When Sun Jiaojiao fell, Du Yiyi smiled. She quickly busied herself, saying, “Oh my, Sister Jiaojiao, what’s wrong? Quick, quick, Miss Sun seems to be angered. Fetch a sedan chair to carry her inside.” She said this without reservation, laughing with her eyes curved into crescent moons. Su Xiaoqi gently patted her back to prevent her from choking on her laughter.
The Du family estate was located in a manor on the eastern outskirts of the prefectural city. Just off the main road, at the end of a small path, stood a modest two-courtyard residence. The front courtyard was for receiving guests, with side rooms and connected chambers arranged as guest rooms. The rear section comprised the main courtyard, with nine rooms in total, and a small back garden behind an arched gate. This was where the eldest branch of the Du family and Madam Du resided. Normally, the eldest branch, being ordinary farmers, would be out attending to business or crops and not at home.
Upon entering, Su Xiaoqi observed that the interior was decorated warmly and exquisitely, not at all like a typical farmer's dwelling, and she couldn't help but praise it. Du Yiyi whispered, “This house was originally bought by my father, and my mother decorated it herself.”
Du Yiyi told Su Xiaoqi that her grandmother had initially lived in the ancestral home in Ezhou village and was cared for by her eldest uncle, according to village customs after the family had split. To have someone to look after her, the family had moved to Bashu with Du Wenqian, who had been transferred to Yizhou Prefecture. They had lived in a small house within the city. The reason for moving to this manor was at the instigation of Sun Jiaojiao, who insisted on moving in. Her mother then had no choice but to serve her diligently.
However, the old madam was not an easy person to deal with. She constantly found ways to torment her mother and herself. “My mother has the best temper, but I am impatient. I’ve argued with her several times, and she’s become even more sensitive. She started looking at me with disdain. In the end, she even wanted to drive me and my mother away.” This was why the mother and daughter had moved to the prefect's residence with her father. Su Xiaoqi listened, gasping in amazement.
The person instigating all this was, naturally, the one sitting behind them in the sedan chair. Su Xiaoqi had experienced the methods of Zhao Xiaohua and Zhao Haihua, but compared to this Sun Jiaojiao, they were mere trifles. Su Xiaoqi pulled Du Yiyi along faster. Du Yiyi was puzzled. She dreaded seeing the old madam any sooner and had always tried to delay her visits here. “She’ll surely complain as soon as she arrives. We can’t just wait to be accused,” Su Xiaoqi whispered. Her voice was not loud, but it was precisely audible to Sun Jiaojiao in the sedan chair. Sun Jiaojiao was furious, her chest heaving. She was indeed planning to complain fiercely to the old madam.
Despite her anger, Sun Jiaojiao was a calculating person. She immediately instructed those carrying her to speed up, wanting to enter first, as the saying goes, “The wicked are the first to accuse.” She couldn’t believe her two legs couldn’t outrun their two legs. In reality, Su Xiaoqi had merely spoken to Du Yiyi and hadn’t actually quickened their pace. Thus, Sun Jiaojiao easily overtook them. Seeing their unhurried figures behind her, she sneered, “Hmph, trying to compete with me.”
She reached Madam Du’s courtyard, the Hall of Rongyang, a few moments ahead of Du Yiyi and Su Xiaoqi. As the two entered, they could already hear Sun Jiaojiao weeping and lodging her complaints. Due to her status, her method of complaint was extremely manipulative, akin to a white lotus. She immediately threw herself into Madam Du’s arms without a word, and then soft sobs began to emerge. Madam Du, hearing this, felt heartbroken and proactively asked her what was wrong and what had happened. Sun Jiaojiao, however, remained silent in Madam Du’s embrace, shedding tears. No matter how her grandmother asked, she kept her lips tightly shut, refusing to utter a word.
At this point, Madam Du’s heart ached intensely. She helped Sun Jiaojiao up and saw that her face was streaked with tears. She cried with restraint, only shedding tears without any extraneous expressions on her face, making her look pitiful and eliciting sympathy. Looking at her, Su Xiaoqi couldn’t help but give her a thumbs-up. Sun Jiaojiao’s eyes widened in surprise, almost breaking her composure. Fortunately, she managed to hold back at the critical moment. Then, just as Du Yiyi approached Madam Du, Sun Jiaojiao spoke at the opportune moment, “Old Madam, please don’t ask. Even if you ask, I won’t tell you.”
“Oh, my dear Jiaojiao, what happened to you? You went out for a pleasant outing, and now you've returned in such a state. Oh, heaven have mercy, are you trying to worry your grandmother to death?” Madam Du exclaimed, feeling heartache in her very core. Su Xiaoqi watched the grandmother and granddaughter embrace and commiserate with each other as if no one else were present, furrowing her brow slightly. She finally understood why Yiyi was so reluctant to come here. Anyone with feelings would dislike such a scene.
They had been in the room for quite some time, yet Madam Du acted as if she hadn’t seen them. She continued to coax and comfort her adopted granddaughter, Sun Jiaojiao, completely disregarding Yiyi, her actual granddaughter. Du Yiyi’s face had grown long, and she was on the verge of losing her temper. Su Xiaoqi quickly held her back, reminding her of their prior agreement. Du Yiyi, very reluctantly, stepped forward to pay her respects. Su Xiaoqi also bowed respectfully. Their clear and pleasant voices startled Madam Du. She looked at Du Yiyi with some surprise. This granddaughter rarely visited her, perhaps twice a year. Whenever she did, her greetings were usually perfunctory, her voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum, which always irked her.
And today was particularly strange. In the past, she would symbolically send Jiaojiao to invite her, and each time, she never came. She only accompanied them when her parents returned to pay their respects. At other times, she would rather go anywhere else than accompany her, this old woman. Only Jiaojiao was willing. Therefore, she doted on Jiaojiao, and no one else’s words mattered. “Hmph, so polite today,” Madam Du snorted unhappily. Seeing Jiaojiao crying so much, she had already assumed Du Yiyi was responsible. After all, every time Jiaojiao went to the prefect's residence, she always returned in tears. Her comforting and questioning Jiaojiao was merely for Du Yiyi’s benefit, to portray her as willful and unreasonable, lacking the demeanor of a prefect’s daughter.
However, before she could begin her reprimand this time, Du Yiyi apologized and offered a respectful bow to Sun Jiaojiao, as an equal: “Sister Jiaojiao, it is my fault as a sister. I apologize here. Next time, I will ask my Sister Xiaoqi to bring fewer gifts. This way, it won’t occupy your carriage and cause you to dislike the fact that the gifts for grandmother have dirtied your carriage.”
What? What is all this? Sun Jiaojiao looked at Du Yiyi in shock. When did this brat become so eloquent? It was true that the situation was as described, but the way it was stated was different. Her words made it seem like the problem was hers, that she was too stingy. Just as she was about to retort, she heard Madam Du ask with interest, “Oh, what gifts?” Du Yiyi exchanged a glance with Su Xiaoqi, as if to ask, “See how good I am?” Su Xiaoqi nodded almost imperceptibly, confirming her thoughts. Du Yiyi quickly pulled Su Xiaoqi forward to introduce her. She explained that this was her cousin, Sister Xiaoqi, and that since this was her first visit to see her grandmother, she had specially brought many local specialties from Mianzhou City. They were originally meant to be placed in the carriage they were traveling in. But Sun Jiaojiao insisted on squeezing in to experience riding in a prefect’s daughter’s carriage, saying she had never done so before. Thus, there was no room for the gifts…