DISCLAIMER:-
I AM NOT A PROFICIENT IN CHINESE OR ANCIENT CHINA, SO IF YOU FIND ANY MISTAKES IN THE TRANSLATION PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO THAT I CAN CHANGE IT..
THANK YOU !!
Jie Geng felt that this old woman was very rude, but upon hearing that it was Madam Zhao that sent her over, she was taken aback and could only lower herself to greet, “May Momo not blame me for the neglect just now.”
This old woman snorted arrogantly, and just as she was about to scold Jie Geng, she saw Chu Jin Yao waving her hand to speak to Jie Geng. “I’ve already told you many times to restrain your temper, but you always don’t listen. It is a fortunate thing that Momo is sent over by Furen and is broadminded; thus, she would not be calculative with you. Let’s see if you will dare to be like this the next time.”
Jie Geng knelt down and quickly said, “This servant dares not. May the young lady forgive.”
“Alright, go and place the stuff in the study first. This is the homework that was assigned by the two Momos from Wang Residence. If there are any mishaps, I will hold you accountable.”
Jie Geng lowered her head as she ran in like a wisp of smoke. The old woman called out twice but was unable to stop her. The old woman saw that Chu Jin Yao had the heart to protect the maid and felt uncomfortable in her heart. She had thought that the Fourth Young Lady and Furen had spoken correctly. Fifth Young Lady’s courtyard did not have any established rules, and since Furen sent her over to show Fifth Young Lady the right path, she must rectify the common practices at Fifth Young Lady’s.
Chu Jin Yao’s waist and legs were very sore, but even so, she still forced out a smile and took two steps to ask, “How does one refer to Momo?”
The old woman straightened her back and said arrogantly, “This old servant is surnamed Sun.”
“Greetings to Sun Momo.” Chu Jin Yao smiled. “Since you are sent by Mother, you are an elder and cannot be neglected. Ding Xiang, clean up a room, and take Sun Momo to rest.”
Ding Xing headed off along with the instructions, but after a few steps, she could hear Sun Momo speaking, “Fifth Young Lady, TaiTai sent me to rectify the regulations here for you. This old servant would say something truthful. You might not like to listen, but your courtyard’s rules are too lacking. It is in no way comparable to the orderliness of the Fourth Young Lady. Young Lady, you are still young and do not know of the evil in one’s heart. The inner courtyard looks glamorous on the surface, but there are many hidden things. Young Lady has a lot of matters to attend to daily and would not remember what jewelry is in which box. When days like that pass, one would not be able to guarantee that some greedy servant would take your jewelry out secretly to sell. Thus, TaiTai sent me over, and the first urgent matter is to educate you on house management so as to not be bullied by the servants below.”
Chu Jin Yao had secretly become angry as this old maid literally climbed all over. She had initially wanted to give her a high status and afterwards just give her offerings, as long as she did not disturb her. However, it seemed that this old maid’s hands were long.
Sure enough, Sun Momo paused before saying, “Young Lady, where are the keys to the clothes and jewelry? You are young, and one fears you will be deceived by the servants below. It is better to leave it with this old servant for safekeeping.”
“There is no need to tire Momo.” Chu Jin Yao’s face became cold. “These things are managed by me. This is my habit at home, so I would not be deceived by others. Since Momo is sent by Mother, then I should support her well. How could one let Momo worry about such things? This would be me being unfilial.”
Chu Jin Yao had used the reasoning of filial piety but as the saying went, even a XiuCai (scholar who passed the county Imperial exams) would never win an argument with a soldier. This old maid had a thick face and did not care what Chu Jin Yao said. She only clung onto the words, “Furen sent me to take care of Fifth Young Lady so this old servant has to worry about clothes and jewelry. If Young Lady is unwilling, then this old servant has to reason out with Furen.”
This was extremely rampant. Chu Jin Yao’s face was sullen, “Then go ahead. Ding Xiang, prepare the brush and ink, I want to review my homework.”
After Chu Jin Yao gave the instructions, she headed to the main room without looking back. Sun Momo was somewhat stunned. She had thought that Chu Jin Yao would dare to be this tyrannical. All the young ladies in the inner courtyard were soft, delicate and acted in a roundabout way. How would Chu Jin Yao dare to speak of it directly?
Sun Momo yelled out, “I came from Madam Zhao. Furen said…”
Chu Jin Yao said calmly, “Ding Xiang, pass the word around. I am going to study and no one is allowed to speak loudly. If anyone disturbs me and delays me from learning from the Wang residence’s Momos, then I will go to ZhuMu to seek justice.”
Although Chu Jin Yao said it to Ding Xiang, the direction of the message was very clear. Sun Momo was speechless as Chu Jin Yao turned her head and looked at everyone coldly before walking in after parting the curtain.
