Chapter 57: The Gratitude and Grudges of a Meal

Proofread by : Mim

“Not legitimate?” Gu Momo glanced at Old Madam Chu, and seeing no indication to stop, she continued to ask, “What do you mean by ‘not legitimate’?”

Mrs. Su urgently said, “The Fifth Young Lady owns a shop, named Yunzhi Embroidery, doesn’t she?”

Fifth Young Lady Chu Jinyao owns a shop? The young ladies in the courtyard immediately looked at Old Madam Chu in surprise. Since when? Why didn’t they know about this?

Mrs. Su stole a glance at the people in the courtyard, all of whom looked as elegant as celestial beings. On the highest steps stood an elderly lady, likely the matriarch of the Marquis’s household. Next to her were several younger women, probably the juniors of the household, some of them with their hair done up, indicating they were married, and others with their hair down, signaling they were unmarried young ladies. On the other side stood a noblewoman, even more resplendent than Old Madam Chu. Mrs. Su guessed this must be the consort from the Prince Huailing’s household, as Chu Jinmiao had mentioned.

Frankly, Mrs. Su was greatly shocked upon seeing Chu Jinyao. Is this what Chu Jinyao has become? Had she met her on the street without prior warning, Mrs. Su would never have recognized her. Standing confidently in the corridor, Chu Jinyao had dark, cloud-like hair, bright red lips, and white teeth. She exuded an untouchable air of grace, far more dazzling than the other young ladies of the marquis household. Mrs. Su felt not only astonished but also jealous. Encountering other nobles, no matter how wealthy, she never felt this way. But seeing Chu Jinyao, the girl she had scolded and berated since childhood, now transformed into such a figure, was difficult to accept.

Mrs. Su observed the reactions around her. While some of the young ladies appeared shocked, the Princess Consort in the center seemed completely unfazed. Of course, the Princess Consort of the Prince Huailing’s household had seen everything. A mere embroidery shop probably didn’t even register as odd to her.

Mrs. Su pressed on, “It’s not surprising for young ladies to own property, but do you know how this shop came to be?”

“How?” Third Young Lady couldn’t help but whisper from the crowd, “Isn’t it a gift from Grandmother or Father?”

Mrs. Su, with sharp ears, overheard and exaggeratedly shook her head. “No, it isn’t. This shop doesn’t belong to any of the Marquis’s gentlemen. The true owner of the embroidery shop is a certain Master Wei, who has no connection to the Marquis household. Master Wei gave Fifth Young Lady a share in the business without asking for anything in return.”

Old Madam Chu had heard enough. She sneered, “I wondered what this was all about. So, it’s this nonsense. No need to hide it from the Princess Consort. I’ve known about this for a long time. The shopkeeper gives Fifth Young Lady her share every month, and I am aware of it.”

“Oh?” The Princess Consort was intrigued. “Sharing profits is no small matter. Only someone trustworthy would dare. Why would Master Wei give Fifth Young Lady such a generous share?”

“It’s a long story,” Old Madam Chu responded nonchalantly, underestimating their guile. She didn’t care to explain and vaguely brushed it off to the Princess Consort. “Last year, the Fifth Young Lady saved a child on the street, and this was given as a thank-you gift.”

Old Madam Chu intentionally omitted details about their family’s connection with the Crown Prince. The Princess Consort, however, felt something was off.

She had dealt with shopkeepers before, and no one gave away shares in a business as a token of gratitude. Even for saving someone’s life, such a gesture was too extravagant. The Princess Consort became increasingly suspicious of the Marquis’s household.

Old Madam Chu’s eyelids twitched heavily, and she quickly scolded Mrs. Su, “You filthy old woman, what nonsense are you spouting?”

Mrs. Su slapped the ground in mock crying, “Please don’t be offended by my words. Esteemed ladies, please judge for yourselves—isn’t what I’m saying the truth? Otherwise, who would give away their own family’s wealth for something like this?”

The young maids hiding behind the pillar couldn’t help but start whispering among themselves. The Princess Consort’s heart skipped a beat—Old Madam Chu’s earlier explanation had been vague, but now, hearing this madwoman’s claims, it almost seemed plausible.

