Originally, Old Madam had no expression on her face. The main reason was, she believed that it was really not a big deal for sisters to bicker. But now, hearing Yurong said Rose Courtyard was tattered, it had touched one of the Old Madam's taboo.

Old Madam looked at Yurong's direction with a glance that was as sharp as a knife, “Is it true what Yuxi just said?” She actually did not doubt Yuxi's words. The reason was very simple. Although Yuxi was somewhat stubborn, there was absolutely no problem with her character.

Yurong answered bitterly, “Grandmother, I admit that I shouldn't have lost my temper, but when she said I didn't have the intelligence and talent, it was like she was mocking me for being stupid. I was so mad, that I suddenly had a loose tongue.”

Qiu s.h.i.+ snorted coldly, as she felt that Yurong's answer was truly laughable. This unsightly manner girl dared to compare herself and Yuxi as on the same par? She wasn't trying to brag or anything, but there were not many excellent children like Yuxi among her peers in this capital city. Well, of course, Yuchen was a special case.

Yuchen felt guilty for her hesitation just now, so when she listened to what Yurong said, she countered back, “Fifth Sister, you have only learned needlework for a few days, and you dare to ask Yuxi, your Fourth Sister, to teach you double-sided embroidery. Do you know, although Fourth Sister has the talent and understanding in embroidery, it took her seven years to study it. Fifth Sister, you just bite off more than you can chew (Chinese idiom : aim to high).“ (T/N : Okay, +1 for you, Yuchen.)

Such call had made Yurong lost her face cleanly.

Old Madam pointed her finger at Wu s.h.i.+. For Yurong's case, Wu s.h.i.+ would have to take full responsibility. However, this was not the time to blame Wu s.h.i.+ for her improper upbringing. “How did Fourth Girl get her face injuries and the tea leaves on her body?”

Wu s.h.i.+'s heart jumped, but this was something that she could not avoid answering. She had to toughen her scalp (Chinese idiom : to summon up one's courage) as she replied, “I was very angry when I saw the wound on Yurong's face. Without asking carefully, I asked Fourth Girl to apologise to Yurong, but she contradicted me on the spot. At that time, I was just feeling so angry that I lost my sense of propriety.“

Qiu s.h.i.+ was so angry that she laughed when she heard this remark, “You lost your sense of propriety because of anger? I'm afraid, even a three-year-old child won't believe this. But it's also true that Yuxi was not born by you anyway. It doesn't matter to you if she can't marry because of disfigurement.”

Wu s.h.i.+ was already starting to get very annoyed, “Eldest sister-in-law, I just lost control of my hand at the moment, and I did not do it on purpose.” 

Qiu s.h.i.+'s voice suddenly grew louder as she stood up and said, “On purpose? If you did it on purpose, wouldn't Yuxi have no life left? You have just came back a few days ago and have nearly disfigured Fourth Girl. After a while, wouldn't it cost her life? I've always heard other families talked about how cruel their stepmothers were and how they abused the children left behind by her predecessor. Somehow, I've had the privilege of seeing it with my own eyes today.“ Over the past few years, Yuxi had been filial to her and she had completely treated Yuxi as her own daughter. Now Yuxi had been bullied by Wu s.h.i.+. How could she not be angry or felt the hate in her heart?

There were still a bunch of maids in the room, but Qiu s.h.i.+ ignored Wu s.h.i.+'s feeling and kept scolding her, till she could trample Wu s.h.i.+'s face till deep down underground.

Old Madam said, “Eldest daughter-in-law, you should say less.”

Qiu s.h.i.+'s son, Han Jianming, had grown up, and now he had been appointed a position in the Imperial Court. So now, she had enough confidence to not even flinch when she heard Old Madam's words. However, she did not oppose Old Madam either. She only said, “Mother, you personally know how important appearance for a girl is. This child is fine for now. With just one line ‘lost her sense of propriety', she nearly destroyed this child. Mother, if Yuxi can't be given justice today, then, this child will have no way out in the future.“

Old Madam tightly held the beads in her hand. While in Hebei, Han Jingyan had straightforwardly married Wu s.h.i.+. By the time she knew about it, the two were already married. In recent years, nothing Wu s.h.i.+ had done managed to catch her eye, but Wu s.h.i.+ had given birth to two sons and one daughter. Even for the sake of her two direct grandchildren, she couldn't cast off Wu s.h.i.+.

