Chapter 58: Caught Off Guard

  Su Ying's heart was reluctant, but she could only pinch her nose and admit it.

  She was unwilling to bother with Fu Yiyang, but the superficial work had to be done well. First, she instructed Bai Zhi to clean up the house: "Originally, I planned to replace the window paper with glass anyway, so let that room be for the big girl to live in, and choose a pattern that girls like."

  "The decorations in the house will be just like they were when Big Sister was living upstairs," Su Ying continued, glancing at Fu Yiyang who seemed very pleased with himself. She really wanted to punch him but managed to hold back, and had to admit that Su Ying's patience had improved a lot. "Master, I think some of the people following Big Sister now are not too clever, I plan to reassign them, what do you think?"

  Originally, the informants planted by Madam Fu in her courtyard were either dismissed or driven away. Who knows if Madam Fu would take this opportunity to plant a bunch of unknown underlings in her courtyard? After all the effort to mend the holes in the sieve, she couldn't afford to invite wolves into her home.

  Fu Yiyang didn't even raise an eyebrow, and in his heart, he also thought that the servants at the eldest daughter's place had some problems. When he went to visit his daughter, there was a little maid who dressed up and fluttered around him, which made Fu Yiyang very annoyed. He wouldn't take advantage of someone under his own roof, let alone his own daughter's servant.

  This kind of thing would naturally not be spoken out loud, and Su Ying's proposal was exactly what he wanted to hear: "Keep the ones that look good, and send away the ones that don't." It's likely that the irregular maid was originally from Fu Mu's courtyard.

  Su Ying took advantage of the big girl's affair to brush up her good impression with Fu Yeyang, but the depression in her heart also accumulated. In her game with Mrs. Fu, she was still at a disadvantage. The key is that Mrs. Fu occupied the position of mother-in-law. Even if Fu Yeyang was dissatisfied in his heart, he would not say anything wrong about Mrs. Fu. Even though the last time's affair made Fu Yeyang completely disheartened and their mother-son relationship was exhausted.

  We have a long future ahead of us.

  Fu Yiyang didn't plan to leave today, and Su Ying wouldn't be foolish enough to push Fu Yiyang out. As she spoke, she sat down beside Su Ying. Her gaze was fixed intently on Su Ying's belly, "Could it be that I'm not trying hard enough? Why isn't there any movement?"

  The painting style changed so quickly, Su Ying couldn't help but blush, raised her hand to scratch her face, and scolded Fu Yiyang, "What nonsense are you talking about."

  The lotus eyes swept over the several little maidservants waiting by her side, and she retreated outward, her heart also filled with doubt. Master has been so diligent, but why is Madame's belly still not showing any signs?

  Fu Yiyang grasped Su Ying's hand with a backhand grip: "Hmph, it seems I didn't work hard enough. Let's settle down, wife."

  Su Ying once again witnessed Fu Yiyang's shamelessness. Before she could say anything, Thin Mint reported from outside: "Master and mistress, something has happened to Wei Niang."

  Fu Yiyang furrowed his brow: "What's going on?"

  Mint's face turned difficult, and she was banned for a while, but she could still stir up trouble. She's really an unstable one. "It seems that Wei Niang was being held back, the situation below didn't look good, so she reported to the main courtyard."

  Su Ying had a bad premonition in her heart, and her eyebrows also furrowed involuntarily. Fu Yeyang's eyebrows were even more tightly furrowed, "Go take a look."

  The gatekeeper opened the door, and Fu Yeyang stopped for a moment as soon as he entered. Su Ying looked up at him, "Why don't I go take a look myself?"

  Fu Yiyang saw her worried look, shook his head, pursed his lips and stepped inside. As soon as he reached the door, he heard Wei Niang's sobbing voice. He lifted the curtain to see Wei Niang huddled in the corner of the bed, clutching the quilt and shivering with fear. Her eyes were already swollen from crying, and at the sound of footsteps, she frantically waved her hands: "Don't burn me to death, don't!"

  Fu Yiyang looked at Wei Niang suddenly, he almost couldn't bear the disheveled and dirty woman who was speaking nonsense was originally the gentle and delicate Wei Shi.

  "What's going on? How did you get scared like this?" Su Ying swept her gaze around, "Wei Niang has been confined to her quarters, and the scope of her activities is limited, how could she have gotten scared for no reason? Someone must be playing tricks on her, Su Ying's anger rose up."

