readytorunbook Chapter 877 What can I do?!
Chapter 877 What can I do?!
News of today's court assembly has already spread throughout the entire capital.
Madam Song, the matriarch of the Cheng family, had her eyelids twitching badly early in the morning. She barely ate any breakfast before going into the small Buddhist hall.
When Cheng Shujin came looking for someone, she learned that Madam Song hadn't even bothered with household matters today and had gone straight into the Buddhist hall. She couldn't help but mutter, "When did Mother start liking to chant scriptures? Usually, she doesn't even have time to spend more time with Grandmother in the Buddhist hall. What's wrong with her today?"
The old woman stopped her: "Second Miss, if you have nothing else to do, you should go back and rest."
"Can't I even check on my mother? Nothing happened at home today!" Cheng Shujin complained. She wanted to go into the Buddhist hall to find someone, but was stopped by the nanny and left angrily.
When Cheng Shujin woke up from her afternoon nap, she was surprised to hear that Madam Song was still in the Buddhist hall and had not come out. Unable to contain her curiosity, she went to the entrance of the Buddhist hall again.
Before she could even go inside, she saw a servant rushing in. After saying something inside, Madam Song, supported by her nanny, happily emerged, clutching a string of Buddhist prayer beads and repeatedly chanting, "Amitabha, Amitabha, Heaven has opened its eyes, Heaven has blessed my son so that his wish may be fulfilled!"
As she spoke, she instructed the servants: "Quickly, quickly tidy up the young lady's courtyard. It's getting cold, so put out the newly made brocade quilts. They're not warm enough in previous years."
As soon as Cheng Shujin approached, she heard Madam Song's instructions and immediately bristled: "What is she doing back here? She's a married woman, why isn't she staying at her husband's family home? What kind of behavior is this, coming back to her parents' home?"
The nanny, who had just received the news, immediately leaned close to her ear and told her that the Xiao family had been ordered to be imprisoned by His Majesty.
"What? The Xiao family is in trouble? Does that mean Cheng Ruoxue will also become a prisoner?" Cheng Shujin sneered, "Serves her right for thinking about climbing the social ladder all day long. Now she knows that climbing the social ladder isn't so easy!"
After saying that, he turned to Madam Song and said, "Mother, she has already married into the Xiao family. If you bring her back now, aren't you just asking for trouble and dragging us down with you?"
Madam Song scolded, "Shut up! She's your sister! If you continue to be so unable to distinguish right from wrong, I'll send you back to your hometown. That way, you won't stay in the capital and cause trouble for me everywhere with your mouth!"
"I caused trouble? Could I have caused as much trouble as she has? She was so eager to become someone's second wife, and after only a few days of glory, the Xiao family fell apart. Only you don't look down on her, this jinx!" Cheng Shujin never thought before she spoke. Every time she saw her mother favoring Cheng Ruoxue, she couldn't help but say something sarcastic, otherwise she would feel uncomfortable.
A sharp slap landed on her face as Madam Song pointed at her and yelled, "Get out of here! I've failed to teach you properly, it's my fault, I'm guilty, don't you dare tell your sister!"
"Take her back to her room. Without my permission, she is not to leave the courtyard!" Madam Song said coldly.
The maid stepped forward, grabbed Cheng Shujin, and tried to lead her outside. Cheng Shujin shouted angrily, "You're being unfair! You're being unfair!"
After Cheng Shujin was taken away, the nanny saw that Madam Song was quite angry and hurriedly comforted her: "Madam, the second young lady didn't mean it, please don't upset yourself."
Madam Song shook her head: "I don't know why, but I feel uneasy. It's already done, but I still can't feel at ease. I'll go and pray again, I'll pray again, I'll pray to God to have pity on my Ruoxue."
Madam Song, supported by her maid, returned to the Buddhist hall and knelt before the Buddha statue, praying devoutly. But this time, she couldn't calm down no matter what she did. Her heart was pounding so hard that even her eyelids were twitching.
