Ji Ziyan turned her head to look at the main courtyard, which was as peaceful as ever. She felt both disappointment and understanding.
She didn't know who was involved in her grandaunt's death, but now, with her grandmother allowing this to happen and letting her cousin create such a scene, she was clearly intending to pin the blame on her elder sister.
Ji Ziyan truly couldn't understand how, being members of the Ji family, their grandmother could be so partial.
Granny He hurried back. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she saw her cousin, the young lady, crying inconsolably.
Hearing footsteps, Jin Xueyan mistook them for Ji Zizhao's and suddenly stood up, looking towards the sound. When she saw it was Granny He, the disappointment in her eyes ignited a raging fire of anger. She abruptly strode towards Granny He.
Granny He intended to first return to her room to check on her young lady, but then she received a heavy kick to her back.
Being older, she couldn't match the energy of a young girl. Furthermore, Granny He's health had never been robust from her past hard work in the manor. This kick sent her sprawling to the ground, her head hitting the stone steps.
The maidservant following Jin Xueyan, fearing she would suffer if her mistress wasn't appeased, quickly stepped forward, grabbed Granny He's hair, and began banging Granny He's head against the stone steps at her mistress's behest.
Shuiling, standing by the window, turned pale at the sight. She hurried into the inner room and said, "Miss, Granny He is being beaten!"
Ji Zizhao's hand, which had been holding a book, suddenly tightened.
Shuiling recounted what she had just witnessed, "Cousin is truly going too far!"
Going too far?
Ji Zizhao had never intended to be bullied.
Putting down her book, Ji Zizhao calmly asked, "What time is it?"
"Replying to Miss, it is You Shi."
Ji Zizhao slowly stood up. Considering that Jin Xueyan had been causing a ruckus in her courtyard for most of the day, yet neither the main courtyard nor the Jin family had sent anyone, if they had let Jin Xueyan run wild, then she had no need to be polite.
If they wanted to bully her, they would have to see if they had the ability.
Ji Zizhao turned and walked towards the outer hall. Shuiling quickly followed her young lady, helping her lift the heavy curtain.
In the courtyard, the maidservant's hands were still tightly gripping Granny He's hair, and Jin Xueyan was repeatedly stomping on Granny He's back.
Granny He trembled all over from the pain but bit her lip tightly, refusing to make a sound.
The rough servants in the courtyard, seeing the eldest young lady emerge, hid even further away.
Ji Zizhao's dark eyes were cold. Looking at Granny He, who was being oppressed, she coldly ordered, "A servant of the Jin family dares to be insolent in the Ji family! Do you truly think the Ji family has no one? Shuiling, pin this servant to the ground! Let's teach her properly about the hospitality of our Ji family!"
Shuiling might not have been as skilled in martial arts as Lian Ju and Qing Zhu, but she had emerged from the treacherous circumstances of the Zhao family.
Now, hearing her young lady's command, she stepped forward without a second thought and grabbed the maidservant's hair.
The maidservant cried out in pain, "What are you doing? I am from the Jin family!"
Jin Xueyan, looking at Ji Zizhao on the steps, her eyes red and swollen, shouted, "Ji Zizhao, you finally came out! Tell me, what did you do to my mother! You vixen..."
Before she could finish speaking, she saw a dark shadow flash before her eyes.
Without any hesitation, Ji Zizhao raised her hand and slapped Jin Xueyan across the face.
"Slap!"
The courtyard, which had been noisy all day, instantly fell silent, as if no one was even breathing.
Jin Xueyan, belatedly, covered her burning cheek, her eyes widening in disbelief.
The Jin family maidservant, pinned to the ground by Shuiling, was also stunned.
Why did she hit her right away?
Was she really that arrogant!
"Ji Zizhao, you jinx! I'll fight you!" Jin Xueyan, finally recovering, raised her hands and lunged at Ji Zizhao.
However, she didn't even brush Ji Zizhao's sleeve before Ji Zizhao kicked her down to the ground again.
Jin Xueyan's head hit the stone ground in the courtyard, and the pain made stars appear in her eyes.
Ji Zizhao looked coldly at Jin Xueyan, as if intending to freeze her. "Cousin comes to my Zhaoyuan courtyard to curse, and not only was no one there to stop her, but I personally ordered good tea and service to entertain her. And this is how Cousin repays me? Cousin, don't forget, your surname is Jin, but this is the Ji family. If Cousin wants to act wild, she should roll back to the Jin family, not here!"
These words were spoken with extreme satisfaction.
Shuiling pulled the maidservant by her hair to the side and slapped her, her arm swinging wide.
"Slap, slap, slap... slap, slap, slap..."
The clear sound of slaps echoed through Zhaoyuan.
Soon, blood seeped from the corner of the Jin family maidservant's mouth.
But at this moment, she bit her lower lip tightly, daring to say nothing more.
This eldest young lady of the Ji family didn't even indulge her own young lady, so what was she?
Jin Xueyan, lying on the ground, looked up at Ji Zizhao, who was looking down at her, her teeth grinding in hatred. "After you returned to the Ji family, my mother returned, and then my mother died. Ji Zizhao, not only did you kill my mother, but now you want to kill me too?"
Ji Zizhao let out a sneer. "Back then, my mother went to the Jin family first, but she entered on her feet and was carried out. If we follow Cousin's logic, wouldn't my grandaunt also have caused my mother's death? If that's the case, then I am merely repaying life with life, what wrong have I done?"
Jin Xueyan clutched her stomach, her face turning green from the pain. She wanted to say something but couldn't utter a word.
Ji Zizhao, however, showed no mercy, tearing off the last layer of skin from Jin Xueyan's face. "If Cousin is truly filial, she should go cry at my grandaunt's grave, not run to my courtyard to throw a tantrum afterward, using the guise of filial piety to gain importance in the Jin family and grandmother's guilt."
Even when her grandaunt was alive, she had no status in the Jin family, let alone a daughter like Jin Xueyan, who couldn't carry on the family line.
Jin Xueyan wanted to gain importance in the Jin family and grandmother's guilt, and coming to her to increase her presence was the best way.
Grandmother, feeling guilty about her grandaunt's matter, would definitely help Jin Xueyan secretly.
As for the Jin family...
How many elders in a family wouldn't want their younger generation to be filial?
Jin Xueyan, having had her inner thoughts exposed by Ji Zizhao, felt as if her last piece of clothing had been stripped off. The feeling was so intense that she couldn't breathe, and her face turned even greener.
"You killed my mother, so even if you help me, it's what you owe me!" Jin Xueyan glared fiercely at Ji Zizhao, her eyes full of righteous indignation.
Even if what Ji Zizhao said was true, so what?
Now, her father only had eyes for his beautiful young concubines, neglecting even her.
She heard that another concubine had already confirmed she was carrying a boy. If she didn't think for herself now, she would have no place in the Jin family in the future.
Her mother had loved her the most when she was alive, so it was only right for her to pave the way for her after her death.