Chapter 2908 - 2909: What a Formidable Second Madam

Chapter 2908: Chapter 2909: What a Formidable Second Madam

The two of them held hands and caught up with each other. It was only when Bai Ruozhu urged them to go into the Room to talk that they came back to their senses, feeling both amused and helpless.

After that the Luo Family wife met Jiang Yichun and Little Dengdeng, and she was happy the whole day. Bai Ruozhu arranged a Room for her, but worried it might be dangerous for her to stay alone, decided to live with her for a few days first.

She hadn’t expected Chushuang to come over hugging her quilt, saying, "I’ll sleep with Sister-in-law tonight. I still have so much to say to her, and I want to hear more about my brother."

Handing Ruozhu over to Chushuang put her most at ease, so she went back to her own Room.

"Achun, are you feeling any better?" Bai Ruozhu took his pulse again. His meridians were still a bit strange; more rest certainly wouldn’t hurt.

"A bit better, it doesn’t hurt as much now," Jiang Yichun answered.

Bai Ruozhu touched his face. "You’re just so good-looking."

He smiled. "Fallen head over heels for me, haven’t you?"

"Yeah, I’m absolutely smitten," she laughed.

Jiang Yichun rolled over and pinned her beneath him. She hurriedly pushed at him and said, "Don’t move around, your arm needs to heal."

"I’m in a hurry here. Or do you want me to hold it in till it kills me?" he said, throwing her a flirty look.

Bai Ruozhu quickly covered her face. Damn, had this guy been eavesdropping on her earlier?

Just then there was a sudden knock at the door. "Sister Ruozhu, are you asleep? I need to talk to you about something."

It was Ao Song. Bai Ruozhu glared at Jiang Yichun, motioned for him to let go, and got up to open the door.

"What is it, Ao Song?" she asked.

Ao Song glanced inside and gave Jiang Yichun a somewhat provocative look, like a kid who’d snatched away someone else’s toy.

Bai Ruozhu couldn’t help laughing. She tugged her and asked, "It’s so late already, hurry and talk, I need to get back to rest."

Ao Song quickly grabbed Bai Ruozhu’s hand and said, "Sister Ruozhu, the more I think about that Ding Xiang’s smile, the weirder it feels. Let’s go investigate the Sun Residence by night, okay? Otherwise it’s so boring."

"Are you a night owl or what? You don’t sleep at night?" Bai Ruozhu was speechless. "What does the Sun Family’s mess have to do with us? Go rest."

Ao Song shook her arm insistently. "Come on, come on, let’s go watch the show at least."

Seeing that she was determined to go, Bai Ruozhu had no choice but to turn back to Jiang Yichun and say, "Husband, rest well and focus on healing. I’ll be back in a bit."

Jiang Yichun’s face darkened. "What are you doing running around in the middle of the night?"

Bai Ruozhu shot him a reproachful look. "Be good, you rest first."

Faced with an order from his own wife, Jiang Yichun could only feel helpless. Forget it, he’d just go to sleep and recuperate.

Bai Ruozhu went to Ao Song’s Room and changed into the night clothes she had prepared. This girl had obviously wanted to go for a while now; otherwise she wouldn’t have everything ready so thoroughly.

The two of them slipped out of the Guest House and soon blended into the Sun Residence.

The Sun Residence was still brightly lit; Sun Zhou’s first-seven-day memorial hadn’t passed yet.

Ao Song used a Magic Technique to divine the way, then found Ding Xiang’s quarters. The two of them quietly jumped onto the roof, lifted a tile, and peeped inside.

Ding Xiang’s living conditions were pretty good—not only was it a single Room, it wasn’t small either. In a slightly lesser household, this would be standard accommodation for a proper young lady.

It could be seen that Madam Sun had treated Ding Xiang well in the past. Ding Xiang was her senior maid; without her kindness, Ding Xiang would never have such treatment.

And to say Ding Xiang hated Madam Sun because of some man—wasn’t she herself just as selfish and self-serving?

Footsteps sounded outside, and someone knocked and entered. The person was tightly wrapped up, but when she spoke, it was a woman’s voice.

"How did it go?" the newcomer asked as soon as she stepped in.

