Chapter 12: Mother, Walk Slowly

Jun Zijin pulled Xiao He over and continued to lecture the four people who remained:

"This is Xiao He. From now on, you are all under her management. You will honestly obey her arrangements."

"You may all withdraw and get back to your duties." After Jun Zijin finished speaking, Xiao He dismissed the maids to go about their work.

Once this was finished, it was nearly noon. A maid came to announce that the meal was ready.

At this hour, Jun Zhengming had not yet returned to the Wang Fu, and the concubine Zhou Yiniang had not stepped out of her quarters for many years, so she was dining in her own small courtyard with her daughter, Jun Shuyan.

Jun Yiyi had not yet finished her studies at the girls' academy, and Lady Wu's son, Jun Chengcai, spent his days lingering in pleasure houses; it was common for him to be missing for ten days or half a month at a time.

In the dining hall, besides Lady Wu, there was only Jun Zijin.

The two looked at each other with mutual loathing and remained silent; the atmosphere was strange. Lady Wu did not mention arranging for Jun Zijin to see the Old Lady, nor did she mention the matter of hosting a banquet.

Logically speaking, when a legitimate daughter returns to the Wang Fu, a banquet should be held.

After a long while, Jun Zijin was the first to speak:

"Mother, I am very concerned about Grandmother's illness. I will go to pay my respects to the Old Lady today."

The First Lady was startled and cursed inwardly:

"Little slut, she really won't give up."

Yet, on the surface, she was smiling.

"The Old Lady has had a poor appetite and low energy lately; it is likely inconvenient to disturb her. You had better wait a few days before going to pay your respects."

Jun Zijin did not take the bait and jumped to another topic:

"Mother, you should still allow me to set up a small kitchen." High-ranking, wealthy households had too many rules, and she wanted to save herself the trouble.

"...It is so lively when the whole family eats together..." Lady Wu was worried about Jun Zijin slipping out of her control.

Suddenly, Jun Zijin put away her smile, her voice cold.

"There are no outsiders here; Mother does not need to continue this act of a kind mother and filial daughter."

Since they had already clashed, there was no point in pretending to be a kind mother and filial daughter anymore. Things having reached this point, she had nothing left to worry about.

Lady Wu was stunned and also stopped smiling.

"When did you find out?"

Jun Zijin understood what she was referring to.

"If Mother wanted to do it, you should have done it cleanly. I just don't know if Mother was too arrogant or if Mama Xue was too stupid; you wouldn't even hire one expert, wasting such a poisonous scheme. Your methods for harming people aren't even as good as Liu Ma's at the farm."

Jun Zijin paused, her tone carrying a hint of sarcasm.

"Mother, remember this: in the future, when doing bad things, especially such heinous deeds, you must not leave any traces."

The First Lady was so angry she leaned back, slammed a palm on the table, and pointed a trembling finger at Jun Zijin.

She said "You, you, you" for a long time without being able to utter a complete sentence.

Jun Zijin sat steadily at the table, picked up a chopstick of vegetables to put in her bowl, and said again:

"Mother, you are a person of status; pointing at others like this is extremely ill-bred."

The First Lady’s chest heaved with rage, nearly choking on her own breath. She stamped her foot and swept away.

Jun Zijin raised her eyelids indifferently: "Mother, walk slowly."

She then leisurely ate her sumptuous lunch; since arriving in this space-time, she hadn't had a proper meal until now.

People are iron and rice is steel; one must be full to have the strength to deal with these demons and monsters, right?

The First Lady hurried along, her maid trotting to keep up. Upon returning to the Cuiyu Courtyard, because she was so angry and flustered, she stepped on her hem while crossing the threshold and stumbled, grabbing the door frame to avoid falling flat on her face.

She straightened the dangling hairpin that had been shaken askew on her head and, turning around, slapped the maid Qingyu behind her:

"You blind thing! Be careful or I'll sell you off!"

Qingyu kept her head low, following by her side, too terrified to even touch her swollen cheek.

As soon as the First Lady entered the room, she overturned the teacup on the side table and, ignoring the shards all over the floor, paced back and forth violently:

"Little slut, little slut..."

Soon, she calmed down:

"Qingyu, go to the Prime Minister's residence and ask the concubine to come over."

Qingyu, who had been wanting to escape for a long time, ran out as if she had received a pardon.

Jun Zijin had eaten a bit too much, so she got up to stroll and digest. It looked like aimless wandering, but in reality, she was carefully observing the situation in the Wang Fu.

As she walked, she unexpectedly arrived at the Jingzhu Courtyard.

A sense of familiarity rose in Jun Zijin's heart; this was the Old Lady's courtyard.