Volume 1 Chapter 6

  The queen's maid stood with an arrogant expression, her chin held high, and said in a strange tone, "So the madam and young master have finally arrived, I've been waiting for so long."

  She straightened her back again, and when she came, the lady had instructed that she must give them a warning, so that they would know who was the real master of the Xia Mansion.

  Shui explained with a soft smile, "Jing'er isn't used to riding in carriages and wasn't comfortable the whole way, that's why we're late."

  The old woman became even bolder at the sight, humming again and casting a sideways glance at Xia Tingcong "Miss's body is indeed precious"

  Xia Ting was dizzy and nauseous from the bumpy ride, she just wanted to hurry back to the Xia Manor and take a good nap.

  But unexpectedly this woman was not only arrogant but also impolite. And I still had to listen to her nonsense, wasting my time.

  She was originally a modern person and didn't have any concept of hierarchy. But this old lady was extremely overbearing, with every sentence she spoke being venomous, not putting her own daughter in her eyes at all. It's really unbearable.

  Xia Ting's eyes narrowed, and she walked over slowly, raising her hand to slap the old woman with a loud smack, sending her tumbling to the ground.

  The several little maids who followed Xia Fu were frightened by this sudden change and gasped, looking at each other in dismay.

  Shui's face turned pale with shock at his daughter's actions, and he cried out "Ning'er, you..." He immediately tried to help the wet nurse up, but was stopped by Xia Tingning who said "Mother, don't get involved in this, I can handle it myself."

  This old woman was clearly trying to give them a warning, and it didn't take much thought to know that she must have been instructed by the father's legitimate wife. If she didn't fight back, when they arrived at the Xia residence, she would be treated like a soft persimmon to be pinched.

  Xia Ting's elegant turn, looking down at Wang Niangniang who was sitting on the ground with a swollen face, covering her cheek with an unbelievable expression. Her voice was cold and said, "This slap is to tell you that as a servant, you should have the demeanor of a servant, don't think you can ride on your master's head and be arrogant. Since you don't understand the rules, I'll teach you well today."

  He immediately turned his head and said to Wan Yu, "Have someone tie her up and bind her to the back of the horse carriage." Today, she would use this nanny to kill a chicken to scare the monkey.

  "Yes, miss." Late Jade bowed and smiled, also not waiting for this Wang Ayi to explain a few words, she immediately covered her mouth with a cloth. She had just called out to have several young men bring ropes.

  Wan Yu occasionally glared at Wang's nanny, having disliked her for some time. She dared to be rude to the young lady and madam, truly acting as if she were the mistress. Yet she was just a servant, what was she being so arrogant about?

  Shui's wife pulled on her daughter's sleeve, looking uneasy "Ning Er, this isn't good, what if Madame..." Before Shui's wife could finish speaking, Xia Ting Ning cut her off "Mother, don't worry, I'll handle it myself"

  Shui wanted to say something else, but Xia Ting waved her hand and signaled for her brother to come over. "Yun'er, help Mother get on the carriage."

  Xia Zi Yun, although still young, knew that listening to her sister was always right. She immediately hugged Shui Shi's arm and pulled her towards the carriage "Mother, let's go wait in the carriage, Sister is here."

  Settle down, Mother. Xia Ting nodded at the few young maids who came from the Xia Manor and said in a low voice, "Lead the way."

  Several little maids heard this and hastily curtsied "Yes, miss"

  Xia Ting walked back to the carriage with a satisfied smile, but saw that the coachman had a stunned expression on his face, clearly frightened. He coldly glanced at him and said, "Don't you hurry along?"

  The coachman suddenly came to his senses and, not daring to tarry, waited until Xia Ting had boarded the carriage before grasping the reins and driving off under the guidance of several maidservants.

  Before long, the carriage arrived at the side gate of the Xia Mansion. Xia Ting brought down Wan Yu first, and then reached out to help his mother and younger brother.

  Several quick-witted young men had already gone to the back of the carriage and untied the ropes that bound Wang's servant girl, bringing her before Xia Tingying. As a result of running alongside the carriage, Wang's originally neat and tidy hair was now disheveled, her hands were lashed with rope marks, and even one of her embroidered shoes had fallen off, making her look utterly bedraggled.

  Xia Tingjian saw it and didn't have a bit of sympathy for this Wang Yiniang. If the road wasn't short, she was afraid that Wang Yiniang wouldn't just be in this state.

  She was already feeling frustrated due to the bumpy carriage ride, and this nanny had no eyesight at all, insisting on rushing towards the muzzle, who can blame her.