  Shivering and trembling, Wei Yiniang vaguely heard Su Ying's voice, and like a drowning person seeing a floating log, she rolled down from the bed with her quilt, making a loud thud on the floor that was particularly jarring in the quiet room.

  Wei's aunt, ignoring the pain, cried and crawled to Su Ying's front, suddenly hugged Su Ying's leg: "Madam, save me, I don't want to be here anymore, this place is so scary, I want to go home, miss my dad and mom, waaah, I never want to cross over again, I just want to go home!"

  Fu Yiyang had actually already suspected that Wei Niang had a problem, but upon hearing her words, he also took a deep breath. Su Ying's face also turned pale, and Fu Yiyang thought she was frightened, so he coldly said: "What are you standing there for? Don't you go and pull the person away?"

  Wei Yiniang stopped struggling and cried loudly, while Baohe and Luhui realized something was wrong and quickly covered Wei Yiniang's mouth without needing Fu Yeyang's instructions, fearing she would say more crazy words.

  "It's really crazy." The tone was so light that it made people tremble, Su Ying felt a chill in her heart and opened her mouth not knowing what to say, being led by Lu Hai back to the main courtyard, without a hint of smile on her face.

  "Ma'am, are you alright? But you've been frightened. I think Wei's wife has gone mad, it can't be said that she didn't do bad things before and now she's getting her retribution." Luhui saw Su Ying's face wasn't looking good, so he followed up with some advice, last time Wei's wife ran to the front yard was already a big mistake, this time she might not even have the chance to turn over like a salted fish.

  Su Yingke didn't have much to be happy about, she gritted her teeth: "Go investigate what's going on? How could Wei Niang be scared like this for no reason?"

  Su Ying hadn't even waited for the results yet, but first received a notification that the task had failed. She didn't have time to catch her breath before fainting, which scared the serving maids out of their wits. It was still Gu Yehuo who reacted quickly and scolded: "What are you all standing around for? Quickly go invite the doctor!"

  Su Ying was fine, the doctor came and only said that she had been frightened, drinking two doses of medicine to calm her down would be okay. Fu Ye Yang arranged for Wei Niang to come back to Zhengyuan to see Su Ying, seeing her pale face, even in sleep, her eyebrows were furrowed. This made his own eyebrows furrow even tighter, and he asked in a low voice, "What did the doctor say?"

  The doctor said the lady was fine, just startled, and that two doses of medicine to calm her down would be enough. The medicinal smell in the room hadn't dissipated yet, although the lit incense had suppressed it somewhat. Fu Yeyang sat on the edge of the bed, held Su Ying's hand for a moment, then instructed Lu Hui and Bo He to take good care of Su Ying before leaving.

  The little girl came back and said: "Master didn't stay in the backyard, he went to the front."

  These girls followed with mixed feelings in their hearts. Su Ying took the medicine and slept soundly, waking up later than usual the next day. Lu Hui had been guarding all night and rushed over as soon as she heard the noise: "Madam is awake, last night was terrifying for us."

  Su Ying leaned against the headboard, sipping bird's nest congee in small mouthfuls, and stopped after finishing half a bowl. She turned her head to ask Lu Hui: "How is Wei Niang doing?"

  Madam Gui had arrived long before Su Ying woke up. Upon hearing Su Ying's question, she snorted from her nose: "Since she has gone mad, of course she needs to be locked up and watched. Only Master said not to move her, so she was locked in the South Wing. To outsiders, it's just called house arrest. Perhaps it's because of Miss's face." Indeed, this house arrest date had been extended indefinitely.

  "Is she still making trouble?" Su Ying estimated that the original Holy Mother flower should have returned to her original world. The current Wei Niang was still the original Wei Niang, and Su Ying didn't know whether to feel envious or melancholic.

  Bao He curled her lip: "What's the big deal if she makes a fuss again? There are several rough maidservants taking turns to keep an eye on her, and even if she wants to cause trouble, she can't stir up much of a commotion." Bao He didn't understand why Su Ying was still secretly protecting Wei Niang. Just that one time when she burst into the front courtyard would have been enough to get Wei Niang killed, and even if they had taken her to the old master in the countryside, he wouldn't have said anything about it. After all, she's just a concubine with some face, can't be compared to before.

