Eldest Madam Wu had an upset stomach prior to heading out today. After arriving at the Yiyong Marquis Estate, she had gone to the bathroom a couple more times.
After coming out the second time, she realized the Yaoyue Pavilion's people had decreased by half. Some of the remaining madam's were discussing how two misses had gotten into a fight in front of everyone. Eldest Madam Wu was startled at hearing this and hurried out of the pavilion.
Right as she exited, a servant came and reported that Miss Wu had been brought to the Qingshu Hall, and invited Eldest Madam Wu over.
From the situation, it was clear her daughter had caused trouble.
Eldest Madam Wu was both angry and worried as she followed the servant over. The moment she arrived, Wu Qiong Qiong pounced over crying loudly about having been hit.
Looking at her daughter's frightfully swollen right cheek, Eldest Madam Wu was immediately enraged.
"Who on earth was it? Is this how your Yiyong Marquis Estate treats its guests? My miss was fine when I brought her over, but ended up injured like this?"
At this time, Ma Quan Fang came over with a smile, her attitude neither servile nor overbearing. "It was truly an oversight by our Yiyong Marquis Estate. However, Eldest Madam Wu should also ask Miss Wu what she did to end up this way."
"What could my Qiong Qiong have done? What could a teenage girl have done to deserve such a hit!? Who was so vicious? What if she ends up disfigured?!"
Wu Qiong Qiong was aggrieved to begin with, and was also frightened by Second Madam Shen earlier. Now that she heard disfigurement was possible, she was inconsolable.
"Mom, you have to vent my anger for me. It was all that Yan Yan...."
"Madam-in-waiting, I feel your Yiyong Marquis Estate needs to give our High Official Estate an explanation. If this wasn't done by someone from your estate, than the person responsible should be handed over."
"Eldest Madam Wu, you shouldn't be hasty. Let me first explain wht happened...."
Ma Quan Fang summarized the entire story.
Eldest Madam Wu's face turned uglier the more she listened, her lips trembling from anger: "This is pure slander. Who can prove my daughter was the one responsible?"
Ma Quan Fang twitched her lips and said evenly: "That Yan household's concubine daughter confessed in front of the crowd. Many people present also saw it was Miss Wu who brought her inside. In theory, a concubine born daughter doesn't have the status to enter the Wangxian Pavilion. It was Miss Wu who brought her into the Qinxiang Garden, and then into the pavilion."
"Did my daughter bring her in just because you said she did? She isn't familiar with that Yan household's daughter. Why would she bring a stranger inside? You all are probably framing her!"
Seeing Eldest Madam Wu's unreasonable appearance, Ma Quan Fang realized where Wu Qiong Qiong got her unruly and domineering personality from. But since this matter occurred within her estate, she still had to pacify things whether it was reasonable or not.
Ma Quan Fang suppressed her emotions as she explained: "This you'll have to ask your miss. Also, the Pei household's miss has always been close with Miss Wu. This concubine daughter is Miss Pei's cousin."
Eldest Madam Wu doubtfully looked at her daughter.
Wu Qiong Qiong hemmed and hawed, speaking evasively. Pei Jia Yu was frightened into wishing she was invisible.
Since she raised her, Eldest Madam Wu knew her own daughter best. Looking at her expression, she knew the Yiyong Madam-in-waiting's words shouldn't be far from the truth. Despite this, she wasn't planning on leaving it at that. Her daughter was beaten into such a state. If she swallowed this grievance, who would take their Wu household seriously in the future? Which household's miss wasn't pampered? Not even their parents were willing to lay a finger on them since birth, but now her daughter was hit by an outsider. No one would be able to swallow this anger.
Eldest Madam Wu laughed coldly, "I think it's better for madam-in-waiting to stop being evasive. Just how lofty is this Yan household to make you cover for them?!"
Ma Quan Fang had long since been impatient.
