Chapter 58: A Change in Fortune
This novel is translated and hosted only on Bcatranslation
On the day the exam results were announced, Du Zi Heng was up early. His classmates dragged him along to find the best spot to see the postings. You Bing Yue walked beside him.
Lately, thanks to the overwhelming success of the South Wind Bookstore, everyone praised Du Zi Heng as a selfless sage. His father, Chancellor Du, was gaining more favor with the Emperor. Because of this, Madam Yao’s feelings toward You Bing Yue had softened. As long as the two didn’t do anything outrageous, she was willing to turn a blind eye.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhi Yi had no interest in joining the excitement. She stayed comfortably in her Wind Facing Pavilion.
She knew that if she went, she’d only be mocked, pushed around in the crowd until she was sweating and miserable. Wasn’t it better to stay home and relax?
Unfortunately, someone didn’t want her to have that peace.
Yu Jiao Jiao also knew that Du Zi Heng was bound to fail this time, so she made a special trip to “congratulate” Yu Zhi Yi.
She planned to flatter her first, and just when Yu Zhi Yi was feeling elated, the news of Du Zi Heng’s failure would arrive. She wanted Yu Zhi Yi to experience the “wonderful feeling” of falling from the clouds into the depths of despair!
But when she arrived at the mansion, the steward informed her that Yu Zhi Yi was resting, exhausted from helping the women of the Ma Family Village.
At the mention of this, Yu Jiao Jiao’s anger flared.
“What nonsense about helping those women,” she thought bitterly. “Yu Zhi Yi is just cheating by using her knowledge from being reborn!”
She also knew about the Guardian Duke’s missing sister. But she’d been so caught up in her own troubles lately that she hadn’t thought about it.
In her previous life, the Guardian Duke’s sister wasn’t found until years later. By then, Yu Jiao Jiao had already moved out of the Chancellor’s residence with Du Zi Heng, into the new top scholar’s estate, and had lost control over the household.
Back then, all she thought about was how to make You Bing Yue suffer. She had no time to pay attention to outside news.
And the matter of the Guardian Duke’s sister being found was handled secretly, without much public attention. If she hadn’t accidentally overheard some information in the study, she wouldn’t have known at all.
So she hadn’t thought of these things, giving Yu Zhi Yi the chance to exploit them.
Just thinking about it made her furious.
Especially now that Yu Zhi Yi was refusing to see her, making her feel even more snubbed.
She was about to leave in a huff when she caught sight of Madam Yao’s carriage out of the corner of her eye.
Yu Jiao Jiao’s eyes lit up.
If she couldn’t vent her anger on Yu Zhi Yi, she’d target Madam Yao instead.
After all, in her previous life, this old woman had been hypocritical. On the surface, she seemed to support Yu Jiao Jiao as the legitimate daughter-in-law and was harsh to You Bing Yue, refusing to let her be with Du Zi Heng.
But not long after, she agreed!
She had said that Yu Jiao Jiao would always be the young mistress of the Chancellor’s residence, the only designated future matriarch. And yet, when Du Zi Heng wanted to move out, they didn’t object, leaving her isolated and helpless in the new estate.
“That hypocritical woman!” Yu Jiao Jiao fumed.
“Madam Du,” Yu Jiao Jiao greeted as she approached.
Madam Yao recognized her. After all, when she was first looking for a match for her son, Yu Jiao Jiao had been her first choice.
However, the Yu family treasured their true daughter so much that they didn’t consider the Chancellor’s residence good enough and married her into the Duke Courage’s family instead.
Although they chose Yu Zhi Yi as a second choice, Madam Yao didn’t regret it. In fact, she felt more and more that she had made the right decision.
“So it’s the third young madam of the Zhang family,” Madam Yao said politely, though her tone was indifferent.
Yu Jiao Jiao sensed the lack of warmth. Having experienced Madam Yao’s enthusiasm before, she could tell she wasn’t welcome now.
Her anger simmered.
In her previous life, Madam Yao had never defended her like this. Now, she was giving her attitude because of that despicable Yu Zhi Yi!
She immediately put on a sullen face.
Meanwhile, Yu Zhi Yi was in the treasury, counting the silver and pondering how to use it.
Having money was indeed delightful, but for her, enjoying herself while accumulating more merit was true happiness.
Suddenly, she felt a stirring in her heart. She calculated quickly and her face fell. “Zi Yuan, put away the accounts. I’m ending my seclusion early.”
Zi Yuan was puzzled but didn’t question her. She obediently put away the account books.
Yu Zhi Yi changed her clothes at lightning speed and headed toward the door.
At the main gate of the Chancellor’s residence, Yu Jiao Jiao had just about finished flattering Madam Yao. Any more would be impolite.
She calculated that it was about time for Du Zi Heng to return in disappointment.
Madam Yao found the girl’s behavior baffling. She could sense Yu Jiao Jiao’s ill intentions, yet the girl kept saying nice things. It was extremely contradictory.
When Yu Zhi Yi arrived, she saw Yu Jiao Jiao’s smug face and Madam Yao’s confused expression.
“Mother,” Yu Zhi Yi called softly, stepping forward to support Madam Yao’s arm. She subtly infused a bit of calming energy.
She was about to say that everyone has their destiny and that even if Du Zi Heng didn’t pass this time, with his talent he’d surely succeed next time. But when she saw Madam Yao’s face, she froze.
“What’s wrong, Yi’er?” Madam Yao asked, a hint of worry in her voice. Every time Yu Zhi Yi looked like this, it meant something was about to happen.
Yu Zhi Yi withdrew her gaze and smiled gently. “It’s nothing. I just wanted to say, Mother, please stay calm. No matter what happy event we might encounter later, don’t get too excited. Being overly excited can lead to trouble.”
A happy event, indeed.
She hadn’t been out much lately, interacting only with Zi Yuan and a few servants. She hadn’t noticed when Madam Yao’s features had changed.
Although her deepening relationships with people prevented her from casually reading their fortunes, major changes were still visible.
For instance, today, Madam Yao’s face clearly showed signs of great joy, indicating that Du Zi Heng had made the list.
Yu Jiao Jiao sneered. “Yu Zhi Yi, are you sure Madam Du is going to have a happy event?”
She turned to Madam Yao. “Madam Du, I advise you not to listen to her nonsense. I grew up with her, and I’ve never heard that she knows anything about metaphysics.
“Just some tricks to get attention. Whoever believes her is a fool.
“Be careful—you might end up turning joy into sorrow.”
She completely disregarded her own contradictory behavior. Whenever she saw Yu Zhi Yi, she couldn’t help but reveal her true colors.
In front of the Yu family, she could still pretend because she didn’t want her relatives to pay attention to Yu Zhi Yi.
But in front of Madam Yao, she couldn’t be bothered to hide.
She’d love nothing more than to anger this old woman to death!
“You insolent girl! How dare you be so rude!” Madam Yao was genuinely angry.
Since becoming the Chancellor’s wife, few people dared to disrespect her.
Even those who did were powerful figures in the palace—the Empress, favored concubines, princesses.
Who did Yu Jiao Jiao think she was to speak so rudely?
“Mother, don’t let someone like her upset you,” Yu Zhi Yi said gently, patting Madam Yao’s back. “She doesn’t know any better. It’s not worth harming your health over her, is it?”
Yu Jiao Jiao rolled her eyes.
“A fake is always a fake,” she thought. “Such pettiness, no sense of responsibility.”
No matter how much Madam Yao might have liked her before, she must be utterly disappointed now.
Just as this thought crossed her mind, she heard Yu Zhi Yi speak again…