A heavy silence fell again, so tense that even breathing seemed too loud.
Zheng Rui, having suffered blow after blow to her pride, could no longer contain herself.
“Husband, what you are saying isn’t that a bit biased?”
“Although Lingqing is not my biological daughter, I’ve raised her with care since she was little. Now, because of a minor mistake, are you going to erase all my years of effort?”
Zheng Rui, well-read and skilled at shifting blame, spoke earnestly. Her voice even caught slightly at the end, and the previously gentle, restrained woman’s eyes turned red, which made it hard not to feel some sympathy.
Su Huai, though angry, found he could not speak against her when seeing her so wronged.
Just as Zhou Jianyue was about to say something, out of the corner of his eye, a graceful, slender figure quietly rose.
Su Lingqing walked forward deliberately, head lowered, extremely cautious, her hands tightly clasped.
When she reached the center, she suddenly knelt and bowed toward Su Huai and Zheng Rui.
“Father, Mother… it was all Lingqing’s fault just now. I had intended that Father should rest after traveling so far, and Mother has the hard task of managing the household. That is why I dared to step forward and offer my place…”
Her delicate shoulders trembled slightly.
“If Father and Mother were to continue arguing over Lingqing, I would wish I could die to make amends!”
As she finished, a faint, kitten-like sob escaped. Su Huai looked at her for the first time with a hint of pity in his expression.
Su Yaoyao saw this and quickly stood, pointing at her. “Father! Don’t believe what she’s saying! Just yesterday she ”
“Silence!” Su Huai suddenly shouted, cutting her off.
“What kind of behavior is this? Who are you referring to when you say ‘she’? This is your elder sister! You have no sense of rank or propriety! It’s only because your mother and I have indulged you too much that you’ve become like this!”
Zhou Jianyue gently placed her hand on the man’s shoulder. “Sir, don’t be angry. This younger sister is still young and inexperienced; be careful not to hurt yourself.”
Su Huai snorted. “Young and inexperienced? She’s only three months younger than Lingqing! She is increasingly unruly!”
Su Lingqing still kept her head lowered, but she could feel Zhou Jianyue’s gaze on her.
It wasn’t an illusion Zhou Jianyue was clearly supporting her.
Su Yaoyao pouted and burst into tears. What should have been a joyful welcome feast had turned into something like a mourning ceremony.
Zheng Rui directed her anger toward Zhou Jianyue. “Who do you think you are, meddling in the affairs of the Minister’s residence?”
Su Huai slammed his hand on the table and stood. “What are you saying?! If not for Jianyue, I would have died in Jiangnan long ago! Anyone who dares speak rudely to Jianyue in the future is opposing me!”
Then the man’s face softened, and he led Zhou Jianyue away.
Su Lingqing lifted her little face and caught Zhou Jianyue’s glance. The latter smiled at her.
Zheng Rui, seeing Zhou Jianyue smile in their direction, assumed it was a provocation, and her face twitched with rage.
Su Lingqing rubbed her stomach she had been pretending to be hungry all along.
She rose and walked toward her seat. Zheng Rui, brimming with fury, shouted, “Stop! Did I tell you to rise?”
Her voice was icy and sharp, and even Su Yaoyao fell silent instinctively.
The others looked on, some with curiosity at the spectacle.
Only Su Lingqing remained calm, as if she had been waiting for Zheng Rui to lose her temper.
Anger clouds judgment, after all.
Su Liao furrowed his brow, moving his finger but not standing. The First Madam pressed his hand down, signaling the young man not to act rashly.
Su Lingqing smiled faintly, meeting Zheng Rui’s furious eyes.
“Mother, such a temper careful not to hurt yourself.”
Her voice was cool and measured, neither submissive nor defiant, causing Zheng Rui’s pupils to shrink slightly.
“Lingqing, there’s something I haven’t settled with you. I had intended to leave it when your father returned, but since you don’t seem to appreciate it, we’ll settle it now.”
Zheng Rui lifted her chin and looked at Su Lingqing with cold detachment, as though she were looking at a corpse.
“You had someone beat up Grandma Zhou and have been disrespectful and unkind to me and your legitimate younger sister. You’ve never behaved like this before perhaps you were instigated by those around you. Today, we’ll deal with it once and for all, so nothing festers overnight.”
She was about to summon Jingzhe and Jianjia, but Su Lingqing had become much smarter than before. Knowing that it wasn’t safe to have her maids nearby, she went out alone.
“Wait!” Su Lingqing lifted her chin to face Zheng Rui.
“Mother, isn’t this going too far?”
She deliberately glanced at Su Yaoyao, who was immediately enraged and leapt forward recklessly.
“How dare you speak to Mother like that! How dare you question her decisions! You’ve truly lost your mind!”
Everyone else, seeing Su Yaoyao’s hysterical outburst, was stunned.
Who… is this?
Is this really the gentle, clever, and lively Second Miss?
Only after finishing did Su Yaoyao realize what had happened.
Su Lingqing spoke calmly: “Oh… Sister, what’s wrong with you? Scary! Looks like it’s not just me who’s changed you’re not usually like this!”
Su Yaoyao shouted angrily, “You! You dare trick me!”
Su Lingqing blinked innocently, “What? How did your sister trick you?”
She even tilted her head slightly, making it more infuriating.
“Good thing Father just went back to his room, or seeing you like this, he’d be furious.”
Su Yaoyao tried to speak again, but Zheng Rui grabbed her hand. She shook her head, unable to speak before a male voice, tinged with anger, came from outside:
“I’ve already heard everything!”
It was Su Huai, returning!
The loud, commanding voice made everyone stand instantly. Su Yang and Su Yue also rose, dizzy from hunger. Even Concubine Rong felt pity but could do nothing.
The man strode forward. Zhou Jianyue did not follow. Su Lingqing immediately acted even more fragile.
“Fa… Father?!” She looked panicked and whispered softly, “Father! Please don’t be angry. It’s all Lingqing’s fault. Everything just now was a misunderstanding! Perhaps Sister didn’t mean it…”
“Whether she meant it or not, she knows in her heart!”
In just half a day, Su Huai seemed utterly disappointed in Su Yaoyao, even finding it exhausting to look at her.
Returning home, he found his usually gentle and tolerant wife acting stubborn, and his most cherished daughter behaving wildly it was impossible not to care.
What Zheng Rui valued, what Su Huai treasured, what Su Yaoyao feared all of it, Su Lingqing had remembered from the eighteen years before.
“Yaoyao, how did you get to behave like this? How have I taught you? Tonight, go kneel in the ancestral hall for two hours to reflect properly. If you don’t change, continue kneeling!”
The ancestral hall was dark, cold, and damp at night Su Yaoyao feared it the most.
She shook her head in terror. “Father! Yaoyao knows she was wrong, but everything just now wasn’t really what I wanted to say. It was…”
Zheng Rui’s thoughts raced, ready to help Su Yaoyao. At that tense moment, a slightly youthful but clear male voice came from the doorway, interrupting her:
“This residence is lively indeed! Yuan’er returned a little late, please forgive me.”
A young boy, no longer a child but still youthful, appeared. Dressed in a green robe with a moon-white cloak, he exuded elegance, clarity, and nobility.
He raised his eyes, and his gaze fell directly upon Su Lingqing.