TRBDM -Chapter 2 Slapping Xie Chuan

“Mother, what’s wrong with you today? Why aren’t you saying anything?” Xie Chuan sensed something was off and stepped closer.

Smack.

The sudden slap stunned Xie Chuan.

He covered his face in shock. “Mother? Why did you hit me?”

Wei Zhaorong’s expression did not change. She asked calmly, “Does it hurt?”

“It does—very much! Mother, you’ve never struck me once since I was a child. And today you hit me for that jealous shrew Dou Shuyao?”

Xie Chuan felt deeply wronged.

Wei Zhaorong was still in a daze—because her hand hurt as well.

So this was not a dream. She had truly been reborn.

From what Xie Chuan had just said, she deduced that she had returned to the second year after the Marquis’s death.

During his mourning period, Xie Chuan had insisted on bringing a concubine into the household. Her eldest daughter-in-law, Dou Shuyao, refused no matter what—for the sake of the Marquis Manor’s reputation.

Yet in Xie Chuan’s mouth, it had turned into Dou Shuyao being pathologically jealous.

In her previous life, Wei Zhaorong had listened only to her son’s side of the story. She had concluded that Dou Shuyao was a jealous woman and had made things difficult for her at every turn.

Dou Shuyao had a strong personality and did not know how to soften her words or act with tact. She had never won Wei Zhaorong’s favor to begin with.

Day after day, Xie Chuan whispered in Wei Zhaorong’s ear. On top of that, Liu Yi’er had borne him a son, who was being raised outside the manor. Wei Zhaorong found it hard even to see her own grandson.

When the three-year mourning period for the Marquis ended, she withheld all of Dou Shuyao’s dowry and had Xie Chuan divorce her with a single letter of repudiation.

Filled with grievances and with nowhere to vent them, Dou Shuyao ultimately smashed her head against the stone lion at the gates of the Mingde Marquis Manor and died.

Because of that incident, the Emperor had developed a strong dissatisfaction toward the Marquis Manor and had nearly issued an edict stripping them of their title.

Later, Wei Zhaorong had shamelessly knelt in the palace for three days and three nights before the Emperor’s anger finally subsided.

The title of Marquis was preserved, but the manor’s stipend was reduced.

Xie Chuan held no official post and lived off the marquisate’s allowance. He had always been extravagant, spending money like water.

No matter how solid the manor’s foundation, it could not withstand such waste. In the end, the family declined day by day. When Wei Zhaorong later contracted smallpox, there wasn’t even money to treat her.

Xie Chuan’s divorce and the bringing of his mistress into the household had planted the seeds of the manor’s downfall.

Wei Zhaorong looked coldly at her eldest son before her, fury rising in her heart. How did I give birth to such a lecherous and incompetent fool?

Since Heaven had granted her another life, she would never repeat the same mistakes.

Wei Zhaorong waved her hand.

“Go call Madam Dou. I wish to see her.”

Xie Chuan’s face lit up. Forgetting all about the slap, he immediately ordered a servant to fetch her from the courtyard.

“Mother, you must teach her a lesson. She relies on being the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister’s residence to act arrogant and domineering. It’s one thing that she doesn’t respect me, but she’s also disrespectful to you. With such a jealous woman here, our Marquis Manor will never know peace.”

Wei Zhaorong listened to him ramble with a darkening expression, wishing she could have someone sew his mouth shut.

That vexing creature—just looking at him gave her a headache.

She lifted the lid of her teacup and gently skimmed away the foam before taking a sip. The lingering fragrance was refined and distant.

Dongting Biluochun—top-grade tribute tea, newly bestowed by the Emperor this year.

It had been a long time since she had tasted such expensive tea.

Before long, Dou Shuyao arrived.

She was not strikingly beautiful, but she carried herself with dignity and poise, bearing the presence of a proper matron of the household.

Unfortunately, her temperament was too forceful—too blunt and direct—making her rather unpopular.

“Mother.” Dou Shuyao pulled a long face and reluctantly offered her greeting.

She knew well that Wei Zhaorong had always favored her son and had never once spoken up for her daughter-in-law.

The moment she saw Xie Chuan, she had already prepared herself to be scolded.

Thus her expression was extremely unpleasant, and her bow stiff.

Yet this only gave Wei Zhaorong’s confidante, Nanny Qi, something to seize upon.

