Consort Fang watched Wang Qingyao remain kneeling and turned her attention to her.
"Other people's daughters-in-law pay their respects morning and evening, attend to their mothers-in-law personally, and obey every command. My daughter-in-law, however, acts like an empress dowager, opposing me in everything and showing me no respect."
"My poor son cannot even favor his concubine because of such a jealous and narrow-minded wife. What use is she?"
Consort Fang's vanity and sense of accomplishment had been ignited by her two sons' kneeling.
*Heh, after all, she was their mother, and her two sons still knew to care for her.*
*As soon as she threw a tantrum, they panicked.*
With this mindset, Consort Fang poured out all her usual dissatisfaction with Wang Qingyao, expecting Wang Qingyao to kneel before her in terror, just like Xiao Yun and Xiao Mo.
To her surprise, Wang Qingyao rolled her eyes dismissively and retorted, "Perhaps this is what they call 'when the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam is crooked.' Mother herself does not pay respects morning and evening to Grandmother or attend to her personally, so how can she demand I do so? I learned all of this from you, Mother!"
Consort Fang was so choked by Wang Qingyao's words that she was speechless. After a long pause, she sternly said, "I say one thing, and you retort ten. Is this how you behave as a daughter-in-law?"
Wang Qingyao was unimpressed. "Grandmother told you to shut up, yet you keep talking. Is this how you behave as a daughter-in-law?"
Consort Fang: "..."
She was truly enlightened today. Such lack of upbringing! To dare speak to her mother-in-law like this!
She pointed her finger at Wang Qingyao, trembling with anger and unable to speak.
Old Consort Fang then sternly declared, "Yao Yao is right. You are not qualified to criticize her."
Consort Fang was directly rebuked by Old Consort Fang, her face instantly losing all color. Fortunately, besides Nanny Jing, all the other servants were waiting outside the door, so she didn't lose face completely.
"Mother!" she looked at Old Consort Fang, both angry and wronged.
Old Consort Fang looked at her with disappointment and said slowly, "I used to think you were merely ignorant, but I never expected you to be so unreasonable, so brainless and willful. You say you are the mother of A'Yun and A'Mo. Have you ever considered if you have fulfilled your responsibilities as a mother?"
"After Feng'er passed away, you were consumed by grief and could not extricate yourself. You didn't even have the energy to care for and raise the children, let alone attend to me, your mother-in-law. I am old, yet I had to endure the pain of losing a son to discipline your children and manage the Prince's mansion for you. And you? You would either chant Buddhist scriptures or copy sutras behind closed doors. Your days were peaceful. Ten years have passed in a blink of an eye. Tell me, am I not more qualified than you to decide on the marriages of these two children?"
Speaking of managing the Prince's mansion, Wang Qingyao, as the granddaughter-in-law, guiltily touched her forehead.
It was only after she had finished her confinement that Old Consort Fang began to let her gradually try her hand at managing the household.
Consort Fang opened her mouth to retort, but after thinking about it, Old Consort Fang's words were all facts, and she had no grounds to refute them.
Her face turned a mixture of green and red.
Old Consort Fang continued, "I know you dislike Feng Jiang Duo, thinking her unfeminine and ungraceful for practicing martial arts. But it is A'Mo who is marrying her. Should his wishes not be the most important? You keep saying 'Mother, Mother,' but as a mother, have you ever thought about your child?"
Consort Fang clenched her fists and remained silent.
A person's deeply ingrained thoughts, formed over decades, cannot be changed by a few words from others.
Consort Fang's silence was not an endorsement of Feng Jiang Duo, but simply because Old Consort Fang was her mother-in-law, and she did not wish to argue with her.
Old Consort Fang waved her hand wearily, "You may return. Do not leave Jingwu Courtyard unless necessary."
This was tantamount to semi-confinement.
Consort Fang left without a word. Old Consort Fang then asked Xiao Yun and Xiao Mo to rise.
Xiao Mo said guiltily, "For the sake of the grandchildren's matters, I have tired Grandmother and Mother. Your grandson is unfilial."
Old Consort Fang sighed, "What does this have to do with you? Alas, I have indulged your mother too much, allowing her to regress with age. Now that your marriage to Duo Duo is ruined, even if your mother agrees to it, the Prince of Dingnan will not.
Xiao Mo lowered his head in silence.
Xiao Yun patted his shoulder twice, wanting to say some comforting words, but he was not good at it.
Should he say, "There are plenty of fish in the sea, why pine for just one flower"?
In the end, he said nothing.
Wang Qingyao poked her head out and said, "It's not entirely hopeless. Prince of Dingnan is already old and has been fighting on the front lines for years. His body can't take it anymore. When he dies, you can propose to the Feng family again. Whoever disagrees, you just outlive them!"
She wanted to say that if Consort Fang disagreed, just wait until she died, but considering she was Xiao Yun's mother, she didn't dare to say it.
Xiao Mo: "..."
Xiao Yun: "...".org
Old Consort Fang: "Absurd! By then, how old would A'Mo and Duo Duo be!"
Xiao Mo curved his lips, "I think it's fine. Duo Duo and I have a deep connection. We don't care when we get married. As long as she always has me in her heart, and I always have her in mine, I'm willing to not get married for a lifetime."
Oh wow, true love!
Wang Qingyao seized the opportunity to explain, "This is called non-marriage, where people are in love but don't get married. There are also DINKs, who get married but don't have children..."
Old Consort Fang's expression turned horrified.
To prevent Wang Qingyao from saying anything more outrageous, Xiao Yun quickly covered her mouth and led her away.