation.”
Seeing that she still didn’t understand, the gatekeeper couldn’t help but want to roll his eyes.
“Even if you had no urgent matter, the Princess might not agree to see you, let alone with one. You don’t need me to tell you about Fourth Miss Xue’s situation, do you? Are you afraid you haven’t caused enough trouble for the Princess?”
He glanced around and whispered, “The rumors in Shangjing have spread almost everywhere, and they all point to the Princess. This morning, the Princess was summoned to the palace. She’ll likely be lectured by His Majesty and Imperial Consort again. If you seek out Her Highness at this time, aren’t you asking for a scolding?”
Xue Yueying shivered, suddenly feeling that things were not good.
She held the gifts she couldn’t deliver, thanked him, and stepped down from the stairs. Just as she was about to get into her sedan chair to leave, she saw a procession approaching from a distance.
If that wasn’t Princess Ping Le’s retinue, what else could it be?
Xue Yueying felt as if she had been granted amnesty. Tears instantly welled up in her eyes, and she almost knelt down.
“Princess, save me…”
Ping Le, seated in her imperial sedan chair, saw her unlucky appearance and was filled with anger.
At the entrance of the Princess’s mansion, countless eyes were watching. At this moment, if she gave Xue Yueying even one more smile, someone would dare to say they were colluding…
This fool!
Ping Le raised her chin and gestured to the nanny beside her.
“Someone, go and beat this ignorant fool out!”
–
Xue Sui had not gone out for several days.
She spent her days in Li Xiang Courtyard, accompanying Xue Ji for tea and meals, living a very leisurely life.
In the blink of an eye, the day for Xue Yueying’s return visit arrived.
The gossip heard from outside was, after all, not as interesting as hearing it in person.
In the early morning, upon hearing that Gu Jie and Xue Yueying’s carriage had arrived at the mansion gate, Xue Sui became interested. She specially changed into a festive outfit, asked Xue Ji and the wet nurse to take good care of Ming Ge’er, and took Xiao Zhao and Ru Yi to the main hall.
Unexpectedly, as she passed by the garden, she first encountered Gu Jie.
He walked side-by-side with Xue Lan, followed by several attendants. They seemed to be discussing something, as both had smiles on their faces, which vanished simultaneously the moment they saw Xue Sui.
Xue Lan, the legitimate son of the eldest branch, was always arrogant. With the previous incident still weighing on his mind, he looked down his nose at Xue Sui and let out a cold laugh.
“Gu Wulang is already married, why are you still eagerly coming around?”
Xue Sui glanced at him and asked Ru Yi, who was beside her.
“Is it possible that this Xue Mansion’s garden was built for Gu Si Guye? Only Gu Si Guye is allowed to pass through, and we are not?”
Ru Yi, with her sharp tongue, chuckled upon hearing this, “Perhaps someone is foolish.”
“How dare you!” Xue Lan was surprised that such a small maid dared to speak mockingly to him. He pointed at her and said, “You, slap yourself twenty times.”
Xue Sui: “No.”
Xue Lan angrily asked, “What do you mean?”
Xue Sui: “I disagree.”
After speaking, she glanced at Xiao Zhao and Ru Yi, “Let’s go.”
Xue Lan was furious. He rushed forward to slap Ru Yi, but Xue Sui grabbed his wrist without a word and slapped him back.
With a resounding slap, the sound shook heaven and earth.
Not only Xue Lan was stunned, but Ru Yi was also taken aback.
The young lady always said she wanted to “persuade with virtue,” yet she had resorted to “persuading with martial virtue” for her. She was so touched that her eyes were about to water…
Xue Lan was so angry that smoke billowed from his seven orifices.
“Xue Liu, you dare to hit me? You lowly servant dare to hit me?”
Xue Lan always acted with impunity in the mansion; everyone showed him deference. He couldn’t fathom, even if his head were broken, how the usually meek Xue Liu dared to slap his face?
“Guards, tie this girl to the Ancestral Hall. As her elder brother, I will discipline her properly today.”
Xue Sui sneered, “Try it?”
Xiao Zhao and Ru Yi stood on either side, blocking Xue Sui.
“Who dares to touch our young lady?”
Xue Lan let out a cold laugh. Seeing the two maids so assertive, he became even more enraged, clenched his fists, and was about to attack them. However, his arm was caught by Gu Jie, who had just arrived.
“Brother-in-law, forget it, forget it. A gentleman uses his words, not his fists. Why bother arguing with a woman?”
He said this while advising, but he glanced at Xue Sui.
“Xue Liu, stop causing trouble. Haven’t there been enough problems in this mansion since you returned?”
Xue Sui looked at his righteous demeanor and couldn’t suppress a laugh that burst from her throat.
“Where does Gu Si Guye get the nerve?”
Gu Jie frowned and sighed.
“It is my fault for failing you, and it has nothing to do with Ying’er. Brother-in-law is also innocent. Why must you make things difficult for others everywhere? Forgive where you can. Ying’er and I are already married, can our grievances end here?”
