Chapter 728: Chapter 690: Poor Appetite (19th Update)

Aunt Wen asked him, "Did Mrs. Liu say that it was your wife who instigated it?"

"Without the master’s guidance, how could a servant possibly think of harming the master?" Lu Yanbin insisted on pushing the blame onto Mrs. Xiao Liu.

Aunt Wen did not argue with him about who the real culprit was, "So what you’re saying is, you don’t plan to keep this wife?"

Lu Yanbin gritted his teeth as he listened, "If she weren’t a relative of the old lady’s family, I wouldn’t be afraid to divorce her."

"Dare to divorce your wife, have you lost your mind!"

Aunt Wen suddenly shouted angrily, startling Lu Yanbin, "Mother, are you also helping her?"

"If it weren’t for your mistake of favoring a concubine and neglecting your wife, with no sense of right or wrong, how could I be helping her instead of you?" Aunt Wen looked at her own son with deep pain.

When it came to disciplining her son, she had the least standing; even though Lu Yanbin was her biological son, she was just a concubine. Thus, Lu Yanbin was the master, and she was only half a master, without the right to discipline the young master. Moreover, whenever the issue of favoring a concubine over a wife was brought up, Lu Yanbin would say he was following his father’s example.

Aunt Wen herself was a favored concubine, advising the young master not to favor concubines felt like slapping her own face.

Lu Yanbin was momentarily stunned by her anger but still stubbornly said, "The death of Aunt Su was clearly caused by her..."

"Stop right there!" Aunt Wen coldly interrupted, "Tomorrow, you will go and bring her back for me, or else you can stop calling me mother."

"I won’t bring her back." Lu Yanbin frowned tightly.

Aunt Wen took a deep breath, "I just returned from your father; he has already laid down the order: if you don’t bring Shu back, you will handle all the household affairs. If any mistake happens, you will cover the deficit from your own pocket, you’re prohibited from drawing money from the accounts, forbidden from gambling, and not allowed to lend money, or else the family law will deal with you."

Lu Yanbin was deeply shaken by this.

His monthly salary was only ten taels of silver; forbidding him from accessing money, gambling, or lending was as good as forcing him to a dead end.

——

The person Lu Yanbin feared the most was his father, who could make him shrink like a quail with just one sentence, not daring to make a sound.

So, after such a threat, he no longer dared to wander around. The next day, before the steward’s wives came to claim their tokens, he was already early, poring over the account books.

As he turned one of the books, a slip of paper accidentally slipped out.

Lu Yanbin opened it and found a few names of medicines written on it.

He was about to casually toss it aside but felt it was inappropriate, so he called Hong Xiang in and asked her what it was.

Hong Xiang had no idea what it was; she couldn’t read and just shook her head.

"These are medicine names," Lu Yanbin said, "You don’t even know what medicine your Young Madam was prescribed?"

Hong Xiang frowned, Medicine?

Though the Young Madam was busy every day, her health was robust. She hadn’t suffered any serious illness. Occasionally, she’d have a headache or a cold that required a prescription, but all those were given to the maids to fetch. How could it have been slipped into the account books?

Thinking of this, Hong Xiang firmly shook her head, "The Young Madam’s daily life has always been watched over by me and Hong Ling. Even if she were to need a prescription for minor ailments, we were the ones to fetch the medicine. Therefore, I’m sure that the prescription on this slip of paper couldn’t possibly have been for the Young Madam herself. It must have been a mistake, or someone accidentally slipped it inside."

Lu Yanbin was very suspicious and felt something was off. He refused to let it go and asked someone to invite the household doctor to look at the prescription and asked what it was for.

The household doctor looked at it and fell into silence, not speaking for a long time.

Lu Yanbin grew more and more suspicious with his expression, "Why, is there something fishy that you don’t dare speak of?"

The household doctor bowed, "Young Master, this prescription was indeed given by me, but it wasn’t for the Young Madam."

"Then who was it for?"

"It was for the late Aunt Su."

"What!" Lu Yanbin’s mind blanked for a moment and then turned livid, "Tell me clearly what happened!"

The household doctor sighed, "It was like this, last year I went to check Aunt Su’s pulse and found that the pulse of the fetus she carried was not good. Continuing to carry it would either result in a stillbirth or, if lucky enough to survive, would be born with congenital weaknesses, facing an early death. Therefore, I advised her to terminate the pregnancy."

