With this in mind, Old Madame Mu immediately made her decision, flicking her sleeve as she gave the order, "Yuan'er makes a valid point. We certainly cannot let the Yongning Marquis Estate look down on us. We will do as Yuan'er says."
Seeing Wan Niang and Mu Jinxia instantly deflate, Mu Jinyuan felt a sudden wave of refreshing exhilaration, and couldn't resist adding, "Do trouble yourselves to pack up quickly. My mother and I will be moving in tonight."
With that, she curtsied and took her leave.
Wan Niang was furious, twisting her handkerchief into a tight ball.
"Mother, I think that girl Yuan is deliberately trying to steal the courtyard I live in. Don't be fooled by her."
Old Madame Mu raised her hand and delivered a sharp slap across Wan Niang's face. "You shortsighted creature! Now that you've been welcomed into the estate, you're still not satisfied and spend every day fixated on these petty advantages. Have you forgotten that you used to live in a thatched hut in the countryside? If your petty little schemes ruin the future of my son and grandson, see if I don't peel the skin right off your back!"
"Grandmother, please calm your anger. My mother was only worried, afraid you'd be tricked by that girl's sweet words." Mu Jinxia rushed to support her beaten mother, her resentment toward Mu Jinyuan growing even deeper.
"Xiao Shuning is utterly devoted to my son, and Mu Jinyuan is also obedient, always putting the Mu family first. When has she ever said anything that wasn't for the good of the Mu family? It's you who have grown too used to living in a grand mansion and forgotten what kind of humble background you came from!" The old madame pointed at the bridge of Wan Niang's nose and scolded her angrily.
Mu Jinxia wanted to argue further—it was clearly Mu Jinyuan who had deliberately stirred up trouble—but Wan Niang pressed her down, stopping her.
To put it bluntly, in the old madame's eyes, no one mattered more than her son and grandson.
Saying anything more would only make her even angrier.
"Mother, I know I was wrong. I'll go back and pack my things right now, and I will certainly not give the people of the Yongning Marquis Estate a reason to laugh at us."
Hearing Wan Niang say this, Old Madame Mu's anger subsided slightly, and she offered a few parting instructions. "Be smart these next few days. The people from the State Protector Estate are not all as foolish as Xiao Shuning. In case any incriminating evidence is discovered—"
"Mother, please rest assured." Wan Niang knew the gravity of the situation.
She still wanted her daughter to leverage Xiao Shuning's influence; she would never let the people of the State Protector Estate discover their secret.
Back in Zhuqing Courtyard, Mu Jinxia whimpered, "Mother, I don't want to move to the Side Courtyard. It's much too run-down..."
"Xia'er, I've wronged you. Let's endure this for a few days. Once Mu Jinyuan's marriage is finalized, we will move back." How could Wan Niang possibly want to go to the Side Courtyard either?
Before Xiao Shuning married into the Mu Mansion, Zhuqing Courtyard had been specially renovated under supervision to match the layout of the courtyard where she had lived in the Xiao family home, with every single detail exuding luxury.
The moment Xiao Shuning sent people to the Xiao family to borrow personnel, over twenty people arrived in a neat group—maidservants, matrons, stewards, and even the guards sent by Qionghua to protect them.
This was because she was genuinely afraid that the mother and daughter would be bullied.
Once everyone had arrived, Mu Jinyuan led her mother toward Zhuqing Courtyard.
Usually, she and her mother kept to themselves in the Side Courtyard and had very little to pack.
In contrast, Wan Niang and Mu Jinxia had packed more than twenty chests.
As soon as Mu Jinyuan stepped into the courtyard, she saw Mu Jinxia directing a maid, "Bring that pair of jade pillows. Be careful not to drop and break them—if you break them, selling you ten times over wouldn't be enough to pay for them."
Mu Jinyuan surveyed the courtyard and began opening the closed chests one by one.
"Sister Yuan, be careful. These things are all extremely precious," Mu Jinxia said with a taunting smirk. "I suppose Elder Sister has never laid eyes on them before!"
