The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort

Chapter 37: Confrontation

The house was exceptionally quiet. Jiang Lisa calmly stood there with a faint smile on her face, yet, her gaze seemed to reveal a streak of grief. In comparison with the pity that Jiang Nancy evoked in others, her quietude caused others to feel an urge to probe further.

The smile on Xia Yan's face had stiffened as her hands tightened into fists inside her sleeves. At first glance, this comment from Jiang Lisa seemed benign, yet, it soundlessly and wordlessly found fault with Jiang Nancy's lack of courtesy. Who would make things difficult for a girl who had just returned home and longed for familial love?

As expected, one could see that the Old Jiang Madame's gaze had become gentler as she looked upon Jiang Lisa. Xia Yan had yet to respond before Jiang Nancy heard the Old Madame's displeased voice echo, "Nancy niang, your da jiejie has only just returned home. Coming to see me, this zumu, is something right and proper to do. Don't you cause trouble."

For a split second, Jiang Nancy was stunned because, indeed, what she had said earlier was deliberately targeted against Jiang Lisa. However, she had been confident that the Old Madame would not rebuke her at all. In all these years, she had been cleverly adorable and thoughtful and the Old Jiang Madame had always extremely doted on her. Yet, today was the first time she had gotten angry at her. When all was said and done, however, she was still of a young age, therefore, Jiang Nancy concealed her emotions with some difficulty as she gave a forced smile, "I am sorry, Da jiejie. Nancy did not do it on purpose. Da jiejie, don't be upset, alright."

"You and I are sisters, how could I be angry," Jiang Lisa replied gently.

The Old Jiang Madame was even more satisfied as she stated, "You two sisters both need to support each other. The eldest girl[1] did well today."

[1] Dà Yātou ( 大丫头 ) - Eldest Girl

Xia Yan smiled as she stepped forward, "Naturally, Lisa niang is a good girl. However, Lisa niang, I heard that Lin Lang caused you to become angry today, seemingly for the sake of a servant. This still needs to be handled by the Old Madame. How did this all come about?"

Jiang Nancy was still curled up at Old Jiang Madame's side, it was just that, at this moment, her posture was not as natural as when she had first come into the room. The Old Madame also looked towards Jiang Lisa and was evidently waiting for her explanation.

Jiang Lisa then compliantly recounted the whole sequence of events of what had transpired outside Yan Hua Yuan. Her tone was steady and she did not leave out even a single word of the conversation between Lin Lang and herself as she retold her version of the events. Honestly speaking, she did not embellish but factually reiterated, making one trust her words even more. When she was done speaking, she looked towards the Old Jiang Madame, "Old Madame, at the time of my own mother's passing, I was bed-ridden and only heard mentions of Zhou momo leaving the fu. Yet, unexpectedly, I happened to see a glimpse of her today. I believed that at the time, that audacious maid had mistakenly said something wrong. However, was I too unaware that Zhou momo, who was my wet nurse, had fallen into this particular state?"

Xia Yan lightly sighed, "Lisa niang, at that time you were still young, and there were some matters that I had not wanted to tell you about. Actually, when Jiejie passed away, Zhou momo had not really left the fu. Rather, she was preparing to leave after stealing Jiejie's head ornaments first. Our Jiang fu is the least tolerant about thieving servants, moreover, Zhou momo was also your wet nurse. Afraid that your illness would be aggravated while you were broken-hearted and disappointed, I then discussed the matter over with Master[2], and had Zhou momo punished. All this, I have never told you," Xia Yan stated as she looked at her with sincerity, "Now that I have told you, I am sure you will understand. Right here and now, Mother will take the blame and compensate you for the loss of your servant, but this servant truly deserves to be punished. Even if you misunderstand me, I will not regret the decision that I made at that time."