Wanjin Lady

Upon hearing that her mother was seriously ill, Cheng Yuehua immediately begged Madam Yan and returned to her parents' home. Fortunately, upon entering her mother's yard, she did not smell any medicine, and the servants did not seem to be in a panic. Madam Yan even asked her about her recent situation with a smile.

Cheng Yuehua was a clever girl, and she immediately guessed that her mother might have something to discuss with her. She quietly entered the elder lady's room, and Aunt Chen dismissed her attendants and stood guard outside the door.

Seeing that Madam Yuan was safe and sound, Cheng Yuehua felt relieved. "Mother, is there something wrong at home?"

Madam Yuan gave birth to four children, and now only Cheng Yuehua and Cheng Yunzhang are still alive. Madam Yuan can't hide her feelings for her daughter. When she saw Cheng Yuehua, her face was ferocious, "Your fourth brother... is about to be killed!"

Cheng Yuehua rarely saw her mother angry. She felt uneasy and said nothing, just waiting for her mother to finish speaking.

The elder lady pointed at the pot of apricot juice on the table and said, "The Red Mansion opened today, and all the powerful ladies in Bozhou City came to show their support. Miss Wen is so majestic!"

"This widow..." The elder lady gritted her teeth, "She's restless! Only a year after her husband died, she's already plotting against Xiu Wen!"

Cheng Yuehua's face turned red with fear. "Mother! Don't say anything without basis!"

"It's absolutely true! It's set in stone! I was deceived by that little bitch before! I thought she was some chaste and heroic woman!" The elder lady took her daughter's hand and poured out all her resentment over the past few days. "Yunzhang has a treasured portrait and hairpin in his room. The hairpin is gentle, and the woman in the portrait... is exactly the same as the woman in the auspicious fruit juice!"

"Yuehua. This portrait on the Rui Fruit Pulp... was created by Xiuwen!" The Elder Lady clutched her chest. "He treasured this thing like a treasure, bringing it all the way from Ping County back to Bozhou. What does that mean...don't you understand?"

"This..." Cheng Yuehua's heart was pounding. She refused to believe that Cheng Yunzhang had actually fallen in love with a widow. "How could Xiuwen be so foolish! He doesn't even want a bright future? If anyone finds out, his life will be over!"

Tears of blood flowed from the elder lady's eyes.

This pain... she couldn't tell anyone. Cheng Yunzhang was the apple of her eye, the hope of the Cheng family. Everyone was counting on him... yet they also secretly hoped for his fall from grace. Only Cheng Yuehua, whose interests were aligned with hers, could truly understand the pain in her heart.

"Has mother discussed these matters with fourth brother?"

"How can we talk? He's always been wary of me and never willing to open up to me easily. If I bring it up, he'll probably get angry and turn against me!"

The elder lady's heart ached even more. "I've raised him for twenty years, and he's not even a bit grateful... He never considered that besides you and me, who else in this world would truly wish him the best? Yuehua, you don't understand... My heart... is like frying in oil... I'm furious and afraid... I'm torn."

Cheng Yuehua figured it out, "Mother wants to harm me and my fourth brother Chen Ming?"

But although Cheng Yunzhang's temper seemed docile, he actually had his own ideas and could not be changed by a few words from her.

"No need. Let's just pretend we don't know about this and give him some respect." The elder lady had already thought of a countermeasure. "Last month, the wife of the magistrate was interested in marrying into our family, but he didn't want to get married so soon. I indulged him and turned the match down. I never thought he would do it for that widow! Yuehua, he threw away his future, his reputation, and even his filial piety for this widow!"

Cheng Yuehua realized the seriousness of the situation upon hearing this, and her face changed slightly. "Fourth brother, you are so foolish! Such a good marriage is hard to find even with a lantern! I have seen the young lady of the Sun family. Her appearance and talent are both first-class. There is no better girl than Miss Sun in the entire Bozhou City! How can you refuse such a good marriage for a widow?"

Both mother and daughter remained silent. Despite her fury, Cheng Yuehua retained a sliver of reason. "What about Wen Wan? What was her attitude? Could it be... that she's so shameless, truly deluding herself into wanting to be a daughter-in-law of the Cheng family?" She had given birth to two children!
This is too horrific! It's impossible!
"That girl has some skills. I wonder what kind of magic potion she's used to charm your brother. I see that Lord Wei is also close to her... No matter how capable a woman is, she'll always want to be dependent on a man."

If you can marry a man of your dreams, which woman in the world would be willing to show up in public and compete with men for food?

The elder lady even held a grudge against Yao Shizhen, "If it weren't for this old man Yao randomly adopting a daughter, allowing Wen Wan and Cheng Yunzhang to come into contact, how could your brother have gone astray!"

"I was really scared... After Yuan Qi died, Jia made things difficult for Wen Wan. Didn't you see how he acted? He rushed back and forth to investigate the case, just to give Wen Wan justice! After Wen Wan pretended to break off her relationship with him, he was devastated and would come back drunk every few days."

"Not to mention you and me, even some of the astute servants in the house noticed his abnormality!"

"If this continues, the entire Bozhou City will know his dirty thoughts! Will he still study? Will he still take the exam?"

"If that's the case... I might as well just die! I won't be able to see these awful things once I close my eyes!"

Cheng Yuehua quickly said, "Mother, you must not think like that! You've done all this for my fourth brother. He's young, but he'll understand someday!"

"Go and persuade him." The old lady also felt aggrieved, her eyes reddened from longing. She knew Cheng Yunzhang wouldn't listen to her, so she could only count on her daughter to take the lead. "If he agrees, I'll risk my dignity and go to the Sun family to ask for help again. As long as he gets married, maybe slowly... this matter will be over!"

Cheng Yuehua knew that her mother had rejected the Sun family's marriage proposal, which made the Sun family very angry. Now she had to humble herself and beg the Sun family. She felt uncomfortable and also a little angry towards Wen Wan.

The fourth brother is the only child in the Cheng family!

His mother has devoted all her efforts to him. How can his fourth brother hurt his mother's heart just because of a woman?
Cheng Yuehua agreed and talked to her mother for a while. After the servant came to report that Cheng Yunzhang had returned, Cheng Yuehua hurried to the backyard to look for Cheng Yunzhang.

Cheng Yunzhang had just returned home and changed into comfortable home clothes when he suddenly heard a servant come to report that Cheng Yuehua had returned home.

It was a rare opportunity for the brother and sister to see each other, so Cheng Yunzhang was very happy and quickly ordered his servants to bring the best tea to serve them.

Cheng Yuehua had no mood to drink tea. Seeing the wine pot in the corner, she thought that Cheng Yunzhang had never indulged himself like this before, and she couldn't help feeling worried.

Fourth brother has always been opinionated and strong-willed. How can she persuade him to give up his thoughts on Wen Wan?

Cheng Yuehua pondered and spoke slowly, "My mother is sick today, so I came back to see her. I never expected to hear her say that you rejected the Sun family's marriage proposal. You are old, and the girls of the Sun family are both beautiful and talented. Why do you still not like them?"

A knowing smile appeared on Cheng Yunzhang's face. "Mother sent my third sister to persuade me to get married?" (End of Chapter)