Seeing that the situation was in a deadlock, Yuchen wanted to break this condition as she opened her mouth, “After all had been said, Fourth Sister hasn't told us yet why you started hitting Fifth Sister?” Mai Dong and Zisu didn't elaborate on this matter, causing everyone to think that they had a quarrel before they started to use their hands. But Yuchen knew Yuxi was not an impulsive person. There must be something going on here. (T/N : Another +1 for you, Yuchen. Come on, Yuchen! There's 98 points more to go!) 

Yuxi pursed her mouth. Her face showed her grief and resentment, nevertheless, not even a tooth appeared from her.

Qiu s.h.i.+ knew at a glance that there was something else in it, “Call in Zisu.”

Zisu at this moment, wished that she could strangle Wu s.h.i.+. When had she ever hide her wish from everyone? “To answer to Old Madam and Eldest Madam, it was Fifth Miss who first insulted former Third Madam, so that was the moment when my Master started to beat Fifth Miss.”

The Old Madam asked word for word, “What did she insult her with?”

Zisu did not dare to say, but under Qiu s.h.i.+'s pressures, she said them in a mosquito-like voice, “Fifth Miss called former Third Madam as a shameless person...” Till here, she stopped talking. For the following words, it was enough for everyone to imagine them themselves. 

This only made people concerned became angry. These kinds of words, only countryside shrew would use to insult someone. However, Yurong, the legitimate daughter of the government, could even dare to say such words. Hearing this, the Old Madam's head buzzed with anger.

Wu s.h.i.+'s face was as white as a piece of paper. She really didn't know Yurong would even dare to insult Yuxi using such words. Even if she knew it, it was already too late to cover it. Based on this situation, there was no way for Yuxi to be punished.

Qiu s.h.i.+ coldly snorted, ”I have always said that Yuxi was usually a good-natured child. So, how could she without any rhyme or reason would give Fifth Girl a slap in the face? If I have to say, to give her only one slap is still not enough.”

Old Madam's head became more and more painful. This matter was already a mess and Qiu s.h.i.+ only added fuel to the fire. She tightly grasped the beads in her hand and said, “The maids and the old women beside Fifth Girl did something wrong by not knowing how to persuade their master. All of them will be sold and Fifth Girl will copy ‘' a hundred times. She is not allowed to leave the courtyard without my consent.” After a pause, she added, “Eldest daughter-in-law, instruct some people to clean up Cuiyun (cuì 翠 = green / kingfisher, yún 雲 = cloud) Courtyard and let Fifth Girl moves in there.” If she let Wu s.h.i.+'s teaching continued, that child would end up hopeless.

“Okay, I'll have it cleaned up right away,” Qiu s.h.i.+ answered. Cuiyun Courtyard was not much larger than Rose Courtyard. Most importantly, it was a little far from Biteng Courtyard. Old Madam's intention was so obvious, which was to temporarily separate the mother and daughter. For Qiu s.h.i.+, this was more comforting than any kind of punishment.

When Yurong heard that Old Madam was going to sell the people around her, she became muddle headed. As she looked at the expressionless Old Madam Han, she did not have the courage to open her mouth to plead.

Seeing that the Old Madam had stopped talking, Qiu s.h.i.+ asked, “Mother, how about younger sister-in-law?” This question had the meaning that Yurong should not be punished alone and Wu s.h.i.+ should not be spared. 

The Old Madam flatly said, “Starting from tomorrow, Wu s.h.i.+ will come to the main house every day at three quarters during maos.h.i.+ (5-7 a.m).” She didn't explain what Wu s.h.i.+ was going to do in the main house, but the others clearly understood, that Old Madam wanted to teach Wu s.h.i.+ customs and rules.

