Chapter 261: Madness and Crazy Behavior

Chapter 261: Madness and Crazy Behavior

"Tap—"

Old Madam Qu's foot slipped off the footrest and landed on the red-hot bronze incense burner.

Second Aunt Qu cried out and quickly bent down to lift Old Madam Qu's foot to her chest to examine it.

The old lady's foot was a pitiful sight—withered and parched, with a thin, loose layer of white skin hanging over the flesh. The center of the sole was immediately scorched, forming a string of blisters.

Second Aunt Qu hurriedly called out, "Red Collar! Fetch some burn ointment quickly—"

Before she could finish, Old Madam Qu grabbed her wrist tightly.

Second Aunt Qu looked up to see Old Madam Qu's deeply sunken eyes—bright, large, and frighteningly focused.

"What did you say? Erlang? Jianfang? Likes He Xianjin?"

Second Aunt Qu's lips trembled as she reflexively tried to pull her wrist back, but it felt as if caught in an iron clamp. She couldn't move it even a little.

"I, I was just speculating..." Second Aunt Qu's heart raced in fear that Old Madam Qu might immediately rush to Yiyuan and harm He Xianjin. She hurriedly downplayed He Xianjin's presence. "I haven't seen anything untoward between them! Jin Jie'er keeps Yiyuan well-disciplined. After dark, the doors and windows are tightly shut, and even the maids don't dare to make loud jokes..."

"Then tell me, if you haven't seen anything untoward, how do you know Erlang has feelings for He Xianjin?" Old Madam Qu wasn't interested in excuses and held Second Aunt Qu's wrists tightly. "Just tell me, what did you see! What did you hear! Tell me quickly!"

Old Madam Qu's face was like an August banana leaf, beaten to shreds by large raindrops, yet stubbornly waiting for the final clap of thunder.

Aging and shattered.

Second Aunt Qu couldn't bear to see it and lowered her eyes. "...I... I once saw Erlang's umbrella at the Jixi Workshop..."

Old Madam Qu let out a breath and loosened her grip slightly. "It's just an umbrella. Before, in Jing County, Erlang used to go to the shop at noon to teach the clerks how to read—I didn't agree with it, but I thought it was a small matter..."

The helplessness in the old lady's voice tugged at Second Aunt Qu's heartstrings. She turned her head away. "Just now, Erlang left Bima Hall and quickly walked southeast, all the way to the entrance of Yiyuan. If not for Mianbei's advice, he might have stormed into Yiyuan to find Jin Jie'er..."

Old Madam Qu's face suddenly turned ashen.

She knew her grandson. He was more restrained and patient than his father, and he strongly believed in the sacrifices and benefits one should make for the clan's greater good—this meant that her eldest grandson would become a disciplined, courteous, and gentle gentleman, a leader who could shoulder the responsibilities of the Chen family.

This personality meant that her grandson wouldn't act rashly by storming into a lady's boudoir at night.

Unless he was very panicked.

Old Madam Qu pressed her lips tightly. Just then, she had mentioned her grandson's marriage.

Second Aunt Qu waited for Old Madam Qu to speak but could only ramble on incessantly to persuade her. "Nothing is set in stone yet. I see Erlang is also holding back, and Jin Jie'er certainly doesn't have that intention—don't you remember Jin Jie'er promised you she wouldn't marry! Both Erlang and Jin Jie'er are good people... You mustn't lose your composure. A young woman's reputation is paramount, and Erlang has an important imperial exam next spring... Both are at pivotal moments in their lives..."

This could be resolved in a gentle manner.

For example, quietly arranging a good marriage for Erlang Chen Jianfang;

Or after the spring exams, the Chen family could simply spend some money and ask Principal Qiao to secure an official position for Erlang far away from Southern Zhili. After five or ten years, even if Erlang had deep feelings, there would be no way to rekindle the past;

Or, more drastically, simply arrange a marriage for Jin Jie'er. With Principal Qiao here, they could find an ordinary scholar and marry her off as a principal wife, thus cutting off Erlang's hopes.