  She glanced at the few little maids and said lightly, "Lead the way." The little maids hurriedly walked ahead to guide Xia Tingying's group into the mansion.

  The little gatekeeper was stunned, never expecting that the second young lady who had just been brought back from outside would be so beautiful. Her whole body exuded a kind of spiritual energy, and her demeanor and temperament were such that she could hardly compare to the two legitimate misses born to the madam.

  Then she saw Wang's nanny being carried by several small servants, and was startled by her miserable appearance. Good heavens, this Wang's nanny is actually a capable person under the madam's command, and yet she has been made to return in such a state after just leaving the house for a short while.

  Well, well, this is quite bold. The newly arrived madam and her family don't seem like easy people to deal with either. The gatekeeper watched as Xia Ting Cong's group walked away, sighing in his heart.

  Under the leadership of the little maid, they passed through the pavilions and walked for a long time before arriving at a very spacious courtyard. The maid introduced, "This is the Qinghua Hall where Master and Madam live." Xia Ting nodded and supported Shui Shi as they entered.

  Arriving at the main hall entrance, one must be announced by the waiting maid before entering.

  The old woman knelt down on the ground as soon as she entered the house, as if she had found her backbone. She cried and complained to the noblewoman sitting in the chair with a bright dress, with a nose full of snot and tears. Xia Ting also didn't care, letting her wail alone, and looked around at the people in the room.

  Sitting in the main hall above was her cheap father, who had not seen each other for several years, and there was no change.

  Mr. Xia was a handsome young man, and although he is now approaching middle age, it has only added to his mature and steady demeanor.

  Xia Ting's gaze swept to the woman sitting next to her cheap father, and at a glance: she was wearing a dark blue silk pleated skirt with golden and silver hairpins on her head, and a silver bangle on her left wrist. Her face was powdered, her cheeks were painted red, and she looked well-maintained. This must be the authentic Mrs. Li.

  Her appearance is quite attractive, but paired with that resentful gaze, she looks extremely unpleasant, seemingly extremely disgusted with them.

  Dai Xia Ting converged her gaze, and Wang Niang also finished crying. She was waiting for the mistress of the house to give her justice, to properly deal with this new young lady who had just entered the manor.

  Li listened, her eyes wide with anger, and slammed her hand on the table. "You're really ungrateful! You even dare to move against my people? I was kind enough to bring you three back to the manor, but it turns out you have no manners at all. A concubine's child is just that - a concubine's child, and can't hold their head up high."

  Shui's eyes immediately turned red, and she was about to kneel down to admit her mistake. However, Xia Tingying quickly supported her, and then retorted to Li Shiyi, "Is the mistress saying that I don't understand etiquette? I'm just teaching this lowly woman a lesson. Who is the real master here? She's just a servant, yet she didn't even show me respect when she saw me, instead putting on an arrogant attitude for who knows who."

  She paused for a moment, then continued with a calm and collected tone, "I'm doing this for the mistress's own good. Others don't know any better, they think it's because you're not strict enough in managing your household that these unruly servants have been raised. Since you say I'm not worthy of being seen in public, fine. At most, we'll just leave Summer Manor and return to Yixing City tomorrow, the three of us."

  She is not like her useless and cheap father, with her business skills, it's enough for the three of them to live a stable life. Not at all need to look at Li's face to survive.

  At times like these, we should still maintain our dignity, otherwise the Li family will think they can bully us.

  Li was choked and almost couldn't catch her breath, she didn't expect that the newly entered second daughter-in-law would be so bold, daring to speak out of turn and offend her. Listen to this, isn't it indirectly saying that she instructed someone to make things difficult for them?

  The maid standing beside her immediately offered tea and helped her straighten her collar.

  Li drank the tea and didn't recover for a long time, trembling with her hand, pointing at Xia Ting and saying to Old Master Xia "You...old master, take a look, this is your good daughter, does she still put me, her legitimate mother-in-law, in her eyes?"

  Xia Ting's eyes darkened as she curled her lip in disdain. This Li family was really laughable, thinking they could just bring in reinforcements when they couldn't outtalk her. Did they think that cheap father of theirs could really suppress her?

  Mr. Xia never thought that such a thing would happen, and how his daughter would clash with his wife as soon as she came.

  This girl's temperament he still knows, she is not like Lan who is a vegetarian. Suddenly felt a severe headache, can only comfort the lady on one hand and scold his daughter "Ning'er, how come you are so unruly, speaking to your mother like this"