Zhao Yuanliang
Matron Ruan nodded and turned into the courtyard.
As soon as she entered, she saw Madam Xie sitting outside the main room, stitching a shoe sole one stitch at a time, as though she had heard none of the commotion outside. Matron Ruan's teeth itched with hatred.
Never mind the sound of hooves and carriage wheels-the chatter of the villagers following the carriage alone was enough to turn the whole little village upside down. Yet Madam Xie was still sitting there putting on an act. Why was this family so disagreeable?
But she needed a favor from them and couldn't lose her temper. She could only suppress her anger, walk over, and greet Madam Xie with a smile. "Good morning, Second Madam Xu."
It had taken Madam Xie quite an effort to keep up the act; she had nearly stabbed her finger with the awl. Hearing Matron Ruan's voice, she breathed a great sigh of relief, put down the shoe sole, and stood up with a smile. "Oh, it's Matron Ruan." As she spoke, she glanced outside.
Matron Ruan also turned to look outside. "Our second master and second madam have come as well." She gave Madam Xie a meaningful look. "And the fifth young lady."
She smiled. "Oh, I forgot. She should be called the sixth young lady now. Our old madam said that Miss Xi is a month older than Miss Ruyu, so she ranks fifth among the young ladies of the household. From now on, she'll be the fifth young lady. Miss Ruyu moves down one place and becomes the sixth."
"The sixth-the sixth young lady came too?" An apprehensive look appeared on Madam Xie's face.
To tell the truth, as the mistress of the Xu Family, she naturally wanted to meet the biological daughter her sister-in-law had given birth to. But after coming to her senses last night, she had suddenly changed her mind.
How could a marquis's daughter, raised in the lap of luxury, think much of farming relatives like them? For all they knew, she deeply resented their appearance for bringing her trouble and lowering her status. If they went up to acknowledge her as family, she probably wouldn't welcome them, and they would only make fools of themselves.
Now Matron Ruan said that the sixth young lady had come, accompanied by her adoptive parents. Madam Xie truly didn't know what attitude to take toward her.
"The second master and second madam came too?" Madam Xie gave Matron Ruan a stiff smile. "But my husband isn't home, and Miss Xi went to the county town with him. How about-how about you come back another day?"
"She went to the county town?" Matron Ruan's expression changed. Frowning, she asked, "What did she go there for?"
Before leaving, Xu Xi had told Madam Xie that she was worried the marquis's household wouldn't want her to attend the academy and might secretly get someone to trip her up, making the academy deliberately refuse to admit her. So she had told Madam Xie not to mention it to them. Afraid Madam Xie wouldn't know how to lie, she had even come up with an excuse for her.
Madam Xie said, "My brother and sister-in-law left a house in the county town. Miss Xi goes to clean it every so often. After you came yesterday, she was feeling rather unsettled, so early this morning she begged my husband to take her to the county town. She wanted to spend some time in the house. So the two of them and my daughter Xiaoxue set off early this morning."
"Then when will she be back?" Matron Ruan's frown deepened.
Madam Xie shook her head. "It's hard to say. Sometimes she spends the whole day at the house; other times she comes back after half a day."
Afraid that Matron Ruan and the others really would stay half the day and wait for Xu Xi to return, Madam Xie added, "But judging by her mood last night, she'll probably spend the whole day there. When she's in a bad mood, she stays there longer and doesn't come back until dark."
Matron Ruan turned and glanced outside. "The second master and second madam came in person, so they must see Miss Xi. How about this? You can take the marquis's household's carriage to the county town and bring Miss Xi back. The town is only five or six li from here; the round trip won't take half a shichen. The second master and second madam can wait here."
Xu Xi was a thorough person. She had anticipated this possibility too and had told Madam Xie what to do.
Madam Xie hesitated, but finally said, "All-all right, then."
Matron Ruan asked her to wait a moment, then hurried outside to report the situation to Zhao Yuanliang and Lady Wei. She also told them her suggestion.
Zhao Yuanliang naturally wanted to meet his biological daughter, who had been left to live away from home. Even if his principal mother had not demanded it, he would have brought her back to the residence, all the more so because he knew full well how leaving this daughter outside would affect the marquis's household's reputation. Naturally, he had no objection to the suggestion.
Lady Wei would have preferred to turn around and leave, but the old marchioness's repeated instructions were still fresh in her mind. If she refused Matron Ruan's suggestion, she would have no way to answer to her mother-in-law, so she had no choice but to agree as well.
"Have her take the carriage behind us, and tell the driver to hurry. Don't waste time. Don't forget that the old madam is still waiting for us to return," she said.
"Yes." Matron Ruan agreed and instructed the maids to help the two of them out of the carriage. She then went to the carriage behind, asked Zhao Ruyu to alight, and gave the driver some instructions.
Lady Wei got out of the carriage and saw the village's muddy road and the old, mottled mud on the earthen walls of the Xu Family's house. A flock of hens wandered around the courtyard with their chicks, and there were even chicken droppings in the yard. She quickly lowered her eyes, concealing the emotions in them.
Zhao Ruyu looked at the scene before her with a deeply complicated expression.
"Young lady..." Fushu wanted to comfort her mistress, but for a moment she didn't know what to say. Worried that Zhao Yuanliang and Lady Wei, walking ahead of them, might hear, she could only say, "Watch your step."
Zhao Ruyu looked down and saw the chicken droppings on the ground. Startled, she stepped back and instinctively lifted the hem of her skirt.
Fushu hurriedly lifted the other side of her skirt. "Walk slowly, young lady. Just step around them."
In fact, Madam Xie was a very hardworking woman. She swept the courtyard every day, and the house was cleaner than other farmhouses. But the family raised chickens, and they roamed freely, so some dried chicken droppings in the courtyard were unavoidable. They couldn't wash the yard down with water all day, and carrying water was hard work too. It couldn't be helped.
But in Lady Wei's and Zhao Ruyu's eyes, a courtyard like this was a disaster.
Zhao Yuanliang naturally saw the state of the Xu Family's home as well. But he felt differently from the two women.
He often visited the marquis's estate and knew very well what farmyards were like. So the dilapidated scene did not particularly affect him. But when he thought of his daughter, who should have grown up in the lap of luxury at the marquis's residence, suffering in a place like this and living under someone else's roof, who knew how hard a life she had led? His heart felt terribly heavy.
Remembering that Lady Wei had caused all this, he turned and shot her a cold glance, just in time to see the disgust and impatience written all over her face. Then he saw Zhao Ruyu walking silently with her head lowered, but stepping gingerly, as if terrified of getting mud and chicken droppings on her skirt. Zhao Yuanliang nearly lost his breath.
Zhao Yuanliang rarely concerned himself with household affairs, but he was quite fond of his children. Zhao Ruyu in particular had been sweet-tongued and skilled at winning people over from childhood, so he had always doted on her.
But when he thought about how she was not his daughter, yet had enjoyed the glory and wealth of the marquis's household in his biological daughter's place, while his own daughter suffered here because of Zhao Ruyu's biological parents-and yet Zhao Ruyu felt not the slightest guilt and still acted like a pampered young lady-the affection in Zhao Yuanliang's heart vanished in an instant, replaced by an indescribably complicated feeling.