Not long after Yu Xueling entered the Prime Minister's Mansion, Madam Jiang got the news. She was surprised that her daughter had become friends with the daughter of the Grand Tutor Yu. A secret joy welled up in her heart.
If her daughter wanted to gain a foothold among the famous ladies in the capital in the future, it was necessary for her to have a few friends who were daughters of noble families.
Moreover, Yu Xueling was the apple of the Grand Tutor's eye and the number one talented woman in the capital. Becoming bosom friends with such a woman would greatly benefit her daughter's future prospects!
To boost her daughter's face, Madam Jiang specially dressed up and ordered her servants to prepare several rare fruits. Then she personally carried them to her daughter's courtyard.
However, as soon as Madam Jiang entered the courtyard, she heard Yun Ni's angry and shrill shouts coming from the room.
Madam Jiang's face suddenly changed. She hurried into the room. Unexpectedly, a vase suddenly flew towards her. It barely missed her ear and crashed against the doorframe behind her with a "bang"! Madam Jiang was so frightened that her heart skipped a beat. She instinctively closed her eyes tightly.
When she opened her eyes again, Madam Jiang saw the room in a complete mess. Yu Xueling was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her daughter was like a crazy woman, still desperately smashing the last item in the room.
"Yun Ni, stop!"
Madam Jiang roared angrily. She quickly put down the fruit plate in her hand and slapped Yun Ni hard across the face!
The Yun Ni who had been throwing a tantrum just a moment ago was immediately stunned by the slap. She covered her face and looked at her mother in disbelief:
"You actually hit me?"
You know, no matter how willful and naughty Yun Ni had been in the past, although Madam Jiang had scolded her, she had never hit her.
Madam Jiang's palm was numb, but she showed no sign of regret. She said with hatred for iron that failed to become steel:
"You're a young lady from a noble family. Look at what you've become! You're no different from a shrew in the marketplace!"
She had almost exhausted all her efforts to cultivate her daughter so that she could have a better future.
However, despite spending a lot of money and effort, in the end, Yun Ni was only mediocre in her talents and skills. She had no air of a young lady at all. Instead, her temper had become worse and worse over time, to the point of being domineering and unreasonable!
Hearing Madam Jiang's scolding, Yun Ni felt even more aggrieved. She couldn't help but roar:
"You hit me without even asking the reason, and even blame me? Am I still your only daughter? Why are you treating me like this too?!"
Yun Ni's hoarse and desperate questions made Madam Jiang freeze instinctively.
She wanted to say that of course Yun Ni was her only daughter. Her son, Yun Qi, had never given her any trouble, so she had almost poured all her efforts into Yun Ni.
However, when the words came to her lips, Madam Jiang suddenly lost her voice. A scene flashed through her mind:
In a dilapidated adobe house, she was holding a swaddled baby in her arms. The baby girl in the swaddle was crying hungrily...
"Say something!"
Yun Ni's question suddenly woke Madam Jiang up. There was a hint of guilt in her eyes, but she quickly composed herself:
"Of course you are! If you weren't my daughter, why would I have gone to so much trouble for your future?!"
"Tell me, what on earth are you throwing a tantrum about? Didn't you say that the Grand Tutor's daughter came to see you? Where is she?"
Mentioning Yu Xueling, Yun Ni sat down angrily on the chair and gritted her teeth:
"She's already left!"
Madam Jiang frowned instinctively. So soon?
"Aren't you good friends? Is it because of her that you're throwing a tantrum?"
Madam Jiang stared closely at Yun Ni. Yun Ni thought for a moment and then shook her head:
"It's not because of her."
Then, Yun Ni said sullenly:
"Moreover, we're not really friends."
In the girls' academy, Yu Xueling was like the moon surrounded by stars. Yun Ni didn't even count as one of the stars around her. Those daughters of noble families really looked down on others!
Seeing the disappointment in her daughter's eyes, Madam Jiang didn't ask any more questions about the relationship between Yun Ni and Yu Xueling. Instead, she asked:
"Then why are you so angry?"
