novelraw Chapter 385 - 377: Refutation
Chapter 385 - 377: Refutation
Mrs. Gu Sr. lost her temper, but Mrs. Dong was not afraid at all.
"In Mrs. Gu Sr.’s eyes, there’s only outsiders, where am I as a daughter-in-law? All these years, she has never cared about the affairs of the Marquis Mansion. Even though I have given birth to a legitimate son for the mansion, has Mrs. Gu Sr. ever been affectionate to him? While the Marquis was at the border, I had no reason to complain, but now that he’s back in the Capital, how many times has he visited Brother Zong? Even now, we haven’t settled on a name for Brother Zong yet, have we? Mrs. Gu Sr. neglects her only legitimate son so much, why not mention if the Marquis values rules? Since both the Marquis and Mrs. Gu Sr. are like this, why should I care about those so-called rules? Since I’ve spoken this far, I also want to ask Mrs. Gu Sr. whether the Marquis is still a man of this mansion?" Mrs. Dong did not back down even a bit, directly retaliating.
"According to what you said, you don’t follow the rules because we don’t care about them? That’s a good reason and excuse. Very well, then let me ask you, what have you been doing in this mansion all these years? What have you done later on? Some things you know clearly even if I don’t mention them. Do you want me to list them all in front of the younger generation? I’m too tired to say. As for whether the Marquis is the man of the Marquis Mansion, you can ask all over the Capital and see what they say."
"At the end of the day, Mrs. Gu Sr. is still inclined towards your niece’s side. I’ve heard it now, the Marquis doesn’t speak, so neither do I. In the future, there’s no point talking about rules or not in this mansion. I am truly grateful now that we have Brother Zong; if not for him, my life in this mansion would be even harder." Mrs. Dong held her child and turned to leave.
Sister Ran and Sister Jian stood beside each other, barely daring to breathe; Sister Hui, however, knelt on the ground, pleading and confessing for her mother, "Mother has been in a bad mood because of my brother these days. Please, grandmother, forgive her this time. I am here to beg for her forgiveness."
Sister Ran watched and hurriedly knelt down as well. Although Sister Ran was reluctant, she still knelt down.
Mrs. Gu Sr. wasn’t too angry, "Your mother is becoming more and more unprogressive. You all are grown-up girls now, and it’s not easy for me to say much to her. If she’s really sent to a family temple, you won’t find suitable families now. Even if you marry, you’ll be pointed at outside. You’ve all seen what happened just now, remember it in your hearts. After you marry, don’t do such things, so you won’t be unwelcome by your in-laws."
The three quickly agreed and didn’t dare to say more, Gu Yifeng waved them away, and only then did the three leave.
After such a scene, Lin Youning couldn’t leave easily. She sat down and comforted the old lady, "It’s also my fault for not urging big brother to come back to the Marquis Mansion."
"How can that be your fault? You’re pregnant now, and there are many affairs in the mansion. It’s right for the eldest to take care of you over there. But Mrs. Dong doesn’t understand any rules. Now she should be focused on taking good care of Brother Zong, yet she’s still caught up in this rivalry nonsense. I don’t know what she’s thinking. She’s about to become a grandmother and still hasn’t matured." Mrs. Gu Sr. was obviously biased towards Sister Ning, and Lin Youning could see it.
Lin Youning gave a bitter smile, "Aunt dotes on me too much."
Mrs. Gu Sr. laughed, raising her hand to tap her forehead, "It’s good that you know your aunt spoils you. Even if your aunt was confused in the past, forgive her this time."
Lin Youning knew that aunt referred to that incident of trying to set her up. She lowered her head, "In fact, I haven’t blamed aunt for a long time. I know she was also forced back then."
Besides, she liked big brother, and now that they’ve both opened up to each other, knowing in their hearts that they like each other, she wouldn’t resent aunt anymore.
Mrs. Gu Sr. patted her hand, "It’s good that you don’t blame your aunt."
Even though Gu Yifeng didn’t say anything throughout, his expression wasn’t very pleasant. On their way back to the East Mansion, Lin Youning tried to comfort him with a few words, yet found herself at a loss of what else to say. After all, it was her who always monopolized big brother. However, asking her to persuade big brother to go to Mrs. Dong’s side, Lin Youning couldn’t do that either.
When they returned to the East Mansion, Gu Yifeng didn’t seem irritated. He changed into his usual robe and leaned on the couch, holding a book in one hand and embracing Sister Ning with the other.
The two of them stayed like this, and Lin Youning felt that nothing compared to this moment.
Unconsciously, she fell into a deep sleep, and when she woke she was called by Hailan.
Lin Youning sat up, realizing it was already dark outside, and there was no sign of big brother beside her.
Before she could open her mouth to ask, Hailan returned, saying, "Mr. Lin has come, and the Marquis has already gone to the front yard to receive him."
"Mr. Lin? Lin Qining’s father?" Thinking of Mr. Lin, Lin Youning always had a good impression of him.
She once thought he was her biological father, deliberately sneaking glimpses of him, and even heard from Lin Qining that he would commission many portraits every year.
Such warm fatherly love that Lin Youning could never forget. Later, her identity was exposed, and she never paid attention to Mr. Lin again. Now hearing Hailan mention his visit, she knew it was about something.
"Have you found out what it is about?" Lin Youning took the handkerchief Hailan handed her, wiped her face, and felt much more awake.
"He’s here for Miss Lin. I heard Miss Lin and the eldest young master haven’t been doing well. The eldest young master went to Jiangxi and took a concubine there, who is now pregnant, while Miss Lin hasn’t conceived. Mr. Lin seems to want to take the young lady back, but she refuses to go with him, so he came here, and the Marquis went to the front yard immediately upon hearing. What has happened since then, I don’t know." Hailan was thorough, having found all this out.
Lin Youning nodded, "Where’s Shanmoi?"
Usually, she saw Shanmoi upon waking, but today, she didn’t. Did she perhaps go to the front yard to watch the drama?
Last time, because of Shanmoi’s behavior, big brother kept it in mind. If Shanmoi went to the front yard again and big brother blamed her, the girl would surely suffer.
Hailan chuckled softly, "Miss need not worry about her. That little girl went to find Li Si. Didn’t Miss arrange the maids’ marriages for the winter? Li Si asked the Marquis for permission to take Shanmoi out to buy supplies together."