Time Travel: The Noble Family-Chapter 1113 - 480: Shifting the Blame
The stuffy night was suffocating, Yuehuan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Outside the window, streaks of lightning pierced the pitch-black night sky, and the oppressive thunder made Yuehuan increasingly irritable.
Yuehuan got up and called out, "Xin Yu, light the lamp."
Xin Yu, now Yuehuan’s personal maid, was on duty for the night. Upon hearing Yuehuan’s words, she immediately got up and lit the palm oil lamp on the table.
Xin Yu observed Yuehuan sitting on the bed, not getting off or speaking, feeling slightly uneasy, she tentatively called out, "Master, sir..." Currently, Qian Tu visits her only on the first and fifteenth of the month, spending the rest of his time at the new maternal auntie’s room. Xin Yu thought Yuehuan was sleepless because Qian Tu wasn’t coming to the main courtyard.
Xin Yu was handpicked by Yuehuan and was utterly loyal. Yuehuan could instantly perceive Xin Yu’s thoughts, a cold smile on her lips, she spoke lightly, "You can go to sleep!"
Xin Yu respectfully stepped away. Yet in her heart, she felt a bit regretful. Speaking of which, none of the aunts taken in by sir have as good looks as her master, only it’s unclear why her master has grown colder towards sir, causing him to not even want to come to the main courtyard anymore.
Indeed, Xin Yu knows her master is a very wise person, but lacks the inclination to vie for favor; if her master wished, the few maternal aunties wouldn’t even stand a chance.
Yuehuan leaned against the bedhead, reminiscing Xiang Wei’s words. Actually, Xiang Wei didn’t know she wasn’t afraid of that day arriving; on the contrary, she wishes it would come sooner so she could escape this cage. Some things she cannot share with others, the Qian family might look prosperous from the outside, but internally it is a filthy mess. In this generation, Qian Tu is either one who relies on arrogance and power to bully others or indulges in endless romantic pursuits regularly, and her husband is the latter.
When Yuehuan got married, all of Qian Tu’s chambermaids were sent away. Later, Second Madam Qian gifted him a maid, and after she gave birth to Chenghong, Qian Tu brought in three aunts from outside. The most recent aunt appeared to be of the Ping family, but Yuehuan could tell just by the woman’s seductive appearance that something was amiss.
Yuehuan didn’t have no feelings for Qian Tu; if she didn’t have any, she wouldn’t have been able to give birth to Chenghong. However, these feelings were thin, and once Qian Tu started bringing aunts home, they disappeared entirely. With a continuous stream of aunts arriving, Yuehuan couldn’t be bothered to deal with Qian Tu any longer. Anyway, she’s already given birth to a son. The Lian family is supportive, so even if she doesn’t sweetly comply with Qian Tu, life in the Qian family remains comfortable. The only regret is her son cannot stay by her side.
The next day, after breakfast, the personal maid from Maternal Auntie Song’s side came over and said, "Madam, our auntie is unwell and would like to request a doctor."
Yuehuan’s expression remained calm as she instructed the maid to invite a doctor. In the end, upon examination, it was diagnosed Maternal Auntie Song was already three months pregnant.
Yuehuan didn’t react much to this. The new aunt had arrived two months ago; it was quite normal for Maternal Auntie Song, who was very favored, to conceive.
Second Madam Qian was overjoyed hearing Maternal Auntie Song was pregnant. To Second Madam Qian, naturally, the more sons, the better. Up until now, she had only one grandson, Chenghong. Now with Maternal Auntie Song pregnant, Second Madam Qian was understandably thrilled.
Xin Yu cautiously spoke upon observing Yuehuan’s demeanor, "Madam, even if Maternal Auntie Song is pregnant, madam is the primary wife, and the young boy is sir’s lawful elder son; no one can shake madam’s position."
Yuehuan’s face displayed disdain. Forget Maternal Auntie Song being pregnant; even if all the aunts were pregnant, she wouldn’t care. Up until now, she hasn’t had a second child, and it’s not because she couldn’t, but because she didn’t want to. Sooner or later, the Qian family would decline, and what the future holds is anyone’s guess. Chenghong was unavoidable; she had to bear a son; otherwise, standing in the Qian family would be impossible. But one Chenghong is enough; any more and she fears she wouldn’t be able to keep them safe when misfortune arises.
Thinking of her son brought a wrenching pain to Yuehuan’s heart. Chenghong was taken away by Second Madam Qian as soon as he was born. She, being the mother, now only gets to see him when paying respects, leaving a sour feeling when thinking about it. Over the years, Yuehuan hasn’t lacked resolve to take her son back for upbringing, but Second Madam Qian is always one step ahead, resulting in Yuehuan’s repeated failures. Because of this reason, Second Madam Qian’s dislike for Yuehuan has only grown. However, as the Lian family has produced three palace graduates and one sister married to a marchioness, despite Second Madam Qian’s dislike towards Yuehuan, she dare not take any adverse action against her.
That evening, Xiang Wei returned to find Kexin playing with three little ones in the house, "Is madam painting again?"
Generally, when the husband is absent, the wife feels lonely. Yet this sentiment is hardly evident in Yueyao. Since the child turned ten months old and was weaned, Yueyao planned a schedule. Every morning, she practices boxing, followed by an hour of calligraphy practice; in the morning, she takes the child out to manage affairs, in the afternoon, she hands the child over to Xiang Wei; if Xiang Wei is busy with store matters, the three children are entrusted to an old nanny and maids while she immerses herself in painting in the studio. In the evenings, Yueyao usually accompanies the four children.
