CH 128

Chapter 128: There was no such thing as too melodramatic, only very melodramatic 

The young woman’s voice was not as soft as Concubine Kang’s, instead she had the kind of street women’s sharpness and shrewdness.

Old Madam Ren did not reply immediately. The outer room was quiet for a while, only after a while did she hear Old Madam Ren faintly say, “I can’t afford it.”

Mrs. Kang immediately laughed, “Of course Old Madam can afford it, Old Madam is an ancestor, there is nothing that you didn’t deserve.”

This Mrs. Kang should have strong temper, but she was still a little cautious in front of Old Madam Ren. Old Madam Ren was deliberately face her with indifferent expression, and it made her anxious whenever she spoke.

This was the effect that Old Madam Ren wanted. She immediately interrupted Mrs. Kang in a low voice and said, “I still have guests coming here later, if you have nothing to say, you can leave first. Matron Gui, tell the kitchen to prepare a table of noodles later, and let the people from Kang Family eat before leaving.”

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

Old Madam Ren was sending off her guests.

It was hard for Mrs. Kang to be able to come in, how could she be willing to leave? So she immediately smiled and said, “Old Ancestor, this little woman has something to report to you.”

“What matters do you have?”

“This… Can you let the people around you retire first?” Mrs. Kang looked hesitant.

Old Madam Ren paused, “There’s no need, go ahead.”

The maidservants who stayed with Old Madam Ren were all her confidants.

When Mrs. Kang heard that Old Madam Ren said this, she no longer forced herself, and immediately asked, “Is my sister-in-law okay?”

Old Madam Ren didn’t say anything, and Matron Gui, who was waiting on the side, said, “Our Old Madam is treating Concubine Kang well, so if you’re worried, just go over and take a look.”

Mrs. Kang hurriedly said, “No, no, I’m not anxious. I know what kind of family is the Ren Family, how could they treat my sister-in-law harshly.”

“In that case, why did you come, Mrs. Kang?” It was still Matron Gui who asked instead of Old Madam Ren.

Mrs. Kang laughed, “I’ve come to fetch my sister-in-law back to her mother’s home.”

The moment these words came out, the outer room was silent. Even the hands of Ren Yaoqi and the others as they threaded the needles in the inner room paused slightly.

“Concubine Kang’s body is still weak. It’s not convenient for her to go back to visit her family at this moment. And she is still a concubine of our Ren Family. If she wants to go back, she should get permission from our Old Madam and the main wife, the Fifth Madam, otherwise wouldn’t she be messing up the rules?” Matron Gui explained.

Matron Gui thought that the Kang Family thought that their own daughter had been wronged by the Ren Family, so they came up with such an act in order to stand up for their own daughter. But Kang was only a concubine. Even if she had a miscarriage, it had nothing to do with the Kang Family. Matron Gui was reminding Mrs. Kang to recognize Concubine Kang’s identity.

Old Madam Ren also thought the same thing.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Kang said, “That’s not what I mean, what I mean is… Since my sister-in-law has no children, it is shameful for her to stay at Ren Family. I’m here to pick her up.”

“Ridiculous!” Old Madam Ren lost her temper and chided, “What kind of family do you think our Ren Family is? An opera garden? Come whenever you want, leave whenever you want?”

Matron Gui hurriedly came forward to calm Old Madam Ren, serving tea and water.

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

Mrs. Kang was just an ordinary woman from the marketplace, seeing that Old Madam Ren was angry, she was still a bit scared, smiled forcibly, and said, “Don’t be angry, Old Madam. I’m actually doing this for the good of your Ren Family.”

Old Madam Ren let out a cold snort.

Mrs. Kang stammered, ”Originally, it was a blessing that our little sister was able to enter Ren Family, and our whole family was happy for her. But… But people from my mother-in-law’s family suddenly came here yesterday. My mother-in-law is no longer here. Her maiden name was Liu, and she was also from Jizhou, the next county over. Because it is not too far away, we communicate frequently with her family. But when they told us their intentions yesterday, we were shocked.”

When Mrs. Kang reached this point, someone from outside hurriedly came and interrupted her.

Old Madam Ren had listened to Mrs. Kang’s nonsense talk for a long time and already felt impatient. When she heard the people outside come running again, she asked coldly, “What is it!”

This time the one who came in was still a servant. “Old Madam. Those Liu Family people outside are making trouble again, saying that if we, the Ren Family and the Kang Family, don’t give them an explanation. They.. are going to report to the authorities!”

As soon as this statement came out, everyone in the room was shocked.

Old Madam Ren laughed back in anger, “An explanation? What explanation does our Ren Family owe them? We don’t have any connection to them, and yet they dare to turn up their noses in front of our faces! Go, kick them all out!”

The servant was about to oblige the order, but Mrs. Kang hurriedly stopped her, “Old Ancestor, please calm down, you can’t drive them out! If they really go to the authorities, this… your Ren Family will have no face.”

Although Old Madam Ren was still angry, she was not an impulsive person. She felt that there might be something fishy about the matter after hearing Mrs. Kang say this. In the end, she endured her anger and drove that servant out first.

“Speak up, what’s actually going on!” Old Madam Ren managed to calm down after chiding her.

Mrs. Kang replied, “I just wanted to tell you that the Liu Family came yesterday to ask for someone from us.”

