Liang Yuzhou remained still and silent. With a deep look in his eyes, he stared at Song Wanchu's back until her graceful figure was swallowed by the night.
The air around him seemed to be frozen. Zhou Yan felt inexplicably sad and dejected. He wanted to say something to comfort Liang Yuzhou.
But he knew that no one's comfort could reach the second master's heart.
There was a high wall around his heart, almost invulnerable, which shaped his proud, sensitive and cold - blooded personality.
Whether it was joy, sorrow or anger, he would not show them overtly.
Just like now, the more silent he was, the sadder he was.
...
In the Fuan Hall, the atmosphere was gloomy and oppressive.
The maids and servants all held their breath, not daring to make a sound.
The old lady heard that Princess Jiahe had asked Song Wanchu for the betrothal gifts. She was so angry that she didn't eat a single bite of her dinner.
The delicate dishes on the table had long since gone cold.
The old duke bowed his head, looking respectful. He was a bit scared, but more ashamed.
The old lady came from a family of military generals. Since childhood, she had practiced martial arts with her father and brothers. She had even organized an army of women. She was as brave as any man. When she got angry, even the old duke, the head of the family, would tremble with fear.
"What a farce! Such a scandal! Princess Jiahe doesn't even put the emperor in her eyes! If this disgraceful thing gets to the emperor's ears, I'd like to see how you're going to explain it to His Majesty!"
No one in the Duke's Mansion cared more about face than the old duke. Just thinking about the stupid thing Princess Jiahe had done, he gritted his teeth in anger.
"Mother, please calm down," he said while still angry himself. "I've already punished that stupid girl by making her kneel in the ancestral hall. From now on, without my permission, she won't be able to leave the Duke's Mansion."
The old duke only hated that Princess Jiahe had the title of a royal relative. Otherwise, he would have divorced her long ago.
"To be honest, this is also Wanchu's fault. It's wrong for Jiahe to ask for the betrothal gifts, but as a junior, she shouldn't have returned them so ostentatiously. She's still a concubine of the Duke's Mansion. Such willfulness is too disrespectful to the Duke's Mansion!"
This complaint made the old lady frown, her anger flaring up.
She slapped the pear - wood table, making the old duke tremble.
"Liang Xuguang, only the face of the Duke's Mansion matters to you? What about other people's faces? If someone steps on your face, will you fight back? Wanchu is too kind and tolerant, which is why she's been repeatedly humiliated by Princess Jiahe!
It's fine that you don't say a fair word for her. All you talk about is dignity and propriety. If it weren't for Wanchu managing the Duke's Mansion in the past three years, turning those failing businesses around and making money, the Duke's Mansion wouldn't even be able to keep the plaque at the gate, let alone maintain its dignity!"
The old lady wasn't exaggerating at all. Years ago, the Duke's Mansion had been in a mess because of Princess Jiahe. The accounts had a deficit of up to 100,000 taels of silver, and the ancestral mansion had almost been lost.
The old duke felt ashamed and didn't dare to say a word.
The old lady gave him a disdainful look. She was never satisfied with this son.
"Jiahe had the nerve to come and ask for the betrothal gifts because you, the head of the family, insisted that Yuzhou marry Yu Huiyan. That gave her the audacity! You abandoned and hated her, but you don't know that people in the same bed are of the same kind!"
These words were too sharp. The old duke felt a stinging pain in his ears.
He hated most when someone compared him with Princess Jiahe.
He considered himself successful in his life. The only stain on his record was marrying Princess Jiahe, a shallow and stupid woman.
Sometimes he would regret that if Liang Yuzhou was the son of him and another woman, even a concubine servant, he would like this son more.
"Mother, I've already agreed on the amount of the betrothal gifts with her. It was Jiahe who acted on her own and did such a disgraceful thing."
"Jiahe is indeed stupid and easy to be instigated. Think about it. If this thing had really succeeded and Wanchu had swallowed her anger and let Jiahe take the betrothal gifts quietly, who would have benefited the most?"
The old lady had already seen through the person behind this farce.
The old duke's eyebrows twitched. With a little thought, he noticed something strange.
"Is Yu Huiyan such a scheming person?"
"Just realized it?" the old lady sneered. "Jiahe loves her like a daughter, but she uses Jiahe as a useful knife. She hides behind and controls the knife. If the knife really hurts someone and gets stained with blood, she'll just throw the knife away, wrinkle her face and play the innocent victim."
This incisive metaphor deepened the wrinkles on the old duke's forehead.
"Her father is greedy and sycophantic to his superiors while domineering to his subordinates. The whole family is opportunistic and profit - seeking. How could they raise a good daughter?
If you let her marry into our family, with her aunt around, there will be no peace in the Duke's Mansion!
Our Duke's Mansion will be disgusted by the Yu family for a lifetime!"
The old duke felt as if he had swallowed a fly. He felt sick to his stomach.
Of course he knew all this.
Sighing deeply, he slumped into the chair, looking complicated.
"I've thought of everything you said, Mother. But this marriage was arranged by the Princess Dowager. If we refuse her kindness..."
The relationship between the Princess Dowager and the current emperor was extraordinary.
The Princess Dowager had contributed a lot to the emperor's smooth accession to the throne.
Over the years, the Princess Dowager had bullied men and women and done all kinds of evil things, which had caused public resentment. But the emperor just turned a blind eye.
Everyone in the court knew how powerful the Princess Dowager was and yielded to her tyranny.
But the Duke's Mansion was different.
One - fourth of the military power in the country was in the hands of the Duke's Mansion. They didn't need to be afraid of her in theory.
But the old duke seemed to be overly sycophantic to the Princess Dowager.
The old lady couldn't help but be suspicious.
"Our family has always followed the doctrine of the mean and doesn't get involved in the party struggles in the court. If you agree to this marriage arranged by the Princess Dowager, some people in the court will inevitably think that you're getting closer to her. Have you thought about how the crown prince will react?"
Although the old lady had been living in the deep mansion for a long time, she had a clear understanding of the situation in the court.
"The crown prince has long been dissatisfied with the Princess Dowager's interference in the court affairs. He also has many complaints about the emperor's indulgence of her. Although the niece and uncle seem to be on good terms, they've actually fought secretly many times.
When the crown prince ascends the throne, will he allow the Princess Dowager to continue doing evil?"
The old duke remained silent. Every wrinkle on his face was filled with exhaustion and helplessness.
The old lady's heart tightened, and her voice became solemn: "Could it be that the Princess Dowager has caught your weakness?"
"Mother, I made a big mistake three years ago," the nine - foot - tall man said, his mountain - like shoulders trembling. His voice also trembled. "Song Hengyi shouldn't have died!"
With a "clatter", the jade walnuts the old lady was playing with fell to the ground and shattered.
"What did you say? Was Wanchu's father killed by you?"