"Mrs. Deng grasped the parrot and pointed at the bright plumage of the parrot for Cangning. It wasn't long before she suddenly ‘gripped’ a wrong position and twisted the parrot's neck!" Wei Zhengyin took a sip of tea and calmly said.

Wei Changying was startled and said, "What?"

Wei Zhengyin was pretty calm and continued, "Cangning was dumbfounded and looked at Mrs. Deng in speechless despair. She didn't know how to explain it to Yuwu! Mrs. Deng cried and said that Madam Qian originally didn't like her because the lineal daughter Mrs. Deng gave birth to die before she was one year old. Moreover, Madam Qian had said that Mrs. Deng didn't have the good fortune of delivering babies in front of Cangning's first elder cousin for several times. Now Madam Qian might take advantage of this matter to divorce her back to her natal home, then how could she have the face to live in the world? Because of Mrs. Deng's desperate struggle, Cangning promised to help her take on the matter."

"But it was not necessary for Cangning to send it to the kitchen..." Wei Changying asked doubtfully. Though people of the Su Family and people of the Shen Family didn't say anything now, they all deemed that Shen Cangning was too naughty. If they knew that she had just intended to pull two pieces of tail feathers and killed the parrot by accident, they wouldn't blame her like that.

Wei Zhengyin said, "There was a reason for that. You hadn't seen that parrot, which was larger than the common parrot. Mrs. Deng was ailing in her childhood, so like you, her family invited a tutor to teach her some exercises to keep fit. Therefore, Mrs. Deng was able to twist the parrot's neck. How could Cangning, who was spoiled and pampered, have such strength of the hand? Yuwu was very careful, and he took a fancy to that parrot. If he was told that Cangning accidently killed the parrot, he was bound to find out the truth! To cover up the cause of the parrot's death, Cangning sent it to the kitchen!"

She smiled and continued, "The kitchen manager had accompanied Madam Qian since her marriage, but a servant in the kitchen who was responsible for slaughtering poultry was bribed by Mrs. Deng. Apparently, the parrot had been dead before it was sent to the kitchen, but he didn't mention it before the manager. Not until the parrot was disemboweled and cleaned did he report that it was alive and kicking...But how could such a servant be able to afford it? So the kitchen manager, Madam Qian's servant from maiden home, was still kicked out!"

"... Cangning was really kind, but it made mother very sad." Wei Changying said silently. She always thought Shen Cangning was self-willed and cunning, how come this little sister-in-law sounded to be virtuous now? It was almost being silly.

Wei Zhengyin said, "These little girls, except for someone who harbored evil intentions, always have a bit of innocence and kindness. Besides, it wasn't that Cangning had no idea of Mrs. Deng's using her, but she felt that she could afford it. Moreover, Mrs. Deng was really pitiful."

Wei Changying asked, "First aunt was so severe that first cousin-in-law would inevitably feel aggrieved. But I don't know what kind of grievance could make first cousin-in-law have no hesitation to take advantage of Cangning to take such an action and sacrifice younger cousin's parrot."

Wei Zhengyin sneered and said, "Well, what Madam Qian had done was too excessive! When Mrs. Deng's daughter was only four months old, because the wet nurse was not careful, the baby caught the cold. At that time, the doctor said that it was so unlucky for the baby to be treated quite early, if it became typhoid, she would be in trouble. In such a sentence, Madam Qian found a vulnerable point. She suspected that the little girl really got typhoid. In the name of considering for the health of the whole family, she forced Mrs. Deng to take her daughter to the village outside the city. They couldn't return until the baby pulled through!"

Speaking of this, Wei Zhengyin also sighed, "How could such a small child withstand jolts? Besides, she was still ill. As a result, the baby passed away two days later after they arrived at the village outside the city. When Madam Qian knew it, she was glad and said that it was wise to keep them out. Otherwise, the whole family would be harmed by them. Until one day, your first elder cousin could not bear it anymore and knelt down in front of your first uncle. He insisted on asking for Imperial Doctor Ji to do a post-mortem for his daughter and it confirmed that it was cold. Your first uncle reprimanded Madam Qian, then Madam Qian stopped talking."

Wei Changying felt bitterly disappointed when she heard it, and said, "Didn't anyone care about this? What about maternal grandma?"

Old Madam Deng looked very kind, and Mrs. Deng could be regarded as her grandniece! Why didn't she help Mrs. Deng to bring fair back?

