However, seeing everyone’s reaction now, she knew her purpose had been achieved.
Qin Yining’s lips curved slightly upward as she continued, “Moreover, great households have never had the rule of servants bullying their masters. Even I, a ‘wild person,’ understand this principle, so I imagine you all who live in prosperity also understand it.”
As soon as Qin Yining finished speaking, Nanny Zhu and Rui Lan led everyone in kowtowing again: “Yes, we servants understand.”
Nodding with satisfaction, Qin Yining said, “Speaking of rules: it’s a rule that I must pay morning and evening respects to Grandmother daily; it’s a rule that you must bow when you see me; it’s a rule that I disciplined Qin Huining for sowing discord among our family of three; it’s also a rule that Grandmother, knowing this matter, has both of us copy the Classic of Filial Piety together. You are all perceptive people—you naturally understand right from wrong without me explaining in detail.”
The information revealed in these words completely stunned everyone.
She had beaten up Miss Huining, whom the Old Madam loved most dearly, and was only punished to copy the Classic of Filial Piety!
Miss Huining was beaten, yet she still had to be punished alongside Fourth Miss by copying together?
None of them were fools—they immediately understood that there must be hidden circumstances behind the rights and wrongs of this matter. Miss Huining perhaps wasn’t as innocent as the rumors suggested, and in the Old Madam’s heart, she might not be without affection for Fourth Miss after all.
Nanny Zhu, Liu Ya, and the others instantly understood how formidable this Miss was.
Just returned to the mansion for less than a day, and she had already made Miss Huining suffer such a great loss so quietly and seamlessly!
Rui Lan was even more terrified, trembling like a sieve!
Miss Huining was so favored, yet after being beaten until her face swelled like a pig’s head, the Old Madam only punished Fourth Miss to copy books, and it was even a joint punishment for both! She was merely a servant—if the master beat her, so be it. The Old Madam was so high and mighty, she wouldn’t care even less about a servant!
Yu Xiang had also said she would go complain tomorrow—wasn’t that just seeking death!
Thinking of this, Rui Lan hurriedly kowtowed: “Miss, this servant knows her wrongs! From now on, I will definitely serve Miss wholeheartedly with no half-sentence of complaint. If not, may this servant grow a boil on her head that festers straight down to her intestines!”
Such a heavy oath sufficiently demonstrated Rui Lan’s sincerity, and made the listeners even more awed. Rui Lan, who had previously gained favor in the Madam’s room, was now completely subdued by Fourth Miss—how could they possibly be stronger than Rui Lan?
Everyone then bowed and declared their loyalty.
Qin Yining smiled and waved her hand: “Enough, all of you rise. I say these things only to let you know the course of events. After all, my mother returned to her natal family in anger because she was provoked by Qin Huining, causing friction with Father. This matter is not my mother’s fault. If anyone mentions it, you should all know the truth in your hearts.”
This statement was instructing them to explain as much as possible that the Madam had been provoked by Qin Huining.
Everyone bowed and responded affirmatively.
Qin Yining continued, “As for Miss Yu Xiang, none of you have water-boiling skills that match hers, so tonight we’ll trouble her with this task. You should all learn from her—these things will still depend on you to do in the future.”
Everyone responded “Yes,” but in their hearts they all understood that Miss meant they were not to help Yu Xiang. Moreover, the latter sentence hinted that Yu Xiang would have no more opportunities to boil water in the future…
Qin Yining dismissed everyone, keeping only Rui Lan by her side to serve. She picked up the wolf-hair brush to recall the contents of the Classic of Filial Piety and began copying from memory.
Nanny Zhu, Liu Ya, Qiu Lu, and the three little maids left the room. They exchanged glances, then looked toward the small kitchen which was filled with black smoke and foul air, and unanimously felt all the hair on their bodies stand on end.
Miss was truly too formidable—they would have to serve even more carefully in the future!
Just as hearts in Xueli Courtyard were filled with solemn respect, news of “Sun Shi’s great quarrel with Qin Huaiyuan and Qin Huining being brutally beaten by Qin Yining” spread like wildfire, reaching every household with different versions adding and subtracting details to create many different meanings.
In the deep of night, when Duke Dingguo’s upper courtyard should have been silent, it suddenly became tumultuous.
Duke Dingguo’s wife, Madam Zheng, after hearing the servants’ report and pacifying the impatient Duke Dingguo, threw on a jacket and went to the warm pavilion. Seeing her daughter with tears streaming down her face and red swollen eyes, she couldn’t help but furrow her brow tightly.
“Han Jie’er, what are you fussing about now!”
Sun Shi’s given name was Haihan, with the childhood name Han Jie’er.
Hearing her mother’s familiar voice, Sun Shi, regardless of what her mother had said, first cried out grievously with a “wah” sound, throwing herself at Duke Dingguo’s wife and embracing her tightly: “Mother, you must stand up for your daughter! Your daughter is about to be bullied to death by that bastard Qin Meng!”
Duke Dingguo’s wife was knocked off balance by Sun Shi’s pounce. If not for Nanny Bao, who served beside her, being quick to support her, mother and daughter would likely have fallen to the ground together.
Duke Dingguo’s wife reproached displeasedly: “Look at you! At your age, still so clumsy and reckless—people look down on such behavior! What time is it now? Instead of staying home properly, you rush back in the middle of the night, and upon meeting you just cry. Tell me, what great matter is this? Has the sky fallen?”
