Chapter 94

Chapter 94

Whether Mother Zhou was genuinely suffering from a headache or merely pretending, Madame Zhuang still sent someone to the Imperial Medical Bureau to invite an Imperial Doctor over.

To treat any illness or to check for a peaceful pulse if there was none.

All the Imperial Doctors were astute, and even if Mother Zhou was in good health, they wouldn’t point it out. They would identify a minor, insignificant ailment and prescribe a tonic to regulate her body, then leave with the reward money given by Madame Zhuang.

Since the matriarch was "sick," Madame Zhuang, Madame Li, and Madame Qiu, as the daughters-in-law, certainly had to attend to her.

With all three of them gathered there, Mother Zhou found the crowd irritating.

But none of them were willing to leave.

If they left and their sisters-in-law stayed to care for the matriarch, wouldn’t they be seen as unfilial when word got out?

They might not care much about other people’s opinions, but they feared that when their husbands returned and heard about this, they might start to doubt their devotion.

Seeing this, Jiang Chun interjected, “Why don’t you split into three shifts, with a few hours each, and take turns caring for Mother Zhou?”

She even pulled Zhong Wenjin into it, saying, “Actually, the second daughter-in-law and I also wish to show our filial piety. So let’s divide into five shifts, and the five of us can rotate.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Wenjin immediately chimed in, “Yes, yes, yes. Since Big Sister-in-law and I are young and strong, we can handle more hours.”

The three sisters—Song Shichu, Song Shiying, and Song Shiyue—exchanged glances, and then sent Song Shiying, the one most favored by Mother Zhou, to speak.

In a rush, Song Shiying said, “Grandmother, we granddaughters can take care of you too. We want to join the shifts as well, so let’s split into eight shifts.”

Mother Zhou was amused and angry. “Eight shifts? Do you think this Pine Crane Courtyard is a marketplace? People coming and going, deliberately preventing me from resting?”

Song Shiying acted coquettishly, “I just want to show my filial piety.”

Seeing this granddaughter, who bore a striking resemblance to her late daughter, Mother Zhou’s expression softened a little.

She snorted, “I don’t need you here; don’t cause trouble.”

Jiang Chun grinned, “You girls should stay out of this. This exhausting task of tending to the sick—how could Grandmother bear to have her precious granddaughters do it?”

The implication being, of course, that the matriarch only wanted to exhaust her three daughters-in-law and two daughters-in-law.

Hearing this, Mother Zhou immediately looked up at Jiang Chun and said irritably, “I wouldn’t dare have you attend to me. If I did, my condition wouldn’t improve, and I might even die of anger.”

Jiang Chun’s heart was delighted. It was good that she wasn’t called to attend to the sick. She didn’t want to do such an exhausting task.

But on the surface, she pouted and said with a pitiful expression, “Grandmother, you’ve hurt my feelings as your granddaughter-in-law.

My sincere filial piety has been misunderstood by you, and I feel so wronged.

Sigh, my heart feels so cold, and even if my husband coaxed me all night, he likely couldn’t cheer me up.”

Mother Zhou: “……”

Is she threatening me?

If I reject her, will she bother my precious eldest grandson instead?

How sly!

Wearied of arguing with her, Mother Zhou looked up at Madame Zhuang and said irritably, “Madame Zhuang, control your daughter-in-law. Tell her to stop making a scene here.”

Madame Zhuang looked at Jiang Chun and said, "Coach Yu gave you homework, didn't he? You should go back and do your homework. The duty of attending to the sick can be handled by me and your two aunts."

Whether Coach Yu actually gave her homework or not, she didn't care. She just needed an excuse to send Jiang Chun away so she wouldn't get scolded by the old lady.

Her eyes then fell on Zhong Wenjin, who was standing there like a wooden post. She hummed softly, "You're not much use either. Don't stay here and annoy the old lady with your presence."

Zhong Wenjin was more than eager to leave. Upon hearing this, she immediately said to Jiang Chun, "Elder sister-in-law, Mother has spoken. Maybe we should go? We can come back in the evening to pay our respects to the old lady."

Upon hearing the latter part of her sentence, Madame Zhou interjected coldly, "Don't come back in the evening either. I don't care for your morning and evening respects."

