When the carriage stopped in front of the Marquis’s residence, Qu Jinshu had barely stepped down when a gust of wind swept toward her.
She dodged just in time, but the attack still grazed her chin.
“Miss!” Yunshui called out worriedly.
Qu Jinshu waved a hand to reassure her.
Once she had steadied herself, she slowly raised her head and looked at the woman standing before her.
Her mother, Tang Moying, one of Qu Sheng’s concubines.
She should have been a beautiful woman, but a deep mark had formed between her brows from years of constant frowning.
The woman who had once carried the spirited air of someone from the martial world had now been worn down by life in the inner household and years of resentment.
Her face was filled with anger, and one hand was still raised in the air. She was the one who had just slapped Qu Jinshu.
Seeing her birth mother again after so long felt almost like a lifetime had passed.
Qu Jinshu calmly called out, “Mother.”
“Don’t call me that! Your father sent a servant back to inform me. You caused trouble for him at Yunwu Mountain, didn’t you?” she demanded angrily.
“Mother, you haven’t even asked what kind of trouble I caused. All I did was wear Qu Zhao’s face and give him a little trouble.” Qu Jinshu’s eyes were filled with disappointment.
This was her mother, the woman who treated Qu Sheng as the center of her entire world.
Whenever he was displeased, she would take out her anger on Qu Jinshu.
“So you really only caused trouble for Qu Zhao and didn’t create any problems for your father? If that’s the case, then that’s wonderful! Those mother and son should have been taught a lesson. Gao Qionghua and her son deserve to suffer a little!”
Gao Qionghua was Qu Sheng’s legal wife and the birth mother of Qu Zhao, Qu Ya, and Qu Tong. She was also the woman Tang Moying had spent half her life envying.
“But even if you wanted to deal with that mother and son, couldn’t you have done it secretly? Why did you have to openly anger your father? He must be so disappointed in you!”
Tang Moying raised her voice and scolded Qu Jinshu again.
“How many times have I taught you? You’re a woman, and people already look down on you. You have to be even more obedient and perform even better. Only then can I compete with Gao Qionghua! What’s wrong with enduring a little hardship? Do you know how much I suffered back then just to get close to your father and secure even half a place by his side?”
Every other word out of her mouth was about how difficult her own life had been.
Qu Jinshu sneered inwardly.
This was her mother.
In both her previous life and this one, she had always been the same.
She had never treated Qu Jinshu as her daughter. To her, Qu Jinshu was nothing more than a tool to help her compete for her husband’s favor.
In her previous life, when Qu Jinshu was unhappy in the He family, her mother had not shown the slightest concern. Instead, she had urged her to secure more benefits for herself so that Qu Sheng could profit from them.
She should have given up on this woman long ago. She should never have held on to any expectations of someone who, despite sharing her blood, treated her more like an enemy than a daughter.
“I’m tired. Whatever you have to say can wait until another day.”
Qu Jinshu simply walked past Tang Moying.
“Stop right there! I’m only trying to teach you a lesson. Are you really going to get upset over that?” Tang Moying was furious.
“Do you think I’ve worked so hard and done so much for nothing? Everything I’ve done has been for the two of us!”
“If I hadn’t swallowed my pride and endured all those humiliations, how could you have entered the Marquis’s household and enjoyed a life of fine clothes and good food?”
“Otherwise, you’d still be a bastard with no father!”
Those final words finally made Qu Jinshu stop.
Yunshui covered her mouth, staring at Qu Jinshu with reddened eyes.
How could Concubine Tang say such things to her young lady? Was she even a real mother?
But words like these could no longer hurt Qu Jinshu.
With her back turned to Tang Moying, she replied, “That’s right. You’ve worked hard, Concubine Tang. Then I wish you success in getting everything you’ve ever wanted.”
C-Concubine Tang?
The words she hated most were “Concubine Tang.” She could tolerate hearing them from other people, but why would her own daughter deliberately use them to provoke her?