  Su Ying rubbed her brow, "No matter what, she is still the elder sister's own aunt, you go and instruct them, don't let people bully her, and send over food, clothing, and daily necessities according to the original standard."

  "Madam!" Mint was very puzzled. They were in the courtyard, and had just been scolded by Wei Yiniang for some minor fault, now they couldn't say anything wrong, being glared at by Gui Yiniang, Mint reluctantly said: "Madam is just too soft-hearted."

  She muttered under her breath: "This time Wei Niang will no longer be able to stir up any more trouble, it's really good for her."

  Mint originally thought that Su Ying would be happy when she said this. However, there was not much joy on Su Ying's face, and Mint was a bit unsure, so she added another sentence: "Last night, the old master sat in front of his wife's bed for a long time, and then rested in the outer study."

  Gu Yan's heart was also filled with joy, seeing Su Ying's unusual expression, she smiled and sent off Bao He: "Go, go, you're the only one who can get things done cleverly, hurry up and take care of it."

  "What I said is all true." Mint refuted a sentence and went out to instruct the little maid.

  Just as Lu Xun was bringing in the medicine, Su Ying raised an eyebrow: "Can you find out what's going on?"

  "I thought it was the people below who deliberately let Wei Niang hear, called them over to ask, and after saying a few harsh words, they finally confessed. It turned out that a little servant girl said something about being possessed by a ghost and being burned to death, which scared Wei Niang."

  Su Ying didn't believe it, thinking there was a problem inside. Last time Wei Niang was coaxed into running to the front yard, there was something fishy about it. She didn't believe that Wei Niang could run all the way to the front yard without any obstacles. This time too, just like pinching a snake at its seven-inch point, as soon as she saw blood, she stunned Wei Niang. Who had such great ability to play out such tricks under her nose?

  "The slave girl found out that the little girl was playing with a second-class maid in Liu's house, and it was the maid who told her those things as a joke. She just parroted what she heard, and didn't think it would scare Wei's wife to death."

  No one thought it would turn out like this.

  Su Ying took a deep breath, in the eyes of Lu Hui and others, this was a good thing for her, Wei Niang had completely lost her chance, and the eldest daughter had also been raised to her side. But they didn't understand. This really caught Su Ying off guard, this branch task failed, the punishment was forced pregnancy, disrupting all her original plans, absolutely only shocking without joy.

  "Let them all take care of their own mouths." Su Ying narrowed her eyes, Liu Niang had been making small moves recently, and she thought she was being secretive, but didn't know that someone would naturally report back to her. "Also, go investigate that second-class maid, I always feel like there's something fishy going on inside."

  Su Ying intentionally indulged in these individuals, but after all, she couldn't just take it out on Liu Niang and Li Yue for no reason. However, if Liu Niang hadn't deliberately let Li Yue reveal her true intentions last time, Su Ying really wouldn't have thought that the two of them would join forces. Regardless of the process, their ultimate goal was still to get their hands on Fu Ye Yang's cucumber.

  Thinking of so-called forced pregnancy, Su Ying felt a headache.

  Su Ying wasn't even pregnant yet, but someone else had already been diagnosed with a bun in the oven - that was Chen Wan Ning, who had once been engaged to Fu Yi Yang. The doctor who took her pulse gave them a thick envelope of hush money, and the looks on the Chen family's faces were absolutely priceless.

  Fu's mother immediately received the news, and her dissatisfaction with Chen Wancong disappeared. Instead, she was delighted and said to Dujuan: "The child in her belly is our Hou Mansion's eldest grandson, nothing could be more precious than that. It seems that Wancong is a lucky person, you go and collect those few sets of jewelry and the best medicine from my warehouse and send them over, let her take good care of herself."

  Fu's mother was delighted, but also knew that this matter couldn't be made public, so she only called Fu Xueyang and Madame Chen to discuss it with them. Fu Xueyang felt both happy and regretful. On the one hand, he didn't disappoint his mother who had raised him, thinking of himself as the eldest grandson, and being able to surpass Fu Yiyang was a delight; on the other hand, he had just been intimate with Chen Wanqing under the influence of aphrodisiacs, and originally wanted to savor it again after bringing his wife back. Who knew she got pregnant? He could only express regret about this.