Hearing these words, her face turned pale from anger. "Forget it, forget it. I initially felt that both sides are at fault in this matter. Since Miss Wu was the main cause of this, it would be best if everyone could take a step back and forget it. Since Eldest Madam Wu isn't willing, then there will naturally be someone coming to discuss things with you later. It's better if you take it up with the other party's elder! The other party still wants to pursue the matter of your noble estate's miss picking quarrels for no reason and spreading gossip to ruin people's name!"
Eldest Madam Wu flicked her sleeve and laughed disdainfully. "What a joke. That's perfect. I still want to ask the other party how they raised such a malicious miss in their household!"
A voice sounded from outside. "Eldest Madam Wu has some objections to how our Zhenguo Duke Estate raises our juniors?"
Ma Quan Fang stood and walked over in greeting. Eldest Madam Wu was also startled into standing. Her face was both flushed and pale, looking extremely awkward.
Zhenguo Duke Estate?
Wasn't the surname Yan?!
Eldest Madam Wu wasn't making a fuss without reason. When she heard the other party's surname was Yan, she knew that there was no household with that surname their Wu household couldn't afford to offend. Only then did she refuse to drop the matter.
This fuss was to find some excuses for her household. For example, her miss was young and was framed, her daughter was too innocent and was manipulated. It wasn't like this hadn't happened before. If she didn't make a fuss, it would be tacitly admitting Wu Qiong Qiong was responsible.
After all, outsiders would wonder why none of her elders stepped up to defend her after she was hit if she was truly innocent.
Eldest Madam Wu had always been good at putting up a strong front and pressuring others. She could make those with reason on their side suddenly feel unreasonable.
But the Zhenguo Duke Estate....
Eldest Madam Wu recalled the Zhenguo Duke's son-in-law was surnamed Yan. Perhaps this matter involved the Zhenguo Duke's granddaughter? The Zhenguo Duke only had one precious pearl who had given birth to one daughter. The Shen household had few women so the Zhenguo Duke cherished his granddaughter a lot. This matter wasn't a secret within the capital.
She vaguely recalled when that girl turned one year old, the celebration was extremely grand. Even the Zhenguo Duke himself had made a personal appearance. His face had wrinkled up from smiling as he held that young girl. At that time, Eldest Madam Wu was still a daughter-in-law who hadn't been given authority over the household yet. She had come with her mother-in-law and this memory was still fresh in her mind.
Second Madam Shen smiled warmly but her gaze was rather sharp as she stared at Eldest Madam Wu.
Eldest Madam Wu already felt lacking in confidence before she even opened her mouth. Her expression was rather rigid.
"Second Madam Shen...."
Just like how the Zhenguo Duke's name was brilliant and imposing within the Grand Xi, Second Madam Shen was also brilliant and imposing within the social circles of noblewomen.
She knew how to conduct herself and the way she treated others normally was extremely proper. However, she was no pushover, and handled things in an overbearing manner. Her reputation was something forged over time. Normally it was rare for a banquet to be graced with her presence. Unexpectedly, she had actually come to the Yiyong Marquis Estate today.
Second Madam Shen wasn't planning on resolving this matter peacefully. She took a couple of steps closer. "Could Eldest Madam Wu perhaps let me know how our Zhenguo Duke Estate has failed in educating our miss?"
Eldest Madam Wu couldn't help but take a couple of steps back. "Second Madam Shen, this is a misunderstanding...."
"Misunderstanding? Doesn't seem like it to me!" Second Madam Shen sneered disdainfully. "Since Eldest Madam Wu wants to have a proper discussion, this madam here will naturally oblige happily. I am also very eager to ask how your Wu Estate raised your miss. First she provokes quarrels for no reason, and when that fails she turns to vicious schemes, starting rumors to harm my niece. I'm sure Eldest Madam Wu is aware how important a good reputation is for a girl. Such sinister intentions are truly hair-raising!"
