CHAPTER 58: CHAPTER 58: SENDING THE ENTIRE WU FAMILY TO PRISON

The guests leave, and the host is at ease.

After the guests left, Mrs. Xu took the lead in collecting and washing the dishes.

Her movements were swift and skillful, no longer showing the awkwardness and timidity she had when she first arrived in Shu City.

People are often forced by circumstances. Her daughters-in-law, all from prestigious official families, had never endured such hardships. From playing the zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting to rolling up their sleeves and doing laundry, cooking, and even, like Mrs. Xu, personally washing her eldest grandson’s diapers...

The old lady watched this scene with mixed feelings of heartache and relief.

Efficient at work was also the nanny, Mrs. Wu.

What can I say?

She is truly a good woman, not only nursing Muyang but also competing to do laundry and cook, practically doing the work of two people and maintaining a wonderful disposition. Chun Nuan sometimes wonders: how could such a good woman not find a suitable family?

Having entertained guests in the small courtyard, it could be said the old lady and the others had formally settled down there.

"This place is much better than the village." Chunyan and Chun Shu, who shared a room, were delighted: "There aren’t as many mosquitoes, and we’re no longer afraid of getting drenched."

Chun Nuan looked at the two little girls, their skin tanned from the sun, and smiled bitterly, nodding; indeed, reaching a point where one isn’t feeding mosquitoes, getting drenched, and can eat and drink to their fill is happiness.

The whole family finally felt like they had a home.

"Living days like this is all thanks to Nuannuan." The old lady held Chun Nuan, having her sit down: "You’ve been busy these days."

"Grandmother, your granddaughter is fine."

"What did Miss Qiu write?"

"I haven’t had the chance to look yet." Chun Nuan was cautious: "I put the letter in the room, I’ll go take a look now."

"Go ahead, it’s good to take a rest."

In fact, the old lady and Mrs. Xu both wanted to know a bit about Chunyu’s situation.

Chun Nuan also wanted to know her elder sister’s circumstances but was worried something might have happened to her since there hadn’t been any letters, which was unusual.

Therefore, she kept the letter in her chest, not taking it out—she had to read it alone.

The letter was thick, with several pages.

On the first page, she recognized the familiar handwriting; it was her elder sister’s.

Her elder sister wrote that she was doing well, her child growing up obediently, named Panpan, hoping the family could reunite in the Capital. Chunyu also asked if the courier was reliable, if they could bring some items to their grandmother and the others.

After reading Chunyu’s letter, Chun Nuan felt even more anxious!

This was typical of her elder sister, always reporting the good news and not the bad. She was always so gentle and mild.

Then she read Qiu Yan’s, which also said they were doing well, that she played with her elder sister and Panpan, painting a vivid picture of how obedient Panpan was, how his mouth could blow bubbles, and his eyes were as bright as grapes...

Chun Nuan saw through it: her elder sister was not doing well, not at all!

Chun Nuan turned the envelope over to check, and indeed, it had a small piece of Xuanzhi paper attached, written in very fine script with a few words.

"Nuannuan, I really can’t bear it anymore. Sister Chunyu forbade me from saying, but I must tell you. Sister Chunyu, despite being so wonderful, was divorced by that bastard. She was very capable; to avoid disgracing the Xiao family, and for her and her daughter to survive, she took the divorce papers bravely, directly struck the Petitioning Drum, sending the Wu family to jail. Finally, the Empress Dowager and Empress rewarded Sister Chunyu with a thousand taels of silver and a hundred-acre estate."

Divorced, filed a complaint to the court!

Chun Nuan stood up in shock!

Rereading these short two sentences five times.

Confirming, she slumped back into the chair: How could the Wu family dare!

Her elder sister must have suffered immense grievances?

One more thing: by what means did her elder sister tear apart the Wu family?

Moreover, she directly filed a complaint to the imperial court, striking the Petitioning Drum wasn’t easy, that requires crawling over a board studded with sharp iron nails, her sister’s frail body, rolling over such a board, with nails piercing the skin, it must have been a bloody, excruciating ordeal—how did she endure it?

Thinking about these, Chun Nuan’s eyes welled up with tears.

Seeing from Qiu Yan’s writing that the entire Wu family was jailed, the Empress Dowager and Empress rewarded her sister, giving her a place to stay, she seemed safe for the moment.

However, Chun Nuan knew that by singlehandedly sending the Wu family to jail, she would face even greater storms.

People wouldn’t sympathize with the hardships she endured but would instead see her as shrewd and calculating.

In the Capital, even gossip could drown her!

Fortunately, with the rewards from the Empress Dowager and Empress, their mother and daughter had a lifeline.

Chun Nuan thought a lot until Chun Qiang came knocking on the door.

"Sister, sister, Qiangqiang wants some cake, Qiangqiang’s teeth itch, saliva’s coming out."

Chun Qiang had learned quite a bit of local lingo from the village children, like wanting to eat means his teeth itch.

"Okay, big sister will make you some cake."

The Eight Treasures Cake, which she made using traditional herbs, was intended for Zhao Minghua’s teahouse. Today, she had brought it out for the guests, and it was well-received, Mrs. Zhao, Mrs. Zhang, and Aunt Luo all said it was delicious.

Not many were made for guests, so Chun Qiang didn’t have enough, his teeth indeed itched, so he came looking for his sister.

Only then did Chun Nuan realize she’d been in the room for some time; her grandmother and the others must be anxious from waiting.

She thought of giving the letter from Chunyu to her grandmother and aunt to see, but then reconsidered. They were smart people, who would see at a glance there was a problem.

Instead of that, she decided to say there was no letter at all, just mentioning that Qiu Yan said everything was well.

Indeed, the old lady and Mrs. Xu exchanged glances and said nothing more.

They would just think Chunyu wasn’t doing well at the Wu family, even writing a letter was difficult.

Never expecting that her elder sister had flipped the Wu family upside down in the Capital.

Made the Eight Treasures Cake for Chun Qiang, and the little guy found it unsatisfactory.

"Not as tasty as before, sister, try it."

Chun Nuan tasted it, realizing she had absent-mindedly forgotten the sugar, lacking sweetness really wouldn’t satisfy a child.

"Big sister’s pastry-making skills aren’t quite there yet; I need more practice."

"Yes, three days without reading dulls the mind, three days without writing dulls the hand." Chun Qiang commented seriously: "Sister, you should practice more."

"Little guy, who told you that?"

This phrase was aptly used here.

"Brother Ning told Brother An, and Chun Qiang remembered it."

Well, the memory wasn’t bad!

Chun Nuan pinched his soft cheek: "Study well, once you learn well sister will make you cake."

"Sister, pinky promise."

Chun Qiang surprisingly extended his pinky finger to make a pinky promise with Chun Nuan, chanting along: "A pinky promise, no changes for a hundred years, if broken, become Zhu Bajie."

No need to guess, these were phrases he learned from the village children.

The saying about a wise mother’s three moves speaks for itself; moving the family to live in town was indeed a wise choice.

Third Aunt Mrs. Huang didn’t say it outright, but it was obvious she was always anxious about the children’s behavior and unconsciously being led astray.

Chun Nuan also knew that the Huang family had once produced a great Confucian scholar, a real descendant of a scholarly family, which places importance on education and manners.