Chapter 273

“Eldest Miss Jing!” Seeing that it was Jing Wenyan, Wei Yuewu bowed slightly. Eldest Miss Jing basically did not attend banquets. Wei Yuewu did not expect that she would actually come to Li Mansion’s banquet.

“I have been here for quite a while. I thought I would run into Sixth Young Lady here, but I didn’t expect it would take so long before I saw you!” Jing Wenyan said warmly, not noticing the trace of indifference in the corner of Wei Yuewu’s eyes.

“I sprained my ankle, so I came late!” Wei Yuewu smiled. She suddenly remembered that Li Yue’er was also invited by Jing Wenyan to her courtyard last time. It seemed that the two of them had a good relationship.

“Are you seriously injured? Do you need to be treated by a doctor?” Jing Wenyan looked down at Wei Yuewu’s slightly raised foot and asked with concern.

“It’s fine. Second Uncle has already fetched a doctor to take care of my foot!” Wei Yuewu shook her head and refused with a smile.

At this time, the banquet had already started. Because of Jing Wenyan’s invitation, Wei Yuewu and Wei Qiuju sat at the same table with her.

Li Mansion’s old lady also walked out and accepted everyone’s congratulations. However, no matter how Wei Yuewu looked at her, she felt that this old lady did not look happy at all. Her smile was very stiff.

Wei Yuewu bowed to the old lady with everyone and then returned to the table.

“Fifth Young Lady, Sixth Young Lady, have you finished eating?” An old maidservant of the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang hurriedly came in and whispered to Wei Yuewu.

Wei Yuewu looked at the old lady, who was still sitting in the top seat of honor. By now, all the people had bowed to her, and some began to go leave. Since they had bowed to the old lady, leaving at this time wasn’t an act of discourtesy.

“We’re done!” Wei Yuewu looked at Wei Qiuju and said.

The two of them stood up together and were about to leave. Lady Zhang bid farewell to Li Mansion’s old lady and Lady Li, after which they all went out of the banquet hall.

Beside the carriages, Wei Luowu was already waiting there. Wei Ziyi and Wei Zifeng were both there, and only Wei Ziyang was absent.

Seeing that everyone was here, the women got on the carriages, and the man got on their horses, and the group of them left Li Mansion and headed back to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang.

After returning to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang, Wei Luowu strode towards the inner courtyard. At this time, Lady Zhang also noticed something unusual and did not dare to get too close to him. She thought for a moment and said to Wei Qiuju and Wei Yuewu, “You two go back to your own courtyard first. In a while, if your grandmother has something, she will send for you. Yuewu, you twisted your foot. Take a good rest.”

“Yes, Third Aunt!” Wei Yuewu nodded and then took leave. Although she was not seriously injured, she felt very tired after the journey, especially because one of her feet couldn’t touch the ground.

When they returned to Lotus Courtyard, the maids saw that Wei Yuewu’s foot was injured and hurriedly helped her sit down. Jin Ling looked at her foot again and found that although it was still swollen, there were signs of gradual improvement. Only then did she let out a sigh of relief in her heart.

Shufei served tea. Wei Yuewu took a sip and asked, “Did he come?”

Seeing that Wei Yuewu was fine, the maids were also relaxed. Shufei was the first to laugh, “Miss, there was a fight over there before you came back. Even the Madam Dowager was startled!”

Wei Yuewu smiled and did not speak. She knew Wei Yuejiao’s temper. Once she was agitated, she would really make a scene. Moreover, this Xie Qingzhao could be considered a pain in the butt for her. Wei Yuewu could imagine that as long as Wei Yuejiao thought that she might marry that Xie Qingzhao, she would even wish to die.

Moreover, Xie Qingzhao secretly came to see her. If people saw the two of them meeting, they might think that she really liked Xie Qingzhao. In that case, she couldn’t explain herself even if she had a hundred mouths.

“Did the Third Young Lady go and beat the Fourth Young Lady?” Jin Ling asked excitedly. “Quickly tell us what happened.”

