jdhmnovel Chapter 167 The Harsh Lady Pingyang
Chapter 167 The Harsh Lady Pingyang
There's nothing wrong with what I'm saying if you're being serious.
The problem is that her tone was sarcastic and didn't sound like she was saying anything nice.
Lady Anguo's expression stiffened for a moment, then she forced a smile and said, "Fifth Sister, don't worry, this time there will definitely be no mistakes."
Li Moqing, the fifth younger sister of the Duchess of Anguo, was the wife of the Earl of Pingyang.
The original betrothal to the Earl of Pingyang was the Lady of the Duke of Anguo, but the betrothal to the current Duke of Anguo is Li Moqing.
However, at that time, the Duke of Anguo's mansion was in decline, and the heir apparent of the Duke of Anguo seemed to be an incompetent man.
Li Moqing felt that the heir of the Duke of Anguo was not as good as the legitimate son of the Earl of Pingyang, so she took advantage of her parents' favor to arrange a marriage with her sister.
Unexpectedly, after the incompetent Duke of Anguo inherited the title, he was instead highly valued by Emperor Wenjing, while the Earl of Pingyang, who seemed very capable at the time, now only holds a sinecure.
Li Moqing was filled with remorse for this incident. The only thing that brought her some comfort was that her third sister's daughter had been lost.
Over the years, she often used the excuse of visiting her third sister to come to the Duke's mansion to watch the excitement. Every time she saw her third sister looking sad and heartbroken but having to put on a brave face, she felt extremely happy.
Li Moqing covered her mouth and chuckled softly, her eyes filled with mockery.
She turned her gaze to Yu Wan, giving her a sharp once-over, and laughed, "She looks more like Third Sister than the one before her. I hope she's not another pheasant trying to climb the social ladder this time."
Seeing that she was going too far, the smiles on the faces of the Duke and Duchess of Anguo could hardly be maintained.
At this moment, the old woman sitting on the left spoke up, "Qing'er, how can you speak to your third sister like that?"
This is the old lady of the Wang family, and also the mother of the Duchess of Anguo.
After Old Mrs. Wang spoke, Li Moqing became much more restrained.
The Duchess of Anguo's smile broadened a bit as she stepped down, took Yu Wan's hand, and introduced everything to her.
“This is your maternal grandmother, and this is your third aunt…”
When Yu Wanfu greeted her, Old Madam Wang gave her a kind smile, while Lady Pingyang only slightly tugged at the corners of her mouth, her smile half-hearted.
Before Lady Pingyang could introduce him, the young man beside her stood up, looked intently at Yu Wan, and said with a smile, "Cousin, I am your cousin, Xie Jingyao."
Yu Wan slightly raised her eyes and looked at the young man.
Seeing her looking over, Xie Jingyao slightly puffed out his chest, his bright and ardent eyes gazing at her.
It seems to contain endless vitality and vigor.
Yu Wan's eye twitched slightly, and she nodded gently, politely replying, "Hello, cousin."
Xie Jingyao's gaze was fixed on Yu Wan, and his undisguised curiosity and admiration made Yu Wan feel slightly uncomfortable.
She quietly turned her body to the side, trying to avoid that overly direct gaze.
Seeing this, Old Mrs. Wang coughed lightly and said to Xie Jingyao, "Jingyao, don't be rude."
She smiled and said, "I know you also feel sorry for your cousin who has been missing for more than ten years, but your cousin is a woman, so you must not be so rude."
Xie Jingyao, however, seemed not to hear, and continued to stare straight at Yu Wan with a bright smile on his lips.
Lady Pingyang couldn't stand his eagerness and scoffed coldly.
Seeing his mother's attitude, Xie Jingyao calmed down a bit.
In just a short while, Yu Wan had a vague feeling that her days at the Duke of Anguo's mansion would probably be quite "lively".
After introducing those on the left, it's finally time for those on the right.
The two women sitting on the right are the sisters of the Duchess of Anguo, and the other two young girls, around sixteen years old, are their daughters.
The eldest sister of the Duchess of Anguo, Li Mohuan, and the second sister, Li Molian, both married into official families. Although they were not as prominent as the Duke of Anguo's family or the Earl of Pingyang's family, they were still well-matched with the Li family in terms of social standing.
Compared to Lady Pingyang, the two sisters were much gentler in temperament, and when Yu Wan greeted them, the smiles on their faces were genuine.
Li Mohuan smiled and said, "Child, you've suffered these past years. Now that you're back in the Duke's mansion, you can live a peaceful life from now on."
Li Molian also said, "You've just returned to Shengjing, so you probably don't have many good friends. If you're bored on weekdays, come to my mansion to chat with your cousin Ru."
The "cousin Ru" that Li Molian mentioned was Wan Yuru, who was sitting next to her.
When Wan Yuru heard her mother mention her, she stood up and returned Yu Wan's polite greeting, smiling as she said, "Mother is right. Cousin Wan is probably not very familiar with Shengjing yet. If you would like to go anywhere, you can come to my residence anytime and I will definitely accompany you."
No sooner had he spoken than a sneer came from the other side: "You're almost twenty and still a spinster. Instead of thinking about how to get married, you're always thinking about having fun. You really are just like your mother."
Upon hearing this, Wan Yuru's face drained of all color, turning deathly pale.
Li Molian's face also turned deathly pale.
"Fifth Sister, how could you say such a thing about Yu Ru?!" Li Molian was gentle by nature, and even when she was angry, she lacked any imposing manner. "Others may not know why Yu Ru has not yet married, but don't you know?"
Lady Pingyang scoffed, "What does it have to do with me if she can't get married?"
Li Molian trembled with rage. "Three years ago, before Yuru was to be married, you sent Yuru to visit the Marquis of Pingyang's residence..."
Mentioning this incident almost made Li Molian faint with regret.
"But you didn't restrain the male guest in the front yard, letting him barge into the back yard and even... molest Yu Ru in public."
"If this matter hadn't spread, it would have been fine, but why did you keep saying that you had ordered your servants not to gossip, yet the matter still reached the Xu family, who are engaged to Yu Ru?"
Li Molian suppressed the tears in her eyes, "We know exactly what happened that day, but how did it become that Yu Ru was seen naked by another man?"
Because she was not favored in her own family, after the incident, Old Mrs. Wang advised her not to take it too seriously, since they were all family.
Li Molian could only suppress her grievances.
Despite her humiliation, the perpetrator showed no remorse whatsoever, and even stabbed the mother and daughter in the heart in front of so many people.
Lady Pingyang found her crying and whining annoying, and laughed indifferently, "Second sister, how many times have I said it? There were too many guests at home that day, how was I supposed to know that a man would barge in?"
"Besides, if Yu Ru hadn't been dressed so flamboyantly that day, how could she have been harassed by others?"
"Maybe she's just being restless and deliberately seducing me."
"I did instruct the servants in the manor not to spread this matter, but people can talk, and I can't silence everyone. What they say is none of my business."
After she finished speaking, the main hall fell into a deathly silence.
Yu Wan rolled her eyes inwardly.
Isn't this just a real-world example of "victim blaming"?
It's clearly a case of men being unable to control their lower bodies, yet they blame women for dressing too attractively.
Lady Pingyang, being a woman herself and Wan Yuru's aunt, still dared to slander her own niece in this way.