No one expected that Xie Nanjia would expose Princess Jinping in public, and do it so decisively and mercilessly.
Born in a wealthy family, we have all seen sisters competing for favor and being at odds with each other. However, it is rare to see an adopted daughter like Xie Nanjia, who has only been in the mansion for a few days, dare to openly suppress her eldest sister.
Regardless of whether Princess Jinping really did what she said, the way she acted made people feel very uncomfortable.
Especially the Su brothers, they were a little disappointed in her when they saw their younger sister, whom they treated sincerely, taking advantage of their older sister.
Sheng Qingyun was also surprised. She had always thought that her two daughters had a good relationship. She didn't expect that after just a few days of getting along, they had already shown signs of disharmony. She had expected the two of them to love each other like she and her elder sister. What would happen if this continued
Not to mention the old lady, who became even more dissatisfied with Xie Nanjia.
But no matter what, since Xie Nanjia has already laid the problem out in the open, she has to deal with it impartially and cannot avoid it.
Moreover, if the truth is as Xie Nanjia said, Princess Jinping's behavior is indeed too frivolous and ignorant, and she should be severely punished, otherwise she may cause trouble in the future.
"Jin Ping, you have always been a well-behaved, sensible and steady child. Why did you do such an abnormal thing today? Tell me the truth. Did you say such words? Did your sister wrongly accuse you?"
Princess Jinping hated Xie Nanjia so much that her teeth itched. She had always believed that if one wanted to deal with someone, one had to hide one's tracks and act in secret. Therefore, even though she was anxious for Xie Nanjia to die, she tried hard to maintain superficial peace and pretended to be a loving sister to Xie Nanjia every day against her conscience. However, Xie Nanjia did not act like that and stabbed her in the back in public without caring about other people's opinions or her own image.
This reminded her of the last time Xie Nanjia exposed Chuntao and Chunxue. He was also quick and decisive, leaving no room for others and defeating the enemy in one move.
Damn girl, she is so cruel and ruthless.
Although Xie Nanjia's words were exaggerated, with this ironclad evidence, Jinping County Lady knew that it was useless to refute her, so she simply admitted it. She hugged the old lady's legs and sobbed with regret, "Grandma, what my sister said is right. It is true that my granddaughter has a narrow vision and has not seen the world. When praised by the people, she became vain and forgot the reserve that a girl should have. Although my sister was a maid before, she has been trained in the Marquis' Mansion. I shouldn't be so self-righteous and ignore my sister's advice. I was wrong, I was really wrong. Please punish me severely, grandma!"
I have to say that she is indeed a qualified liar, with good acting skills, good psychological quality, and good eloquence. In her tearful cry, she not only admitted her fault, but also evaded the main issue and attributed the reason to her lack of worldly experience. At the same time, she kept silent about the rude remarks made by herself and Caidie to Xie Nanjia, trying to divert everyone's attention and get away with it.
Everyone really believed her words, thinking that after all, she had been living among the people for twelve years, had little experience and lacked education, so it was understandable that she made such a mistake.
Second Madam Zheng stood up and spoke for her: "Mother, Jinping is a good child. Since she came back, she has been working hard to learn the rules every day. Everyone makes mistakes, and she has seriously admitted her mistakes. Please forgive her this time as it is her first offense!"
"Yes, mother, please forgive her this time!" The third and fourth wives also stood up to plead.
Since the child was hers, Sheng Qingyun found it difficult to plead for mercy, so she signaled with her eyes that the Su brothers should plead for her sister.
The Su brothers understood what their grandmother meant, and they all spoke well of their sister, asking their grandmother to forgive her.
Only Su Jincheng, although kneeling with his brothers, never spoke a word, thinking over and over again about the chaotic scene.
He did not think that Xie Nanjia had been too cruel, nor did he think that Princess Jinping should be easily forgiven. Whenever he thought of the torment he had endured over the past twelve years, cold sweats broke out on his back.
