"Your cousin is more obedient and sensible than you, filial and respectful, and has never talked back to her elders. She is a hundred times better than you! If it weren't for the fact that the Second Prince valued you instead of my Jingyi, I would have sent her away to enjoy a life of luxury long ago. How could you possibly have gotten a chance?"
The old lady's words made Shangguan Jingyi blush with embarrassment. She timidly called out, "Grandmother..."
She sighed inwardly. Yes, if only she were the one the Second Prince wanted! She could use this opportunity to stay in the capital without having to return to that poor, destitute place, Wei County, and she could also give those snobbish, arrogant lackeys a good thrashing!
Shangguan Tianyun is only a little more beautiful, but her personality is not as gentle as mine. It's really hard to understand what makes her so special that she can impress the Second Prince.
When no one was looking, the maid Xiao Lü rolled her eyes.
These two, grandfather and grandson, really have ambitions that are higher than the sky.
Don't they realize that among all the noble ladies in the capital, which one isn't more dignified, respectable, and knowledgeable than Shangguan Jingyi?
The grandfather and grandson had a funny incident at lunchtime today.
During the meal, upon seeing sweet and sour pork ribs on the table, the matriarch detained the servant who was serving the food. She picked through the ribs with her silver chopsticks, finding them to be mostly lean ribs with only a few bits of minced meat clinging to the bones. Her face instantly contorted with anger, and she slammed down her chopsticks. She then began questioning Liu Yong, the steward in charge of purchasing for the household.
The old lady questioned, "Why are the ingredients for sweet and sour pork ribs pork ribs? There's barely any meat on the bones. Isn't that a waste of all that honey and seasoning? How dare you! Do you think I'm old and easy to fool? You dare to embezzle the host's money and deliberately use such inferior ingredients?"
Shangguan Jingyi listened respectfully from the side, but he also had the same question in his mind. In Wei County, pork bones were considered offal and were thrown to dogs. How could such a thing be served on the table in such a prosperous place as the capital?
This question was so absurd that Liu Yong was speechless for a long time, not knowing how to reply.
Should we be frank and tell our ancestors that this is the most precious pork rib from the small fragrant pigs of Wumeng Mountain, and only one piece can be taken from each pig, with a price far exceeding that of pork belly?
Wouldn't that make the matriarch lose face? Therefore, Liu Yong could only nod and bow, saying, "This humble servant dares not. All the ingredients used in the manor are of the finest quality. However, since the matriarch and Miss Tang have made this request, then next time, this humble servant will have the kitchen prepare a separate batch of sweet and sour pork. What do you think?"
The old lady was finally somewhat satisfied and waved him away.
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Jingyi sensed that something was amiss. She looked around and saw that the servants were all bowing their heads and shrugging their shoulders, all trying to suppress their laughter.
There must be something fishy going on here. Perhaps Grandmother said something inappropriate, and they seized on it. Having been made a laughingstock, Shangguan Jingyi's suppressed anger surged up again. How could she not know that her grandmother had been made a fool of again by these people?
A bunch of despicable lackeys who love to humiliate people should all be sold off!
※
A person should know their own limitations. How can someone so contemptuous and short-sighted try to curry favor with the imperial family? Xiao Lü lowered her eyes and scoffed inwardly. What a fool's dream.
“My grandmother always gets angry whenever she sees me, and she never listens to her granddaughter’s explanation. Even if I’m not wrong, she becomes wrong, which is really unfair.” She shrugged, not caring much.
She naively thought that with her brother's safe return home, the old lady's prejudice against her would lessen a little, but now it seems that she was just being delusional.
Since that was the case, she casually pulled her cloak tighter, letting the calming aura left by the boy envelop her. She suddenly smiled brightly and asked, "Grandmother couldn't stand the cold and couldn't come with us to welcome my brother home, which is understandable. But cousin... why didn't you go either? What delayed you?"
"I……"
Shangguan Jingyi's expression froze for a moment, embarrassed by her question. He couldn't come up with a reason to explain, and he had only managed to escape by pretending to have a stomachache before leaving. It was really not appropriate to explain in detail in front of everyone.
Who would want to go near a place as unlucky as prison? If you were to encounter bad luck, you might even lose a few years of your life!
"I was just asking casually, why are you in such a panic, cousin?" She laughed again, breaking the almost frozen tension. "Mother has called a doctor to examine my brother's whip marks, and I'm worried about him, so I want to go see him first. If you're free, cousin, why don't you come with me? The end of the year is approaching, and the whole family should be healthy and harmonious. What do you say, Grandmother?"
She brought up Lin'er, and the old lady couldn't continue to make trouble, so she could only show her displeasure and let Jingyi go with her.
Under the warm corridor.
One figure was dressed in pale yellow, the other in light green. From a distance, the two figures looked somewhat similar in terms of hairstyle and clothing. However, upon closer inspection, the differences became apparent. Although the person dressed in pale yellow was imitating the woman in green with her makeup and attire, she was quite different, possessing an indescribable roughness that gave one the impression of a poor imitation.
The woman in green smiled and said, "We are both granddaughters of the same grandmother, but I am not as well-liked by her as my cousin. I am truly ashamed."
The woman in pale yellow spoke softly, seemingly quite reserved: "I've been taking care of my grandmother since I was little, so I know her better than my sister. Actually, my grandmother has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. If my sister could just soften her tone and apologize to her, she wouldn't be pressuring her like this."
The woman in the green dress smiled, her dimples blooming, and said slowly, "These past few times, it's all thanks to my cousin's help in persuading my grandmother that she hasn't fallen ill from my anger. If word got out, people would definitely gossip about me, saying I'm disobedient, unfilial, and have no respect for my elders! It's all thanks to your persuasion that the old lady is practically ready to devour me now."
These words caught the eye of the woman in the pale yellow dress.
That's right! How could she not have thought of that? If this reputation for being unfilial and disrespectful were to spread, Shangguan Tianyun would be utterly disgraced. How could she possibly have the face to marry into the imperial family?
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