Chapter 66: An Easily-won Battle
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At the thought of this, Yu Qingning felt even more aggrieved. Yesterday, she had been taught a lesson by Yu Youyao. She had been punished to copy “Female Virtue” a hundred times, and her mother had also been banned from copying Buddhist scriptures. The main door of the Clear Autumn Courtyard had been locked, and two old maids had been guarding it all day.
In the morning, when she came to school, she had to shout for the old maid to open the door. She could only leave the house with the old maid’s permission.
She was so angry that her eyes turned red and she almost cried. Now, even Ms. Ye was punishing her, and everyone was going against her.
Seeing that she did not reach out her hand, Ms. Ye’s face turned cold. “Get out!”
Yu Qingning was stunned for a moment and did not move.
However, Ms. Ye did not show any mercy. “If you don’t get out, I’ll get the servants to drag you out.”
These words were a little serious. Yu Qingning was so angry that she cried. She pointed at Yu Youyao indignantly. “What about her? She hasn’t been to school for a month. Why didn’t you drag her out?”
Just as Yu Youyao was about to take out her swollen left hand, she heard Ms. Ye say calmly, “You don’t even know the most basic respect for your teacher. I don’t want to teach someone like you, who has no character and doesn’t know how to repent. Go back. I’ll tell Old Madam Yu later.”
Although Yu Youyao had often made mistakes in the past, she had always been obediently punished, and she had never contradicted her teacher. She had not gone to school for a month, and the Yu Residence had also sent word, so it was not Yu Qingning’s place to criticize her.
Besides, Yu Qingning did not have any sisterly ties at all. She had criticized her sister on the spot. In the five basic elements of relationships, there was also injustice. Such an inhumane, disrespectful, and unwise person was indeed not worth teaching.
Yu Qingning stomped her feet and ran out, covering her face. She almost b.u.mped into Yu Shuangbai, who was at the door.
With tears in her eyes, she saw that the few daughters of concubines in the second house were also following behind Yu Shuangbai. There was a group of young masters and maidservants, who had obviously arrived long ago and were standing outside to watch her make a fool of herself.
At the thought of this, Yu Qingning glared at Yu Shuangbai, covered her face, and ran away.
Yu Shuangbai pursed her lips. She had indeed come long ago, but because Ms. Ye was lecturing Yu Qingning, it wasn’t appropriate for her to enter rashly, so she waited outside.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t a daughter of the first wife in the first household and a concubine’s status was lower. This was all the result of Madam Yang’s lack of discipline and Eldest Uncle’s indulgence.
It was no wonder that her grandmother had suppressed her uncle and forbade him from taking in concubines.
Eldest Uncle was muddle-headed in front of Madam Yang and could not control himself in front of the concubines. It was better to be a concubine’s child than to be a legitimate daughter. Madam Yang was too selfish, and she was not someone who could manage the family. If he really took in a few more concubines, the residence would probably catch fire.
In the Clear Autumn Courtyard, Concubine He, who was copying Buddhist scriptures, was shocked when she saw Yu Qingning running back with tears all over her face. She quickly put down the pen in her hand. “What happened?”
Yu Qingning threw herself into her mother’s arms and cried, refusing to speak.
Concubine He’s face darkened as she looked at Jin Ju. “Fourth Miss has just gone to school. Why did you come back crying?”
Jin Ju knelt on the ground and recounted everything that had happened.
When Concubine He heard that her daughter was being bullied by Yu Youyao, she was furious.
However, when she heard that Yu Qingning was actually chased out of the school by Ms. Ye, she felt even more dizzy. “How dare you disobey and contradict Ms. Ye? Why don’t you think about it? The reason why Yu Youyao was beaten up by your father previously was none other than because she didn’t respect her teacher. If Old Madam finds out that you’ve offended Ms. Ye today, she’ll definitely make a fuss in front of your father. How can he let you off?”
At the thought of Yu Youyao’s swollen cheek, Yu Qingning’s eyes widened in shock, and she forgot to cry for a moment.
Concubine He was furious. She poked Yu Qingning’s forehead with her finger, wishing she could wake her up. “You, how could I have given birth to such a stupid child like you? Yu Youyao was clearly plotting against you, and using Ms. Ye to teach you a lesson. Instead of being punished obediently and settling the matter, you even took the initiative to fall into the trap. You…”
Changing seats was not a big deal. As long as Yu Youyao did not mind, it was fine.
However, although Yu Youyao pretended not to care, she was making a fuss out of it. Not only did she deliberately anger Qingning, but she also pushed the blame onto Qingning for being over-the-top, rude, and ill-mannered.
When Ms. Ye heard this, her dissatisfaction with Qingning also increased by ten times but her punishment was still light.
However, after being bullied by Yu Youyao, Qingning was furious and her mind was not calm. How could she tolerate being punished by her teacher? Wouldn’t she offend her?
Yu Youyao was really impressive. She had planned everything out step by step, causing Qingning to fall into her trap unknowingly.
This method was simply terrifying.
If it weren’t for the fact that she was trained to be a concubine in the past, she would not have realized that all of this was planned by Yu Youyao.
Concubine He recalled that yesterday, Yu Youyao had asked Yu Qingning to kneel before Madam Xie’s portrait. Then, Old Madam had asked Nanny Liu to send a portrait to the Clear Autumn Courtyard, so that she could offer it three incense sticks a day and three times a day. Initially, she had thought that Old Madam was annoyed with her, so she did not think too much about it. However, now that she thought about it, a chill ran down her spine.
In the main house, anyone who schemed against others could always be found. However, Eldest Miss’s method of not killing anyone made one’s scalp tingle.
Yu Qingning was reprimanded by Concubine He, and tears streamed down her face. “Mother, I…”
Seeing that her daughter was still in a daze, Concubine He was so angry that she almost vomited blood. “Ms. Ye is from a scholarly family in the Linjiang Prefecture. Many people in the family are officials in the court. The most famous Wu Mountain Academy in the Great Zhou Dynasty was organized by the Ye family. The reason why the residence invited Ms. Ye is firstly to borrow the reputation of the Ye family and help you gain a good reputation. In the future, others will also think highly of you. Secondly, it’s because Ms. Ye is indeed talented. Countless families in the capital wanted to invite her into the residence, but she was a divorcee. She picked the Yu Residence precisely because she thinks it’s simple and proper.”
At this point, Concubine He looked disappointed. “Instead of learning from her, you’re learning from Yu Youyao. Yu Youyao has Old Madam to support her, so she won’t be too far off in the future. But what about you? Madam Yang isn’t someone who’s easy to get along with. Your future depends on yourself. You’re already an adult. Why don’t you plan for your future?”
Hearing this, Yu Qingning was furious. She waved her hand and swept it across the table. Immediately, the pens, ink, paper, inkstone, cups, bowls, plates, and other items on the table shattered into pieces. She was furious. “I’m the daughter of a concubine. I was born inferior to them. I’m my father’s daughter. Why should I be distinguished?”
Concubine He was shocked by her daughter’s anger. She quickly pulled her daughter over to sit beside her. “Keep your voice down. Don’t let others hear you. Although you’re the daughter of a concubine, your father dotes on you more than Yu Youyao, and you’re no worse than her. But the more this is the case, the more you should use your father to seek a better future for yourself.”