Chapter 262: The Old Lady’s Wrath
That was the doing of that scoundrel, the original Wen Xiuyi—not her dear old dad. So if Lady Liu wanted to scold him, Wen Yao was fine letting her vent. After all, the original owner’s father had been a total piece of trash.
But the past was the past, and the present was the present. The current Wen Xiuyi was no longer that worthless scoundrel.
Seeing Wen Yao lowering her head without a word, Lady Liu belatedly realized her tone was a bit harsh. Softening her voice, she said, “Yao Yao, Mother isn’t yelling at you. Mother is just worried that your father will never change his nature. You’re a young girl—how could your father possibly take proper care of you?”
Almost the instant Lady Liu’s words fell, Old Madam Luo’s voice rang out behind her.
“How well he takes care of her is still the business of our Wen family. There’s no need for you to worry about it.”
Old Madam Luo walked through the front door, accompanied by Nanny Du. Shortly after they entered, Nanny Shi, who had gone to store the gifts, emerged from the backyard and quietly took her place behind Wen Yao.
Lady Liu hadn’t expected Old Madam Luo to come over at this time, nor did she expect her to have overheard her words.
Since things had come to this, there was no need to pretend anymore.
Lady Liu stood up, exuding the full presence of an official’s wife.
“Yao Yao is my daughter as well. How can I not worry about her? She ought to have a bright and splendid future, yet she’s stuck here guarding your tiny plot of land. Old Lady Wen, ask yourself—that son of yours, do you actually trust him?” Lady Liu asked, cutting straight to the point.
Old Madam Luo let out a cold snort. “Whether I trust him or not is our Wen family’s own business. Since you divorced my eldest son, you’ve gone your separate ways as strangers at opposite ends of the earth. The affairs of the Wen family have nothing to do with you anymore, and the children of the Wen family naturally have nothing to do with you either. How they are raised, taught, and cared for is certainly none of your concern.”
Having said her piece, Old Madam Luo cold-facedly instructed Nanny Shi and Nanny Du, “Nanny Shi, Nanny Du, see our guest out!”
Nanny Du stepped forward immediately. “Mrs. Meng, if you please.”
Lady Liu nearly fainted from anger. Ignoring Old Madam Luo, she turned her eyes toward Wen Yao. “Yao Yao, just say the word, and Mother can take you away right now! I’d like to see who dares to stop me!”
Old Madam Luo actually laughed. “Who dares stop you? Lady Liu, in the past I thought you were just proud and arrogant, looking down on our farming family. I always felt our Wen family had married above our status, so ever since you entered our home, I never treated you harshly. I didn’t even let you touch the household chores, leaving them all to the second and third daughters-in-law.
“And what about you? Do you truly believe the things you did went completely unnoticed? If my eldest son hadn’t been such a scoundrel back then, making my old man and me feel guilty toward you, do you think you could have walked out of this house so easily when you wanted a divorce?”
Lady Liu’s expression changed dramatically.
Old Madam Luo didn’t need to put on airs like Nanny Shi had taught her anymore. Standing there right now, she held the stance of a victor, looking down at Lady Liu as if stripping her naked and exposing her under the blinding sunlight, completely laid bare.
Lady Liu clutched her handkerchief tightly, looking as though she were about to tear it to shreds, her face flushed red with rage.
Seeing her mistress being treated like this, the elderly housekeeper beside Lady Liu suddenly raised her voice and barked at Old Madam Luo, “Where did a country crone like you come from to dare speak to my mistress in such a manner?”
Old Madam Luo laughed mockingly. “So what if I’m a country crone? What about your mistress? She still called me her mother-in-law for over a decade, and she’s someone who kowtowed and served tea to me! What? Now that she’s transformed into an official’s wife, she can hold her head high and disrespect her elders?”
Lady Liu’s past was ruthlessly torn open, shattered, and thrown right back into her face by Old Madam Luo.
