Family Register
After speaking, Yu Shuwan added kindly, “You might not know Liu Chunlan, but she is your young mistress’s birth mother.”
Madam Wen flushed crimson, unable to utter a single word for a long while.
Yu Shuwan sneered inwardly.
What a snobbish creature.
In her previous life, when she had been polite and respectful, this woman had instead subjected her to a barrage of veiled sarcasm and mockery. Now, in this life, by striking first, she had managed to shut that old mouth.
“I have already prepared a courtyard here. From now on, she will live here.
Now that you’ve seen her, you may return and report.”
At Grandmother Yu’s command, Madam Wen seemed as if granted a pardon, quickly bowing and retreating.
That country bumpkin is rather strange. It seems I must be careful.
Madam Wen, preoccupied with her thoughts, hurried away and was soon out of sight.
“Do you feel wronged?”
Grandmother Yu sipped her tea unhurriedly. Yu Shuwan tilted her head with a sweet smile. “It’s not a feeling—she was indeed bullying me.
Grandmother saw it too, which is why you allowed me to teach her a lesson, right?”
“Too rigid, and you break easily. Aren’t you afraid those words just now will bring you trouble?”
“No, I’m not. Besides knowing that Grandmother won’t let me be bullied, I also won’t allow a servant to climb over my head.”
Yu Shuwan lifted her chin slightly. “All things in this world arise from hardship; I only seek peace of mind and a clear conscience.”
This was a phrase Grandmother Yu often said in her previous life.
Now, as Yu Shuwan spoke it, Grandmother Yu repeated it after her, then chuckled softly and beckoned her over. “Do you like the clothes?”
“I do.”
Yu Shuwan’s voice was crisp. “Grandmother said earlier that I’ll live with you from now on. Is that true?”
“Of course. Are you unwilling?”
“Nothing would please me more!”
The more Grandmother Yu looked at Yu Shuwan, the more she liked her, and the more guilty she felt.
She instructed her senior maid to take Yu Shuwan to see her room and check if anything needed to be added. Only then did Grandmother Yu sigh with emotion. “She truly is just like I was in my youth.”
“Yes, she looks as if she were raised by your own hand.”
Zhi Qiu said, “Although she grew up in the countryside, the way the young mistress spoke to that Madam Wen just now was so articulate and reasonable. She is truly very clever.”
As the two were speaking, a servant announced that Yu Fangyi and his wife had arrived with Yu Guiwan.
Zhi Qiu frowned. “Shall I send them away?”
They’ve been neglecting the Second Young Lady all this time. Why the hurry now?
Grandmother Yu’s face hardened as she snorted. “Why not see them? I want to hear what reason they have for leaving their own flesh and blood in a completely unfamiliar place!”
Zhi Qiu quickly invited them in.
As soon as Yu Fangyi entered, his eyes swept around the room.
“What are you looking for?”
Yu Fangyi bowed, somewhat embarrassed. “Xiao Wan went to the wrong place this afternoon. Mother, why didn’t you say something? We’ve been searching everywhere.”
“That’s right. That child has no manners. As soon as she returned, she targeted Guiwan. Your daughter-in-law was afraid she might offend you.”
Su Jintang was still afraid of her mother-in-law.
In her youth, Grandmother Yu was no ordinary sheltered maiden. Instead, she had learned considerable martial arts from her father and could be described as vibrant and spirited, with a bold and unrestrained personality.
After falling deeply in love with the old marquis, she resolutely accompanied him to the battlefield. Grandmother Yu was an extremely important presence within the entire Yu family.
Yet it was precisely the kind of delicate, fragile woman that Grandmother Yu could not stand the most. If it weren’t for Yu Fangyi’s deep affection and fondness for Su Jintang, Grandmother Yu would have had no patience for her at all.
Over all these years, although Grandmother Yu had never really made things difficult for her, Su Jintang still felt somewhat resistant to interacting with her.
If it weren’t for Guiwan and that Liu Xiaowan, Su Jintang would never have come here.
“That child indeed lacks manners. The one who should have taught her proper conduct was busy doting on someone else instead—where could she have learned them?”
The unhurried remark effectively silenced Su Jintang.
Grandmother Yu did not even look at Su Jintang, merely rotating the prayer beads in her hand one by one, her gaze fixed on Yu Guiwan.
Yu Guiwan knew that Grandmother Yu disliked her, and she felt the same way about this old witch.
After all, in the original storyline, this Grandmother Yu was the most hypocritical, wholeheartedly favoring only the female lead.
She had tried her best, but perhaps because she failed to suppress the female lead and gain her fortune, this old witch remained completely unmoved.
Now, under Grandmother Yu’s scrutinizing gaze, Yu Guiwan obediently stepped forward and bowed.
“Grandmother, Mother did not mean it that way. It’s just that today, with Sister having just returned, her words were strange, and I felt somewhat at a loss.
Father and Mother were only paying extra attention to me because they feared I might be upset, but they have been searching for Sister all along. Mother… cares deeply for Sister.”
Yu Guiwan’s voice trembled slightly, as if filled with grievance.
Su Jintang already felt guilty toward Yu Guiwan, and now, she could no longer contain her fear of Grandmother Yu. “As soon as we learned that Liu Xiaowan was here with you, Guiwan immediately brought me and the Marquis, fearing she might feel wronged.
Mother, scrutinizing Guiwan like this will frighten her.”
“Frighten her?”
Grandmother Yu set down her teacup heavily. “I haven’t even said a word, and she’s already frightened?
Madam Su, it’s one thing for you to ignore your own daughter’s suffering all these years, but now you’re still protecting the child of your enemy like this. You truly have not kept Shuwan in your heart at all!”
“I have not, Mother-in-law.”
Su Jintang looked at Yu Fangyi with a grievance.
Yu Fangyi was truly at a loss.
To prevent the two from arguing further, Yu Fangyi changed the subject. “Mother, you mentioned Shuwan just now… is that Xiaowan’s new name?”
“Otherwise, did you intend for her to use a lowly name like ‘bowl’ for the rest of her life?”
Yu Fangyi was taken aback.
He had always thought it was the graceful “Wan,” but it turned out to be the “bowl” used for pots and pans…
“I have already sent Zhi Qiu to inform the elders of the clan. They will directly inscribe it into the Family Register.”
Upon hearing this, Su Jintang widened her eyes. “But in our generation, Guiwan is the only daughter. How can her name be written into the Family Register? What about Guiwan?”
One of her purposes in coming today was to ensure that Yu Guiwan’s name remained in the Family Register.
As for what would happen to Yu Shuwan, that was not her concern.
“If only one daughter’s name can be inscribed, then naturally, bloodline is more important.”
Yu Shuwan felt that her return was perfectly timed, allowing her to witness such a scene.
She walked directly to Grandmother Yu’s side and frowned at the tea splattered on the table. “You haven’t been feeling well these days and should be resting carefully. Who has upset you?”
For no apparent reason, Yu Fangyi felt a pang of guilt.
Su Jintang, on the other hand, was furious. “You rebellious girl, is this something you can interfere in?”
“Then what is it that I can interfere in?”
Yu Shuwan couldn’t help but laugh. “Having an outsider unrelated to the Yu family recorded in the Yu Family Register—now that’s what’s truly strange, isn’t it?
Mother, you’re only in your thirties now, how could you already be so confused?”