Old Madam Chu became furious at once. This concerned a young lady’s reputation—how could such slander be allowed? She immediately wanted to order the two lunatics to be thrown out. Mrs. Su, however, was shameless. She lay on the ground, crying and shouting, “Oh, my poor son!” As the situation grew more chaotic, Chu Jinyao calmly stepped forward, gently holding Old Madam Chu’s arm and said, “Grandmother, please have the others step back. Let me speak with her for a moment.”

Old Madam Chu suppressed her anger and instructed Momo Gu to take the servants aside for now.

Chu Jinyao turned to face Mrs. Su, who was lying on the ground, shamelessly throwing a tantrum. This woman had raised her for thirteen years, and until two years ago, Chu Jinyao had still been calling these two people her parents. Her voice was unusually calm as she spoke, “You can’t just falsely accuse people without any evidence. You’re ruining my reputation. Do you have proof? You said you heard this from the workers at the shop, but how could ordinary workers know the private matters of Master Wei? You think you can make up whatever you want just by running your mouth, and now you come here to stir up trouble in front of our honored guests.”

Mrs. Su was taken aback and immediately began pounding her chest and crying, “I raised you for thirteen years, through dirt and filth, and this is how you repay me? I suffered so much, even going hungry myself just to feed you, and now you’re accusing me of falsehoods? You say I’m lying, but this is Master Wei’s true intention, even if you don’t know it. How can you deny it?”

Chu Jinyao, her words stuck in her throat, responded angrily, “Stop twisting Master Wei’s actions! If you have proof, show it!”

“How can there be proof for matters of the heart? Ask anyone—isn’t it clear that Master Wei’s generosity towards you has ulterior motives? Who needs proof for something like this?”

This was utter nonsense. Without evidence, relying solely on speculation, anyone could fabricate such lies. However, even though Mrs. Su’s words were crude, she had hit on a key vulnerability—Chu Jinyao’s reputation. In this strict society, a woman’s reputation was of utmost importance, and if rumors spread that someone had taken an interest in her, no one would blame the man. The woman would be criticized for not guarding her own reputation, even if she had done nothing wrong. Now, with Mrs. Su’s unreasonable accusations, Chu Jinyao had no way to defend herself. To the others, it would seem as if Chu Jinyao had done something improper.

Ruining a woman’s reputation was all too easy. Even baseless rumors, once circulated, would lead to people distancing themselves from the woman in question. Even if a family believed the woman was innocent, they would still likely call off any marriage arrangements to avoid scandal.

This was exactly what the Princess Consort was thinking.

Although the Princess Consort felt that today’s incident was strange, she was still from the ducal household—a prestigious family with many other pure, respectable young ladies to choose from. Why would she want a daughter-in-law with such unclear rumors surrounding her? This old woman might just be slandering Chu Jinyao, but… what if it were true?

If the Old Princess Consort had been present today, there might have been room for negotiation. However, the Princess Consort had never liked Chu Jinyao from the beginning. Hearing this now, she immediately changed her mind and decided that the matter needed further consideration.

Old Madam Chu noticed the princess consort’s change in expression, and her heart sank. She hurriedly signaled Gu Momo, “They’re spouting nonsense. Quickly drag them out!”

Mrs. Su, still lying on the ground, rolled around and shouted, “Oh no, they’re going to force a confession out of us! The dignified Marquis Household dares not admit their wrongs!”

Chu Jinyao could no longer hold back her anger and said coldly, “This is all a lie, yet you’re determined to keep acting? Do you really think I don’t know your true intentions?”

“What intentions could I possibly have? Everything I do is for your own good!”

Chu Jinyao laughed mockingly, “How shameless! You’re doing this for your own daughter, aren’t you?”

Chu Jinmiao had been watching the spectacle with satisfaction, but suddenly Chu Jinyao turned the tables on her. Startled, Chu Jinmiao quickly said, “You can’t clear your own name, so don’t drag me down with you. Just a moment ago, you were demanding proof—where’s your proof now?”

“Shut up.” Chu Jinyao glared at Chu Jinmiao and said sharply, “You haven’t even wiped the dust off your skirt yet.”

