Chapter 285: Chapter 108: As One Thing Ends, Another Begins_2 Chapter 285: Chapter 108: As One Thing Ends, Another Begins_2 Ruo Lan smiled upon hearing that her father-in-law had visited the Lian family. Her uncle’s family had always been the greatest support for daughterless families; she, too, had relied on her maternal family. However, when she was bullied in the past, it was her maternal grandmother who had intervened. Her uncle and male cousins were nowhere to be seen. Even when her uncle intervened later, it was at her grandmother’s command; she had no complaints against her uncle, for these matters were all related to the inner house, and typically didn’t involve men. Yueyao managing to involve her father-in-law showed that she was favored by him.
Ruo Lan asked, “Did your cousin send you a letter?”
Ma Peng was very angry, “No, it was Lord Li who told father. Father didn’t know about this matter before; the Lian family’s actions are detestable, to slander our cousin .”
Ruo Lan was somewhat surprised, “Could it be that the cousin spoke to the Li family?” Impossible, she would rather seek help from strangers than from her closest kin. Yueyao wouldn’t do such a foolish thing.
Ma Peng shook his head, “How Lord Li came to know, I’m not sure, but I think Yueyao wouldn’t tell the Li family that she’s unhappy at the Lian family. The Li family must have learned it from another source.” In Ma Chengteng’s view, Yueyao’s closest kin was naturally the Ma family, and compared to them, the Li family was indeed an outsider.
Ruo Lan chuckled and didn’t respond.
Ma Chengteng sighed, “Yueyao is too honest; she never tells us anything, always claiming everything is fine at the Lian family. How can that be good, with such troublesome days.”
However, Ruo Lan felt that Yueyao’s approach was very wise; nobody likes to listen to someone who always complains. Once or twice is okay, but more than that would only annoy people. Now Yueyao doesn’t complain, but everyone knows her situation, which makes them pity her even more. She really is very clever.
As soon as Ma Chengteng returned to Ma’s Mansion, he approached Ruo Lan and instructed her to send someone to visit Yueyao every few days: “The child has suffered, yet she doesn’t tell us. If it wasn’t for Lord Li, I wouldn’t have known. From now on, send someone every couple days to check on her, and if Yueyao encounters any mistreatment at the Lian family, you must tell me.” As a man, he might lack the meticulousness of women in dealing with matters of the inner courtyard. Besides, a man couldn’t simply visit another family’s inner house so when something really happens, his daughter-in-law would need to handle it.
Ruo Lan responded, “Father-in-law, rest assured, I will have someone visit my sister every two days.” Her concern appeared genuinely sisterly. No, better than that; Ruo Lan had never seen Ma Chengteng treat his sister-in-law this well.
Ma Chengteng was very pleased with this daughter-in-law, smart and capable, dignified and proper. If only Lady Cheng had half the virtues of his daughter-in-law, the Ma Mansion wouldn’t be in such a state. Thinking this, Ma Chengteng shook his head again, but then put it out of his mind–why think about her? Without Lady Cheng in the mansion, he finally had some peaceful days.
Ruo Lan touched her belly after Ma Chengteng left, and through Yueyao, she reminisced about the times she had strategically contended with her stepmother.
Cai Yi was perplexed and wondered, “Why would the Eldest Lady Lian do such a thing? Lady Lian is only an Auntie, not a stepmother; it really doesn’t make sense.” Cai Yi hadn’t considered dowry as the reason–simple, the dowry was already in Yueyao’s hands, and even if the Lian family disregarded their reputation, they wouldn’t get that dowry. If Yueyao were gone, the Ma family could entirely reclaim it, and there were laws in place, so nobody would object to the Ma family taking back these dowries. What then was Eldest Lady Lian really after?
Cai Yun shook her head, “Who can say for sure!”
Ruo Lan let her hands rest, stood, and walked around the courtyard. As she walked, she said, “There are no unfounded hatreds in this world, nor does anyone harm others without a reason; whether it’s for wealth or something else, time will tell.”
After Ma Chengteng left, Dongfang emitted waves of cold air; he had never been so humiliated in his life.
Dongfang went to the main room and saw Lady Lian coming to greet him, but he pushed her away forcefully; if it wasn’t for the maid stabilizing Lady Lian, she would have certainly fallen to the ground.
Dongfang said viciously, “How were these rumors spread?”
Lady Lian, seeing her husband’s expression, felt apprehensive, “Old Master, I have been very busy lately so I have been somewhat negligent. I truly didn’t know Maternal Aunt Chen would be so bold.” If she admitted that this matter was related to her, Lady Lian would indeed be a fool.
Dongfang scoffed, “Do you really think I’m a fool to believe that Maternal Aunt Chen did this? You know very well who was responsible.”
Lady Lian was shocked but still clenched her teeth and said, “Old Master, I don’t understand what you mean.” At this point, she could only pretend to be confused and ignorant.