Favored Concubine

  Wan Yu returned to the main courtyard with a carefree heart, where Wan Yi and her sisters were still chatting and laughing with Old Lady. Seeing her return, Wan Yi asked with a smile: "Elder sister, has the Fourth Prince left? He looked so serious and cold, it scared me so much that I didn't dare to speak." She playfully stuck out her tongue, feeling a bit embarrassed about her own cowardice.

  Wan Yu knew that Rui Cheng was a person with a cold face and a warm heart, who didn't like to show his emotions on his face, especially in front of strangers. He would only occasionally reveal some expressions when facing familiar family and friends, otherwise he would always keep a straight face.

  "He's just a bit more serious and rarely loses his temper, don't worry." Yuwen explained with a faint smile.

  Yun Shu raised her head and looked at Wan Yu, her eyes revealing a complex and unyielding gaze. She said in a stern tone: "Elder sister seems to be very close to the Fourth Prince, I just saw him paying attention only to you, ignoring everyone else. However, elder sister should be mindful of propriety between men and women, lest people say that the girls from our Murong family are not well-behaved." She coldly sneered, as if implying "don't embarrass me".

  The words suddenly made the originally relaxed and cheerful atmosphere silent, and Yuanyi and several others were so frightened that they didn't dare to say a word, shrinking back and not daring to move, fearing that the storm would sweep over themselves.

  The old lady quickly turned the Buddhist beads in her hand, her face cold and dark, her eyes staring at Yun Shu with a chill.

  Wan Yu was also shocked and stunned for a moment, looking at Yun Shu's resentful eyes, not knowing what to say. Although she didn't particularly like Yun Shu, she had always treated her sisters with sincerity, even if she had some reservations, she had always genuinely cared for them. After cultivating in solitude for thousands of years, having sisters by her side to accompany and play with was a rare and precious connection that she cherished deeply.

  I didn't expect Yún Shū to hate her so much, what for? She had never wronged Yún Shū, and whenever there were gifts or benefits, she would always remember to give her a share.

  The old lady saw Yuwen's heartbroken eyes closed, and the bright and beautiful phoenix eyes showed a sad and gloomy color, making the old lady feel like she had dug out her heart and was in agony.

  Even if Yuwen's weight is not as important as her son, she has been pampered and protected for so many years. Moreover, she has always been obedient and understanding, gentle and soft-spoken, deeply loved by him.

  "It's no wonder she was taught by her aunt, not only can't she get on stage, but also being sharp-tongued and vicious, with a heart full of malice. From now on, Lin aunt will be confined to the courtyard, when to lift the ban I'll decide. Cloud Comfort is punished to copy the Diamond Sutra until I'm satisfied." The old lady's stern voice rang out, turning her face away no longer looking at Cloud Comfort, that contemptuous and hateful gaze made Cloud Comfort burst into tears on the spot.

  Yun Shu sobbed, her head held high in indignation, "What did I say wrong? They were already ambiguous with each other, if something bad gets out, wouldn't it tarnish our sisters' reputation too? What did I do wrong? Grandma, you can't be so biased, I'm also your granddaughter." Her tears of grievance streaked down her face, her delicate skin glowing with a soft light, looking both stubborn and pitiful.

  "How dare you, who taught you to be so insolent? Have you learned all your manners from a dog's belly?" The old lady had never spoken humbly to anyone in her life, let alone been talked back to and bullied.

  He was so angry that he smashed the celadon lotus-patterned tea cup on Yunchu's head, shattering it into pieces. The flying shards grazed Yunshu's forehead, and blood flowed down instantly.

  Wan Yu took a deep breath, not expecting things to turn out like this. After being stunned for a second, she immediately reacted and ordered in a flurry: "Quickly, Wan Yi go find Li Nian, tell her that I cut my hand and need some medicine. Yun Qing go find my mother, tell her that I'm not feeling well, hurry up! And Sister Ke, please clean up here, tell the little maids in the courtyard not to talk nonsense, say that I accidentally broke a teacup." After finishing speaking, she gave a stern glance at Ke, the big maid standing beside her.

  Ke Ren immediately lowered his head and nodded, "I understand, miss. Don't worry, I'll go sweep now." He quickly lifted the curtain, personally took the broom and dustpan to clean up the fragments, glanced around, then retreated and knocked on the small maid's door in the courtyard, warning her not to speak carelessly.

  Wanyu gave a series of orders and then looked at Yunshu again, "You can go down now, you're no longer needed here."

  From now on, she is just Murong Yunshu and no longer the sister she has been taking care of. From now on, they are just strangers under the same roof, greeting each other when they meet, familiar yet distant. In the future, she will not foolishly regard her as a sister, even if she doesn't take it to heart, she will be reminded, and that's all there is to it.

  Yun Shu covered her bleeding forehead, a chill of sorrow and resentment in her heart. "I'm not wrong, you're biased." She burst into tears.

