Di Daughter's Strategy - Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Once the farce came to an end, the expression on Madam Chu’s face grew even more indifferent.

She understood the Old Madam’s fondness for her own nephew, but there were times when she simply could not yield. Now that the Liu family had merely lost a junior, the amount of mediation between the Marquis’s Mansion and the Chu Mansion was something the Old Madam knew nothing about.

Because she was unaware, she could freely indulge her discontent. Yet Madam Chu, who understood the reasons behind it all, was unwilling to compromise or retreat simply for the sake of “filial piety.”

Today, her cherished pearl of a daughter had been made to kneel before a mere concubine-born girl.

Even if it was Luo Yi’er who had deliberately provoked it, the old madam had shown no consideration whatsoever for the face of her own direct lineage.

By now, the hour of Chen had already passed. The sunlight outside was evenly cast, and every small path within the estate was decorated with lanterns and colors, exceptionally festive and joyous.

Even though the old madam had been somewhat cold and dissatisfied with Madam Chu during this period, Madam Chu remained meticulous in every detail, not once showing any impropriety or negligence.

When it came down to it, the Old Madam could dote on Luo Yi’er, Luo Qiheng, and the other two and hold the matter of the Liu family against Madam Chu—all because she never truly regarded her as family.

Years of hard work and merit could be so easily forgotten.

Feeling weary at heart, Madam Chu had no desire to watch the scene inside the room any longer. Leaning on Nanny Zhang’s hand, she stood up:

“The guests in the front should be arriving soon. I shall take my leave now.”

Luo Qiheng and Luo Qiyan exchanged glances, unsure of what to do. The Old Madam snorted coldly but said nothing more.

It was at this moment that Luo Yu’an walked in. The unexpectedly silent and still atmosphere behind the beaded curtain caused his expression to darken.

He slowly stepped into the Cihui Hall and saw Madam Chu standing in the center, about to leave. Almost imperceptibly, he frowned and walked over to the Old Madam:

“Your son pays respects to Mother.”

The Old Madam paused in her motion of fingering the prayer beads and motioned for him to rise.

Madam Chu stood in place with lowered brows, her gaze fixed on the dazzling peony about to bloom on her handkerchief. Her profile was serene and composed, yet it was precisely this calm demeanor that made Luo Yu’an frown slightly.

He still did not know what had happened here, but he was certain it could not be her fault. Partiality had long become a habit, so much so that he no longer noticed anything amiss.

Luo Yu’an took her hand and looked toward the Old Madam. Noticing the silver strands at her temples, he remembered that today was her birthday and ultimately suppressed the words he wanted to say.

The emotions in his eyes were unfathomable when he heard Madam Chu’s tranquil voice,

“The Marquis has arrived just in time. I was about to head to the front courtyard. Please keep Mother company and speak with her.”

With that, she withdrew her hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luo Yi’er emerge from the inner room just then. The gentle light from outside the window softly fell upon her cheeks, a faint redness lingering at the corners of her eyes.

Madam Chu’s gaze turned cold, then colder still. Only by tightly clutching the handkerchief in her hand could she suppress the anger in her heart. She uttered a rather indifferent sentence,

“Yi’er, come with Mother to the front courtyard.”

Her own flesh and blood, her daughter, others might not hold her dear, but she cherished her as if she were the very heart in her palm. From childhood till now, she had never even allowed Yi’er to take a sip of chilled tea.

Since her own grandmother showed her no pity, why keep her here to be mistreated by others?

Luo Yi’er approached with light steps, curtsying gracefully to Luo Yu’an. Her voice was soft and gentle, yet tinged with a hint of grievance that seemed to seep from the depths of her heart, the redness at the corners of her eyes deepening: “Greetings, Father.”

After the courtesy, she retreated two steps, silently standing behind Madam Chu. Her fair, delicate hands were twisted together, the handkerchief already crumpled beyond recognition.

With merely lowered brows and eyes, she exuded a faint, gentle elegance, quiet and refined, very much like Madam Chu beside her.

