Chapter 2: The Second Son and the Younger Daughter

Chapter 2: The Second Son and the Younger Daughter

"Mother~"

A seven or eight-year-old girl with double buns and delicate, snowy skin flung herself into her embrace. Tang Shuyi was startled; after being single for over thirty years, suddenly becoming a mother was quite the adjustment.

"Mother~" The little girl sensed the stiffness in her mother's body and looked up with her sparkling, large eyes, instantly melting Tang Shuyi's heart.

Well, she was now the Lady of Yongning Marquis, a noblewoman with wealth and three children. This was the reality she had to accept.

Softening, Tang Shuyi embraced the little girl and asked with a smile, "Finished with school? What did you learn today?"

"Mother, can we replace Tutor Zhuang?" Xiao Yuzhu pouted, her face a picture of grievance, but her darting eyes betrayed her true feelings.

Tang Shuyi knew from her memories that this daughter was somewhat haughty. However, she didn’t outright reject the idea of replacing Tutor Zhuang, instead gently patting her back and asking, "Why do you want a new tutor?"

"His knowledge is poor, he..."

"Tell the truth, no lying," Tang Shuyi interrupted Xiao Yuzhu, her tone growing stern.

Tutor Zhuang had been recommended by her father, Duke Tang. He was a scholar with a widespread reputation for his knowledge. It was improbable that he was not learned.

Xiao Yuzhu pouted in response to her mother's gentle reprimand, choosing to remain silent. Tang Shuyi wasn’t one to indulge her, so she looked towards Liu Mama, who stood to the side. Liu Mama was Xiao Yuzhu’s wet nurse and had remained to become her housekeeper after weaning.

"My Lady, our young miss suffered a great injustice today," Liu Mama said with a pained expression, glancing at Xiao Yuzhu. "This afternoon, Tutor Zhuang praised the illegitimate daughter of the Second Master, and she flaunted it in front of our young miss. Our miss, unable to tolerate this, retorted and was scolded by the tutor. My Lady, you must stand up for our young miss!"

Liu Mama’s eyes darted about as she spoke, clearly not a trustworthy character. Nonetheless, Tang Shuyi did not expose her, simply saying, "I am aware of the matter, you may leave."

After she left, Tang Shuyi looked down and asked Xiao Yuzhu, "What homework did the tutor assign?"

Seeing that Tang Shuyi wasn't paying her any further attention, Liu Mama felt somewhat disgruntled but dared not show it, quietly retreating instead. Tang Shuyi caught this from the corner of her eye and then heard Xiao Yuzhu whisper, "Tutor assigned twenty large characters for me to write."

"That many!" Tang Shuyi exclaimed.

Xiao Yuzhu nodded with a pitiful expression. Tang Shuyi stood up, took her by the hand, and headed towards the study, "It just so happens I want to practice calligraphy too. Let’s do it together."

Xiao Yuzhu wanted to complain further, but she was already being pulled into the study by Tang Shuyi. The maid Cuicloud swiftly prepared the ink and paper, and Tang Shuyi sat down to write. Xiao Yuzhu had no choice but to follow suit.

After writing two characters, Tang Shuyi glanced at Cuicloud, who understood and summoned Cuizhu to wait outside before leaving the courtyard.

Tang Shuyi was very satisfied; her two main maids were perceptive and handled matters efficiently.

It took half an hour to write twenty characters, but finally, it was done. Tang Shuyi examined Xiao Yuzhu's writing: square and upright, each stroke neat and tidy. For an eight-year-old, this was quite impressive.

She smiled and praised the little girl a few times, and finally, a smile appeared on the little girl's face. Her delicate face, already pretty, shone even brighter with a smile. This child was a beauty in the making.

Just then, a loud male voice came from outside, "Mother, hurry up and let them serve the meal, I'm starving to death."

"Oh dear, Second Young Master, where have you been? How did your clothes get so tattered?"

Hearing Cuicloud's somewhat anxious voice, Tang Shuyi quickly walked out, with Xiao Yuzhu following behind, a schadenfreude expression on her face.

As Tang Shuyi approached the doorway, she saw a tall, robust teenager around fourteen or fifteen years old, standing in the yard with a leg dangling, exuding a ruffian air. His blue robe was as tattered as if a dog had gnawed it.

This was her second son, Xiao Yuming.

Tang Shuyi was mentally prepared for this infamous prodigal second son from the capital. His street ruffian-like appearance fitted his persona well. So Tang Shuyi spoke relatively calmly, "What happened to you?"

"Got into a fight with Qi Er," Xiao Yuming said nonchalantly, "I didn't lose, that kid Qi Er got his face scratched up."

Tang Shuyi silently took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to hit him, and waved her hand, "Go change your clothes quickly."

