Chapter 246: Passing the Buck

 Chapter 246: Passing the Buck

Main Courtyard.

Madam Li woke up in the afternoon. Ping Tong and Ping Xiao, unwilling to hide anything, reported the events that had happened at Shuangxin Courtyard one by one.

After hearing this, Madam Li sighed deeply and closed her eyes to calm herself for a long time. When she finally opened them again, she asked, “Where is the eldest daughter?”

Ping Tong replied, “It seems the eldest miss has been having Miss Zhou help her make some masks these days. Just now, Miss Zhou came to deliver something, and the eldest miss should be talking with her at Daohua Pavilion. Madam, would you like me to call her over?”

Madam Li shook her head, “No need. Let her be busy with her work.”

Not long after she spoke, the sound of someone greeting them came from outside.

Ping Xiao leaned out to look out the window, then immediately turned back to Madam Li, smiling, “It’s the eldest miss. It must be that you and the eldest daughter are connected by heart. As soon as you woke up, she must have sensed it, so she came right away.”

At these words, a smile appeared on Madam Li’s face. Soon, the curtain was pulled open, and her daughter walked in briskly.

“Mother!”

Seeing that Madam Li had woken up and was sitting up in bed, Daohua’s face lit up with joy. She quickly walked to the bedside, “Mother, you’re awake?”

Madam Li took Daohua’s hand. Seeing the fatigue in her daughter's brows, her face filled with tenderness and guilt, “It’s all my fault. I had to fall ill at this time and burdened you with the family matters. You must be exhausted these past few days, haven’t you?”

She spoke with a sharp look in her eyes.

The matter with Lin should have been handled by her, not her daughter stepping in front to bear the brunt.

Daohua sat on the edge of the bed, disagreeing, “Mother hasn’t done anything wrong. You are a loving mother and worried about us, which is why you fell ill. No one wishes for this. It’s my duty as your daughter to share your worries. I don’t feel tired at all, just that you must get well soon.”

Madam Li nodded, “Alright, I’ll get better as soon as I can.” After a pause, she continued, “I heard that you had two maids guarding Shuangxin Courtyard?”

Daohua nodded and coldly snorted, “If there weren’t still a concubine, Liu, living there, I would have locked the place up, so that Lin’s behavior wouldn’t continue to disturb the peace in the whole mansion.”

Madam Li tapped Daohua’s forehead, shaking her head, “You are too impulsive. Let me ask you, you’ve had the maids guard the door to Shuangxin Courtyard, but how will your father get in?”

Daohua’s eyes widened, “Since Lin and her family have cursed you and my two brothers, if Father still wants to go see her, then he might as well live with his concubine from now on!”

Seeing that her daughter hadn’t understood her meaning, Madam Li hesitated, trying to find the right words. After several attempts, she finally muttered, “Since your father has forbidden Lin from entering the residence, he won’t slap his own face. What I meant was, now that I’m ill, your father still needs a place to sleep at night, doesn’t he?”

Daohua paused for a moment, then her face lit up with realization. She sneered, “Then let him sleep in the study. He’s almost forty. If he can’t bear it, it’ll be his own fault.”

At these words, Madam Li and the maids Ping Tong and Ping Xiao were all stunned, staring at her in disbelief.

They were silent for quite a while before Madam Li came back to her senses. She immediately slapped Daohua’s forehead, “You little girl, what are you saying?”

Daohua hurriedly covered her forehead and looked at her mother accusingly.

Madam Li wanted to say more, but seeing her daughter’s sad expression as she rubbed her forehead, the words were swallowed back down. She only muttered angrily, “Once I’m better, I’ll go to your courtyard and collect all the novels in your study.”

Daohua wanted to defend herself, but seeing the look on Madam Li’s face, she wisely kept quiet.

If she had to collect them, so be it. After all, she had read them already, and when the time came, she’d just buy new ones. She had money, so she could be a little willful!

Daohua glanced at Madam Li and saw that after lecturing her, her mother still had plenty of energy, no longer looking as sickly as before. She then explained, “Mother, the reason I’ve had Shuangxin Courtyard guarded is mainly for the stability of the mansion.”

“Since you and Grandmother are both ill and Father has to attend to the court, he can’t handle the affairs in the rear courtyard. Lin’s behavior at this time only stirs up trouble. She’s like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. If we don’t suppress her now, who knows what she might do next?”

“As for the maids, my older brothers are trapped in Xingyun Prefecture. If they dare to harbor ill intentions, what use are they to us?”

“I know, Mother might think I’m too harsh, but if someone is disloyal once, they may do it again. I’ve punished them severely this time, which has embarrassed them, and maybe they’ll change their ways. But it’s also possible they’ll harbor resentment.”

“In that case, for the future peace and stability, I must nip any potential threats in the bud and not give them any chance to retaliate against me.”

