Chapter 110: Taking a Concubine (III)
Now, Su Ke’er seemed to take a blow, and she suddenly stammered: “A-aunt…you mean…the current Her Majesty is…biao sister-in-law’s elder sister?”
In fact, it was wrong to call the Crown Princess ‘Her Majesty,’ but now Huo Xue-shi was not in the mood to pay attention to misspoken words. Her vague bad premonition was getting stronger over time. She recalled how Cheng Yumo, who was clearly so weak that she could barely stand straight, insisted on attending the palace banquet this morning. Huo Xue-shi suddenly realized how careless she was: “It’s bad! She deliberately went to the palace to make a complaint!”
As if to confirm Huo Xue-shi’s guess, not long after she said this, a senior servant stumbled in and trepidly said: “O-old Madam, someone from the palace is here.”
Huo Xue-shi’s face turned pale, as if her entire body was poured by a basin of cold water.
Su Ke’er supported Huo Xue-shi and tremblingly went to see the imperial messenger. Huo Xue-shi tried to stuff money into the eunuch’s palm several times, but the other party merely looked at her coldly and said: “The palace has strict rules, and this one doesn’t dare to accept Old Marchioness Jingyong’s reward. The Crown Princess has sent a word, summoning Old Marchioness Jingyong to enter the palace right away.”
Su Ke’er had never seen this kind of situation before, and she was so frightened that she didn’t even dare to lift her head. All the way to the palace, she followed behind her aunt with her head down, only vaguely sensing the dizzying arrays of colorful glazes around her. After much walking and turning, the group crossed a heavily ornated threshold, and the surrounding atmosphere gradually became heavier. Finally, they stepped into a side door, and the eunuch who led the way suddenly looked very solemn, and Su Ke’er knew that they had arrived.Su Ke’er tremblingly followed the others into the hall, then tremblingly knelt down, almost shrinking herself into a ball. She didn’t dare to raise her eyes to look at the surrounding furnishings at all. Soon, a woman’s calm voice sounded from above: “Old Madam Huo, long time no see. Please get up.”
The voice was surprisingly very pleasant. Just one sentence made people want to see what the speaker looked like. However, Huo Xue-shi was so frightened into goosebumps when she heard the words ‘long time no see.’ Huo Xue-shi forced herself to get up shakingly. Su Ke’er originally was about to get up with her aunt, but the eunuch beside her gave her a cold glance, scaring her so much that she fell back on the floor with a shiver.
Today, Su Ke’er’s three views received a heavy blow. This was the imperial palace, and that person was the Crown Princess. Jingyong Marquis Manor, whom she thought was very powerful and wealthy, was nothing in front of these people.
Cheng Yujin ignored Su Ke’er, who was trembling on the floor. She slowly opened the lid on the teacup and skimmed the tea foam inside. Cheng Yujin’s posture was very elegant, but everything she did looked like a death sentence in Huo Xue-shi’s eyes. Cheng Yujin took a sip, then put the teacup back on the table with a gentle thud. Such a small sound was enough to make Huo Xue-shi tremble even more.
Cheng Yujin raised her head. She looked at Huo Xue-shi, pursed her lips, and smiled softly: “Why is Old Madam Huo still standing? Someone come, give the Old Madam a seat.”
Huo Xue-shi was fidgeting endlessly, but Cheng Yujin had spoken, and she didn’t dare to not sit down. She settled herself on the edge of the chair, then hurriedly began to explain: “Crown Princess, you may have misunderstood. You cannot just listen to her one-sided words. This old woman can explain what actually happened that day…”
Huo Xue-shi secretly glanced at Cheng Yujin, only to find the other party was smiling elegantly as before. Cheng Yujin noticed Huo Xue-shi’s peeking eyes and even nodded at her with a smile: “I see. Old Madam Huo may explain.”
Huo Xue-shi found her tongue seemed to be frozen as she staggered to tell her own version of what happened on the day of Cheng Yumo’s miscarriage. Huo Xue-shi had a resentment on her heart and added a lot of narratives that were beneficial to her. Listening to her, the matter was caused by Cheng Yumo’s unfilial, and everything that happened afterward was Cheng Yumo’s own fault.
A faint cry suddenly sounded from behind the screen. Huo Xue-shi’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately knew who was sitting over there. Even someone like Huo Xue-shi felt her face a bit hot at the moment.
Huo Xue-shi resisted the embarrassment and stood up to bow at Cheng Yujin: “This old woman knows that my daughter-in-law is Crown Princess’ younger sister, and it is normal for Crown Princess to care about your family. However, this old woman is absolutely unbiased regarding the matter of that day and has a clear conscience. This old woman begs Crown Princess to be impartial.”
When Huo Xue-shi knelt down once again, her body seemed to be both burning and freezing, making her dizzy. Huo Xue-shi remembered that it was only last year that she went to Yichun Marquis Manor to break the two family’s marriage contract. At that time, she was very disgusted with Cheng Yujin, and when she came again with a marriage proposal for Cheng Yumo, she spared no effort to scold and demean Cheng Yujin in front of everyone. She was even so angry that she yelled at Cheng Yujin, accusing the latter of a poisonous woman. At that time, how could Huo Xue-shi imagine that one day she would have to kneel and bow to Cheng Yujin?
From her upper seat, Cheng Yujin looked down at the two people kneeling on the floor. Su Ke’er was shrinking into a ball, shaking so obviously for everyone to see. As for Huo Xue-shi, reluctance, embarrassment, resentment, and other emotions mixed in her eyes as she knelt down unwillingly.In the end, Huo Xue-shi still bent her legs and bowed deeply to Cheng Yujin, begging for leniency.
Cheng Yujin looked at the mother-in-law in her previous life, the culprit who indirectly killed her in her previous life. When Huo Xue-shi in the previous life didn’t hesitate to say “Keep the child,” had she ever imagined about today?
Huo Xue-shi naturally had never imagined it. The matters of previous life ended in the previous life. Today’s Cheng Yujin had never been part of Huo family. Huo Xue-shi’s life and death, Huo family’s life and death — what did they matter to her?
The events from the previous life just passed casually by Cheng Yujin’s heart, leaving not even the slightest emotion, and she soon reverted to the dignified and honorable Crown Princess.
Cheng Yujin was about to speak when a loud announcement suddenly came from outside the hall: “Crown Prince has arrived. Marquis Jingyong has arrived.”
Translator’s note:
See you next week and don’t forget to prepare your popcorn for another session of our ever-favorite ‘Cheng Yujin’s Awesome Scolding’! These worth all the hours I spent translating ultra-long paragraphs ridden with idioms and high-sounding logic lol.