Chapter 51: The Tables Have Turned
Chapter 51: Chapter 51: The Tables Have Turned
"You’re talking nonsense! You’re the ones who did something shameful, and now you want to drag me down with you—"
Shouting continued from the room next door.
Liang Wan glanced at the two people lying unconscious on the floor and smiled at Qiuxi. "Let’s go. Before we pick out a celebratory gift, there’s someone we need to see!"
Madam Zuo Cheng was having a rendezvous with a man at a teahouse, only to be caught red-handed by her own daughter. In the ensuing scuffle, the daughter even discovered that her biological father was someone else...
Qiuxi’s mind was a complete blank. She still hadn’t recovered from the dramatic scene of catching the adulterers. Her throat was dry and her lips trembled slightly. She couldn’t bear to imagine how the Family Head would fly into a rage if he found out about this.
She took a deep breath and looked toward the person who already had one foot out the door. In stark contrast to her own rattled nerves, the Third Lady was perfectly calm and composed, as if she had really just come here to relax and drink tea!
’Qiuxi could tell that the Third Lady had not only known about the Second Madam’s affair from the start, but had also deliberately led the Fourth Lady here to catch them. But how on earth did the Third Lady know about such a secret matter?’
’And since she’d exposed it, why not do so completely? Why only let the Fourth Lady see, while hiding it from the Family Head? Could it be that she planned to keep hiding it?’
"Let’s go. They’re having a family reunion. We shouldn’t be eavesdropping."
Liang Wan glanced back at her and slowly stepped outside.
From the room next door, the sounds of crying and arguing continued...
When Qiuxi hurried out of the teahouse, Liang Wan was nowhere to be seen by the long-eaved carriage. She turned her head and saw her heading toward the south end of the street.
More precisely, she was walking toward the kapok tree at the end of the street. In the fourth month, the kapok blossoms were in full, fiery bloom—brilliant red flowers, dazzling, passionate, and eye-catching.
Qiuxi looked closely and saw someone else sitting under the tree. A shoulder pole with baskets of goods rested by her feet. Her shoulders were slumped and her head was bowed as she focused on rubbing her ankle, looking utterly exhausted.
’Isn’t that the woman the Young Mistress was staring at from upstairs? Does she know her?’
Qiuxi followed.
When the kapok trees bloomed, all one could see was red. People often think the flowers have no fragrance, but if you have the patience to smell them carefully, you can detect a faint, almost imperceptible scent—a fragrance not easily noticed by the restless and impatient.
Liang Wan only had to lift her head and close her eyes to easily catch the scent. She was all too familiar with this place.
’This was where she had been selling her embroidery when she stumbled upon Mrs. Zhang’s affair and was then ruthlessly humiliated by her in the middle of the street...’
"Young Mistress?!"
Liang Wan opened her eyes. The woman standing before her was staring with wide, watery eyes, utterly astonished, as if she had never imagined they would meet here.
Liang Wan looked the woman over from head to toe. Her head was wrapped in a cloth scarf, and she wore clothes of coarse linen. Perhaps due to exposure to the wind and sun, her once fair, delicate skin had become rough and swarthy. Out of awkward embarrassment, she anxiously picked at her fingernails.
The sight reminded her of her former self, and the corners of her lips curved into a silent, self-mocking smile.
"Chun’er? You... how did you end up like this?"
Before Liang Wan could speak, she heard the low, astonished cry from behind her. It was Qiuxi.
Already mortified, Chun’er bit her lip, her eyes welling up with tears as she fought to hold back her sense of grievance.
Liang Wan sneered inwardly. ’Why didn’t she feel so pitiful and wronged back then?’
Qiuxi walked forward in disbelief. "Is that Cui Xiaolang not treating you well?"
With red-rimmed eyes, Chun’er shook her head, wanting to explain but not knowing how to begin.
