Just a Wet Nurse, Just a Plaything? Everyone Wept After My Death - Chapter 56
Chapter 56
The tense atmosphere in Tingfeng Courtyard was ultimately crushed beneath the sheer menace radiating from Huo Xiao.
“All of you, get out!”
Huo Xiao held Shen Yingyue protectively in his arms, sweeping a wolfish gaze over the servants filling the room before finally fixing it on his livid mother. Although his tone softened somewhat, he refused to yield an inch.
“Mother, I’ve only just returned, and I’m exhausted. If there’s nothing urgent, please go back to Songhe Hall and rest.
“As for the rules…
“In this manor, I don’t like anyone touching what belongs to me. Not even you.”
Old Madam Huo trembled with rage. She pointed at Huo Xiao and sputtered, “You…” for a long moment before finally glaring viciously at Shen Yingyue, who was hiding behind her son. Then she flung her sleeve.
“Fine! Very well!
“You would cast aside your own mother for that little seductress! Let’s see how long you can protect her!”
With that, she stormed out of Tingfeng Courtyard with Liu Ruyan supporting her.
…
Songhe Hall.
Crash!
The moment Old Madam Huo entered the room, she hurled a Ru porcelain teacup to the floor. Shards scattered everywhere.
“Outrageous! This is simply outrageous!”
Old Madam sat on the arhat couch, her chest heaving violently and her expression frighteningly dark.
“Just what kind of spell has that wretch cast on him? Tell me!
“He ignored his former wife, who was educated and sensible, but now he’s brought home a widow burdened with a child and treats her like the apple of his eye!
“He even defied his own mother in public for that wretch!”
The maids in the room dropped to their knees in terror, hardly daring to breathe.
Liu Ruyan alone waved the servants away. She personally brought over a cup of chrysanthemum tea to soothe Old Madam’s temper, then gently rubbed her back.
Rather than joining in the tirade, she spoke in the soft, refined voice of an understanding young lady from a noble family.
“Aunt, please calm down. It isn’t worth harming your health over an outsider.”
Liu Ruyan was not a breathtaking beauty at first glance, but her gentle, refined bearing more than made up for it. With her brows drawn together and concern written across her face, she could make anyone lower their guard.
“Cousin is a man destined for great things. He spends all year in the barracks surrounded by rough soldiers, so it’s only natural that he would find life tedious.
“Lady Shen… truly is exceptionally beautiful, and she has such a delicate disposition. It’s possible Cousin is simply captivated by the novelty of her.”
Old Madam Huo took a sip of tea. Her anger subsided slightly, but she still spoke through clenched teeth.
“Novelty? He’s clearly lost his mind!
“He’s the mighty Grand General. Does he no longer care about his reputation? If word gets out that he stole a widow away and made her his mistress, what will become of the Huo Family’s dignity?”
A calculating gleam flickered through Liu Ruyan’s eyes, too subtle to notice.
She set down the teacup and knelt beside Old Madam Huo, gently massaging her legs. Then, as if in passing, she sighed.
“His reputation is a secondary concern. Cousin’s military achievements are illustrious, so no one would dare gossip openly.
“But… there is something that has been weighing on my mind. I don’t know whether I should say it.”
Old Madam Huo glanced at her. She had always doted on this niece from her maternal family, and Liu Ruyan was also the woman she considered the ideal daughter-in-law.
“There is nothing you cannot say to your aunt. Go on.”
Liu Ruyan bit her lip, looking hesitant and deeply troubled as she lowered her voice.
“Aunt, you know that before Cousin brought Lady Shen back, that loudmouth Congwu mentioned her to me.
“He said Lady Shen was a widowed refugee. Her husband died suddenly at a young age, and his clan refused to tolerate her, so she eventually wandered all the way to Yanzhou.”
Old Madam Huo frowned. “I know. That accursed woman.”
“Yes, accursed indeed.”
Liu Ruyan placed particular emphasis on the word. A venomous light entered her eyes, though her face assumed a frightened expression.
“Think about it, Aunt. Lady Shen is so bewitchingly beautiful, and she appears perfectly healthy. Why, then, did her husband happen to die?
“There is a saying among the common folk that women like her… possess a fate too strong for their husbands. They are born with features that doom their spouses.
“Misfortune befalls anyone who gets close to them.”
Old Madam Huo’s grip tightened abruptly around her cane, and a trace of apprehension flashed through her cloudy eyes.
The greater and more distinguished the household, the more credence it tended to give to fortune-telling and geomancy.
Seeing this, Liu Ruyan continued rubbing salt into the still-fresh wound. Her voice dropped to a ghostly whisper.
“And then consider Cousin’s late wife…
“She was blessed with such good fortune, so why did she happen to… die in childbirth while delivering your little grandson?
“And so soon after her death, Cousin brought this widow home.
“Supernatural tales may not be trustworthy, but Cousin leads troops into battle and makes his living amid flashing blades. The greatest taboo for a man like him is having someone… inauspicious by his side.”
Boom!
Her words struck like a bolt from the blue, hitting Old Madam Huo precisely where she was most vulnerable.
Huo Xiao was her only son!
He was the pillar of the Huo Family and more precious to her than life itself!
If that woman’s overpowering fate truly brought doom upon her husbands and threatened her son’s safety, it would be more agonizing than death itself!
“You’re right… You’re right!”
Old Madam Huo’s expression instantly shifted from fury to fear and vicious resolve. She seized Liu Ruyan’s hand so tightly that her nails nearly dug into the flesh.
“That woman is a harbinger of disaster!
“She brought about her first husband’s death, and now she’s come to harm my son!
“Someone so inauspicious absolutely cannot remain in this manor! She cannot!”
Enduring the pain in her hand, Liu Ruyan clasped Old Madam Huo’s hand in return. A cold, triumphant smile flashed through her eyes, but her voice remained soft and soothing.
“Aunt, don’t be hasty.
“Cousin is currently infatuated with her. If you try to drive her out by force, you’ll only damage the bond between mother and son.
“We must take our time and devise a proper plan.
“Since she is an ‘inauspicious woman,’ we simply have to make Cousin understand that this woman… cannot be allowed to stay.”
Old Madam Huo took a deep breath. The cloudiness vanished from her eyes, replaced by the ruthless gleam unique to women accustomed to the schemes of the inner household.
“You’re right, Ruyan.
“We cannot deal with a seductress like her by using force.
“Since she’s a wet nurse, I’ll make certain she learns what it means to be taught the rules here in the General’s Manor!”
Outside the window, wind rustled through the treetops.
Amid this seemingly affectionate conversation between aunt and niece, a plot against Shen Yingyue quietly took shape.
Meanwhile, in Tingfeng Courtyard, Huo Xiao had Shen Yingyue pinned beneath him on the cushioned couch.
She shivered, the ominous feeling in her heart growing stronger by the moment.