From the beginning, Yuxi had not expected that Old Madam would also punish Wu s.h.i.+. She only wanted to discredit Wu s.h.i.+, since no matter what, Wu s.h.i.+ still bore the family two sons. Although today's incident was a bit too much, Yuxi was very sure that there would not be any heavy punishment. However, she still didn't expect that the Old Madam had unexpectedly surprised her this much.

Learning rules and customs were not an easy job. That was why many mothers-in-law used this tactic when dealing with their daughters-in-law. For Wu s.h.i.+, who had never experienced any suffering, to come serve the Old Madam every day before dawn, calmed Qiu s.h.i.+ much more than punis.h.i.+ng Wu s.h.i.+ with just copying . Qiu s.h.i.+ only wish was that such a day would last longer. 

Qiu s.h.i.+ accompanied Yuxi back to Rose Courtyard. When the doctor who checked up on Yuxi, ensured her that Yuxi would not have scars nor disfigurement, she felt really relieved and went back to her own courtyard.

Zisu waited for Qiu s.h.i.+ to leave before opening her mouth, “Miss, it's too risky to punish Wu s.h.i.+ and Fifth Miss while making little account of Miss' appearance.” If that cup of tea had been boiling water, wouldn't her Miss truly damaged her face?

Yuxi smiled faintly, “I know it was a cup of herbal tea.” If it was a plain boiled water, she would certainly have avoided it.

Zisu still did not quite agree with Yuxi's action this time, “Miss, you can't do such a thing again next time. Today, we were almost scared to death.“ (T/N : Oh, did Yuxi plan this with Zisu? Σ(-᷅_-᷄๑) ) 

Yuxi smiled and said, “You can spread today's news as much as possible. However, be careful not to let anyone find out that we're the ones who spread it.“

Zisu answered without thinking, “Okay. By the way, Miss, the Old Madam said she would sell the maids and old women around Fifth Miss. Wouldn't the people we planted in the Shuixiang Courtyard will also be in danger?“ About Yurong thinking that Yuxi was stupid, on one side, Yurong had learned it herself from the rumours she heard in the residence, while, on the other side, it had been told by the two maids that Yuxi had placed in Shuixiang Courtyard. This made Yurong thought Yuxi being stupid was a sure thing, and as a result, she didn't pay much attention to her.

Yuxi shook her head and said, “You don't have to worry. Grandmother is only selling the people Yurong brought from Hebei. This incident had made a lot of sense to us. When Yurong's confidants have been sold out, the people we put in may be able to make up for it.“ The closer one get to the target, the more information one would know, so, with her people still staying by Yurong's side, it would be much easier for her to know about Yurong.

After several years of putting out a lot of

her efforts, Yuxi now had her own sources and contacts in the residence. This was also her preparation for Wu s.h.i.+'s return.

Yuxi saw Zisu still wanted to talk, so she waved her hand and instructed, “You go out first. I want to be alone.” It was very clear that she could win this time was mainly because she knew Wu s.h.i.+'s and Yurong's temperament, so, she immediately took the lead. It was also because, Wu s.h.i.+ was not yet very clear about what happened in the residence soon after she just came back here. If Yuxi had wait for a while, when Wu s.h.i.+ was already familiar with the things in the residence, it would have been difficult for her to do this. However, with this experience and lesson, it was enough to let Wu s.h.i.+ and Yurong knew that they couldn't do as they please by bullying and humiliating her again. In another two or three years, she would also be engaged. With the engagement, all the more reason for her to not worry about Wu s.h.i.+ playing dirty tricks on her.

Yuxi did not worry for a bit about Wu s.h.i.+ trying to put some obstacles in her marriage. Wu s.h.i.+ had no say in it. What she should think about now was how to settle her marriage before she reached marriageable age. Only by making a pact could she truly get rid of the Jiang family and be completely at ease. It could be said that the only shadow left in her mind right now was the Jiang family. When her marriage was still uncertain, she still couldn't put herself at ease.

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