"Slap!" A crisp sound.
Jin Ning's palm had already landed on Pei Jingchuan's face.
Pei Jingchuan looked at Jin Ning in disbelief: "You... dare to hit me?"
Jin Ning raised an eyebrow and looked at Pei Jingchuan: "I hit you, so what? I didn't dare? Besides... how was I supposed to know it was Second Brother who came? I thought whoever trespassed into my boudoir was some lecher!"
"Let alone slapping him, if I had stabbed the intruder to death with a knife, they would have deserved it!" Jin Ning retorted mercilessly.
Pei Jingchuan's heart choked, and he was furious. He also raised his hand.
Jin Ning also raised her neck and looked at Pei Jingchuan, saying coldly: "What? Is Brother going to make a move on me? Brother can go ahead and make a move! However... if this matter gets out, it will likely be very unfavorable to Brother!"
The coldness in Jin Ning's eyes clearly stated that if Pei Jingchuan dared to hit her, she would spread the news of Pei Jingchuan breaking into her boudoir today!
Pei Jingchuan's open palm suddenly clenched into a fist, then he retracted it and said to Jin Ning coldly: "Father and Mother sent me to bring you over!"
Saying that, Pei Jingchuan reached out to pull Jin Ning's wrist.
Jin Ning raised her hand, dodged Pei Jingchuan's hand, and said coldly: "I'll walk myself!"
Since Pei Jingchuan was sent, it seemed she had no choice but to go!
Then she would go and see what the fuss was about.
Pei Jingchuan entered the room first and looked at the person sitting in the main seat, as well as Pei Mingyue sitting beside Madam Song, and said: "Father, Mother, I've brought her!"
"She bullied Yue'er, caused trouble, and now wants to pretend to be sick to avoid it! Father and Mother must punish her severely!" Pei Jingchuan continued.
Jin Ning walked in a step later. She was a bit weak and powerless, but at this moment, she subconsciously straightened her body.
She wasn't pretending to be pitiful or wronged... it wasn't that she couldn't.
It was because she knew.
Let alone pretending, even if she were truly pitiful and wronged... these people would not genuinely care about her!
Wasn't it like this in her previous life?
Pei Mingyue said softly: "Second Brother, don't make things difficult for Eldest Sister. Eldest Sister suddenly has a sister like me, and it's hard to accept for a moment. It's normal for her to be unhappy and dislike me..."
"It's okay, I believe that as long as I treat Eldest Sister sincerely, Eldest Sister will definitely accept me!" As Pei Mingyue said this, her wronged eyes showed a hint of expectation, as if she had great hope for Jin Ning.
In her previous life, Jin Ning died quickly and never truly clashed with Pei Mingyue.
In this life, several encounters made her understand.
Why these so-called family members in her previous life were willing to force her to death for Pei Mingyue.
Although these so-called family members were muddled... Pei Mingyue's methods were also quite skillful!
Jin Ning suppressed the mockery in her eyes.
Pei Mingyue targeting her like this wasn't just about who was favored in the Yong'an Marquis Manor.
She was clearly fighting for Xiao Chen... or rather, for the Crown Princess identity that Xiao Chen could bring!
"Yue'er, please don't say that. The Marquis's Manor is your home. You don't need to curry favor with anyone to be accepted," Pei Jingchuan quickly said.
Pei Mingyue looked at Pei Jingchuan, her eyes turning red, seemingly very moved by Pei Jingchuan's words.
Madam Song looked at the Marquis with a troubled expression: "Marquis... how do you think this matter should be dealt with?"
Madam Song sighed: "Whether it's Ning Ning or Yue'er, they are both my daughters. My heart aches the most when they fight like this... as a mother."
Speaking of which, Madam Song looked at Jin Ning again and said, as if heartbroken: "Ning Ning, Mother knows you are very wronged that your sister has returned, but please, for Mother's sake, don't make things difficult for her."
Saying this, Madam Song picked up a handkerchief and wiped her tears.
