Chapter 24: The Fourth Miss Provokes, Auntie's Suspicion Arises

  Pei Zhucheng looked at her flustered and embarrassed appearance, sighed, helped her up, and said in a warm voice: "Don't I know your temperament? This matter has nothing to do with you. Not to mention what you said about resigning from the position of Fu's master, who can replace you?" Irritated, he said, "Rong'er used to be so delicate and lovely, how come this time when I returned to Beijing, she became more and more unreasonable? Now she even uses such a dirty trick to deal with Ge'er!"

  "Perhaps it was instigated by someone close to you."

  Want to remove Rong'er's confidant? Zhang Yun's heart suddenly became anxious, and she hurriedly said: "Those servants understand what? It's the teacher in the mansion who dares to bully even the fourth young lady, let alone Rong'er. Who knows what kind of example they set for Rong'er? To say it's the fault of the concubine, please punish me. I am willing to accept punishment."

  "Even I was deceived, let alone you?" Pei Zhucheng said angrily. "These despicable things have corrupted my good daughter and cannot be forgiven lightly. Each of them will receive twenty heavy slaps and be driven out of the mansion. The maidservants in Caiwei Garden also cannot be forgiven!" With a belly full of anger and no way to vent it, he slammed his hand on the table with a loud "bang", causing his ten fingers to bleed profusely. Seeing this, Zhang Yun's eyes revealed her heartache and tender feelings.

  "Get out, all of you! Let me be quiet for a while!" Although he blamed others for the reason, his beloved daughter did such a thing, how could a father not feel heartbroken? Pei Zhucheng weakly waved his hand, propped up his head, and looked exhausted and dejected.

  Under the lush green pine trees, Zhang Yun was about to go deal with Master Jiao's affairs when she was suddenly stopped.

  "Zhang Yiniang, I thought you were fond of San Jiejie, but it turns out that when it comes to fighting, you don't hold back at all." Pei Yuange smiled and said, "Yiniang is indeed a person from the Zhang family, probably used to hitting people. That slap was so ruthless, yet she's fine. Unlike me, with my delicate skin, just two light slaps and my hand still hurts now." She pretended to shake her hand in pain, laughing, "I don't know the secret to hitting people, Yiniang, would you be willing to teach me?"

  Zhang Yun's pupils constricted, and she said angrily: "You——"

  Bai Yuanyong had always doted on her, never even lifting a finger, but today she saw her get into big trouble and was forced to take action to save her, already heartbroken. Now being openly provoked by someone, and this person Bai Yuange, still brazenly admitted that the two slaps were indeed given by her... Such blatant provocation, Zhang Yun had not suffered for a long time, angrily raised her hand, but then thought of Pei Zhucheng's doting on this daughter, and forcibly endured it, only to choke with anger, almost vomiting blood.

  "Auntie, stop right there. After all, I'm Father's daughter, and even if I've fallen out of favor, Father won't abandon me; but Auntie is just Father's concubine, and without his protection, she'd be... " Pei Yuange smiled firmly, knowing this would be an even greater provocation to Zhang Yun. "To be honest, I think this expression suits you better than a weak and tearful one - at least it doesn't make my skin crawl."

  Her ten fingers clenched tightly, her long fingernails digging deep into her palm: "So it was you who framed Rong'er."

  "It's all learned from Auntie, compared to Auntie's ability to turn black and white upside down, I'm still far behind!" Pei Yuange smiled with a hint of elegance.

  The more she smiled brightly, the angrier Zhang Yun became, yet she couldn't lash out. She shot a venomous glare at Pei Yuange, her silver teeth clenched tightly, before turning and storming off.

  Back at the Fourth Virtue Courtyard, she could no longer hold back, grabbing things in the room and smashing them loudly. It was a long time before any sound came from inside, calling for Wang to enter. Amidst the scattered fragments, Zhang Yun's anger had not dissipated, her face twisted: "That little slut, how dare she provoke me like this? She actually dares to——" As she spoke, another wave of rage surged up, and she grabbed a nearby powder-colored official kiln vase, smashing it against the wall.

  At that time, Wang's nanny was not far away, and Pei Yuange also didn't deliberately avoid her, so Wang's nanny could hear everything clearly.

  All these years, Qing Shu Zhai has been in the hands of Auntie, and Fourth Miss is just a puppet on strings. How could... "Fourth Miss is really like a different person after her illness this time! Auntie, do you think she was pretending all along to deceive us?"

  "Ten years ago, she was only three years old. If a three-year-old girl could deceive the entire Jingci Studio, including you and me, unless she's a demon! " Zhang Yun firmly denied it, but suddenly her heart moved and calmed down, pondering, "But what if you said that changing people... would she not be Pei Yuange at all?"

  Wang's nanny disagreed: "If she is not Pei Yuange, who is she? The fourth miss of the prestigious Pei Manor, and yet someone can just swap her out?"

  "Why not?" Zhang Yun thought the more she thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed, and the more it fit together. "Maybe the shock of the cancelled wedding was too great for her, and she died from anger. And then someone took this opportunity to bring in a fake Pei Yuange to make things difficult for me and compete for favor? What kind of person was the original Pei Yuange? Others may not know, but do you and I not know? If she had such abilities now, even a mother pig could climb trees. Thinking again, after her illness, wasn't everything she did aimed at me? But then she went to great lengths to get Zi Yun, the maid from Qing Jiang Yuan. Isn't that very strange? Pei Yuange always thought Ming Jin was killed by Shu Xueyu, and had a relationship with Qing Jiang Yuan like fire and water, so why would she go to such great lengths to get a maid from Qing Jiang Yuan?"

  Under Zhang Yun's analysis, Wang also began to waver: "Auntie's meaning is that Shu Xueyu is playing tricks?"

  "She was the original madam, who had been in charge of the Pei household. It's not surprising that she has connections and insiders. The people in Jingyu's courtyard were not very dedicated to Pei Yuange, so it's normal for them to slack off when Pei Yuange was ill. Shu Xueyu took advantage of this opportunity to switch people. First, get rid of Gui Yatou, because she was the most familiar with Pei Yuange and might see through the deception." Zhang Yun continued, "As for Master, he has been away from home for many years and is not very clear about Pei Yuange's affairs. And Gui Yatou had tampered with Pei Yuange, who noticed her true appearance? Just find someone like Ming Jin, dress up as a fake for a few days, and then find an opportunity to reveal herself in front of Master - Master would never suspect that this daughter is fake! What is the relationship between Ming Jin and Shu Xueyu? Finding someone like Ming Jin shouldn't be difficult!"

  The queen mother was finally moved and analyzed: "If that's what you say, then the two of them will definitely be in touch after that day."

  Just then, Da Ya Niang's maid, Xi Yan, came in and said: "Auntie, just now someone from Qing Su Zhai came to report that Fourth Miss is taking Zi Yun towards the direction of Jing Ge Yuan."

  The two of them exchanged a glance, and both saw the shock in each other's eyes. Had they really been guessed correctly?

  Zhang Yun slapped the case and stood up: "Wang Ayi, you immediately go find Gui Ayi, ask clearly about Pei Yuange's condition when he was seriously ill, and observe all the movements of Jingxuan Zhai to see if there is anything suspicious. And that maid Zi Yuan, Pei Yuange wanted her to come over hastily, there must be a reason!"