Zhou Shaojin decided to ignore Wu Baozhang.

Wu Baozhang, however, didn’t mind.

Sheltered young ladies from good families were mostly shy and timid when facing strangers. Moreover, someone like Second Miss Zhou who lived under another’s roof would surely be even more cautious and timid, not daring to make a single misstep.

She continued speaking gently to Zhou Shaojin: “Second Miss, I just came from my old home in Mianyang, Sichuan. This is my first time leaving Sichuan, so I find everything curious and fresh. I heard that according to Jinling’s old customs, during the Dragon Boat Festival people roast garlic in the stove and feed it to children—each child eats a whole head. They say if you eat it, you won’t get dysentery in summer and won’t grow worms in your belly. Is that true?”

Zhou Shaojin pretended not to hear.

Wu Baozhang’s brow furrowed slightly.

What was the matter with this Second Miss?

From the moment she entered until now, she hadn’t heard this Second Miss say a single word. Could she be mute?

But she hadn’t heard anyone mention that…

Wu Baozhang thought for a moment and said again, “When I entered, I saw a tree as thick as two arms encircling it growing beside the Taihu stone mountain. Its branches and leaves are extremely lush—the crown must cover an area of about ten feet. Do you know what kind of tree it is?”

Zhou Shaojin still ignored her.

Wu Baozhang felt somewhat at a loss.

She had never encountered someone like this before.

Behind her suddenly came an undisguised “pfft” of laughter.

Wu Baozhang’s face turned livid.

She turned around and saw her half-sister, Third Sister Wu Baozhi.

Wu Baozhi’s face was full of mockery as she said in a low voice, “Eldest Sister, since she doesn’t want to talk to you, don’t force it. Otherwise you’ll ruin your reputation for being magnanimous and generous.”

The veins at Wu Baozhang’s temples bulged, but the smile on her face remained gentle and soft as she chided, “Baozhi, what are you saying? Aren’t you afraid others will laugh at you?” Then she stretched her neck to look in the direction of Old Madam Guan and Madam Wu, saying, “Mother and the old madam have almost reached the waterside pavilion. We should hurry too.” Having said this, she hastily passed Zhou Shaojin and quickly caught up with Old Madam Guan and Madam Wu.

Wu Baozhi gave a cold “hmph,” then turned to Zhou Shaojin with a friendly smile and said, “You don’t need to pay attention to her. That’s just how she is—senseless. She always thinks that just because she deigns to speak to someone, they must speak back to her.” Then she asked curiously, “How old are you? You seem even younger than me?”

She and her full sister Wu Baohua looked as if they were cast from the same mold. Their features, figures, and appearances all took after Madam Wu—quite ordinary. But their skin was like Wu Baozhang’s—rivaling frost and snow, delicate and fair—clearly inherited from the Wu family. This made the Wu sisters appear somewhat more refined than Madam Wu, barely qualifying as moderately attractive.

However, these Wu sisters weren’t good people either.

In her previous life, they had frequently clashed with Wu Baozhang, and Wu Baozhang had suffered several major losses at their hands.

Zhou Shaojin didn’t want to pay attention to her either.

But when she noticed that Wu Baozhang walking ahead of them was straining her ears to listen to her conversation with Wu Baozhi, she suddenly changed her mind. She smiled at Wu Baozhi and said softly, “I was born in the year of Jiashen.”

That smile was like the warm sun of spring, gradually warming the corners of her eyes and brows, making her become incredibly soft like willow branches swaying in the spring breeze.

Wu Baozhi was amazed and exclaimed, “You’re so beautiful!”

Really?

Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but frown.

Cheng Xu… when drunk had also murmured such things.

Later, she came to deeply hate her own beauty.

If she weren’t beautiful, would she not have encountered such tragic events?

She often asked herself this after waking from nightmares, but couldn’t find an answer no matter how she searched. From then on, she went bare-faced, staying far from rouge and powder…

Zhou Shaojin’s eyelids lowered slightly. Her heart suddenly turned ice-cold, and she lost all interest in conversation. She turned and walked forward.

Wu Baozhi stood dumbfounded, not knowing what she had done to anger Zhou Shaojin.