“It was said that the arrogant Imperial Academician Xie came to the mansion and he claimed to have an urgent matter to discuss with the Second Master. However, the Second Master was out and therefore the servant led him to the Second Master’s study. He waited in the study for a while and came out for a walk. Nobody knew how he met the Third Young Lady, who was having a walk in the garden. The two of them chatted for a while and then the Third Young Lady became angry. She slapped Imperial Academician Xie and drove him away.”

“After that, she went to Fourth Young Lady’s courtyard to make a big fuss. She said that what the Fourth Young Lady wanted to do with Imperial Academician Xie had nothing to do with her. However, she would not allow the Fourth Young Lady to get her involved with Xie Qingzhao! The situation escalated to such an extent that the Madam Dowager sent for the two of them. At this time, they should still be in the Madam Dowager’s Tranquility Courtyard!”

Shufei had stayed in the mansion to keep an eye on the matter and was naturally very clear about the development. She told Wei Yuewu in detail what had happened.

After listening to Shufei’s report, Wei Yuewu put down the handkerchief she was playing with and raised her eyes slightly. “So, the Third Young Lady and Fourth Young Lady are still with the Madam Dowager?”

“Yes, even Concubine Dong was called over. I heard that the Madam Dowager even reprimanded Concubine Dong. Now, Concubine Dong is still kneeling in the Madam Dowager’s courtyard.”

“How about my father?” Wei Yuewu raised her eyebrows and asked calmly.

“The Madam Dowager sent someone to ask for the opinion of Lord Marquis. However, Lord Marquis only asked someone to pass a message, saying the Madam Dowager should make all the decisions in the backyard.” Shufei answered.

This matter had gone a little out of control, and everyone in the mansion knew about it. How could Lord Marquis not know?

However, seeing Lord Marquis’s indifference, people in the mansion who had always been optimistic of Concubine Dong began to doubt in their hearts. Did this mean that it was impossible for Concubine Dong to become Marquise Hua Yang?

People couldn’t be more doubtful when they saw Concubine Dong was punished with protracted kneeling. Could it be that even the Madam Dowager was also dissatisfied with Concubine Dong?

“Huamo, go get two cushions for Concubine Dong later. Tell her that I know she was punished to kneel. I was afraid that her knees would hurt, so I deliberately gave her the soft cushions that had just been made.” A faint smile appeared on Wei Yuewu’s lips as she spoke to Huamo who was beside her.

“Get cushions for Concubine Dong?” Huamo was stunned for a moment and didn’t understand why she was asked to do so.

Shufei immediately understood what Wei Yuewu meant and she pulled Huamo’s sleeve with a smile. “Hurry up, Huamo. Concubine Dong may be going back to her own courtyard now. If you arrived there late, few people would know about our young lady’s concern for Concubine Dong!”

“Yes… I understand!” After being pulled by Shufei, Huamo also came back to her senses. It turned out that the real purpose of their young lady was to humiliate Concubine Dong. She immediately responded and casually took two cushions from around her and ran out with a smile.

Concubine Dong had indeed just come out. No matter what, she had never imagined that the Madam Dowager would be so heartless as to actually punish her with protracted kneeling.

Although she hadn’t been kneeling for long, she had lost her entire face. As long as she thought servants in this mansion would be pointing fingers at her, she would grit her teeth with anger.

“Mother…” The Third Young Lady Wei Yuejiao was also angry. She came out with Concubine Dong. At this time, she rubbed her handkerchief and felt much aggrieved.

“Third Young Lady, you should call me concubine!” Concubine Dong said sternly.

Seeing that Concubine Dong’s expression was so fierce, Wei Yuejiao began to shed tears as she said in a wronged tone, “Concubine! But I was really treated unfairly for what happened today. It was clearly that Xie Qingzhao to blame, who came to me and talked nonsense about what happened to Fourth Younger Sister. What happened to her has nothing to do with me. Why did he ask me?”