Jiang Chun almost gave Zhong Wenjin a thumbs-up on the spot.

Well done!

That additional remark from Madame Zhou had just saved them a lot of effort by exempting their morning and evening respects.

Jiang Chun sighed dramatically, "Alas, we daughters-in-law are truly pitiful, not even given the qualification to pay morning and evening respects to the old lady."

Zhong Wenjin, knowing her elder sister-in-law's temperament well, understood that Jiang Chun was secretly delighted, just like her.

So she also pretended to sigh and said, "We'll just have to perform well in other matters and strive to change Mother's perception of us as soon as possible."

The two of them played off each other, speaking with such joy.

Madame Zhou, being an astute old lady, could easily see through their intentions.

But she couldn't be bothered to expose them.

After all, she found them annoying, and they didn't want to put on a show in front of her. In this regard, they were in agreement.

After sending the two of them away, Madame Zhou also chased her three granddaughters back. Then she asked Madame Zhuang, "What exactly is going on? Tell me everything in detail."

Madame Zhuang relayed what her two sons had told her.

After finishing, she sighed, "They both have saved the lives of Shian and Rui. They have also been married and consummated their marriages. As a family that values face, we cannot possibly act ungratefully or betray them. We have no choice but to accept this."

Upon hearing this, Madame Zhou fell into a long silence.

After a good while, she suddenly uttered a lament, "What bad luck has befallen the Song family..."

Halfway through her sentence, she remembered that their misfortune was due to the involvement of her granddaughter's husband, the Crown Prince's son. She immediately stopped herself.

She had been mistaken. She thought the two grandsons were forced to marry because of the circumstances after they were sold.

As long as the Song family didn't acknowledge these two marriages and compensated them with a large sum of money, these women, with such a generous dowry, would find it easy to remarry into families of equal standing.

But now, there was the matter of saving lives.

This meant the Song family had to acknowledge these marriages and treat them well; otherwise, outsiders would certainly use this to criticize the Song family.

And it would implicate the Crown Prince's son.

As for the Crown Prince's daughter-in-law, she seemed to be behaving herself, but thinking about Shian's unruly demeanor made Madame Zhou's head ache.

She quickly shook her head to dispel the image of Jiang Chun from her mind and asked Madame Zhuang, "Is there anything else major in the family? Go ahead and tell me. I can handle it."

Madame Zhuang had intended to mention her daughter Chu, but after thinking better of it, she turned her head towards Madame Li and said, "As for Yin's matter, let Second Sister-in-law speak about it herself."

Madame Li's face immediately darkened, and she said sarcastically, "Since Chu is the eldest, Elder Sister-in-law should tell Grandmother about Chu's matter first."

Madame Zhuang said calmly, "Compared to Yin'er's situation, Chujie's matter is nothing. Second Sister-in-law, you go first."

Madame Zhou's face darkened as she listened.

Both my second and third granddaughters have problems? Judging by the way they were shirking responsibility, it was clearly something serious.

But what major issues could there be for young ladies that would make them so hesitant to speak?

It must be related to their chastity.

Thinking of this, Madame Zhou's face turned cold. She slammed her hand on the bedside table and said, "Stop arguing! Madame Li, you go first!"

She was obviously more concerned about Yin'er, her most beloved granddaughter, than Chujie, the daughter born out of wedlock.

The mentioned Madame Li pressed her lips together and said, "Yin'er was sold to a brothel in Shaoxing City, where she stayed for a year before being redeemed by An-ge."

As soon as she finished speaking, Madame Zhou felt dizzy and slumped backward.

The three women were startled and quickly rushed to support her.

Madame Zhuang, imitating how Jiang Chun had treated the fainting Madame Li, pinched Madame Zhou’s upper lip.

After a few pinches, Madame Zhou's eyelids fluttered, and she gradually came to.

Madame Li, with sweat on her forehead, quickly reassured her, "Don't worry, Grandmother. Because Yin'er was not yet of marriageable age, the madam only had her learn music and arts. Her virtue remains intact."

Seizing the opportunity, Madame Zhuang blamed Madame Li, "Second Sister-in-law, you really miss the important points! Look what you’ve done to her!"

