The younger generation of the Qi family all live in the three-entrance courtyard.

  The old lady first sent a set of golden headdress and jewelry with Shuang Ji.

  Then came the eunuch Chen with the gifts from the Crown Prince's consort.

  For a moment, all eyes in the Qi manor fell on this small courtyard.

  There are those who envy, there are those who ponder, but those who genuinely wish for their sister-in-law's happiness, like Qi Zhen, are the rarest.

  Fiddling with the various colored gems in the box, Hua Ru's mouth corner revealed a smile.

  Today is really a big harvest.

  As long as she entered the eyes of the Crown Prince's consort, these women in the Qi Manor could be jealous and dissatisfied, but what could they do to her?

  They might not care, but the old lady definitely will.

  She could see it clearly, Old Madam was still waiting for her to go before the Crown Prince's consort to save face for the Qi Manor!

  She made another effort, and this life as a kept woman might not be so hard to bear after all.

  Just then, Chun Yu walked in with a plate of mille-feuille.

  Hua Ru thought it was Chun Yu who did it and didn't think much of it.

  "Miss, this is a gift from Zhen's maid, who also conveyed Zhen's message that she couldn't come over herself, so she made this to celebrate for you."

  How could someone as cunning and deep-minded as Qi Wu produce a child that is so likable?

  Pinched off a bite, Hua Ru nodded "Improved, no worse than what you guys made."

  Chun Yu poured tea and placed it beside her, smiling "Zhen Niang is clever and genuinely likes it, so she naturally does a good job."

  Ate a piece, sipped tea water to send down the residual in mouth "You guys split it up."

  Several young girls giggled and curtsied, saying "Thank you, miss."

  "Be thrifty, just mix two cold dishes for me tonight and consider it your thank you gift."

  "Miss, it's not good for women to eat too many cold foods, Madam has instructed before." Chunyu looked embarrassed.

  Hua Ru glared at her, "How can I eat too much? It's already good if I can have a full plate for one meal. Which young lady is as pitiful as me, having to beg you all just to get some cold dishes?"

  The little maids didn't dare to respond, but Yun Shu knew that the young lady wasn't angry, she was just unhappy because her wishes hadn't been fulfilled.

  She smiled secretly and pushed the box of gems in front of the young lady, changing the subject "The crown prince's gift, we need to polish two sets as soon as possible, you'll need to wear them when you go to the crown prince's mansion. Which color do you like?"

  She casually picked a few colors, and Hua Ru Chuh was about to get up when Yun Shu hastily pulled her back. "Miss, these colors are too plain. It's fine to use them at home, but if you're going to the Crown Prince's residence, it won't do. Choose some more."

  Hua Ru was initially impatient "You're always picking faults, don't ask me about everything."

  "Yes, yes, miss, where are you going? I'll accompany you."

  "Go to the study room and read books, no need for anyone to serve you, everyone can go about their own business."

  "Yes."

  As she walked to the door, Hua Rujiu turned back and instructed, "Take out that piece of golden silkworm silk and make two sets of lining for me and my husband. For Grandfather and Grandmother, as well as Father and Mother-in-law, each make one set. You go ask about their sizes yourselves."

  "Yes, miss."

  The next day, after breakfast, Hua went to the main house to pay her respects.

  The old lady saw her and softened her expression, ignoring the three daughters-in-law, beckoning to her "Come over here quickly, have you finished breakfast?"

  "Finished using it, where's grandma?"

  "It's been used up early on, no need for a big family gathering to eat together, just use it casually and it's done."

  "You have a lot on your plate, I'll make use of it. My daughter can cook a few delicious and easily digestible dishes. If you don't mind, I'll let her prepare some for you tomorrow morning."

  The old lady was delighted and smiled with joy. "Good, good, good! I certainly won't refuse my daughter-in-law's filial piety. Tomorrow morning, I'll be waiting to eat."

  "Yes, I won't forget."

  "Cough..." Qi Wu's wife lightly coughed, from the moment she entered the door until now, this daughter-in-law of hers still hadn't greeted her, and seemed to have ignored her, not even looking at her.

  Hua Ru's heart secretly laughed, but her face showed a look of surprise and alarm. She quickly went to Qi Wu's side and paid her respects, asking "Mother, are you feeling well today? Where is Zhen? Why didn't she come with you?"

  Which pot doesn't open, which pot does. This time, Qi Wu's original one-tenth of thin anger turned into seven-tenths. She stood up and was about to scold, Old Lady hummed a sound, not loud or soft, but everyone in the house could hear it.

  The Qi Wu family's words were on the tip of their tongues, about to spill out, when they were startled by this reminder and bit their tongue in shock, their faces paling with pain.

  "Mother, what's wrong with you? Is there anywhere uncomfortable? Do you need to call a doctor?"

  Pushing away Hua Ru's hand that was supporting her, Madame Qi Wu forced a stiff smile and said: "I remembered something I need to take care of, I'll come back to serve you later."

  "It's all right, you go ahead and attend to your business, with Yu'er's wife here it's enough."

  "Yes, I'll withdraw."

  The old lady glanced at the other two and began to shoo them away: "Everyone go about your own business."

  The big house's meal delighted Qi Lin and Qi Shen, who left with a happy mood.

  As soon as the idle people left, the old lady looked at Hua Ruochu with a fixed gaze. Having been in charge of the household for many years, she had seen and used all sorts of tactics, big and small, so how could she not see that Hua Ruochu had just spoken on purpose?

  This daughter-in-law seems not as gentle as she appears to be.

  This not only didn't annoy her, but instead delighted her.