She was very afraid that the old lady would lose control.

Especially with Erlang involved, the old lady was most likely to go mad!

Although Xianjin was added to the family register and established her own household, no longer a servant of the Chen family, nor a person of low status, so she couldn't be disposed of arbitrarily, if Madam Qu were to go mad and become fixated on Xianjin, it would indeed be miserable and tragic.

Aunt Qu gently pushed Madam Qu's arm. "...It was just a thoughtless act between young people..."

"How dare she!"

The word "dare" seemed to be torn from Madam Qu's lips.

"How dare she seduce Erlang!"

Madam Qu's face was pale as a ghost, her eyes burning but hollow as she stared ahead. "Her mother made Third Master defy me! She controls all the business and money of the Chen family! Wasn't that enough kindness?"

Madam Qu's voice escalated from hoarse to furious.

Aunt Qu shrank back, not daring to speak again.

"Erlang is a man of exceptional talent, destined for higher ranks and honors, the auspicious smoke from the Chen family's ancestral graves! Who does she think she is? I will not allow anyone! Anyone! Anyone to stand in Erlang’s way!"

Madam Qu paced back and forth, muttering the same old stories of the hardships her eldest son and grandson had endured in their studies, the contempt and torture the Chen family had suffered since leaving Jing County. These tales, often repeated, now carried a new emotional weight—the sting of betrayal.

Yes.

Madam Qu felt betrayed, enraged that Xianjin had seduced the family's promising Erlang.

The old woman paced barefoot on the floor, her gray hair disheveled, her appearance frantic. "She deceived me! She swore she wouldn't marry! She deceived me into handing the Chen family's business over to her!"

"Does she take me for a fool?"

"I've treated her so well! In terms of food, clothing, and shelter, have I ever wronged her? Is this how she repays me? By seducing my naive grandson?"

"She's just like her despicable mother!"

"Dreaming! A concubine's daughter, fantasizing about becoming a phoenix, a high-ranking official's wife!"

"Scoundrel!"

"Scoundrel!"

"Scoundrel!"

Madam Qu cursed viciously again and again.

Aunt Qu held her breath, not daring to contradict: she still couldn't grasp the root of this betrayal.

And what had Xianjin done wrong?

What did Erlang's affection have to do with Xianjin?

What had Xianjin betrayed, exactly?

She had promised not to marry and never once asked for a good husband...

Aunt Qu's eyes gradually clouded with a mist of fear, regret, and helplessness.

Finally.

One of the oil lamps flickered and extinguished.

Aunt Qu shuddered.

Madam Qu stopped, lifted her eyes, and looked at Aunt Qu, "...bring Sanlang back from his uncle's house (Sanlang, literally 'third son')."

Aunt Qu shuddered again, feeling as if her soul was about to scatter.

Madam Qu's voice dropped almost to the ground, "The business under He Xianjin's control needs someone to take over. The examination papers for the autumn imperial exam are almost prepared, but the imperial papers have not been finalized yet. If we suddenly change leadership now, the Chen family will surely fail."

Madam Qu slowly raised her face, the flesh on her cheeks quivering slightly, "We will give her a few more days. Once Principal Qiao departs and she secures the imperial paper contract, we'll settle the score."

Aunt Qu, in a tearful voice, "How do you plan to settle this score?"

Madam Qu slowly turned around and smiled, "At first, I wholeheartedly placed the finest young man of the Qu family beside her, planning to marry her off with great pomp and ceremony as a proper wife."

"She did not want to."

"She is ungrateful."

"She wouldn't move forward when led, and only retreated when scolded."

"Since she doesn't want to be a proper wife."

"Then so be it."

"When Sanlang returns, let her become his concubine."

"Like her mother, well-versed in family teachings and carrying on the family legacy through generations."