HLnovel Chapter 754 Where is my great-aunt?
Chapter 754 Where is my great-aunt?
Madam Wang paid no attention to Old Madam Li's anger, and led Sheng Yunjiao and Wen Qingqing into the inner room, passing by the screen.
Madam Li sat on the bed, her eyes fixed on the person who entered with a gloomy gaze, her lips drooping, and her face extremely ugly.
Compared to the pampered old lady of the Duke of Sheng's mansion in the past, the old lady Li now looked really bad. Her hair had turned completely white, and her once well-maintained face was now withered and wrinkled. Coupled with her mean and frightening expression, she looked more than ten years older.
"You, you, what are you doing back here? Get out, get out—" Old Madam Li glared fiercely at Madam Wang, not at her daughter-in-law, but at an enemy.
Madam Wang inadvertently covered her mouth and did not step forward. "Mother, what are you saying? Even if we have separated the family, I am still your own daughter-in-law. I heard that you were ill, so I came to pay my respects to you immediately after returning to the capital without even going home."
"It's a good thing I came. If I hadn't, how would I have known that you, Mother, had suffered so much? Look at you, Mother, you're bedridden and there's not even a servant to take care of you. Tell me, you raised your own daughter, what does this sister-in-law mean? When it's her turn to take care of you, she's nowhere to be seen. Is this acceptable? What will people think of the Duke's mansion if word gets out? How can the young lady of the Duke's mansion be so unfilial? Oh dear, there are still unmarried girls in the mansion, and the young masters' marriages are still unsettled. What are we going to do?"
Madam Wang, looking anxious, called out, "Granny Feng, Granny Feng, what are you standing there for? Send someone to deliver a message and ask what's going on at the Duke of Zheng's mansion. The old lady is too sick to get out of bed. Are they going to keep our young lady from going back? What kind of family rules are these? Aren't they afraid of being laughed at if word gets out!"
Her words made the already angry Old Madam Li tremble even more. Her words, which were already difficult to speak, became even more choked up and she couldn't utter a sound. Her hand, which was pointing at Madam Wang, was shaking. Frightened, Granny Feng quickly stepped forward to help her catch her breath.
"Second Madam, Aunt, Auntie, she, she..." Granny Feng stammered, trying to explain to Madam Wang, but seeing Old Madam Li's expression, she dared not continue. She could only look at Madam Wang with pleading eyes, hoping she would stop talking.
But Madam Wang was not about to let it go. When Feng Mama didn't say anything, she called in a maid who was serving her. "What's going on in the Duke's mansion these days? The old lady is so ill, and you haven't even gone to the Zheng family to inform them. Go quickly and tell them that I said to invite the young lady back to take care of the old lady!"
Since Old Madam Li fell seriously ill, the maids in this mansion have been replaced batch after batch. This maid was also new and had not been there long. She was unaware of the grudges and feuds in this mansion. When she learned that the person in front of her was the Second Madam of the mansion, she knelt down with a thud and began to reply: "Reporting to the Second Madam, you have been away from the capital for a long time and may not have heard that our young lady has passed away."
"Gone?" Madam Wang's voice rose sharply, as if she were very surprised: "Oh dear, how could she just disappear like that?"
The maid looked troubled and carefully chose her words: "Second Madam, this is a long story. I only heard it from others. They said that the Duke of Zheng's mansion was involved in many scandals. His Majesty was so angry that he stripped the Duke of Zheng's mansion of its title. The Zheng family also drove the young lady out of the mansion. Later, the young lady was expelled from the clan and sent to the estate. She didn't last more than a few months before she passed away. She died before winter last year."
The maid dared not say much, speaking in a mumbled and unclear manner, but Madam Li heard every word clearly. In a fit of anger, she suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Startled, Granny Feng cried out, "Madam! Madam, what's wrong? Someone, quick, get the imperial physician!"
Seeing that things were about right, Madam Wang exclaimed, "Oh dear, what's going on? Why is Mother vomiting blood? It will take a lot of effort to get the imperial physician to come. Miss Wen here is a renowned physician; why don't we ask her to take a look at Mother?"
Without waiting for Madam Li's consent, he turned to Wen Qingqing and said, "Qingqing, please take a look at Madam Li!"
Having just witnessed a great commotion, Wen Qingqing immediately nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, Auntie, I'll go check on the old lady right away!"
Madam Li glared at Madam Wang with great resistance. Madam Wang patted Sheng Yunjiao and said, "Jiaojiao, go and keep an eye on your grandmother. She's so old; she can't afford to ignore her illness and refuse medical treatment!"
Sheng Yunjiao walked over and immediately pushed Feng Mama aside, helping Wen Qingqing to hold down Old Madam Li.
At this moment, Madam Song, the fourth young mistress of the Sheng family, who had rushed over after receiving the news, finally arrived at the door with her entourage.
The Duke of Sheng arranged a marriage for his fourth son in order to manage the Duke's mansion. Therefore, this Song woman was older than the fourth son, already over twenty years old. She was originally engaged, but missed the engagement due to the successive mourning periods in her family, which is why the engagement has been delayed until now.
Upon reaching the door, Madam Song took a deep breath before entering with a smile. Seeing a neat and elegant woman standing inside, she quickly bowed and said, "Madam Song Yunniang greets Second Aunt and pays her respects."
"No need for formalities, get up!" Madam Wang knew that the current head of the Shengguo Duke's Mansion was this fourth young mistress, Song Shi. She had come back with a mission, so she naturally couldn't afford to offend this niece-in-law. She quickly gave her maid a look and stepped forward to help her up, taking off a bracelet from her own wrist and slipping it onto Song Yunniang's wrist.
"I came in a hurry after learning that my mother was seriously ill, and I didn't prepare a proper gift for our meeting. Please forgive me, niece-in-law," Madam Wang said with a smile, holding Song Yunniang's hand.
Song Yunniang had previously inquired about the temperament of the Sheng family and learned that the second madam's temper was not very good. She was originally quite nervous, but she did not expect this person to be so warm and generous, and she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Second Aunt is too kind. I didn't know when Second Aunt and Sister would return home, so I couldn't send anyone to welcome them. I feel guilty and hope Second Aunt and Sister won't blame me." Song Yunniang had no idea that Second Madam was coming back. She was only notified after the people had entered the house and rushed over in a hurry. She was still feeling uneasy, afraid that Second Aunt would blame her.
The two were busy exchanging polite pleasantries and didn't notice that Old Madam Li had already vomited blood from anger. Song Yunniang saw a girl who looked somewhat like Madam Wang sitting by the bed holding Old Madam Li's hand. She thought it was her granddaughter being affectionate with her grandmother and asked with a smile, "Is this Fourth Sister? She's so beautiful and charming. Grandmother must be overjoyed this time. She must have been looking forward to your return every day!"