Oops! The Black Lotus Can't Be a Female Supporting Character - Chapter 6
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- Chapter 6 - Goodbye Mama Sun
Chapter 6: Goodbye Mama Sun
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Mama Sun almost vomited blood in front of Madam Yin but couldn’t refute her.
Inside the house, there was silence, with only the sound of the wind rustling the bamboo leaves outside the window.
Madam Yin remained motionless for a while, silently gazing at Mama Sun.
Among the several concubine-born daughters under her knee, Xiao Yanfei had been obedient from a young age, a child who didn’t cause trouble and didn’t try to please others like the other concubine-born daughters. She didn’t even show any closeness to her.
This child always kept her head down when she saw Madam Yin, and over time, Yin Shi had almost forgotten what she looked like.
For such a child to speak the way she did today, she must have been pushed to her limits.
Even Mama Sun dared to be so arrogant in front of her, it was probably worse behind closed doors at Moonrise Pavilion.
After a moment of silence, Madam Yin asked again, “Yanfei, do you still have the leftover incense ashes from yesterday and unused incense?”
“Yes,” Xiao Yanfei nodded confidently, “Mother, feel free to send someone to check.”
Thump, thump! Mama Sun couldn’t help her heart racing.
She had planned to clean the incense ashes from the incense burner this morning but had been injured by Xiao Yanfei with a silver hairpin. At that time, she had been in a hurry to tend to her wound and had forgotten about it. She had tried to coax Xiao Yanfei to admit her mistake earlier, and it wasn’t appropriate to deal with the incense ashes in her presence.
Xiao Yanfei was always good at handling things, and Sun mama had originally thought she was entirely confident, but it turned out…
Madam Yin gestured, and Mama Zhao came over to stand by.
“Go to Yanfei’s room and fetch the incense ashes and the remaining incense. Take them to Lady Tian to examine.”
Lady Tian and her family were all attendants of Madam Yin. Lady Tian‘s husband, Tian Xincheng, managed the dowry shop for Yin Shi outside, and the husband and wife were highly regarded by Madam Yin. Lady Tian was skilled in making incense, and the incense used by Madam and the Third Young Master was all custom-made by her.
Mama Sun also knew that Lady Tian was knowledgeable about incense, and her heart suddenly tightened.
This was trouble!
The color on her face visibly faded bit by bit, but she didn’t dare to stop Mama Zhao from leaving.
Madam Yin noticed the subtle difference in Mama Sun‘s expression and had a suspicion. A cold glint passed through her eyes.
She smoothed her clothes and gently encouraged Xiao Yanfei to sit down once again.
“Thank you, Mother.”
This time, Xiao Yanfei obediently sat down in the lower seat.
Mama Sun couldn’t help but glance in the direction where Mama Zhao had left, and the cold sweat on her forehead gradually became more intense, trickling down her temples.
Even though she tried to conceal it, the anxiety and unease hidden deep in her heart were still apparent in her demeanor.
Mama Sun could only console herself with a faint hope: they shouldn’t discover anything from the remaining incense ashes.
At this moment, time seemed to slow down, and her senses were heightened.
She could hear the conversation between Xiao Yanfei and Yin Shi, the occasional sound of porcelain in the azure cabinet, the footsteps and whispers of maidservants outside the door, and even the faint sound of water droplets from the water clock…
“Drip… Drip…”
As if it had been half a lifetime, and yet, it felt like only a moment had passed, she heard the sound of the door curtain being lifted and instinctively looked up.
Mama Zhao hurriedly returned, holding a fist-sized paper bundle, followed by an elderly woman with white hair and neat attire.
When she reached Mama Sun‘s side, Mama Zhao cast a cold glance at her, sending a shiver down Mama Sun‘s spine.
“Madam, this is the incense ash I collected from Second Young Miss’s room,” Mama Zhao said while unwrapping the paper package. Inside was a lump of incense ash, accompanied by a faint, elusive fragrance.
The elderly woman, Lady Tian, continued, “This old servant examined it carefully and compared it. It’s definitely not the incense from Yixiang Pavilion this season; it’s mixed with green petal flower pollen.”
Her initial suspicion was confirmed, and in that instant, Madam Yin‘s fingers involuntarily tightened, her fingertips tensed, and her gaze sharpened, shooting out like arrows.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew colder.
A drop of cold sweat slowly dripped from Mama Sun’s chin.
“How could this happen?” Xiao Yanfei looked surprised and turned to Mama Sun with a somewhat hoarse voice. “Mama, didn’t you say the incense was fine?!”