"My Qiong Qiong is pure and definitely wouldn't have such a vicious heart." Eldest Madam Wu knew she didn't have reason on her side and also didn't dare offend the Zhenguo Duke Estate. She had a flash of brilliance and urgently said: "That Yan household's concubine daughter is this Miss Pei's cousin. My daughter is close with Miss Pei, and it was definitely these cousins working together to hoodwink my daughter. Qiong Qiong, hurry and tell mom and Second Madam Shen if this was the case?!"
Wu Qiong Qiong stumbled from being pulled at and her eyes were brimming with tears. "I argued with Liu Shu Yi and ran out of the Wangxian Pavilion in anger. I was planning on cooling off outside but was brought out of the garden by Pei Jia Yu. While chatting with her, that Yan Qian appeared....your daughter also doesn't remember what happened back then, and only remembers I was very angry. Yan Qian happened to bring up Yan Yan's matters and Pei Jia Yu said we can use these things to deal with her...she said reputation is important for a girl, and this was the easiest way to deal with Yan Yan...."
Eldest Madam Wu started raining down abuse. "Calling you pure was putting it nicely. You're basically a fool. Didn't you realize you were being manipulated?!"
As she spoke, she poked her daughter's forehead with her finger. Wu Qiong Qiong was forced to retreat repeatedly, looking rather pitiful.
Wu Qiong Qiong hadn't lied. The only part that wasn't quite true was that she had run out of the garden due to anger. This part wasn't important. After all, they were walking around aimlessly anyway, and no one could recall it clearly in anger.
As for the reason Pei Jia Yu would say something like this was to curry favor with Wu Qiong Qiong. She could tell what Wu Qiong Qiong was thinking, and knew she didn't want to be the one to say it due to her status. This was why Pei Jia Yu ended up being the one to speak up and reach an agreement with Yan Qian.
These two facts combined painted the image of an intentional plot by two misses from the Pei household to accomplish their own goals.
Pei Jia Yu continuously shook her head. "I didn't, I really didn't...."
But when Eldest Madam Wu sternly questioned her whether she had said such words, and whether that Yan Qian was her cousin, she wasn't able to say anything.
The conclusion ended up being that Yan Qian wanted to get back at Yan Yan and Pei Jia Yu wanted to get back at Wu Qiong Qiong. This was because Wu Qiong Qiong's rude nature had angered her quite frequently.
Although these words weren't spoken out loud, this was the general meaning.
Eldest Madam Wu was rather skilled, being able to push all the blame away so easily.
Second Madam Shen was rather unresigned, but it wasn't convenient to say anything.
Putting it plainly, that Pei household's miss also didn't have good intentions. Since this matter was bad for both sides, Second Madam Shen also hadn't been planning on doing anything to Wu Qiong Qiong. This matter was sufficient for the Wu Estate to digest for a long time.
Second Madam Shen knew to quit while she was ahead: "This madam hopes that your noble estate will come over to apologize tomorrow."
Both sides understood what this meant. If someone from the Wu household came to apologize, it meant they admitted to this matter. As for Wu Qiong Qiong's reputation, that was something for them to worry about. After all, even if it was as Eldest Madam Wu concluded, it was the Wu household's responsibility for not knowing people well enough, resulting in someone else's name being ruined.
Eldest Madam Wu laughed awkwardly: "Absolutely."
Second Madam Shen nodded and left.
The Wu Estate was certain to have a sleepless night.
By the time Eldest Madam Wu returned with Wu Qiong Qiong and Pei Jia Yu, it was already dark.
There was another round of scolding after they got back. By now, Eldest Madam Wu already knew clearly how to proceed. She called over her second son's wife Pei Jia Yi and showered her with abuse. She said the Pei household's miss had caused huge trouble for their household.
Pei Jia Yi suffered a round of abuse before finally understanding what was going on. She was both angry and worried but also didn't dare talk back. When her mother-in-law finally let her go, she pulled her younger sister back for questioning.
When everything was clarified, she understood that her sister was being made the scapegoat. Based on her mother-in-law's actions, it seemed the Pei household would end up being forced to carry this black pot!