Madame Li, knowing she was in the wrong, uncharacteristically did not retort.

Madame Zhou sighed deeply and glared at Madame Li.

Madame Zhuang was right. She really misses the crucial points. This woman really missed the important points, almost giving her a heart attack.

As long as Yin'er's virtue remained intact, even though she spent a year in a brothel, the damage to her reputation wouldn’t be a major problem.

After all, their Song family was different now, having become related to the Crown Prince. Once the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the Crown Prince’s father-in-law would be titled either as a Duke or a Marquis.

And Yin'er, as the Crown Prince’s sister-in-law, would still have many suitors.

Such was the reality of the world.

She reassured Madame Li, "It's not a big deal. You don't need to look so worried. Rest assured, Yin'er's future marriage will definitely be a good one."

After saying this, she turned her head to Madame Zhuang and snorted, "Now, tell me, what's the situation with Chujie?"

Was she also sold to a brothel?

Well, one granddaughter being sold was the same as two being sold. It didn't make much difference.

Madame Zhuang replied, "Chujie was previously sold to the household of Magistrate He Shuyu in Huang County, Dengzhou Prefecture, Shandong Province, to serve as a maid. Magistrate He took her virginity and made her his concubine.

When the Crown Prince sent someone to fetch Chujie, Magistrate He, upon learning of her background, told her he was willing to divorce his official wife and marry Chujie as his official wife. Chujie refused him."

Fearing that the conservative Madame Zhou, for the sake of the Song family's reputation, might force Chujie to marry Magistrate He, she quickly added, "Chujie said that Magistrate He owes his success in the imperial examinations to the financial support of his father-in-law. Instead of being grateful, he wanted to divorce his wife to climb the social ranks. She rejected him."

"I'd rather become a nun than marry such an ungrateful villain!"

The situation of the illegitimate granddaughter, Shichu, was much better than Zhou Shi had expected, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she praised approvingly, "Shichu does have some backbone, worthy of being raised by you yourself."

This compliment not only praised Song Shichu but also indirectly flattered Madame Zhuang.

Madame Zhuang was astonished. It must be raining red today! Otherwise, how could this usually picky and difficult mother-in-law suddenly praise her?

Then she heard Zhou Shi snort coldly, "A family of our Song family's standing isn't something any Tom, Dick, or Harry can aspire to."

"It doesn't matter that Shichu has lost her virtue. We can treat her as a widow whose husband has died. Find her a good match to remarry."

"The court even encourages widows to remarry. No one can fault us for that."

Madame Zhuang smiled and said, "I've told Shichu the same. That girl, as you know, Old Lady, is always sensible and obedient. She's quite resigned and said she would leave everything to my arrangement."

Zhou Shi nodded, "Shichu is indeed easy to manage."

It was Yin'er, spoiled since childhood, who had her own mind.

In other words, she was troublesome.

Thinking of this, Zhou Shi looked up at Madame Li and said, "Yin'er's marriage arrangements need more attention from you. Don't be so careless. Don't expect this old woman to do everything."

Madame Li hurriedly replied, "Don't worry, Old Lady. I'll take it seriously, and her maternal relatives will also pay attention."

Madame Zhuang sneered. The Li family loved to stir up trouble. If they really paid attention, ten Yin'ers wouldn't be enough for them to ruin.

Zhou Shi, knowing her younger sister's family situation well, immediately scolded, "Yin'er is your own daughter. If you don't care about her, do you expect her maternal relatives to care for her? Are you still a baby still nursing?"

Scolded harshly in front of the two sisters-in-law, Madame Li felt extremely embarrassed and harbored some resentment towards Zhou Shi.

But Zhou Shi's authority was strong, and she didn't dare express her resentment, only nodding obediently, "The Old Lady's lesson is right. I'll personally oversee Yin'er's marriage and find her a good match."

Only then was Zhou Shi satisfied.

She then looked at Third Madame Qiu and asked, "What about Yue'er?"

Qiu Shi immediately straightened her back and said proudly, "Mother, rest assured. Yue'er has been well. Her uncle sent someone to buy her early on and settled her in the villa of the Marquis of Wuan. She hasn't suffered at all."

Zhou Shi pursed her lips.

