Seeing Yongjia like this, she had no choice but to kneel down.
“You just hit the Jiang family’s daughter, didn’t pay attention in class, and today you angered Yang Fuzi so much he threatened to resign! Zhao Qingning, are you trying to reach the heavens? Should we offer you your uncle’s dragon throne too?”
Yongjia was furious. She had just learned that during her absence, her troublesome daughter had caused more than one incident.
Zhao Qingning had nothing to say in her defense.
Had Yang Fuzi reported on her this quickly?
But she couldn’t refute any of it.
She had indeed driven the teacher away, and she had indeed hit Jiang Zhiyi.
Right now, the main issue was how to calm Yongjia’s anger.
Zhao Qingning resorted to her old tactic, preparing to play pitiful: “Mother, I know I was wrong. I apologized to the teacher today, and I apologized to Miss Jiang too.”
It’s just that neither of them had accepted her apologies.
Unexpectedly, her words made Yongjia laugh in anger: “Was that an apology? Lord Jiang is only a fifth-rank official, and you sent him eastern pearls and gold hairpins? Eastern pearls are tributes—how dare he accept them? And do you think I don’t know about you and that Chen boy provoking the teacher?”
“…”
Wronged! She really hadn’t!
Having witnessed plenty of scheming and intrigue, Yongjia tended to think more deeply than ordinary people.
What angered her even more was her daughter’s foolishness.
Thinking of this, she said coldly: “Go kneel in the ancestral hall for one hour and reflect on your actions.”
Well, in the end, she still couldn’t escape the fate of kneeling in the ancestral hall.
Zhao Qingning couldn’t help pleading her innocence: “I really didn’t…”
“Are you not going yet?!” Yongjia glared sharply, and Zhao Qingning’s words caught in her throat.
Forget it. The original owner had committed too many misdeeds. Even if she explained, Yongjia wouldn’t listen, and it would only escalate the conflict.
If that happened, it wouldn’t be just one hour of kneeling.
With this thought, Zhao Qingning sighed and stood up to head to the ancestral hall.
A voice came from outside the door.
“Aning is just a child, merely a bit mischievous. How could she deserve such a scolding?”
The newcomer, dressed in a blue robe, had a handsome and refined appearance, standing tall and graceful. As soon as he entered, he helped the kneeling girl to her feet: “Come, Aning, get up. Don’t be afraid, I’ll stand up for you.”
Zhao Qingning studied the person before her and finally remembered who he was.
Zhao Junyuan, her biological father. Born into a humble family, he caught the attention of the eldest princess after passing the Imperial Examination and was granted a marriage by the late emperor, becoming the Imperial Son-in-Law. After the current emperor ascended the throne, he was further appointed as Grand Tutor.
Reaching such a high official position in his thirties made him the first in history to do so.
Zhao Junyuan patted her shoulder reassuringly, his tone slightly reproachful: “Aning has been frail since childhood. Why are you punishing her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall?”
“If she’s so frail, how could she push someone into the water?” Yongjia’s expression remained indifferent upon seeing her husband.
“Just some roughhousing between young girls—is it worth making such a fuss?” Zhao Junyuan frowned. “Besides, the Jiang family isn’t particularly influential. If she pushed her, so be it. We can send some gifts later, and Lord Jiang won’t hold a grudge.”
“It’s precisely because you think like this that she’s been spoiled into such lawlessness.” Yongjia sighed heavily. “If this continues, who in the entire capital would dare marry her when she comes of age?”
“How could my daughter be unwanted?” Zhao Junyuan said dismissively. “I’m afraid by then, the suitors will wear out the threshold of the Princess Manor.”
Yongjia was left speechless.
They say a mother is gentle and a father strict, but in their case, it was the opposite.
Still, she didn’t want to argue with Zhao Junyuan.
She often practiced Buddhism and was rarely at the manor, which had already created some distance between them as a couple.
Zhao Junyuan was well aware of this. Seeing that she had fallen silent, he lowered his head to look at Zhao Qingning. “Aning, come, Father will take you out to play.”
He wore a smile on his face, gazing affectionately at his daughter.
Zhao Qingning blinked.
No wonder the original host had been closer to her father—Zhao Junyuan had been spoiling her like this.
It was just a pity she didn’t know there was a term for it: killing by praise.
If Zhao Qingning hadn’t read the plot in the book, she would have been deceived by him too.
In truth, Zhao Junyuan didn’t like this daughter of his at all.
Because he deeply despised Yongjia, it was only natural that he wouldn’t care for her either.
