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Chapter 207.2
Lancao’s loss of composure drew sidelong glances from the others. Deep in her heart, Yaoniang sighed silently and said nothing, merely casting a glance at Hong Chou. Hong Chou tactfully helped her take a seat and said with a smile, “Madam, please sit down. This is the proper etiquette to follow.” Her words were neither abrupt nor domineering.
After the greetings, Yaoniang had Hong Chou take the children away, and Lancao followed to take care of them. Everyone understood her feelings, and Yaoniang didn’t say anything either.
Once everyone had left, Yaoniang asked, “Is she like this at home as well?”
The person she was referring to was naturally Lancao.
Wu-shi sighed immediately, unsure of how to respond for a moment.
Huiniang spoke up, “Since Father was ennobled by His Majesty, she has become even more cautious. She’s fine at home, but entering the palace for the first time might make her feel somewhat constrained.”
Both Huiniang and Yaoniang were gentle souls and never spoke harsh words. However, Huiniang didn’t reveal one thing: Lancao’s unease in front of Yaoniang was not only because she was the empress but also because Lancao used to be a servant in Jin Wang Manor before marrying the consort’s brother and becoming her sister-in-law.
Yaoniang knew more about Lancao than Huiniang did. Lancao’s initial appearance beside her elder brother wasn’t simple, and perhaps neither the Su nor the Yao Family knew the truth. However, His Majesty knew, Lancao knew, and that’s why she felt awkward and uneasy.
Yaoniang also knew that Lancao was a kind and virtuous girl, filial to her parents and treated Ming Ge’er and the other children as her own. But one’s fate was unpredictable. Lancao alone held the key to unlocking this knot in her heart.
“Hmm, she is a good person. I found out last time that she secretly bought contraceptive herbs from the pharmacy,” Huiniang said.
This news astonished Yaoniang, and through Huiniang’s account, she learned the ins and outs of the matter.
Though Wu-shi liked Lancao when she was a maid, after she became her daughter-in-law, she couldn’t help but have another layer of thoughts. Since Zhu-shi often went out and neglected Ming Ge’er and the others, Wu-shi raised the children by herself, so she had a deep affection for Ming Ge’er and his siblings.
Now that her son was married and the grandchildren had a stepmother, such a situation was seen negatively by the common people. Step-mothers were often portrayed unfavourably, and Wu-shi was afraid that Lancao’s changed status would result in her treating Ming Ge’er and the others differently than before.
However, Wu-shi had a gentle temperament and couldn’t be a demanding mother-in-law. She didn’t say anything directly, but her actions and words showed that she paid extra attention to Lancao’s every move, fearing she might treat her three children badly behind her back.
Taking all this into account, despite being a mother-in-law, she couldn’t bring herself to urge Lancao to give birth to a child for the Su Family.
Whether Lancao noticed Wu-shi’s unusual behaviour or it was her own inner turmoil, she seemed to get along well with Su Yucheng on the surface, but secretly, she bought contraceptive herbs to take.
Huiniang had a straightforward personality and couldn’t do anything against her conscience, so she told Su Yucheng about it. He got angry, and since then, Lancao stopped taking those harmful herbs. Despite that, she still hadn’t become pregnant.
“Maybe it’s because you showed your concerns too obviously. For this matter, big brother might not say anything openly, but he definitely has thoughts about it. Mother, I don’t mean to criticize you, but you should weigh your priorities carefully,” Huiniang said.
Wu-shi felt wronged, but in front of her two daughters, there was nothing she couldn’t say. She replied, “I’m just worried about her. You both are still young and haven’t seen much of the world. Once a woman becomes a stepmother and has her own child, she might treat her non-biological children differently. I’m worried that Ming Ge’er and the others would be treated worse.”
Hearing this, Huiniang glanced helplessly at Yaoniang, as it seemed Wu-shi had said such things before.
“Mother, why can’t you think it through? Now that big brother and Lancao’s relationship is good, if you meddle once or twice, fine. But if you do it too many times, are you not afraid of being distanced from big brother?” Yaoniang pointed out.
Wu-shi was speechless.
Huiniang had said similar things before, but she couldn’t accept them. Now that her youngest daughter said the same, she felt somewhat lost.
“Yucheng is my son. Would he distance himself from his own mother?” Seeing Wu-shi like this, she was obviously heading into a dead end.
Yaoniang and Huiniang exchanged glances before Yaoniang said, “Mother, you shouldn’t be worrying yourself over such matters. Why did you even agree to big brother marrying her if you didn’t like her? You could’ve saved yourself so much trouble. If you really don’t like her, I can also talk to His Majesty and ask him to arrange another marriage for big brother.”
“Can we do that?” Wu-shi seemed to realize that a simple sentence could change someone’s marriage, but she was not a cruel person and couldn’t bring herself to harm others, so she said, “Let’s forget about that idea. It’s not right to harm others with your words.”
Yaoniang helplessly said, “Look at you, neither changing nor staying the same. Mother, you really need to stop worrying about her treatment of Ming Ge’er and the others. At worst, there’s Huiniang and me to watch over them. If she truly treats them poorly, she won’t pass our scrutiny.”
“Then I don’t have to keep an eye on her?” Wu-shi asked.
Yaoniang nodded, “If she treats Ming Ge’er and the other children badly, I’ll report it to His Majesty.” In truth, Yaoniang could handle the matter herself, but it was evident that mentioning ‘His Majesty’ gave Wu-shi more reassurance, so she sacrificed Emperor Jin’an.