Wei Zhengyin said with a smile, "When Madam Qian sent Mrs. Deng to take her daughter to the village outside the city, Madam Qian didn't let others know. Mrs. Deng's people were all caught and couldn't report the news. They were forced to step into the carriage. After all, Madam Qian was in charge of the family. When your maternal grandmother knew it, Mrs. Deng and her daughter had arrived at the village, and it was impossible to call them back immediately. That was more dangerous for the baby! As for Mrs. Deng's relationship with your maternal grandmother, Mrs. Deng herself should be blamed. At the beginning, it was your maternal grandmother who facilitated the marriage between your first elder cousin and Mrs. Deng. After they get married, your maternal grandmother naturally stood on Mrs. Deng's side. As a result, Mrs. Deng suffered losses again and again in Madam Qian's hands. At first, she told your maternal grandmother about it. Your maternal grandmother was kind-hearted, though she admonished Madam Qian that she should not be too harsh on her daughter-in-law, however, Madam Qian was well aware of your maternal grandmother’s temperament. The more things were done, the more hidden they became."

"Later, Mrs. Deng was wronged and couldn't say it out. She was frightened of being bullied and just listened to Madam Qian so as to beg for stability. She not only gradually alienated your maternal grandmother, but also was instigated by Madam Qian and did a few things, making your maternal grandmother very sad. Your maternal grandmother had a good temperament, and she didn't care about what Mrs. Deng had done. However, after that, your maternal grandmother only treated her as an ordinary granddaughter."

When it came to this, Wei Zhengyin taught her niece again, "Mrs. Deng actually made a mistake again here. Although she hurt your maternal grandmother's heart, on the one hand, your maternal grandmother was kind, on the other hand, they were always the daughters and the own flesh of the Deng Family. If she went to your maternal grandmother in time, made a sincere apology and begged very hard after she woke up, how could your maternal grandmother have the heart to really leave her alone? As a result, when she realized it, she was indeed ashamed, but she was embarrassed to express it clearly to your maternal grandmother. In that way, Didn't Madam Qian take her even less seriously? Therefore, it came out that Madam Qian, taking advantage of a cold, drove Mrs. Deng and her daughter away to the village outside the city! So it was fine if you made a mistake once. Repeating your mistakes was actually a dead end."

Wei Changying sighed, "Auntie, you are absolutely right. What first cousin-in-law had done before was really confusing." In fact, Madam Qian treating Mrs. Deng harshly at first was not necessarily because she disliked Mrs. Deng. It was because Madam Qian did not like Su Ruoqian, the eldest son born by a concubine. Later, when Mrs. Deng complained it to Old Madam Deng, the latter was lenient and her majesty was not enough to hold back her daughter-in-law. Instead, Madam Qian generated hatred toward Mrs. Deng, and Mrs. Deng was not her mother-in-law’s opponent. It could be seen that Mrs. Deng had a weak disposition. She might think that since her grandaunt couldn't protect her, so she simply submitted to Madam Qian!

But for a mother-in-law like Madam Qian, even her lineal daughter-in-law, the niece of her husband's elder sister, her own niece who was born in the Shen Family in Western Liang, which was comparable with the Su Family in Qingzhou, could almost knock herself to death in her husband's mourning hall. How could Mrs. Deng lead a safe life if she always blindly obeyed Madam Qian?

Mrs. Deng took another wrong step here. Not only did she completely become a puppet of Madam Qian, she also made Madam Qian despise her more. Then, Madam Qian dared to do something to indirectly kill Mrs. Deng's daughter!

If Mrs. Deng had a forceful and capable disposition, even if she was not very clever, how dared Madam Qian force her to take the granddaughter who was just four months old and had caught a fever to the village outside the city? After all, Old Madam Deng was gentle and could not suppress her daughters-in-law. Su Pingzhan wouldn't allow his daughters-in-law to be so arrogant!

Wei Changying thought that the reason why this matter was kept secret was that it had already happened, and it would disgrace the Su Family if it was spread out. And because it was only a great-granddaughter, Su Ruoqian and Mrs. Deng were still young, and they could have more children in the future. Therefore, Su Pingzhan ordered to hide it.

If Mrs. Deng was a shrewd person, and Madam Qian treated her badly, Mrs. Deng could make a scene now and then— Old Madam Deng was still there. Even if Madam Qian had some thoughts, how dare she propose to divorce her? Madam Qian couldn't repudiate Mrs. Deng and make her return home, nor could she suppress her. With the example of Shen Cangzhu, others would not only talk about Mrs. Deng's disobedience and unfilial behavior, they would also think that Madam Qian had treated her daughter-in-law harshly again. It was estimated that Madam Qian would take the initiative to let Su Ruoqian go outside and take Mrs. Deng with him. Out of sight, out of mind.

By then, it would be free.

When it came to Mrs. Deng's losing her daughter...She didn't dare to make troubles. If she really made it happen, even if Su Pingzhan hated this granddaughter-in-law for her ignorance, he had to give her an explanation. At least Madam Qian would get a reputation of unkindness and it wouldn't be easy for her to create difficulties for the sons of the concubine and their wives in the future. Of course, Wei Changying wasn't familiar with the situation of the Su Family. Mrs. Deng was also a daughter of the aristocratic family. Because the influence of Mrs. Deng's maiden family was inferior to that of her husbands' family, it was inevitable that she would suffer some problems in her speech and act.

