Chapter Thirty-Two: Transaction (Part Two)

  Mrs. Cai said: "It's all up to Auntie to arrange, as long as the eight characters match."

  The deeply furrowed brow of the lady slowly relaxed, and a faint smile finally appeared on her face. She hastily thanked Mrs. Cai and had just taken a sip of water from her tea cup when a maid pushed open the door to announce, "The second mistress has given birth prematurely."

  Even with mental preparation, Madame's hand still shook and spilled water, she didn't care about anything else, taking three steps as two, rushing towards the main house.

  Madam Cai hastily ordered someone to invite Lang Zhong, and the entire manor was once again in an uproar. Madam Cai didn't forget to instruct, "Have someone intercept Master at the gate, if Master returns to the manor now, have him rest elsewhere first, don't let him come here, childbirth is always unclean."

  Yu had her maid intercept Zhao Xuan and tell him about the situation with his wife.

  Zhao Xuan's mind flashed back to the image of Shu Hua waking up from her nightmare last night, and he couldn't help but furrow his brow. "Is Madam in?"

  "Both madams are here. Madam says please don't worry, Grandpa, once things are done, she'll call you over."

  "Which doctor is in?"

  The maid said: "It's usually Li Langzhong in the mansion."

  Zhao Xuan Huan hesitated for a moment, nodded, and then turned around and went to the study.

  In the Shu Hua House, the maids were bustling about non-stop, all the windows were tightly closed and thick curtains were hung both inside and out.

  According to Lang Zhong's prescription, the medicine was decocted and the lady took the bowl of medicine and fed Shuhua personally, and only felt at ease after seeing Shuhua fall asleep.

  Mrs. Cai and the other ladies came out of the house, went up quietly and said: "Auntie has been busy all day, I've already had someone prepare food, you should eat something."

  Mrs. Tai let out a sigh, "At this time, I don't have much of an appetite either, and there are many things waiting for me at home. Since Mrs. Cai is taking care of me here, I can rest assured and head back first."

  Mrs. Dai's tone was firm and unyielding, leaving no room for compromise. Mrs. Cai also stopped being polite and personally escorted Mrs. Dai out.

  As soon as he entered the garden, he saw Yu Ge chasing after his wet nurse and playing. Mrs. Cai walked over and was immediately spotted by Yu Ge, who rushed into her arms like a swallow returning to its nest, shouting "Grandma... Grandma..." Mrs. Cai bent down and gently stroked Yu Ge's forehead, saying "He's all sweaty," instructing his wet nurse, "Be careful not to catch a cold."

  The young lady closed her eyes and smiled repeatedly, putting the outer garment in her hand on Yu Ge, "Just played with Master for a while in the study, and got sweaty."

  "...... Uncle...... raise...... high."

  Zhao Xuan Huan was actually at home. Such a big thing happened to Shu Hua, but he didn't show up. The madam's face suddenly sank.

  The nanny saw that the situation was not good, and again covered up the conversation, "Master Huan wanted to go out, but Yu Ge held him back and wouldn't let him leave. Master then played with Yu Ge for a while."

  Madam Cai gave a glance to the wet nurse, and the wet nurse didn't dare say anything more.

  Mrs. Cai knew that Mrs. Zhao was angry with Xuanhuan for not going to Shuhua's room earlier, and she didn't want to show weakness either. "Xuanhuan likes children," she said, implying that Shuhua was at fault for not having given birth to a child for the Zhao family.

  My face is gloomy on purpose, "Look at me, and say this..."

  Mrs. Cai turned her head and called out to Yu Ge, "Quickly pay your respects to your aunt."

  Yu Ge's quick-witted eyes took a glance at the big wife, then stretched out one finger to point at the big wife, and blurted out a word, "Too..."

  The big wife also smiled, "Yu Ge, good boy."

  Hand over Yu Ge to Ruo Nai, Mrs. Cai walked and chatted with Da Tai Tai: "In two days, it will be Winter Solstice, the second and third houses in the mansion should also return, right?"

  The lady said: "It's almost time for the old lady of the mansion's birthday."

  Mrs. Cai seemed to suddenly remember something, "I heard that the three old men of the Tao family have taken in a new stepmother?"

  Mrs. Cai smiled and said, "I heard that it was the Liao family who made great contributions when Emperor Gaozong ascended to the throne." Mrs. Cai paused for a moment, "It's also a coincidence that I am very close to her elder sister-in-law, the wife of Duke Anguo."

  Mrs. Dai was shocked in her heart, and it turned out that she had calculated everything, and Mrs. Cai knew all about it.

  Sitting in the carriage, Madame thought of her first miscarriage. That year coincided with the second house getting married, and everything in the mansion was taken care of by herself alone. She was afraid that if she didn't do it thoroughly, her mother-in-law would be displeased, so she did many things personally, which led to overwork, and on the day of the second house's wedding...

  Her mother-in-law didn't offer any comforting words, instead blaming her for not taking good care of the child in her womb. She felt wronged to the extreme, and if it weren't for her husband holding her hand by her side, she wouldn't have known how to get through this ordeal.

  The grandmother also said not to let her husband come see her, but in the end she didn't avoid him that much.

  Shu Hua had been married to the Zhao family for three years, and it was already like this. Zhao Xuanhuan didn't care about her at all, and still had the leisure to coax Yu Ge into playing with him.