Looking at Sun Shi’s sobbing appearance, Duke Dingguo’s wife felt a headache coming on.
When she was young, she was busy managing the household to be a good wife, and the domestic and household affairs couldn’t fall behind at all. She also had to be busy teaching her sons, so she left the education of her daughters entirely to her mother-in-law. Who would have known that the mother-in-law only knew how to dote and spoil, actually raising the girls to be like this.
When her daughter was so arrogant and domineering, in her youth it could be called genuinely innocent and charming. But now, approaching forty and still being “innocent and charming” in this way—who among ordinary people could stand it? Never mind the son-in-law; even she as the birth mother sometimes felt overwhelmed.
Sun Shi had originally come back to complain of grievances, but who knew that upon seeing her mother, before she could even speak, she was first lectured by her mother. Her heart felt even more aggrieved, so she simply lay against the arhat couch and cried heartbreakingly.
Duke Dingguo’s wife rubbed her aching temples.
Nanny Bao immediately came forward, both handing over handkerchiefs and patting her back, finally managing to coax Sun Shi to gradually stop crying.
Nanny Bao brought a bowl of warm water for Sun Shi to drink, then withdrew to the side.
Duke Dingguo’s wife tightened her collar, and Nanny Bao immediately brought over a hand warmer. After Duke Dingguo’s wife held the hand warmer and warmed up a bit, she spoke deliberately: “Speak then. What is it this time? What earth-shattering matter made you rush back to the mansion like a panicked chicken?”
Sun Shi sniffled but didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she grasped Duke Dingguo’s wife’s hand: “Mother, please, you must help your daughter!”
Duke Dingguo’s wife frowned: “What matter? Tell me first.”
“Daughter, daughter wants to ask Mother to help me find someone!”
“Find what person?”
“I, I suspect Qin Meng is keeping a mistress outside!” Finally voicing her grievance, Sun Shi spoke like beans pouring from a bamboo tube, her speech getting faster and faster: “Didn’t I tell Mother before? Qin Meng’s advisor discovered a child near Liang City who looks extremely similar to Qin Meng. Today that child was brought back, and when I looked, she indeed is as handsome as he was in his youth. Qin Meng dotes on her like the apple of his eye. But when I look at that child, she doesn’t resemble me in the slightest! I suspect Qin Meng is keeping a mistress outside, and this girl is an illegitimate daughter!”
Speaking to this point, Sun Shi suddenly stood up, gritting her teeth: “When I questioned Qin Meng today, he even got fierce with me. Although he didn’t lay a finger on me, his look seemed like he wanted to devour my flesh! For the sake of a girl of unknown origins, he treated me this way! He casually brings home a girl and says I gave birth to her—am I supposed to acknowledge her? He’s dreaming! I must investigate this clearly!”
Duke Dingguo’s wife listened to Sun Shi’s entire speech, pursing her lips and saying nothing for a long while.
Nanny Bao beside them also lowered her head, her expression unreadable as she glanced at Sun Shi from the corner of her eye.
Seeing her mother remain silent, Sun Shi came forward to grasp her hand and act coquettishly: “Mother, please help your daughter. Just have someone investigate whether Qin Meng is really keeping a mistress. It’s not that I won’t allow him to take concubines, but if he really is keeping a mistress, Father must teach him a severe lesson! Also, I want to do a blood recognition ceremony with that girl to see if she really is my child. I can’t just believe whatever others tell me!”
“You not only confronted your husband and want to investigate some mistress, but you also want blood recognition?” Duke Dingguo’s wife’s voice already contained anger.
Hearing something wrong in her tone, Sun Shi was both puzzled and aggrieved: “Yes, Mother, why are you being so fierce!”
Duke Dingguo’s wife gritted her teeth. Despite trying to control herself repeatedly, she still couldn’t restrain her temper. She threw aside the hand warmer and slapped Sun Shi across the face.
This slap wasn’t heavy—at least not as severe as the one Sun Shi had given Qin Yining—but Sun Shi was pampered and spoiled, rarely seeing Duke Dingguo’s wife lose her temper so severely. Moreover, at nearly forty years old, she was still being slapped by her mother. Psychologically, she couldn’t bear it, and the tears that had just stopped began falling again.
She wanted to cry loudly, but seeing her mother’s furious expression, she didn’t dare anger her further. She simply knelt properly, sobbing quietly like a wronged little wife.
Seeing her like this, Duke Dingguo’s wife became even angrier, pointing at her nose and scolding: “Han Jie’er, you’re not young anymore—how can you still be so brainless! What kind of person is your husband? So many people flock to curry favor with him but can’t manage it, yet you dare quarrel with him and threaten to return to your natal family! By doing this, where do you put your husband’s dignity?
“You also want to investigate some mistress and perform blood recognition?! Do you have any brains at all? This matter is something that anyone with the slightest common sense simply cannot investigate! Not only can you not investigate, you must acknowledge her—acknowledge her happily!”
“Why should I!” Sun Shi immediately flew into a rage upon hearing this, stiffening her neck: “If that wild girl is an illegitimate daughter, why should I acknowledge her!”
“Foolish! Foolish!” Duke Dingguo’s wife stamped her foot in anger: “You’ve been married to your husband for many years and only have Han Jie’er as one daughter. Your husband has already said that Han Jie’er is not your child—the newly arrived one is. If you try every means to prove the new one isn’t your child, wouldn’t you become childless!”