“If you’re going to do something, do it thoroughly.”

She would never underestimate anyone. Even though the servants had no rights, that didn’t stop them from stirring up trouble.

Looking at the sharp look in Daohua’s eyes and the resolute tone in her voice, Madam Li was stunned.

Without realizing it, her daughter had gained the ability to handle matters on her own, and her decisiveness was even sharper than hers!

Daohua didn’t notice Madam Li’s expression and continued, “When Madam Zhou was teaching Jingwan to manage the household, she said something that I think is very true: As a mistress, we can show mercy to the servants, but we must never lose our authority, or they’ll become disrespectful.”

“This time, the incident may seem small, but in just a few days, it caused such a stir in the mansion. It’s because we’ve been too lenient before.”

“It’s only right that Maid’s misfortune happened when she crossed paths with us. She’s just the example to warn others. By using this opportunity, we can finally establish some rules in the mansion.”

With that, Daohua tugged at Madam Li’s hand, “Mother, now that things have calmed down in the mansion, I’ve instructed Aunt Fang to keep an eye on the gates. I’ve also asked Ping Tong and Ping Xiao to monitor the daily affairs. I plan to go to Xingyun Prefecture in a couple of days to bring my brothers back.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Li immediately sat up straight, tightly grasping Daohua’s hand, and said anxiously, “No, your three brothers are already trapped over there. Are you going too?”

“Now, I’m left with only you. If something happens to you too, how can I live?”

Madam Li became so agitated that she started coughing heavily.

Seeing this, Daohua quickly stood up, gently patting her mother’s back while soothing her, “Mother, please don’t get worked up. Let me finish explaining.”

Madam Li, still in a state of refusal, responded, “No matter what you say, I won’t agree to you going. You can give up on that idea.”

Daohua helplessly replied, “But my brothers are in Xingyun Prefecture.” She reached out to hold Madam Li’s shoulders and added, “Mother, I’m not fearless. I won’t joke with my own life.”

Madam Li gradually calmed down, though her expression remained one of refusal.

Daohua sighed quietly before speaking softly, “Mother, you know that I’ve been studying medical books for years.”

Madam Li responded crossly, “You’re only a half-baked scholar, don’t talk about that.”

Daohua fell silent. Fine, she wouldn’t bring that up.

“Mother, Xiao Yeyang is also in Xingyun Prefecture. If I go there, if, if the plague can’t be controlled, with my connection to him, I can at least convince him to bring my three brothers out.”

Upon hearing this, Madam Li’s expression softened.

Both her sons and daughter were the apple of her eye. If any of them were to suffer, it would break her heart. But if Daohua could really save her brothers, should she allow her daughter to take the risk?

Madam Li hesitated, then, seeing that Daohua still wanted to continue persuading her, she pushed Daohua away and weakly shifted the decision to Old Madam.

“Go ask your grandmother. If she agrees, then come back to me.”

Daohua paused for a moment before nodding, “Alright, I’ll go talk to Grandmother now.” After all, if she wanted to go to Xingyun Prefecture, both Grandmother and Mother needed to be on board.

Watching Daohua leave, Madam Li felt a pang of guilt. She looked at Ping Tong and Ping Xiao and asked, “Am I being too unfilial? Every time there’s a problem, I send her to ask Old Madam.”

Ping Xiao was unsure how to respond and looked at Ping Tong.

After a moment of thought, Ping Tong smiled and said, “Old Madam is the anchor of the Yan family. It’s only right for Madam to ask her for advice.”

Madam Li nodded, seemingly comforted by Ping Tong’s words, “Yes, you’re right. Old Madam has more experience than I do. It’s only natural that her advice is more thorough than mine.”

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Songhe Courtyard

As soon as Daohua spoke, Old Madam Yan immediately dismissed her from the room.

Reluctantly, Daohua stood outside the window and explained her reasons in detail.

After a long time, when she reached the point where she could explain how she might manage to get her three brothers out of the city, Old Madam Yan finally seemed to soften.

“Go ask your mother. You are her daughter. If she agrees, then come back and ask me.”

Upon hearing this, Daohua raised an eyebrow, her eyes gleaming with cleverness. “Grandmother, wait for me. I’ll go ask my mother. She will definitely agree.”

Once Daohua left the courtyard, Old Madam Yan looked at Aunt Sun with a guilty expression. “Was I too harsh? As the saying goes, both the palm and the back of the hand are flesh. Asking Li Shi to make the decision is too hard on her!”

Aunt Sun hesitated for a moment before responding, “Old Madam, no one knows the daughter better than her mother. Madam Li is surely aware of the eldest daughter’s temperament and will consider her opinion carefully.”

Old Madam Yan sighed, “What a thing this is. May the Bodhisattva bless the Yan family’s descendants to grow up safely.”

(End of Chapter)