After being scolded by Mrs. He, Wei Gaochan and Wei Changyan left, weeping. Without any triumphant smile on her face, Mrs. He only gingerly begged in a low voice, “First Miss, do not care about what they said. It is nonsense. They are jealous. Someone has said that you are the most beautiful and generous lady in the room. The girls of collateral branches are not better than you no matter in appearance or in status. So they…”
“How many days?” asked suddenly Wei Changying. She was pale and gazed blankly into the distance.
Mrs. He figured out her sudden question. She hesitated for a while and murmured, “Perhaps it has been on for a few days. Family Head and Old Madam Song have already…”
“There is even gossip in the Wei Family. It must start earlier,” Wei Changying said lightly and choked out.
Mrs. He became distressed and forced a laugh. She said, “Don’t worry, First Miss. Although there is a rumor recently, Family Head and Old Madam Song must have a plan to deal with it. What’s more, the rumour outside is made by… As an old saying that good and evil will always be rewarded. The gossip has passed away. Do servants dare to continue to spread the rumor about you? The rumor would prove wrong soon. At that time, everyone would know that you are innocent.”
Wei Changying was upset. She said, “Innocent? I am indeed innocent. But now cousins are not willing to stay in the same carriage with me. I…They…”
“Wei Gaochan and Wei Changyan are from the third branch. Although they are descendants of the Wei Family, their father’s wife is humble in status. They are not decent enough.” Mrs. He sneered and also condemned Madam Pei. She continued, “First Miss is friendly to them in usual. Apart from that, you have the same grandfather. How dare they treat you without considering that you are cousins at all. You are too generous. In my view, they should be punished. I should have given them a hard slap with a bamboo stick. What the hell do they dislike you?”
Of all the granddaughters in the Wei Family, Wei Changying was the favorite. Mrs. He was Wei’s wet nurse. Therefore, Mrs. He treated all servants in the rear courtyard in an arrogant way. However, she was slightly polite to Mrs. Guan, a trusted maid of Old Madam Song and Madam Song. Also, Mrs. Guan was a wet nurse of Wei Changfeng. Wei Gaochan and Wei Changyan were granddaughters of the Wei Family, but Mrs. He never thought that they were better than Wei Changying.
This time, Wei Gaochan and Wei Changyan showed their dislike of Wei Changying, which was shameful. Hence, Mrs. He’s words were increasingly sharp, “I hear that the third madam has carefully taught her children. However, I do not see her attention. Fourth young master started the lesson earlier than fifth young master, but he does not study better than his younger cousin. The third branch is the common people after all. She does not have any luck. Fourth young master is stupid regardless of a famous teacher’s teaching.”
“In my opinion, First Miss had better not get along with your two cousins. Otherwise people would laugh that you, such a clever lady, stay with two silly cousins. As the eldest branch, we cannot lose our face.”
“Third aunt is afraid of the discussion that she is not good enough to be in the Wei Family. Also, fourth sister and fifth sister fear that they would be discussed by people,” said Wei Changying. After a long silence, her sleeves were a little wet. She slowly continued, “Granny, you do not care about the widespread rumor outside. But it is not their fault to keep away from me. Actually, it is none of their business. It is normal that they fear they would involve themselves in something unnecessary.”
Mrs. He stamped her feet and said, “First Miss is too kind. Do you remember how did you consider fourth miss and fifth miss when second miss jeered at them? At that time, Miss Song persuaded you to leave them alone, but you still wanted to help them. Thanks to Miss Song, they did not deserve the kindness at all.”
She sneered and added, “Miss Song was sensitive. She noticed that fourth miss and fifth miss were ungrateful. It was not worth aiding them. They should have been severely bullied by second miss.”
Mrs. He was indignant while Wei Changying turned her head, not saying anything for a long time.
After Mrs. He cursed Wei Gaochan and Wei Changyan for a few minutes, she noticed silent Wei Changying and her trembling shoulders. Obviously, Wei was gloomy but she still held back her tears. Brought up by Mrs. He, Wei Changying was always lively and brilliant. Did she ever become so lonely, helpless and sorrowful like this？
Mrs. He was distressed and stopped complaining. Holding her breath for a few seconds, she said softly, “This is in Duke Jingping mansion. Two nasty girls must know that we were in the pavilion. They deliberately uttered the disgusting words when we approached. First Miss, people in this mansion are spiteful. They are anxious to make you unhappy. If you took their words seriously, you would be tricked.”
“… I got it.” Wei Changying sniffed and said in a low voice, “It is time to go to the front hall.”
Wei Changying was a little pale. Seeing this, Mrs. He said, “First Miss, if you do not want to stay here anymore…”
“Go to the front hall first.” Wei Changying lowed her head. As she blinked, a tear dropped from her eyelash.
She had a little expectation that as Mrs. He thought two unkind girls had been arranged by Duke Jingping mansion to deliberately say acerbic words to her. After all, the rumor outside was not wildly spread yet.