She was also pampered at home. Thinking that this was the first time she had sincerely praised someone’s appearance, yet the other party was not only unpleased but turned and walked away, she immediately felt terribly wronged. Her brows knitted together and she decided to go her own way separately from Zhou Shaojin. But from the corner of her eye, she saw Wu Baozhang turn her head to glance at her. Her heart grew alert. After thinking it over, she still suppressed her temper, caught up with Zhou Shaojin with a smile, forcibly took Zhou Shaojin’s arm, and pretended to be happy and cheerful as she laughed, “Elder Sister, did I say something wrong that made you unhappy? I apologize to Elder Sister! Elder Sister, please don’t be angry with me anymore!” Then, without waiting for Zhou Shaojin to speak, she continued, “Elder Sister, I was born in the year of Yiyou—I’m one year younger than you. My Second Sister was born in the year of Guiwei—one year older than Elder Sister. We only arrived in Jinling last winter. Every day Mother confines us at home doing needlework—we’re bored to death. If there’s any breach of etiquette, Elder Sister must not hold it against me.”

Wu Baozhi’s words came out rapid and urgent, causing Old Madam Guan and the others walking ahead to turn their heads.

Zhou Chujin’s face showed even more anxiety. She worried both that Zhou Shaojin’s young lady’s temper would flare up regardless of the occasion and offend the guests, and that being inarticulate, she would be bullied by this Third Miss Wu yet be falsely accused.

Zhou Shaojin couldn’t help but be annoyed that Wu Baozhi liked to stir up trouble. The problem was she wasn’t good at arguing with people. Especially when anxious, she became even more unable to speak. Her eyes reddened and tears were about to fall, but Wu Baozhi’s childish face and the triumph flashing in her eyes made her forcibly hold back the tears. Her face burned hot.

In her previous life, it was because she couldn’t argue that she had been suppressed by Cheng Jia at every turn.

In this life, must she also follow the same old path?

Moreover, the little girl before her was a full year younger. If she were rendered speechless by such a young girl, what face would she have to show her sister who had always cared for and protected her?

She bit her lip. After quite a while, she finally found her voice and said, “How could I be angry with you? If there’s anything you don’t understand, I’ll tell you everything. You don’t need to be so polite with me!” Having said this, feeling that her words were reasonably measured and appropriate, she grew bolder and added, “Speaking this way makes it seem too distant between you and me!”

Wu Baozhi’s eyes widened.

The girl before her appeared weak, like a flower, yet who knew that when she spoke and acted, there were needles hidden in silk—she had been sharply pricked.

She opened her mouth wanting to argue with Zhou Shaojin, but saw her sister Wu Baohua’s stern gaze carrying a note of warning. She could only reluctantly retreat with a forced smile that didn’t reach her eyes, grimacing at Zhou Shaojin to let the matter pass.

Old Madam Guan chuckled twice as if not understanding what had happened.

But after seeing Madam Wu off, the old lady took Zhou Shaojin’s hand and said approvingly, “You should do it this way from now on! When something happens, you must speak up. Girls are already at a disadvantage. If you swallow your anger at every turn, you’ll be devoured to the bone and still be criticized for not tasting good.”

Zhou Shaojin’s tears fell in an instant.

Grandmother’s words struck right at her heart.

In her previous life, it was clearly she who had suffered Cheng Xu’s humiliation, yet Cheng Xu’s mother Yuan Shi had said it was she who had seduced Cheng Xu… The people from the second and third branches had all remained silent. Only Grandmother—from beginning to end, she had never asked her a single question, yet from beginning to end, she had never doubted her.

She knelt with her head on Old Madam Guan’s knee, sobbing loudly.

Zhou Chujin felt inexplicable sorrow rise in her heart and began wiping away tears as well.

Old Madam Guan’s eyes also grew moist. Supporting Zhou Shaojin, she said, “Good child, stop crying! Living in this world is not easy. For us women, it’s even harder. If you don’t stand up for yourself, no one can help you no matter how hard they try. You must remember Grandmother’s words!”

Zhou Shaojin sobbed so hard she couldn’t speak, tears streaming down her face as she nodded.

