The letter was written in the tone of Cui Shi's childhood sweetheart, Li Yannian, describing his grief after his wife's death and reminiscing about their youthful days.
But Cui Shi knew Li Yannian would never write such a letter.
She and he had indeed known each other since childhood, but there had never been any romantic feelings between them.
If he had truly been interested, she would not have married and moved to the capital all those years ago.
Most importantly, after his wife's death, Li Yannian was deeply affected. He dedicated himself to his studies, entrusted his only daughter to his mother's care, and then traveled the land, his whereabouts unknown to anyone.
He hadn't even corresponded with his own family, so how could he suddenly write to her?
It was utterly preposterous!
Yet, Yu Zeyan's mind was as if it had been squeezed through the gatehouse of the Ministry of Justice's prison, losing all capacity for thought.
She was too lazy to explain anything to such a fool.
Her reputation as a woman, her pride, made her too ashamed to speak of it.
"Madam!"
For the first time, Yu Zeyan felt Cui Shi's fury.
Cui Shi's pride and upbringing did not allow her to lose composure. She would only look down on him with disdainful eyes, ignoring him as if he were mentally challenged.
But today, Cui Shi had lost her temper.
He had thought her smashing the chess pieces that day was her limit.
Cui Shi flicked her sleeve and turned away, unwilling to speak further with him. "It is getting late, Duke. Please take your leave."
Cui Shi, her face grim, issued the order for him to leave.
Yu Zeyan had not expected his single remark to cause such an uproar.
He had finally managed to ease the tension with Cui Shi, but now, things were back to how they were before.
"Madam..." Yu Zeyan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but seeing Cui Shi's straight back, and that she didn't even want to spare him another glance, he ultimately remained silent.
Yu Zeyan turned and walked away, his steps heavy.
Nanny Qin approached Cui Shi. "Madam, it has been so long since then. Please do not be angry anymore. Anger harms the body."
Cui Shi's eyes were red, and she struggled to hold back her tears. "The Yu family has humiliated me to this extent. If it weren't for Yue'er being too young back then, I would have sent a letter of divorce and returned to the Cui family long ago. Now, seeing Yue'er so eager to matchmake us, I didn't want to upset my daughter, so I gave him some face. Yet he still dares to bring up the past!"
"What happened back then was the Duke's foolishness. To be honest, it was still the Old Madam..." Nanny Qin stopped herself.
As a servant, she shouldn't speak too much about the affairs of her masters.
When the former Duke was alive, the Old Madam still had some reservations. Now, her actions were becoming increasingly muddled.
"Doesn't he know what his own mother is like? It was one thing for me to be wronged for his filial piety, but she must also treat Yue'er this way. Absolutely not."
The Old Madam and her favored daughter knew perfectly well how those rumors had spread.
When Cui Shi decided to act, she would not give her opponents any chance to breathe. That very night, she gathered evidence.
There were six maids gossiping about their masters. Two were from the Old Madam's courtyard, two were from the Flowing Light Pavilion belonging to the cousin, and two were from the entourage of Aunt Yu Ruyi.
These women would gather and discuss how the Sixth Miss was usually arrogant and bullied the cousin, and how she was disrespectful to her elders.
Aunt Yu Ruyi, harboring resentment towards Cui Shi because her son had sought a master, often cursed Cui Shi and her daughter in front of those around her.
Yu Ruyi wanted to ruin Cui Shi's reputation, but Cui Shi came from a noble background, someone even the Empress had praised. Yu Ruyi naturally dared not.
Therefore, she shifted her anger to Yu Mingyue.
Yu Mingyue was Cui Shi's darling. Damaging her reputation would cause Cui Shi even greater pain.
A mother's failure to discipline her daughter was the mother's fault. Let's see how smug Cui Shi would be then.
In the capital's various households, nobles had their circles, and maids and servants also had theirs. They often ran errands for their masters and met each other.
On this snowy day, when people couldn't go out, this news was fresh and hot, naturally becoming a topic of conversation.