While he was thinking, he heard Xie Nanjia's voice saying, "Grandma can't let my sister off like this. She must be punished accordingly. If she makes a mistake and is not punished, she will not learn her lesson. And my brothers must be punished as well."
"..." Everyone looked at her as if she were a madman.
This adopted daughter takes herself too seriously. Not only did she trick her sister, she also interfered with the old lady's decision and even did not let her brothers go.
The Su brothers were shocked and heartbroken, feeling that they had fed a wolf with their kindness, and that the wolf was an ungrateful one at that.
"Why do you want to punish your brothers?" asked the old lady.
"Because the brothers didn't fulfill their responsibilities as brothers." Xie Nanjia said crisply, "People often say that the eldest brother is like a father. As an elder brother, you should not only care and love your younger brothers and sisters, but also educate and guide them. Blindly pampering and indulging them will only harm them.
Just like today, the elder sister clearly made a mistake, but the brothers not only did not teach her, but they collectively covered up for her. The second young master Zhao came to the rescue, but the brothers not only did not say a word of thanks, but instead told him that sisters are meant to be loved.
Everyone in the capital knows that the second son of Zhao is a naughty boy, but he, an outsider, can drive away the people who are creating chaos by himself, while his brothers can only ride on their horses and do nothing. The brothers are not even as good as such a naughty man, so shouldn’t they be punished?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the hall suddenly fell silent.
The Su brothers felt a burning pain on their faces as if they had been slapped, and hung their heads in shame.
The three ladies were ashamed of their sons and were speechless.
The smile on Sheng Qingyun's face gradually spread, and he felt extremely proud of his daughter.
The old lady didn't expect Xie Nanjia to have such insights, and she had to look at her with admiration.
At this time, the old Duke walked in from outside.
"Well said, you are worthy of being my granddaughter." He clapped his hands and praised Xie Nanjia, then turned to the old lady and said, "You are already so old, but you are not as clear-sighted as a little girl. These little bastards usually call their sister "sister", but when their sister got into trouble, they couldn't rely on anyone and had to rely on an outsider to help. I say, each of them should be beaten with a stick first, and then punished to kneel in the ancestral hall for three days and three nights to reflect on their mistakes."
"..." The old lady was so angry that she was speechless when her husband accused her of not being as good as her granddaughter.
The Su brothers felt even more ashamed.
None of the daughters-in-law dared to resist the old duke, and they all lowered their heads and remained silent.
Xie Nanjia stepped forward and saluted, "Grandpa, my brothers were mainly concerned about the overall situation. There were too many people at the time, and they were afraid of hurting innocent people and causing greater chaos, which would affect General Wu'an's smooth entry into the city, so they didn't dare to act rashly."
Everyone: “…”
It was you who said that the brothers were useless, and it was also you who said that the brothers were considering the overall situation. You have said everything, how come you are so smart
The old Duke snorted, "Then why did Zhao Jingyu dare to do that?"
"The Second Young Master has a bad reputation and everyone is afraid of him, so he can have a deterrent effect." Xie Nanjia said.
Everyone: “…”
What does it mean to turn your hand and make clouds, and turn your hand again and make rain? This girl is the best explanation.
"Even so, we can't let them off easily." The old Duke likes his granddaughter, and whatever her granddaughter says is right.
Xie Nanjia said, "My brothers all have their own errands and schoolwork. It's unrealistic to make them kneel for three days. Why not just make them kneel for one night? Punishment is just a formality, not a purpose. Grandpa will take the trouble to teach them more in the future."
"I don't want to teach these idiots a lesson!" The old Duke snorted coldly and said to his grandsons, "Since my sister pleaded for you, I will let you go today. Go to the ancestral hall and kneel down!"
“…” The brothers no longer knew whether to blame or thank their sister, and went to the ancestral hall together with their heads down.
Su Jincheng wanted to go too, but the old Duke stopped him and said, "Don't go. Ask your mother to prepare a thank-you gift for you. Go to the Marquis' Mansion to thank Zhao Jingyu in person on behalf of our family."
"…" Su Jincheng was slightly stunned, then bowed and replied, "Yes, grandson will obey grandfather's orders!"