As mother and daughter left the Cihui Hall, Luo Yu’an’s expression grew increasingly cold and somber. He had naturally seen the redness at the corners of Luo Yi’er’s eyes, still faintly visible as traces of recent tears.

He also had some understanding of the anger in Madam Chu’s heart, she had always held Yi’er in the palm of her hand, so how could she endure even the slightest grievance for Yi’er?

Even he, because Yi’er so resembled her, had always doted on her.

He sat down below the Old Madam, glanced at Luo Qiheng and the others, and frowned: “The front courtyard is busy. Shouldn’t you go help your mother?”

Luo Qiheng and the others exchanged glances before withdrawing. The Old Madam’s face stiffened, and she frowned as she looked at Luo Yu’an.

He paid no heed, coldly sweeping his gaze over the servants filling the room. Luo Qian received no special attention either as he spoke in a stern, low voice: “All of you, leave.”

Within moments, the room, once crowded with people, had emptied. Only when Luo Qian stepped out did she glance back.

Her father had not spared her even a sidelong glance, just like that day when he had personally ordered her mother to leave the estate. His expression had been equally cold and somber, sending chills through the heart.

With no outsiders left in the room, neither of them spoke, leaving behind a silence tinged with unease.

After a long silence, the Old Madam finally couldn’t hold back: “What do you mean by this?”

Luo Yu’an looked at her, a trace of weariness flickering in his eyes. The Old Madam saw it and was slightly taken aback, followed by a bitter, mortifying ache in her heart.

She stubbornly turned her head away: “If you have something to say, speak plainly!”

Luo Yu’an was dressed in a clear, dark black robe embroidered with barely noticeable patterns in deep red thread. He raised a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, his voice low: “Mother, Madam Chu has been in the estate for over twenty years without a single misstep.”

The Old Madam’s face stiffened as she turned to look at him. His expression remained somber and calm as he continued, “She has borne the estate two sons and a daughter—her contributions cannot be overlooked.”

“For many years, she has been filial to you, respectful to me, and flawless in educating Qiheng and the others.”

“In dealing with the concubine-born daughters and others, she has shown not a hint of favoritism.”

…

He recounted in detail Madam Chu’s merits since entering the estate, and the Old Madam’s face grew stiffer and stiffer. He slowly looked up, his expression somber and tinged with weariness: “Your son cannot understand, why would you make things difficult for her?”

Questioned by him, the Old Madam felt a surge of anger rise to her face after the initial bitterness and mortification: “When have I ever made things difficult for her!”

Looking at the child she had painstakingly raised, even though the fault today did not lie with Madam Chu, he had not asked about the day’s events yet was already certain she had troubled Madam Chu.

This only deepened her heartache. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes gathered, and her eyes grew slightly moist. She tightened her grip on the prayer beads in her hand:

“Because Madam Chu is Yi’er’s mother, she can stand behind her without a moment’s hesitation.”

Her slightly aged, wrinkled fingers tightly gripped the prayer beads, her heart filled with obscure bitterness: “And today, when you questioned me, did you ever consider that I am also your birth mother!”

The Old Madam’s voice, tinged with disappointment and sorrow, reached him. A flicker of pain passed through Luo Yu’an’s eyes.

He rose from his seat, lifted the hem of his robe, and suddenly knelt at the Old Madam’s feet. His spine remained ramrod straight, yet he did not retreat an inch,

“If Mother has any grievances, direct them all at me. Your son will harbor no dissatisfaction.”

He lifted his head and looked at the Old Madam: “But, Mother, as my wife, if even I do not protect Madam Chu, then who will?”

The Old Madam sat in place, her fingers trembling involuntarily. Her child had been extremely proud since childhood, yet today, for the sake of Madam Chu, he knelt before her.

Looking at the determined yet weary expression on his face, she suddenly remembered it had been the same twenty years ago.

Back then, for reasons unknown, the Old Marquis forbade him from marrying Madam Chu.

