Tears welled up behind Jiang Yu’s lowered eyelids.
In this lifetime, both she and her mother had seen through Madam Zhao’s ambitions, and she only hoped that Lady Li would stop retreating further and further. In her previous life, she had been so foolish, believing her mother and sister did not care about her life or death, leaving her to suffer in misery at the farm. Only later did she realize that her mother had never abandoned her; she had pulled strings everywhere and even humbled herself to curry favor with Madam Zhao, all in the hope of making her daughter’s life at the farm a little easier.
Yet, all those efforts had been intercepted; nothing ever reached her. Because she was young and frequently subjected to the taunts and provocations of the servants at the farm, resentment had gradually taken root in her heart.
"They have gone too far! Rest assured, Yuer, Mother will never let you be wronged again," Lady Li said, clutching Jiang Yu’s hand with firm resolve.
Though she appeared soft, only Jiang Yu knew that her mother’s submissiveness was merely a shield to keep her one son and two daughters safe within the Marquis Manor. With a husband entirely devoted to his secondary wife and a maternal family that was nothing more than mere merchants, it was a testament to Lady Li’s hidden strength that her children had survived into adulthood at all.
*It isn't enough,* Jiang Yu thought. *The Li family is still too weak. Without a powerful backing, every move I wish to make is held back by caution.*
Therefore, someone from the Li family had to rise to prominence in this lifetime.
"Mother, if we are to stop being wronged in this manor, we must become strong ourselves. Furthermore, I was framed back then. I did not push Concubine Song into the lake."
Jiang Yu recounted the events of that year once more. She had been sent to the farm because she was accused of pushing a pregnant concubine, whom her father favored, into the lake, causing a miscarriage. At the time, she and Jiang Yingxi had been playing near the water, and when the concubine fell in, the woman had insisted it was Jiang Yu’s doing. A young, terrified Jiang Yu had been unable to clear her name.
Jiang Wanqian scoffed coldly, "I told you time and again not to follow Jiang Yingxi around like a lapdog, but you wouldn't listen. I am your own flesh and blood, your sister from the same mother, yet you wouldn't be close to me."
Jiang Wanqian was fuming, though her words sounded more like jealousy. It was as if this sister of hers had been put under a spell by Jiang Yingxi, a weakness that Madam Zhao had used to manipulate their mother for all these years. Jiang Wanqian had braced herself for a bitter argument, but to her surprise, Jiang Yu remained silent for a long moment before coyly saying, "You are right. It was my fault, Sister. Please forgive me."
*Forgive me for my arrogance, for my failure to see people for who they really were, and for treating a wolf as my own mother...*
Thinking of Jiang Wanqian’s fate in her previous life, Jiang Yu trembled with rage, her bright phoenix eyes turning red. In the Jiang family, while Jiang Wanqian was not as favored by their father as Jiang Yingxi, she was the grandmother’s favorite. As the eldest daughter, she carried the hopes of the elders and had inherited Lady Li’s talent, writing with a graceful hand. The Old Madam often summoned her to transcribe Buddhist scriptures. In the previous life, Jiang Wanqian’s calligraphy had even won second place in the talent competition held by the Eldest Princess—a remarkable achievement for a piece of ordinary work among the efforts of so many noble young ladies.
Yet, a woman of such talent had been...
How could Jiang Yu not bring herself to apologize to her sister?
Perhaps because the apology was so sudden, Jiang Wanqian was at a loss for words. She was a paper tiger with a sharp tongue and a soft heart. Whenever she spoke to Jiang Yu in the past, it always turned into a verbal battle, leaving Lady Li trapped in the middle, torn between her daughters. Whenever their mother tried to mediate, Jiang Yu would always accuse her of favoring the eldest sister.
*How has this Jiang Yu changed so much upon her return?*
"Good, my Yuer has finally become sensible. Your sister only criticizes you for your own good. But Wanqian, you should change your attitude toward Yuer as well. You are always so harsh; it is a blessing that Yuer has such a good temper," Lady Li said, seizing the chance to smooth things over now that the tension had eased.
"Yes, Mother is right. I shall live in harmony with my sister from now on," Jiang Yu promised with a smile.
After talking for a while longer, Jiang Yu and Jiang Wanqian left Lady Li’s courtyard to return to their own quarters. As soon as they were outside, Jiang Wanqian frowned and studied her. "What kind of mischief are you planning this time?"
Jiang Yu felt a sense of helplessness. Her eldest sister was too guarded, likely because she had been betrayed by Jiang Yu too many times to trust her anymore. That was why they had been so unhappy in the past.
"You aren't just pretending to make up with me so you can ask Mother for things to give to Jiang Yingxi, are you?" Jiang Wanqian gritted her teeth. Such things had happened often in the past. She felt that perhaps they were simply destined to clash. Whenever she saw Jiang Yu chasing after Jiang Yingxi, she couldn't help but feel jealous. She had always treated her sister well, yet Jiang Yu had never shown any appreciation.
"Sister, you are overthinking it. I know full well what kind of life I lived at the farm and who the real culprit was. I was young and foolish before, but I will have no more contact with Madam Zhao’s side," Jiang Yu said, looking straight into Jiang Wanqian’s eyes with a firm expression.
Faced with that gaze, Jiang Wanqian turned her head away unnaturally. "If you know that, then all the better. Haven't you long coveted that phoenix butterfly jade hairpin of mine? I will have someone send it to your courtyard later."
Jiang Wanqian cleared her throat awkwardly and added, "Your courtyard has already been prepared by Mother. If you find anything missing, just let us know, all right?"
In the past, Jiang Wanqian would never have said such things. She was too proud, and her vanity would never have allowed her to keep offering warmth to someone who disliked her. But now, with a chance to mend their relationship, she was willing to take the initiative.
"Thank you, Sister," Jiang Yu said with a smile.
*Sister...* That was a term usually reserved for their brother, Ziqi. It was the first time Jiang Yu had heard her use it.
"Hmph, I am heading back," Jiang Wanqian said, feigning indifference, though the slight upward curve of her lips betrayed her.
Watching Jiang Wanqian walk away, Jiang Yu could not help but smile from the bottom of her heart.
"Miss, let us return to the courtyard as well," Qing’er prompted, seeing Jiang Yu standing still for a long time.
"Yes, let’s go and see."
It was time to clean up her courtyard.
Lady Li thought that by spending money to subsidize Jiang Yu’s living quarters, her daughter would live comfortably. But she did not realize that her own lack of ambition had left her without a voice in the Marquis Manor. Lacking power and influence, she was no match for Madam Zhao, whose father was at least a Doctor of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The snobbish servants, always quick to favor the powerful, had been easily coerced or bribed by Madam Zhao, and those who hadn't been bought dared not involve themselves in the struggle between the two mistresses.
Every supply Lady Li had provided for Jiang Yu, save for the most conspicuous items, had been swapped for inferior goods.
There was still a battle to be fought back at the courtyard.