"Miss, Miss! Say something!"

The girl's angry voice abruptly brought Xin Jiuwei back to her senses.

Xin Jiuwei blinked. The first thing she saw was Wang Qing, the maid who had grown up with her since childhood and later fell to her death while searching for the antidote.

Turning her gaze, Xin Jiuwei realized that she was at the Xin family's spring banquet.

She returned to the year she had just come of age, when spring was in full bloom in Yingzhou, and she was in the prime of her life, surrounded by relatives and friends.

"You little slut! What are you yelling about?"

The sarcastic words brought Xin Jiuwei back to her senses.

An old woman with slanted eyes and arched eyebrows stood opposite the two of them, spat, and scolded, "Wei girl, I'm not trying to criticize you! You're young and stupid, you can't even manage a maid. Servants should be spoiled too much, or they'll easily overstep their bounds."

"When you marry my son, you'll have to learn how to manage the household from me!"

As she spoke, the old woman reached for the tray and grabbed at the gleaming gold hairpin.

The next instant, Xin Jiuwei grabbed the old woman's wrist and forcefully threw her away.

"The prize I, Xin Jiuwei, won, is not something you can take?"

The sharp-tongued old woman in front of her was actually Feng, the wet nurse of her brother Xin Yunzhou, who was also Qi Huaiyu's biological mother.

In her past life, Madam Feng was certain that Xin Jiuwei liked Qi Huaiyu, and she always acted as her mother-in-law.

For Qi Huaiyu's sake, Xin Jiuwei was tolerant and ingratiating towards Madam Feng in every way, allowing a wet nurse to live a more luxurious life than an ordinary noblewoman. As a result, whenever they attended a banquet, outsiders thought that Madam Feng was an elder relative of Xin.

In the spring banquet of her previous life, the young ladies got into the fun of pitch-pot, and everyone brought out their own items to add to the festivities. In the end, Xin Jiuwei won first place.

Feng, eyeing the gold ornaments, immediately snatched them from Wang Qing's hands.

Wang Qing was indignant and argued with her. As a result, Madam Feng threw a tantrum and made a scene that everyone knew about. In order to save Madam Feng's face, Xin Jiuwei had no choice but to punish Wang Qing in public.

Having been given a second chance at life, Xin Jiuwei naturally wouldn't let the past repeat itself.

"How dare you push me? You've gone too far!" Madam Feng was shocked at first, then flew into a rage. "At such a young age, you dare to act arrogantly in front of your elders! You, you're being disobedient!"

The ladies at the banquet were drawn to Madam Feng's loud voice and looked over, unaware of what was going on.

"What's wrong with Miss Xin?"

"Isn't that her aunt? Why are they arguing? Go and see..."

"Elder? What kind of elder are you to me?" Xin Jiuwei sneered. "You only fed my brother a few days' worth of milk. A wet nurse dares to impersonate an elder of the Xin family of Yingzhou?"

Wang Qing's eyes widened as much as copper bells.

Miss is always quiet and gentle; when has she ever spoken so harshly and sternly?

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Madam Feng's expression changed drastically.

Wasn't Xin Jiuwei always so submissive to her? What's gotten into her today? Isn't she afraid her son won't marry her?

Thinking of this, Madam Feng straightened her back and lowered her voice, saying, "Give me the things right now, or I'll tell Huaiyu, and you'll be in big trouble!"

It would have been better if Qi Huaiyu hadn't been mentioned, but as soon as Xin Jiuwei heard his name, her anger flared up.

"A servant dares to disobey her superiors? Wang Qing, tie her up and punish her according to family rules!"

"Yes, Miss!" Wang Qing immediately instructed the servant to do so.

The nearby servants looked at each other, and finally pushed forward one who looked honest to ask, "Miss, is it... Young Master Qi..."

"Are you a servant of the Xin family, or Qi Huaiyu's?" Xin Jiuwei sneered, her heart pounding with fear. She hadn't expected Qi Huaiyu to hold such a high position in the Xin family at this point.