Wei Changying thought that she should come to the crowd to hear what they talked about. She was not reluctant to stay still. Wei Gaochan and Wei Changyan were afraid of being discussed by people, so they failed to go out when they heard a few rumors. Wei Changying was totally different from them. Although she feared gossip, she was eager to seek the truth, no matter how terrible it would be.
Mrs. He winked at the maid beside her. Zhu Shi, a clever girl, grasped it. She quickly lifted her dress and cautiously stepped backward. When Wei Changying was not looking, Zhu Shi headed for the path, running to the front hall to arrange something.
Wei Changying was so confused that she did not notice what had happened.
Later, when Wei Changying arrived at the hall, womenfolk of the family were staying here. The manager woman who once led Wei Changying into the mansion now hosted the gathering. As she saw Wei Changying, she came forward, saluted her and said, “Third Miss, come to sit here please.”
Now, Wei Changying was muddled in mind and nervous. Without thinking, she sat beside some girls according to the manager woman’s arrangement. When Wei Changying sat, a girl next to her turned around to chat with her. The girl politely asked, “Sister, you are so elegant. Who are you?”
The girls in the hall were descendants of the Wei Family. Wei Changying quickly answered, “You overpraise me.”
The companion of the girl looked at Wei Changying, smiling, and said, “Sixteenth sister, you are not sensitive. The sister must be from clan, is not she?”
“Who are you?”
“Our brother is Wei Qing.”
“You are Wei Qing’s sisters. Thanks to him, I could survive in the ambush in the highway.”
“You are welcome. My brother praised you as a brave lady after he returned home. He thought you are better than him.” Two girls grinned behind their sleeves. They said in turn, “It owed to your skillful material arts. You not only saved fifth young master in danger but also helped my brother. What is more, you killed the assassinator with your own sword personally. If we had been there at that time, we could not have done anything but killed ourselves with a hairpin. You were so great. Apart from protecting yourself, you even guarded your brother. It is a pity that we were not young enough, otherwise we would want to learn material arts from a coach to protect ourselves.”
After hearing the praise of Wei Qing’s sisters, Wei Changying gradually recovered and relaxed. She started casually chatting with them.
In the corner, Zhu Shi was content. She turned to a maid as young as her, nodded and said, “Your masters are so eloquent. Granny He is standing behind First Miss and hearing their talks clearly. She must remember the kindness from your master. If you want something, tell me and I will tell Granny He.”
The maid was shy. She answered, “Thank you, Sister Zhu Shi. My masters just now told us that Family Head treats young master Wei Qing well. And we do not lack anything. Furthermore, thanks to First Miss, young master Wei Qing could come back safely. Now, it is our honor to comfort First Miss, no matter as cousins or for the fact that she has saved young master Wei Qing.”
Zhu Shi’s mouth slightly curled. When she was about to praise them, she squinted at someone not far from her. Swallowing her compliments, she said coldly, “Your masters, as Wei Qing’s sisters, are kind. It is a pity that someone in the Wei Family is too bold and impolite.”
The maid did not understand who Zhu Shi mentioned. At the same time, a group of people walked along the corner. They were too nervous to notice two people standing there. Suddenly, Zhu Shi coughed and spat at the dress of the girl surrounded by maids without any hesitation.
“Sister Zhu Shi.” the maid of Wei Qing’s sisters was shocked and cried with her hand covering her mouth. When she was about to make an apology, Zhu Shi, unexpectedly, with her arms akimbo, raised her childish face, looked at the girl arrogantly and said, “Oh, I am sorry. It is fourth miss. There is something wrong with my eyes. So in the corner, I did not see you clearly. I have made your dress dirty. You are tenderhearted and fear being discussed by people. If so, you will forgive me. If not, people may say that you punish the maid of the First Miss out of disrespect of First Miss on purpose.”
Staring at Zhu Shi, Wei Gaochan knew that Zhu had done it deliberately. She was angry and embarrassed with her mouth trembling. Wei Changyan was sobbing but she tried her best to pull Wei Gaochan by her sleeves. Wei Gaochan had to bear it and lowered her head and quickly said, “It doesn’t matter.” Servants beside Wei Gaochan and Wei Changyan did not have the courage to quarrel with Zhu Shi. They merely bowed their heads and held Wei Gaochan by her wrist, quickly fleeing away.
“Do you see it?” Zhu Shi put down her hands, turned around and said with a sneer, “Although they are granddaughters of Family Head, they are worse than your masters.”
The maid saw that Zhu Shi was so aggressive that she insulted the granddaughters of Wei Huan. The maid was very confused. After hearing Zhu Shi’s words, she became excited and said, “Please teach me something, Sister Zhu Shi. I will tell my masters.”
The fate of the maid was tightly linked with her master. Master’s future was the most important. As for the fact that fourth miss and fifth miss were insulted by the servant of First Miss, it had nothing to do with their branch. After all, Wei Gaochan had claimed it was nothing serious.