  Madam Chen's heart was seething with anger. Moreover, she had been reminded by Lady Fu to set a good example as an elder sister after Chen Wanqing entered the manor, and her heart was bleeding with resentment. However, Lady Fu's authority still lingered, so Madam Chen managed to suppress her temper. The anger was stuck in her chest, unable to be expressed, and it felt extremely uncomfortable.

  Because of this matter, Chen Wanqing's entry into the palace was advanced by two months.

  Fu's mother was eager to give Chen Wanqing a boost in the face because of the flesh in her belly, so on the day of the wedding, she made a big show of it, almost as if there was no difference between this and when Fu Xueyang married Chen Furen. Chen Furen did not disappoint everyone's expectations and fainted away.

  According to the report of Chen's wife's personal maid, Fu Mu's face immediately fell, feeling that Chen's wife was too unscrupulous. She thought Chen's wife was pretending. So she let Du Juan go over and expose Chen's wife's fake fainting spell, making her show her face in front of the guests to demonstrate that the two branches of the Fu family were harmonious and had a deep sisterly love.

  Su Ying lit a row of candles in her heart for Madame Chen, coldly watching the festive atmosphere in the mansion. The lanterns and decorations were elaborate, all thanks to Madam Fu's efforts. But what if they ended up getting slapped in the face? - Marrying a concubine was something that couldn't be done openly by a merchant family, let alone the esteemed Wu Hou Mansion, which had made such a laughingstock of itself. And to make matters worse, they were making such a big show of it, it seemed that this marriage would provide others with more material for gossip and ridicule afterwards.

  As expected, on that day, all the respectable families did not come in person, and those who sent their stewards to present gifts were doing so out of respect for Fu Yeyang. Only a few families with old ties to the Yongwu Marquis's household came with their masters to put up a bit of a show, while the others were just sycophants trying to curry favor, looking utterly out of place and truly laughable.

  No need to say more, just listen to those rumors and you'll know.

  "The merchants' families don't even dare to bring out their own goods, but they have the nerve to imitate others; if this gets out, those business owners will be laughed at by everyone."

  "The Fu family has produced several generations of high-ranking officials, and Master Fu is also a young and talented nobleman. Unfortunately, he has such an unrefined younger brother, and as a result, he will likely be implicated and unable to advance for many years. Even the family's reputation will be tarnished. What a pity!"

  "So, isn't the Chen family even more humiliating? The new one who just entered and the original wife are sisters, serving the same husband is simply... crazy! Also, it can't be ruled out that there may be hidden envy and jealousy inside."

  "After all, the foundation is shallow and lacks depth, and the rules of etiquette are not in place! I heard that Fu Jia's second master is still a rustic dandy, let alone being a scholar, it's really shameful."

  "Taking a concubine is also good, but it's too much to make such a big show of it, aren't you afraid of losing your good fortune and longevity?"

  “……”

  Of course, these mothers-in-law in the backyard couldn't hear it, but from the side, some problems can also be seen - today's banquet, the madams didn't dare to bring their own daughters - you know that such banquets are generally a good opportunity for madams to look at each other's daughters-in-law - afraid of accidentally getting hurt and never coming back.

  In addition, there were whispers and secret conversations, with meaningful glances and laughter behind handkerchiefs. Madame Fu's face looked extremely unpleasant, and the situation at the Chen family was not much better. The unmarried daughters of the Chen family were also affected by this incident and did not dare to go out or receive guests for a long time.

  Su Ying was entertaining guests in the backyard, after all, no matter what, she couldn't let the guests feel disrespected. The more Su Ying behaved with proper etiquette and elegance, the ladies-in-waiting thought to themselves that after all, she was from a scholarly family, knew the rules, and the main house of the Marquis's estate was still good, it's just been dragged down by the second house. Su Ying heard this and secretly felt pleased in her heart, without needing to look at Madame Fu's face, she knew it definitely wouldn't be good-looking.

  Su Ying still came out to greet the guests, but Fu Ye Yang just showed his face and slipped away, he couldn't bear to show this face.

  As for Mrs. Chen, she was finally brought out to show her face by the maid, and now those women's eyes on Madam Fu were not quite right, they were all muttering in their hearts that even if they wanted to give face to their maternal family, they didn't have to step on the face of the legitimate wife, after all, this one was also a daughter from her maternal family, and still the eldest daughter.