Xie Nanjia's eyes lit up, and she grabbed the old Duke's sleeve and said, "Grandpa, I've been away from the mansion for many days, and I want to go back and take a look. Let me go with my brother!"
"Hmm?" The old Duke frowned and thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "It would be good to go back and take a look. Follow your brother well, don't run around, and come back early!"
"Yes, thank you Grandpa!" Xie Nanjia smiled sincerely, and her smiling face was like the coming spring.
The old Duke blinked and patted her head lovingly: "My granddaughter is so pretty."
Everyone: “…”
After receiving the order from his father-in-law, Sheng Qingyun did not dare to neglect it. He took Xie Nanjia and Su Jincheng back to prepare gifts, leaving Princess Jinping here to await the old lady's decision.
The old Duke's interference made the old lady furious. After the mother and her two children left, she said angrily, "You are so nosy. Jinping is also handed over to you. You decide how to punish me!"
Princess Jinping has been kneeling in sorrow until now. In order to appear pitiful, she forced herself not to interrupt whatever Xie Nanjia said. She just watched Sheng Qingyun take Xie Nanjia and Su Jincheng away without even looking at her, and her hatred for Xie Nanjia deepened a little.
Her mother had cared so much about her in the past, but ever since Xiu'er came, she had taken away most of her motherly love. Now, she even ignored her when she was punished.
It wasn't that Sheng Qingyun didn't want to care about her, but he felt that what she did today was indeed too much, so he wanted to leave her alone for two days to let her realize her mistake. In fact, as soon as she left the old lady's room, he began to feel sorry for her, but she didn't know and didn't understand.
The old Duke was cruel to his grandson but not to his delicate granddaughter, so he claimed that he had important matters to attend to and slipped away.
The old lady was so angry that her teeth itched, but she could do nothing about it. Finally, she discussed it with her three daughters-in-law and punished Princess Jinping to copy scriptures in the Buddhist temple for seven days.
When the news reached Qionghua Courtyard, Su Jincheng, who was waiting for his mother to prepare a gift, glanced cautiously at Xie Nanjia opposite him, fearing that she would be angry because the punishment was too light.
In fact, Xie Nanjia didn't care what kind of punishment Princess Jinping would receive. The reason she made such a fuss was to secretly observe whether there were any accomplices of Princess Jinping at the scene.
Except for Sheng Qingyun, the other three ladies all pleaded for Princess Jinping. In comparison, it seemed that the second lady's plea was more sincere, and she looked into Princess Jinping's eyes more often.
It is said that the news about Princess Jinping was due to the distant cousin of the second wife Zheng. So...
"Sister, are you angry?" Su Jincheng asked cautiously when he saw Xie Nanjia remained silent.
Xie Nanjia came back to her senses and glanced at him: "No, I just want to teach my sister a lesson. It doesn't matter what the punishment is."
"..." Su Jincheng licked his lips and said embarrassedly, "I did hesitate on the street at that time, but it's not that I didn't have my opinion. I was really worried about hurting innocent people..."
"I know what you are thinking, brother. I won't be angry. Don't take it to heart." Xie Nanjia comforted him with a smile.
“…” Su Jincheng opened his mouth but said nothing. He turned his head and blinked a few times to relieve the soreness in his eyes.
After the gifts were prepared, the brother and sister set off for Dingyuan Marquis Mansion amid their mother's earnest instructions.
On the way, Xie Nanjia couldn't help laughing. She and Zhao Jingyu tried their best to see each other, but they couldn't see each other despite the distance of a carriage. Who would have thought that she would have the opportunity to go to the Marquis' Mansion again, and she even made a special trip to express her gratitude to Zhao Jingyu. Isn't this what they call planting flowers with care but they don't bloom, but planting willows by accident but they grow into a shade
Will Zhao Jingyu jump for joy when he sees her suddenly appear
Thinking of Zhao Jingyu's loneliness when he watched the carriage go away on the street, she began to become impatient.
(End of this chapter)