"Mother, I'm hungry, let's eat first," Xiao Yuming said, heading towards the small hall. Hungry enough to feel his front stick to his back, why bother changing clothes?

"Change your clothes before eating," Tang Shuyi said, leaving no room for argument. She couldn't indulge him, coming back from a fight and still expecting to be treated well.

She stood with an imposing aura, and Xiao Yuming paused for a moment before whispering, "Mother, what's wrong?"

"What could be wrong?" Tang Shuyi's heart skipped a beat. Had this boy noticed something?

"You've got quite the presence, almost comparable to my father," Xiao Yuming said with a grin.

Tang Shuyi swatted at him, "I am your father right now, go change your clothes, or you'll be punished."

"Alright, alright, I'm going," Xiao Yuming hurried into the room, grabbing a couple of pastries and stuffing them into his mouth as he ran off.

Watching her second son run off, then turning to look at her little daughter standing beside her, Tang Shuyi could imagine how lively and chaotic her life would be in the future.

She instructed the maids to set the meal, then said to Cuijing, "Go to the front yard and see if Yuchen is there. If he is, ask him to come for the meal."

Cuizhu promptly went out as instructed, and Tang Shuyi had the maids lead Xiao Yuzhu to wash her hands while she entered the inner room. Following her, Cuicloud fetched a towel, dampened it, wrung it out, and handed it to her, then began to report on the gossip she had gathered:

"I inquired around and learned that this afternoon, Master Zhuang asked Miss some questions in class. When she couldn’t answer, Master Zhuang turned to the Fourth Young Miss from the Second Master’s household. After she answered correctly, the Miss felt humiliated and, during the break, she mocked the Fourth Young Miss, implying that a concubine-born girl shouldn’t try to steal the limelight. She even pushed her, causing the Fourth Young Miss to fall to the ground.

Coincidentally, Master Zhuang witnessed this and reprimanded the Miss, even punishing her to write large characters. I suspect that the Fourth Young Miss is not as simple as she seems; how could it be such a coincidence that she fell just as Master Zhuang was watching?"

Cuicloud, having been around the mansion's backyards, was well-versed in these little schemes.

Tang Shuyi dried her hands with the towel. In ancient times, there was a huge disparity between legitimate and illegitimate children. It was normal for Xiao Yuzhu, as the sole legitimate daughter of a marquis, to feel superior to concubine-born girls.

However, her hostility towards someone better than her, and even resorting to physical aggression, was definitely overbearing. Such behavior couldn’t be condoned.

As for that Fourth Young Miss, whether it was intentional or not, what she needed to teach Xiao Yuzhu was how to read people and know what to do with different individuals.

After drying her hands and passing the towel back to Cuicloud, Tang Shuyi said, “Regardless of how simple that fourth girl is, Yuzhu is in the wrong. She needs to change this temperament. All of you should be more vigilant in the future.”

Her tone was serious, and Cuicloud knew she meant business, promptly acknowledging the order.

Standing up, Tang Shuyi instructed, “Keep a close eye on the people in Yuzhu’s courtyard, especially Nurse Liu.”

Cuicloud respectfully assented, then followed Tang Shuyi into the dining hall. The meal had been served; Xiao Yuzhu and Xiao Yuming sat on the chairs, exuding an air of mutual antagonism. Tang Shuyi observed everything silently and took her seat at the head of the table. Seeing this, the two unruly children came over to sit beside her.

At this moment, Cuizhu came in and reported, “The eldest young master has not returned to the mansion yet.”

“Where did he go?” Tang Shuyi asked as she picked up her chopsticks. This eldest son was the one who needed strict discipline; otherwise, she couldn’t maintain her status as a noblewoman.

Xiao Yuming, who had been hungry for a while, started eating heartily at the sight of her picking up her chopsticks. Xiao Yuzhu whispered from the side, calling him a glutton, to which Xiao Yuming shot her a fierce glare.

Ignoring the children's squabble, Tang Shuyi listened as Cuizhu hesitantly replied, “The servants in the eldest young master’s courtyard said… said they don’t know.”

“They don’t know?” Tang Shuyi snorted, “He must have gone to the Plum Blossom Lane, and they dare not speak of it.”

Xiao Yuchen hid his childhood sweetheart in Plum Blossom Lane. The original body knew and despised her, but due to the concern for her son, she refrained from acting out.

But Tang Shuyi was not her predecessor. The stepson was not her own flesh and blood, so she wouldn't concern herself with his feelings. She snorted, “Go tell Changming, give him half an hour to bring his master back, or don’t bother returning at all.”

As enemies were about to strike, Xiao Yuchen was still lost in romantic trifles!

Seeing Tang Shuyi’s genuine anger, Cuizhu hurriedly ran to the front courtyard to find Changming, who was one of Xiao Yuchen’s close attendants and naturally knew his whereabouts.