Chapter 235

Chapter 235: Effect Two

Still burning with anger, the Yu clan brother and sister did not realize the Emperor had heard their quarrel. They did not notice how the faces of the people in the hall had all changed. They kept stabbing each other’s sore spots, saying whatever would hurt the most. The uglier the words, the more they said them.

At last, when both were exhausted, they were ready to pause and catch their breath. Consort Yu waved her hand to send Yu Chun Yue away. This brother was now useless; keeping him here would do no good.

Yu Chun Yue had just reached the door when his legs gave out. He fell to his knees with a thud and stammered: “Your Your Majesty…”

Consort Yu’s face turned pale.

Elsewhere, at Duke Yong’s Manor, Yu Jiao Jiao had just returned when she ran into two steward aunts. Both were trusted aides of Duchess Yong, Madam Meng, and held great power in the household. Even though Madam Meng was still under house arrest, it did not stop these two aunts from gripping the reins of authority.

Madam Meng had managed the manor for many years. The entire household was full of her people. Unless she died, her influence would not fade. After all, she had given birth to three precious sons, and the heir apparent of Duke Yong’s Manor was her child too. If it were not so, then, based on what she had done back then, she would already have been divorced, or even put to death.

Yu Jiao Jiao’s knees went weak the moment she saw the two aunts. These past days, she had been tormented badly by Madam Meng’s people, and these two aunts were the first to make her suffer. They did not beat or curse her in public. Instead, they cut her food and, in the name of filial piety, forced her to stand or kneel and pray for Madam Meng, Duke Yong, and even Zhang Tian Shun. Even if Madam Meng did not show her face, these two stood for Madam Meng, and Yu Jiao Jiao could not disobey. Otherwise, they only needed to whisper a few words to Zhang Tian Shun, and he would beat and kick her.

Yu Jiao Jiao regretted everything. She thought, heartsick: [Why did I take Yu Zhi Yi’s place and marry into Duke Yong’s Manor?] Although in her last life she died miserably, before she reached the end, the two old geezers of Chancellor’s Manor at least treated her kindly on the surface because of Yu Manor. Fake or not, her days had been quite good.

She also thought of You Bing Yue and fumed: [That woman’s fate this time shows she wasn’t unbreakable. I simply used the wrong methods. With a whole lifetime of experience behind me, why didn’t I gather those lessons and use my “seer” skill to defeat that wretch? Why did I jump into the muddy pond of Duke Yong’s Manor?] She remembered another bitter fact and asked herself: [Back then Zhang Tian Shun was already about to write the divorce letter to pull me out of this mire. Why did I come back?]

No matter how much she regretted it, she could not change her situation now. After the two aunts brought her back to her courtyard, they used the excuse that she had shamed Duke Yong’s Manor and said she had to kneel again. They added that if she could not admit her mistakes, she would not be allowed to eat. Who would believe that the daughter-in-law of Duke Yong’s Manor now feared not kneeling but going hungry? Yu Jiao Jiao would never forget the feeling of fainting from hunger after three whole days without food.

Shocked and furious, she exploded. She glared at them and cursed: “You two old hypocrites are only higher-ranking servants, so why act like masters? I’m the third young madam. I’m the one who should forbid you to eat, not the other way around.”

She pointed and raged on: “You two dogs who bully others with your mistress’s power, you think you’re the masters now? If you’re so great, why don’t you climb onto that old crone’s head to defecate and urinate? Showing off in front of me means nothing!”

The two aunts were stunned. These days, Yu Jiao Jiao had always accepted punishment without fighting back. No matter how they pressed her, she did not dare make a sound. They had not expected that after going out today and causing such a disaster, she would come back and turn the sky upside down. Their faces darkened with anger, but Yu Jiao Jiao had said one true thing: they were still only servants. In the past, Yu Jiao Jiao had swallowed whatever they gave her. But now that she had voiced her objections in public and said such words, they could not lay hands on her.

Holding their rage in, the two aunts gave a twisted smile and said with mock respect: “The third young madam is right. We are only servants, nothing more.” Then they turned and left without another glance.

Yu Jiao Jiao felt terrified. She had never imagined she would say such things. Had she not always thought those two hateful servants were unbearable? It wasn’t that she didn’t want to speak up before. She hadn’t dared. Those two, though servants, had Madam Meng behind them. Even if Madam Meng could not leave her yard, the whole of Duke Yong’s Manor was still in her grasp.

Yu Jiao Jiao staggered back into her own courtyard, and soon Zhang Tian Shun returned. He raised his hand and slapped her, roaring: “Wretch! How dare you bully the two aunts?”

He jabbed a finger at her nose and scolded: “They watched me grow up. They are closer to me than my real aunts. You made them cry. Do you want to die?”

He kept berating her, his anger rising: “And what you did outside today made Duke Yong’s Manor lose all face. How did I end up marrying such a fool?”

Yu Jiao Jiao’s self-control finally shattered. She could endure their daily torment, but this sentence cut to the bone. She broke down and shouted back through tears: “Zhang Tian Shun, you bastard, do you think you’re any better? You promised to treat me well for life, but not even three months passed before you started flirting outside.”

She hurled the truth in his face: “You even caused more than one life to be lost. What decent household lets a concubine get pregnant before the wife gives birth? It was my face you threw away!”

Zhang Tian Shun laughed in fury and sneered: “Didn’t I plant the seed in you? If you can’t get pregnant, how is that my fault? If you can never have children, am I supposed to never have children for the rest of my life because of you?”

He spat another insult: “If you don’t have a mirror, you can still use your own urine. Take a good look at yourself and see if you’re worthy.” Then he slapped her again and warned: “Behave yourself. If you dare make my mother and the two aunts unhappy again, next time this young master will not let you off so easily.”

The slap landed hard. Yu Jiao Jiao spun in the air and crashed to the floor. Suddenly she clutched her belly, her face twisted with pain, and she gasped: “My stomach… it hurts so much…”

Thinking she was pretending, Zhang Tian Shun snorted and left without looking back. Only when Yu Jiao Jiao’s dowry maid saw blood on her skirt and rushed to fetch a physician did Yu Jiao Jiao barely keep her life.

As for the Yu clan’s later retribution, Yu Zhi Yi did not care to investigate. She only needed to know they would live badly, and that was enough.

At that moment, she was strolling down the long street when she suddenly turned around and said lightly: “How long are you going to follow me?”

A Daoist figure had been trailing her step by step. Who else could it be but that round-faced boy?