Chapter 10 Learning Etiquette
“Hmm…” Ye Wanning nodded, “She didn’t do it on purpose, Father, please don’t blame her.”
"How could you get burned like this if it wasn't intentional?" Minister Ye's anger was ignited. "I think it was intentional! I just said I would compensate you, and someone dares to bully you like this. Do they even respect me as their master?" He raised his voice, and the servants outside heard him.
"Guards!" Minister Ye shouted.
A servant rushed in, bowed, and said, "Master, what are your orders?"
"Summon Qingzhu here! And fetch the imperial physician!"
"yes!"
Looking at Minister Ye's furious expression, Ye Wanning sneered inwardly: Zhou Shi, Ye Jingshu, this is just the beginning.
A moment later, Qingzhu was brought in. As soon as she entered the study, she sensed that something was wrong. When she saw the injury on Ye Wanning's wrist, her face turned pale.
"Qingzhu," Minister Ye said coldly, looking at her, "what burned the Second Miss's hand?"
"Yes...yes, it was my carelessness..." Qingzhu stammered.
"An accident?" Minister Ye slammed his hand on the table. "I think it's extremely audacious! I just sent you to serve the Second Miss, and you dared to treat her like that. Who gave you the right to treat my Second Miss like that?"
"No one... no one ordered me! It was my carelessness!" Qingzhu was so frightened that she knelt down with a thud.
"Still dare to argue!" Minister Ye roared in fury, "Guards, drag her out, give her twenty strokes of the cane, and send her to her estate, never to return to the capital!"
"Master! No! No! Miss, save me! Madam, save me!"
Ye Wanning said at the right moment, "Father, let it go. She didn't do it on purpose. Let her off the hook."
"Spare her?" Minister Ye's eyes widened. "If you spare her this time, who knows how she'll bully you next time! It's settled then!"
The servants came up and dragged the crying Qingzhu out.
Soon, the imperial physician arrived, treated Ye Wanning's wounds, prescribed some ointment, gave her a few instructions, and then left.
"Ningning, I'm so sorry you had to go through all this." Minister Ye looked at her wrist, his face full of guilt. "It's all my fault for not taking good care of you."
"Father, don't say that. I'm not wronged." Ye Wanning leaned on his arm. "With you loving me, I'm not wronged."
Minister Ye was so touched by her coaxing that he immediately had someone bring over some top-quality brocade from the storeroom and give her a pair of jade bracelets as a reward before letting Ye Wanning go back to her room to rest.
When they returned to Red Leaf Pavilion, Chun Tao was overjoyed, as if she had won a battle. She clasped her hands together and laughed, "Miss, you're so amazing! Now let's see who dares to bully us!"
Ye Wanning held the ointment on her hand, her eyes turning cold. Qingzhu was nothing! The real big fish were yet to come.
Sure enough, not long after, Ye Jingshu arrived, fuming.
"Ye Wanning! What do you mean?" she asked as soon as she came in. "What did Qingzhu do to offend you? Why are you treating her like this?"
Ye Wanning, engrossed in her book, didn't even look up: "I don't understand what you're asking, little sister."
"Don't you understand?" Ye Jingshu walked up to her. "You took Qingzhu to the estate. Do you dare say you didn't do it?"
“Sister, you’re wrong.” Ye Wanning put down her book. “Qingzhu burned me, and Father was angry and punished her. What does that have to do with me? Do you think it’s right that she burned me?”
"You..." Ye Jingshu froze, then said, "She must have done it accidentally! Can't you be a little more magnanimous? Do you have to be so ruthless?"
“I begged Father, but he wouldn’t agree.” Ye Wanning looked at her. “If you think it’s unfair, you can go and talk to Father.”
Ye Jingshu was speechless, how could she dare to go to Minister Ye?
"Don't think you can get away with this," Ye Jingshu said bitterly. "You'll regret this one day!"
After saying that, he stormed off.
Ye Wanning watched her retreating figure, picked up her teacup, and took a sip. Regret? She had already regretted enough in her past life. In this life, she would only make others regret.
After Qingzhu was sent to the estate, Red Leaf Courtyard finally had a few days of peace and quiet. Minister Ye replaced Ye Wanning with two dutiful maids, one named Xiahe and the other Qiuju, both born into the household and of good character and ability. Ye Wanning was quite lenient with them, giving them extra monthly wages as long as they served well. The two maids were grateful and served them diligently.
Early that morning, Ye Wanning and Ye Jingshu were learning flower arranging in the main hall with Ye Jingshu's wet nurse when Zhou Shi suddenly arrived.
"Mother." Ye Jingshu quickly stood up and bowed.
"Madam." Ye Wanning curtsied in return.
Zhou nodded, glanced at the flowers Ye Wanning had arranged, and frowned: "What is this arrangement? It's crooked and messy, there's no sense of order at all."
Ye Jingshu's arrangement was much more exquisite, with a good balance of density and spacing, and a well-organized arrangement.
"My sister is just starting out, so it's understandable that she's a bit rusty," Ye Jingshu said, feigning apology. "Mother, please don't blame her."
“Being a beginner is no excuse.” Madam Zhou pulled Ye Wanning over, picked up the flowers Ye Wanning had arranged, and threw them on the ground. “As a young lady of a marquis’s mansion, if you can’t even do this little thing right, people will laugh at you.”
Ye Wanning looked at the flowers on the ground without saying a word.
“It seems that having Jing Shu teach you alone is not enough,” Zhou said. “From today onwards, you will come to me every day at Chen Shi (7-9 AM) to learn the rules. You must memorize the ‘Admonitions for Women’ and ‘Internal Instructions’. Once you have memorized them, you can start learning other things.”
"Admonitions for Women" and "Internal Training"? Ye Wanning sneered inwardly. Zhou Shi wanted to train her into a fool who only knew the three obediences and four virtues.
"Yes, Madam," she replied, her head bowed and her eyes lowered.
From then on, Ye Wanning would go to Madam Zhou's Jingxin Garden at Chenshi (7-9 AM) every day to learn etiquette.
Madam Zhou taught him meticulously, making sure he learned everything from his walking posture and tone of voice to his dining etiquette. He couldn't make any noise while walking, he had to speak in varying degrees of volume and speed, he couldn't smack his lips while eating, and he couldn't turn up the corners of his mouth. Even when he smiled, he could only smile with his lips pursed and couldn't show his teeth.
Ye Wanning patiently studied for several days, constantly plotting how to retaliate.
That day, Madam Zhou was teaching her how to bow when she noticed that her bowing angle was not right, so she raised a large ruler and hit her: "Sit up straight! Haven't you eaten?"
Ye Wanning staggered from the blow and cried out in pain.
"Madam, I've already tried my best," she said, enduring the pain.
"Use your strength? I don't see you using any strength at all!" Madam Zhou struck again. "You can't even endure this little bit of hardship, yet you want to be a young lady of the Marquis's mansion? I think you're only fit to stay in the countryside for the rest of your life!"
These words seemed to strike a nerve with Ye Wanning. She abruptly raised her head, her eyes filled with coldness: "What are you saying, Madam? I am my father's daughter. Am I not worthy to be a young lady of the Marquis's mansion?"
Zhou was startled by her gaze, then flew into a rage: "How dare you! How dare you speak to me like that? It seems I've spoiled you too much!"
She raised her hand to strike, but Ye Wanning took a step back and dodged.
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