Chapter 60: Chapter 59: Their Mistake (Second Update)
Not only Yunuo didn’t understand, but Du Yunying was also puzzled.
The events of yesterday, she thought over and over again, repeatedly, feeling that she had done everything perfectly.
The river lamp lighting was allowed by the elders, and they were accompanied by older brothers and several maids, it was not a secret outing;
Meeting Princess An Ran by the riverside was a mere coincidence, in both sentiment and reason, under those circumstances, they had to go over and greet her. When a few noble ladies invited them to light lamps, they agreed for the sake of mutual face, and it was indeed inappropriate for their brothers to join them at that moment;
The conflict between Princess Hui and Princess An Ran caught everyone off guard. No one anticipated that a minor disagreement would lead to a scuffle, even spilling the river lamps.
After the incident, Du Yunying was the first to help Yunuo, and they returned home together.
After thorough scrutiny, Du Yunying believed there was nothing to fault.
If given another chance, she would do the same.
If we must assign blame, it’s evidently Princess An Ran and Princess Hui’s fault, which ultimately implicated the two sisters.
This is how Du Yunying thought, and she said, "When immortals fight, we were the innocent victims. Why does Grandmother say it’s our fault? Princess An Ran is the niece of Fourth Aunt, also a County Princess. How could we not acknowledge her presence and respect her? Princess Hui mocked the County Princess because of the embarrassment over Fifth Sister and the Princely Heir’s engagement. However, if you think about it, it’s also the County Princess’s bias and her encounter with someone as confrontational as Princess Hui."
When Aunt Liao was mentioned, Liao Family’s eyelids flickered, and a wave of resentment rolled through her heart.
With Princess An Ran’s temperament, even as her aunt, she could only endure it. Because Aunt Liao was married into the Duke Mansion, when the sisters met, she was at a disadvantage, but even so, she wouldn’t tolerate others speaking ill of her sister. Besides, if the Duke Mansion was willing to favor her, what was it to others?
Yunuo didn’t notice her stepmother’s expression, but she fully agreed with Du Yunying’s words.
Old Mrs. Xia snorted, "Immortals fighting, you knew it was just like that, then why did only you two girls have misfortune when others were fine? Yunuo, the burn on your collar shows you were standing beside the County Princess and Commandery Princess at that time, right?"
Facing Old Mrs. Xia’s gaze, Yunuo instinctively nodded. Seeing her grandmother’s solemn eyes, her mind buzzed, and she vaguely sensed something was wrong.
Why was she standing beside the County Princess and Commandery Princess at that time?
The County Princess treated her superficially; there were always countless others eager to please her, and Yunuo had never been able to squeeze in.
She remembered that during the chaotic scene, she seemed to be pushed around and lost her direction. Eventually, she seemed to catch sight of the County Princess’s malicious gaze...
"Beside the County Princess and Commandery Princess, not mentioning the maids, just other girls could surround them fully. When did it become your turn? When they started fighting, everyone knew it was a fight among immortals and wisely backed off, yet only you two foolishly got pushed to the front, ending up as the unfortunate ones!" Old Mrs. Xia said angrily, pounding the Arhat Bed hard, "And now you tell me you don’t know where the mistake is, how ridiculous! The mistake lies in your lack of shrewdness, sophistication, and inability to adapt or prioritize self-preservation! If you had just a bit of wit, you should have stayed far away, letting them fight as they wished!"
Du Yunying and Yunuo were dumbfounded.
Du Yunluo was also surprised; she didn’t expect Old Mrs. Xia to say such things.
This is what a loving and protective elder would say. Be it favoritism or depth, Old Mrs. Xia was, after all, protective of her own.
Mrs. Zhen quietly glanced at Yun Di, and her suspended heart settled. With Old Mrs. Xia saying this, there wouldn’t be severe punishment.
Miao Family understood that Old Mrs. Xia’s words made sense, but thinking of Du Yunying’s injured finger, she felt immense heartache.
Ten fingers connect to the heart, not just to Du Yunying’s but also Miao Family’s.
"Old Madam," Miao Family tentatively asked, "So about this matter... Later with Duke Jing Mansion and Prince Ding Mansion..."
Prince Ding Mansion was Princess Hui’s family. Although Princess Hui was born of a concubine, this concubine had a significant relationship with someone favored in the palace, so even the Princess Consort treated her politely in the mansion.
"What? You want to seek justice? Regardless of whether Duke Mansion and Prince Ding Mansion would send someone over, even if they did, we could only welcome them with smiles!" Old Mrs. Xia spat, "Can’t swallow this grievance? Then endure it! And then have your husbands, sons, nephews each climb higher. When you all become like immortals, you can spill those river lamps back on them, I won’t stop you."
Miao Family took a deep breath.
The room was silent for a long time before Du Gongfu rubbed his chest, coughing heavily twice, "From now on, the glory of the Du Family should be brought to me by you all, not by relying on my old face to win favors from the Holy Emperor and His Highness."
Du Yunluo swayed slightly.
Power and status, layer upon layer, made the Capital what it is, and the entire court, that’s how it is.
In a past life, she didn’t secure anything for the Du Family that cherished her, but instead for the Second Branch that schemed against her all her life, stealing Mu Lianxiao’s life, title, everything, ultimately giving them a Chastity Arch.
A lifetime of glory, a lifetime of shackles!
Until death, it bore down on her like a mountain, every time she looked back, she wished she could topple it herself!
This time, she wanted to do something for the Du Family.
Du Gongfu’s words carried great weight. The three Du Yunlang brothers pondered each word, then heavily kowtowed.
Clenching the hands hidden in her sleeves, Yunuo’s eyes glinted sharply. If she wasn’t mistaken, Princess An Ran’s eyes were genuinely filled with malice back then, judging by her understanding of the County Princess, the maid spilling the river lamp was probably not an accident but deliberate by the County Princess.
Deliberately targeting Yunuo, because she was a daughter of the Du Family, and the sister of Du Yunluo, who embarrassed Princess An Ran.
Princess An Ran dared not act openly; seeing Yunuo pushed beside her, she naturally took the opportunity to act, making it look like an accident. Who could hold her accountable!
Yunuo bit her molars hard. Old Mrs. Xia was right; she also needed to climb higher, above Princess An Ran and Princess Hui, and then spill the river lamp right back.
Spill it hard!
Miao Family, even with a belly full of grievances, had to endure after receiving instructions.
By noon, someone from Duke Jing Mansion sent over some pastries and ointment. Speaking eloquently, they passed it off as a girlish spat, sounding grand but without any guilt or sincerity.
Miao Family saw them off with a smile, but when she turned back, she smashed everything, secretly cursing: They truly were both surnamed Liao, and neither sister was any good!
As for Prince Ding Mansion, there was not a word, as if the dispute by the river yesterday and the injuries to the Du sisters never happened.
In Anhua Courtyard, Du Yunluo laid down the book in her hand, resting her chin, thinking: Someone like Princess Hui would never know the words ’apology’ or ’compensation’ when dealing with an official’s daughter. As for Princess An Ran, if Aunt Liao hadn’t paid out of her own pocket, Duke Jing Mansion wouldn’t have even sent anyone on this errand.
