After Li Yue left, Qiuyan and Wenchany secretly gave their mistress a thumbs-up.
Their mistress should have acted like this long ago.
Li Yue hurried away from Qingyou Courtyard. Yinzhu trotted closely behind her.
"Miss, are you really going to return all those pieces of jewelry to the Young Madam?"
"Why should I return them? Once things are in my hands, they are mine. When I get married in the future, I will take them with me as part of my dowry. I'm not stupid; I won't be giving them back."
Li Yue spoke as if it were a matter of course.
Yinzhu, however, looked somewhat worried.
"But earlier, the Young Madam didn't seem to be joking. If we don't return them, I'm afraid it won't go well."
Hearing this, Li Yue gritted her teeth and said,
"It's all Sun Jingyou's fault. If that bitch hadn't angered my sister-in-law, my sister-in-law wouldn't treat me like this."
With that, she headed toward Mengyun Courtyard.
Seeing this, Yinzhu quickly said,
"Miss, Sun Jingyou is carrying the General's child. If you go storming over there like this, won't it be inappropriate?"
Li Yue paused, her eyes rolling as she thought.
"Let's go find grandmother."
As a junior, she might not be able to scold her elder brother's concubine, but grandmother certainly could, right? She would go whisper in her grandmother's ear.
Then she could have grandmother discipline Sun Jingyou, which would also count as venting the anger for her sister-in-law. Once her sister-in-law found out, she would surely appreciate the favor. With her sister-in-law's anger gone, not only would she not have to return the jewelry she had borrowed before, but she should also be able to borrow another full set of hair ornaments from her.
Thinking along these lines, Li Yue quickened her pace toward Shouqing Courtyard.
At Shouqing Courtyard, Lady Xie knocked on Old Madame Li's door. As soon as she entered the room, she anxiously said,
"Mother-in-law, how could Wangzhou be so utterly lacking in discretion? He brought back a woman of unknown origin straight from the borderlands, and she's even pregnant. Doing this hurts Yiru too deeply."
Hearing her daughter-in-law speak this way, Old Madame Li's face sank.
"Cough, cough..."
She gave a couple of light coughs and did not reply.
Seeing this, Lady Xie hurriedly bowed and said,
"Your daughter-in-law pays her respects to Mother-in-law."
Old Madame Li nodded slightly and waved her hand, dismissing all the servants attending in the room.
When only Old Madame Li and Lady Xie were left, Old Madame Li beckoned to her.
"Come here and massage my shoulders."
"Yes."
Lady Xie obediently stepped forward to massage Old Madame Li's shoulders, while Old Madame Li closed her eyes and remained silent.
After massaging her for a while, Lady Xie couldn't hold it in any longer and spoke up,
"Mother-in-law, is that concubine just going to be settled in the manor like this? Yiru hasn't even nodded in agreement. Isn't this rather inappropriate?"
She spoke with the utmost caution.
Hearing this, however, Old Madame Li said harshly,
"I'm still alive, and I am quite capable of making the decision to take someone in for my grandson. If Shen Yiru has any objections, let her come straight to me. I'd like to see if she dares to defy me as her grandmother."
Lady Xie had not expected her mother-in-law to be so protective of Sun Jingyou, but she mustered her courage and continued,
"But wouldn't it be going too far if Wangzhou makes Sun Jingyou an equal wife, putting her on equal footing with Yiru later on?"
"How is that going too far? Jingyou is carrying Wangzhou's flesh and blood right now, which is a monumental contribution. Besides, do you know what Jingyou's background is?"
"What background?" Lady Xie asked indifferently. "She's just a woman returning from the borderlands, what remarkable background could she possibly have?"
Hearing her daughter-in-law's tone, Old Madame Li couldn't help lifting her chin slightly, her expression turning rather proud.
"Jingyou is Princess Luoqi, the Grand Princess's only daughter. The Grand Princess has been searching for her for eighteen years. Once mother and daughter recognize each other, won't the Grand Princess cherish her like the apple of her eye?"
At these words, Lady Xie covered her mouth in shock, nearly crying out.
Just like Lady Xie, Li Yue, who was eavesdropping outside the window, was equally stunned.
Sun Jingyou is the Grand Princess's daughter?
...This... This news is truly... a massive surprise.
Thinking this, the look on Li Yue's face gradually shifted from initial shock to wild elation.
If her brother married the Grand Princess's daughter as his wife, the benefits she could reap in the future would far exceed anything she could squeeze out of Shen Yiru. Having Shen Yiru as her sister-in-law could at most get her some money, but the connections tied to the Grand Princess could bring benefits that money simply couldn't buy. With the Grand Princess's connections, she might even be able to find herself a much better match for marriage.
Whenever she had the chance, she went out to socialize with the noble ladies of the capital precisely to secure a good future for herself. Now, an opportunity to rub shoulders with the powerful and elite was laid out right before her, and she had to seize it firmly.
Fortunately, she hadn't acted on impulse and gone straight to question Sun Jingyou just now. Li Yue reached out to stroke her chest and continued to prick up her ears to listen to the conversation inside.
"However, Jingyou doesn't know her own identity yet. Wangzhou plans to marry her first, and only then arrange for her and the Grand Princess to acknowledge each other."
With that, Old Madame Li gave Lady Xie a warning look.
"You mustn't let it slip and ruin Wangzhou's grand plan."
Lady Xie nodded repeatedly.
"This daughter-in-law understands."
"Good. As a mother-in-law, you should also treat Jingyou better. The future of our General's Manor will depend on Jingyou."
"Yes, Mother-in-law."
Lady Xie said, then went back to massaging Old Madame Li's shoulders.
"It's just... what should we do about Yiru? She doesn't seem to agree to let Jingyou enter as an equal wife."
Old Madame Li closed her eyes and said dismissively,
"It's not up to her to agree or disagree. If she dares to defy me as her grandmother, I'll have Wangzhou divorce her on the grounds of unfilial behavior."
"Unfilial?" Lady Xie muttered with a guilty conscience.
Hearing this, Old Madame Li said with dissatisfaction,
"What's wrong with calling her unfilial? Besides, her father and eldest brother died on the battlefield. On her maiden family's side, there is only a mother from a merchant background and a second brother who does business. At best, she is just a merchant's daughter now. If she's obedient, our General's Manor will still give her a bowl of rice. If she's disobedient and dares to stand in the way of our General's Manor's future, then we'll divorce her, and she needn't think about taking her dowry either."
Old Madame Li spoke with absolute ruthlessness, making Lady Xie's heart leap in fright. She paused for a moment and whispered,
"Mother-in-law, Yiru has always been dutiful and submissive; surely it won't come to that."
"If she's sensible, that would be best. But if she dares to throw tantrums, our General's Manor won't pamper her," Old Madame Li said with her eyes closed.
Hearing this, Lady Xie didn't dare say anything more. She had previously planned to find time to go to Qingyou Courtyard to comfort Yiru, but given the current situation, she would just have to grit her teeth and manage the General's Manor herself first. Furthermore, she had to find time to visit Sun Jingyou and curry some favor with her.
Every word of the conversation between Old Madame Li and Lady Xie was overheard by Li Yue outside.
Once she heard it all, she was practically bursting with excitement. She could already picture herself marrying into imperial royalty thanks to Sun Jingyou's connections. Her brother was merely a fourth-rank general; if she relied solely on his connections, she could at best marry into a third- or fourth-rank official's household.
Now things were different—she would soon have a princess as a sister-in-law.
Unable to hold back, she covered her mouth with her handkerchief and turned away with a smile.