Chapter 2420 - 2394: What Are Your Plans? (Part 1)

"Miss, what do you think our lady should do? What should she do? She has no full-blooded brothers, and even her own aunt holds her back and doesn’t stand up for her. Who else can save our lady, who else can save her?"

"We suggested finding the eldest lady, but the eldest lady is far away in Yizhou. The letters sent over the past two years must pass through the Old Madam’s hands before they reach our lady, and don’t even mention the letters our lady tries to send out; even the gift lists for each family during the festivals don’t reach her... Eldest lady, can you save our lady? Can you save her, or will you send her back like the Second Madam did? If... if... please let our lady have a few days of ease, at least let her be a bit more dignified, a bit more dignified..."

Madam Tang took a long time to calm down and asked, "Does Fourth Lady know about this matter?"

Wang Ruile came to the capital for medical treatment because Four strongly advocated it.

Xia He hugged Madam Tang’s legs, crying, "I don’t know if Fourth Miss knows about this, since the Second Madam, our lady hasn’t proactively mentioned this matter to outsiders."

With that, Madam Tang understood. She pondered for a while and then suddenly sneered, asking, "Among the people you brought this time, how many came as companions and how many are from the Ma Family?"

"Besides the two of us, there are no other companions. The previous ones were either sent to the village or have been sold off."

It was because that group outside was gone that they were completely trapped in the inner courtyard, unable to move no matter how much money they tried to spend.

At first, the few of them went recklessly, using money to bribe quite a number of servants, still thinking of having someone send messages outside. As a result, those messages kept going around and ended up in those people’s hands, and thus they lost one person, then another...

Later on, they became very cautious, only carefully spreading goodwill within the Ma Family’s back courtyard, thinking that one day they could use it. However, just when they thought everything was secure, their extended hand was cut off again...

They lost two aunts, three senior servants, and four junior maids; now it was just the two of them left by the lady’s side. How would they dare to make any moves?

Even the lady would not easily speak or act; sometimes when an appearance by the lady was needed outside, she would go with a smile and return with a smile, not saying an unnecessary word or doing an unnecessary thing.

After three or four years, the other side finally loosened their grip a bit, but these things were not unheard of before. Sometimes, they would just get bored, deliberately loosening their guard to let them act just to catch their handle.

They didn’t understand before, always acting rashly, thinking they fooled them, believing those people really had kind intentions, and thinking they could truly bribe people. For this, they lost one person after another...

From then on, they knew that in this world, having a good heart wasn’t enough, nor was having enough money.

But this was the Tang Residence, under the eldest lady and the madam, who back in her maiden days was so daring and dynamic, even dared to peek over the wall to look at gentlemen and choose a husband, totally intolerant of sand in her eyes. So Xia He, after weighing it in her mind repeatedly, still shakingly confessed.

Madam Tang asked about the people they brought with them this time, how many came to the Tang Residence, and whether there were still others outside the Tang Residence...

Xia He didn’t know if they had any arrangements outside the Tang Residence but knew how many came in total.

"There are three who did not enter the residence with us, they were all doing chores in the outer courtyard, not present when we entered, and we don’t know when they went missing," Xia He finally stopped crying, although she was still shaking a bit from having cried so hard earlier, her speech was very clear, "But every day Aunt Ma goes to the front to give some instructions, or to have people buy some fruits, nuts, or snacks of some kind, always finding various reasons to go to the front."

Madam Tang didn’t expect the Ma Family to be so thorough, she silently gathered strength and then waved her hand, "Take them to wash up, get rid of the swelling around their eyes, find a couple of sets of clothes like theirs for them to change into, don’t let the other side see any clues."

Madam Tang said through gritted teeth, "The priority now is to treat the illness, waiting till I’ve sorted things out will deal with them altogether."

Xia He and Xia Cao were overjoyed, kowtowing to Madam Tang in unison.

Madam Tang, with a fire burning in her chest, went running to find Lord Tang.

Lord Tang listened to her venting while speaking rapidly, then gave her a cup of tea.

Madam Tang drank it in one gulp, her eyes still blazing with anger, she asked Lord Tang, "What do you think, how should this beast be dealt with?"

She had already clarified all the matters over the years. When Ma Hongzhong hit the first time, it wasn’t severe, and at that time, Ma Mother was both beating Ma Hongzhong and apologizing. Since it was just a slap in the face, Wang Ruile endured it.

But the second time Ma Hongzhong lost control a bit, so Wang Ruile returned to her parents’ home.

Unexpectedly, Second Madam directly sent her back, directly causing her to lose face at the Ma Family. Since then, from Ma Mother and Ma Hongzhong down to the maids and servants, no one cared about her anymore.

Thus, Madam Tang’s hatred extended not only to the Ma Family but also to her aunt.

It was the first time Madam Tang couldn’t hold back from speaking extremely harsh words in front of her husband, "After all, it’s the illegitimate offspring who can’t hold the stage, Ms.Cui didn’t teach the person well. Instead of helping to stand out, the visiting lady dares to send her back."

Lord Tang frowned, "That doesn’t seem like Ms.Cui’s upbringing. Is there some grudge between them?"

Madam Tang paused before frowning, "Something to do with my fifth younger brother’s adoption issue?"

Wang Ruile came from the second house. The last time the legitimate branch was divided was during her grandfather’s wedding, so they shared a great-grandfather, her grandfather was a cousin, and by their father’s generation, they had been divided into three generations.

They still lived in adjacent alleys, with the corner gates closed they were independent grand households; with the corner gates open, they connected to form a fortress. Madam Tang grew up there until she was twelve, leading her brothers and sisters around as the leader among children.

Wang Ruile’s father had two brothers, and they hadn’t split the family. He ranked second at home, fifth in the legitimate branch, and twelfth in the entire family ranking.

But they basically only reckoned the legitimate branch, hence everyone called him Wang Five, he had no sons.

No, now he has one. Wang Er passed his legitimate youngest son to Wang Five, both father and son conveniently ranked fifth, but both had bad luck, for Wang Wulang passed away within two years of adoption, not having had the chance to take over from Wang Five.

Lord Tang continued asking, "How do you plan to resolve this issue? Are you going to continue living with the Ma Family, or get a divorce and return home? If it’s divorce, what about the child?"

"You should list out the outcomes you desire to decide the path to take. Now is not the time to vent anger. I guess your sister probably doesn’t have a clear idea either. After inquiring her opinion, we should handle things accordingly."