  The lady's eyes moistened again as she thought about it.

  Arriving at the Tao residence, Madame Tao got out of her carriage and had just walked past the corridor on both sides of the Flowery Gate when she saw Yan Hua standing beside waiting for her.

  The old lady sneered in her heart, after all, the mother and daughter were connected at heart. Ranhua must have known that Fourth Aunt was ill. She ordered that no one be allowed to visit Fourth Aunt, so Ranhua was naturally anxious. Now Ranhua asked her about Fourth Aunt's situation, although she could use words to temporarily calm Ranhua down, it would be hard to avoid Ranhua asking again and again, so it was better to drag Ranhua on for a few more days.

  The big wife made up her mind and walked over with a sad expression. When she arrived in front of Yan Hua, she stretched out her hand.

  Yan Hua grasped the old lady's hand in surprise, the old lady's hand was icy cold, and her fingertips were slightly trembling. Yan Hua couldn't help but ask, "Mother, what's wrong?" As soon as she spoke, the old lady's tears fell down.

  "Yanhua, your elder sister had a miscarriage."

  "Mother, what's going on?" Yanhua was stunned upon hearing this.

  It's not good to talk outside, so she wiped the corner of her eye with her sleeve and pretended to calm down. Yanhua hurriedly walked over to help Mrs. Zhu cover up.

  The old lady led Rong Hua into the house, dismissed all the maids and only then took out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. "I originally thought that your older sister was pregnant, and from now on life would be better, who knew she would be so frail, yesterday I went to the Hou residence and she was still fine, overnight...". As she spoke, she choked back two sobs, "If only I had known not to let Shu Hua marry..." The old lady's words suddenly stopped.

  Yan Hua, however, caught the underlying meaning.

  The old lady took a sip of tea, rubbed her chest with a sour face and let out a long sigh. "Let's talk about something personal between us two," she said, pulling Yan Hua into the warm room behind, and then asked Yan Hua to sit down beside her.

  "You're also grown up, and one day you'll get married," said the old lady to Yanhua as if she was speaking from her heart: "In the future, no matter where you get married, your mother's home is still your home. Just like your third sister, although she got married far away, our family didn't stop helping her. Our family does this because we want you to have something to rely on in the future and live a more comfortable life."

  Yan Hua nodded, and Mrs. Tao's implicit meaning was understood by her. Having a powerful maternal family is more important than anything else. The more prosperous the Tao family becomes in the future, the more attention they will receive from their husbands' families. In any case, they cannot lose the support of their maternal family in the future.

  Yan Hua secretly calculated in her heart, and Madame's sorrow was mixed with resentment. Thinking of this, Yan Hua felt a chill run down her spine. As the saying goes, "Once you enter the noble gate, it's like entering the sea." Madame's words were filled with a sense of helplessness and regret.

  Yan Hua comforted the mistress for a while, then helped her lie down and pulled up the brocade quilt to cover her. Only then did she remember that she had been waiting in the courtyard to ask the mistress about Fourth Aunt's illness. However, now the mistress had closed her eyes as if she was asleep, so Yan Hua didn't dare speak again.

  Yan Hua could only quietly retreat.

  Yan Hua returned to her residence, Xiang Qiao glanced around and saw no one, then whispered to Sixth Miss: "I heard from Chen Mama that the Wang family came to propose a marriage, but it wasn't for Wang Shangshu's concubine, but rather for Wang Shangshu's younger brother's legitimate wife."

  Yan Hua couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise, it was actually the legitimate wife of the younger brother of a first-class official, and then thought about what the old lady had said to her earlier.

  Xiang Qiao's face lit up with joy, "Miss... this is indeed a good marriage."

  Yes, it's a good marriage. Previously, she was still watching Miss Ba laugh at jokes, preparing to see Miss Ba's expression when she knew she had to marry someone as a concubine, but who would have thought that things would change like this.

  It turned out that the Yicheng Marquis Manor, which she had always thought was so mysterious and unfathomable, had even led to the downfall of the eldest sister-in-law. She had been in the manor for many years and had never seen the madam so heartbroken before. It's clear that the Yicheng Marquis Manor is not a good place to be.

  She used to go for the reputation of the Marquis Hou's household and her sister-in-law's gentle temperament, but now it seems that getting some actual benefits is not bad either, after all, she can get the title of legitimate wife without competing.

  Xiang Qiao also saw Yan Hua's thoughts, "Otherwise, Miss... can't let Eighth Miss take such a big advantage for nothing."

  Ruan Hua's eyes lit up.

  "What's going on with Fourth Aunt?"

  Yan Hua was somewhat distracted, "It seems that he is indeed ill. If he wasn't ill, why would a doctor come to take his pulse?"

  Xiang Qiao Dao said: "Yesterday when I saw Fourth Aunt, Fourth Aunt was still fine."

  Yan Hua's heart was already filled with the Wang family's marriage proposal, and she waved her hand impatiently. "Can't anyone just make up some illness? She doesn't like to say what's on her mind, but I think there really is something wrong with her."

  Xiang Qiao had been by Madame's side for a long time and knew that every move she made was deliberate. Sixth Miss trusted her too much, and one day she would suffer because of it.

  Dear classmates.

  It's still early, go wash up and sleep! Haha.