Immediately afterward, Old Madam Lu glared fiercely at Ye Jiayi: "From today onward, you need not be involved in managing the household. The authority over household affairs shall be handed over to Yun Ci!"
"Grandmother?" Ye Jiayi gritted her teeth in fury. She had intended to frame and incriminate Yun Ci, but not only did Yun Ci escape unscathed, she herself ended up implicated.
How utterly infuriating.
Seeing that Old Madam Lu intended to smooth things over and let the matter rest, Yun Ci sneered, "There's no need for the authority over household affairs. As long as Grandmother treats me fairly, I can let bygones be bygones."
Just moments ago, the Lu family had written a Letter of Divorce.
Why, when it came to Ye Jiayi, was she merely stripped of that worthless authority over household affairs?
Did they think she cared for it?
Pah!
"Nalan Yun Ci, do not push too hard. Jiayi is your elder sister-in-law!" Old Madam Lu roared angrily, already harboring immense dissatisfaction with Yun Ci.
Ye Jiayi straightened her back. With the support of the Ye family behind her, she had no fear of the other party.
"On the wedding night, my husband spent an entire month in the room of his widowed sister-in-law, and even got her pregnant. I wonder if such a scandal were to spread… would the Lu family still have the face to stand firm in the capital?" Yun Ci's gaze lingered on Ye Jiayi's abdomen.
Old Madam Lu's pupils contracted. This matter was extremely secretive—how did Yun Ci come to know about it?
She immediately looked at Ye Jiayi.
Ye Jiayi lowered her head in panic. How could she have known that Yun Ci would return alive? In a moment of thoughtlessness, she had let it slip.
The Lu family's original plan was to wait until Ye Jiayi gave birth, then find a reason to hold an Adoption Ceremony for Ye Jiayi, with the child still registered under the eldest branch.
Now that the matter had been exposed, if it were to spread, the first to be affected would be Lu Yanci.
After all, the eldest son of the Lu family had only died two years ago, and he was Lu Yanci's own elder brother.
If they truly intended to practice Dual Succession of Two Branches, they should at least wait five years. Moreover, there was no reason for him not to stay in his newlywed wife's room, spending every night in the room of his widowed sister-in-law.
"Yun Ci, Grandmother knows you have been wronged today and that there is some misunderstanding between you and Jiayi. But you cannot casually slander Jiayi's innocence—she is the legitimate eldest daughter-in-law of Lu Guogong Fu!"
Old Madam Lu spoke earnestly to Yun Ci: "Since you entered this household, Jiayi has treated you well. If not for being misled by this wretched maid, how could she have misunderstood you?"
Immediately afterward, a flash of ruthlessness appeared in Old Madam Lu's eyes as she pointed at Bi Ye: "Someone! Drag this troublemaking wretch out and beat her to death!"
Bi Ye's face turned deathly pale as she stared in disbelief at Old Madam Lu. Before she could struggle, someone gagged her and dragged her away.
"Wait!"
Yun Ci blocked the way. She was no fool—Bi Ye was, after all, a House-born Servant from Nalan Jia and her dowry maid.
Pinning all the blame on Bi Ye would be tantamount to shifting the responsibility back onto herself.
In the end, if Bi Ye died, the Lu family would simply accuse her of failing to discipline her servant properly.
Whoever wanted to swallow this bitter pill could do so—she certainly wouldn't!
"Yun Ci, Grandmother has already stood up for you and taken charge. What more do you want?" Lu Yanci's low voice carried a warning: "If this matter escalates, how will you survive in the Lu family in the future? Jiayi… Sister-in-law's family is the Ye family."
The single word "Jiayi" thoroughly disgusted Yun Ci.
Yun Ci directly ignored Lu Yanci and looked at Old Madam Lu, speaking word by word: "Whether it's a misunderstanding or not can be determined by having someone skilled in medicine diagnose it. Bi Ye has followed me for so many years; she wouldn't have the audacity to stir up such a major incident. Old Madam, although my father is imprisoned, the Emperor has yet to formally charge him. My Nalan family remains a prominent and respected clan in the capital. Since I am willing to undergo public examination, surely it wouldn't be too much for my sister-in-law to have her pulse checked as well?"
She wasn't trying to save Bi Ye—it simply wasn't yet time for Bi Ye to die.
"You're insane!" Ye Jiayi exclaimed furiously. "How can your Nalan family, on the verge of being raided and exterminated, compare to my Ye family?"
