Chapter 588: Chapter 555: Impressive Skills, Madam (First Update)

This winter, the snow was late in coming, the Capital was dry and cold, and the night wind strong. Although Tang Yong’s room hadn’t been burning for long, the things inside were already mostly destroyed. After the young servants finished putting out the fire, they all withdrew, leaving only the maidservants and old women in the inner courtyard to clean up. It took more than ten people almost the entire night to barely finish tidying up.

Mrs. Qiao sat in the main hall of Ruyi Courtyard, her hand occasionally patting her grandson’s back, her face darkened, immersed in unknown thoughts.

In the adjacent west chamber, Jiang Qingyu lay unconscious while the doctor applied medicine to her.

Tang Yuan had, in a reckless impulse, rushed over to carry his sister-in-law out of the sea of flames. In the heat of the moment, he hadn’t realized the inappropriateness of his actions but afterward felt unsettled and retreated to guard the door outside.

Seeing Xu Jia approach, he inexplicably felt ashamed to face her, causing him to lower his eyelashes and his chin slightly.

“How is Sister-in-law?” Xu Jia asked him.

Tang Yuan didn’t dare to look directly at her, his voice hoarse from the smoke, “Fortunately, it’s just a burn on her left arm. The doctor said it’s not serious and is currently treating it.”

“I asked the servants,” Xu Jia smiled at him, “They all said it’s thanks to Second Master running fast, otherwise, Big Lady wouldn’t have escaped harm tonight.”

Tang Yuan’s face quickly paled at her words, “I…I wasn’t…”

He seemed eager to explain something, but Xu Jia interrupted him first, “I’ll go in and check on her.”

“Second Lady.” Tang Yuan reached out to stop her.

“What, afraid I’ll scare her, or afraid I’ll harm her?” Xu Jia paused, the sarcasm in her eyes undisguised under the dim light.

The shame of having everything seen through spread even more in his heart. Tang Yuan took a deep breath, “We are newlyweds. You still carry the joy of the occasion. It’s not appropriate to let this incident disturb it.”

After saying that, he looked at Mo Xiang, “Escort the Second Lady back.”

Mo Xiang stood still.

She was a maidservant from the General Mansion, not a servant of the Tang Family. She recognized only her lady as her mistress, and if the lady didn’t give orders, she naturally wouldn’t obey others’ commands.

Seeing this, Tang Yuan couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

Unable to command Mo Xiang, he called two other maidservants to have the Second Lady taken back to rest.

The man wouldn’t allow it, and Xu Jia didn’t insist, instead calmly saying, “The Madam is sitting in the main hall of Ruyi Courtyard now. If you let me go back, when she lays blame, Second Master will take full responsibility.”

“Fine.” Tang Yuan seemed resolute in not allowing her to appear at Ruyi Courtyard. After agreeing, he insisted on having someone escort her away.

“Second Lady, please.”

The two maidservants stood in front of Xu Jia, their tone respectful.

Xu Jia didn’t linger any longer, taking Mo Xiang with her back to Zilan Courtyard.

The fire in Ruyi Courtyard wasn’t too big or too small. When Xu Jia arrived, the courtyard was still filled with the smell of thick smoke, permeating her entire body. Xu Jia couldn’t stand it and had to instruct Mo Xiang to prepare hot water so she could bathe again before resting.

It was obvious without thinking that the incident at Ruyi Courtyard was Jiang Qingyu’s trick of self-harm. What surprised Xu Jia was that Jiang Qingyu was willing to make a move in the room of her own son.

Was she gambling with Tang Yong’s life, betting that Tang Yuan would appear in time, or did she want to directly burn the child who constantly reminded her of Tang Xiao?

After pondering for a while without any clear thoughts, Xu Jia drifted off to sleep.

Compared to the quietness of Zilan Courtyard, the main hall of Ruyi Courtyard was so cold it seemed about to frost over.

From the moment Mrs. Qiao stepped into the courtyard gate, her face had remained stern.

It was only after finally coaxing her grandson to sleep that she had someone call Tang Yuan, who was standing guard outside the west chamber, inside.

“Mother,” Tang Yuan stood in the hall without ever raising his head.

Mrs. Qiao asked him, “How is your sister-in-law?”

“Still unconscious.”

“Have you asked the servants what exactly caused the fire?”

Tang Yong nodded, “I’ve already had the steward question each one. It was the servant attending to Yongyong who didn’t close the window properly. The strong wind blew down the candlestick, causing the fire.”

Mrs. Qiao felt it wasn’t that simple, but she had no evidence. Remembering how the old woman from the side room said that Second Master had rushed into the flames without hesitation to carry Big Lady out, the color on Mrs. Qiao’s face worsened, “How big was the fire? With so many servants around, why did it fall to you to play the hero?”

Tang Yuan understood what his birth mother was implying and defended himself, “The situation was urgent. I had no choice but to act that way. Besides, when it comes to life and death, how could I think of so many things?”

Life and death?

Mrs. Qiao would’ve preferred Jiang Qingyu to be burned to death in the fire, so she wouldn’t have to see this vile woman and feel her eyes ache.

