This An Jiuniang is practically her nemesis; she always manages to ruin things for her.
"What's wrong with the child?" An Ran exclaimed in surprise, "Aunt Li, how do you take care of children!"
An Ran deliberately raised her voice high, and Yun Shen, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, heard it clearly. Before Yun Shen had even stepped into the entrance of Luo Yue Pavilion, he saw Aunt Li supporting her back as she walked into the inner room.
"What's going on here?" Yun Shen walked to the corridor in a few steps, and looked sharply at Li Shi, saying, "Why aren't you in the room watching the child? What are you doing here?"
When Li saw that Yun Shen had arrived so quickly, she was filled with regret. She should have knelt outside earlier so that Yun Shen could see how Third Sister bullied the concubines and illegitimate sons.
"It's all my fault, all my fault!" Li's eyes reddened, and she picked up a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. She sobbed, "It was I who angered you, Madam. You were angry, so I knelt outside to apologize... and that's why..."
She thought that her tearful plea would make Yun Shen feel more sorry for her. Unfortunately, Yun Shen's mind was focused on his eldest son, and he only found her rambling on and on annoying.
Yun Shen simply ignored her and strode in to see Dong Ge'er.
Li was so angry that she almost ground her teeth to powder.
inside the house.
San Niang and An Ran were looking at Dong Ge'er in the wet nurse's arms. They saw that Dong Ge'er's voice was hoarse from crying and he was squirming uncomfortably.
Third Sister had never given birth, and seeing Dongge crying incessantly only annoyed her. Anran, however, saw something amiss; such a young child crying so hard must mean he was unwell. Although she had never given birth either, Chen Qian had quite a few illegitimate children.
An Ran's gaze shifted to the wet nurse.
Although the wet nurse appeared anxious and worried, An Ran noticed that her anxiety and worry did not reach her eyes.
Having witnessed Chen Qian's sordid methods of vying for favor in his backyard, An Ran quickly guessed the reason for what was happening before her eyes.
A faint, cold smile appeared on her lips.
Trying to fool people with such tricks is far too disrespectful of Li!
Just then, Yun Shen strode in. Seeing Dong Ge'er crying like this, he was extremely anxious. Li Shi also followed closely behind. She cleared her throat, about to shift the blame to San Niang, when An Ran spoke first.
"Why is Dongge crying so hard? He must be feeling unwell!" Anran said anxiously, "Quickly take off the child's clothes and see if there's anything wrong."
Li almost choked on her breath again.
She originally intended to say that Dongge'er was crying so hard because he was frightened by San Niang's harsh words earlier. In that case, Yun Shen would definitely think that San Niang was deliberately making trouble for a baby who was not even a month old. And she had already angered San Niang; San Niang had indeed made a scene in Luoyue Pavilion, which was undeniable.
But An Ran interrupted him again.
Yun Shen felt sorry for her son and listened to An Ran's words, so she asked the wet nurse to undress Dong Ge'er.
The wet nurse looked startled and hesitated to make a move.
Seeing this, An Ran was even more certain that Li Shi herself had instructed the wet nurse to do the trick and wanted to pin it on San Niang.
“Master, the boy was just frightened!” Madam Li was afraid of giving herself away, so she quickly said, “The boy is not even a month old yet. It would be bad if he took off his clothes and caught a chill.”
If she managed to fool him, Third Sister would be the one to take the blame. An Ran decisively said, "Brother-in-law, it doesn't seem like it! How would a child know about being frightened? There's probably something wrong with him!"
Yun Shen was taken aback, realizing that An Ran's words made sense.
"Undress Dong-ge'er!" Yun Shen glared fiercely at the wet nurse and said, "If anything happens to the boy, can you take responsibility?"
The wet nurse was so anxious that she kept giving Li a meaningful look, but Li couldn't think of a good excuse for the moment.
Even though she was just an observer from the beginning, Third Sister eventually figured out some of the tricks of the trade.
"You don't listen to me, and you don't listen to the young master either?" Third Sister was smart for once, and she said sternly, "Hurry up and take off the boy's clothes. Are you trying to hide something?"
Without realizing it, San Niang casually complained to Yun Shen about Li Shi, which was practically a crime of disrespecting the mistress of the house.
"My son's life is worth far more than everyone else in this entire courtyard combined!"
Third Sister's words also included Li Shi, secretly cursing her for her lowly fate. However, Yun Shen was completely unaware of this; he only felt that Third Sister seemed to have changed her opinion of the illegitimate son, and he was extremely gratified.
The wet nurse was startled by the harsh words and expressions of the Third Sister and her husband, and had no choice but to take off Dongge'er's little clothes.
"Your Highness, Your Highness's Wife, the boy is perfectly fine." The wet nurse forced a smile, feeling a little guilty.
An Ran hurriedly said, "Where's the clothing on your arm? We need to lift it up and take a look too!"
Before she could finish speaking, the wet nurse's hands trembled slightly as she reached to undress Dongge'er. Yun Shen understood what was happening, and he pushed the wet nurse aside, taking the initiative to undress Dongge'er himself.
On Dongge'er's fair and tender arms, there were two deep finger marks that had turned bluish-black.
When Yun Shen saw this, he was so angry that he trembled all over.
"Is this how you take care of Dong-ge'er?" Sensing an opportunity, Third Sister hurriedly said, "Li, you keep a close eye on Dong-ge'er. I was considerate of you being his birth mother and couldn't bear to see you and your son separated, so I didn't interfere! Who knew you would harbor such vicious intentions!"
Seeing that things were going badly, Li hurriedly knelt down and begged for forgiveness, saying, "I didn't know, it was my oversight! The wet nurse, Chen, has always taken good care of Dong-ge'er. Perhaps she was a little too rough with him today. The weather is hot now, and Dong-ge'er's clothes are thin, which is why there was a misunderstanding—"
An Ran and San Niang exchanged a glance. They both understood that Li Shi probably wanted San Niang to be accused of abusing her illegitimate son, only saying that she had frightened Dong Ge'er to tears. But now that someone had seen the fingerprints, Li Shi could no longer pin the blame on San Niang.
Li was afraid that her wet nurse, Chen, would implicate her, so she pleaded with Yun Shen to speak up for Chen.
An Ran gave San Niang a wink.
Third Sister stepped forward and said to Yun Shen, "Master, please don't be angry. It was my oversight. I have been negligent in disciplining the inner quarters, which led to today's events. Aunt Li is Dong Ge'er's birth mother, and she naturally loves Dong Ge'er. I don't think she would do something like harming a child to frame someone." She glanced at Madam Li and said meaningfully, "Let her off this time."
On the surface, Third Sister was pleading for them, but in reality, she wanted to tell Yun Shen that Li Shi's fuss today was just to make her suffer.
Having witnessed much infighting within the household since childhood, Yun Shen could easily deduce the cause and effect by connecting the dots. He knew Third Madam's temper best; it seemed that Li Shi had angered Third Madam first, otherwise Third Madam wouldn't have bothered to deal with Li Shi…
His heart softened, and he couldn't help but feel more pity for Third Sister.