In the house, everyone’s gaze was fixed on Mama Sun.
Mama Sun was already drenched in cold sweat, and the clothes on her back were soaked through. Her face was as pale as a corpse.
Her mind was in chaos, thoughts flooding like a tide. Her initial response was to deny, “Madam, I don’t know; it’s my negligence.”
“Don’t know?” Madam Yin raised an eyebrow slightly, “You oversee the affairs of Second Young Miss’s courtyard. Either you were embezzling or you were negligent.”
Madam Yin smiled superficially, but her eyes betrayed a deep, unfathomable coldness, sending a chill down Mama Sun‘s spine and causing her heart to sink.
At that moment, Mama Sun realized deeply that once Madam had her eyes on her, there might be no way out.
She couldn’t let Madam continue to investigate.
Otherwise…
She silently bit her tongue, the taste of salt and blood filling her mouth, and said with difficulty, “It was me.”
“It was me being greedy. I sold the scented sachets from the Second Young Miss’ share and replaced them with inferior ones.”
With a “plop,” she knelt on the cold, hard flagstone floor, kowtowing heavily to Yin Shi several times.
“I have made a mistake, please punish me, Madam! But I truly didn’t know there was green petal pollen in the scented sachets.”
Mama Sun pressed her forehead to the ground, prostrating herself humbly, not daring to move.
Mama Zhao glared at Mama Sun with a murderous look, wanting to rush over and give this old woman a good slap.
Madam Yin‘s gaze grew even deeper, dark and foreboding, making everyone feel uneasy.
She calmly asked, “You didn’t know if there was green petal pollen in the sachets, but you still hurriedly called Second Young Miss to cover for you?”
Mama Sun supported herself with her hands, maintaining a prostrate posture, and replied dryly, “I heard that Madam was checking the scented sachets, and I was afraid Madam would discover that I had stolen Second Young Miss’ share, so I made a foolish decision.”
After she spoke, the room fell into a profound silence.
Madam Yin remained silent.
The tense atmosphere persisted, and the excessive silence made Mama Sun feel even more uncomfortable, causing her to fidget involuntarily.
When Mama Sun decided firmly, she kowtowed heavily, and then said, “I am feeling guilty. Since I entered the Second Young Miss’ courtyard all these years, I’ve been withholding many things from Second Young Miss. Besides incense, there’s also half of the monthly allowance, as well as tea leaves, fabric, needles, and thread…”
“I’m afraid that if Madam continues to investigate, she’ll find out everything, so I wanted to downplay the situation…”
Her voice became softer and softer, eventually as faint as a mosquito’s hum.
She had given her confession, taking all the blame upon herself, regardless of whether Madam believed her or could find any loopholes.
That’s what she told herself, but cold sweat continued to drip from her forehead and back.
After a while, Madam Yin‘s icy voice came from above her head: “Take her down and give her thirty lashes, then send her to the Quiet Meditation Convent to serve old Yiniang.'”
Mama Sun’s plump body trembled uncontrollably, and she repeatedly kowtowed for mercy, “Madam, I know I was wrong. Please don’t send me away.”
She thought that Madam Yin would simply punish her and take away her job, as a form of discipline. At most, she might be sold, but she wasn’t afraid because someone would eventually buy her back.
However, she didn’t expect Madam Yin to send her to the Quiet Meditation Convent!
The Quiet Meditation Convent was the ancestral temple of the Xiao family, and all the female relatives who needed “quiet meditation” there were those who had made mistakes in the Xiao family. They lived an austere life, practicing abstinence and meditation every day.
Mama Sun had been there once and saw with her own eyes how the once charming Yiniang of the past had aged more than ten years during her time there, looking older than even Grand Madam.
Mama Sun kowtowed heavily, and her once neat hair bun became loose, making her look quite disheveled.
The sound of her continuous kowtowing made the serving maids in the room shudder.
Madam Yin remained unmoved, sitting upright on the canopy bed and said, “Take her away.”
“Yes, Madam,” Mama Zhao replied respectfully, glancing at Mama Sun with a hint of disdain.
Mama Sun‘s greed and audacity were so great, and she must have still held back some information. But now, she had firmly confessed, refusing to reveal anything more, so there was nothing else to be done at the moment.
The person in question still had powerful backing, with the Marquis and Grand Madam’s favoritism. As long as there was no concrete evidence, even Madam had to endure it.