The book mentioned that Zhao Junyuan was very confident in his own talents. He had come to the capital to take the Imperial Examination, full of ambition, and after much effort, he achieved the top score as the zhuangyuan. Yet, instead of a high official post, he was granted a marriage to become the Imperial Son-in-Law.
Later, the emperor, valuing his elder sister, exceptionally appointed him as Grand Tutor.
Outsiders saw it as an honor, but Zhao Junyuan had originally believed he could be enfeoffed as a marquis or appointed as a chancellor. Instead, relying on a woman’s connections, he ended up as a Grand Tutor with no real power.
Resentment festered in his heart, but on the surface, he played his part flawlessly. With Yongjia often away from the Princess Manor, he indulged the original host until she became willful and reckless. By her teens, she was ignorant in all the refined arts—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—utterly incompetent.
Including later, when he framed Yongjia for colluding with the enemy, and coincidentally, the original host offended Lu Jinghan, the entire Princess Manor was exiled. Meanwhile, he aligned himself with the male lead and eventually rose to a high official position.
Pitiful Yongjia, who never knew until her dying day that the man by her side was a venomous snake.
Zhao Junyuan believed he had done nothing wrong and owed nothing to the mother and daughter.
However, Zhao Qingning, having read the entire story, knew that before the Imperial Examination, Yongjia had already met him. She had directly asked him if he was willing to become the Imperial Son-in-Law, giving him a choice.
And Zhao Junyuan never said he was unwilling; he even concealed the fact that he was already engaged back in his hometown.
His talents weren’t particularly outstanding either. It was entirely because the late emperor doted on his daughter and, seeing that she had taken a liking to Zhao Junyuan, directly named him zhuangyuan to bolster the princess’s prestige.
To put it bluntly, this man was a hypocrite who would kick away the ladder after climbing up.
Still, Zhao Qingning had to admire his dedication—he had played the loving father for over a decade.
As her thoughts returned to the present, she saw Zhao Junyuan taking her hand, ready to go out.
Zhao Qingning stood motionless.
He looked puzzled. “Aning?”
She turned her gaze to Yongjia at the head of the room. “Mother, I know I was wrong.”
Zhao Junyuan’s eyes widened in surprise.
Yongjia was even more taken aback. Usually, when her husband shielded their wayward daughter, the girl would act as if she had backing, shouting and yelling at her. Why was she admitting her fault today?
Zhao Qingning knew perfectly well who truly had her best interests at heart. She spoke calmly and deliberately, “I was distracted in class, but I didn’t mean to provoke the tutor. As for Miss Jiang, I didn’t know what to give her. I just thought the gold hairpin was pretty and didn’t pay attention to the boundaries.”
She looked at her mother with pitiful eyes. “I’ll change from now on. Could you please not punish me by making me kneel in the ancestral hall? Any other punishment would be fine.”
Yongjia was momentarily speechless.
Zhao Junyuan could hardly believe his eyes.
Since when had his daughter changed her temperament?
Seeing Yongjia’s expression soften, as if placated by her proactive admission of fault, he felt a jolt of alarm.
He could not allow the two of them to coexist peacefully.
It was best to drive a wedge between mother and daughter—only then would Yongjia suffer!
“Enough!” Zhao Junyuan snapped angrily, glaring at Yongjia. “You’re always away, cultivating Buddhism, paying her no mind. The moment you return, you want to punish her. What are you trying to turn our daughter into?”
In the past, whenever he mentioned Yongjia’s devotion to Buddhism and her absence from the manor, the original host would erupt in anger, sparking arguments and hurting Yongjia with sharp words. Hurt and unwilling to stay at home, she would pack her bags and leave, creating a vicious cycle that eventually left the Princess Manor entirely under Zhao Junyuan’s control.
This time, however, after waiting for a long while, he not only failed to provoke Zhao Qingning’s temper but instead watched as she stepped forward and took Yongjia’s hand: “Mother, I truly know I was wrong. Please don’t be angry—it’s bad for your health. Besides, if you’re worried I might cause trouble again, you could always stay home to supervise me.”
Yongjia was both moved and pleasantly surprised by her daughter’s unexpected maturity. Her maternal instincts surged, and she no longer wished to punish her.
A flicker of panic crossed Zhao Junyuan’s eyes.
She wanted to stay in the manor? How could that be allowed!
“Aning,” he forced a smile, “your mother is devoted to austere practice in the Buddhist hall. How can we hinder her accumulation of merit?”
Zhao Qingning turned to him with a smile: “Then we can set up a Buddhist hall at home. The Princess Manor is spacious enough—there are plenty of places for it. Besides, as long as one carries Buddha in their heart, any place can be suitable for quiet cultivation.”