Yun Ci sneered. Was she already losing her composure?
She fixed her gaze on Old Madam Lu. "Old Madam may not be aware, but Ye Jiayi has publicly claimed that the reason the Nalan family was reprimanded by the Emperor was entirely because the second young master of the Lu family spent three years gathering evidence to bring us down. As for the ducal title of Guogong Fu…"
Her tone carried unmistakable mockery, as if threatening that if Old Madam Lu didn't take charge, they would all face mutual destruction.
"You—!" Ye Jiayi tried to speak again but was cut off by Old Madam Lu, who shot her a fierce glare that made her shrink back into silence.
Only then did Old Madam Lu realize that Yun Ci was no longer the gentle and virtuous granddaughter-in-law she once knew. Every word was sharp, and she refused to yield even an inch, her temperament having grown much fiercer.
It seemed she had been pushed to her limits this time.
Simultaneously, Old Madam Lu inwardly cursed Ye Jiayi as a fool—the plan hadn't even succeeded, yet she had already revealed their hand.
To calm the situation, Old Madam Lu resorted to emotional tactics once more. Her eyes reddened, and with a hoarse voice, she reached out to grasp Yun Ci's hand. "Yun Ci, these are all rumors. Don't believe them. The second young master has been working tirelessly for your father's case, and the Ye family can also lend a hand…"
Without a second thought, Yun Ci rejected her outright. A petty man like Lu Yanci would only kick someone when they were down and curry favor with the powerful—how could he genuinely help the Nalan family?
"There's no need for Grandmother to trouble yourself. Madam Liu has already promised me that she would speak on my behalf before the Empress Dowager. I believe someone will restore justice for my father."
If Ye Jiayi dared to mention Consort Ye, Yun Ci would dare to invoke the Empress Dowager!
Everyone knew the Empress Dowager deeply disliked Consort Ye. Before the Empress Dowager, Consort Ye could only tuck her fox tail between her legs!
Hearing this, Fu Xi, standing beneath the corridor, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth. Did this woman really think Madam Liu was so easy to deal with?
Madam Liu was merely temporarily cornered by Yun Ci, forced to give false testimony. Once Madam Liu regained her senses, it would be a miracle if she didn't turn around and bite Yun Ci back.
Yun Ci watched as everyone present changed expressions, especially Ye Jiayi, who was both furious and resentful but had lost her earlier fire. She could only look pleadingly at Old Madam Lu, which filled Yun Ci with immense satisfaction.
"Yun Ci, go back and rest for now. Tomorrow morning, I will surely give you a satisfactory explanation!" Old Madam Lu declared decisively, though a flicker of malice passed through her eyes.
After a moment's hesitation, Yun Ci nodded and let the matter drop. She rose to take her leave, and before departing, she also took the jade pendant from Lu Yanci's hand.
Others might not know, but she was well aware of the true significance of this jade pendant.
Yun Ci's birth mother, Lady Tang, was the only daughter of the wealthiest family in Qinghe County, with vast fortunes. This jade pendant could be used to withdraw funds from any of the Tang family's businesses.
After retrieving the jade pendant, Yun Ci's mood improved considerably.
"Madam!" Bi Ye struggled to follow, limping along, and knelt at Yun Ci's feet. "Madam, I was forced into this! Please spare me this once. I will serve you faithfully like an ox or a horse from now on."
Bi Ye knew well that Yun Ci was kind-hearted; as long as she pleaded for mercy, she would surely be forgiven.
Unfortunately, Bi Ye's clever calculations were destined to fail.
"I despise those who betray their masters, especially those who scheme against the very person they've served for over a decade for mere trifles." Yun Ci pinched Bi Ye's chin with one hand, her gaze sharp and ruthless. Yet she did not kill her. Instead, she sent her back to the Nalan residence, leaving her fate to be decided by its people.
"Madam! I will never dare again…"
Finding her noise unbearable, Yun Ci knocked her unconscious with a swift strike and had her taken away.
Fu Xi watched her incredibly smooth movements and instinctively felt a chill run down the back of his neck. This woman truly struck without mercy.
"Are you letting the Lu family off so easily?" Fu Xi asked coldly.
"Letting them off?" A playful smile curled at the corner of Yun Ci's lips. The reason she had given Old Madam Lu a night to recover was precisely because Old Madam Lu would surely take action against the child in Ye Jiayi's womb.
The existence of this child would only threaten the future of Lu Jia.
All of this was brought upon Ye Jiayi herself—what a fool!