Upon hearing this, the young ladies in the crowd immediately turned to look at Chu Jinmiao’s skirt. Third Young Lady nudged Sixth Young Lady and whispered, “Look, it does seem like there’s dust on her skirt.”

Sixth Young Lady shook her head, signaling for Third Young Lady not to speak. Chu Jinmiao was flustered. She wanted to check her own skirt but held herself back, afraid of giving herself away. Defiantly, she retorted, “I don’t know when I got some dust on my skirt, but what does that prove? I don’t even know them. What does this have to do with me?”

“If it has nothing to do with you, then why are you so eager to clear your name?” Chu Jinyao replied. “No one even suggested that you were involved. You’re the one rushing to explain.”

Old Madam Chu, seeing that the situation was spiraling out of control, interrupted, “That’s enough. No more arguing. I will have someone investigate this matter thoroughly and give a fair explanation.”

Third Young Lady scoffed quietly, clearly unimpressed. Given how much Old Madam Chu favored Chu Jinyao, she would surely cover up the matter. Who would trust the result of such an investigation?

Old Madam Chu turned to the Princess Consort and said, “Princess Consort, please come inside. I will personally explain the full situation to you.”

The Princess Consort hesitated but nodded. As the head of her own household, she didn’t trust the outcome of Old Madam Chu’s so-called investigation. Still, as a guest in the Marquis’s household, she had to give Old Madam Chu some face. She nodded, and with assistance, began to head indoors.

Old Madam Chu breathed a sigh of relief. For now, the priority was to placate the Princess Consort and ensure she wouldn’t hold this incident against them.

Old Madam Chu cared only about preserving her family’s interests, not the truth.

As they were heading inside, Yang Qixia casually remarked, “Fifth Young Lady is truly fortunate to have a grandmother who protects her like this.”

Upon hearing this, the Princess Consort’s expression grew even colder.

Seeing that the Marquis household’s people were about to drag them out, Mr. Su and Mrs. Su began shouting. Mr. Su, usually as silent as a wooden dummy, couldn’t help but cry out, “We came out of goodwill to bring you information, and you don’t appreciate it. Now you want to force a confession?”

Mrs. Su rolled on the ground, wailing, “They’re about to execute innocent citizens! Is there no justice left in this world?”

Chu Jinyao’s hands trembled with anger. She knew that if Mr. Su and Mrs. Su were truly dragged out today, no matter what the eventual outcome was, she would be the one blamed. If the outcome was bad, people would say she deserved it. If the outcome was good, they would claim she bribed the accusers to keep quiet.

It was truly an undeserved disaster. Chu Jinyao watched Mrs. Su’s ugly, pathetic display, took a deep breath, and suddenly said to Gu Momo, “Momo Gu, please hold off. I have a clear conscience. Whatever needs to be said, let’s say it here and now in front of everyone.”

Momo Gu tried to dissuade her, “Miss, they’re just a bunch of uncultured peasants. There’s no need to lower yourself to speak with them.”

“Even if they’re peasants, they still raised me. Before, I had to call them my parents.”

Gu Momo stiffened upon hearing this. “Miss…”

“There’s no need to feel bad, Gu Momo. It’s the truth, and there’s no shame in saying it.” Chu Jinyao replied calmly, “Please step aside. I’ll speak with them.”

Momo Gu was deeply troubled, but she stepped back, looking up at Old Madam Chu for guidance.

Chu Jinyao was already standing before Mrs. Su. Lying on the ground moments earlier, Mrs. Su now found herself unable to maintain her posture. Under Chu Jinyao’s steady gaze, she awkwardly scrambled to her feet.

Facing Mrs. Su, Chu Jinyao said, “I used to call you Mother, so no matter how you treated me, I endured it. After I returned to the Marquis household, I considered your years of raising me and never mentioned a word of it to anyone. I treated you with the respect due to an elder, but you have only ever wanted me dead.”