Xiao Zhao listened, her eyes wide with disbelief.
Ru Yi inwardly exclaimed, “Good heavens,” greatly shocked.
“The young lady is right. As long as one does many bad things, their face will become thick enough. Has Fourth Guye’s brain been sealed with candle wax from his wedding night? Your Fourth Madam was pregnant before marriage and caused a scene at the wedding hall. You are the one who should be laughed at. The child in Fourth Madam’s belly is yours, not our young lady’s. Who is harming whom? You have a face as big as a bowl, but can’t see yourself in a mirror?”
Ru Yi had learned some curses from the old women in the mansion.
At this point, anyone else would have understood.
However, Gu Jie had always felt superior to Xue Liu since childhood.
Xue Liu had once risked her life for him, and he believed she was fond of him. This had become his deeply ingrained perception, which he couldn’t change easily.
He was convinced that Xue Liu’s resentment was solely because he refused to marry her.
“Xue Liu, that’s enough. Can we stop here? If you want to hate someone, hate me. Don’t lay hands on Ying’er anymore. You should know that no matter what you do, Gu Jie will never have any connection with you again…”
Xue Sui: “…”
Seeing Gu Jie about to leave with Xue Lan, she finally spoke.
“Gu Si Guye, please wait.”
Gu Jie turned to look at her meticulously made-up face, her snow-white skin and jade-like bones, her alluring expression. His heart stirred slightly.
If Xue Liu hadn’t been disdained by Princess Ping Le, it would have been good to take her back as a concubine to serve his elderly mother. His mother would be happier seeing her, and her illness might improve.
It was a pity that she was destined to be disliked by everyone, and getting involved with her would only bring trouble…
Gu Jie sighed.
“You don’t need to waste any more effort. Anything you say to me is useless…”
Xue Sui smiled faintly and asked, “Do you know what I’m going to do?”
Gu Jie said, “If you want to scold me, then scold me. There’s no need to put on such a wronged expression…”
Xue Sui let out a cold laugh, walked up to him, and raised her hand to slap him.
“This slap is to wake Gu Si Guye up. Go back and look in the mirror, and see what makes you worthy of me?”
Gu Jie jerked his head to the side, covering his face. “You actually hit me?”
Not only did she hit Xue Lan, but she hit him too?
“Xue Liu, have you gone mad?”
Seeing this, Xue Lan was extremely enraged and rushed forward to attack.
“Xue Liu, you madwoman, I will personally teach you a lesson today…”
Xue Sui grabbed his hand without a word and slapped him again, leaving Xue Lan dizzy. He was instantly filled with extreme anger, completely forgetting gentlemanly conduct, and lunged at her like a madman.
“You little vixen, I’ll tear you apart…”
The two maids rushed forward to protect their mistress, while Xue Lan’s attendants also looked eager to join in.
The scene devolved into a chaotic mess, very unsightly.
At this moment, a heavy cough suddenly rang out.
Then, they heard the servants greeting:
“Greetings, Your Highness, Princess Consort!”
Xue Sui glanced sideways and saw Li Huan and Xue Yuenchen.
Li Huan wore a brocade robe, his posture tall and imposing, his expression stern. Xue Yuenchen stood beside him, her makeup exquisite, her slightly furrowed brow revealing a hint of annoyance.
Everyone in the garden fell silent.
After a moment of stillness, Xue Yuenchen forced a smile.
“Brother Lan, Sixth Sister, what is going on?”
Seeing his elder sister and brother-in-law, Xue Lan’s already red face flushed even deeper with rage.
He pointed at Xue Sui: “This lowly servant, she dared to hit me and attack Brother Gu…”
Xue Yuenchen frowned displeasedly and glared at him.
Xue Liu was a Ru Ren of Prince Duan’s Mansion, personally approved by Consort Xiao. She should not be called a “lowly servant” one after another.
She and Li Huan had seen the slap just now. Although they didn’t know the reason, Xue Liu had struck so fiercely that she assumed her second brother’s mouth had been unclean.
She was very troubled.
She hadn’t wanted Li Huan to see such a scene, but he had.
Every time Li Huan appeared, Xue Liu was hitting someone.
How could this give him a good impression, and allow her to serve him soon?
Xue Yuenchen’s thoughts raced. She said gently to Li Huan, “It’s just a small disagreement between siblings. I’ll go say a few words. Your Highness, please go inside and sit for a while. I’ll be right there.”
Li Huan narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping over Xue Sui.
“It’s fine. I’ll see how the Princess Consort handles it.”
Xiao Zhao: Persuade with virtue, our young lady has finally persuaded with martial virtue.
Xue Sui: …Not worth the effort, my hands did it themselves.
PS: Er Jin, along with Miss Xue Liu and 《 Wen Jiuqing》, wishes all the sisters reading this novel a peaceful and healthy new year, smooth progress, abundant wealth, and constant smiles~~
