Chapter 816: Responding to Madam's Rival

Chapter 808: Madam Ying's Love Rival

She stood behind the bed curtains, her head tilted slightly.The light was poor, and the mirror was blurry; her face was indistinct.Madam Ying whirled around in alarm, her voice sharp and piercing: "Who's there!"

The bed curtains were empty; there was no one there.She called "Xiao Lan" twice, but received no answer. Madam Ying had no choice but to light a candle herself and head toward the outer room.The outer room was empty.Madam Ying continued walking, pushed open the courtyard gate, and called out "Someone!" twice.However, there was no response from anywhere.What was going on? Panic swelled in Madam Ying's heart.

Just then, she distinctly heard a woman's voice softly echo from the courtyard:"Ying Hongchan, where is my son?"Madam Ying jolted, turning so sharply that she nearly tripped over the threshold.She stumbled a couple of steps, and then with a bang, the courtyard gate behind her slammed shut, making her jump.Something didn't want her to leave!

Madam Ying steeled herself and looked into the courtyard. Sure enough, a white figure swayed gently in the wind behind the osmanthus tree."Who are you!"Every word the figure spoke seemed to be pried from an ice cellar: "You have everything: a husband who has risen swiftly, a filial and capable son, a life of comfort and prosperity. Yet I am left all alone in White Pagoda Temple, year after year, with no one to visit me. And now you say you don't know who I am?"

The words "White Pagoda Temple" sent a shiver down Madam Ying's spine. She blurted out, "Lu... Lu Xiaoyun?!"After speaking the name, she surprisingly calmed down, widening her eyes to scrutinize the figure: "My husband goes to White Pagoda Temple to pay respects every year. Why do you say no one visits you?""He hasn't been there in a long time.""We've moved away from Blackwater City!" Madam Ying said, steeling herself. "I have no grudge against you; on the contrary, I've been kind to you. Why are you here looking for me?""Kindness?" Lu Xiaoyun cackled, her laughter particularly eerie in the night. "What kindness could you possibly have shown me?!""You died after giving birth, and I raised Chuan'er as my own son, bringing him up to adulthood...""As your own?" Lu Xiaoyun suddenly interrupted her. "You call that raising him as your own?"

As she grew angry, a strong gust of wind suddenly whipped up in the courtyard.Madam Ying took two steps back, rubbing her eyes: "His food and expenses, which weren't better than Yue'er's? Every time he got into trouble while growing up, weren't we the ones who cleaned up his messes? Has he ever suffered even a little in this household?"By the end, she even straightened her back: "I haven't done anything wrong; I'm not afraid of you coming here for me!""Haven't done anything wrong?" Lu Xiaoyun sneered. "Don't you know what He Chunhua planned to do to my son?""Know what?" Madam Ying looked bewildered. "He merely dotes on Chuan'er!"Is there anything wrong with loving a child?

"Back then..." Lu Xiaoyun began slowly, "How did he persuade you to raise my child? Did he not tell you that Chuan'er wouldn't affect your son's future?"Madam Ying fell silent."Did he not promise you that he would fully support your son's cultivation, and that the position of family head would only be reserved for the second son?"Madam Ying pressed her lips together, saying nothing.Indeed, when He Chunhua brought back his eldest son back then, he had made such solemn promises to her.Men's words are truly deceitful!But what could she do? Could she abandon a helpless child?She could only choose to believe.Fortunately, He Lingchuan's subsequent growth had put her mind at ease.How could such a mischievous and useless child ever be a match for Yue'er in the future!

"I ask you, did He Chunhua truly cultivate He Yue with all his might?"Madam Ying nodded subconsciously.If He Chunhua hadn't done that, how could their marriage have been harmonious?"Then what plans or intentions did He Chunhua have for his eldest son's future?"Madam Ying hesitated, wanting to speak but holding back.For all these years, her husband seemed only to urge her to be kinder to Chuan'er, but he never spoke of what the child should do or become when he grew up.Shouldn't a normal father envision and plan for his child's life?But He Chunhua only showed blind indulgence towards his eldest son.Madam Ying had noticed this long ago and had tried to advise him, but He Chunhua dismissed it.Thinking about it now, this casual indifference seemed a bit abnormal.

"It seems you know very little," Lu Xiaoyun sighed faintly. "And about me, how much did He Chunhua tell you?""He said you were a descendant of the Bailie people, and that you saved him during the Sandstorm Season, and then you... you..." Madam Ying gritted her teeth. "The Bailie people's territory is thousands of miles from here. My husband never told me why you came to Blackwater City!""That's all I know," Madam Ying sneered. "And frankly, I don't want to know too much about you!"She even dared to take two steps into the courtyard.Lu Xiaoyun shimmered, her form disappearing into the shadow beneath the eaves.

"One last question," she asked Madam Ying. "Why didn't you tell Chuan'er the truth?""You're dead. What good would it do for him to know his birth mother?" Madam Ying scoffed. "With the living and the dead separated, how could he acknowledge you?""At least he could have visited me."Those words rendered Madam Ying speechless.

***

Before dawn, Madam Ying awoke and immediately called out "Xiao Lan."After a few moments, Xiao Lan rubbed her eyes and walked in from the outer room: "Madam, you're awake so early today!"Even the night birds aren't fully awake yet.Cold sweat drenched Madam Ying. "Where were you just now?!""This servant was sleeping in the outer room; I didn't move an inch," Xiao Lan replied, looking bewildered. "Did Madam have a nightmare? I'll go get a cloth.""I..." Madam Ying wanted to scold her, but as she opened her mouth, she realized she didn't know what to scold her for.She touched her temples; they were drenched with sweat.It seemed she truly had a nightmare, but why couldn't she recall the specifics of the dream?She pressed her forehead, trying to remember for a long time. She only recalled Lu Xiaoyun coming to find her and seeming to mention Chuan'er, but the exact details eluded her.

She rested by the bed for a while before asking, "Is Chuan'er departing today?""Yes, Young Master is leaving today.""And last night?""Young Master and Second Young Master went out drinking last night and didn't return until midnight."The brothers had a good relationship; He Yue had given He Lingchuan a farewell dinner.

By dawn, the mother and two sons quietly ate breakfast, with not much conversation between them.Everything seemed normal.But He Lingchuan understood that this scene, as it was, would not happen again in the future.As the sun rose higher and the time was right, He Lingchuan and his companions finished preparing and set off immediately.Madam Ying saw him off at the main gate. Looking at his young, handsome face, her heart suddenly ached, and she felt a pang of reluctance.It was as if, once the rascal left, he would never return.It was He Lingchuan who spoke with a smile: "Mother, your dark circles are quite prominent. Did you have a nightmare last night?"Madam Ying snorted: "It seems I was bothered by a short-lived ghost. How utterly unlucky."