Madam Song kept telling herself not to panic, not to panic, as she fiddled with the prayer beads in her hand, over and over again.
She didn't know how much time had passed. Madam Song felt her mind was blank, as if something had hit her chest hard. Her heart sank, and the prayer beads she had been playing with countless times suddenly broke with a bang.
Madam Song froze.
She frantically knelt down to pick up the prayer beads, chanting as she did so, "Buddha, please forgive me, Buddha, please forgive me..."
She picked up a string of Buddhist prayer beads again and again, but it seemed like she could never finish picking them all up.
The old woman rushed in and, seeing Madam Song kneeling on the ground picking up her prayer beads, said with tears in her eyes, "Madam, the eldest young lady... died at the hands of Prince Xiao."
The Buddhist prayer beads in Madam Song's hand rolled all over the ground, and tears fell one by one. She clenched her fists and pounded her chest again and again, but she couldn't cry out.
Her Ruoxue, her child, how could God be so cruel...
If she had known this would happen, she would have preferred that the high fever had made her stupid, and she would have taken care of her for the rest of her life, rather than let her life be filled with so many ups and downs. She thought she had forgotten what happened that day, but now that she was awake, she understood that she had never forgotten. For so many years, she, a child, had carried such hellish memories, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion, until she reached this day.
Good heavens, open your eyes!
When the news reached Cheng Shujin's courtyard, Cheng Shujin was still sulking, thinking the maid had come to tell her that Cheng Ruoxue had returned, and shouted...
"Go tell my mother that I hate Cheng Ruoxue, and if she has the guts, let her beat me to death!"
The maid's eyes were red, and she couldn't speak for a long time.
"Why are you looking like that? Cheng Ruoxue is back, isn't she? Ha, I knew it. The moment she came back, my mother only had eyes for her!"
"What? You expect me to come to the door in a grand sedan chair? Keep dreaming!"
The maid sobbed, "Second Miss, Eldest Miss, Eldest Miss is not coming back."
Cheng Shujin ran over triumphantly, "Can't come back? What? She was also imprisoned with the Xiao family and their gang? My mother must be heartbroken. When has her precious darling ever suffered like this? This damn weather, why did it suddenly snow? If the weather were nice, I would definitely run up to Cheng Ruoxue and make fun of her!"
The maid choked back tears and said, "The eldest young lady is dead."
Cheng Shujin, who had been smugly pleased with herself, suddenly froze. "What did you say? Say it again?"
The maidservant announced, "The eldest young lady is dead."
Cheng Shujin laughed loudly: "Dead? Dead? Impossible, absolutely impossible! Are you kidding me? She's dead? A cat with nine lives could die? I don't believe it, I absolutely refuse to believe it!"
She looked at the maid and said, "Tell me the truth, did you see me scolding her and deliberately try to make me happy?"
The maid shook her head, crying.
Cheng Shujin shook her head, "Impossible, absolutely impossible. How capable is Cheng Ruoxue? Could she die? Impossible!"
Cheng Shujin stumbled backward to the table, swept everything off the table with a crash, and, still not satisfied, picked up a chair and smashed it hard, screaming shrilly. After screaming, she laughed, then started smashing again, "No, Cheng Ruoxue won't die! How could she die? I hate her the most in my life. Where she is, no one can see me. My mother is biased, my mother has always favored her since I was little. I'm so jealous! I've fought with her for eighteen years! She's dead! How could she die? It's fake, it's fake! I don't believe it, I just don't believe it!"
She frantically searched the house for anything she could smash, finally collapsing and crying on the rubble, "How could she do this? What can I do if I don't compete with her? What can I do!"
……
The Duke of Sheng's study at night.
Since returning from the court assembly today, Duke Shengguo has been restless and unable to sleep at night. He felt as if something was about to happen. He couldn't help but put on his clothes, go out into his study, and open the secret room behind the bookshelf.
A figure stood in the secret room, holding a long sword, appearing like a vengeful ghost in the flickering candlelight.