Chapter 59: You're the one being punished, what does that have to do with me?
“If a younger person is disobedient, just tell her elders and husband. There’s no need to lower your standards for her sake.”
Madam Yao found this very reasonable and immediately calmed down: "Yi'er is right. People who are ill-mannered should be properly disciplined by their families."
Don't think she doesn't know that this true daughter of the Yu family has not been living a happy life since she married into the Duke's mansion.
Zhang Tianshun was a scoundrel who brought all sorts of women home one after another, even causing the scandal of his concubine getting pregnant before the mistress.
Although the Duke of Yongguo's mansion tried its best to cover it up, the matter still reached the ears of high society circles.
Furthermore, the wife of the Duke of Yongguo was not a good person either.
Thinking of this, she was no longer angry.
Yu Jiaojiao broke out in a cold sweat, glaring angrily: "Yu Zhiyi, you're despicable!"
Yu Zhiyi smiled and said, "If fighting back against someone else's evil conspiracy for the sake of someone you care about is considered despicable, then I accept that assessment."
Yao clutched her chest, feeling her heart pounding so hard it felt like it was about to leap out of her chest.
At this moment, Yu Zhiyi radiated holy light in her eyes.
This was the first time she had been so firmly protected.
Even Prime Minister Du and her own mother would occasionally make her compromise for various reasons, not to mention her good-for-nothing son, who would oppose her at every turn because of a woman.
But this daughter-in-law stood firmly by her side, declaring to the world in a soft but not cold voice that she was willing to bear the despicable infamy in order to protect her mother-in-law!
She couldn't describe that feeling.
All she knew was that from this moment on, she was willing to stand against the whole world for her daughter-in-law, even at the cost of her life.
When Du Ziheng returned with his results, he overheard Yu Zhiyi's words.
His feelings were mixed.
Before this, You Bingyue had been urging him to move out of the Du residence, citing his good grades as the reason.
Despite the so-called good results, he actually missed out on the top two spots and only got the third place.
Such a result would be good for others, but for him and for Prime Minister Du, it was an unacceptable outcome.
Unfortunately, You Bingyue didn't notice his depression; she was only thinking about the bright future after moving out.
And this so-called bright future is because he has no parents!
She was even unwilling to come back with him to face her parents.
He sighed deeply, feeling as if something had changed.
Yu Zhiyi was the first to spot Du Ziheng: "Young Master is back?"
Yao and Yu Jiaojiao also looked over at the same time.
In that instant, a fierce hatred erupted in Yu Jiaojiao's eyes.
Unfortunately, no one cared about her hatred.
Madam Yao went up to her and asked, "How is it?"
Just as Du Ziheng was about to speak, Yu Jiaojiao couldn't wait to say, "What else could it be? Judging from his dejected look, he must have failed the exam."
Madam Yao was furious: "Third Young Madam Zhang, I am willing to argue with you because your father-in-law is a Duke and your father is the Minister of Revenue. But if you continue to talk nonsense, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Yu Jiaojiao was a little scared, but as the saying goes, enemies are especially hostile when they meet.
The thought of how she had been betrayed and killed by this despicable man in her past life filled her with uncontrollable anger and hatred, and her tone became extremely sarcastic: "How ridiculous! I was just stating the facts. Why is Madam Du being so impolite?"
"Are we, the younger generation, not even allowed to speak the truth?"
"He failed the exam! He failed the exam! He failed the exam!"
"If you don't believe me, ask him yourself!"
Madam Yao did not doubt Yu Zhiyi's judgment, which showed that she was somewhat afraid because Yu Jiaojiao spoke with such certainty.
He looked at Du Ziheng cautiously: "Youlin, is what she said true?"
Du Ziheng gave Yu Jiaojiao a cold look. Although he didn't understand where her malice came from, he was already disgusted by her rudeness and attitude.
He looked away and said gently, "Mother, I've been in the top three. The messenger should be here soon to announce the good news."
Well, even though he only ranked third, he still passed the exam.
Although he was not satisfied with the result.
Madam Yao was overjoyed: "I knew it! My son is so talented, he'll definitely succeed!"
Yu Jiaojiao screamed, "Impossible! You couldn't have won! You're lying!"
This time, however, there was no need for Yao and her son or Yu Zhiyi to slap her in the face; someone else would do it.
A series of knocking and banging sounds could be heard from ahead, and soon the knocking procession arrived in front of the Du residence.
A government official in red stepped forward, bowed respectfully to Yu Zhiyi and the other two, and then looked at Du Ziheng: "Young Master Du, congratulations on being personally appointed as the Third Scholar by His Majesty. His Majesty will soon personally present you with flowers. Congratulations!"
Yao was taken aback, but quickly realized what was happening. She had Aunt Wen give the person who brought the good news money, and did not express her dissatisfaction in front of outsiders.
Yu Jiaojiao, on the other hand, went mad.
"Third place in the imperial examination? How is that possible?! How is that possible!?"
She couldn't understand what went wrong. Why was her life still so difficult after the marriage swap, while Yu Zhiyi and Du Ziheng, that scumbag couple, seemed to have everything going smoothly?
It's clear that Du Ziheng didn't pass the exam in his previous life!
Although there is indeed a difference between the third-ranked scholar and the top scholar, in this era, one could not rest easy once one became the top scholar.
It is very difficult for children from poor families to rise to prominence, because even if they pass the imperial examinations, they will find it difficult to succeed without the help of powerful officials.
Because the government was basically controlled by powerful families and the royal family.
Those who held high positions were all sons of noble families or royal children.
For those top scholars from humble backgrounds, their most glorious day was the day they paraded through the streets adorned with official hats and peacock feathers.
How far he can go in the future depends not on his own ability, but on whether he can latch onto the coattails of powerful officials in the court.
Therefore, Du Ziheng's title of Tan Hua (third-place scholar) is only less prestigious than that of Zhuang Yuan (first-place scholar).
Its value is much higher than that of the top scorer.
With Prime Minister Du's support in the court, he will surely achieve great things and become famous throughout the world very soon!
Zhang Tianshun, who had won a small victory at this time in his previous life, was still a parasite who did nothing but sponge off his parents and play around with women!
Yu Jiaojiao felt like she was going crazy.
Regardless of whether she was crazy or not, Yu Zhiyi ordered the people from the Prime Minister's residence to put her in the carriage and instructed the driver to tell the people from the Duke of Yong's residence everything that had happened that day.
She knew that by doing this, Yu Jiaojiao would definitely be harassed by the domineering and controlling Duchess of Yongguo, but...
What does this have to do with her?
She still remembers that when Yu Jiaojiao falsely accused her of abusing servants, causing her to be locked in the woodshed by Madam Yu, she once questioned Yu Jiaojiao, "Doesn't your conscience hurt when you do this?"
That's what Yu Jiaojiao said back then.
"You're the one being punished, what does it have to do with me?"
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