In recent days, many events have transpired at Earl Dongping’s manor. Additionally, Jiang Si had claimed to be ill for a while, so it was rare for the four sisters to have such an opportunity to gather together.

However, the atmosphere in the small carriage compartment was far from pleasant.

“Some people are just thick-skinned. They argue with their elders one moment and go out to play the next,” Sixth Miss Jiang Pei sat by the carriage door, examining herself in a palm-sized mirror.

Her words were undoubtedly directed at Jiang Si.

In the young girl’s mind, Jiang Si had just been at odds with Second Madam Xiao, yet now she was off to play at Marquis Changxing’s manor. Her face must be as thick as the city walls.

Jiang Si gave Jiang Pei an ambiguous smile.

Feeling uncomfortable under Jiang Si’s gaze, Jiang Pei tugged at Fifth Miss Jiang Li’s sleeve. “Fifth Sister, don’t you agree?”

In her view, as girls from the second branch of the family, they should present a united front to others, even if they don’t get along privately.

Fifth Miss Jiang Li didn’t want to offend anyone and just smiled without saying a word.

Jiang Pei scoffed disdainfully and smiled at Third Miss Jiang Qiao. “Third Sister, do you remember when we visited the Marquis’s manor that year? It was even earlier in the season than now, and the peonies in the garden were blooming in vast, beautiful patches.”

“I didn’t notice,” Jiang Qiao replied listlessly, fiddling with a string of jade beads.

She had no interest in appreciating flowers or scenery. She was only on this trip to avoid troubling her mother, merely going through the motions.

Regarding sisterly relationships, if her attitude towards Jiang Si stemmed from a lifelong rivalry that made her view the other unfavorably, her feelings towards Jiang Pei were of complete disdain.

She had never seen anyone so loose-tongued.

Thinking this, Jiang Qiao glanced at the calm-faced Jiang Si, musing: She’s just a paper tiger. If it were me, I would have beaten Jiang Pei several times by now.

Perhaps because the carriage was too cramped with four people, or because the creaking of the wheels was too monotonous, Jiang Pei couldn’t stay quiet for long and soon aimed her barbs at Jiang Si again. “Fourth Sister, aren’t you worried about losing face when we arrive at the Marquis’s manor?”

Jiang Si leaned against the carriage wall with her eyes closed, seemingly oblivious to the comment.

Jiang Si’s disregard only made Jiang Pei more brazen. She put away her small mirror and said with a grin, “I suppose you’re right. If you were afraid of losing face, you wouldn’t go at all. They say thick skin is hereditary—”

Jiang Si opened her eyes and gave Jiang Pei a cold look.

Jiang Pei’s jab about “heredity” was not without reason.

Jiang Si’s mother, Madam Su, came from the Yining Marquis family and was a renowned beauty in the capital. However, such a beauty had been betrothed since childhood.

Madam Su and her fiancé were childhood sweethearts with deep affection for each other. Originally, there was no possibility of Madam Su marrying Jiang Ancheng. However, when it was almost time for their wedding, Su’s fiancé caught the eye of Princess Rongyang.

After a series of twists and turns, Su’s fiancé, Cui Xu, became Princess Rongyang’s consort.

The cancellation of the engagement between the Cui and Su families shouldn’t have greatly affected Madam Su.

The Cui family was a leading military family at the time, and everyone knew that Cui Xu ultimately became a consort due to the machinations of those above. Madam Su was purely unlucky.

The Yining Marquis’s family thought the same and planned to wait a year or so before arranging another marriage for Madam Su. However, not long after, rumors suddenly spread that Su and Cui Xu had been intimate since childhood and that she was no longer pure.

These rumors completely ruined Madam Su’s reputation.

No matter how much Madam Su’s parents loved their daughter, no family of equal standing to the Changxing Marquis’s household was willing to take Madam Su as a wife.

Madam Su remained unmarried for two more years until she accidentally encountered Jiang Ancheng while out offering incense. Jiang Ancheng was captivated by her beauty and insisted on proposing to the Changxing Marquis’s family, despite Old Madam Feng’s fury.