The servants had no choice but to take action. While screaming and dodging, Madam Feng stubbornly cursed, "What servants? Bah! You little slut, I was released from my official household long ago. I'm a law-abiding citizen. Your Xin family's rules can't govern me!"

These words, while unleashing a powerful statement, also unequivocally acknowledged that she had been the Xin family's wet nurse, not some distant aunt.

For a moment, the crowd began to whisper among themselves.

"Oh, is that so?" Xin Jiuwei nodded calmly, looking Feng up and down. "Wang Qing, what items on her belong to our family?"

Wang Qing quickly replied, "All of them!"

“In that case, strip her of her fine clothes and hairpins. If family law can’t control lawful people, then tie her up and report her to the authorities!” Xin Jiuwei smiled, her eyes devoid of any warmth. “The charge, of course, is theft of the Xin family property.”

"I didn't! I didn't!" Upon hearing that the matter was to be reported to the authorities, Madam Feng shouted anxiously, "What are you going to do? You clearly gave me all of these!"

"Jiuwei, what are you doing?"

Perhaps it was the bond between mother and son that brought Qi Huaiyu to Feng's side after she had only cried out a few times.

Xin Jiuwei suppressed the turmoil in her heart and looked over calmly.

Among the group of young masters, Qi Huaiyu, who was at the head, stood out. He wore a moon-white brocade robe and a golden crown that tied his hair up, which was inlaid with the finest mutton-fat white jade.

He was already quite handsome with his dragon-like eyebrows and phoenix-like eyes. With the addition of the Xin family's expensive possessions, he appeared even more elegant and refined, exuding the air of a noble young master, and was surrounded by admirers like a star among the crowd.

This is not the kind of thing a wet nurse's son would do.

Seeing his appearance, Xin Jiuwei felt only irony.

As soon as Qi Huaiyu arrived, Madam Feng immediately found her pillar of support and began to wail and complain: "That girl Xin Jiuwei has gone too far! She stripped my clothes off in public! Son..."

Qi Huaiyu glared fiercely at Madam Feng.

Then Feng remembered something, quickly shut her mouth, and began to sob quietly.

Over the years, Qi Huaiyu has been studying and making friends under the name of the Xin family. No one outside knows that he is the wet nurse's son. In addition, since Xin Jiuwei's maternal grandfather also has the surname Qi, everyone thinks that he is Xin Jiuwei's cousin.

Even in their previous life, after they got married, very few people knew that Qi Huaiyu was a son-in-law.

The only son of the Xin family was neither good at literature nor martial arts. Gradually, the entire Yingzhou tacitly agreed that the future of the Xin family would depend on Qi Huaiyu, this "cousin." His appearance was even more reassuring than Xin Jiuwei, the proper daughter of the Xin family.

"Jiuwei, you're being willful again."

Qi Huaiyu shook his head and, with a single sentence, labeled Xin Jiuwei as being unreasonable.

It's always been like this.

When Xin Jiuwei stood up for him, he remained silent; when Xin Jiuwei hesitated, he said she was timid and cowardly.

But if anything goes wrong to him or his mother, he accuses Xin Jiuwei of being willful and throwing a tantrum.

In her past life, Xin Jiuwei was criticized so much that she reflected on each instance, wondering if it was her own fault.

Xin Jiuwei sneered: "I'm willful? Young Master Qi, you should explain how I've been willful?"

Qi Huaiyu said with an air of righteous indignation: "Respect the elderly as you would your own parents. This... Madam Feng is also getting old. What reason can't be given to her? You're resorting to family law and reporting to the authorities. If people find out, they'll say that you, the third young lady of the Xin family, lack the demeanor of a lady from a prominent family, are harsh to others, and have a cruel personality."

Everyone at the table nodded in agreement. The young men behind Qi Huaiyu secretly thought to themselves, "Luckily, Miss Xin is so devoted to Qi Huaiyu."

Otherwise, it would be a misfortune for the family to marry such a noblewoman!

Qi Huaiyu sighed again, "Fine, you've never liked studying, so you don't understand these things. I guess I'll have to teach you how to be a good person..."