Chapter 33: Trouble Big Sister to Hurry Up

Li Shi was out of sorts, and Jun Jun Zhidie was equally irritable; yesterday, seeing Jun Jun Zijin receive so many good things had driven her to jealous madness, and today the First Lady had not only ordered Jun Jun Yiyi to vacate the Ao Xue Courtyard but also held a banquet for Jun Jun Zijin. That rascal Jun Chengcai had even dared to peek at her while she changed clothes. Jun Jun Yiyi was treated like a star surrounded by adoration, and now even that orphaned Jun Jun Zijin had turned the tables, yet she, Jun Jun Zhidie, saw no hope of rising; both were legitimate daughters of the Jun family, yet she was hardly better off than that concubine-born daughter Jun Jun Shuyan. Why should she have to swallow her anger?

Jun Jun Zhidie dared not argue at the banquet; as soon as she returned to her own courtyard, she rushed straight to Li Shi's room.

Li Shi, having heard Xiang Xiang Junzheng's words, was sitting dazed before the table when she saw Jun Jun Zhidie storm in in a rage; she was about to call out, but Jun Jun Zhidie took two or three steps, grabbed her arm, and yanked her.

"Can you still sit there? I am bullied so badly, and you are still sitting here?"

Li Shi stumbled from Jun Jun Zhidie's pull but could only sigh helplessly. Her daughter's temper was just like hers; losing control and lashing out at her was nothing new. These past few days, strange things had plagued the Jun family, and Jun Jun Zhidie, having been provoked, would surely explode.

Li Shi also wanted to vent her anger, but thinking of her son Jun Jun Zhihao and Xiang Xiang Junzheng's words, she held back.

"What can we do? We are merely a side branch and must rely on them."

"Then you will just watch your daughter serve as a maid to someone else's daughter every day? Don't you know that Jun Jun Yiyi, though appearing kind and weak, pitiful and fragile, is actually a vicious wolf and tiger in her heart?"

Li Shi, terrified, hurried forward to cover Jun Jun Zhidie's mouth.

"Do you want to die? If people hear such words, do you think we mother and daughter have any way to survive?"

Li Shi scolded in a lowered voice. Jun Jun Zhidie slapped her hand away.

"Hmph, even if we don't speak out, what way to survive do we have now? Living day by day watching their faces and acting accordingly—I cannot accept it." As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes.

Li Shi, heartbroken for her daughter, took her hand and gently advised, "Good daughter, we are weak and alone now and cannot confront them directly. Your mother has a plan; as long as your brother succeeds in the future, we will be able to hold our heads high."

Jun Jun Zhidie sneered, "Brother? What success can he have? He has been away from home for so many years; I didn't even know if he was tall or short, fat or thin!"

"Do not speak of your brother that way!" Li Shi frowned. "When your brother returns after mastering his skills, we will no longer have to endure this humiliation."

Jun Jun Zhidie pouted.

"Jun Jun Zijin has no mother and no backing yet still got all those good things; I want them too. Will I get them just because brother returns? I like Crown Prince; will I become Crown Princess just because brother returns?"

Li Shi, helpless, said softly.

"How old are you?"

"I am not that young; Jun Jun Yiyi, who is not even as old as me, is already betrothed to the Young Master of the Prime Minister's mansion. I am already fourteen; won't you consider my situation?"

Li Shi fell silent. It was not that she did not consider; to put it nicely, they were the legitimate wife and legitimate daughter of the Jun household, but in truth, they were merely a collateral branch living in the Jun mansion, forced to watch everyone's faces at every turn. The First Lady, to build up her own daughter's reputation, constantly used other young ladies in the mansion as foils. Her daughter indeed had nothing to do with gentleness and virtue; decent families would not look at her, leaving only the options of becoming a concubine to a wealthy family's son or a legitimate wife to a son from a small, humble family. How could she plan for her?

For many in the Jun mansion, this night was destined to be sleepless.

The second couple fought, the mother and daughter quarreled, and the first branch was no better off.

Jun Jun Yiyi had promised before her father and the entire household that she would move out of the Ao Xue Courtyard tomorrow; thinking of this, she felt miserable all over.

