Wen Feng quickly went inside to investigate, and upon emerging, he said:

"Miss, your favorite hairpin and the jade bracelet that Madam left for you are missing."

Hearing this, Yuan Zhao wasn't surprised at all, since it had become a daily routine for Zhou Yayu to take things from her.

Unfortunately, times have changed.

Yuan Zhao sneered and led Wen Feng and Linglong straight to Zhou Yayu's courtyard. Linglong hesitated for a moment but followed.

Upon arriving at Zhou Yayu's courtyard, before anyone else could react, Yuan Zhao said:

"try to find!"

As soon as she spoke, Wen Feng and Linglong disregarded everything else, pushed aside the maidservants blocking the way, and rushed into Zhou Yayu's boudoir.

Zhou Yayu had never seen anything like this before, and she was completely stunned.

After she realized what was happening, she quickly shouted:

"Stop! What are you doing?"

However, Wenfeng and Linglong ignored her completely, so she could only turn her gaze to Yuan Zhao.

"You told them to stop? Are you crazy?"

Zhou Yayu thought Yuan Zhao had gone mad; otherwise, how could she dare to treat her like this?

Yuan Zhao glanced at Zhou Yayu with a mocking look. This young lady was truly spoiled by her mother.

She must have heard about what happened in the manor these past few days, but instead of restraining herself, she even dared to take her things. She's incredibly stupid.

She couldn't be bothered to spend any time on him.

"Be smart and return my things."

Hearing this, Zhou Yayu's eyes darted away, but she still forced herself to speak:

"What are you talking about? I have no idea what you're saying."

Yuan Zhao sneered upon hearing this. This Zhou Yayu really wouldn't shed a tear until she saw the coffin. She was too lazy to waste words with her.

They made quite a commotion here, and soon Lady Yongning and Zhou Shiyuan arrived.

Seeing them, Zhou Yayu felt as if she had found her pillar of support, and immediately began to cry out:

"Mother, elder brother, you must stand up for me!"

"This woman came to search my yard without any explanation, she..."

Before she could finish speaking, she heard a loud "smack" and was slapped hard across the face by Yuan Zhao.

That slap stunned everyone.

Zhou Yayu stared at her in disbelief, clearly not expecting that she would dare to hit her.

Lady Yongning was the first to react. When she saw her daughter being beaten, she immediately flew into a rage.

"Yuan Zhao, who gave you the audacity to lay a hand on Ya Yu?"

"Mother-in-law, you should be thanking me!"

Yuan Zhao said coldly:

“I am her elder sister-in-law, and also the wife of the heir of the Yongning Marquis’s mansion. She keeps talking about that woman. She has no manners at all. I hit her for her own good.”

"After all, she's already fourteen this year, the age for marriage proposals. How will she get married if word gets out?"

"Don't you think so, mother-in-law?"

Upon hearing this, Lady Yongning was choked with suffocation and unable to utter a word.

Zhou Shiyuan now loathed Yuan Zhao to the extreme, and he coldly looked at him and said:

"You say Ya Yu doesn't understand hierarchy, but do you understand hierarchy yourself?"

"Your mother is your mother-in-law. You talked back to her in public. According to what you just said, does that mean she can also discipline you?"

Lady Yongning's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but before she could speak, Yuan Zhao said:

"That's definitely not going to work."

"After all, I'm the kind of person who always treats others with the utmost respect."

"If anyone dares to bully or insult me, I will repay them a hundredfold."

"If anyone dares to slap me, I will break their hand; that is the way of fairness."

She had just learned this lesson from the dead eunuch.

There is no such thing as fairness in this world.

Whoever wields the most power can act arbitrarily.

"Yuan Zhao, don't go too far."

Zhou Shiyuan said through gritted teeth.

Yuan Zhao chuckled softly:

"Young Master, please don't be hasty. I'm doing this for the sake of the Marquis's manor."

"After all, just a few days ago, news spread that the Marquis's mansion had embezzled my dowry. If people find out that my sister-in-law has taken my elder sister-in-law's jewelry, the Marquis's mansion will really lose all face."

"Who took your jewelry?"

Zhou Shiyuan retorted without hesitation:

"Yuan Zhao, explain yourself clearly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wen Feng and Linglong came out with her bracelet and phoenix hairpin.

"Miss, we found her. She put it under her pillow."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shiyuan and Lady Yongning's expressions both changed.

Yuan Zhao laughed heartily:

"Has Your Highness seen clearly? Or should we go to the government office together to clarify things?"