Seeing this, Pei Mingyue couldn't help but wipe her tears as well.
The Marquis of Yong'an saw this and rubbed his forehead, seemingly finding the situation before him very difficult.
His father's dying wish was for him to take good care of Jin Ning.
Regardless of whether Jin Ning was a legitimate daughter, she was his own flesh and blood. He would not treat Jin Ning poorly just because her status changed.
However...
Jin Ning had only been back for two days, and the things she had done were truly one more excessive than the last, one more disappointing than the last.
The Marquis of Yong'an looked at Jin Ning with a stern face, his tone carrying a hint of anger: "Jin Ning, look at the good deeds you've done!"
"Your sister is clearly the one who was wronged, yet she is still speaking up for you. And your mother! Even though you are not her birth daughter, has your mother not treated you well all these years?" the Marquis of Yong'an retorted.
"She registered you as a legitimate daughter, provided you with fine clothes and food, took good care of you, and even hired a Mama from the palace to teach you! She sacrificed a lot for you, yet now... because of your narrow-mindedness, you are making things difficult for your sister and upsetting your mother!" the Marquis of Yong'an continued.
Jin Ning looked at the Marquis of Yong'an and retorted: "Father thinks I bullied my sister?"
"Your Second Brother personally witnessed your sister pouring you tea, and you deliberately knocked over the teacup!" the Marquis of Yong'an said sternly.
Jin Ning smiled and said: "He said he saw it, so it's true? I also saw him keeping a mistress in the Spring Red House!"
Hearing this, Pei Jingchuan glared at Pei Jin Ning: "Pei Jin Ning! What nonsense are you spouting!"
Jin Ning looked at Pei Jingchuan with a sneer: "What you saw is true, and what I saw is nonsense and madness? That's too unfair."
"Besides... Second Brother knows in his heart whether it's nonsense or not." Jin Ning continued.
She hadn't seen anything in this life, but when she was a ghost, she had personally witnessed how her good Second Brother fought with the family for his lover in the Spring Red House and the child in her womb!
"You just returned from Huaiyang, but the Spring Red House only opened in Bianjing City a year ago. How could you have seen it? You dare to say you're not spouting fabricated nonsense!" Pei Jingchuan said, enraged.
Jin Ning said "Oh" indifferently.
Then she said: "So, there really is a Spring Red House! I didn't expect that Second Brother, as a son of a noble family, would be so familiar with these pleasure houses. You even know when they opened!"
Hearing this, the Marquis of Yong'an couldn't help but look at Pei Jingchuan.
They were currently planning his marriage, intending to betroth him to the daughter of the great scholar Shen Family.
If news of Pei Jingchuan frequenting pleasure houses got out... this marriage would likely be difficult to secure.
Pei Jingchuan, under his gaze, whether out of guilt or something else, suddenly turned red in the face: "Father, don't listen to her nonsense!"
"She is now rambling and changing the subject, merely to divert attention and escape Father and Mother's questioning!" Pei Jingchuan continued.
Jin Ning scoffed: "Whether this is true or not, time will tell."
Saying this, Jin Ning looked at the Marquis of Yong'an and continued: "As for what Second Brother said about me deliberately spilling the teacup, I do not admit to it!"
"If I had truly done it deliberately, then Second Sister's clothes should have gotten wet, not mine?"
"Would I be so foolish as to deliberately get my clothes wet at a palace banquet and leave?" Jin Ning retorted.
Saying this, Jin Ning paused slightly and looked at Pei Mingyue, asking: "Second Sister's clothes didn't get wet, did they?"
Pei Mingyue did not expect that, even now, Jin Ning could still argue so clearly and logically.
Her gaze flickered slightly, and she looked at Madam Song as if seeking help.
Jin Ning then looked at Madam Song and said: "Mother disliked my wet clothes back then, saying I disgraced the Marquis's Manor, and urged me to change. If Sister's clothes had gotten wet, would Mother have urged Sister to change as well?"
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