All Hail Cousin Brother

263 No Upbringing

Madam Yao gritted her teeth and interrupted Yang Shuwan. She said to the Marquis of Changxing’s wife, “Madam, don’t be angry yet. If this is really Eldest Miss’s fault, we definitely have to give Seventh Miss Cao an explanation.”

Seventh Miss Cao was in a sorry state, but Yao Yao was also crying. She hadn’t even interrogated clearly, so she wasn’t in a hurry to admit her mistake on behalf of her stepdaughter.

Was there such a stepmother?

Was there such a mistress?

The Marquis of Changxing’s wife frowned and said nothing.

It was obvious that she was very unhappy.

Yang Shuwan was also unhappy to be interrupted, so she held Yu Youyao’s hand with a kind mother’s heart. “Yao Yao, what happened just now? Why did you cause trouble with Seventh Miss Cao out of the blue?”

“I…” Yu Youyao opened her mouth, wanting to explain…

Without giving Yu Youyao a chance to speak, Yang Shuwan continued, “I’ve seen Seventh Miss Cao a few times in the past. She’s a polite and kind person. You’re a guest, so she has to entertain you carefully. Even if there’s any misunderstanding, you should make it clear. How can you cause trouble with others? Don’t let others laugh at our family for being unruly and ill-mannered because of you.”

At this point, Yang Shuwan held Yu Youyao’s hand tightly and said gently, “Quickly apologize to Seventh Miss Cao. The Marquis of Changxing’s wife is a magnanimous person, and Seventh Miss Cao is also kind. She definitely won’t hold it against you.”

Every word and sentence was meant to persuade her, showing her magnanimity. However, after thinking about it carefully, it also expressed that all of this was Yu Youyao’s fault.

Seventh Miss Cao was polite and kind, so the one in the wrong was Yu Youyao. She was just short of pointing at Yu Youyao’s nose and saying that she was delicate and unrestrained, causing trouble in someone else’s house.

Yu Youyao sobbed softly. “I didn’t. It was Seventh Miss Cao who…”

Yang Shuwan interrupted her and said gently, “Don’t cry anymore, lest your eyes hurt from crying. When the sisters play together, it’s inevitable that there will be some quarrels. Even if there’s a misunderstanding, I’ll bring you to the Marquis of Changxing’s wife to explain it and you can apologize to Seventh Miss Cao. Then, everything will be fine. I also know that this is your first time outside, so it’s inevitable that there will be some rudeness. You’re young, so I won’t blame you.”

Not only was her stepmother not harsh at all when her stepdaughter made a mistake, but she also persuaded her gently to stand up for her stepdaughter. It was obvious that she was a magnanimous and polite person.

Back then, after Eldest Madam Xie passed away, Old Madam Yu’s health was not good, and the children in the family were still in their infancy. Eldest Madam Xie’s funeral was imminent, and there were thousands of things going on in the family, but no one was taking care of it. Such a virtuous personality was indeed worthy of Eldest Master Yu. Within a hundred days after Madam Xie’s death, she risked her reputation to marry someone into the family to be a second wife.

Everyone present had different thoughts.

However, Madam Yao almost fainted. She glanced at Yang Shuwan coldly. “Even if there’s anything, we have to wait for Yao Yao to explain it clearly. If someone doesn’t know better, they’ll think that you’re rushing to push the blame to your stepdaughter, not even giving her a chance to explain.”

Yang Shuwan put on an expression of worry for her stepdaughter and a kind mother. However, when she occasionally looked at Yu Youyao, her eyes revealed a gloating expression. She really looked down on her.

She had never seen someone tear down their own family’s stage to support another family. How shameless.

However, Yang Shuwan was a mother. How could she, as an aunt, surpass her stepmother?

Yang Shuwan was not angry. She said gently, “I also saw that not only was Miss Cao splashed with tea, but she was also injured from the fall. She’s really pitiful.”

Madam Yao was furious. Could it be that you only think that other people’s daughters are pitiful, but you can’t see that your stepdaughter is crying?

As expected!

With Yang Shuwan’s words, the Marquis of Changxing’s wife’s arrogance increased. She looked at Yu Youyao—

“Your mother is right. It’s also because the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence didn’t entertain her well and made Eldest Miss Yu suffer. However, Eldest Miss Yu, please tell me what happened just now. This incident of splashing tea and causing someone to fall isn’t something a well-mannered young miss of a prominent family would do.”

With her mother’s support, Cao Yingxue’s eyes were red from crying. She couldn’t help but look at Yu Youyao smugly, her eyes filled with arrogance.

When the Marquis of Weining’s wife saw the obvious redness at the corner of Lu Mingyao’s mouth, her eyes turned cold. “I’ve known Yingxue since she was a child and watched her grow up. She’s a polite child. Why is she causing trouble with Eldest Miss Yu? Is there a misunderstanding?”

Since she had spoken, the other madams who were on good terms with the two of them or wanted to befriend them quickly chimed in.

“It’s inevitable that there will be some friction when the sisters play together. How can it be so serious? They really don’t know the severity of the matter…”

“Tsk tsk, look at Seventh Miss Cao’s pitiful appearance. I can tell what kind of spoiled personality Eldest Miss Yu has. She’s really uneducated…”

“Isn’t that so? This eldest daughter of a widow has never been taught by her mother since she was young. How would she have any good upbringing…”

Every word and sentence was filled with Yu Youyao’s pettiness, insensibility, and lack of upbringing. Cao Yingxue looked smug, and even her eyebrows were raised.

Whether Yu Youyao was well-mannered or not was not up to the young misses.

The elders present had the final say.

Just now, Yu Youyao had been glib-tongued and refuted her with etiquette. Now, she wanted to see how Yu Youyao would defend herself.

Hmph!

Yu Youyao was also very stupid. She did not even think about it. The Marquis of Changxing’s Residence had a huge army, and her sister, Concubine Zhuang, was favored by the emperor. Her father had contributed greatly to guarding Youzhou and had even won a battle. He also had the backing of the Marquis of Weining’s Residence and Imperial Consort Lu.

She was a noble lady who had been waiting in the capital for a long time. Even those imperial daughters had to give her some face when they saw her. How could Yu Youyao, the eldest daughter of a widow, afford to offend her?

She was going to teach her a lesson today!

The whispers and pointed fingers around her stunned Yu Youyao. Her thin body couldn’t help but tremble slightly, as if she hadn’t expected things to develop to this point.

Yu Jianjia lowered her head and lifted the corner of her dress slightly, revealing her shoes.

The light green embroidered shoes were inlaid with pink pearls. They looked exquisite and beautiful. When she walked with the jade-soled shoes, they made a soft clanging sound. Coupled with the moonlight dress, they looked even more elegant.

However, at this moment, her right foot was swollen, distorting the exquisite shoe. The excruciating pain in her ankle bone made her breathing quicken.

Thinking of how she had fallen and sprained her ankle just now, Yu Jianjia couldn’t help but glance at Yu Youyao. Seeing that her small body was trembling from crying, she lowered her head again.

Yu Youyao’s reputation for being ill-mannered had spread in front of all the madams and young misses. Once she left the Marquis of Changxing’s Residence, everyone in the capital should know about it.

Her reputation was ruined, and it was time for her life to be ruined.

Even if Nanny Xu taught her some impressive skills, what was the use of having such an envious background?

From now on, she could only be matched with a poor family, and she would not be able to raise her head as a human.