The Marquis of Wuan was indeed bold, willing to take the risk to buy Yue'er, his niece.

In contrast, other in-laws were either afraid of offending the old emperor and losing their positions or feared being caught by political enemies, each more cowardly than the last.

Zhou Shi praised, "The Marquis of Wuan is loyal and righteous. He's a good one."

At sixty-four, having traveled for days and endured shock, Zhou Shi was extremely tired.

After barely inquiring about the situations of her three granddaughters, she waved her hand, "I'm tired and need a nap. You can all leave. There's no need to attend to her illness; just have the maids take care of me."

Madame Zhuang hurriedly said, "Old Lady, the medicine will be ready soon. Shouldn't you rest after taking it?"

Zhou Shi chuckled, "All medicine is somewhat toxic. I'm not sick, so why drink herbal medicine for no reason?"

Lady Zhuang: “……”

She had been pretending to be sick quite convincingly earlier; otherwise, the three co-wives wouldn’t have discussed taking turns attending to the old lady in her sickness. But as soon as the two granddaughters-in-law and the third granddaughter left, she didn’t even bother to keep up the act.

What could Lady Zhuang say?

She could only help Zhou Shi lie down, cover her with the quilt, and then call Shaoyao, the head servant of Pine Crane Courtyard, to come and attend to the old lady.

Afterward, she left the bedroom with the other two co-wives.

*

As for Jiang Chun, upon returning to Dangui Courtyard, even though it was quite late, she still wanted to take a nap so that she would have the energy to study reading and writing with Song Shian in the evening.

Studying was, after all, a physically demanding task.

Gui Ye had just removed her hair ornaments when she heard Song Shiying’s voice from outside, which seemed to be mixed with Song Shichu and Song Shiyue’s voices.

Jiang Chun groaned inwardly. Guests had arrived, and her plans for a nap were dashed.

Jiang Chun went to the east wing room to receive the three younger sisters-in-law. She deliberately put on a ferocious look and said, “I just removed my hair ornaments and was about to take a nap, but here you come to disturb me.

I hope you have something important to say. If you’ve wasted my time without reason, I’m definitely going to settle the score and spank you until you’re sore.”

Song Shiying walked in, casually found a chair to sit down, and familiarly invited Song Shichu and Song Shiyue to sit as well. “Second Sister, Fourth Sister, sit.”

After inviting them, she smiled at Jiang Chun. “Eldest Sister-in-law, I’m here to give you some good news.”

Jiang Chun raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Where does this good news come from?”

This girl was often unreliable, and her so-called good news might not actually be good.

To Jiang Chun’s surprise, Song Shiying didn’t keep her in suspense and spilled out the information. “Eldest Sister-in-law, you know that Jin’er, the servant in my courtyard, her father is the steward in charge of purchasing for our household. He went out for some purchases today and heard some rumors about Eldest Miss Cheng.

It’s said that Fan the Butcher, who had an improper encounter with Eldest Miss Cheng, is actually the bastard son of the Marquis of Anqing, who had been lost. The Marquis of Anqing has acknowledged him in the ancestral records.

It’s also said that he and Eldest Miss Cheng are in love, and both families are happy with the match. They have already exchanged their birth charts privately, but they haven’t announced it publicly yet because they need to check if the eight trigrams are compatible during the Naji ceremony.

The incident that happened at the Marquis of Anyuan’s household that day was due to them being drunk. Although it was shameful, since they have exchanged birth charts, the marriage arrangements are underway, so it can’t be considered adultery, and outsiders can’t say much about it.”

Pausing for a moment, Song Shiying laughed. “It’s really laughable. The Cheng family had been meticulously searching for a suitable match for Eldest Miss Cheng among all the young men in the capital, but they ended up choosing the son of a butcher.

Tsk tsk, compared to Brother, this Fan the Butcher is like the difference between heaven and earth. How could young Miss Cheng be so blind?”

Jiang Chun pursed her lips after listening.

The development was just as she had expected. For the sake of Eldest Miss Cheng’s reputation, the Cheng family would have to accept this son-in-law.

What else could they do?

Shout to the world that there was no improper encounter between Eldest Miss Cheng and Fan the Butcher, and that she had been drugged and framed?

Who would believe that?