  The banquet dispersed early, and the newlyweds were sent to their bridal chamber. This was what Chen's family and Madam Fu had planned together. Even if Chen Wanqing was happy about it, she would have to wait until a month after the wedding. This child must be born within wedlock. Madam Fu had calculated everything carefully. If Chen Wanqing's unborn child was a boy, he would be the eldest grandson of the Marquis' family. After all, even if she was only a concubine, she was still a wife.

  Fu's mother thought it was a good idea, and after Chen Wanqing's pregnancy became apparent, she would find a way to get the doctor to diagnose that Su Ying had difficulty giving birth. At that time, whether it was ordering Fu Yeyang to divorce his wife or forcing him to take a concubine, there would be an excuse.

  In the end, Fu Mu was still not giving up, no, she became even more determined to support the second house, and a series of sinister plots followed one after another.

  It's just a pity that imagination is beautiful, but reality is cruel.

  The next day, the bride Chen Wan-ying - now she has to change her mouth, and be called Third Madam. This title was still decided by Mother Fu, no matter how you listen to it, it feels unseemly, those who don't know would think that the Fu family has three old masters - came to serve tea to her mother-in-law, first wife Madame Chen, and elder sister-in-law Su Ying.

  Fu's mother was very kind and looked at Chen Wanqing with great favor, taking the tea from Chen Wanqing: "I'm waiting for you to bring prosperity to our Hou Mansion." Dujuan stepped forward, carrying a tray with a set of ruby hairpieces, each ruby as large as a lychee, shining brightly, looking very luxurious, and seemingly priceless. Madame Chen's eyes turned red just by looking at it, the one Fu's mother gave her when she came to pay respects with tea was nothing compared to this, the difference was too great.

  Su Ying didn't have much of a reaction, because when she married into the family, her elderly ancestor was still around. Even if Madam Fu didn't get along with her, with the elderly ancestor present, Madam Fu couldn't be too petty. Su Ying deliberately took a look at Chen Furen, who was gritting her teeth in anger, and still couldn't hold back her temper.

  Chen Wan'ning poured another cup of tea for Su Ying to see the ceremony, and Fu's mother's eyes flickered for a moment before quickly returning to normal. She even said, "I hope you two sisters-in-law will help each other in the future and won't let some small things disturb the peace of the family."

  Su Ying took the teacup handed over by Chen Wanqing, brought it to her mouth, and suddenly smelled a pungent smell, feeling nauseous from her stomach, she covered her mouth with a handkerchief and dry-heaved twice. Lü Hu quickly took the teacup away and placed it on the side table, anxiously asking: "Madam, are you alright?"

  Fu's mother immediately pulled a long face and heavily placed the teacup on the table: "Elder daughter-in-law, what do you mean by this? Even if you're dissatisfied with what happened before, it's not right to make a scene at this time. If word gets out, how will people talk about the mistress of the Hou estate? It's really too petty!"

  Chen Wan's eyes welled up with tears, and she forced a smile to speak for Su Ying: "Perhaps Sister-in-law is really not feeling well, and it's not intentional to make things difficult for me, this younger sister. Let's still call the doctor to take a look."

  Madam Chen felt a bit pleased with herself and chimed in: "Perhaps it's just food poisoning, but to be on the safe side, let's call for a doctor."

  Fu's mother snorted: "How did you take care of the mistress, so neglectful? Even if the mistress was greedy, you should have stopped her." Anyway, it's just that Su Ying doesn't look good in their eyes.

  They didn't think that Su Ying was pregnant, in Fu Mu's subconscious mind, Su Ying couldn't have children again. So when the doctor came to diagnose and pulse, she nodded her hand to congratulate, but Fu Mu was not happy at all, and accidentally broke the teacup in her hand, with no joy on her face. It wasn't until Du Juan called out "Old Lady" that Fu Mu reacted, coughing: "Is it really true? My daughter-in-law had a hard time getting pregnant, don't let this be an empty celebration."

  The doctor muttered to himself, thinking that Mrs. Fu was really afraid of false happiness, and confirmed again: "No mistake, this lady has been pregnant for over a month, the pulse is round and smooth, it's a happy pulse! Congratulations, madam!"

  ps：

  If you run naked and get hurt, you can't get up, so save your draft, save your draft!!