“Then why did you rush to Wei Qiufu’s courtyard? If there was anything, you could bring this Xie Qingzhao over to see me. Isn’t it good for us to deal with it together?”

Concubine Dong scolded Wei Yuejiao angrily. If the matter hadn’t been known by the Madam Dowager, how would she lose so much face?

“Yuejiao, did you forget what I told you before we came to the capital? I told you to be careful, especially because the Sixth Young Lady has returned and the situation is different from the past. Now you see, even your father doesn’t care about us, and the Madam Dowager is even more…” Concubine Dong glared at Wei Yuejiao angrily.

“Concubine, before we entered the capital, you said that you would pick a good family for me and marry me out as a legitimate daughter. But look at the man grandmother has picked for me! How is this person worthy of me? He had neither wealth nor noble status. Besides, he is immoral and the one he loves in private is Fourth Younger Sister. What… what kind of a person has grandmother picked for me?”

The more Wei Yuejiao spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. She wiped away her tears with a handkerchief. Today, she was walking around the garden when that Xie Qingzhao came over and he refused to leave as she asked. He claimed to have something important to say and that he had received a letter from her. When she retreated to the side to talk with him, he simply kept asking about Wei Qiufu.

Afraid that the people in the mansion might really think she had something to do with Xie Qingzhao, she got angry and directly slapped Xie Qingzhao in the face before letting the servants drive him away.

Wei Yuejiao was inexplicably disturbed by Xie Qingzhao for the sake of Wei Qiufu. When she recalled Wei Qiufu’s indifferent attitude since she entered the capital city, how could Wei Yuejiao remain calm? She immediately became angry and went to look for Wei Qiufu with her maid.

In fact, this kind of thing happened in the past. However, the target was not Wei Qiufu, but Wei Yan. Speaking of which, she and Wei Yan were also like two needles against each other. Sometimes, the two of them would quarrel, but in the end, the Madam Dowager would always scold Wei Yan. Therefore, Wei Yuejiao did not think that she went too far this time.

However, what she did not expect was that not only did the Madam Dowager not stand on her side this time, but she even called Concubine Dong over and reprimanded her for failing to properly educate and discipline her. Her father, who loved her most, did not even show up.

“Yuejiao, don’t forget the Sixth Young Lady is the undisputed legitimate daughter!” Seeing that Wei Yuejiao was sad, Concubine Dong’s expression eased up a bit, and she said earnestly, “You are still not a legitimate daughter yet.”

Wei Yuejiao was unconvinced and retorted, “Didn’t grandmother and the others treat me well when I wasn’t a legitimate daughter before?”

“That was the case in the past, but now it’s different. The Sixth Young Lady has returned, and even the Lord Marquis dots on the Sixth Young Lady!” Concubine Dong sighed.

“Damn slut, why didn’t she die? Didn’t you say that she had congenital deficiencies and wouldn’t be able to survive?” At the thought of Wei Yuewu ruining her plan this time again, Wei Yuejiao gnashed her teeth in hatred. If Wei Yuewu died early, wouldn’t everything be fine? In that case, she would be father’s only daughter. How come that cheap girl Wei Yuewu didn’t die?

“Yuejiao, shut up!” Hearing Wei Yuejiao mention congenital deficiencies, Concubine Dong looked around in panic and shouted angrily.

“Concubine…” Wei Yuejiao argued.

“Yuejiao, never mention this matter again in the future!” Concubine Dong’s expression became fierce. Her gaze also swept over the few most trusted servants beside her, who immediately lowered their heads one by one, not daring to make the slightest movement. When she was at the border, Concubine Dong punished people very harshly. None of the servants she brought with her to the mansion of Marquis Hua Yang dared to disobey her.

“Concubine, our young lady heard that you were punished to kneel by the Madam Dowager, so she specially asked me to come over and send two cushions to you. If you are not feeling well in the leg later, you can lean on the cushions.”

Huamo appeared at the intersection with a smile, carrying two cushions in her hands…