This matter was entirely unbeknownst to Lu Yanbin; he was utterly stunned, "And then?"

"Then Aunt Su asked me to keep it secret and asked for a prescription to preserve the fetus until the right time to abort it."

Lu Yanbin felt waves of dizziness overwhelm him.

So, last year when Aunt Su miscarried, it wasn’t because Su Yi pushed her during their dispute but because she took advantage of the argument with Su Yi to fall deliberately, making the child ’die by the hands of another’ openly?

The household doctor continued, "Later on, Aunt Su’s condition never improved because, firstly, the child was unhealthy in the womb, and secondly, she fell so heavily that it caused damage to her uterus, making any medicine ineffective. Not to be cruel, but in Aunt Su’s condition, she couldn’t have lasted long."

Lu Yanbin seemed thunderstruck, staggering back to fall heavily into his chair.

Hong Xiang was visibly shocked by the doctor’s words. Observing Lu Yanbin’s expression, she felt both mockery and a dark satisfaction.

She always suspected something was strange about the child’s death, and Aunt Su’s illness, only to find it was all Aunt Su’s own doing!

That little wench, wanting to die and dragging the Young Madam into it, served her right to be childless and die young!

Hong Xiang grew more infuriated the more she thought about it.

Lu Yanbin still wouldn’t believe it, "Daidai wouldn’t deceive me; she’s so kind; she’s not that kind of person."

"She wouldn’t, but our Young Madam would?" Hong Xiang said, her face turning red with anger, "Did you ever think from the moment the Young Madam entered the household, she’s handled countless affairs, caring for you, knowing you wouldn’t show up for meals in her courtyard, yet she always prepares an extra set of bowls and your favorite dishes just in case you come suddenly? At night, no matter how tired she is, she waits until the lights are out at the Feixue Courtyard to be sure you’re not coming over before she blows out the lantern. If you had any bit of conscience, you wouldn’t speak against her not to mention hitting her for a scheming concubine!"

"Shut up!" Lu Yanbin was internally chaotic, looking at the doctor, "Since it’s Aunt Su’s prescription, how did it end up in the Young Madam’s account book?"

Due to preconceived notions, Lu Yanbin was prejudiced against Mrs. Xiao Liu, instinctively believing that she was the one behind it all — his Daidai was innocent!

The household doctor paused for a moment and truthfully said, "During those days, I frequented the Feixue Courtyard, and the Young Madam noticed the oddness and asked me what prescription I was giving to Aunt Su. So, I wrote it down for her."

"Then what exactly is on this prescription?" Lu Yanbin was still unconvinced.

"It’s just ordinary fetus-preserving medicine, nothing unusual," the doctor replied, "I suppose the Young Madam viewed the prescription while examining the accounts, inadvertently placed it inside, and then forgot about it."

Learning that it had nothing to do with Mrs. Xiao Liu, Lu Yanbin felt a tinge of disappointment, mingled with a complex emotion hard to describe.

Even with everything explained so clearly, he still showed indifference?

Hong Xiang couldn’t bear it any longer, telling the doctor, "Stop explaining to someone whose only talent is hitting his wife. How can he possibly understand? No matter what you prove, Young Master will try to blame our Young Madam for murder even though you’ve shown it’s unrelated."

The doctor, understanding what occurred between Lu Yanbin and Mrs. Xiao Liu, advised, "Young Master may have some misunderstandings about the Young Madam; it’s better to clarify things early. Between husband and wife, there should be no overnight enmity. Talk to her; she’s a sensible person and will understand."

Lu Yanbin sat there, lost in a daze, without a word.

——

After Mrs. Xiao Liu returned with Wen Wan to the Song family, she was arranged to live in the courtyard where Song Jiao had formerly resided.

Even though Song Jiao had married, Wen Wan continued to have it cleaned daily; the furnishings remained as Song Jiao left them before her departure.

Mrs. Xiao Liu wasn’t picky about these.

As a guest of the Song family, she no longer needed to worry about all sorts of tasks upon waking up each day. Nor did she have to face Lu Yanbin’s cold stares, which certainly lightened her mood considerably, except recently, due to the heat, her appetite had waned somewhat.