Now, it was all a mess. Not only did she not die, but she also had her youngest son carry her out in front of everyone. Though it was to save a life, with such a big Tang Family, with hundreds of servants, how could all mouths be silenced? Inevitably, people would gossip about this in the future.

Thinking of this, Mrs. Qiao asked again, “Where is your wife?”

“She came before, I had someone send her back.” Tang Yuan replied honestly.

“Alright, you go and rest as well.” Mrs. Qiao waved her hand irritably, “The mechanical beast was burned, think of a way to appease her and please ensure she goes to the Song Mansion for a visit.”

Tang Yuan was worried, “Earlier during the fire, Yongyong was almost trapped inside, he must have been quite frightened, I want to stay and accompany him.”

Mrs. Qiao said coldly, “Before Mrs. Jiang came back, it was fine for you to move here to take care of Yongyong, but now your sister-in-law lives here, you are still unwilling to avoid suspicion, Second Brother, do you have to let those unpleasant rumors come true before you are satisfied?”

Tang Yuan’s handsome face turned pale instantly, “What unpleasant rumors?”

Mrs. Qiao closed her eyes, and once again sent him away, “Get out!”

Tang Yuan frowned, unwillingly left the Ruyi Courtyard.

When he returned to the Zilan Courtyard, Xu Jia’s door was tightly closed, and the lights inside were out.

He stood in front of the door, hesitating for a while, several times wanting to reach out to knock, but finally gave up and turned to go to the study.

The next day was a rest day.

After breakfast, Mrs. Qiao had someone send Tang Yong to Tang Yuan.

With this, Tang Yuan couldn’t find an excuse to see Jiang Qingyu and could only inquire about the situation from the servants.

Upon learning that Jiang Qingyu had woken up, Tang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief and brought his young nephew to the Zilan Courtyard.

Xu Jia had just finished breakfast and was about to go to the front hall. There were many things to do today; all the damaged furnishings in the Ruyi Courtyard and the materials for repairs needed to be quickly calculated and delegated to the servants.

She had just lifted the curtain and stepped out the door when she saw Tang Yuan and his nephew approaching.

Tang Yong must have been overly frightened by last night’s events, he refused to speak, his eyes welled with tears, as if they could fall at any moment.

Putting other things aside, seeing him like this, Xu Jia felt quite sorry for him.

To lure the man out, Jiang Qingyu even used her own son. This move was truly ruthless. One wonders what Tang Yuan thinks of this.

Suppressing her thoughts, Xu Jia asked, “Why are you here, Second Master?”

Tang Yuan replied, “It was my fault yesterday during the day, I shouldn’t have come to question you without distinguishing right from wrong. Although Yongyong was wrong for dismantling the mechanical beast, as his uncle, I too am responsible. I wish to take him to the Song family to apologize and ask Minister Song to speak for us before the Emperor. Can Second Madam help me with this?”

Xu Jia looked at Tang Yuan, then at Tang Yong, who could cry at any moment, and sighed, “In the afternoon then, I’m in a hurry to go to the front hall to handle affairs now.”

…

After lunch, Tang Yuan appeared on time at the Zilan Courtyard, Tang Yong tightly clutching Tang Yuan’s sleeve. Since the morning, Xu Jia hadn’t heard Tang Yong utter a single word, he seemed timid towards everyone, quite unlike the mischievous child from days before who would threaten by throwing tantrums.

Thinking that he probably was still too frightened to speak, Xu Jia didn’t engage him in conversation, and once the servants had readied the carriage, the three of them exited through the side door and headed straight for the Song Mansion.

The Song family had guests today, Song Wei was accompanying them in the garden, and it was Wen Wan who received this couple.

Upon hearing Xu Jia mention the mechanical beast being burned, Wen Wan couldn’t hide her surprise.

Tang Yuan took the initiative to admit, “Initially, it was this little nephew of mine being naughty and dismantling the mechanical beast. Before I could ask Minister Song to help repair it, the yard caught fire at night. In hindsight, it’s all my lack of discipline that led to this disaster. Madam, could you allow us to see Minister Song?”

Wen Wan said, “The burning of the mechanical beast is no small matter, you indeed should see him. Mr. Song is in the back garden now, I’ll take you there.”

Tang Yuan bowed, “Thank you, Madam.”

…

On the way to the garden, Wen Wan softly asked Xu Jia, “Your house caught fire, is Little Sister Jia alright?”

Xu Jia shook her head, “The fire wasn’t too big, the servants discovered it in time, nothing serious happened on my side.”

Wen Wan nodded, “Don’t worry too much about the mechanical beast, given the relationship between our two families, Mr. Song will take care of it.”

As Wen Wan was speaking, an unknown football suddenly flew over, heading directly towards her head.

Xu Jia, quick-eyed and swift, pulled Wen Wan behind her and swiftly palmed the football away, deflecting it to a corner.

Wen Wan smiled, about to praise her when someone preempted her, “Madam has great skill.”

The voice was so clear and smooth, making it irresistibly tempting to turn back and look.

Xu Jia indeed turned back and was momentarily stunned at the sight of the newcomer.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep