Nanny Sun gritted her teeth, bowed, and took her leave. Only then did Xiaoxi dare to step forward. With tears in her eyes, she said, "Madam..."
"Don't cry." Song Ruotang reached out to wipe away her tears. She took out a bottle of wound medicine and frostbite ointment from her bosom. She had anticipated that Xiaoxi's days might be tough before she came, so she had made preparations.
Xiaoxi took the ointment, wiped away her tears, but her brows furrowed with worry. "Nanny Sun is from the First Madam's side. Madam stood up for me today. When she goes back and tells the First Madam, she probably won't let it go easily..."
Song Ruotang took her hand, took the ointment, and applied it for her. She said softly, "It's okay."
Even if she hadn't come to see Xiaoxi, Lin Yun might have taken action. Now that Du Lingxuan had been punished, she wouldn't cause trouble for the time being. So in the inner courtyard of the Pei Mansion, only the two of them were left.
Moreover, today's incident was clearly Nanny Sun deliberately making things difficult for Xiaoxi. If it were exposed, no one would benefit. It would only make people suspect Lin Yun, saying that she was petty and secretly causing trouble for a maid. It would be easy for people to think that she disliked Song Ruotang, and she would find it even harder to explain.
After Song Ruotang finished applying the medicine for Xiaoxi, she turned to look at the large pile of clothes on the ground. "Don't wash these clothes. They won't dare to do anything to you. Just do your usual sweeping and cleaning."
She took Xiaoxi's hand. "Xiaoxi, bear with it for a while. I'll save you from here as soon as possible..."
Xiaoxi smiled. "Thank you, Madam, for your kindness. I'm fine. Madam must be careful..."
She had worked in the mansion before Song Ruotang married Pei Zhiyan, so she had heard some things about the power struggle between Du Lingxuan and Lin Yun. Song Ruotang had no family background to support her, so it was easy for her to be bullied by them.
Song Ruotang smiled and patted her hand. "Okay, I know."
After they separated, when Song Ruotang returned to her own courtyard, she happened to see Wei Qing coming in from the mansion gate. Her right eye was wrapped in gauze, and it was inconvenient for her to see. A maid was supporting her on one side.
There was also a doctor following behind her. Presumably, Du Lingxuan was injured, and she had brought the doctor to treat her. She wondered why they had come so late.
Qingxing seemed to see Song Ruotang's doubts and explained, "When the Second Madam came back, there was no one following her. It seemed that there wasn't even anyone to pick her up from the prison."
Song Ruotang was a little surprised. Wei Qing had gone with her. Could it be that she had gone to treat her eye injury first? But it didn't seem right. Why hadn't they prepared a doctor earlier?
After thinking for a while, Song Ruotang came to a speculation. It was likely that Du Lingxuan had had some conflicts with the Du family.
"Let's go." Song Ruotang didn't want to deal with the people from the Du family. Now that Du Lingxuan couldn't cause any waves for the time being.
After Wei Qing was taken back home by Du Yanting, she still couldn't let go of Du Lingxuan. Thinking of how miserably she had been beaten, she felt heartache. In the end, she secretly brought a doctor to the Pei Mansion to see her.
When she saw Du Lingxuan, she was lying prostrate on the couch, groaning in pain. Wei Qing's eyes were moist, and she said with a sob, "Xuan'er, how are you..."
Du Lingxuan had regained some consciousness at this time. Seeing Wei Qing, she didn't dare to scold her anymore. She had just tasted the feeling of being without family protection. When she saw Wei Qing, two lines of clear tears streamed down her swollen and bruised face. "Mother... Xuan'er was wrong... Xuan'er shouldn't have talked to you like that..."
Wei Qing also took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. "Don't say that, my good child. It's mother's fault. Mother didn't protect you..."
The mother and daughter poured out their feelings to each other again. The little conflict they had in prison before seemed to have disappeared. Wei Qing called the doctor over. "I brought the doctor here behind your brother's back. You should cooperate well with the treatment so that you can get better soon."
Du Lingxuan nodded. "Mother is still the best to me." As she said this, she secretly hated Du Yanting in her heart. He had not only slapped her today but also refused to hire a doctor or give her medicine.
Judging from Wei Qing's words, it seemed that he had also forbidden their mother to hire a doctor for her. Du Lingxuan gritted her teeth secretly. She remembered this debt.
Wei Qing took a clean handkerchief and gently wiped Du Lingxuan's face. She sighed. "This time we made a mistake. In the future, you should live a good life and put away those thoughts. Our Du Mansion can still ensure your safety in the Pei Mansion."
Du Lingxuan buried her head in the brocade quilt and replied in a muffled voice, "I know..."
She rolled her eyes under the quilt. It was a dream to ask her to let it go!
She would surely avenge today's shame in the future. Song Ruotang, she would surely make her die a miserable death!
The matter of Pei Zhiyan punishing Du Lingxuan had even reached the Golden Palace. The partisans of the Du family had impeached him one after another, saying that he was ruthless and had treated the women in his inner courtyard like this.
But Du Yanting stood firmly at the head of the crowd and said nothing.
Emperor Chengqian was also a little dissatisfied with Pei Zhiyan's arbitrary actions. He had clearly told him to stabilize the Du family, but now he had embarrassed the Du family. Wasn't this giving him a difficult problem?
However, when the partisans of the Du family impeached Pei Zhiyan, Lin Wei stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, I'm a military general and not good at words. But I heard that Miss Du Er insulted her own mother in prison and even beat her. This is really against human ethics."
Lin Wei clicked his tongue. "Just for this crime of disrespecting her mother, in my opinion, it's only right to beat her twenty boards. Moreover, she has other crimes. Lord Pei has already shown mercy."
Du Yanting squinted his eyes slightly. In the past, when the Du family fought with Pei Zhiyan, the Lin family just watched on the sidelines. When the Lin family fought with Pei Zhiyan, the Du family watched on the sidelines. But this time, Lin Wei had surprisingly spoken up for Pei Zhiyan.
Emperor Chengqian was also a little surprised, but this trend was beneficial to him after all. So he didn't mind Lin Wei saying more. He just had to put on a thoughtful look on his face.
With Lin Wei taking the lead, the partisans of the Lin family also joined the debate. Du Yanting smiled faintly. "Isn't the Marquis of Dingyuan always indifferent to the affairs of the inner courtyard? Why are you interested in Lord Pei's inner courtyard this time?"
Lin Wei also smiled. "I naturally don't want to interfere. But I didn't expect Miss Du Er to be such a person. It's really hard for me not to worry about my daughter in Lord Pei's inner courtyard."
He changed the subject. "Moreover, I'm not interfering in the affairs of the inner courtyard. I only pay attention to virtue. When it comes to Miss Du Er beating her mother, filial piety is the most important of all virtues. It's not appropriate to mention the privacy of the inner courtyard in the court."
After saying this, he not only implicitly satirized that it was unreasonable for Du Yanting's partisans to mention the matter of Du Lingxuan being beaten but also openly satirized that the Du family's family education was not good. It made the Lin family steal the show.
Du Yanting's face looked ugly. He clenched his fist tightly in his maroon official robe. He disliked his sister who had caused the trouble even more in his heart. But he still refused to admit defeat. "The Marquis of Dingyuan said he's not good at words. But now in this main hall, he's very glib. I, a civil official, am ashamed of myself."
Lin Wei sighed. "What are you saying? It's just that my wife at home has taught me well. I'm just a reckless man. If I hadn't been influenced by my wife all the time, I'm afraid I would have let Lord Du distort the truth this time."