The Virtuous Wife

Chapter 14: Bai is punished

The old lady and others took a closer look at the hairpin on Bai's head and were also shocked. The old master and Su Wei were furious when they saw it!

The old lady shouted: "How dare you, a concubine, wear such jewelry?"

Su Wei looked at Bai with contempt and said: "Don't you look at your status? Can you wear the phoenix-headed hairpin that only the mistress can wear?"

In this Dayuan, the most important thing is the legitimate and illegitimate. The phoenix-headed hairpin can only be worn by the wife and the legitimate daughter. Moreover, it is only the gold, silver, and jade hairpins with only phoenix heads but no phoenix tails that can be worn by the rich and powerful outside the royal family, so it is called the phoenix-headed hairpin.

Jingyi also knew it when she heard Nanny He talk about it before. The phoenix-headed hairpin on Bai's head was one of the several gold hairpins that Su Jingwei took from her that day. Jingyi knew that Su Jingwei would come to her yard early that day, and she heard Nanny He say that Su Jingwei took advantage of her mother's illness to coax good things from her. So, Jingyi deliberately scattered the gold hairpins left by her mother on the long table that day, just to attract Su Jingwei's attention.

Two months ago, Su Jingwei wore this phoenix hairpin to pay respects to Bai Shi, but was scolded by Bai Shi and the hairpin was confiscated.

These days, Su Wei has not come to the backyard. Occasionally, he would pay respects to the old lady and leave, and never looked at Bai Shi. Bai Shi was unwilling, but she had no choice. She had secretly worn this phoenix hairpin in her yard several times, and no one noticed. Later, she gradually became bolder, and felt that the old lady was her own aunt, and Gu Shi was not at home, so who could do anything to her?

Bai Shi came to pay respects to the old lady recently, and she also wore this phoenix hairpin. I don't know if the old lady didn't see it, or if she saw it and pretended not to know. As a result, Bai Shi became even bolder. She wore it openly and showed it off in the mansion, as if she was afraid that others would not know that she had crossed the line. Unexpectedly, she was caught red-handed today.

Su Jingwei also realized at this time that her mother had committed a big taboo! She dared to wear the phoenix hairpin that only the wife was qualified to wear privately. This would lead to her being expelled from the mansion by her husband's family! Thinking of this, Su Jingwei knelt on the ground and cried, "Father, mother, it's all my fault. I borrowed the jewelry from my sister, but I didn't expect there would be a phoenix hairpin in it. Please forgive me, father and mother!"

Jingyi's eyes flashed with darkness. Good Su Jingwei, was she saying that she had deliberately put the phoenix hairpin in the jewelry to frame them mother and daughter. Jingyi's face was expressionless, as if she didn't understand Su Jingwei's words. Instead, she smiled sweetly and said, "Yes. Grandpa, I remember now. Before I left the house, my sister came to talk to me once. She saw a few gold hairpins on the long table and said she liked them very much, so she borrowed them. But at that time, I didn't look closely, maybe there was a phoenix hairpin stuck in it."

Jingyi's words, which seemed to be defending the Bai family, pushed the Bai mother and daughter into the abyss! A concubine's daughter coveted the jewelry of the legitimate daughter, and even took the things away openly! What do you mean by borrowing? It's obvious that they just thought Jingyi was young and easy to deceive! The concubine saw that the concubine wore jewelry that was beyond the rules, but not only did she not punish her, but she took it for herself. There was no rules at all!

After hearing what Jingyi said, Su Wei angrily said, "As a concubine, you don't know how to serve the lady well. As Jingwei's biological mother, how can you teach your daughter like this? Humph! You actually deceived your legitimate sister! It's simply lawless!"

Su Wei finished speaking and slapped the table again. The teacup on the table was shaken slightly, and some tea spilled out.

The old lady originally wanted to say a few good words for Bai, but now, seeing that Su Wei and the old master were both furious, she didn't dare to say anything for Bai. She looked at Jingyi thoughtfully. This girl looked innocent. When she spoke just now, she also had a childlike innocence on her face. She should not have so many thoughts. Is it just a coincidence?

The room was quiet. At this moment, the curtain outside the door was lifted. It was Su Qian who arrived.

Su Qian entered the room and bowed to everyone. When he saw Bai slumped on the ground, his face tightened. Looking at Jing Wei who was kneeling on the side, Su Qian was annoyed to see her crying with her head down. She was really useless! Su Qian could not see any clues from the two of them, so he did not dare to act rashly. He had to stand aside with his head down. No one could see his expression and eyes clearly. Su Wei glanced at Su Qian indifferently and said to Gu: "You are the mistress of the mansion. This matter is because you and Jing Yi have been wronged. You should deal with it. This concubine has committed a taboo. Even if she is driven out of the mansion, no one can say a word. You don't have to care about her face. By the way, I received a letter from Qing'er yesterday. He said that he would return to Beijing with his elder brother in a few days." Su Wei said the following words to the old lady. Jing Yi's uncle was General Weiyuan. Two years ago, he was ordered to guard the northwest. When he left, he took Su Qing with him. Su Wei said this now to tell the old lady that Gu's eldest brother was going back to Beijing. If he knew that his sister had suffered such a great injustice in the Hou Mansion, he would not give up easily.

The old lady's eyes really flashed, and her hands unconsciously clenched the crutches. The old lady glanced at Su Qian, sighed and said: "Wei'er is right. Let's deal with this matter according to my daughter-in-law's wishes."

Gu listened, and there was no joy on her face, but a face full of worry. Jingyi saw it and knew that this was her mother missing her eldest brother.

Jingyi approached Gu and said softly: "Mother, my elder brother and uncle are going back to Beijing, we should be happy! Don't let irrelevant people ruin your mood and make you sad for nothing!"

Su Ming also advised: "Yes, mother, we will see my uncle and elder brother soon. Mother should be happy!"

Gu smiled softly, looked at the two children gently, turned to the old lady and said: "The old lady just said that she should at least forgive her once for giving birth to children for the Marquis. However, the rules of this mansion cannot be messed up. Why not let her kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and fine her one year's monthly salary. After kneeling for three days, she will be punished with twenty strokes of the cane as a warning! As for Jingwei, she is also the flesh and blood of the Marquis, so she will be confined to her own yard for three months, and then find a few senior maids to teach her well. After all, she is young, and she is still the daughter of my Marquis Mansion. What do father and old lady think?"

The old man nodded. After all, she was a daughter of a rich family, so she was sensible and knew to consider the old lady's feelings.

Jingyi blinked. Her mother said "father and old lady" instead of "father and mother", which showed that her mother and grandmother were not close. Could it be that her mother's matter was related to this old lady?

The old lady's face seemed to be smiling: "That's good. Bai, Jingwei, why don't you thank the lady for her generosity!"

Bai and Jingwei knelt down to Gu and said: "Thank you, Madam (mother)!"

Bai and Jingwei retreated. The others went back to their rooms, changed their clothes, and washed up. They gathered in the front hall to have dinner together, and then dispersed.

Jingyi was a little absent-minded on the way back to the yard. Twice, she almost bumped into a tree.

Nanny He behind her said, "Miss, what's wrong? I noticed something was wrong with you when we were having dinner just now. Where are you feeling uncomfortable? Is it your head that's hurting again?"

Jingyi smiled and said, "Mammy, it's been so long, how can I still have a headache?"

At this time, a maid ran over in a hurry and said, "Second Miss, Second Miss, wait a minute. Grandpa, Grandpa is not feeling well!"

Jingyi's heart skipped a beat. Grandpa was fine when we were having dinner just now, how come he suddenly became ill?