Mrs. Su tried to shout something in response, but Chu Jinyao didn’t give her the chance. She continued, “Do you remember how you treated me when I was young? In the freezing winter, you made me wash clothes by the river. When my sister secretly brought me hot water, you kicked it over in front of me and punished me by not allowing me to eat for an entire day. You made me go up the mountain before dawn to gather firewood, and when I brought it back, you kicked it all aside and called me lazy, even though Su Sheng slept in bed all day, and you pretended not to notice.”

As Chu Jinyao spoke, her voice became slightly choked. She took a deep breath to steady herself and continued, mocking Mrs. Su, “Oh, and where is Su Sheng today, when you’ve come to make such a scene? You must think that since Su Sheng is preparing for the imperial exams, he can’t risk showing his face or be involved in such lowly acts as this. You’ve been biased against me from the start, beating and scolding me at every turn, and I accepted it because I’m a girl. But now I realize, it’s not that you’re cruel to all girls—only to me! You’ve known all along that I’m not your daughter. To you, feeding me even a single mouthful was an act of charity, and the fact that you didn’t beat me to death was an act of kindness. Meanwhile, while you tormented me, your real daughter was living a life of luxury in the Marquis household, dressed in fine clothes and attended by servants, truly being treated as a beloved daughter by my real parents!”

Linglong, who had been listening, couldn’t help but call out tearfully, “Miss…” Nearby, Old Madam Chu was trembling with rage. “They dared treat you like this?”

Chu Jinyao had finally spoken the words that had been pent up in her heart for years. Ignoring the reactions of those around her, she continued, “You deliberately swapped me with your daughter so she could live a good life. If it weren’t for my father taking charge, I would have spent my entire life deceived by you. Since my father brought me back, I decided to look forward and not dwell on the past. But now, your daughter is already living a life of wealth and status as the Fourth Young Lady of the Marquis Household. What more do you want? Why do you still try to ruin my life? Do I owe you something?”

At this point, even some of the onlookers in the courtyard found it too painful to listen and turned away. Even the people from the Princess Consort’s household showed looks of sympathy. For those noble ladies, who had never experienced the harshness of the world, it was impossible to imagine the extent of such cruelty. Listening to Chu Jinyao’s story, they all felt a deep sadness, but Chu Jinyao herself remained remarkably calm. Her grievances and sorrows had long since been worn away.

Mr. Su and Mrs. Su were utterly cornered by Chu Jinyao’s accusations, retreating step by step, unable to utter a word. But this was not the end—settling old scores wouldn’t change anything. The real issue now was the current situation.

Chu Jinyao composed herself, suppressing her emotions before continuing, “Because of you, I endured thirteen years of hardship. My hands were covered with frostbite that never healed during winter. Because of you, my birth mother remains distant from me, and there is still tension between us. And now, you’ve come once again to harm me for Chu Jinmiao’s sake? Why did you choose today to enter the household? Why didn’t you talk about anything else but my embroidery shop? Without an insider leading the way, how could you two, who don’t even know the way, make it here? Your motives are all too clear. You’re afraid that I’m standing in your real daughter’s way, yet you have the nerve to claim it’s all for my own good?”

Hearing this, Madam Zhao, who had remained silent until now, was shocked and surprised. She had lived her entire life in luxury, ignorant of the ways of the world. She had thought that the Su family, although poor, merely suffered from a lack of resources compared to the Marquis household. Only now did she realize how gravely she had misunderstood.

Madam Zhao’s lips quivered as if she wanted to say something, but there was no opportunity for her to speak. She had never known that Chu Jinyao had lived such a harsh life. If she had known, she would never have neglected her. When she heard Chu Jinyao say that her birth mother was still distant from her, Madam Zhao’s heart ached like a knife, and she couldn’t hold back her tears any longer, turning away to cry.

On the other hand, Mrs. Su was beginning to panic under Chu Jinyao’s relentless questioning. She had no answers to any of the accusations. Everything she had done was according to Chu Jinmiao’s plan, but she dared not implicate Chu Jinmiao, so she resisted the urge to look in her direction. Instead, she responded, “You may have grievances against us, but those are our own issues. Don’t drag other people into this. What does this have to do with the Fourth Young Lady?”