Old Madam Guan took out a handkerchief to wipe her tears, saying, “There, there, stop crying. Look at this beautiful little face—it won’t look good if you cry it all blotchy.” Then she grabbed a handful of candy and stuffed it into her hands. “Be good and listen!”

Zhou Shaojin held the candy and cried even harder.

Everyone serving in the room covered their faces.

Zhou Chujin hurried forward to comfort her younger sister. After quite a while, Zhou Shaojin gradually stopped crying. With reddened eyes and nose, she apologized to Old Madam Guan: “…I made you sad as well, Your Ladyship!”

Old Madam Guan didn’t mind and smiled, saying, “Now that you’ve cried it out, do you feel better? Go back to your room and sleep. When you wake up, you’ll have forgotten everything.”

Zhou Shaojin nodded with tear-filled eyes and reddened nose, returning to Wanxiang Residence with her sister.

Zhou Chujin asked her, “Why did you cry so hard?”

“I don’t know either.” Zhou Shaojin had Shi Xiang help her apply boiled eggs to her eyes as she said, “I just heard Grandmother say that and started crying.”

Zhou Chujin, seeing she couldn’t get anything more out of her, thought that as long as she watched over her younger sister more carefully in the future, she would eventually know whether what her sister said was true.

That night she stayed with Zhou Shaojin.

In the darkness, Zhou Shaojin returned to the past.

Yuan Shi raised her eyebrows, her face sharp and severe, as if she wanted to swallow her whole. She questioned her harshly: “Who told you to do this? What benefit does this bring you? Your father is at least a fourth-rank prefect—how can you have no sense of shame? His father and I have already agreed with Minister Min to welcome their eldest daughter for our eldest son. What you’ve done is illicit conduct without a matchmaker, ruining someone’s marriage prospects…”

Great Aunt jumped up, her plump face covered in sweat beads, pointing at Yuan Shi and saying, “What are you saying? What kind of temperament does our Shaojin have? Others may not know, but don’t the Cheng family members know? How can you make such baseless accusations? I’ve always respected you as a young lady from a Grand Secretary’s family, but it turns out you don’t even have this much discernment! Was it your eldest son who was consumed by lust and humiliated our Shaojin, or did our Shaojin seduce your eldest son? If we don’t clarify this today, I won’t let this matter rest…”

The one called “Eldest Son,” Cheng Xu, was held down by two of Yuan Shi’s attendant mothers. His gaze was vacant, his mouth continuously murmuring, “You lied to me! You lied to me! You said if I achieved Jieyuan, you would seek to marry Shaojin for me. I don’t want anyone else—I only want Shaojin…”

The surrounding people all looked at them coldly.

Their gazes were like thorns.

As if watching a farce.

The scene changed.

She sat blankly on a black-lacquered embroidered stool inlaid with mother-of-pearl plum blossoms and winter jasmines. Yuan Shi looked at her as if she were something filthy—impatient, forbearing, disgusted. Her voice was cold as hail, each word hammering into her heart: “…Since you insisted on forcing your way into marrying into our family, you must follow our family’s rules. I won’t mention other things, but these two words ‘chastity’ I must discuss thoroughly with you… You may not bring a single maid or old woman with you. I will arrange dowry attendants… Without my permission, you may not freely enter or exit your courtyard; without my permission, you may not speak with maids or old women from other courtyards… Conjugal relations must not exceed three times per month… Eldest Son is still young. Looking at your seductive, flirtatious manner, you’re clearly restless. But this is not up to you—we can’t let you seduce him and ruin his vital essence… How many good men have been destroyed this way…”

The scene shifted again.

In the pitch-black room, only one candle was lit. Fan Liushi’s face showed both panic and horror, flickering in the candlelight. She pleaded desperately: “Good Miss, push harder—the child is about to come… We finally escaped from the Cheng family and settled down. You can’t lose your life here, or how can I explain to the master? How can you face Eldest Miss… “

She felt wet and cold, her breath filled with thick bloody smell, as if walking through hell. Her body hurt so much it seemed she would die the next moment.

Someone save me!

Someone save me!

She screamed shrilly, sat up covered in sweat, and her hand involuntarily reached down her body.