The more Mama Zhao thought about it, the more resentful she felt, and she looked at Yin Shi with a pained expression and shouted, “Someone, take Mama Sun away.”
Two well-built ladies with round waists entered in a row.
“Mama Sun, my apologies.” They rudely lifted Mama Sun, who was kneeling on the ground, and used a piece of cloth to cover her mouth, dragging her out like a dead pig.
Xiao Yanfei sat there, silent, only watching the door curtain being roughly lifted and dropped, swaying in the air.
Mama Zhao and Lady Tian also retreated.
Madam Yin sat in silence, calmly observing Xiao Yanfei down the hall.
The young girl lowered her head slightly, her lips pursed, her long eyelashes casting shallow shadows on her slightly blushing cheeks. She remained calm and composed, not showing surprise or anger, with a quiet and serene demeanor.
She was as obedient as a fluffy little kitten.
The surroundings were quiet.
This continued silence made Xiao Yanfei’s heart skip a beat, and she silently recalled every word she had just said, unable to help but sigh in her heart: in fact, she had been a bit too hasty in handling this matter today, deviating somewhat from the original character of the host.
But Madam Yin was already investigating the incense, so there had to be a conclusion to this matter.
The original host had very little understanding of Madam Yin. In the novel, due to the early death of Xiao Ye, Madam Yin suffered from a severe mental illness, almost going insane, and henceforth, she ignored everything and never left her Pavilion.
As a result, she knew absolutely nothing about Madam Yin‘s character. But she couldn’t just sit around and wait to see if Madam Yin would “see through the slightest detail,” right?
This kind of unresolved feeling was like having a guillotine hanging over her head, and Xiao Yanfei didn’t like it.
Since Mama Sun was so eager to push her out to bear the blame, she must be deeply involved in this matter. Xiao Yanfei decided to hand them over to Madam Yin and resolve this matter in one go.
“Yanfei, come over here.” Madam Yin beckoned to Xiao Yanfei.
Her voice was neither light nor heavy, and it didn’t reveal any emotions.
Xiao Yanfei thought of the transmigrated character who was burned to death in “Anecdotes Compilation” and couldn’t help but swallow hard, feeling a slight chill in the back of her neck.
With things having reached this point, the only way to salvage her character was…
Xiao Yanfei obediently got up and walked to the side of the arhat bed. She was about to sit down when her fragile, willowy body suddenly swayed.
She closed her eyes, her body went limp, and she fell weakly onto the arhat bed.
Xiao Yanfei originally just wanted to pretend to faint and pull a prank on someone. But who would have thought that as soon as she closed her eyes, an endless darkness surged forth.
She had a long dream, a dream about the original owner.
The original owner was disowned from the family tree and expelled from the Huo Mansion by Marquis Wu’an. Shortly after, she begged a merchant caravan to take her to Jizhou in exchange for helping them with laundry and cooking.
She survived in Jizhou with her own two hands, spending several years establishing a small embroidery shop and was content with her life.
Originally, the original owner’s life had finally settled down, but unexpectedly, she happened to meet Xiao Luanfei, who was pregnant.
Xiao Luanfei said, “The Crown Prince is going to take a concubine. He once promised me ‘a lifetime, one pair of people,’ but he broke his promise. I separated from him, and even without the Crown Prince, I can raise this child on my own.”
In consideration of their sisterly bond, the original owner took Xiao Luanfei in.
Later, the Crown Prince came looking for them, and the couple had a tumultuous encounter, causing quite a stir, which was discovered by a group of rebels.
With the escort of the guards, the Crown Prince managed to escape with Xiao Luanfei. Unfortunately, the original owner was captured by the rebels and used to threaten the Crown Prince into paying a ransom of one million silver taels for her.
At a critical moment, Xiao Luanfei stepped forward, choosing justice over family ties.
The unfortunate original owner died with a heart pierced by a thousand arrows!
Even after her death, people scorned the original owner, accusing her of lacking restraint, claiming she conspired with the rebels for revenge against the Marquis’ residence. They praised the Crown Prince’s consort, Xiao Luanfei, for her fairness and integrity.
The original owner couldn’t rest in peace!
Xiao Yanfei’s heart ached, and tears rolled down her tightly closed eyes.
Even she herself didn’t know if these were the original owner’s tears or if she was crying for the original owner.
The darkness completely engulfed Xiao Yanfei, and she fell into a deep sleep…
Note:
Like Duke Weiguo, Marquis Wu’an is also a title, not a name.
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Translated By: Allthingsfluff