Mu Jinyuan remained noncommittal. She reached out and pointed at the chests. "Plum blossom glazed hairpins, faceted gourd gold earrings, gold-gilded hairpins with draped bead tassels, and gold phoenix-beaked peach blossom hairpins."
Mu Jinxia clicked her tongue in surprise. She only knew that these pieces of jewelry were adorned with jade and pearls, but she had never known they possessed such lovely names.
Still, what good was knowing their names? These were all her treasures.
With a loud *clack*, Mu Jinxia slammed the chest shut, as if terrified someone would snatch it away, and called out to the servants, "Hurry up and move these things over!"
But her path was blocked by the people Mu Jinyuan had brought with her.
Mu Jinxia's expression instantly turned icy. "Sister, what is the meaning of this? Could it be that seeing these fine things makes you want to claim them for yourself?"
"Sister Xia is joking. These items were originally my mother's dowry, and every single piece is written down clearly on my mother's dowry inventory. Where do you think you're taking them?" Mu Jinyuan smiled faintly.
Having occupied Zhuqing Courtyard for so all these years, Mu Jinxia truly thought of herself as the mistress of this place.
"You... you're talking nonsense!" Mu Jinxia couldn't help feeling a bit guilty; no wonder Mu Jinyuan had been able to name those items so easily. "How could things in my courtyard suddenly become yours?"
"Zhuqing Courtyard was renovated by the State Protector Estate for my mother. Since when did it become your courtyard?" Mu Jinyuan glanced at Mu Jinxia. "I recall that you and our aunt were cast aside and driven out, returning to stay here at the Mu Mansion as guests. My mother was kind enough to take you in out of sheer magnanimity—so how is it that now you two act as if you are the mistresses of this estate?"
"Girl Yuan, I am your elder. Your father and grandmother gave their consent for me to return to the Mu Mansion; it is not yet your turn as a junior to pass judgment on me." Wan Niang walked over gracefully, raised a hand to adjust the gold-inlaid jade sparrow hairpin in her hair, and cast a disgruntled look toward Xiao Shuning.
"Sister-in-law, are you perhaps being too lax in Yuan'er's upbringing? Making such a fuss in the courtyard over a few trinkets—even if they were part of your dowry, once they entered the Mu Mansion they became property of the Mu family. Why bother dividing what is yours and what is mine? It would be bad enough if this commotion disturbed Mother and angered her ladyship.
"Don't you agree..."
Before Wan Niang could finish speaking, a fierce-looking matron appeared right in front of her and struck her across the face with a slap so hard it sent her spinning and loosened her hair bun.
"You! What kind of creature are you? How dare you hit me?" The side of Wan Niang's face that Old Madame Mu had just slapped hadn't even finished swelling before this side puffed up just as quickly.
"Mother!" Mu Jinxia rushed to Wan Niang's side, her eyes filled with a bitter hatred that made her look as though she wanted to tear the matron who had struck her to pieces.
Yet the matron who had delivered the blow was not one to be trifled with, especially with several guards who looked thoroughly skilled in martial arts standing close by, which kept Mu Jinxia from acting rashly.
"Mu Jinyuan! How dare you find someone to hit my mother? I am going straight to Grandmother to report this!" Mu Jinxia could not swallow this grievance.
"I forgot to introduce them to you. This is Mammy Liu, whom my mother invited here from the State Protector Estate. She has managed the affairs of the State Protector Estate for twenty years and oversees the decorum of the young ladies and young masters of the household. Even my mother shows her a modicum of respect," Mu Jinyuan said unhurriedly.
"A mere servant dares to climb over her masters' heads? What kind of damned rules are these in the State Protector Estate?" Wan Niang was shaking with rage.
No wonder Xiao Shuning was so weak and easily bullied—she actually let a servant throw around such outrageous authority.
"You must be that younger sister-in-law who was cast out by her husband, driven back to her maiden home, and left carrying two fatherless bastards?" Mammy Liu's presence was imposing as she took two steps toward Wan Niang.
"What do you think you're doing?" Having been beaten once, Wan Niang was terrified and instinctively pulled Mu Jinxia back a couple of steps.