Going to the Old Madam

Lady Wei was even angrier. She rushed forward, no longer calling for Matron Li Xu Xi across the face. Xu Xi neither dodged nor flinched, taking the slap directly to her face. Lady Wei was furious and used considerable force, leaving a bright red handprint on Xu Xi's fair and delicate face.

"Girl..."

"Xi'er..."

Qingfeng and Zhao Yuanliang screamed at the same time.

Two tears welled up in Xu Xi's eyes, and she choked out to Zhao Yuanliang, "You saw it yourself, the Second Madam can't tolerate me at all, I shouldn't have come back."

She flung Lady Wei's hand away, turned, and headed back the way she came, saying, "Since you don't want me, I'll go find the Old Madam and the First Madam. If they don't want me either, I'll go back to the Xu Family."

As she spoke, she covered her mouth and nose with her sleeve, sobbing softly, and walked away, covering her face.

"You..." Lady Wei, disregarding her shock and anger, hurriedly shouted, "Stop her!"

Knowing that Xu Xi couldn't be allowed to see the old lady like this, Matron Li quickly ran forward and blocked Xu Xi's way.

"Are you trying to kill me by blocking my way here?" Xu Xi shouted at Lady Wei, her voice trembling with tears. She wiped away non-existent tears with her sleeve and continued her dramatic performance, "Back in the Xu Family, you refused to acknowledge me, insisting on recognizing Xu Xue as your daughter. Now that I've been brought back, you see you can't stop me, so you're making things difficult for me in every way. You even tried to beat me before I even entered the courtyard. What have I done to offend you? Why are you treating me like this? I... I'm not staying in this manor anymore. I'm going back to the Xu Family."

She sobbed, shoved Matron Li aside, and started running forward. Matron Li tried to stop her, but Qingfeng grabbed her. The others knew they weren't like Matron Li, who had Lady Wei protecting her fiercely, so their attempts to stop or chase her were just for show. In no time at all, Xu Xi had run far away.

Seeing Qingfeng's actions, Matron Yuan regretted her own caution and quickly tried to show her strength, shouting, "Quick, don't let anything happen to the young lady. If she jumps into the lake or anything happens to her, we'll be in deep trouble." With that, she took off running after Xu Xi.

Qingfeng and the other three quickly followed.

Having lived with the old lady for over a decade, Lady Wei knew best where the old lady's bottom line lay. A few words between them on the second branch's territory were fine, but if a whole group of people chased after Xu Xi, making it known throughout the mansion, things would escalate significantly—it would be a blatant slap in the old lady's face. The old lady had just presented Xu Xi with a generous gift.

She stood there, helpless, her chest heaving with anger, but she didn't give any more orders to chase after Xu Xi.

Zhao Yuanliang turned around and glared fiercely at Lady Wei: "Look what you've done." With that, he flicked his sleeve and went to his concubine's courtyard, no longer wanting to deal with it.

"Madam," Matron Li looked at Lady Wei, "If the Old Madam finds out about this..."

Lady Wei also felt a pang of regret, regretting that she had been so hasty. She knew there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with Xu Xi later; there was absolutely no need to cause this scene now.

It's all that little girl's fault for being so unruly; you can't say a single word about her.

She regretted it in her heart, but on the surface she kept a straight face, and sneered, "So what if I know? My daughter is ignorant, what's wrong with me, her own mother, giving her a few words of guidance? Even the Emperor himself has no right to stop his own mother from hitting or scolding her child."

Having served as mistress and servant for many years, how could Matron Li not understand Lady Wei? She sighed inwardly and remained silent.

Lady Wei, feeling a surge of anger welling up inside, turned and saw Zhao Ruyu standing behind her. Her anger immediately flared up, and she snapped at Zhao Ruyu, "What are you doing standing here? Aren't you going to go and persuade your sister? If she leaves the manor, will that be what you want? You're all such a handful! Seeing you all annoys me!" Turning to Zhao Rurui, she said, "You too."

If it were Zhao Ruyu before her rebirth, she would have been heartbroken by Lady Wei's unwarranted scolding. But the Zhao Ruyu after her rebirth would not.

She knew all too well that Lady Wei was a madwoman. She had been somewhat restrained before, but now, relying on her father's promotion and the fact that she had a son, she was unrestrained and arrogant. She had made Zhao Yuanliang unwilling to even enter her courtyard, as he was either out having affairs or holed up in his concubine's quarters. Because of this, Lady Wei caused even more trouble, creating a vicious cycle.

She became Lady Wei's punching bag, constantly being beaten and scolded without a moment's peace. If she hadn't been capable enough to catch the eye of the old lady and the first lady, Lady Wei would have gone even further.

She took two steps back, avoiding Lady Wei's finger that was pointing at her, and replied, "Mother, please calm down. I'll go and persuade my sister right away." Without waiting for Lady Wei to say anything more, she turned around, lifted her skirt, and left quickly.

Zhao Rurui was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed after them.

Fushu returned with a few maids. Seeing Zhao Ruyu running away from afar, she instructed the maids to go forward, while she quietly went around through the corridor to chase after Zhao Ruyu.

Lady Wei then pointed to a young maid and said, "Go to the main courtyard and inquire what the old lady said and how she settled the fifth young lady. Report back to me."

The maidservant agreed and followed her to the main courtyard.