Chapter 062

Chapter 62: Brought It on Herself

In the end, Yu Zhi Yi wore the banquet dress that Red Luan designed for her.

The moon-white gown shimmered like soft moonlight. Over it lay a light red shawl that added a gentle charm to the clean look.

These two colors were tricky: one tested a person’s skin tone, while the other made fair skin look even softer and smoother.

But whether red or white, neither color could hide the woman’s grace. Instead, they only set it off.

Madam Yao sighed as if her eyes were tired from judging beauty, and said: “Yi’er is so pretty that she would look good even with any cloth thrown over her. I can’t choose at all, not at all.”

Yu Zhi Yi said, after a pause: “Then… how about this one?”

What she liked most was that the wide sleeves were the perfect length. Unlike other gowns, they did not sweep the floor in an overdone way.

Also, the colors were acceptable.

The shawl was red, which sounded bold, but compared with the other dresses, this one was already quite plain.

Lately, Red Luan loved heavy, bright colors more and more.

Yu Zhi Yi glanced at the mirror and thought: [When I have time, I should talk with her about this.] If even she, the so-called clothes rack, felt uncomfortable wearing them, then other buyers would likely feel the same.

Chancellor Du had been waiting outside the carriage. When he saw his wife and daughter-in-law arrive, he got in.

The four of them rode in the same carriage.

These days, Du Zi Heng had grown even quieter. Aside from an unconscious extra glance or two when he saw Yu Zhi Yi, he no longer met her eyes.

Yu Zhi Yi was not the type to force small talk.

Madam Yao, however, could not help going over palace-banquet rules with Yu Zhi Yi again: what to notice, how to act, where to stand, and when to speak.

She had attended many palace feasts in the past, yet at those events she only ever saw the real young lady of Yu Manor, not her own daughter-in-law. She worried that her daughter-in-law might make a joke of herself by accident.

Making a small joke would be fine. What she feared was offending a noble.

If a noble turned angry later… she was not afraid that Yi’er would suffer a loss. With Madam Yao there, few could bully Yi’er.

But Yi’er would surely feel wronged in her heart.

Yu Zhi Yi listened politely and gave small replies now and then. She was not a stranger to these rules, but since Madam Yao wanted to teach, she would not cut her off.

In her past life, she had learned these rules too, but she had paid quite a price for them.

Back then, Madam Yu never brought her into those high circles, and the Duchess Yong was eager to give her a harsh first lesson. So when Yu Zhi Yi entered the palace for the first time in her last life, no one told her what to watch out for.

She felt like Granny Liu stepping into the Grand View Garden. She did not gawk, yet her deep nervousness and careful, timid steps were plain to anyone who could see through people.

She even caused a small scene.

When the four arrived at Morning Splendor Hall, the people of Yu Manor and the people of Yong Duke’s Manor were already there, and the two families’ seats were not far apart.

The moment Yu Zhi Yi entered, two sets of eyes secretly turned her way.

The looks held measuring, disdain, and hate, so strong they felt almost solid. Even people without cultivation could sense it.

The three members of the Du Clan frowned. Chancellor Du swept his gaze, cool and steady, toward where those looks came from.

When their eyes met his, the five young masters of the Yu clan and Madam Yu hurriedly looked away. Yu Jiao Jiao and Madam Zhang of Zhang Manor also shifted their eyes.

Only Zhang Tian Shun kept staring at Yu Zhi Yi, confusion on his face.

[What is going on?]

[Why do I suddenly want to kneel on a washboard the moment I see this woman?]

It was too strange.

A chill ran down his back, yet he still did not look away. He stared hard at Yu Zhi Yi’s face and tried to remember.

[When have I met her? And when did she ever punish me to kneel on a washboard?]

No matter how he thought, he found no answer.

[Me, Third Young Master Zhang, kneel on a washboard because of a woman? Impossible.]

Also, [isn’t this Young Madam Du just Yu Manor’s adopted daughter? Then why does her profile look a bit like Yu Jiao Jiao’s?]

Sensing Zhang Tian Shun’s stare, Yu Jiao Jiao felt a wave of danger in her heart.

No one knew better than she did how this marriage had come to be.

In the last life, Zhang Tian Shun married Yu Zhi Yi because he lusted after her at first sight. He happened to see Yu Zhi Yi save someone, took an interest, then found out she was Yu Manor’s adopted daughter. He begged Duchess Yong to propose the match.

In this life, using the edge of being reborn, Yu Jiao Jiao dressed in the same style Yu Zhi Yi had worn on the day of that rescue. She did her hair the same way, then used makeup to make herself look seventy or eighty percent like Yu Zhi Yi. She rushed out to save the same person that Yu Zhi Yi had saved in the past life.

Afterward, Zhang Tian Shun once doubted her, wondering why she looked different from that day. With a guilty conscience, Yu Jiao Jiao had to rely on makeup to paint her side profile to resemble Yu Zhi Yi’s outline, barely getting by.

But fake is fake.

Now that Zhang Tian Shun saw the real Yu Zhi Yi, he became suspicious again.

On top of that, after going home yesterday, Yu Jiao Jiao had been scolded for a long time by Madam Zhang and Madam Meng. She was punished to kneel in the yard to “learn the rules,” and her knees still hurt now.

All this together made her hatred of Yu Zhi Yi spike to the extreme.

Feeling Yu Jiao Jiao’s strong hatred, Yu Zhi Yi raised a brow and looked over. Under the heavy powder, she still saw dark circles and a face full of exhaustion.

She lifted her brow, curved a faint smile, and nodded slightly, as if greeting Yu Jiao Jiao.

Only Yu Jiao Jiao knew that she was being mocked.

It was schadenfreude.

Yu Zhi Yi really was taking pleasure in it. This stolen life was not easy to live.

Madam Meng was a woman with a fierce need to control. From Duke Zhang at the top, to her children, sons- and daughters-in-law in the middle, down to the servants, she wanted to hold everyone tightly in her hands.

Before Yu Zhi Yi married into that house in the last life, Madam Meng had indeed controlled everyone except Duke Zhang.

After Yu Zhi Yi married in, Madam Meng tried more than once to “set rules” for her.

But Madam Meng was neither Yu Zhi Yi’s birth parent nor the Minister Yu couple who had raised her. Even though she was the mother-in-law, to Yu Zhi Yi she was just a stranger.

Naturally, Yu Zhi Yi would not indulge her.

So when Yu Zhi Yi was punished to kneel, Madam Meng would stumble over her own feet and fall.

When Yu Zhi Yi was made to stand in the rain as punishment, Madam Meng would spill a teapot and splash herself with scalding tea.

When Madam Meng finished scolding Yu Zhi Yi, she would turn around and be scolded harshly by Elder Madam Zhang.

In short, whenever Yu Zhi Yi suffered a loss at Madam Meng’s hands, within a day Madam Meng would suffer something even worse.

And that was not all.

Every time Madam Meng made things hard for her, Yu Zhi Yi would go back and treat Zhang Tian Shun the same way.

At first, Zhang Tian Shun had no problem with his mother “setting rules” for his wife. He even liked it. If the wife did not listen, let his mother teach her. That would save him trouble.

Later… every time Madam Meng wanted to summon Yu Zhi Yi, Zhang Tian Shun would jump out to block her.

In time, Madam Meng did not dare punish Yu Zhi Yi anymore.

Yu Jiao Jiao had not figured out anything and still dared to jump into the deep pit called Yong Duke’s Manor. Truly, she had brought it on herself.