When she got into the inner room, Jie Geng was in the study, not daring to go out. She had also heard the commotion outside and upon looking at Chu Jin Yao at this moment, she was practically worshipping “Young Lady.”
Chu Jin Yao felt extremely upset and said to Jie Geng, “She is still yelling outside. So bear with it first and stay in the Western room for a while. When she gets tired of yelling, then you can go out.”
Jie Geng responded clearly, “Yes.”
The study quickly calmed down. The maids knew Chu Jin Yao’s habit of not having anyone waiting on her in the study. When there was no one else, Chu Jin Yao gave out a long sigh.
Qin Yi burst out into laughter. “What is the matter? Weren’t you being so awe-inspiring just now? Why sigh?”
“I did not have such a violent temper originally.” Chu Jin Yao continued, “One takes color from one’s surroundings. Sure enough, what did you turn me into?”
If someone dared to talk to Qin Yi like this during normal times, he would have instructed others to clean them up. However, when he heard Chu Jin Yao’s words now, he could not help but laugh: “You have to be reasonable and not blame me for everything.”
Chu Jin Yao could not hold her expression and laughed lightly. She laughed for a while, and her tone changed to a sorrowful one. “It is easier to invite God than to send God away. How can I send this great Buddha away?”
Qin Yi did not speak as he materialised from the jade pendant. He sat down on the table leisurely and flipped through the book casually. Chu Jin Yao pretended to be pitiful but found that Qin Yi did not fall for it and hurried around the other side of the table, sitting opposite him, laying her hands on the table as she tugged his arm. “Qi Ze, what must be done?”
Qin Yi looked up and smiled at Chu Jin Yao. “I do not know either. Think about it yourself.”
“I just can’t figure it out; that’s why I looked for you!” Chu Jin Yao continued to act coquettishly and finally said, “If you do not tell me, then I will cry.”
Qin Yi cast her a light glance and said, “Then cry.”
Chu Jin Yao finally knew where the familiar feeling came from. When Sun Momo said that she would be complaining to Madam Zhao, Chu Jin Yao said, ‘then go ahead’. That manner and tone of voice were exactly the same as Qin Yi’s ‘then cry’!
Chu Jin Yao thought that it was surely retribution. She pouted, was cautious but continued tugging his arm, looking at him with that pitiful look. Qin Yi’s brows did not move at all but he held the book in his hands for a while without even turning a page.
Qin Yi could no longer bear it and closed the book before saying calmly, “You are truly getting bolder.”
Chu Jin Yao immediately smiled, “I knew that you wouldn’t not care about me.”
Qin Yi felt helpless and funny, “This is really retribution.”
Chu Jin Yao revealed an attitude of being obediently educated and even poured a cup of tea for Qin Yi. He was previously putting on a stern face but upon seeing her like this, he could not help but glare at her angrily and laugh.
“Sun Momo is given to you by your mother and I don’t need to tell you for you would know who is instigating the matter. With this person present, it is troublesome for you when you see Madam Zhao.”
“I understand.” Chu Jin Yao sighed, “It was clearly Chu Jin Miao who grew up here and she is also the one who assumed my rank and status. I have not stood against her but instead she has targeted me.”
“There is no end to a human’s heart.” Qin Yi knew he was leaving sooner or later. Originally, when Chu Jin Yao encountered any difficulty, Qin Yi would help her solve it but now that he knew that he would be leaving soon, he no longer helped her stop the matter and instead taught her all these schemings against others, little by little. “It is a good thing that she took the initiative to make a move. Even if she did not do anything, I would have provoked her into taking action. Now, you are the one who is accused unjustly and have all the logic at your side. Be it that old woman or that your mother is biased, one does not need to be bothered by it. Rest assured and indulge that old woman. Let her be as rampant as possible. When the opportunity arises, you can disclose everything to the person in charge and show it to everyone. This move is called ‘stay immobile and kill with a blow’.”
Chu Jin Yao nodded her head with some understanding, “You are saying that I should deliberately show some weakness and let Sun Momo be more rampant and finally make an intolerable mistake, making ZhuMu intervene to deal with me?
“That is exactly so.” Qin Yi continued, “If you have a high enough status, you can do what you want to do directly. However, you cannot do it now and only do things in a roundabout manner, sparing no efforts to gain pity in front of the elders. And your father, Chu Jing, is one who can differentiate things. You should accidentally reveal what Chu Jin Miao did to you but it is enough to reveal a little so that he can investigate the rest by himself. Since your mother is biased, you can only find another way to let Chu Jing see what kind of life you live in the inner courtyard.”
Chu Jin Yao had understood completely. She nodded, “I understand. To put it bluntly, the disputes of the inner courtyard are the same as those in the village, but they cover themselves with a blanket of passiveness, as if everything is done reactively and one is compelled to do everything.”