  In the northwest, she was a free and easy-going young lady, but once back in the mansion, she found herself being looked down upon by everyone, even the maids and servants dared to show her disrespect behind her back. Why did this happen? How could everything change overnight?

  Mrs. Li rushed out of the kitchen after receiving the news, took a look at the blood in Yun Shu's palm and was shocked for a moment, then glanced at the wet footprints on the ground, and saw the old lady's furious expression, her heart skipped a beat, what else didn't she understand?

  She dragged Yun Shu to the outer room to apply medicine, but when she came back, Wen Yu nodded slightly and said, "Trouble Ke Ren sister to tell Peony that there is a seven-flower jade dew cream in my room that can remove scars. Take it over to Yun Shu, just don't say I gave it." She sighed, after all, she couldn't let Yun Shu be left with a scar on her face.

  The old lady still had a lingering anger and said, "What's the point of giving it to her, does she even remember you?"

  Wan Yu shook her head, she was only doing it for herself, and didn't want people to use this matter to spread any unfavorable rumors about her. She continued to stare at Ke Ren, "Just do as I told you, say it's from my father, and you can give it to him later."

  The old lady didn't say anything else and retreated after making a bow, her mind alert with surprise that she hadn't realized the young mistress's status in the old lady's heart was so high, daring to refute even the old lady's words, and also ordering around the maids in this house, without the old lady uttering a word of dissent; from now on, she would have to be more careful in her attendance.

  Mrs. Li gave Yun Shu her medicine and brought her in, waiting for the old lady to make her final statement.

  Looking at Yun Shu holding the gauze on her forehead, Wan Yu's heart was complicated and didn't know what to say. She thought that no matter what she said, Yun Shu wouldn't listen anyway, so it was better not to waste her breath. After all, she had never been a passionate or sociable person.

  "I don't know how you came to think that way, but I'm warning you, if you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll send you to the ancestral temple, and you can spend the rest of your miserable life there." The old lady glared at Yun Shu, her voice stern and word by word.

  Wan Yi felt a bit unbearable, and several times she wanted to speak up but was held back by Yun Qing. She looked at Wan Yu with pleading eyes, Wan Yu sighed, took a few steps forward, held the old lady's hand, gently massaged her back to help her relax, poured another cup of hot tea for her, and handed it over with a warm and respectful expression, "Grandma, just pamper your granddaughter."

  She never mentioned Yun Shu, the old lady had been proud and majestic all her life, with a temperament that carried the pride and stubbornness of a noble family's eldest daughter, most hated being refuted by others, especially hated those who talked back and were cunning.

  Wan Yu only said that she wouldn't mention Yun Shu, but in fact, she thought Yun Shu should be punished. Copying Buddhist scriptures was just a formality and not really sending them to the ancestral temple, it was just to scare Yun Shu into behaving. After serving her grandmother for many years, Wan Yu had some grasp of this, but Wan Yi didn't understand and couldn't help being intimidated. She also didn't want her sisters to think she was heartless and inconsiderate of sisterly love.

  The old lady slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air, then took over the tea cup. She coldly swept her eyes around the people in the room before looking down at Yun Shu with a cold smile and saying: "From now on, you don't need to come pay your respects either. Seeing you gives me a headache."

  Wan Yi finally let out a breath of relief and thought for a moment before speaking: "Second sister, I don't know if you've misunderstood, but Big Sister and the Fourth Prince..."

  Everyone has known since childhood, even the emperor knows that we just returned to the mansion not long ago, and the fourth prince is not familiar with us at all. Naturally, he only found big sister, but also smiled at us. Besides, you shouldn't say these heart-piercing words, framing big sister in infamy, what's the benefit for us?

  In her heart, she had already vaguely understood that the family was going to send her elder sister to the palace to pursue a career, so there was a bit of indulgence towards the fourth prince. However, she still adhered to etiquette and propriety, which she observed very clearly; otherwise, she would have let them dine together earlier. After all, they were still young, and their relatives were present, so dining together wouldn't be a big deal. But the old lady refused, indicating that she was still protecting her elder sister's and the sisters' reputation, and wouldn't take any excessive actions.

  Yun Shu knelt on the ground, turning her head away, with a face full of discontent and distrust.

  The old lady looked at her and became even angrier, "You don't need to talk to her anymore, she's angry because I'm biased towards you, not letting her show off! And don't even look in the mirror, what do you have that compares to your older sister? Didn't all of you greet the Fourth Prince when he came in today? Has he ever favored any of you?" She coldly sneered.

  At this time, Li and Murong Jin heard that their daughter had scratched her hand and rushed to the main courtyard in a hurry, wanting to see how serious it was. If the girl's skin was broken, there was a possibility of leaving scars, which was a big deal.

  As soon as they entered, they saw Yun Shu kneeling on the ground with her head in her hands. The old lady's face was full of anger, and Li Shi and Mu Rong Jin exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat shocked. Li Shi thought to herself, "Your daughter has gotten into trouble again, fortunately it wasn't my own daughter who got hurt."

  Mua mua!