The old lady had been worked up into a fury by Mrs. Jiang. As soon as she saw Yun Xi and was about to unleash her anger, a single word from Yun Xi instantly left her speechless.
With a livid face, she looked around. Seeing a few passers - by on the road staring at them, she managed to hold back her temper and finally followed Yun Xi into the courtyard.
Supported by Mrs. Jiang, the old lady sized up the three - courtyard mansion. The wrinkles between her eyebrows never relaxed. As soon as she sat down in the living room, she immediately confronted Yun Xi in a deep voice:
"Yun Ni came to your courtyard at noon and hasn't returned to the mansion yet. Where did you hide her?"
When Mrs. Jiang reported this to her earlier, she didn't believe it. But after asking the maids and servants in Yun Ni's courtyard, they all said that Yun Ni had been taken away by a maid from Yun Xi's courtyard.
She originally thought it was no big deal, so she sent people to search Yun Xi's courtyard. But after a thorough search, they couldn't find Yun Ni anywhere. When they questioned the servants in the courtyard, they were completely in the dark. Even after tying up Ding Xiang, the maid who had brought Yun Ni, and giving her a beating, Ding Xiang still kept her mouth shut and refused to say a word.
As the sky gradually darkened, and Yun Ni, a young girl, hadn't returned yet, the old lady was extremely worried. So they reported the matter to the authorities.
Unexpectedly, they received the news that Yun Ni had been arrested and thrown into prison!
What on earth could a young lady from an official family have done wrong to be arrested directly without any regard for the Prime Minister's Mansion?!
The old lady was shocked. She quickly informed her son to rescue Yun Ni, but was told that Yun Sheng had gone out of town on urgent business. She wanted to send Mrs. Jiang to the prison to find out the situation from Yun Ni, but was told that visits were not allowed!
Moreover, this was an imperial edict personally issued by the Empress Dowager!
Hearing that Yun Ni seemed to have offended the Empress Dowager, the old lady was so frightened that she almost fainted. Mrs. Jiang told her that Yun Ni had been arrested in Yun Xi's courtyard, and it must have been Yun Xi's scheme to frame Yun Ni.
So, the group rushed to Yun Xi's courtyard and had been waiting until now!
Yun Xi frowned slightly as she glanced at Ding Xiang, who had been dragged into the living room and beaten to a pulp, barely breathing.
"Grandmother, Ding Xiang is a servant in my courtyard. Isn't it inappropriate for you to punish her without my permission?"
She still remembered the old lady's arbitrary punishment of Yu Zhu. Although Ding Xiang was not her confidant, she had already won her over.
Anyway, the old lady shouldn't act so arrogantly in her courtyard and beat her servants!
Seeing that Yun Xi not only didn't answer her question but blamed her for a maid, the old lady's face instantly darkened:
"Even you are a descendant of the Yun family. As your grandmother, do I need your permission to discipline a servant?"
Although Yun Xi had moved out of the Prime Minister's Mansion to live alone, the old lady would never allow Yun Xi to challenge her authority at any time!
She was the sky of the Prime Minister's Mansion! Everyone in the mansion had to rely on her and obey her orders!
Knowing that the old lady had always been overbearing, Yun Xi was not surprised at all. She immediately ordered someone to carry Ding Xiang away and told them to find a doctor to treat her.
In Ding Xiang's tear - filled eyes full of gratitude, Yun Xi turned to look at the old lady, her eyes full of mockery:
"Grandmother still remembers that I'm a descendant of the Yun family?"
"Then, when you let Cui'er trick me into the private room of the Jadeite Tower and used despicable means to let a man defile me, did you think of this?"
Stared at by Yun Xi's cold eyes, the old lady was clearly displeased but not surprised.
She quickly exchanged a look with Mrs. Jiang beside her, then justified herself righteously:
"What despicable means? Don't put it so harshly. If I hadn't wanted to find a husband for you earlier, why would I have resorted to such measures?"
"So, Grandmother knew about it?"
Seeing that the old lady showed no sign of remorse, Yun Xi's heart, which had still harbored a glimmer of hope, instantly sank to the bottom.
She thought she didn't care, but at this moment, she had to admit that she was still disappointed!
It was a feeling of despair beyond measure!
Not noticing the sudden coldness in Yun Xi's expression, the old lady continued:
"What's wrong with the young master of the Li family? Although he's not a member of the royal family, he's still a relative of the royal family and the eldest grandson of the noble family. He's handsome. Many famous ladies in the capital dream of marrying him!"
"You don't even appreciate my efforts for you. Instead, you framed Yun Ni and got her thrown into prison. How could you be so cruel? She's your own younger sister!"
The old lady was furious. After finishing a long string of words in one breath, she suddenly felt parched. Just as she picked up the teacup on the table to take a sip, Yun Xi suddenly stepped forward, grabbed the teacup from the old lady's hand, and smashed it on the ground!
With a clatter, the tea and broken porcelain pieces flew everywhere. The old lady covered her chest in panic. Realizing what had happened, she was instantly enraged and roared:
"You ungrateful wretch!"
The old lady stood up, raised her walking stick and tried to hit Yun Xi, but Yun Xi caught it and threw it at Mrs. Jiang, who was gloating beside them. Mrs. Jiang was caught off guard and hit!
"Are you crazy? How dare you treat your own grandmother like this!"
The old lady was stunned by Yun Xi's rebellious behavior and scolded loudly. Mrs. Jiang, who had been hit painfully, echoed:
"Yun Xi, you've gone too far. You have no respect for your elders. You're a rebel! Even if you dislike your grandmother, she's still your elder! Doesn't your conscience ache?"
Listening to their high - sounding accusations, Yun Xi almost vomited in disgust.
"Talk to me about conscience? Don't be ridiculous. I don't know if your consciences ache, but I know that you have no conscience at all! You've been scheming to get rid of me just to satisfy your own desires. Why do you have to play the family - affection card? It's disgusting!"
"Next time you want to accuse others, take off your masks first and see if you're human or a ghost!"
Since they had different paths and couldn't work together, Yun Xi thought it was a waste of breath to explain anything to them. So she simply cut to the chase:
"Yun Ni's arrest is entirely her own fault! The magistrate found the aphrodisiac incense that Cui'er had ordered in the private room on her. She not only tried to frame the young master of the Li family for a crime but also colluded with the opera troupe early on to instigate the Eighth Princess to deal with me! The magistrate has also fully investigated the whole incident, and the evidence is conclusive!"
"Now, the young master of the Li family has been seriously injured because of this, the Eighth Princess has been imprisoned by the Empress Dowager, and Miss Zhen has been thrown into jail. Do you still think you can get away with it?!"
The matter had become so serious that they couldn't stay out of it. They thought sacrificing her would solve everything!
"What? There's actually such a thing!"
The old lady's face suddenly changed. A breath was stuck in her chest, and she slumped into the chair.
She had just followed Mrs. Jiang's suggestion. She thought the young master of the Li family was interested in Yun Xi and wanted to trick Yun Xi into going on a blind date, making it seem like they were having a secret meeting, to force Yun Xi to submit.
But she never told Cui'er to order any aphrodisiac incense!