Tang Moying wanted to continue scolding Qu Jinshu, but by the time she looked up, Qu Jinshu had already disappeared.
“Miss, please don’t be sad. I… I…”
Yunshui hurried after Qu Jinshu. She wanted to comfort her, but several times she opened her mouth only to find herself at a loss for words.
Qu Jinshu patted her shoulder, her tone calm. “Her words aren’t enough to hurt me. If something like that could still hurt me, I would have died of sorrow a long time ago.”
“All right. Rather than wasting our time being angry and upset, we might as well eat a couple more bowls of rice. I’m hungry. Hurry and get me something to eat.”
“Of course! I’ll arrange it right away.”
Having something to do helped Yunshui put her sadness aside. She hurried off to the kitchen.
Qu Jinshu’s courtyard was located in the most remote corner of the residence.
Gao Qionghua had deliberately arranged it that way to humiliate Tang Moying and her daughter, making sure they understood their place.
Tang Moying had initially made a fuss about it. But after Qu Sheng comforted her with a few words, she immediately gave in.
Even now, Qu Jinshu couldn’t understand how much Tang Moying loved Qu Sheng to be willing to sacrifice every last bit of her dignity for him.
But none of that concerned her anymore.
From now on, she would no longer do anything for Tang Moying.
Qu Jinshu had just entered the courtyard when a maid came out of the house.
“Miss, you’re finally back!”
The smiling maid was Bitao, someone Tang Moying had assigned to serve Qu Jinshu many years ago.
Although she was supposedly Qu Jinshu’s maid, she was actually Tang Moying’s eyes and ears, keeping track of everything Qu Jinshu did.
Over the past ten years, Qu Jinshu had suffered more than enough because of her.
Perhaps Qu Jinshu’s gaze was too unsettling, Bitao began stammering.
“M-Miss, why are you looking at this servant like that?”
“You’ve been away from the residence for two days. Lady Tang must have missed you terribly. This servant will go inform her right away.”
She was about to leave. But Qu Jinshu raised a hand and blocked her way.
“Kneel.”
“Miss, what has this servant done wrong? Why are you ordering me to kneel?” Bitao asked, sounding somewhat displeased.
“Kneel! I don’t intend to repeat myself a third time.”
Qu Jinshu placed a hand on Bitao’s shoulder and pressed down.
Unlike Yunshui, Bitao had never been hardworking or grateful. She had no interest in learning martial arts either. Under Qu Jinshu’s pressure, she was completely unable to resist and dropped straight to her knees.
The courtyard was muddy, with sharp pieces of gravel scattered across the ground. The pain made her grimace.
“Miss, what exactly have I done wrong?” Bitao shouted indignantly.
“Stay on your knees. You may get up once you’ve figured out what you’ve done wrong.”
Qu Jinshu coldly left her with those words before heading into the courtyard.
When Yunshui returned with food, she saw Bitao trying to sneak away so she could report everything to Concubine Tang.
Qu Jinshu’s voice came from inside the room. “Yunshui, keep an eye on her. Make sure she stays on her knees.”
At those words, Yunshui’s eyes lit up with excitement.
Her young lady was finally willing to deal with Bitao!
She had disliked Bitao for a long time. It was bad enough that the maid refused to do even the simplest household chores, but she was also disloyal to their young lady. All she ever thought about was how to run to Concubine Tang and report on her.
On several occasions, Bitao had caused their young lady to be punished with a whip by Concubine Tang.
Previously, their young lady had continued putting up with her out of consideration for her relationship with Concubine Tang.
But now she was finally done tolerating her!
It was wonderful!
“If Miss ordered you to kneel, then kneel. Don’t even think about sneaking away!”
Yunshui walked over and kicked Bitao in the leg, forcing her to drop heavily back onto her knees. This time, the pain was so severe that she couldn’t even get back up.
“Stay there and kneel properly. I’ll be watching you.”
After warning Bitao, Yunshui picked up the food and went to find Qu Jinshu.