Time Travel: The Noble Family

Chapter 159: Chapter 66: Hatred_2

Yueyao’s complexion suddenly turned deathly pale; the true mastermind behind Uncle Li’s false accusation wasn’t the Mo family but her own great-uncle. It was her great-uncle who had pulled the strings behind the scene. That meant he surely knew about the Mo family’s scheme to steal her fortune, and likewise, he must have been crystal clear about her subsequent sale, possibly even the orchestrator.

Yueyao trembled all over. How could her great-uncle not have known about this? Without his consent, Lady Mo wouldn’t have dared to commit such a deed. This meant that it wasn’t Lady Mo who sold her, but her own flesh-and-blood great-uncle. She had been deluding herself all along, unwilling to accept the truth. Yueyao murmured to herself, “No, it can’t be. Absolutely not, there must be some mistake, something’s been misunderstood…” Lady Mo sold her out of sheer greed and malignity. But why would her great-uncle sell her? She was his legitimate niece. Why? Why oh why…

Seeing Yueyao shaking all over, Nanny Hao hurried to assist her, saying, “Young lady, young lady, what’s happened to you?” How could she have been frightened like this all of a sudden.

Yueyao now lacked even the strength to speak. What she wanted most was peace and quiet, to think this matter through: “Nanny Hao, my head hurts; help me to the bed to lie down for a while.”

Nanny Hao busied herself with helping Yueyao into bed.

Looking at Nanny Hao, Yueyao said, “Nanny, you mustn’t speak of what just happened to anyone, not even to grandmother. I don’t want to worry her.” Being such a shrewd woman, the Old Madam would definitely suspect something if Nanny Hao mentioned her unusual behavior.

...

Though Nanny Hao was very perplexed, she nodded her head. The initial mistake was hers for telling the young lady about the elder generation’s affairs. If the Old Madam found out, she would certainly blame her. Of course, blame was not what she feared; this was not such an important matter that withholding it from the Old Madam would have any consequence.

Yueyao fought to contain the storm raging in her heart: “Tell them not to come in while I’m sleeping,” she needed time to think things through thoroughly.

Lying in bed for half a day, Yueyao reflected on the tribulations of her past life and realized she had hated the wrong person. The true mastermind was her great-uncle. Thinking of this, her fingertips turned white as she failed to comprehend, truly failed to understand—while seizing her wealth was one thing, why had he gone so far as to sell her? Didn’t he fear that if this matter were exposed, the Lian family would be doomed beyond redemption?

With a bitter smile, Yueyao realized she was still naive, oversimplifying the issue. Things were definitely not as straightforward as they appeared; her great-uncle wouldn’t sell her just for two hundred thousand taels of silver. There had to be more to the story that she didn’t know. Thinking of Zhou Shu’s madness, Yueyao couldn’t help trembling again. That madman, that utterly crazed man.

It took a long time for Yueyao to force herself to settle down. So what if her great-uncle had sold her? In her previous life, she was foolish, being manipulated like a puppet. If they dared to sell her this time, she would fight them with everything she had, even if it meant mutual destruction. The worst-case scenario was death, and she would not endure the same humiliation she had suffered in her past life.

After struggling for a long time, Yueyao finally found some peace by quietly reciting Teacher Wen’s scriptures. Ever since being reborn, Yueyao had harbored this suspicion, but she deceived herself, unwilling to ponder it further. Deep down, she preferred to believe that it was solely Lady Mo’s doing rather than her great-uncle being involved. After all, for Yueyao, the Mo family was an outsider, while Lian Dongfang was her blood relative. Now that the truth was out, despite the immense shock and sorrow, at least there were no more doubts and suspicions.

Having come to this realization, Yueyao eventually dozed off into a fitful sleep. When she awoke, she saw Nanny Deng at the edge of the bed and felt relieved that she didn’t have a habit of talking in her sleep.

Noticing Yueyao opening her eyes, Nanny Deng quickly asked, “Young lady, are you feeling unwell? I’ll send for the doctor right away.” Just a while ago, Nanny Hao had emphasized the Third Young Lady was tired and needed to rest undisturbed. This advice might have worked on others like Hua Lei, but not on Nanny Deng. After hearing Nanny Hao’s words, she had come into the room, seen her young lady was indeed asleep, and then felt relieved. But the young lady had been asleep for such a long time, Nanny Deng didn’t think much of it, assuming the young lady was simply exhausted.

Yueyao clutched Nanny Deng’s hand and called out softly, “Nanny…”

Nanny Deng’s body shook, “Third Young Lady, what’s wrong? What did Old Granny Hao say to you?” It must have been something unpleasant; it had to be.

Yueyao shook her head, “No, I just had a nightmare and got scared.” She couldn’t tell Nanny Deng about it right now, nor anyone else.

Yueyao got up and acted as if nothing had happened. Old Granny Hao watched Yueyao, calm as still water, and sighed inwardly. She couldn’t fathom the deep thoughts of the Third Young Lady. Alas, it was a pity, had the Third Young Lady been a son, perhaps the Lian family might have had another exceptional genius.

After dressing and washing up, Yueyao, seeing that it was not yet mealtime, went to the Small Buddhist Hall to copy the scriptures. Old Granny Hao watched Yueyao’s silhouette, her eyes filled with confusion. To her knowledge, young ladies usually copied scriptures when they were restless; she wondered what was troubling Yueyao.

After finishing copying the scriptures, Yueyao turned to Old Granny Hao and said, “Nanny, can you tell me about the affairs of the mansion?” Yueyao was very unfamiliar with the matters within Lian Mansion and knew she had to understand all that was happening both inside and out to ensure her own safety.

After careful deliberation, Yueyao decided to make greater use of Old Granny Hao. Nanny Deng was not adept at these struggles, something Yueyao had come to understand over the past days. Her mother was the legitimate eldest daughter, cherished by her parents and siblings from a young age, never having experienced hardship; after marrying, she was favored by her mother-in-law and lived in harmony with her husband, and even without children, there were no rival concubines causing trouble. It could be said that aside from the anguish over not having offspring, her mother lived a fortunate life; naturally, the steward who worked for her mother was competent, but slightly inferior in dealing with these power struggles. Old Granny Hao was assigned to her by the Old Madam, certainly a cut above the rest, or else she would not have been placed at her side by the Old Madam.

Old Granny Hao glanced at Yueyao, “What do you wish to know, Third Young Lady?”

Yueyao didn’t specify anything in particular, “Whatever comes to mind, just speak.”

Old Granny Hao spoke casually about the affairs within the mansion. Yueyao listened intently and took notes afterward. She vividly remembered what Teacher Wen had once said, “The faintest ink is better than the best memory.” Of course, Teacher Wen referred to writing down the beautiful sceneries one had seen instead of just imprinting them in one’s memory. But of course, this applied to life in general as well.

Seeing Yueyao jotting down her words, Old Granny Hao’s face was marked with surprise and uncertainty.

Yueyao explained with a smile, “I have a poor memory and am afraid I might forget soon, so I’m writing them down. This way, if I forget, I can just refer to my notes later on.”

Although Old Granny Hao dared not object, her curiosity grew stronger. It was common knowledge that the Third Young Lady was intelligent and eager to learn, gifted in her abilities. Now, to say she had a poor memory, that was odd, yet these were questions she dared not ask out loud.