  The Qi government needs someone like him.

  Just as she was thinking this, Hua Ru suddenly knelt down with a thud and said, "Sun's daughter-in-law is disrespectful to her elders, please forgive me, elderly lady."

  The old lady didn't call her to get up either "Why did you deliberately provoke her?"

  Hua Ru's voice trembled slightly, and occasionally the sound of her teeth chattering could still be heard. The old lady was confused again, and her previous thoughts were shaken.

  "It's not that I intentionally want to be at odds with my mother-in-law, it's just that...". After pausing for a moment to calm down her emotions, Hua Rujiu continued: "As a daughter-in-law who came from Yangzhou to this Ji state, I was already flustered and at a loss. To say something irreverent, even the elder relatives in this household aren't all kind to me. But only my younger sister-in-law has been respectful to me from start to finish, treating me well. I've heard my husband say that since she was little, she would make clothes for him every year, and never forgot to give him shoes, socks, or sachets. For someone who treats me well, and treats my husband well, I always want to repay them in some way, so..."

  She remembered that she had taken Qi Zhen with her every time she went out in the past few days, and Old Lady had a bit of understanding. "What do you want to ask for?"

  Hua Ru quickly glanced up at Old Madam and then lowered her head, but allowed Old Madam to clearly see the worry and hesitation on her face. "I was thinking of asking you to take my younger sister under your wing and teach her how to manage a household."

  The old lady didn't understand "Your mother-in-law has been teaching you all along, what's wrong with that?"

  "The daughter-in-law dare not speak of her mother-in-law's wrongs, but... but..."

  After a moment of silence, the old lady said, "Get up and talk."

  Hua Ru stood up obediently at first, but then tightly closed her mouth and refused to speak again.

  A child does not speak of a father's faults; as a daughter-in-law, it is even more unacceptable to discuss the rights and wrongs of one's elders.

  She is unwilling to be a gossip who reports behind people's backs, nor can she be one.

  She just needs to bring it up and let the old lady remember it in her heart.

  As expected, the old lady did not continue to ask questions, but rather as if nothing had been said earlier, she listed out one by one the influential families of Jizhou, the power of the eldest prince, the second prince, and those who remained neutral.

  "This is just a rough idea, and being neutral doesn't necessarily mean you're really neutral. There are wallheads who are waiting to see which way the wind blows, and no matter which faction they encounter, they'll keep an eye on them, so don't be foolish and believe whatever anyone says."

  "Yes, I remember."

  Rubbing her forehead, the old lady was also a bit tired. She put down her pen and said, "Let's stop here for today. You go back and think it over carefully, come again tomorrow."

  "Yes." Quickly and efficiently, she poured another cup of tea for the old lady, and only then did Hua Ru Chu take her leave.

  The gentle and elegant lady with lowered eyebrows and downcast eyes didn't move, but in her heart, she secretly thought that the young mistress was clever.

  He lit the fire and ran away, leaving it up to the person with the most authority to decide whether to burn it or not, and how to burn it.

  She can also get rid of suspicion.

  "Shuang Ji, go and investigate what's going on with Qi Zhen."

  "Yes."

  After two cups of tea, Shuang Ji lifted the curtain and came in with a strange expression.

  Shuang Ji was embarrassed by the gaze of the old lady upstairs.

  The young lady knew she couldn't get burned herself, so she couldn't speak out against her elders' right or wrong and slipped away.

  But she can't even be a servant!

  That's an affront, and selling her off would be letting her off easy.

  "What's going on?"

  Her knees went weak and she knelt down "Old madam, I...I dare not speak."

  Seeing her like this, the old lady felt a chill in her heart and thought that it was better if she didn't know anything.

  Just thinking of his daughter-in-law's suggestive words, he gritted his teeth and said, "As long as what you say is true, I won't punish you."

  "Yes." Having obtained assurance, Shuang Zhi straightened his waist and spoke out what he had investigated and asked.

  When she saw the old lady's stern gaze, she continued with a trembling heart: "The slave went to say something to find the eldest wife, and didn't let the gatekeeper pass it on. At the door, I heard that the eldest wife was teaching Zhen Niang some...some..."

  The old lady slapped the table and said.

  "Yes, the mistress is teaching Miss Zhen some private tricks. I heard them and they are very vicious. Some of us servants have never heard such things before. Miss Zhen cried and refused to learn, so the mistress hit her on the leg. I sneaked a peek and it's all swollen now, doesn't look like something that happened just once."

  How can this be, it's really how can this be.

  What is she trying to teach Qi's daughter? Is she seeking revenge against her own daughter by ruining her like this?!

  Which family can tolerate the evil stepmother with a belly full of poisonous schemes?

  Even if she gets her way by marrying him, and she deceives everyone, isn't she afraid of retribution befalling her child?!

  Just like the Qi Mansion.

  She can teach everything, she must be very understanding herself.

  Was she pretending all these years when she was being suppressed?

  The old lady closed her eyes and suppressed the anger surging in her heart.

  It wasn't until a while later that she opened her eyes again, staring fixedly at Shuang Qi. The look in her eyes made Shuang Qi's heart feel cold to the bottom.

  It's indeed like this, it's indeed so; the old lady has shifted her anger onto her.

  She will definitely be sold by the old lady, definitely will be.

  "Didn't anyone find you?"

  Shuang Ji shook her head repeatedly, "No, I guessed that such things might be too common in the mistress's courtyard and didn't cover it up. I listened outside the door for a while and left when I heard footsteps."

  At this time, it was the busiest moment, cooking, sweeping, washing and drying, and Shuang Xi seized a good opportunity.

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