Thinking of the yellow jade ring she had seen just now, Yu Youyao felt uneasy. She said, “Go over and look for Second Aunt. Tell her that Second Sister was quite shocked.”
Chun Xiao turned around and saw that Second Miss’s face was indeed pale, and her eyes were filled with panic. She quickly got out of the carriage.
After a while, the carriage in the residence made way.
Chun Xiao and Nanny Qian returned together.
Seeing that Second Miss was really frightened, Nanny Qian’s heart ached terribly. She quickly pulled her into her arms and stroked her back as she coaxed her softly.
Yu Youyao listened to the sound of hooves hitting the ground.
If one listened carefully, the sound seemed to be heavier and stronger than the horses in the residence. It pierced into their ears one after another, making them panic.
It wasn’t until the sound of horses’ hooves was far away that Yu Youyao couldn’t help but open the car window. She lifted the window and looked back, only to see the hooves of the horses.
The carriage left the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence.
Yang Shuwan was furious.
How could she have expected that while the Marquis of Changxing’s wife was talking to her, Madam Yao did not even wait for her and only brought Yu Youyao away first. Wasn’t she afraid that others would laugh at them?
This was ridiculous.
“Eldest Sister-in-law is the most important. She should be waiting for me. How can she leave first? She hurriedly brought Yu Youyao away. It’s obvious that she’s hiding a dirty heart and is going to gossip in front of Old Madam.”
Madam Yao was amazing. She was the best at pretending to be obedient in front of Old Madam. She couldn’t let Madam Yao push all the blame onto her. Everyone said that one aunt was half a mother. As an aunt, Madam Yao couldn’t escape her responsibility.
Yang Shuwan lifted the curtain and instructed the coachman to move faster, hoping to catch up to Madam Yao’s carriage.
When the carriage left in a hurry, it inevitably became a little bumpy.
Yang Shuwan was worried that her daughter’s body would be weak and she wouldn’t be able to take it. She turned to look at her daughter and was shocked to see Yu Jianjia’s pale face.
“Jia Jia, why do you look so pale? Are you feeling unwell?”
Yu Jianjia’s eyes were red from the pain. She gently lifted her skirt, revealing her swollen feet. She said hoarsely, “Just now, I accidentally slipped with Seventh Miss Cao and Fifth Miss Lu at the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence and sprained my ankle.”
Yang Shuwan’s eyes immediately turned red with anxiety, and she quickly called out to Nanny Li.
Nanny Li was also shocked. She quickly squatted on the ground and held Yu Jianjia’s small feet. “Hey, have you been cursed? Why is it so swollen? Young Miss, bear with it. I’ll help you take off your shoes and socks. You can’t wrap your feet anymore.”
As she spoke, she carefully helped Yu Jianjia take off her jade-soled shoes and socks.
Her fair feet were swollen from her ankles to her toes, like a big carrot. Yu Jianjia gasped in pain, and tears rolled down her face.
Yang Shuwan’s heart ached. “Child, you sprained your ankle. Why didn’t you tell me earlier? You endured it yourself. You suffered. My heart aches for you.”
Yu Jianjia was in so much pain that she couldn’t take it anymore. As she cried, she was still comforting her mother. “Big Sister has suffered, but I can’t cause you trouble with such a small matter. Mother, don’t worry. When we return to the residence later, get a doctor to take a look. I’ll be fine after recuperating for a while.”
However, Yang Shuwan was furious. “Yu Youyao is such a scourge. She caused a commotion with Seventh Miss Cao and even implicated you into suffering. She’s really unreasonable. Poor Jia Jia. You’re so seriously injured, but you still think that you’re wronged. You don’t even dare to make a sound and endured it. You’ve suffered for no reason…”
Nanny Li asked Ai Ye to pour a basin of cold water on Yu Jianjia’s feet and massage her calves.
As the cold water reached her ankles, Yu Jianjia shivered. “I know Mother’s heart aches for me, but compared to the grievances that Eldest Sister almost caused to her reputation today, this small injury of mine is nothing.”
Yang Shuwan couldn’t stand these words. She was so angry that she even raised her voice. “She didn’t have a mother to raise her, and she wasn’t taught by her mother. Can’t others say that she’s a bereaved eldest daughter?”
Which young lady who had lost her mother didn’t lower her head and behave humbly?
Why was she different from others?
She was a bereaved eldest daughter. How could she be ostentatious?
The more Yang Shuwan spoke, the angrier she became. “She even caused a commotion after saying a few words? However, she almost lost her reputation. Others only think that she’s young, but her glib tongue and ability to invert right and wrong are not small at all. She even dared to contradict an elder like the Marquis of Changxing’s wife. She’s a bereaved eldest daughter, but she didn’t get anyone to ruin her reputation. In contrast, the young miss of the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence ruined her reputation completely.”
At this point, she gritted her teeth. “She’s not the one who ruined her reputation. She’s not the one who ruined the flower festival and lost all her face. She’s not the one who twisted her ankle and suffered. What’s there for her to feel aggrieved about?”
Yu Jianjia lowered her eyes and felt a pain in the bones of her feet. “Although that’s the case, Grandmother dotes on Eldest Sister. I’m worried that it won’t be easy for Mother to answer. Father also values his upbringing the most. Since this matter has reached Father’s ears, he would ask about it.”
As Yang Shuwan was angry with Madam Yao, her heart ached for her daughter. For a moment, she hadn’t thought of this. At her daughter’s mention, she was shocked. “Yu Youyao caused a ruckus with Seventh Miss Cao herself. I wasn’t present. No matter how much Old Madam dotes on Yu Youyao, she can’t blame me!”
These words were not wrong, but she did not have any confidence when she said them out loud.
Old Madam would reprimand her and ask her to go to the house to set the rules.
However, on Yu Zongzheng’s side…
Once she said something like “taking the divorce letter back to her maiden home” that hurt their relationship as husband and wife, there would be countless times.
Now, Yu Zongzheng had also begun to despise her for being the daughter of a concubine. She was not presentable and could not manage the family well. He did not trust her as much as before. If there was a commotion, the relationship between husband and wife would be worn down a little.
Thinking back to how she had sided with Seventh Miss Cao at the Flower Festival, Yang Shuwan couldn’t help but feel a little panicked. “I wonder what kind of bewitching potion Yu Youyao fed your father. He’s so determined that Yu Youyao is a good person that he’ll definitely be angry…”
Yu Jianjia bit her lip and looked at her swollen feet. She couldn’t help but cry softly. “Mother, it’s my fault for what happened today. Seventh Miss Cao had a conflict with Eldest Sister. As her younger sister, not only did I not help much, but I even slipped and lost my composure in public. It was a joke. If I could have helped, it probably wouldn’t have come to this…”