At that time, the Yining Marquis and his wife were already at their wits’ end about Madam Su’s marriage. When the Dongping Earl’s family sent a matchmaker, they immediately made discreet inquiries about the groom. The results showed that Jiang Ancheng was more than suitable in character and appearance to be a son-in-law. The only major drawback was that the Dongping Earl’s title would only be inherited for three generations. However, with their daughter’s tarnished reputation, the Marquis’s family was in no position to be picky.

Concerned that their daughter might be mistreated, the Yining Marquis and his wife prepared a generous dowry for Madam Su.

This generous dowry made Old Madam Feng reluctantly hold her tongue, but she believed that there was some truth to the rumors and that the Yining Marquis’s family felt guilty, hence the lavish dowry.

As such, it would have been strange if Old Madam Feng had any goodwill towards Madam Su.

Even though Jiang Ancheng had hinted several times, both openly and subtly, that Madam Su was a good woman, Old Madam Feng became increasingly resentful. She was convinced that Madam Su had bewitched her son with her beauty, causing him to constantly defend her.

The most outstanding trees are the first to be felled by the wind. The more radiant Madam Su had been among the noble ladies, the more people there were who now took pleasure in her misfortune.

Jiang Pei’s knowledge of the previous generation’s affairs was not fabricated out of thin air.

Jiang Si had no desire to engage in a war of words with a sharp-tongued little girl, but she could no longer tolerate insults from her late mother.

“What’s wrong? Is someone feeling guilty?” Jiang Pei covered her mouth and laughed.

She didn’t believe Jiang Si would dare to hit her in front of so many people. And when it came to verbal sparring, she considered herself unbeatable.

Thinking this, Jiang Pei twisted the jade bracelet on her wrist.

This pair of jade bracelets was a reward from her stepmother after hearing about her altercation with Jiang Si, who approved of her actions.

Jiang Si’s cool gaze rested on Jiang Pei, showing no intention of rolling up her sleeves to fight.

Some people never learn their lesson; it’s a waste of energy to use force with such individuals.

Seeing Jiang Si remain silent, Jiang Qiao secretly rolled her eyes.

Usually so capable against her, now playing the innocent lamb. Come on, hit her!

Jiang Qiao wasn’t taking Jiang Si’s side; she was just fed up with Jiang Pei’s loose tongue.

No matter how much sisters might quarrel, disrespecting each other’s parents went too far.

This was a principle of basic decency, applicable both within the family and outside.

Fifth Miss Jiang Li vaguely sensed the undercurrent beneath the calm surface and quietly inched towards the corner.

“Losing face? Feeling guilty?” Jiang Si laughed without anger. “Does Sixth Sister know that right now, it’s Second Sister who’s feeling guilty? If I don’t go, it’s Second Sister who will lose face.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

Jiang Si reached out, her finger as white and delicate as a spring onion, pointing at Jiang Pei’s cheek. “Do you believe that if I were to get off this carriage now, Second Aunt would strip that new bracelet off your wrist?”

Jiang Pei couldn’t help but flinch backward.

She wasn’t stupid; she knew this visit to the Changxing Marquis’s manor was to support Second Sister. If Jiang Si really made a scene and got off the carriage now, her stepmother would surely fly her alive.

“Do you believe that when we see Second Sister, if I tell her you’re too noisy and should go back to the Earl’s manor, she won’t say a single word of objection?”

“I don’t believe it!” This time, Jiang Pei’s voice was full of confidence.

How could that be possible?

Second Sister had sent invitations to all four of them. She and Second Sister shared the same father, and she had always obeyed Second Sister since childhood. How could Second Sister make her leave just because of a word from Jiang Si?

“Then let’s make a bet,” Jiang Si proposed.

“What kind of bet?”

“We’ll bet on whether Second Sister will do as I say. If Second Sister doesn’t listen to me, you win. Otherwise, you lose.”

“What are the stakes?”

Jiang Si smiled indifferently. “If you win, name your terms. If you lose… it’s simple. You’ll slap yourself ten times in front of us three and say you’ve eaten too much dung, that’s why your mouth stinks. How about it? Do you dare to bet?”