Seeing Gu You nod, Xiang Wei couldn’t help but laugh. Xiang Wei didn’t know how to assess Yueyao. Saying she’s irresponsible, but she spends mornings and evenings with the children; calling her responsible, yet once she’s painting, she cannot even hear the children’s cries.
Xiang Wei picked up Xiao San who crawled to her feet, kissed him, and chuckled, "Having a mother like yours, you truly are pitiful." Xiang Wei thought Yueyao would revolve around the children indefinitely, but unexpectedly, Yueyao quickly turned them over to her, catching her off guard. However, Xiang Wei also liked these children, generally returning for lunch unless there’s a pressing matter.
Kexin disagreed with Xiang Wei’s words, and whispered in rebuttal, "Auntie, mother is the best mother in the world, we are not pitiful at all."
Xiang Wei laughed heartily, "Well, your mother hasn’t raised you in vain. You must protect your mother like this in the future and teach your three younger brothers the same way."
Kexin only then realized that Xiang Wei Auntie was just teasing and did not really have an opinion about her mother. When Kexin thought of this, she felt a bit embarrassed.
Yueyao came out on time during dinner, and after finishing dinner, Yueyao took the four children for a walk in the backyard.
The next day, while Yueyao was having breakfast, Gu Lan hurriedly walked over. Because Kexin was present, Gu You whispered into Yueyao’s ear, "Madam, Madam Lin has a miscarriage and has seen red."
Yueyao widened her eyes, just about to speak, but upon seeing Xiao Kexin, she swallowed her words. She definitely couldn’t talk about this matter in front of a child.
After several wet nurses took the children out, Yueyao asked Gu Lan, "How did Madam Lin have a miscarriage for no reason?"
Gu Lan shook her head and said, "I don’t know either. It was Young Master Tingzheng who sent an old nanny over to inform us. Now, they’ve already sent people to fetch the Imperial Physician over there." Gu You and Gu Lan might be influenced by Xiang Wei, as they speak quite frankly. Seeing that Lin Qinghan shows no respect to Yueyao, naturally they wouldn’t refer to her as Fourth Young Lady.
No matter how displeased Yueyao was with Madam Lin, at this time, she couldn’t just sit idly by. Yueyao changed into a different set of clothes and went over.
Yueyao arrived at the residence, seeing Tingzheng’s face looking very gloomy, "What exactly happened? How did she have a miscarriage?" Without a mother-in-law to manage above, nor a concubine or chambermaid causing trouble, Lin Qinghan is the most prominent in the backyard. Yueyao couldn’t understand how Lin Qinghan ended up having a miscarriage. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚
Tingzheng looked ashamed, "Yesterday, I went out to socialize with friends and drank too much. I don’t know how it happened, but when I woke up this morning, there was a maid lying beside me, which was seen by Qinghan." In simple terms, Tingzheng slept with a maid after drinking, and this scene was seen by Lin Qinghan, causing her to be both shocked and angry, hence she had a miscarriage and saw red.
Yueyao’s lips moved for a couple of sentences, ultimately not saying anything, because Yueyao didn’t know what to say either, "I’ll go in and check on the sister-in-law."
Yueyao entered the room, seeing the pale Lin Qinghan, originally intending to offer some comfort. The fault lay with Tingzheng; any woman who saw her husband sleeping with a maid while pregnant would be furious.
But before Yueyao could speak, Lin Qinghan looked at Yueyao as if she were an enemy and yelled, "I know you don’t like me, but I didn’t expect you to use such despicable means."
Yueyao was stunned by the scolding.
This time, Gu You accompanied Yueyao, and upon hearing this, Gu You was so angry her face turned blue, "Don’t accuse falsely, what does your miscarriage have to do with our madam?"
If looks could kill, Yueyao would have been dismembered by Lin Qinghan, "Don’t think I don’t know that woman was arranged by you. You just don’t want me to give birth to the child, you want to cause a rupture between my husband and me. Lian Yueyao, I’ve never seen such a despicable and shameless person like you. No matter what, the child in my belly is still your nephew, how could you be so vicious?"
Yueyao now understood that Lin Qinghan believed that the maid who climbed into bed was arranged by her, with the purpose of severing the relationship between the couple. Yueyao didn’t even have the mood to argue back with Lin Qinghan anymore, after glancing at Lin Qinghan, she decided to head back without saying anything.
Before Yueyao could leave the room, she saw Tingzheng come in. Yueyao’s expression was very cold, she asked, "Did you hear the words just now? Do you think the same way?"
Tingzheng had been by Yueyao’s side since age five, now, already thirteen years, this was the first time he saw Yueyao with this kind of expression. Tingzheng felt very distressed. Initially, his sister disagreed with the marriage, he thought it must be because his sister had misunderstood Qinghan, and believed that once the misunderstanding was resolved, his sister would come to like Qinghan. But after marrying Lin Qinghan, he realized, things were not as he thought. Although his sister was lukewarm towards Qinghan, she had never made it difficult for her, while Qinghan held numerous grievances against his sister, even to the extent that they frequently quarreled over this. These would have been acceptable, but he never imagined that Qinghan harbored such a deep resentment towards his sister, to shift today’s blame on her.
