All Hail Cousin Brother

278 Too Disappointing

Yu Jianjia opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Yu Youyao couldn’t help but tear up. Even her voice choked. “You’re trampling on my face, upbringing, and reputation for Seventh Miss Cao.”

“No, Big Sister, you’ve misunderstood. I cough…” Yu Jianjia explained anxiously. Unexpectedly, because she was in a hurry, she suddenly gulped down a mouthful of cold air, choking until her throat itched. However, she could only lower her head and cough a few times…

Just as her throat felt a little better, Yu Jianjia was about to speak again in a hurry when she heard Yu Youyao holding back her tears and saying hoarsely, “I know that Third Sister is just being kind, but just because I’ve had no mother since I was young and am a bereaved eldest daughter, do I deserve to be despised outside? Even my own sister thinks that I’m a bereaved eldest daughter, so I deserve to be inferior to others. Should I deserve to be looked down on and scolded? Even if I’ve been humiliated, am I the one in the wrong? I’m the one who should apologize?!”

Yu Youyao kept saying that she had good intentions. Every time she said something, she had to bring it up. In her ears, it sounded like a huge mockery.

Yu Jianjia’s chest felt tight, and her face turned pale. “That’s not what I meant. Big Sister, please believe me…”

“Bam—” Yu Zongzheng couldn’t stand it anymore. He slammed the table and the teacup on it clanged. “Shut up!”

Yu Jianjia opened her mouth, and suddenly, a gust of cold air rushed into her mouth and into her throat. It was so piercing that her throat itched, and even her heart turned cold.

She looked at her father in shock.

In her memory, her father always looked at her with relief and pride. When he spoke to her, even his voice was gentle. She had never seen her father so angry.

Yu Zong looked at Yu Jianjia with a disappointed expression. “Jia Jia, you’ve disappointed me too much.”

Yu Jianjia’s eyes turned red, and large tears rolled down her face. “Father, I-I don’t think Big Sister is inferior, nor do I have any intention of looking down on her…”

He thought of his fourth daughter, who was still locked up in the courtyard to learn the rules.

Then, he looked at his third daughter, who was crying pitifully.

Then, she thought of Madam Yang, who had caused Jia Jia’s sprained ankle.

What else did Yu Zongzheng not understand? “You’ve been weak since you were young, so it’s inevitable that I doted on you a little. I originally thought that you were gentle and kind, and had always had high hopes for you. I didn’t expect you to be so ignorant. You’re actually like Fourth Miss and you’ve been taught to have a bad attitude by your mother. Such a petty person is not presentable at all. You haven’t learned the demeanor and bearing of a scholarly family at all.”

Yang Shuwan, who had originally wanted to speak up for her daughter, immediately felt her eyes darken and her throat choke. She couldn’t say a word.

Her father had reprimanded her for not knowing the severity of the matter, for being petty and lacking the demeanor of a scholarly family. These words had always been used by her father to reprimand Yu Youyao in the past!

Her father even compared her to Yu Qingning, the daughter of a concubine?!

For a moment, Yu Jianjia thought that there was something wrong with her ears and that she had heard wrongly.

However, when she saw her father looking at her with disappointment, Yu Jianjia finally realized that she hadn’t heard wrongly. She almost fainted on the spot.

“Father, I didn’t do it on purpose…” Her lips trembled as large tears fell. She looked at Yang Shuwan innocently and blankly. “Mother, I didn’t…”

Seeing her daughter’s heartbroken expression, Yang Shuwan couldn’t hold it in anymore. As she wiped her tears, she said, “Master, you’ve watched Jia Jia grow up. How can you not know her personality? She’s just too gentle and kind, so she felt aggrieved and admitted the mistake for Yao Yao. However, Master, you’re saying it’s all her fault.”

At this point, her voice also became hoarse. “Your heart aches for Yao Yao, who almost ruined her reputation and suffered grievances at the Flower Festival. However, Jia Jia slipped in public and lost her balance. She became a joke and even sprained her ankle. How can you say that about her? It’ll hurt the child’s heart. Jia Jia’s body is weak to begin with. If anything happens to her, what should she do?”

Yu Zongzheng was stunned when he heard this. Then, he heard a weak cough from the room. His third daughter lowered her head and covered her mouth to cough lightly with a pale face.

Immediately, he regretted being so harsh just now.

Although Jia Jia did not know the severity of the matter, he had still underestimated her. Her personality and character were unquestionable. Although she was flawed in her handling of matters, she was only nine years old. Furthermore, this was the first time she had been outside. She could still be nurtured well later.

Yang Shuwan knew Yu Zongzheng well and continued to cry. “Master despises me for being the daughter of a concubine in the family and thinks that I’m not presentable. I have nothing to say, but I can’t vent my anger on Jia Jia. Jia Jia has always been obedient and sensible. She’s also considerate and filial to Master. She’s innocent…”

With that said, Yu Zongzheng couldn’t help but think of his third daughter, who was usually obedient, sensible, filial, and considerate.

At this moment, Yu Youyao, who had been silent all this while, said hoarsely, “Father, I know that Third Sister is innocent. Her body is weak, so as her elder sister, I naturally won’t hold it against her.”

After she finished speaking, Yu Jianjia’s throat itched again.

Her father had always doted on her. Even though her body was weak, he would not really criticize her.

However, Yu Youyao’s move of retreating in order to advance made her father realize that she was weak and Yu Youyao had also suffered grievances. As a result, her father felt very sorry for her and softened his stance.

Thinking about how his eldest daughter’s reputation had almost been ruined at the flower festival today, Yu Zongzheng’s expression darkened again. His eldest daughter did not mind, but as her father, he could not pretend that nothing had happened.

Yu Zongzheng looked at Yu Jianjia. “Since your big sister won’t hold it against you, I won’t punish you either. You should reflect on yourself and learn what a woman should do. Learn and reflect. Your big sister has grown up in front of your grandmother since she was young. She has principles and rules. In the future, learn more from her and learn how to deal with people.”

She had learned the teachings that a woman should learn from the age of seven to the age of nine. There were dozens or hundreds of books in total. This was obvious that he was criticizing her for not learning the teachings well in the past. If she was asked to learn them again and had to copy them after learning them, it would be indirectly saying that she was unruly and ill-mannered. It would completely deny her studies and hard work for the past three years.

He even asked her to learn more principles and rules from Yu Youyao.

He was stepping on her to praise Yu Youyao.

Since when was she inferior to Yu Youyao in her father’s heart?