"I followed our plan. He’s already left," Ding Xiang’s eyes gleamed with triumph. "Mother, I did pretty well, didn’t I?"

The newcomer put down her hood, smiled, and patted her head. "You truly are your mother’s pride."

Bai Ruozhu tugged on Ao Song’s sleeve and silently mouthed at her: "Second Madam of the Sun Residence."

The Sun Family had always practiced medicine; only Sun Zhou was good at studying. He passed the imperial exams, returned to Xunyang City as an officer, and brought the Sun Family a good deal of prosperity.

The Sun Family’s Second Madam was the principal wife of Sun Zhou’s younger brother. When Madam Sun had come to make a scene earlier, Bai Ruozhu had seen her from a distance. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time, just noted who the Sun Family members were.

But how could Ding Xiang be the Second Madam’s daughter?

"You must understand, everything your mother does is for you. Back then, Mother was forced and had no choice; I didn’t abandon you on purpose. Look, we mother and daughter will soon be together. Once you marry Xiuxiu, we’ll still be one family. I’m your real mother, I won’t be as harsh as an ordinary mother-in-law," the Second Madam said, stroking Ding Xiang’s head.

"Mm, I’ll listen to Mother," Ding Xiang said.

From the sound of it, it was the Second Madam and Ding Xiang who had set the trap and schemed against Madam Sun. Maybe they hadn’t originally planned to target Sun Zhou, and his death had just ended up benefiting them.

Bai Ruozhu quickly analyzed the situation. Ding Xiang pretended to cling to Kong Er, yet led Kong Er to give up on reclaiming his identity and run off far away.

Was it all for Sun Zhou’s inheritance?

Right, she remembered that earlier, Sun Zhou had targeted her Clinic and Pharmacy exactly because he was about to take over the family’s Clinic and Pharmacy business.

In other words, Sun Zhou was about to become the Patriarch, but now that he was dead, the Patriarch would likely be his younger brother, the Second Master Sun.

But even if Kong Er stayed, as an illegitimate son he could never become Patriarch; he posed no real threat to the Second Madam, did he?

Unless what she wanted was the entire branch estate belonging to Sun Zhou’s line!

Bai Ruozhu’s eyes widened. The darker secrets in these big, deep households were the most plentiful, and many of them were truly despicable.

"Is the drug administered? Did you see him eat it?" the Second Madam asked.

Ding Xiang nodded. "He ate it."

The Second Madam smiled. "Good."

Ding Xiang, however, looked worried. "Mother, with my status, can I really marry Xiuxiu? At most I’ll just be taken as a concubine, right?"

The Second Madam’s face turned cold. "You still don’t trust your mother? Would my daughter ever be anyone’s concubine?"

"It’s not that I don’t trust you, Mother, I’m just a little worried," Ding Xiang said.

The Second Madam’s expression softened into motherly affection again. "Mother will arrange everything. When the time comes, Xiuxiu will fall ill and need a bride to ward off bad luck. I’ll then find a Master who’ll say that your eight characters are the only suitable ones. Naturally, you’ll marry him as his principal wife."

She sighed as she spoke. "Back then, your father almost favored his concubine and ruined his wife. After I gave birth to you, my position was no longer secure, so I could only switch you and Xiuxiu. But all these years I’ve never cut back on your food or clothing, and I’ve raised Xiuxiu as your future husband. Everything Mother has done has been for you."

"Thank you, Mother," Ding Xiang said, moved.

Bai Ruozhu listened, dumbfounded. For the sake of her own status, she had swapped out her biological daughter, then had that daughter infiltrate the Residence to help her do dirty work—and after all that, she could still talk so sweetly that the girl was moved to say "Thank you, Mother."

This Second Madam Sun was really something!

Very soon the Second Madam took her leave. Ao Song tugged on Bai Ruozhu, signaling her to follow, but Bai Ruozhu’s face suddenly changed. She whispered, "This is bad, we need to save someone first."

The "he" Ding Xiang mentioned was probably Sun Wen, the only legitimate son of Sun Zhou and Madam Sun!

After marriage Madam Sun had never borne a son, which was why Sun Zhou had tolerated a child from an outside woman—after all, even his second brother’s son was already old enough to speak.