Chapter 8: Taking the Reins Personally

  "Stop!"

  With a loud shout, the crowd parted to make way.

  An old lady, supported by two maidservants, walked over with a cold expression. The old lady looked to be in her sixties or seventies, with silver hair and a pale complexion that made her look extremely aged. She wore an expensive-looking dark green dress, with a matching cloak wrapped around her body, her aged figure slightly stooped, but her dull eyes were piercingly sharp.

  This was none other than Su Qingyun's mother, Old Madam Qian of the manor.

  Su Mu Jin gazed at the arrival of the old lady without any surprise, and sneered at Su Yun Jin who was standing alone in the crowd.

  She was her own sister, but she never wanted to get close to her mother. When she was born, her father's career was at its most difficult time, and her mother was afraid that she would not be able to take care of her, so she sent someone to send her to Yunzhou to be raised by the old lady. It wasn't until her father sent someone to bring the old lady and her family to the capital together that Su Yunjin followed along with them.

  Perhaps remembering the hatred of her mother sending her away, she was very cold to her mother. No matter how good her mother treated her later, she never put it in her heart. Not only that, but also very close to Liu, every time her mother saw it, she would be sad for a long time. For this reason, she did not hate this younger sister who hurt her mother's heart. Especially after her father made Liu as his wife, she regarded the enemy as her mother. Every time she heard Su Yunjin call Liu "mother", she hated to strangle her to death!

  But when her mother passed away, she left a will saying that she was sorry to her. She asked her sister to take care of her younger sister in the future and to give in more often, so as not to create estrangement. If it weren't for her mother's words, she would have stopped associating with Su Yunjin long ago, how could she have taken care of her time and again in her past life, until finally letting her into their home, causing the death of her own child!

  Now that her mother is about to be publicly reprimanded, how can Su Yunjin possibly hold back her temper? It was also within her expectations that she had asked the old lady for help.

  But... did she think that just because this old lady came today, Liu would be exempt from punishment? How ridiculously naive!

  At this time, the old lady had already walked into the crowd, looking at Liu's being pressed by several rough women and forced to stretch out her hands. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her eyes shot straight at the women like a sword.

  "How dare you! You lowly maidservant actually dared to treat the mistress of the manor like this, Song nanny, slap her for me!"

  As soon as the old lady's words fell, Song Ayi had already quickly flashed in front of the servant women. Her movements were agile and her hands were quick, with only three crisp sounds of "slap slap slap", the three rough servant women had all been slapped.

  The women were beaten and didn't dare to speak, covering their bright red faces step by step as they retreated.

  After the fight, the old lady looked at Su Qingyun in the crowd and said coldly with a hint of anger, "Qingyun, what's going on here! Liu is your legitimate wife, if she did something wrong, you could have punished her by making her copy scriptures or grounding her, why make such a big fuss!"

  After seeing the old lady arrive, Liu's expression became even more arrogant. She had always been close to the old lady, and the old lady would certainly not stand by and watch her be punished without intervening.

  Su Mojin, just wait and see how she'll clean up after this mess!

  "Grandma." Su Yunjin walked over to support the old lady, her expression fearful and her voice extremely low. "Don't be angry, Grandma. Eldest sister didn't do it on purpose. Mother has been in charge of managing the household for so long, it's inevitable that there would be times when she overlooks things. The servant girls in Jin Garden probably saw that eldest sister wasn't close to Father and Grandfather, so they all flattered and fawned upon her while secretly deducting from Eldest sister's monthly allowance. Father must not have known the reason behind this and mistakenly misunderstood Mother."

  Su Mu Jin's lips curled into a cold smile, this was to say that she deliberately deceived her father and blamed Liu Shi. This younger sister of hers, how did she not see in her past life that she was such a vicious existence? Every word and sentence seemed to be defending herself, but in reality, every word and sentence was a trap.

