Chapter 296: Using a Borrowed Knife to Kill

Jiang Jiu burst into tears upon hearing this. Choking with sobs, she said, “Sister-in-law, Miss Rou scolded Little Yue, pushed me, and hit Mizhi.”

Lanzhi got married last year, and Mizhi is now Jiang Jiu’s senior maid. There was a very clear palm print on her face.

Lu Man’s face darkened as he wiped Jiang Jiu’s tears with a handkerchief and asked Mama Li and Mizhi, “What happened? Explain clearly.”

Mama Li angrily said, “We took Second Miss Jiu and the young Miss Yue to play at the estate on the other side. When the young miss saw someone at the Pavilion, she pointed to go there, and so we did. There was a large mat in the Pavilion, and the Third Miss Zhen was playing on it. The young Miss likes the Third Miss, so I placed her on the mat. Thinking that the two young miss were similar in age and could play together, we let them play. The Second Miss also sat on the mat to amuse them. Unexpectedly, while playing, the young Miss ended up hitting the Third Miss a few times and even held the Third Miss’s face tightly, making her cry. I quickly removed the young Miss’s hand, but she had already reddened and slightly scraped the Third Miss’s face. The Second Miss promptly apologized, saying she would go back to have Third Young Madam discipline the young Miss and also send medicine to the Qingfeng Courtyard. The Third Miss’s wet nurse and maid were very displeased and left with the Third Miss. We didn’t think much of it, the young Miss is only ten months old, what does she understand? Kids fight, don’t they? Little did we know that when we reached the Rose Garden, Miss Rou hurriedly chased after us and started scolding us. Oh my, she was so fierce…”

Mizhi, eloquent in speech, continued, “As soon as Miss Rou came over, she started scolding us, saying we found our home small and should go buy a big mansion to live in, not bothering anyone. Why do we have to go to their estate to play all the time, favoring the illegitimate over the legitimate. She even pointed at Young Miss Yue and said, although she’s just a branch, she still dares to bully the legitimate young lady of the Marquis’s residence, it’s outrageous… Young Miss Yue got upset and kept saying ‘hit’ to Miss Rou. The Second Miss also didn’t like Miss Rou scolding Young Miss Yue, saying Young Miss Yue is young and doesn’t understand anything, even though she’s a branch, she’s still the legitimate young mistress and not someone a ‘Miss’ like her can scold. Miss Rou got upset, saying even if she’s a ‘Miss’, she’s the Marquis’s woman, much higher in status than the former Miss Zhou, and pushed the Second Miss twice in anger. When this maid went to intervene, she even hit this maid. It was only when Qichang got angry and barked fiercely, lunging at Miss Rou, that she got scared.” Glancing at Jiang Jiu, she added, “The Second Miss was clever, tightly holding onto Qichang’s leash, otherwise, Miss Rou would have been in trouble.”

Lu Man was burning with anger. After two years of struggle, she had transformed from a bullied young daughter-in-law to someone respected by all, no longer underestimated by anyone. Today, she was actually slapped in the face by a woman who wasn’t even a concubine, saying they shouldn’t be living here and daring to scold Yue and pushed Jiu, it was truly outrageous.

While it was Jiang Yue who struck first, that child was only ten months old, what did she understand? Moreover, Jiang Jiu had already apologized, even if she was unhappy, she should have found an adult to talk to.

That Miss Rou was a typical case of a villain becoming arrogant. She thought of herself as the Marquis Jiang’s woman, the Third Miss as the Marquis Jiang’s legitimate daughter, the rightful one from the other estate. Whereas Jiang Jiu was the Second Master’s illegitimate daughter, her birth mother had passed away early, and she and her siblings were sent to live in Donghui Courtyard, their status much lower compared to Miss Rou and the Third Miss. Furthermore, with the Madam being locked up for “recuperation”, and the Marquis having only her as a woman, she no longer cared about those in Donghui Courtyard.

Her servants, many of them sent by the Marquis Jiang himself, were longtime residents of the estate. Miss Rou lacked manners, and these servants should have known their place. Even if they were illegitimate children, they were not ones a mere “Miss” could hit or scold. Besides, Lu Man was the beloved granddaughter-in-law of the Princess, and Jiang Yue was adored by the old Marquis.

Allowing Miss Rou to cause chaos everywhere, letting her dominate everything, there had to be someone behind the scenes. Let her create chaos, let her dominate, and when things escalated, it would be the perfect time to deal with her…

Lu Man originally had no interest in getting involved in the petty conflicts of that household. They had already moved out, living a simple and happy life. But if trouble came looking for her, and Miss Rou dared to bully Jiang Jiu and Jiang Yue, she had no choice but to step in.

Lu Man tidied up Jiang Jiu’s hair and said, “Thank you for protecting little Yue at a critical moment. Don’t be afraid, you are the Princess’s own granddaughter, not someone a mere woman like her can bully. Sister-in-law will handle that woman.”

Lu Man took Jiang Yue from Mama Li’s arms, patted her little bottom, and scolded, “Look, all this trouble you caused, picking fights at such a young age, making your Second Aunt suffer.”

Now, with the arrival of the even younger Third Miss Jiang Zhen, Jiang Jiu couldn’t be called “Little Aunt” as before.

Jiang Yue was still not satisfied, her eyes wide, continuously shouting, “Hit, hit, hit…”

Her fierceness could rival that of Kaipei.

This was the second word she could say besides “Dada”, all because of knowing how to fight.

Jiang Yue’s penchant for fighting truly gave Lu Man a headache. Whenever Lady Min brought her son over, Jiang Yue would make him cry once, even though he was a few months older. There were also Song Mo, Kaipei, and a few other children who had been hit by Jiang Yue, but some were older and tougher, didn’t mind her, and wouldn’t cry.

He Mingzhu said anxiously, “Manman, even if that woman is just a Miss, she is still the Marquis’s woman. If you deal with her, aren’t you afraid of offending the Marquis?”

Lu Man replied, “If the Marquis can’t handle even such a small matter, then the Princess wouldn’t entrust the vast Marquis’s residence to him. I think, although he may favor that woman, he wouldn’t want her to cause such trouble. Perhaps he’s unaware of many of her actions, someone might be using her as a pawn intentionally. Besides, it’s not worth it for me to personally deal with her.”

She now had to be the one wielding the knife. Yet being manipulated, she couldn’t shake off the discomfort.

He Mingzhu, puzzled, said, “I don’t understand.” Then added, “Fortunately, our families are simple, without so many troublesome matters.”

The servants washed Jiang Jiu’s face, combed her hair again, while the little girl sat quietly watching Jiang Yue smile. Jiang Yue, still caught up in the fighting, eyes still wide, sat sulking in the corner of the kang. Anyone who approached her would be met with a growl.

Lu Man was somewhat speechless. Jiang Yue’s temper was different from Jiang Zhanwei’s. Jiang Zhanwei’s bad temper was melancholic, while this girl had a fiery temper, resembling someone else. Although Lu Man had been working on improving her temper, with little success, she hoped she would grow out of it.

On the other hand, Jiang Jiu was the opposite, not like her two vengeful brothers or her eccentric father, perhaps more like gentle Miss Zhou.