Thirteen sharp needles

  The sky was cold and frosty, the branches of the Chinese parasol trees in the northeast corner of the courtyard were covered with snow that had already frozen into icicles. The servants used a hook to clear them away, and from time to time, the sound of "crackling" could be heard coming from inside the house.

  Liu's anxiety grew with the cold and distant voice, she stole a glance at Wang, who was sitting at the head of the table with an unsuspecting expression. But her anxiety instantly froze like snowflakes - what was Wang trying to do? Was he threatening himself?

  She suddenly slammed the teacup in her hand to the ground, sneered and pointed at Wang: "Second sister has a big tone! How, thinking I dare not go? Let's go, we're going now, I'd love to let Old Lady judge and see what kind of good daughter Second Sister taught!"

  Wang was annoyed in her heart, just now she had already asked about the cause and effect of things, now seeing Liu still being unreasonable, even with her good temper, she couldn't help but hum a sound, sternly shouting: "What is Fifth Brother's Sister saying? Doesn't she know who led the way into this garden with the young servant girl? Who took the lead in laying hands on my sister? Even so, I didn't say any scolding words, instead it was Fifth Brother's Sister coming to me looking for trouble!"

  "Now you say you want to go find the old lady to preside over justice, and I didn't stop you. You also said you'd go with me, so even if that's the case, does Fifth Brother still think I'm bullying you as his sister-in-law?"

  Not a single word was said, no room for maneuver was given to the other side.

  Liu realized at this time that the second sister-in-law in front of her was not favored by her husband, and her mother-in-law looked down on her. As a member of the imperial family, being the daughter of the current Grand Tutor, she was about to ask a question, but for a moment, she was tongue-tied.

  It was Mrs. Liu who noticed something, she always liked to show off in front of her master, and now she thought she had gained the upper hand, so she inserted a sentence: "Second lady, what you said is really heart-wrenching! Our lady is kind-hearted - although Ninth Miss is young, after all, she is also a girl, no matter who made the first move, there's no reason to fight with others! Reasonably speaking, Second Lady comes from a noble family of scholars and knows that if this thing spreads out, it will not affect men much, at most they will just say 'young people don't know things' and that's all, but for girls, they will be scolded by others!"

  If this sentence were said to Gu Man himself, this Mrs. Liu would definitely be ridiculed without hesitation, because someone who has died once doesn't care much about the eyes of outsiders.

  However, this sentence hit the nail on the head for Wang Xiuying, who had grown up in such an environment since childhood. These social norms and reputation were almost her purpose of living, so she naturally thought that reputation was equally important to her daughter, causing her originally calm face to furrow.

  The atmosphere in the Mingyuelou suddenly became lighter, and Liu also noticed this subtle change. She couldn't help but smile triumphantly - what could be more important than children in this world? Even if Wang Xiuying was formidable, wouldn't she still have to compromise for the sake of Gu Man's reputation?

  She cast a satisfied glance at Mrs. Liu beside her, and in the course of conversation, she regained her original sharpness: "You're right, these things shouldn't be my concern, I'm just considering Jiu Baotou, even if Dong Geer was a bit unreasonable, did it have to come to blows? Jiu Baotou doesn't know what's wrong with her either, is this illness not fully recovered? She didn't even recognize her own brother, and actually used such a deadly move, if it gets out, will our family's girls still have any face?"

  Just now, Gu was forced to bring herself over by Qi Nian and Pei Yin, and a hint of a smile floated onto her face. She knew that even if Wang was still angry, she couldn't compete with this aunt's clever thoughts and sharp tongue that could talk people to death.

  The Wang family was indeed powerless, her hesitant expression became more apparent, she naturally resented her daughter being labeled as disrespectful to her elder brother and having a reputation for fighting with her siblings, but she also knew that this younger sister had the ability to spread Gu Man's bad reputation in the noble circle of Shengjing.

  She had to consider Gu Man's reputation.

  Mrs. Liu saw that her words had taken effect, and Mrs. Liu's face was even more complacent: "The ladies didn't see Jiuniang's appearance at the time, it was as if she wanted to swallow Eighth Young Master whole, her hands were so heavy, even the little servant boy who was trying to persuade her was hit by a severe ruler, tsk tsk tsk, we who were watching from the side, who wasn't intimidated by that kind of momentum...

  "Is that so? Was the nanny also watching from the side at that time? I didn't see it." Gu Man supported Pei Yin's hand and entered the door, turned around the small screen with a base made of red pear wood in front of the smoke and rain Jiangnan, and saw Liu Mama standing in front of Mrs. Liu, chattering nonstop, while Wang Shi sat on the chair with a frown, listening to her. Seeing Pei Yin arrive, Wang Shi quickly turned away from Liu Shi, stood up and said: "How did you come again? The weather is so bad, and you're all injured..."

  Gu's face was pale, the red swelling on her forehead had not yet faded away. She went forward to support Wang Shi, then turned around and bowed to Liu Shi. With a sudden movement, she startled Liu Mama who was standing beside her.

  Before Madame Liu could speak, Gu Man stared at her with great interest for a while, making Madame Liu lower her head and hide the triumphant look on her face. Then, she burst out laughing: "Mom, why don't you dare to look at me? Do you really think I'm a beast? Don't be in such a hurry to hide, if I were a beast, the first thing I'd do is tear that sharp tongue of yours to shreds!"

  Her expression changed in an instant, leaving Liu completely stunned - just a moment ago she was still smiling with her eyebrows and eyes, but in the blink of an eye she became another person. The way she looked at people made even herself tremble with fear. She finally composed herself and shouted: "Jiǔ Mǎo Tóu!"

  "I'm here, what's going on? Are you trying to lecture me again, Fifth Aunt?" Gu Man raised an eyebrow and looked at Liu Shi, pointing to the wound on his forehead with a sarcastic smile: "The injuries on my body can't be faked. At that time, there were so many people upstairs and downstairs in Mingyue Building who witnessed it with their own eyes. It was Eighth Brother who made the first move, and I just couldn't help but grab the ruler to barely defend myself. If this is also going to be used as evidence of my disrespect towards my elder brother, then that's a huge injustice. If Fifth Aunt really feels unhappy about this, why don't we go ask our grandmother to mediate? If even she thinks it's my fault, then there's nothing more to say. I'll naturally accept whatever punishment Fifth Aunt gives me. Fifth Aunt can say whatever she wants about me in front of others - after all, last time you already told Madame Jun Ning that our second house loves to bully me, right? This is something you're used to doing anyway."

  "What are you talking nonsense about?" The look of ridicule from Liu made her hair stand on end, and she couldn't help but speak hastily and angrily: "What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! How could I do such a thing? Are these flies also randomly buzzing around?!"

  "Since you know it's not right to chew, why must you bring this up to annoy my mother!" Gu Man stared at Liu Shi coldly and said, "I thought you didn't know this principle, but since you do, then you should also know that if this news gets out, the reputation damaged won't just be mine alone. Your family's Gu Fen and Gu Jin will also suffer! Moreover, don't think you're the only one with a mouth in this world. You should know that if my mother is willing, your son's reputation for harming his siblings, bringing servants to break into his sister's room and beating her up can spread even further!" After finishing her sentence, she looked at Liu Mama with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, then turned back to Liu Shi and said, "Do you want to try it out?"