Chu Jinyao laughed at herself mockingly, “You beat and scold me, yet you go out of your way to protect a stranger you’ve only met a few times. Truly, there is no comparison to a biological daughter.”

Chu Jinmiao, who had been standing far off, unconcerned, suddenly found herself implicated by Chu Jinyao’s words. Startled, she quickly replied, “Chu Jinyao, watch what you say! I don’t know them at all. Don’t involve me with these peasants.”

Chu Jinyao sneered at Mr. Su and Mrs. Su, “Did you hear that? You risk everything, offending noble families for her sake, yet she still finds you coarse and vulgar. How do you think you were able to get here? Thanks to Chu Jinmiao leading you, of course. Otherwise, how could you possibly find your way? And how else would she get dirt from the wall on her skirt?”

“Shut your mouth!” Chu Jinmiao panicked and shouted angrily, “What proof do you have to accuse me like this? How dare you spread lies? I don’t even know them, and the dust on my skirt is from walking in the courtyard!”

“Are you saying you’ve never been to the second gate, and have never met the Su family?”

Chu Jinmiao gritted her teeth and responded, “I swear I haven’t.”

Chu Jinyao and Chu Jinmiao glared at each other, their conflict hanging in the air. The Princess Consort watched for a while, then lightly remarked to Old Madam Chu, “Old Madam, your two young ladies are quite sharp-tongued.”

Old Madam Chu felt embarrassed. The most important quality for a young lady was gentleness, not sharp speech. The situation in Rongning Hall was becoming chaotic, when suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps approached, and a person rushed in, face flushed with anger upon seeing Mr. Su and Mrs. Su.

“What are you doing here?” Su Hui’s face was flushed with rage as she grabbed Mrs. Su’s hand roughly, pulling her up. “I wondered why you were acting so secretive lately. Now I see you’ve come to bully Yao Yao. She’s living her life well, why can’t you just leave her alone?”

Old Madam Chu frowned. “And who is this? How is it that anyone can just wander into the inner courtyard?”

Lin Xiyuan and Lin Xining’s voices echoed from outside as the Second Young Master also arrived.

“It’s someone we brought,” the Second Young Master Lin said. “I heard there was trouble in the back courtyard, so I came with the Heir to take a look. When we passed by the gate, we saw this woman begging the gatekeeper. She seemed to know the details of Fifth Sister’s life and those around her, so the Heir said she might have something important to report, and we brought her here.”

The Princess Consort’s expression softened slightly when she saw her son. She gently asked, “Yuan’er, why are you here?”

Lin Xiyuan didn’t answer immediately. He surveyed the chaos in the courtyard and asked, “What’s going on?”

Su Hui grabbed Mrs. Su forcefully, trying to drag her away. “You need to stop this. You’ve resented Yao Yao from the start, and now that she’s finally returned home, why do you keep causing trouble for her? You’re making a fool of yourselves. Come home with me.”

Su Hui scolded Mrs. Su while addressing Old Madam Chu and the princess consort, “I am Su Hui, a former foster sister of the Fifth Young Lady. My parents, they have a habit of saying nonsense, and they’ve been this way for years. They’re prone to fits of madness, so please, madams, don’t take their words to heart.”

Realizing that Mr. Su and Mrs. Su’s daughter had appeared, the gathered ladies began to understand the situation. It turned out the couple might have mental issues. Old Madam Chu’s expression eased, and she said, “So all this fuss was caused by a couple of madmen? And they even had the nerve to make up stories about our Fifth Young Lady. What an undeserved calamity.”

The Princess Consort also relaxed slightly. Could it truly be madness?

Chu Jinmiao, seeing that the situation was about to turn against her, bit her lip and, pretending to be thoughtful, remarked, “Madness, you say? But I didn’t see any signs of mental illness. On the contrary, they seemed to speak very clearly. As a daughter, it’s not right to curse your own parents like that. Just now, I saw that they were quite articulate.”

Her words cast doubt on the situation once again, further complicating the matter.

Translator’s Note : Congratulations guys this novel won the gift poll. So as mentioned earlier I will do a mass release of 10 Chapters together. Look forward to it.

<3 Happy Holidays <3<3