“There’s nothing bad about it.” The corners of the Duchess of Dingguo’s eyes and brows were filled with smiles. “You don’t understand that girl, but I think she has the ability to handle it well.”
“Grandmother has such confidence in her?” Sun Yu smiled with amusement.
The Duchess of Dingguo said, “I just think this child is very good. She’s suffered quite a bit outside these years. I imagine a girl who has weathered storms and can still live on strong must be more resilient to hardship than those delicate flowers raised in greenhouses. Moreover, she’s exceptionally intelligent and understands the bigger picture, with a truly pure nature. I’m thinking that this matter serves two purposes—first, it allows us to form good karma with her, and second, it’s also a test, so I can thoroughly understand her.”
“Look how Grandmother praises her like a blooming flower. Never mind, it’s really nothing. Although this matter is significant, cousin is just a boudoir maiden after all, so it won’t involve other matters. At worst, we’ll just lose a shopkeeper, which won’t damage her in any way.”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I think.” The Duchess of Dingguo’s expression grew serious as she continued, “If she can’t handle this matter well, at most we’ll just lose a shopkeeper. She’s still a daughter of the Prime Minister’s residence. Those old-fashioned scholars of the pure faction, even if they blame anyone, won’t blame it on her—after all, her father is there to shoulder the burden. Furthermore, given your position in court, if this matter is too difficult to handle, why not cast it aside and hand it over to a young lady to manage? This also prevents others from saying you fear the powerful and wealthy.”
“That’s the reasoning.” Sun Yu nodded and sighed, “But now that the Tang family has ruined things, the pure faction people are all watching me with eager eyes. If I shrink back and give away the business, it will invite unfavorable talk. Moreover, Mother knows uncle’s temperament—I’m afraid he’ll turn his back on people and use cousin as a scapegoat.”
“Even if nothing happens, Qin Meng has long been at odds with those pure faction people. Besides, can the Tang family matter be a small issue? Attempting to harm the Empress—what a grave crime that is! Not to mention His Majesty’s exclusive favor for the Empress, but even Grand Preceptor Cao—could he let those who tried to harm his daughter roam free? Even if one has the ability to extract people from Prince Ning’s mouth, how could they escape Grand Preceptor Cao’s scrutiny?”
Sun Yu’s expression grew cold, and he said indignantly, “I know Grandmother speaks reasonably. It’s just that I don’t think the pure faction did anything wrong in this matter. The blame lies only in that demon empress’s tough fate—the Tang family’s imperial physician sacrificed his entire household yet only poisoned her half to death. His Majesty has become increasingly muddled these years, truly…”
“Ming’er, watch your words!” The Duchess of Dingguo sharply stopped Sun Yu’s words and said sternly, “Some things, you just need to understand in your heart—there’s no need to voice them. If you’re so careless when you’re out, aren’t you afraid of inviting trouble? Your temperament is too rigid. You must learn to handle matters tactfully to ensure longevity.”
Sun Yu quickly rose and bowed, “Yes. This grandson respectfully follows Grandmother’s teachings.”
Seeing the atmosphere had become too oppressive, the Duchess of Dingguo steered the conversation back to family matters.
At this moment in the carriage, Qin Huining was looking at Yao Shi with a pitiful expression.
She had wiped off the lip rouge, and combined with her plain attire and the tearful, pitiable look in her eyes, she appeared exactly like a small animal that had been bullied.
Those soft eyes kept gazing at Yao Shi until finally Yao Shi sighed.
“Hui Jie’er, you must never act like this again in the future. In front of your maternal grandmother’s family, you should at least consider the dignity of our entire household. You already know that your maternal grandmother’s family doesn’t favor our Prime Minister’s residence’s ways, and their conduct is different. Why did you insist on calling Yi Jie’er ‘Xiao Xi’ in front of your sisters? Yi Jie’er has been back for so many days now—how can you still not remember her name?”
The tears that Qin Huining had been holding in her eyes fell like broken pearls. “This daughter just got used to calling her that. The first time I called her Xiao Xi, so afterward it became habit—it wasn’t intentional.”
Qin Yining at her side kept her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart, pretending not to hear.
Yao Shi glanced at Qin Yining, then saw Qin Huining crying like pear blossoms in the rain. Thinking that this child also had a bitter fate—switched away from swaddling as an infant—what could a small baby understand? It wasn’t her fault at all, and her panic and unease were understandable.
With this thought, Yao Shi’s heart softened. She took out a handkerchief to wipe Qin Huining’s tears: “Why are you crying? You look like a painted cat—how will you face people later? Those who don’t know might think the Duke of Dingguo’s residence bullied you.”
Qin Huining frantically wiped her tears, saying anxiously, “I won’t cry anymore. I didn’t mean that.”
“I know. You must be more careful with your words in the future. An ordinary joking remark could potentially offend everyone. Just after you said those words, who knows what your sisters were thinking.”
“The Duke of Dingguo’s residence has kind hearts—they certainly won’t overthink it.” Qin Huining blew her nose and showed Yao Shi an innocent smile.
Yao Shi choked, suddenly not knowing how to respond.
Hearing this, Qin Yining finally opened her eyes and looked at Qin Huining with a half-smile, saying, “Miss Huining, don’t confuse the definitions. You said the wrong thing, and others don’t hold it against you—that shows their magnanimity. That you could say such things shows a flaw in your character. How can these two things be conflated? Mother is teaching you about your character, yet you feel justified because the Duke of Dingguo’s residence doesn’t hold grudges?”