If Madam Jiang hadn't mentioned it, it would have been okay. But as soon as she did, Yun Ni suddenly slapped the table and stood up. She gritted her teeth and said:
"It's all because of Yun Xi! I heard that just after she moved into her new house, many people went to congratulate her on her housewarming. Even the Crown Prince personally sent her a gift and even entered her courtyard!"
"Why isn't it enough for her to have the King of Xian? Why does she have to go after the Crown Prince too?! What's wrong with me? Why does the Crown Prince only have eyes for her and not even notice me?!"
She was the one who had whole - heartedly and truly fallen in love with the Crown Prince! Why did a promiscuous woman like Yun Xi manage to win the Crown Prince's favor?!
Yun Ni's series of "whys" revealed her deep - seated unwillingness. Her eyes were even red with anger!
Looking at her daughter like this, Madam Jiang frowned slightly. She felt even more hatred towards Yun Xi.
She held Yun Ni's hand and pulled her to sit on the chair. She said earnestly:
"You're just too impatient, which is why people can take advantage of you!"
"Men are the most ungrateful things in the world. The more you try to please them, the more they ignore you. On the contrary, the things they can't get become the white moonlight and the apple of their eye in their hearts!"
Madam Jiang said with deep feeling. Her expression was extremely resentful. Yun Ni listened half - understandably:
"Mother, are you complaining about Father?"
People outside all said that her father was a handsome man. One could imagine that he was even more suave and charming when he was young, winning the hearts of many women. However, her father had only loved one woman in his life. Even her mother had only reluctantly become her father's concubine because of her grandmother.
Even to this day, her mother had never been promoted to the position of the main wife, and her father had never even looked at her properly.
Meeting Yun Ni's rather pitying gaze, Madam Jiang suddenly felt extremely humiliated. She glared at Yun Ni and said:
"We're talking about your business. Why are you bringing me into this? What did the Yu family's young lady come to the mansion for?"
Since her daughter said that they weren't friends, it was obvious that the Yu family's young lady must have come for something. If possible, she would like her daughter to get to know her better.
Thinking of Yu Xueling's invitation just now, Yun Ni seemed rather uninterested.
"She just invited me to go to the pear garden in the east of the city to watch a play. She said that there's a very popular play there recently. Even the Eighth Princess is obsessed with it. She wants to go and see it and asked me if I wanted to go with her."
The theater? The Eighth Princess?!
Just by putting these two words together, Madam Jiang's eyes suddenly lit up. She seemed to understand that Yu Xueling wanted to make friends with the Eighth Princess. Naturally, she thought of the Prime Minister's Mansion and wanted someone with a prominent family background to accompany her!
Moreover, at the palace banquet some time ago, Yun Xi had stolen Yu Xueling's limelight and become the newly - famous number one talented woman in the capital. That was why Yu Xueling had thought of her daughter!
"Daughter, how did you reply to her?"
Madam Jiang stared at Yun Ni, unable to hide her excitement. But she saw Yun Ni pout and say:
"The Crown Prince has even gone to Yun Xi's courtyard. How can I be in the mood to watch a play? Naturally, I declined!"
So Yu Xueling, seeing that this stupid girl still didn't take the bait, didn't waste any more time and left quickly.
"That won't do! This is a great opportunity!"
Madam Jiang immediately called the maid beside her and seriously instructed:
"You go to the Yu Grand Tutor's house quickly and tell Miss Yu that the Second Miss will go to the pear garden in the east of the city to watch the play as promised."
"Yes, Madam."
The maid took the order and immediately walked out. Yun Ni frowned in confusion:
"Mother, I've already said that I won't go. Why are you still doing this?"
Madam Jiang didn't explain much. She whispered:
"If you want to see that Yun Xi girl ruined in reputation, just listen to Mother!"
Yun Ni was half - believing and half - doubting:
"What does this have to do with watching a play?"
A sly look flashed across Madam Jiang's eyes:
"You'll know when the time comes!"