17.

                                    

                                          
Warning: Mature content.
***

“I’ll only say this once so I hope you’ll listen very attentively to what I’m about to say.” Madam Yu told Wei Ying after they had reached a quiet area of one of the many courtyards of the Cloud Recesses. 
A little over a week had passed since Jiang Fengmian and Madam Yu had arrived in Gusu and Wei Ying had nearly entirely recovered from his injuries. It was all thanks to Lan Zhan to be honest. The supreme had shifted back to himself a few days ago and was still taking extremely good care of his mate. 
He was attentive to the omega’s needs and was very affectionate while doing so. Wei Ying felt so lucky to have found such an incredible mate and would watch Lan Zhan take care of him in adoration. The many baths taking in the cold pond had done wonders to Wei Ying’s back and it had even helped with the omega’s cultivation as he could feel that his golden core was stronger than it used to be. 
Wei Ying was now able to take walks without needing much help from others and so, Madam Yu had taken this opportunity to ask Wei Ying to go for a walk. Wei Ying was surprised but accepted and went outside with her. They had walked for a while until they had reached a quieter part of the Cloud Recesses where they sat at a table together, enjoying the scenery. 
“Your mother was a beautiful woman.” She said, which made Wei Ying snap his head towards her in shock. “She was probably the most stunning woman I ever laid eyes on in my life to be honest.” She admitted as she made sure to keep her eyes on the scenery instead of Wei Ying. “Not only was she incredibly gorgeous but she was so kind it made it very difficult to dislike her. Your father was my husband’s most trusted disciple. He depended on him a lot and was the only true friend Fengmian ever had.” 
“When your mother started hanging out with your father, I had no problems with it whatsoever.” She continued. “Your father seemed quite taken with her at first sight and it was understandable. But, as Fengmian and Changze were best friends, they spent most of their time together and so, whenever Changze would meet with Cangse, so was Fengmian. The three of them became inseparable very quickly.” She said and there was a heaviness in her voice, as if she was trying to swallow a lump formed in her throat. 
“But, as they grew closer, I was consequently left behind.” She admitted. “I was left behind to take care of Yanli. I was the only one with a child and I had no time to go out and have fun like they did. I grew envious of their friendship very quickly and no matter how much I tried to swallow that jealousy down, it never went away and instead grew even bigger, taking more place inside my heart.” 
“I would hide this steaming feeling of jealousy burning bright inside my chest whenever I would see them but as time passed, it became harder to hide it.” Madam Yu took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. “But even though I was jealous, I was still happy for Fengmian. He had found another trustworthy friend and he was happier. But then…” She paused and she seemed to need a moment to gather her courage so Wei Ying gave it to her and patiently waited for her to speak again. 
“But then,” she told him. “Rumours started to spread around Yunmeng. Everyone had witnessed how close these three friends were. But they had also noticed that I was never there. One thing led to another and soon the entire town was convinced that Fengmian was enamoured with your mother. The perfect and most beautiful omega in town, Cangse Sanren.”
“I was fine with it at first, because I knew they were wrong.” She chuckled. “Fengmian is not that kind of man. But the rumours grew worse and worse and it started to spread into my own household. Servants gossiping every single day about it, wondering where and what Fengmian was doing that day and if he’d spend his time with Cangse instead of his own wife. I felt ashamed the more I heard the talk of the servants. They started to make me feel like I wasn’t good enough for him.” She spat at the memory.