  "Alright, stop speaking for her." The old lady's tone was cold and stern, casting a chilly glance at Su Mu Jin. "You, as her sister-in-law, should know that she has always been arrogant and never put me in her eyes. How many times has she ever paid respects to me morning and evening? Now, she is even more outrageous, relying on your father's doting and not even putting her own mother in her eyes! The Su family does not have such an ill-mannered and unreasonable eldest daughter!"

  These words were extremely severe, and the crowd didn't even dare to breathe, with downcast eyes and lowered heads, no one dared to speak.

  Su Mojin sneered inwardly, but her face was pale. Her body trembled and she bit her lip in humiliation, yet she didn't utter a word to defend herself.

  Su Qingyun saw that her eldest daughter's misty eyes made her even more pitiful, so she swept her long sleeves and put Su Mochen behind her, frowning at the old lady, but her tone softened.

  "Mother, don't say such things about Jin'er. Jin'er is a kind and gentle person, but after Rong'er passed away, she was traumatized and became a bit introverted. However, Jin'er has always been filial to you, knowing that you like to worship Buddha, so she pasted an image of Guanyin in her room and burns incense every day to pray for your blessings. She's still just a child, and maybe there are things she does that don't please you, but as her elder, why can't you be more tolerant of Jin'er like you are with Yun'er? Cong'er is your only grandson, and Jin'er is his older sister; if you truly want Cong'er to turn out well in the future, you should treat Jin'er kindly. When they grow up, they'll be able to support each other!" Qingyun's tone was slightly accusatory as she looked at Liu Shi, who stood with her chin raised, and then her voice dropped again. "Mother, don't stop me; today I must scold Liu Shi! As the mistress of the manor, you trusted her to manage the household, but look at what she's done!"

  "Pull Su Mu Jin out from behind, pointing at her clothes, Su Qing Yun's face was filled with anger and she couldn't help but shout loudly, "She Liu Shi actually made me, Su Qing Yun's eldest daughter, wear such clothes! Mother, my son has reached this position today, it's all thanks to the Chu family. Although Rong Er broke off contact with the Chu family for my son's sake, the Chu family is still her maternal family. To prevent her from suffering in the future, they have repeatedly promoted me on the court. Jin Er is Rong Er's legacy, if the people of the Chu family knew that Jin Er was living such a life in our Su family, how heartbroken would they be?! Moreover, the Great Zhou Dynasty has strict laws and regulations, if a stepmother dares to mistreat her husband's children from his previous marriage, she will receive corporal punishment! Mother, if you really want the Su family to rise even higher in the future, you shouldn't tolerate Liu Shi!"

  Qian's tone was both soft and hard, her gaze changing unpredictably. The Su family was a noble house known for its strict rules, and it wasn't easy to have achieved what they had today. However, the Su family's foundation was shallow compared to the prominent families in the capital, and they couldn't be compared to the likes of the Chu family. She glared at Liu, this woman usually did things flawlessly, so how did she let Qingyun grasp the handle on her strict eldest daughter?

  The strict and legitimate daughter of the Zhou family disagreed with the law, her son brought out all the laws, what else could she say!

  Qian's family fell silent!

  Liu's heart was racing with anxiety, cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he gazed intently at the old lady.

  Su Yunjin looked at her grandmother's appearance and was also anxious, thinking of saying something, but was swept away by her father's stern gaze, she reluctantly closed her lips, not daring to say another word.

  Glaring at Su Mu Jin who was being protected by his father, his lowered face looked somewhat ferocious.

  "Mother, you're not feeling well, go back and rest early, I have my own plans for Jin Garden!"

  "Alas, as people age, their bodies are no longer what they used to be. Qingyun, you have a sense of propriety and your mother can rest assured. Since Liu's family was at fault, they should be punished. Your mother will head back first."

  "Mother!" Liu's family was in a hurry, watching the old lady being supported away, and couldn't help but call out.

  As she watched the old lady's back disappear into Jin Garden, Su Qingyun's expression turned stern once again.

  "Bring me the whip! I'll wield it myself!"

  Digression

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