She recalled what the Old Marquis had said at the time: “You can marry whomever you wish! Even a royal princess, I would set aside my old face to seek a match for you. But the youngest daughter of the Chu family—absolutely not!”

To this day, she did not know the reason. She only knew that the extremely proud and self-possessed young heir of the marquis’s estate had knelt straight-backed in the courtyard in front of numerous servants.

Without uttering a word, he had made his resolve clear, refusing to yield an inch.

The Old Marquis, furious beyond measure, personally struck him thirty strokes with the ruler.

At that time, she only knew to protect her own child, weeping and begging him to stop being stubborn and to obey his father.

Yet after receiving thirty strokes, he remained kneeling on the ground, his face ghastly pale, but word by word, he insisted he would marry Madam Chu.

He knelt at the study door for a day and a night but could not withstand the injuries on his back and fainted.

She still remembered to this day: in the final moment before he collapsed, he whispered in her direction, pleading, “…Mother, help me… I beg you…”

What parent could outlast their child’s stubbornness?

She could not resist his pleas, and naturally, neither could the Old Marquis. In the end, he did marry Madam Chu into the estate as he wished.

On the day after the engagement was set, he ran into her courtyard, smiling and laughing happily with her all day.

Since he came of age, she had never seen him laugh so joyfully.

Returning to the present, she saw him kneeling before her, and suddenly his image overlapped with that figure from many years ago at the study door.

The Old Madam closed her eyes, her voice hoarse, “But what about my nephew…”

“Mother, do you know that the Liu family still survives entirely because Madam Chu mediated?”

“Otherwise, how could Prince Yu have let the Liu family off so easily?”

The Old Madam’s expression gradually stiffened. Having long been confined to the inner quarters, she was naturally not sensitive to political affairs.

She lowered her head to look at his weary face and finally softened. She said, “Is what you’re saying true?”

Luo Yu’an gave a bitter smile: “Why does Mother not believe me?”

The Old Madam paused slightly. Then, Luo Yu’an continued, “Mother has not yet gone out, has you? Even though you have been lukewarm toward Madam Chu recently, today, on your birthday, she still did not neglect a single detail, giving her utmost care in every aspect.”

The Old Madam’s expression became somewhat uneasy.
If what he said was true, then hadn’t she been wronging Madam Chu all this time?
And today, she even made Yi’er…

She furrowed her brows, suddenly thinking of Luo Qian, who had been visiting recently. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Luo Yu’an still kneeling and said with some discomfort, “Aren’t you getting up? A dignified Marquis kneeling on the ground, what kind of sight is that?”

Luo Yu’an knew she had come to her senses and felt slightly relieved. He stood up and heard her say, “You should still remind her to pay attention to the eldest girl. The eldest girl seems to harbor great resentment toward Yi’er.”

Here, “her” naturally referred to Madam Chu.

Luo Yu’an frowned and looked up, seeing the Old Madam’s slightly creased brows, carrying an unnatural sense of apology and thoughtfulness.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, the eldest girl?

After a moment’s thought, he frowned again: “If that’s the case, Mother, it would be best not to allow her to come to the Cihui Hall in the future.”

Even if all the concubine-born daughters were combined, they could not compare to Yi’er alone—a fact clearly understood in the hearts of all the masters in the estate.

Only the Old Madam, who had been confused lately, had indulged Luo Qian’s behavior during this time.

The Old Madam pinched her prayer beads, knowing he was somewhat dissatisfied with her indulgence of Luo Qian recently.

After all, she had just realized her mistake, so she said, “I understand.”

Seeing her expression, Luo Yu’an knew that if he stayed longer, it would only make her uncomfortable.

It would be better to leave her some time to sort out her thoughts. He stood up and clasped his hands: “Then I shall head to the front courtyard.”

Luo Yu’an glanced at the empty, deserted Cihui Hall and added, “Later, I will have Yi’er and the others come keep you company for a chat.”

Only after the Old Madam agreed did he leave.