“Madam, when greeting the Old Madam, both hands must be raised level with the forehead, the waist bent and the head bowed. How many times have I told you this?”

Nanny Qi’s expression was fierce. She then turned to Wei Zhaorong, waiting for a single command to discipline Dou Shuyao with the ruler.

Wei Zhaorong lifted her eyes and looked at Dou Shuyao. In her previous life, Dou Shuyao had dashed her head to death in front of the Marquis Manor, causing a tremendous scandal. In this life, that must never happen again.

“Madam Dou, come here,” Wei Zhaorong said.

Dou Shuyao stepped forward cautiously, her body leaning slightly back—a reflexive gesture of self-protection.

“Sit.”

Dou Shuyao trembled violently. “Mother, if you have something to say, please just say it. Your daughter-in-law will listen while standing.”

“If I tell you to sit, then sit.” Wei Zhaorong’s face was stern.

In the entire Marquis Manor, no one dared defy Wei Zhaorong’s orders. Though Dou Shuyao was still fearful, she obediently and nervously sat down.

“Nanny Qi, serve the tea.”

Nanny Qi was utterly bewildered. Why was the Old Madam asking her to brew tea for the First Madam?

But she had always obeyed the Old Madam without question. Very quickly, a freshly brewed cup of tea was placed beside Dou Shuyao.

Dou Shuyao held the steaming teacup, unsure whether to drink or not.

She couldn’t figure out what the Old Madam was planning.

Under normal circumstances, Nanny Qi would have already disciplined her with the ruler. Why was she being offered such fine tea today?

Dou Shuyao felt there was something suspicious about the tea. She absolutely could not drink it.

Just as she was about to set down the cup and kneel to accept punishment, Xie Chuan spoke first.

“Mother, this Dongting Lake Biluochun is top-grade tribute tea. Your son hasn’t even tasted it yet. How is it that she gets to drink it first?”

She, of course, referred to Dou Shuyao.

Wei Zhaorong lifted her eyelids lazily. “You want to drink it?”

Xie Chuan nodded eagerly. “Yes.”

“Then ask Madam Dou for some. She has it in her hands. If she’s willing to give you some, you can drink it. If she’s not, then you’ll just have to keep craving it.”

The moment those words fell, the three people present all stared at her in unison.

“Mother… what do you mean by that?”

Xie Chuan looked utterly confused. Why could Dou Shuyao drink such expensive tribute tea, but he could not?

It would have been one thing if he couldn’t—but to be told to ask Dou Shuyao for it? Wasn’t that trampling his dignity as a man into the dirt?

He was the future Marquis, after all.

Wei Zhaorong took a leisurely sip of her tea. “I mean exactly what I said.”

Dou Shuyao lowered her head, secretly smiling. Xie Chuan, oh Xie Chuan—you too have a day when you’re put in your place.

“Mother…” Xie Chuan was at a complete loss after Wei Zhaorong’s string of actions.

Wei Zhaorong cast a disdainful glance at her eldest son and inwardly felt sympathy for her daughter-in-law.

Dou Shuyao, her eldest daughter-in-law, was of noble birth—the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister’s residence. When she married Xie Chuan, her dowry had been extraordinarily lavish, causing a sensation throughout the capital.

Unfortunately, only a few months after her marriage, the Prime Minister passed away and her natal family declined. In her husband’s household, Xie Chuan kept a mistress, and her mother-in-law favored her son. Life in the Marquis Manor had been extremely difficult for her.

Thus, in her previous life, after being divorced, she had nowhere to go and could only prove her innocence with death.

Wei Zhaorong felt guilty. In this life, she would guide her properly.

She waved a hand at Xie Chuan.

“You may leave. Don’t stay here and disturb Madam Dou and me while we drink tea.”

“???”

Xie Chuan was filled with question marks, but he did not dare disobey his mother. With a flick of his sleeve, he stormed out.

After he left, the front hall fell silent.

Dou Shuyao sipped her tea in small mouthfuls, not daring to speak.

When the tea in her cup was finished, Wei Zhaorong said, “Nanny Qi, go invite Imperial Physician Xiao to the manor to examine Madam Dou.”

Dou Shuyao was so startled she nearly dropped the teacup. “Exa… examine what?”

“You and Chuan’er have been married for three years and still have no child. What do you think needs to be examined?”

Dou Shuyao hastily set down the cup and fell to her knees with a thud. “Mother, I… I am perfectly healthy!”