Liang Wan watched with indifference. She knew exactly what kind of person Cui Hao was, as if looking into a clear mirror. He could speak with deep affection, but when it came time for you to suffer, he wouldn’t hesitate in the slightest, as if he were afraid he couldn’t bleed you dry. And yet, he would somehow make you feel that he was just as wronged as you were, making you bear it all willingly.
’That truly was some skill!’
Qiuxi said, "If you’d known it would come to this, you shouldn’t have done it in the first place. Wasn’t the Young Mistress good to you before? But how did you repay her? You knew about the Young Mistress and Cui Xiaolang, so you never should have coveted him. Who would have thought you would actually—"
She sighed again. "If you two really intended to marry, you should have just told the Young Mistress. A person like her isn’t going to cling to him, is she? Why did you have to be so sneaky and underhanded behind her back, demeaning yourself and disgusting her in the process?"
Liang Wan lowered her lashes slightly, an almost imperceptible sneer playing on her pursed lips. ’If it had only been a secret affair, that would have been one thing, but...’
"I don’t need you here gloating over my misfortune. You’re just like me, nothing more than a servant. What right do you have to criticize me?"
Liang Wan looked up and saw that Chun’er’s expression had already changed.
Qiuxi puffed up her cheeks in anger. "Yes, I’m a servant, but I know how to repay kindness and have a sense of honor and shame!"
Qiuxi hadn’t expected her to be so ungrateful. The little bit of pity she had felt for her vanished, and she simply turned her head away, refusing to say another word.
Liang Wan patted her shoulder and looked coldly at Chun’er. "You’re wrong. You’re not the same as Qiuxi. Right now, you’re not even qualified to serve her."
Seeing Liang Wan protect Qiuxi like that left a bitter taste in Chun’er’s mouth. ’If life weren’t so hard, who would want to be a servant to others!’
"Young Mistress, you were good to me, it’s true, but I also served you with all my heart. When you did things on a whim and the First Madam wanted to punish you, wasn’t I always the one who took the punishment for you? Even if I did receive your favor, I’ve paid my debt, haven’t I?"
"All those years in the Liang Mansion, I had food and shelter, and I received a monthly allowance. But I didn’t get any of that for free! I earned it all by slaving away like an ox and a horse!"
Seeing Chun’er’s self-righteous expression, Qiuxi felt a pang in her chest from sheer frustration. "Young Mistress, let’s just go!"
Seeing Liang Wan about to leave, Chun’er regretted her words. "Young Mistress, we were master and servant, after all. Don’t you feel any attachment to our past relationship?"
Liang Wan stopped and stood still, looking at her with a smile. "How would you like me to remember it?"
When Chun’er saw Liang Wan turn back, her knees went weak, and she immediately knelt on the ground, resuming her former pitiful and tearful appearance. "I beg you, Young Mistress, for the sake of our past connection, please help me. I truly have nowhere else to go—"
Before she could finish, Chun’er was already a mess of tears and snot, as if she had suffered all the hardships in the world.
Even Qiuxi, who had just been furious with her, felt a stir of compassion. But Liang Wan only wanted to laugh.
She bent down, a smile blooming on her lips as she looked at the tear-streaked woman on the ground. "But I’ve already helped you once! Didn’t I let you have Cui Hao?"
Chun’er shook her head. "This is the last time. I beg you, Young Mistress, please help me!"
Liang Wan gazed into those desperate, pleading eyes and said nothing.
In the end, Liang Wan took Chun’er to a nearby eatery to talk.
They were supposedly there to talk, but the moment the food was on the table, before a single word was spoken, Chun’er began to devour it like a whirlwind. It was no act.
Qiuxi stood to the side with a frown, watching the two people sitting opposite each other at the table: one eating ravenously, the other watching with graceful ease.
Only when the table was cleared of food did Chun’er stop. She wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth and finally spoke. "I’m not afraid to tell you, Young Mistress: I’m pregnant."
Liang Wan’s eyes curved into a slight smile. "Congratulations. That’s wonderful news!"