The First Lady comforted her from the side.

"My child, as the saying goes, you cannot catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb; it is only one courtyard, nothing major."

"Your mother tells you, I have made arrangements. Whether that wretched girl can return after leaving is uncertain; even if she does return, what then? By next month, if you succeed, don't say one courtyard, the entire Imperial Palace will be yours."

The First Lady heard a report that Jun Jun Zijin had left the city with her maids and nannies; she guessed they were going to fetch Nanny Dong. That wretched girl was playing mind games with her, but she was still too young; the First Lady had already made arrangements. Last time she had been careless, and that wretched girl had escaped; this time, she had hired people from the Bright Pavilion at great expense. That wretched girl would surely not escape this time.

The Bright Pavilion was an assassin organization that worked for money, dealing in dark deeds, yet its name was Bright Pavilion, a name full of irony. Clearly, all they did was evil and bloody, yet they insisted on calling themselves "Bright."

Back to the main story.

Jun Jun Yiyi then showed a smile, buried her head in the First Lady's embrace, and shyly called out, "Mother~~" The two short words were twisted through eighty-one turns.

The little maid standing nearby was so startled she shivered, but she immediately realized her lapse in composure. She secretly glanced at the First Lady and her daughter, found they had not noticed her, and only then did she set her heart at ease.

The next day, Jun Jun Zijin rose early; she was anxious about moving courtyards today. Aside from those bolts of brocade, there were not many things in her courtyard originally, but her bottles and jars could not be entrusted to others. Jun Jun Zijin carefully wrapped each bottle and jar one by one and placed them in boxes. She called for Xiao He and Miao Zhu and instructed them to guard them carefully, as the items in her courtyard, these were the most precious.

Jun Jun Zijin led her maids and nannies toward the Ao Xue Courtyard to personally urge Jun Jun Yiyi to hurry up.

Just as she reached the entrance of the Ao Xue Courtyard, she heard Jun Jun Yiyi's coquettish voice coming from inside.

"Oh my, so many things, how can I possibly pack them all?"

A faint, almost imperceptible smile curled Jun Jun Zijin's lips; without sending anyone to announce her arrival, she walked straight through the main gate of the Ao Xue Courtyard.

Inside, maids and nannies were busy packing things back and forth, too occupied to bow to this unfavored second young lady. Jun Jun Zijin did not mind and looked around on her own. At that moment, she saw a little maid holding a gold-thread carved open-mouth vase with floral patterns and placing it into a chest. Jun Jun Zijin's eyes jumped; this vase looked very familiar. She remembered that her original mother's dowry had included an identical porcelain vase. Jun Jun Zijin reached out, took the vase from the chest, and flipped it over to look. Sure enough, a clear "Fang" character was stamped on the bottom. This porcelain vase had been custom-made by her maternal grandfather at the Ru Kiln; the Fang family surname was stamped on the bottom, and it was later brought to the Jun mansion as her mother's dowry. Now it was in Jun Jun Yiyi's hands. She had previously seen a bracelet belonging to her original mother in Nanny Liu's possession. Jun Jun Zijin's gaze darkened; she silently placed the porcelain vase back in the chest. This matter required careful planning.

Jun Jun Yiyi, already annoyed about having to move out of the Ao Xue Courtyard, saw that Jun Jun Zijin had entered the courtyard at some point. She suppressed the anger in her heart and said with a smile.

"Second Sister, why did you not have a servant announce your arrival when coming to my courtyard?"

Jun Jun Zijin replied in a sarcastic tone.

"Did Big Sister forget that this is my courtyard? Do I need to inform Big Sister when I come to my own courtyard?"

"By the way, Big Sister had better keep a close eye and strictly instruct the servants not to take the wrong things."

Seeing the smile on Jun Jun Yiyi's face about to crumble, Jun Jun Zijin tossed out a "Trouble Big Sister to hurry up," then turned and left without looking back, leaving Jun Jun Yiyi, with nowhere to vent her fire, to beat and scold the maid beside her again.