Qin Huining’s tears surged forth once again like a breached dam, sobbing intermittently, “Xiao Xi… Yining is right. I, I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“Not doing it on purpose is more frightening than doing it intentionally. Acting intentionally at least shows you still have some basic sense of right and wrong, that you at least know in your heart that what you’re doing is wrong, but you just can’t control your jealous heart. But not doing it on purpose means you don’t even have a sense of right and wrong, that you don’t even know you’ve done wrong, and can still put on an innocent face after harming someone—that’s more detestable than acting intentionally.”
Qin Yining spoke like firing shots from a machine gun, her gaze piercing as she looked at Qin Huining, leaving Qin Huining speechless and only able to cover her face and weep.
She had to cover her face! Having been beaten by Qin Yining before, Qin Huining felt a chill throughout her body whenever she met her gaze, sensing that her fists could fall at any moment.
Moreover, she couldn’t find words to refute Qin Yining’s twisted logic!
Yao Shi beside them heard this and fell into deep thought.
Qin Yining’s words just now struck her heart like a great bell with each word. Her temperament was indeed somewhat impulsive, but she didn’t consider herself stupid—just sometimes acting on impulse, easily swayed by a few words, with her vision easily clouded.
Mother had said that Qin Yining saw through matters clearly. Originally she hadn’t thought much of it, but now hearing her clarify things with just a few sentences, she had to admit that Mother’s eye for people was never wrong.
But could the girl she had raised really have such a nature?
Yao Shi found it somewhat hard to accept. In her heart, Qin Huining had always been dignified and gentle, modest and sensible toward her sisters. But ever since Qin Yining returned, she seemed to have become a different person, becoming one who concealed needles in cotton.
As a mother, though she could understand the source of Qin Huining’s unease, today at the Duke’s residence, the Duchess’s words contained several pointed reminders, showing that even she, who wasn’t present, could see problems with Qin Huining’s character.
Now in the carriage, Qin Yining had laid out the matter clearly…
Yao Shi felt her head was somewhat muddled.
Qin Yining didn’t want to see Qin Huining silently weeping like someone who had been bullied, so she lowered her eyes again to observe the flower patterns on her skirt hem, continuing to keep her eyes on her nose and her nose on her heart.
The carriage fell into silence for a moment—so quiet that Qin Huining was startled to realize her sobbing had become the only sound in the carriage. Feeling embarrassed, she unconsciously stopped.
But after stopping, looking at Yao Shi lost in thought and Qin Yining silent with lowered eyes, she felt her behavior was too undignified.
Just as she was about to say something, the old woman accompanying the carriage called out loudly, “Madam, Miss, we’ve arrived.”
With a breath stuck in her chest, Qin Huining bit her lower lip in frustration until she got off the carriage and barely managed to control her emotions, not letting herself appear too unsightly.
The group returned to the residence and naturally had to first go to the Garden of Filial Piety to pay respects to the Old Madam.
The Old Madam was just about to have dinner. Yao Shi quickly removed her cloak and joined the Second Madam and Third Lady in serving and arranging the dishes.
Qin Huining and Qin Yining stood to one side with lowered heads. The Old Madam ate while observing their expressions. Seeing Qin Huining’s red eyes, she couldn’t help but frown.
“What happened to Hui Jie’er? Why have you been crying? Did someone bully you?”
The Old Madam put down her chopsticks and beckoned to Qin Huining.
After the scene in the carriage, Qin Huining didn’t dare to stir up trouble in person. She only shook her head: “No, what is Grandmother saying? How could anyone bully this granddaughter? It was just sand that got in my eyes.”
“Sand got in your eyes? How come no one else’s eyes were bothered? If you have any grievances, speak up—Grandmother will stand up for you!”
The Second Madam and Third Lady beside them exchanged glances, both somewhat intrigued. With the Old Madam speaking this way, who knew what grievances this girl had suffered at the Duke of Dingguo’s residence.
Witnessing this scene, Yao Shi realized the Old Madam’s reaction perfectly validated what Qin Yining had said in the carriage earlier. Her heart grew increasingly annoyed.
In front of her in-laws, how could Yao Shi let her natal family lose such face?
“Mother, please don’t misunderstand.” Yao Shi smiled and stepped forward, “Hui Jie’er made a mistake. Her maternal grandmother’s family said nothing, but I taught her a few words in the carriage. It’s nothing serious—how could it disturb you?”
Qin Huining was ready to grind her silver teeth to powder, but she didn’t dare anger Yao Shi further. She couldn’t lose Yao Shi as a support, so she quickly chimed in: “Yes, I did something wrong myself.”
Yao Shi continued: “Today at the Duke’s residence, Yi Jie’er’s maternal grandmother gave her a great gift—she gave her the entire Zhaoyun Department to manage.” At this point, Yao Shi straightened her spine with pride, her voice becoming lighter and more cheerful as she joked, “In the future, our Yi Jie’er will also be a little wealthy person.”
This statement shifted everyone’s attention to Qin Yining.
The Old Madam said in surprise, “Your in-law is truly generous!”
The Second Madam and Third Lady also smiled and offered compliments: “It’s rare for the Duchess of Dingguo to cherish our Yi Jie’er so much.”