Old Madam Luo wasn’t a harsh person by nature and hadn’t intended to hold grudges against her. Since she was gone, they should have gone their separate ways to live their own lives. She was open-minded enough to let live—after all, Lady Liu was the biological mother of three children, so visiting on holidays to show filial piety would have been normal.
However, the one thing Lady Liu shouldn’t have done was set her sights on the children—especially Wen Yao.
Wen Yao was now Old Madam Luo’s absolute darling, her precious treasure. No one was allowed to touch her line; push the button on Wen Yao, and the old lady would explode.
Right now, Lady Liu was stomping all over the old lady’s bottom line, so she had to endure the old lady’s wrath.
Ever since marrying Meng De, Lady Liu had never suffered such humiliation. Shamed to the point of turning beet red, her breathing grew uneven, and she could barely stand straight without her maidservant supporting her.
Seeing her mistress enraged to this extent, the old housekeeper snapped angrily, “If anything happens to my mistress out of rage, my Master will certainly not let this rest! Just you wait!”
“Wait? Let him come! Do you think I’m afraid of you? Get the hell out of my house right now, and don’t let me see you again! Otherwise, don’t blame this old woman for getting rough! Nanny Du, Nanny Shi, what are you standing there for? Beat them out!” Old Madam Luo roared even louder than her.
Without a second thought, Nanny Du and Nanny Shi grabbed the brooms near the door and started swinging.
Terrified of being hit—and even more terrified of Lady Liu getting hit—the old housekeeper and maidservant could only retreat step by step, until they were forced all the way to the front gate.
In utter disarray, Lady Liu stared at Wen Yao.
“Yao Yao, I’m your mother! Are you really going to watch your mother be humiliated like this?”
Wen Yao merely cast a single glance at her before trotting over to gently rub the old lady’s chest to ease her breathing.
Seeing this scene, hatred intensified in Lady Liu’s heart. Clenching her handkerchief tightly, she looked at the grandmother and granddaughter displaying their deep affection. Remembering her discussion with Meng De that day, Lady Liu ultimately swallowed her harsh threats. She merely gazed at Wen Yao with deep reluctance and said, “Yao Yao, Mother will come see you another day. Mother will wait for your answer.”
The breath that Old Madam Luo had just smoothed over flared up once more.
“Get out!”
Nanny Shi and Nanny Du swept their brooms even faster.
The mistress and her two servants had no choice but to rush out the main gate. Only when they reached the entrance did they realize why the coachman hadn’t come in to help despite the huge commotion: the old lady had already made preparations. Lu Jiang and Lu River had pinned the coachman against the side of the carriage, leaving him completely immobile while he screamed continuously for them to let him go.
Seeing Lady Liu driven out, the two brothers released their grip at the same time.
The coachman nearly lost his balance and fell to the ground.
Just as he straightened up to strike back, he saw Lady Liu and her two servants retreating out the door in disgrace. At the gate, Nanny Shi and Nanny Du each held a broom, standing guard like a pair of door gods.
Seeing a few villagers heading their way, Lady Liu bit her lip and climbed into the carriage.
“Drive!”
Only after the carriage departed did Nanny Shi and Nanny Du put away their brooms and return to the courtyard.
By now, Old Madam Luo had been helped to a seat by Wen Yao. The old lady’s face was somewhat pale, and her lips had turned slightly blue—a sign of extreme anger. The old lady’s liver wasn’t in good shape to begin with, leaving Wen Yao deeply worried.
“Nanny, tell Lu Jiang to quickly drive the carriage to fetch my brother! Oh, and invite Doctor Jin over as well!” Wen Yao hastily commanded.
Nanny Shi also realized the old lady wasn’t looking right and quickly sent Lu Jiang off in the carriage to fetch the eldest young master.
Old Madam Luo had completely lost her previous imposing aura. She simply held onto Wen Yao’s hand, gazing at her with deep reluctance, and only managed to utter a single sentence after a long silence:
“Don’t leave your father… You children are all he has now.”