“Who do you mean?” Old Madam Ren asked with a low voice.

“It is… they came to ask for my sister-in-law and… and the child in her belly,” Mrs. Kang stuttered.

No matter how shrewd Old Madam Ren is, she still couldn’t help but be stunned speechless.

Ren Yaoqi was sitting in the middle and saw Ren Yaoyin and Ren Yaohua beside her frowning in unison. She felt faint and dumbfounded, lowered her head and fidgeted with her embroidery basket, didn’t know how to react.

Outside, Mrs. Kang’s words came in disjointed through the mottled bamboo curtain.

“The Liu family is our family’s natal family, and they are considered a wealthy family in Jizhou. When my mother-in-law was still alive, she once arranged a baby marriage for my sister-in-law, with the only son of the maternal uncle from the Liu Family. After the death of my mother-in-law and Old Madam Liu, the maternal uncle’s wife disliked that my sister-in-law did not have any dowry, so she had someone come to our house and steal the token of betrothal. The betrothal was made without any paperwork, just a verbal agreement, plus a pair of betrothal jade pendants. Because the jade pendant was lost, the Liu Family backtracked and refused to recognize the marriage, so the marriage could not be concluded.”

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

This kind of dislike of the poor, love of the rich, and withdrawal from marriage was considered normal, and there was nothing surprising about it. However, the Ren Family had not found out that Concubine Kang had been betrothed when they checked on her before.

Seemingly aware of Old Madam Ren’s suspicions, Mrs. Kang explained, “This matter has already happened two or three years ago, and because we were afraid that my sister-in-law’s reputation would be tarnished if people knew about it, my father-in-law strictly forbade us to publicize this matter. So apart from a few in-law families, outsiders don’t know that my sister-in-law was once betrothed to the son of the Liu Family.”

“Since it was a falling out, how come your two families still communicate with each other?” Matron Gui asked out loud.

“My father-in-law has a soft and gentle nature, plus the maternal uncle from Liu Family said that his wife hid that matter from him, so he personally came to our door several times afterward to make amends, and my father-in-law put up with it for the sake of my late mother-in-law.”

Mrs. Kang said it nicely, but everyone here understands that this kind of thing can’t be tolerated. It must be that the uncle of the Liu Family gave a lot of compensation when he came to make amends, so the Kang Family was willing to let go without making a scene on their door.

“This marriage had been retracted, our sister-in-law and the Young Master of the Liu Family will have their own marriage, and won’t have any connection with each other anymore. Or so that we thought. Unexpectedly the Young Master of the Liu Family was out riding a horse with his friends a while ago, and accidentally fell off the horse. This fall broke his pair of legs, and he became a fool.”

Mrs. Kang paused for a moment, then continued,

“The head of our family went to visit once after hearing about it, and when he came back, he said… that Young Master Liu not only broke his leg, but he might not be able to have a baby in the future.”

“……”

“Uncle Liu gave birth to three daughters, and there is only one son, Young Master Liu, so he always treated dearly as the apple in his eyes. Unfortunately, this kind of thing happened.”

Mrs. Kang sighed heavily, “Although we feel pity, this is also fate, isn’t it? So we didn’t think much about it. Until yesterday, the Liu Family came to our house and said that they wanted to take my sister-in-law in.”

There was another silence in the room, and the three girls in the inner room unconsciously hold their breath, looking at each other in embarrassment.

“The Liu family said that when the Young Master Liu came to our house to celebrate my father-in-law’s birthday, he and my sister-in-law…uh… got very close, and then…” Mrs. Kang throw caution to the wind and blurted out, “They said that the baby in my sister-in-law’s womb is the seed of the Liu Family.”

As soon as her words fell, the sound of porcelain being thrown to the ground resounded next door, and Mrs. Kang shrieked in horror.

“Nonsense!” Old Madam Ren gasped.

(please read this on sleepyautumn.link)

After hearing this, Old Madam Ren felt embarrassed. She was the one who decided to bring Concubine Kang in. If what Mrs. Kang said is true, she would not have any face to speak of.

Old Madam Ren had presided over the Ren Family for many years and had an imposing aura, it made Mrs. Kang feel intimidated. However, she still summoned up the courage to continue, “I also think this matter is a bit ridiculous, but the Liu Family has insisted that the child is their young master’s. They even found Young Master Liu’s personal servant to testify that my sister-in-law and Young Master Liu had met in private a few times. I was afraid that the Liu Family would make a scene, so I told the Liu Family that my sister-in-law had a miscarriage and the baby was not saved. However, the Liu Family did not listen, and even took out the betrothal token that they had stolen, saying that if we did not hand over the person, they would have to go to the authorities. My father-in-law was already in poor health, and now fallen unconscious, so I had no choice but to bring people here. Old Ancestor, what do you think should be done about this?”

Mrs. Kang was actually kicking the ball to the Ren Family.

Old Madam Ren was really angry and sneered, “You’re asking me what to do? I would rather ask you! At first, it was Kang herself who came to the door, saying that she was pregnant with our Ren Family’s seed, and now an inexplicable Liu Family has appeared. Why weren’t you this lenient when you received that compensation? Don’t you want to go to the officials and sue? Go ahead! I’d like to see whose family is at fault in the end!”