After all, although there was still an Honored Consort of the Deng Family in the palace, Sixth Prince, the only son of this Honored Consort died young. Honored Consort herself also enjoyed ordinary love from the emperor, which was far less than the period when Empress Dowager Deng was still there.

“Wasn't it?” Wei Zhengyin held up the fancy hairpin on her temples and whispered, "Later, your maternal grandmother also grieved for this great-granddaughter. She rarely lost her temper and deprived Madam Qian of her power to take control of the house. Then, she gave it to Mrs. Deng. It was just that for one thing Mrs. Deng still felt sad for the death of her daughter, for another, Madam Qian had been managing household affairs for so many years and her influence was deep-rooted. Therefore, though your grandmother said so, Madam Qian nominally handed over her power, however, Mrs. Deng actually couldn't do anything without her help. Afterwards, your grandmother had no choice but let Mrs. Gu of the second branch lend a hand. Anyway, she couldn't let Mrs. Deng totally become a puppet of Madam Qian. This time, Mrs. Deng suddenly cast the first stone, which showed that she had hated Madam Qian to an extreme extent!”

Wei Changying thought of the parrot and she inevitably felt that even if Mrs. Deng took vengeance on her mother-in-law, she had gone too far to get the innocent person involved. Then she said, "Younger cousin's parrot was really a pity!"

As for this rumored parrot, which was precious and of great significance to Su Yuwu, Wei Zhengyin was not distressed at all, instead, she said with satisfaction, "It was no big deal to lose the parrot! Your maternal grandfather had mentioned it before that we shouldn't let Yuwu trifle with playthings and lose his lofty aspirations. I thought it over. Last year, Yuwu drove a few maidservants who had been serving him for many years away for the parrot. Except for this incident, what else could the eldest branch complain about him? In the past, when he was a little boy, it didn't matter to feed the parrot for fun after school. Now that he grew up. The parrot's death could make Yuwu focus on the serious matters, so that he wouldn't be distracted by a plaything!”

... No wonder that Wei Zhengyin was quite calm while she was talking about the whole process. She was long hoping the parrot would die, wasn't she? Was it just that Su Yuwu had been protecting it before?

Wei Changying found it both funny and annoying, and then she said, "My two sisters-in-law were still talking about how to compensate for younger cousin's parrot! And they said maybe they could get another one from the southern wilderness."

Wei Zhengyin hurriedly said, "Don't! I finally got this opportunity to get rid of that thing. I don't want to have another one which could take up Yuwu's time for reading and dealing with business! If they mention it next time and I'm not there, you just find some ways to refuse it!"

"OK." Wei Changying promised, and said again, "I didn't see fourth sister in the main branch today."

"She was afraid that she would be taken back and beaten!" Wei Zhengyin said with a smile, "This morning she simply didn't get up. Before you came here, she let Yufei ask for a leave, saying that she had a headache. It was estimated that no one could cure her. Only if you left, or if your mother-in-law said that she wouldn't be hit, then she could be fine."

Wei Changying was able neither to cry nor to laugh, and then she said, "Mother was only severe in her words. Seeing the marriage mother proposed to you this time, it could be known that how much mother loved fourth sister. Just like you said, auntie, if it was not for her, how could mother let Yaoye take a leave today and come here with me? Wasn't mother still worried about the change in the marriage? She was anxious to call me to sound you out!"

Wei Zhengyin said, "I was thinking that today was not a rest day. Your mother-in-law's attention to your husband was like mine to Yuwu. How could she let your husband take a leave just for your visit to me? When it came to her own daughter's lifelong event, she couldn't wait anymore. Not to mention that she came back to live for a few days before, and it is said that something had happened in the mansion of Grand Preceptor. Are you dealing with the matter these days?"

Although Wei Zhengyin was Wei Changying's aunt, thinking of Wei Zhenghong’s instructions, Wei Changying still cautiously replied, "There were some things, but I was still in confinement then. I had stayed indoors for a long time and didn't go out. Most of the servants were brought by me when I got married, so it was hard for them to probe the news."

Wei Zhengyin did not mean to inquire about what happened to the Shen Family these days, and she just asked casually. After she heard her niece's words, she nodded and said, "You just entered the door and it should be so. If you walked around optionally and dropped in to poke your nose into others' affairs, that would be degrading acts, which disgraced the temperament of the daughters of the Wei Family!"

Wei Changying smiled and said, "Yes!"

Wei Zhengyin said again, "There are few servants of the Shen Family in your yard now. Don't feel inconvenient. Even though the servants were brought by you when you got married, now they had entered the door of the Shen Family, how come they wouldn't be familiar with the servants of the Shen Family? Do you know why there are so few people in your yard originally?”