Chapter Fifty-Nine: Meeting a Twist

oticing the broken skin on her daughter's palm. She felt a pang of heartache and immediately grabbed her daughter's hand, revealing her palm. "Second younger sister-in-law, look at this. If it were Xu...Seeing her silence, Meng Jinyao was not going to let her off the hook. She asked in a soft voice: "Your silence means you're admitting that you're not her biological mother, so there's no need to be filial"

Has Gu Xuanyi ever been questioned so repeatedly before

When questioned, she retorted sharply. Despite being in the wrong, her tears flowed even harder, and her head bobbed back and forth like a tambourine as she said, "It's natural for juniors to respect their elders, whether they are biological mothers or not. It is one's duty to treat them well; otherwise, it is considered disrespectful.

Meng Jin Yao nodded lightly, then calmly asked, "By the way, you just said that Old Madam wouldn't truly love descendants who are not related by blood. So, do you mean Old Madam doesn't truly love your father and your second uncle either"

Gu Xuyan hurriedly shook her head, her voice choked with sobs: "No, no, Grandmother has always been very kind. It was me who spoke carelessly. Third Aunt, I know I was wrong. I shouldn't have spoken out of turn.

"Upon seeing this, she was filled with panic, guilt and shame. Tears streamed down her face relentlessly as she sobbed softly, feeling like a child despite being only a year younger than her aunt and uncle. "

Gu Xuanying looked at Meng Jin Yao with admiration in her eyes. Her aunt was so amazing, she really dared to change the groom right there after her fiance ran away.

She had been best friends with Gu Xuanyi for over ten years, but this was the first time she saw this older sister cry so genuinely. It wasn't like before when she would put on a show, dropping a few tears to appease their elders and getting away with it. In the end, it all became her fault. She rarely won when confronting this older sister, so she always avoided conflict and kept their interactions to a minimum. This way, she wouldn't accidentally get into trouble one day and drag her stepmother down with her.

Just then, Madam Zhang (the eldest wife) and Madam Chen (the second wife) were walking this way. Seeing the several of them, they both froze for a moment.

The next moment, Zhang saw her own daughter crying for breath, her face instantly darkened. She quickly walked over and, without asking the reason, scolded, "Xuanling, how could you bully your elder sister again" She said this, and then impatiently said to Chen, who had just arrived, "Second Sister-in-law, I told you long ago that your illegitimate daughter is young and disobedient. She just knows how to bully her sisters. I think if you don't educate her well this time, in the future she won't just be bullying her own sisters."

When Chen heard this reproach, her face darkened. She spoke in a low voice, "Sister-in-law, you haven't asked about the truth yet, how do you know it must be Xuanying's fault What if it was Xuanyi's mistake" After saying that, she gave Xuanyi a sharp look.

Gu Xuanyi's heart was pounding, and she hurriedly lowered her head to conceal her nervousness.

"How could it possibly be Xuanyi" Zhang shi retorted, suddenly noticing the broken skin on her daughter's palm. She felt a pang of heartache and immediately grabbed her daughter's hand, revealing her palm. "Second younger sister-in-law, look at this. If it were Xuanyi's fault, would she get hurt It truly shows how lowly born she is, with such a wild temper."

Upon hearing this, Chen's face darkened even further. As a daughter of the lower house herself, she scoffed and said: "What do you mean by that, elder sister-in-law Are you saying that those born outside the main line are all wild and incapable of holding their own" My brother and my husband are both from the lower house, so does that mean they too are unworthy and have wild tempers"

Zhang's face turned pale, and she suddenly remembered that her husband was a son born out of wedlock. She scolded her niece for being a daughter of a concubine who couldn't hold her head high, but wasn't that the same as scolding her husband for being an illegitimate son who couldn't hold his head high

However, Master Chen refused to let her go and pressed on: "Sister-in-law, despite being our elder, saying such things in front of the juniors is disrespectful and could corrupt them."

Zhang's face flushed with embarrassment, she replied, "I was just worried. Look at how badly Xiyi got hurt. Xiling is always wild and bullies Xiyi. She hasn't been kind to her before, and this time it's even worse, she even drew blood."

Chen glanced at the young woman beside her, a concubine's daughter. This girl was usually timid and meek; it was impossible for her to do such a thing. Her sister-in-law was just using this as an opportunity to criticize her as a mother who didn't discipline her children well. Chen shielded the young woman behind her and retorted, "Are you so sure it was Xuan Ling who did this Couldn't it be that Xuan Yi tripped and fell herself Xuan Ling wouldn't even hurt an ant, let alone harm someone."

No sooner had her voice fallen than Gu Xuanying's voice rang out: "Mother, it was... I who pushed Eldest Sister."

When Chen heard this, she was struck dumb. Her face stiffened as she turned her head, looking at the younger daughter in disbelief. She was defending her, and yet the younger one was undermining her How could there be such a foolish girl No wonder she was bullied by Gu Xuanyi.

Zhang's waist straightened immediately, feeling as if she had finally held her head high. She slightly lifted her chin, a faint smile playing on her lips. She confidently retorted: "Second sister-in-law, listen to this. She admitted it herself, proving that I wasn't wrong about her. You really are something else. Even though she is your stepdaughter, she is still your child! Don't just focus on educating your own son, Xiu Hong. She also calls you mother. Your treatment of her is truly lacking in education. This time, she definitely needs to be severely punished."

Chen saw her smug expression and was so angry that she gritted her teeth.

Meng Jin Yao watched the two of them argue and found that it was true that there's a mother, there's a daughter. Gu Xuan Yi's temperament was similar to Zhang Shi's. She opened her lips and said: "Big sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, you don't have to argue about this matter. I happened to witness the whole process. It was Xuan Ling who pushed Xuan Yi, but Xuan Yi's behavior was also bad and she spoke disrespectfully first.

When her words fell, Zhang Shi only then noticed her presence and, thinking of her words, hesitated and said, “Xuan Yi, she… how is that possible”

"Sister-in-law, perhaps you should hear the beginning and end of the matter first" Meng Jin Yao looked at Chun Liu and ordered, "Chun Liu, tell Madam and Second Madam what just happened."

Chūnliú didn't add any embellishments. She simply recounted what had just happened, including the conversation between Gù Xuānyí and Gù Xuánglíng.

Right and wrong have been made clear.

Chen merely raised an eyebrow, surprised by this sudden turn of events. A hint of mockery flashed in her eyes as she chuckled lightly: “Sister-in-law, it seems that I'm not the one who failed to teach my daughter properly, but rather yourself. Our Xuanling is filial, taking the initiative to make pastries for our grandmother and mother. Yet your Xuan Yi not only behaves poorly but also speaks disrespectfully. She even slandered our grandmother! This girl is fifteen now, if you don't educate her, what will happen when she marries into another family”

She paused for a moment, then added: "I think this time, your sister-in-law really needs to be punished severely. Otherwise, she won't learn her lesson. Our mother is getting older, and who knows what she might say next time in front of our mother If she makes our mother ill with anger, how will we handle that Aiya, what does it mean that a non-biological child wouldn't care about their parent What does it mean that a non-biological mother doesn't deserve filial piety These are just nonsensical things to say!"Li Cheng hurriedly replied, "My mother has always been extremely kind and loving to me."He was telling the truth, his mother did love him dearly. But his mother was also extremely loyal to his wife. I...