Chapter 9: 9. Mother

9. Mother

When Duan Yuran transmigrated, the owner of this body was still just an infant under one year old. Her consciousness was muddled, unable to distinguish whether what she was experiencing was a dream or reality, but she still remembered that the first person she saw upon opening her eyes was Madam Duan—the Yao clan!

Lady Yao was a gentle and beautiful woman. As the wife, she was largely responsible for the responsibility and capability that Duan Chunyu, the master of the third branch of the Marquis of Zhongyong's manor, possessed today.

Duan Yuran had not expected that in this era, where a man could have three wives and four concubines and legally indulge in pleasure, her parents would actually be devoted to each other as each other's only one! Moreover, Duan Chunyu was the third son of the original wife of the late Marquis of Zhongyong; for a man of such status to love only one woman was truly not easy!

Duan Chunyu and Lady Yao had one son and one daughter, who were ranked in age alongside the children of the other three branches of the Marquis of Zhongyong's manor.

The eldest son, Duan Yanghang, was the sixth among his cousins, born entirely from the combined physical advantages of his parents! Especially those phoenix eyes; on Lady Yao's face, they were tender and charming, but on Duan Yanghang's face, they were dashing and seductive! They were even more intoxicating to women than peach blossom eyes! Additionally, not only did Sixth Master Duan inherit his father's tall stature and handsome appearance, but his prosperous life from childhood and his experiences over the past few years meant that his playboy aura was on par with his father's, who had once been the Third Master of the Marquis of Zhongyong's manor in the capital!

Duan Yuran was two years younger than Duan Yanghang. She had been physically weak since birth and had even nearly died as an infant! Therefore, from childhood to adulthood, not only did her parents protect and care for her as if she were the apple of their eye, but even her brother, who was a little tyrant outside, would let her bully him once he returned home!

When she had first recovered her memories from before her transmigration, Duan Yuran truly found it impossible to call a man and woman in their early twenties "Father" and "Mother"! Not to mention having to call a bratty child "Brother"! For a period of time, she always felt like an "outsider," finding it difficult to grow close to this family of three.

"The Eldest Miss is coming!" A maid serving at the entrance of Lady Yao's main quarters saw Duan Yuran entering the courtyard with her maids, Yunzhu and Bizhu, and called out smartly.

Just as Duan Yuran reached the center of the courtyard, the bamboo curtain on the main door was lifted. A pretty young girl wearing a bright green waistcoat and a powder-pink dress hurriedly lifted her skirts and stepped down the stairs, approaching her to perform a curtsy.

"The Eldest Miss has finally arrived." Qiqiao, the head maid serving Madam Duan, spoke with a smile after rising. "The Madam didn't sleep well last night. She woke up early this morning and was once again enraged by those black-hearted people from the Ren family; she still has a headache now."

Hearing this, Duan Yuran felt a pang of heartache, and she couldn't help but quicken her pace.

"This servant thinks that only you, Miss, can persuade the Madam," Qiqiao said with a light sigh.

Bizhu tactfully stepped back to make room, allowing Qiqiao to support Duan Yuran as they walked and talked.

The little maid lifted the curtain to invite Duan Yuran inside. Upon entering the reception room, she saw a beautiful middle-aged woman in her thirties struggling to rise from her couch, while Mama An and a maid in a dark red waistcoat were trying to persuade her to stay down.

"Ran'er!" When Lady Yao saw her daughter walk in, large tears began to roll down from her red, swollen eyes.

"Mother." Duan Yuran's eyes grew hot as she stepped forward quickly to grasp Lady Yao's outstretched hands. "What happened to Mother? It is all my lack of filial piety, causing you to..."

"Silly child, it is not your fault!" Lady Yao gripped her daughter's hands tightly, pulling Duan Yuran to sit beside her. She then used her free hand to half-embrace her daughter's shoulder and said resentfully, "Mother is angry because those bastards from the Ren family bullied you! It was all because your father and I failed to keep a watchful eye, and we let our child fall into a pit!"

Duan Yuran could no longer hold it back, and her tears flowed profusely.

Back then, it was precisely the paternal and maternal love of Duan Chunyu and Lady Yao that had moved her, allowing her to set aside the mental barrier of her age and strive to be a lovely, sensible child to repay the kindness of the couple.

"The Madam and the Miss must not shed tears in anger for those black-hearted people; it is not worth damaging your health and spirit!" Mama An hurriedly spoke up from the side to persuade them. "It is thanks to our Eldest Miss being decisive that she didn't suffer a loss! Now that the Miss has returned safely, the Madam should calm her heart and plan for the Miss's future!"

Qiqiao and the others also joined in the persuasion, finally stopping the tears of the mother and daughter.

Mama An had the little maids outside bring in water for washing faces, assisting Madam Duan and Duan Yuran in cleansing their faces and reapplying their rouge and powder.

**

Once they had settled back down and finished crying, the mother and daughter felt better in their hearts, and naturally, their complexions improved as well.

"To think the entire Ren family is so filthy and disgusting!" After taking a sip of hot tea, Lady Yao let out a long sigh and snorted, "An equal wife? A concubine being pregnant before the primary wife? And to think the Ren family claims to be a family of scholars! They even had the audacity to have the matchmaker guarantee that the rules of the Ren family in Pingcheng were no inferior to the Duke of Anguo's manor in the capital! After returning to the capital, your father and eldest brother must have a serious talk with the masters and young lords of the Duke of Anguo's manor! Is the rule of the Duke of Anguo's manor that men simply favor concubines over wives and prioritize birthing illegitimate eldest sons?"

Duan Yuran was drinking her jujube tea and nearly choked upon hearing Lady Yao's words!

Though the outwardly gentle Lady Yao lacked much aggression when she lost her temper, the words she spoke would usually shock those who were deceived by her appearance!

"Return to the capital? Why the sudden decision to go back to the capital?" This was what surprised Duan Yuran! "Is it just Father and Eldest Brother, or..."

"Our whole family is going back." Lady Yao used a gentle gaze and voice to soothe her daughter. "Regarding your divorce... the elders at the Marquis's manor are already aware. In the letter sent by your eldest uncle, he mentioned that the Old Madam's health has not been very good for the past six months, and she is always mentioning your father and your eldest brother. Now that she has learned you divorced that bastard boy from the Ren family, she asked your eldest uncle to urge us to return."

"..." Duan Yuran pursed her lips, feeling the relief she had felt upon leaving the Ren family vanish instantly! "Then, does your intention and Father's intention mean to go back?"

Lady Yao understood what her daughter was worried about. She reached out, took one of Duan Yuran's hands, and squeezed it firmly, saying softly, "Do not worry. With me, your father, and your eldest brother there, no one in the Marquis's manor will dare to speak ill of you!"

Since things had come to this, Duan Yuran could only nod, though she sighed inwardly: what she feared were not the strange looks from her cousins in the Marquis of Zhongyong's manor, nor the eye-rolls from her two aunts and one great-aunt toward her following her divorce! She was weary of the Grand Madam of the Marquis of Zhongyong's manor, the Old Lady Yao, who was like a "reincarnated old witch"!

That woman was a "formidable character" who had been scurrying about the Marquis of Zhongyong's manor for nearly forty years without ever growing tired!

Just updated, sorry. I wrote a lot but deleted it, so I'm posting two thousand words as compensation.

I have to go out tomorrow morning, so the update will be a bit late. My apologies.