Chapter 116: Marquis Wei’s Fury

Chapter 116 Marquis Wei's Fury

A Yuan indeed had a nightmare that night. In her dream, Prince Jing leered and lunged at her, his alcohol-laden breath so strong she could practically taste it.

"No... stay away!"

She thrashed in panic, her face streaked with tears in the dream.

"My lady, wake up!"

Chun Tao, hearing the commotion, pushed aside the curtain and hurried in, quickly rousing her.

"Chun Tao..."

The young mistress blinked open her bleary eyes, her lashes still trembling with teardrops, a heartbreaking sight.

"The young master was right—you really did have a nightmare."

As she spoke, she helped A Yuan sit up and handed her the soothing tonic she had brought.

"The young master left instructions before departing, saying you should drink this before going back to sleep."

Chun Tao had befriended the steward and had gleaned Wei Xun's instructions from him.

Since the young master had saved her mistress today, Chun Tao was inclined to speak well of him.

A Yuan frowned at the pungent herbal scent.

Had he really given the order?

Remembering how Wei Xun had appeared as if sent by heaven in her moment of peril earlier that day, something within her stirred.

The soothing tonic had been simmering for a while, and Chun Tao urged her to drink it before it cooled and turned bitter.

A Yuan took it and drained the cup in one swallow. Whether it was the medicine's effect or the man's words, she slept soundly and dreamless for the rest of the night.

......

Marquis Wei only learned of the incident in the palace the next day. On the day of the banquet, his leg pain had acted up, keeping him from attending, so he had no idea his wife had done something so foolish.

"Fool!"

Marquis Wei was furious, pointing at Madam Wei and lashing out at her.

"Has the House of Anning fallen so low that you'd push A Man forward to suck up?"

As a second-tier marquis and the General of Divine Might, he had no need to kowtow to a mere consort.

Marquis Wei couldn't understand—his wife hadn't been like this in her youth, so why had she become so witless in her old age?

Madam Wei trembled under his scolding but remained defiant. "Everything I did was for your sake!"

What did it matter if that bastard child endured some hardship? As long as she pleased the nobles, even serving the young princess would be a blessing for her.

She just hadn't expected the little bastard to be so bold as to challenge the princess in front of the Emperor.

She could only worry now whether the nobles would take offense at the marquis household.

Madam Wei's face was full of concern, while Marquis Wei was speechless, his hand shaking uncontrollably as he pointed at her.

"Do you truly believe Noble Consort Su would value you for this? Stupid! For a marchioness to debase herself and kowtow to a palace consort—where does that leave Her Majesty the Empress? And with the succession still undecided, every family remains neutral, yet here you are, forcing our house to declare allegiance!"

Marquis Wei wished he could spell it out for her—what did it matter how favored Noble Consort Su was? The Second Prince was good for nothing, and Great Zhou would be screwed if it fell into his hands.

Moreover, Emperor Chengyuan cared about power more than anything. No matter how much he doted on Noble Consort Su and the little princess on the surface, the moment power was at stake, he could drop them in a heartbeat.

Serving the emperor was like riding a tiger—Marquis Wei had long understood the emperor’s mind. The reason the marquisate stood firm was precisely because of his unwavering loyalty.

Yet Madam Wei’s attempts to curry favor with Noble Consort Su were a total disaster, making her a joke among the noble ladies.

"I... If I’d known this, I would never have acted this way."

Even now, Madam Wei was still trying to weasel out of it, leaving Marquis Wei utterly disappointed.

"Since you can’t manage affairs properly, there’s no need for you to attend social gatherings anymore. I see your little prayer hall is quite well-furnished—from now on, you may stay home and devote yourself to Buddhist worship."

This was nothing less than grounding her and taking away her power!

Madam Wei froze, white as a sheet. "My lord, I am your wife, the mother of your three children! You cannot treat me like this!"

Marquis Wei scoffed. "Precisely because you are my wife that I haven’t taken harsher measures. Otherwise, given your actions yesterday, a beating to death would’ve been letting you off easy!"

You marry a wife for her wisdom—he finally understood.

Even A Yuan, such a fine young lady, had grown distant from the marquisate because of her.

Marquis Wei sighed. His third son, no spring chicken, still hadn’t won back his wife—all because of his mother’s interference.

......

When news of Madam Wei’s confinement spread, Chun Tao immediately informed A Yuan.

With Chang Yuan as their messenger, A Yuan could get updates the second things happened.

"Thank God the marquis has sense and didn’t shield the old madam," Chun Tao said with relief.

She had feared this incident would be swept under the rug, as had happened so often before.

But this time, the Young Master had almost had her face ruined. Had there been no consequences, even Chun Tao would have been disheartened.

Thankfully, the marquis was there.

A Yuan also felt somewhat relieved. Her daughter had suffered so much injustice—though Madam Wei wasn’t the mastermind, her role in fanning the flames left A Yuan still pissed off.

"Does the marquis suffer from leg pain?"

Lowering her head, she toyed with the embroidery hoop in her hands and asked.

She had once heard her brother mention it but wasn’t sure if she remembered correctly.

Chun Tao, thrown by the sudden change in topic, nodded blankly.

"Yes. Ten years ago, the old marquis led troops in an ambush deep in the forest, and the dampness affected his legs. Since then, it killed him every winter. Had he been present at the palace banquet that day, Noble Consort Su wouldn’t have had the guts to pull that crap."

Chun Tao said, still fuming, clearly still bitter about the events of the banquet.

A Yuan nodded. "Go to the storeroom and pick out a piece of dark fabric, then measure out a pound of fresh cotton batting."

"My lady?" Chun Tao blinked in confusion.

A Yuan didn’t explain, urging instead, "Get moving."

Marquis Wei’s reprimand of Madam Wei had also given her and A Man some payback. Grateful, A Yuan wanted to do something nice for him.

Her best skill was embroidery. Since Marquis Wei's legs bothered him in the cold, she decided to make him a pair of embroidered knee wraps.

......

When Marquis Wei received the knee wraps, he could hardly believe his eyes. Gripping them tight, he asked warily, "You said these were sent by Lady Xie—is that true?"

The guard nodded. "Swear it’s true, my lord—I wouldn’t lie to you."

"But she’s Young General Xie’s sister, not just anyone, right?"

What if it was just someone with the same surname? Marquis Wei still couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

The guard replied tiredly, "It’s definitely her. And the item was personally delivered by Lady Xie’s maid, Chun Tao."

"Good, good, good!"

Marquis Wei laughed out loud, cradling the knee wraps as if they were some priceless treasure.

"She’s so thoughtful—what a good girl."

At that moment, Wei Xun was also in the front hall. The man stared at the finely stitched knee wraps in his father’s hands, his eyes darkening.

He wanted A Yuan’s gift too.

"Hmph! These are for me from A Yuan. Don’t even think about taking them."

Marquis Wei snorted, glaring daggers at Wei Xun.

"Though I haven’t met A Yuan yet, from what I’ve seen of her, she’s kind-hearted, grateful, and skilled at embroidery. How could you not cherish such a lady? You must’ve been kicked in the head by a mule!"

Marquis Wei didn’t hold back when scolding his son. If the boy had been more capable, he’d have met his daughter-in-law and granddaughter by now.

From the start of the year until now, Marquis Wei still hadn’t seen A Man. Originally, after the New Year, A Man was supposed to continue learning martial arts from him. But when the emperor’s young grandson became Xie Zheng’s disciple, teaching one was the same as teaching two, so A Man ended up becoming Zhou Chen’s fellow student.