Pei Mingrong thought Jiang Yao was talking about her when she mentioned sesame flatbread.
Coincidentally, she had a round face, and these past few days she had been suffering from internal heat, leaving small breakouts on her skin. From a distance, she really did resemble a sesame cake.
Instantly, she glared at Jiang Yao and raised her voice in accusation. “How can you judge people by their appearance?”
To think she had compared her to sesame flatbread.
Meanwhile, Jiang Yao—who had simply felt a bit regretful about not being able to eat Jinling-style sesame cakes in the capital—glanced at her indifferently.
“Isn’t the one judging by appearance you?” she replied calmly. “Just because I look pretty, you assume I’m a seductress and insult me.”
So only she was allowed to judge others by appearance? What kind of logic was that?
“Seductress” was not a pleasant term—it was full of malice.
“Who’s jealous of you?” Pei Mingrong’s face turned red with anger, making her rounder features even more pronounced.
She swept her gaze over Jiang Yao and said with deliberate disdain, “So what if you’re a bit pretty? A bit big-eyed, fair-skinned, slim-waisted? What’s there to be so proud of?”
She really did not understand what kind of facial cream this woman from Jinling used—how could her skin be so fair, without even a single flaw? It was simply unfair.
Aside from that, what else did she have that could compare to her cousin? What made her worthy of being the eldest brother’s wife?
Jiang Yao simply gave a soft “oh.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
Then she looked her over seriously and said, “You’re quite cute too.”
Her tone and gaze were completely sincere.
Pei Mingrong puffed up her cheeks and, unexpectedly, fell silent.
The exchange was observed by everyone in the room. Madam Luo said nothing, but the woman seated beside her—who had remained silent until now—suddenly spoke.
“Miss Mingrong is just young and joking. Why must Sister-in-law take it seriously?” she said gently.
On the surface, it sounded like she was smoothing things over, but in reality she was implying that Jiang Yao, as an elder, was petty and narrow-minded.
Jiang Yao turned to look at her. The woman had a delicate appearance and wore luxurious clothing made of fine cloud brocade. From the fabric alone, Jiang Yao could roughly guess her identity.
So she deliberately asked, “I’m also joking. But may I ask who you are?”
She wore an expression of complete unfamiliarity.
This made Xue Jiao laugh softly despite herself, thinking this new eldest sister-in-law was quite mischievous.
In the Pei household, there were only three married sons. Since the second sister-in-law had already been introduced earlier, this could only be the third sister-in-law.
Only Madam Luo’s expression darkened.
But who told her to act so aloof and refuse to introduce herself properly just moments ago?
Madam Luo finally explained, “She is the wife of the third son, Mingxue. Her surname is Luo, given name Fuqu.”
After a pause, she added, “She is considered a great contributor to the Pei family. She has given birth to the eldest grandson of our main branch.”
Upon hearing this, Luo Fuqu—who had “produced the heir”—straightened her back slightly, a faint trace of pride appearing on her face.
Sharing the same surname Luo, and seeing how Madam Luo treated her so familiarly, Jiang Yao guessed they were likely from the same clan.
As for this so-called “great contribution,” she did not understand what there was to boast about. It was not as though the Pei family was on the verge of extinction—or that Luo Fuqu had given birth to ten children at once.
Thus, Jiang Yao said calmly, “So it’s the third sister-in-law. Next time, please remember to introduce yourself first. Otherwise, people might mistake you for some relative trying to freeload off another household.”
She was younger in age, but her seniority was higher by marriage.
As for whether this would offend anyone or damage relations between sisters-in-law, she did not care in the slightest.
From what she could see, aside from Xue Jiao, neither Madam Luo, Luo Fuqu, nor the young lady all looked upon her favorably.
If that was the case, there was no need to pretend to be polite.
Hearing this, Luo Fuqu’s expression turned cold with anger.
But then she said meaningfully, “I heard that Sister-in-law only woke up at noon today. It must have been difficult for Eldest Brother to pretend to be ill this morning just to delay the tea ceremony until now.”
