"Yeah, you're right. We really should give an explanation," Zhou Sheng kept nodding. But Zhou Yan thought his elder brother was being sarcastic.
"After the explanation, with the lady's intelligence, she will surely ask how you knew about the dirty secrets between the Yu family and the Princess Dowager. Then the Second Master will have to continue explaining that he learned it from intercepting Yu Jingnian's letter two years ago.
The lady will then go on to ask what else was in the letter that made you go to Hengzhou in person regardless of me and the unborn child.
The Second Master will have no choice but to keep explaining that Yu Jingnian had evil intentions and wanted to expose that your father had harmed the common people and was unworthy of being enshrined in the Lingxiao Pavilion.
The lady will be shocked. What? Didn't my father sacrifice himself for the master? What was the hidden truth behind the bloody battle at Pingsha Pass back then?
Zhou Yan, tell me, what should the Second Master say next?"
Zhou Yan was stunned by the questions. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word, looking like a stupid goose.
Then, he hung his head dejectedly.
He always thought that explaining things clearly was the best way to clear up misunderstandings. The Second Master and the lady just lacked the necessary explanations.
But in this matter, no matter how he explained, it would involve things the Second Master didn't want the lady to know!
No wonder the Second Master always seemed speechless when facing the lady.
He felt so tired... He finally understood what it meant to have the will but not the ability.
The Second Master was really in a difficult situation.
When Song Wanchu woke up early in the morning, the space beside her was already empty.
She didn't know when Liang Yuzhou had left.
Liang Yuzhou had also suddenly left in the middle of the night before. At that time, Song Wanchu would feel sad and couldn't sleep all night because of his departure.
Now, she could face it calmly.
Without too many expectations, the sense of loss would not be so strong.
Maybe she really didn't love Liang Yuzhou as deeply as before.
These days, she had been repeatedly injured, fallen ill, and had a poor appetite. She was much thinner than before. Nan Zhi felt heartache when she saw it.
Early in the morning, she specifically told Su Yue and a maid to go out and buy tofu pudding and fried doughnuts for the young lady.
Those were the young lady's favorite breakfast when she was a child.
After Song Wanchu finished washing up, Nan Zhi served her to comb her hair.
"Miss, what kind of hairstyle shall I do for you today?"
Since returning to her natal family, the young lady had changed to the hairstyle of an unmarried girl. Now, she had to return to the Duke's Mansion again, and her identity had once again become the Second Master's concubine...
Nan Zhi wasn't sure about the young lady's intention.
Combing hair might seem like a simple thing, but it was related to the young lady's self - positioning of her identity.
"Do it the same way as I did in the Duke's Mansion before," Song Wanchu pondered for a moment and said.
She had to go and pay respects to the old lady later. As long as she was in the Duke's Mansion, her identity could only be Liang Yuzhou's noble concubine.
The old lady was kind to her. She couldn't be willful and break the rules.
A married woman couldn't have bangs. Nan Zhi took a comb, applied osmanthus oil to her black and smooth hair, and gathered the stray hairs in front of her forehead one by one.
Her smooth and fair forehead was revealed again. Song Wanchu looked at herself in the mirror and was in a daze for a moment.
She remembered three years ago, on the day of her grand wedding with Liang Yuzhou. She didn't sleep all night. She had done her bridal hairstyle before dawn and nervously waited for the bridal sedan chair from the Duke's Mansion.
It was the first time she had gathered her stray hairs and showed her forehead. The proper and mature hairstyle didn't match her slightly childish face very well, but her heart was filled with joy at that time.
She thought that she had fulfilled her promise to Liang Yuzhou and had married him.
It was a pity that the person Liang Yuzhou wanted to marry wasn't her.
Maybe sensing that her mood was a bit low, Nan Zhi coaxed her while combing her hair. "The old lady has praised that the young lady has a bright and dignified appearance. No matter what hairstyle she does, she looks good."
She skillfully gathered Song Wanchu's hair to the center of the top of her head.
"Don't do the proper hairstyle today. Do a side - swept hairstyle," Song Wanchu said calmly. Nan Zhi was stunned.
Everyone in the Duke's Mansion knew that the old lady had specifically instructed that although the young lady was nominally a concubine, she was actually a wife. She could wear bright red, do the proper hairstyle, and enter through the main gate.
The young lady used to be happy to do the proper hairstyle.
It not only showed her status but also her expectation that the Second Master would reciprocate her feelings.
Especially during the time when she was pregnant, the young lady was looking forward to giving birth to the Second Master's first child and being officially promoted to the main wife.
She wanted to live in harmony with the Second Master.
Now, the young lady wanted to do the side - swept hairstyle on her own initiative.
The side - swept hairstyle was for concubines. One proper and one side - swept clearly showed the difference in status.
Song Wanchu saw Nan Zhi's surprise in the bronze mirror and smiled understandingly. "I'm just a concubine. Even with the title of 'noble', I can't become the main wife. I should have done the side - swept hairstyle. I can't keep failing to recognize my status just because of the old lady's indulgence."
In the past three years, Liang Yuzhou had always spared no effort to make her recognize her status. He even thought that she wasn't worthy of raising the bright red peony flowers.
Nan Zhi nodded and silently changed the proper hairstyle to a side - swept one.
The young lady's mindset was really different from before!
Did this mean that the young lady had finally decided to leave the Second Master?
Nan Zhi hoped that the young lady could be more determined and not fall into the Second Master's charm again because of his temporary kindness.
After the hairstyle was done, Song Wanchu picked up two simple and plain hairpins and put them in her hair.
Su Yue rushed into the room. Her little face was red, and the excitement in her eyes seemed to overflow.
"Miss, guess what I heard outside?"
"Speak slowly. You're already this old, but still so rash," Nan Zhi took the food box from Su Yue's hand and said with a smile.
She was also very curious about what could make the little girl so happy.
"Miss, we've finally vented our anger! It's all over the place. The Princess Dowager found out about the dirty thing Yu Huiyan did yesterday! The Princess Dowager gave her a good beating. Her face is so swollen that she can't even go out!"
"Just a beating?" Nan Zhi said indignantly. "That's too easy on her!"
Su Yue shook her head seriously. "It's not that simple!"
After all, she was still young and couldn't hold back her words. After pretending to be mysterious for a while, she burst out laughing.
"Miss, guess what? Yu Huiyan's engagement with the Second Master is off!"
When Song Wanchu heard that Yu Huiyan had been beaten by the Princess Dowager, her heart didn't stir.
But when she heard that the engagement was called off, her hand that was about to pick up the chopsticks stopped.
Su Yue was beaming as she vividly told the story. "As soon as I went out today, I heard people outside spreading the news like crazy. The Princess Dowager sent people to take back all the dowry she had given to Yu Huiyan last night! I guess she was afraid of being ashamed, so she did it secretly in the middle of the night, but still got discovered! Now the news has spread all over the Duke's Mansion. Even the Princess Jiahe knows about it. When I passed by the Xiangxue Pavilion, I heard the Princess Jiahe crying loudly!"
"The Princess Dowager suspected Yu Huiyan so quickly?"
Song Wanchu was puzzled. "Even if she guessed that it was Yu Huiyan who framed me, for the sake of her own reputation, she should have kept it a secret."