It turned out that in the Su family, if anyone were to ask Chu Jin Yao for the keys to the family money, she would definitely scold them to death and also reason with the others in the village. No one would be able to say that she was wrong and she had been able to stand on her feet because she was right, be it in feelings or reasoning. However, now in the Marquis residence, things could be done so straightforwardly. If she were to really scold Sun Momo, everyone would only say that she was not filial and not why she did it.
Since the environment was different, the methods of dealing with things were completely different. Chu Jin Yao was trying hard to adapt to the new rules in the Marquis residence.
“Yes, it is exactly so.” Qin Yi smiled, “Men often like innocent and weak females. When you are too strong, it is instead harder to please.”
“Men are all like this? Can’t they tell that all this is fake?”
Qin Yi was stunned at the questions. He was used to seeing such a situation in the Inner Palace, but when he saw Chu Jin Yao’s bright eyes, he could only avoid them before he spoke, “Not all men are like this.”
“How about you?” Chu Jin Yao blurted out without waiting for him to finish.
“Me?” Qin Yi smiled. “I have too many things to do. Matters between male and women are far from my plans.”
Chu Jin Yao had asked that question recklessly and she herself was somewhat shocked after she spoke. However, upon listening to his answer, she felt a somewhat unfathomable emptiness in her heart. Suppressing those inexplicable thoughts, she smiled at him. “You are right. Men are all fickle in love. It would be better to focus on one’s matter when one has that energy; after all, living one’s life well is the most important. As for love, it is all fabricated.”
Qin Yi rationally thought that Chu Jin Yao’s words were logical, but there was something wrong with it psychologically. He frowned as he said, “You are a girl. Don’t keep on talking about love all day. How old are you now? You cannot keep on thinking about marrying.”
“Who thought about it?” Chu Jin Yao was annoyed and retorted immediately, unwilling to be outdone. Both of them spoke consecutively as the evening light slowly disappeared.
On the next day, when Chu Jin Yao went to give her morning greeting to Madam Zhao, she saw Chu Jin Miao sitting by Madam Zhao’s side when she entered, passing Madam Zhao’s peeled orange. By Madam Zhao stood Sun Momo.
Chu Jin Yao then knew that she had been accused.
“Mother.” Her facial expression was calm, pretending not to know anything, she greeted Madam Zhao with her normal bearing.
Madam Zhao placed her hand on the table and the gold bracelet on her wrist bumped onto the surface of the table, making a crisp sound. “I heard from Sun Momo that you refused to comply with being disciplined and even contradicted her deliberately?”
Sun Momo folded her hands, looking aggrieved, while Chu Jin Miao bowed her head, concentrating on peeling the oranges, without even raising her hand to take a glance.
Chu Jin Yao calmly retorted, “Mother, from where do you speak of this matter?”
“Sun Momo has told me in detail about it. She went to teach you discipline and even if you contradicted her, you actually were very rude to her in front of everyone. Do you still have me, your biological mother, in your eyes?”
“Mother, so you also know that you are my biological mother.” Chu Jin Yao looked at Madam Zhao and said each word clearly, “Why do you not ask me about what happened? Sun Momo came to my courtyard, yelling. I had only returned from Hua Momo and did not even have time to sit down and drink some water when I heard her say that, with your orders, she was here to retrieve the keys to my clothes and jewelry.”
Chu Jin Yao raised her head as she looked at Madam Zhao. “Mother, is this what you instructed her to do? To not care about distinguishing right from wrong and grasping all my wealth into her hands so that she can restrain me.”
Madam Zhao frowned as she looked at Sun Momo. She had instructed Sun Momo to manage Chu Jin Yao’s servants so that they would not tread all over Chu Jin Yao. Why did this old woman rashly ask for the keys from her? In the inner courtyard, clothes and jewelry are the greatest possessions for females. If it weren’t one’s trusted servants, who would let others touch such things? Madam Zhao’s gaze started to be pressurising, and Sun Momo quickly lowered her head. Madam Zhao’s heart was filled with irritation. “Why did you not speak of this matter just now? Who let you decide on your own?”
“Replying to Furen, it is not this old servant that decided for oneself!”
“Then speak; who instructed you to do this?” Madam Zhao became angry, and her arms were on her hips as she questioned. “I just want to see where you got the courage to act against me from.”
Sun Momo’s back was sweating. She did not dare to speak, but her eyes were secretly looking at Chu Jin Miao. Chu Jin Yao was also staring straight at Chu Jin Miao, wanting to see how she would be able to smooth things over.
Thank you cupcake~~ Anyways, I feel like that rat will somehow dance her way out of been found out argh