Jiang Yao took a sip of tea and smiled lightly. “So the third sister-in-law is very clear about our schedule. Did you perch under our bed last night?”
Luo Fuqu’s face stiffened. “What nonsense are you talking about?”
Jiang Yao suddenly turned cold. “If not, then on what basis are you claiming that my husband was pretending to be ill?”
Luo Fuqu snapped back, “I meant you deliberately disrespected Mother and refused to serve tea on time!”
Jiang Yao replied calmly, “I didn’t serve morning tea, but I did serve afternoon tea. Mother drank it too, and even said it tasted good. Right, Mother?”
She turned to look at Madam Luo with a perfectly innocent expression.
Madam Luo, who clearly remembered never saying such a thing, met her bright, watery eyes and beautiful face—and hesitated whether she should expose her lie.
But her silence was interpreted as agreement.
Seeing this, Luo Fuqu gritted her teeth and smiled at Madam Luo. “If Mother likes it, I can come another day to offer evening tea as well.”
Madam Luo’s eyelids twitched violently. “…That will not be necessary.”
Drinking tea at night—how would she ever sleep?
“Vulgar. How can you say such things?” Pei Mingrong muttered under her breath. “As expected of someone from a low-born family—no manners at all.”
Though her voice was not loud, Jiang Yao heard it clearly.
She glanced at her and replied lazily, “A noble upbringing didn’t seem to give you much manners either.”
“Mother, look at her!” Pei Mingrong immediately protested.
Madam Luo, seated at the head, pressed a hand to her forehead. Her head was starting to hurt again.
Too noisy. Far too noisy.
She should never have called them all here. She should have just finished the tea and gone back to sleep.
Xue Jiao, seeing her mother-in-law struggling to maintain composure, tried to mediate gently. “We are all family. There’s no need to argue over such small matters. Please calm down.”
Pei Mingrong glared. “Who’s family with her?”
Luo Fuqu stood aside, clearly enjoying the scene.
Finally, Madam Luo could not hold back any longer. “Enough! Stop arguing! What kind of behavior is this?”
The room immediately fell silent.
She let out a long breath, then turned to Pei Mingrong sternly. “Mingrong, she is your elder sister-in-law. How have I taught you? And how dare you use words like ‘seductress’ so casually?”
“M-Mother, I—”
Before she could defend herself, Madam Luo turned to Luo Fuqu. “And you, Fuqu. How can you believe baseless rumors? If you have time, you should focus on urging Mingxue and your son to study properly and earn official titles!”
Luo Fuqu opened her mouth but said nothing.
Madam Luo then glanced at Xue Jiao and said nothing.
Finally, her gaze landed on Jiang Yao.
Her expression darkened. “As for you, Jiang-shi, can you not be more tolerant? Why must you argue with them?”
The distinction was clear—one “Jiang-shi,” one “Fuqu.”
Favoritism was obvious.
So this was it: endure others, tolerate humiliation, and sacrifice oneself for harmony.
At once, Jiang Yao’s expression cooled. She lifted her gaze and looked directly at Madam Luo.
Her tone was sharp.
“Mother, I think you have misunderstood something. I have always followed the principle that if others do not offend me, I do not offend them. If someone treats me politely, I naturally return the courtesy.”
She paused, then continued coldly, “Did I say a single wrong word to the second sister-in-law just now?”
Xue Jiao, suddenly mentioned, blinked and shook her head.
Madam Luo felt a faint unease under that gaze.
Jiang Yao’s voice turned even colder as she swept her eyes over the two silent women.
“They insulted me first and deliberately provoked conflict. Should I simply swallow it and endure humiliation?”
“Instead of twisting matters later, why not make things clear today?”
She stood up abruptly, her exquisite face icy as frost.
“This marriage was personally sought by the Pei family. It was an imperial decree. I did not beg to marry into your household.”
“If you are dissatisfied, go to the palace and ask the Emperor to revoke it. Do not take it out on me, the new bride!”
With that, she slammed her teacup down hard on the table.
Tea splashed, and the entire hall fell into dead silence.
Everyone stared at her in shock, stunned speechless.
How… how dared she speak to Madam Luo like that?