Without evidence, claiming to have been framed was just trying to fool others. Who would buy that?

Unless the Cheng family lodged a petition with the emperor, convincing the old emperor to hand the case over to the Dali Temple or the Embroidered Uniform Guard for investigation.

But Song Shian had used a scented incense to engineer the situation, and the maids had already disposed of the incense burner and cleaned up, airing out the room to destroy any evidence.

The Cheng family wasn’t even sure if the Dali Temple or the Embroidered Uniform Guard could uncover any evidence if the case became public.

If evidence can be found, everything will be fine, but if it can't, our family will have committed the crime of deceiving the emperor. With the old emperor's fiery temper, he will definitely impose heavy punishment.

At the same time, Cheng Wenyuan's unchaste behavior of committing adultery and then playing the victim will become widely known, completely ruining her reputation. It will be difficult to find a willing fool to marry her after this.

In this way, the Cheng family will lose on both fronts, suffering a significant loss.

Therefore, they can only acknowledge Fan the Butcher as their son-in-law and then seek out a familiar noble family, such as the Anqing Duke's household, to make an exchange of benefits, getting the family to recognize Fan the Butcher as the "illegitimate son" who was abducted by human traffickers.

Then the two families can officially become in-laws.

Although this approach isn't flawless, and the scandalous trio of Cheng Wenyuan, Zisu, and Fan the Butcher can't be whitewashed, at least the family wealth won’t flow to outsiders.

As long as Cheng Wenyuan marries Fan the Butcher and stays low-key from then on, people will discuss it for a while and then forget about it.

Jiang Chun curled her lips and chuckled lightly, "The two of them are a match made in heaven, a perfect pair.

It's just a pity that our two families don't get along, otherwise, on the day they get married, I would definitely go to drink a cup of wedding wine."

Song Shiying said gloomily, "It's really a pity. It's too bad that we were too slow that day and didn't get to see the commotion in the Jiangyun Pavilion."

Jiang Chun rolled her eyes. "What's so good about that? It's eye-piercing. Us married women can watch if we want, but you young girls, if you saw it, you'd probably get eye sores."

Song Shiying said indignantly, "Why should only you married women be allowed to watch? Shouldn't we unmarried girls be allowed to watch? It's unfair!"

Jiang Chun said with a laugh, "Where does all this talk of fairness come from? If anything is unfair, it's because you're too short, your legs are too short, and you walk too slowly.

The courtyard we were in was much farther than your Tinghe Courtyard, so why was I able to catch the commotion?

Of course, because I'm tall and have long legs, one step of mine equals two of yours."

Jiang Chun was about 1.7 meters tall, while the three Song sisters were about 1.6 meters, roughly the same height.

Standing together, the three younger sisters were half a head shorter than their sister-in-law.

Song Shiying was hit at her sore spot and immediately jumped up. "Big sister-in-law, when talking about things, how can you make personal attacks?

Everyone can see that you're taller and have longer legs; there's no need for you to belabor the point."

Jiang Chun said with a smile, "Sometimes it needs to be said. Too much humility is pride."

Song Shichu chuckled lightly. "Big sister-in-law, with your height, you'd be hard to find another woman taller than you in the entire Imperial City, truly enviable."

Jiang Chun said modestly, "There's nothing to envy. Being tall has its advantages—standing tall and seeing far, taking strides that cover more ground.

But you're not short either, and you look much more delicate and petite than me. Some men prefer girls with your build."

After a brief pause, she said with a grin, "But your big brother loves me like this. He praises my slim waist and long legs, saying my legs are longer than most women’s. He loves me to bits."

Song Shiying: "..."

Song Shichu: "..."

Song Shiyue: "..."

Song Shiying covered her ears and said helplessly, "Big sister-in-law, we're still unmarried girls. Who wants to hear about your intimate details? Don't corrupt our ears!"

The usually taciturn Song Shiyue suddenly spoke up. "Big brother and big sister-in-law are deeply in love, truly enviable.

If in the future I can find a husband who is as harmonious as you two, it would be wonderful."

Jiang Chun immediately smiled and said, "Don't worry, you'll definitely find one."

In the original story, Song Shiyue and her husband were very much in love, a model couple in the capital.