Spreading the News
The First Madam was hurt by Matron Zhou's words and turned around, wanting to say a few harsh words.
After thinking for a moment, she suppressed her anger and said coldly, "Get out of here!" Her voice rose a few decibels as she said the last two words, her grief and indignation overflowing.
Zhao Jingli didn't think too much about it. After all, the First Madam had spoken after Matron Zhou reprimanded Zhao Ruyu, so he assumed his mother's grief and anger stemmed from Zhao Ruyu. He also felt ashamed for not adhering to his principles, so he immediately bowed to Zhao Yuanxun and the First Madam and withdrew.
The maids, including Caidie, who were unaware of the situation, were only polite to Zhao Jingli. But now that he was gone, they became anything but polite to the other three, pulling and shoving them out of the room.
After leaving Rongxi Hall, Zhao Jing'an stood there blankly for a moment before running towards the second courtyard. Zhao Ruyu and Zhao Rurui, however, stood there exchanging glances without moving.
Zhao Jingli glanced at the two of them, his gaze turning cold. He turned around and went back to the main room.
When Zhao Jing'an arrived at the second room, he encountered a maid and quickly grabbed her, asking, "Where is my mother?"
"Second Madam... Second Madam has gone back to her parents' home," the maid said tremblingly, fearing that she would incur Zhao Jing'an's wrath.
Zhao Jing'an paused for a moment, then asked, "What about my father? Where is he?"
The maid shook her head. "I... I don't know."
Remembering that this whole affair was caused by his father—if he hadn't allowed his concubine to get pregnant, none of this would have happened— Zhao Jing'an gritted his teeth and hurried towards the study in the front courtyard.
After the three left, the First Madam gestured for Zhao Yuanxun to follow her into the inner room to discuss with the Old Madam: "Mother, you're ill. Shouldn't we send someone to inform Miss Xi to come back and take care of you? If she doesn't come back, people might gossip."
"Yes, call her back." Before the old lady could speak, Zhao Yuanxun nodded.
Although he had seen Xu Xi once in the outer courtyard when she returned, the child was his younger brother's daughter and was already fourteen years old at the time. Given the difference between boys and girls, he hadn't had a proper look at the child. He hadn't seen her again since.
At that moment, remembering that this was his own flesh and blood, he especially wanted to see the child.
"We must call her back," the old lady said. "Although the academy is safe, there are still loopholes. Even if we tell her not to leave the academy or go to the jewelry store for the next few days, what if someone calls her out in Madam Xiao's name or in the name of one of the teachers? Lady Wei is suspicious and ruthless. Now that she has decided to marry Miss Xi into the Wei Residence, and with all these things happening in the mansion, she will definitely become suspicious and act desperately. It wouldn't be good if she used extreme measures against Miss Xi then. Bring her back to the mansion, and we'll protect her closely. Let her stay with me, and let's see how Lady Wei can get her then."
"Yes, that's what I think too," the First Madam said.
Zhao Yuanxun glanced at the sky outside and stood up. "Should I go and bring her back now?"
The First Madam glanced at her husband's tired face, then at the Old Madam, and hesitated before speaking.
She naturally wanted to bring Xu Xi back before Lady Wei could react. But her husband was exhausted from the long journey and in poor health, and she worried that he wouldn't be able to handle it; she was also afraid that her mother-in-law would say that she was neglecting her husband's health for the sake of her daughter.
The old lady also felt sorry for her son, but still said, "Then you should close your eyes and take a nap in the carriage for a while. Sigh, you've had such a long journey, and you still can't rest when you get back to the manor. That troublemaker Lady Wei is really causing us a lot of trouble."
Zhao Yuanxun waved his hand. "It's alright. It's not far to Beining, the ride will only be a bit bumpy, and I won't have to walk. It's fine."
He went in person to prevent the city gates from closing when he returned, as it was too late. Although he held a sinecure, it was still a military post, and he was familiar with the officers and soldiers guarding the city gates. It wouldn't be a problem for him to ask them to leave a small gate open for him when he left the city.
"My lord." Seeing that Zhao Yuanxun was about to leave, the First Madam quickly called out to him.
Seeing him stop and turn around, the First Madam stepped forward and said softly, "Find an excuse to go out and have Miss Xi disguise herself and come back. After she returns, don't come here. Arrange for her to quietly stay at Fragrant Courtyard."
"Why?" Zhao Yuanxun asked.
The First Madam sneered, "Since Madam Lady Wei can't find Miss Xi at the academy, she'll surely send people to the manor to inquire. I'd like to see just how many scoundrels Lady Wei has bribed in our Marquis's manor."
"Yes, yes, that's what we'll do," the old lady praised repeatedly from behind them.
"Okay." Zhao Yuanxun looked at his wife, smiled gently, and turned to leave.
The old lady ate dinner early. Such an incident had occurred at the Marquis of Suiping's Residence. When the head maids of the Marquis's residence went to deliver a message to the young lady's house, it was just around dinnertime.
Zhao Ruyu was the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Suiping's Residence. The old lady and the first lady had put a lot of thought into choosing a husband for her. Although the family she married was not a noble family, it was still a scholarly family and an official family.
Her father-in-law Peng Guoan, was the Imperial Academy the Imperial Academy. Although his official rank was only Subordinate Fourth Rank, he had many students and a noble status, and even the emperor had to show him some respect.
Zhao Ruyu's husband, Peng Jinrui, passed the imperial examination at a young age and was even ranked third in the examination. He is now a principal officer in the Ministry of Rites, holding the rank of Principal Sixth Rank.
The Peng Family was also a large family. Because the old lady was still alive, Peng Guoan and his two brothers lived together without separating from the family.
Old Madam Peng was a lively woman, and dinner was always shared by all four branches of the family. Therefore, although the Peng Family had a family rule that one could only take a concubine if one had no children by the age of forty, and each branch of the family did not have many children, the three branches of the family together numbered twenty or thirty people.
Peng Guoan was not the eldest son, nor was Zhao Ruyu's husband Peng Jinrui, so although there were many people in the family, Zhao Ruyu did not need to manage anything. In addition, her husband was ambitious, and the family rules forbade taking concubines. She gave birth to a son last year, so everything went smoothly and she lived a very comfortable life.
Just then, she was serving her mother-in-law a meal when a servant came to report that someone from the Marquis of Suiping's Residence was requesting an audience.
Madam Lady Zhu, the first wife, doted on her daughter. Whenever the household made delicious pastries or she received a fine piece of fabric, she would frequently send them to Zhao Ruyu. Of course, sending gifts was just an excuse; the real purpose was to express the Marquis of Suiping's Residence's high regard for this daughter and to inquire about Zhao Ruyu's situation in the Peng Family.
However, she was very particular about the timing when she sent things. It's impossible that she would send someone to deliver things knowing that it was mealtime at the Peng Family and that Zhao Ruyu was unavailable.
So when Zhao Ruyu heard that the Marquis's residence had sent someone to see her at this time, she became nervous and asked, "What did that person say? Has something happened to my family?"
When Matron Zhou sent someone to deliver the message, she gave a subtle hint to the head maids, so the messenger wasn't afraid of "airing dirty laundry" and immediately stated the reason upon entering. Of course, to avoid making her intentions too obvious, she didn't mention Lady Wei's matter yet.
The old woman who came to deliver the message nodded, her gaze towards Zhao Ruyu filled with sympathy. "She said your grandmother had a stroke."