“Even so, you can decide what to do,” Yun Shen said to Third Sister. “You are the mistress, so naturally you have the final say in these matters.”
Upon hearing Yun Shen's words, Li was secretly delighted.
Perfect! It would be great if Third Sister punished her severely! She's still in confinement and weak; it would be perfect for people to see how arrogant and domineering the Crown Princess is, abusing her concubines.
Just then, Mo Song rushed in, saying that Prince Yi had urgent business with the young master. Yun Shen then handed everything over to Third Sister and left.
Li remained kneeling, but her cries grew louder.
“Sister, since brother-in-law has spoken, even if you are soft-hearted and don’t want to punish Aunt Li, I’m afraid brother-in-law will be unhappy!” Anran was afraid that Third Sister’s punishment would be inappropriate and make things worse, so she stopped her and said, “You have to at least make an appearance so that it will be acceptable to brother-in-law.”
Third Sister raised an eyebrow, but remained silent in a very cooperative manner.
Li was furious. How could Third Sister be the virtuous woman An Jiu described? Punish her if you must, but why embellish her story?
“Sister, I didn’t study much before, and I didn’t understand many things.” An Ran looked up and smiled innocently. “Later, Grandmother sent me to school, and I understood many things. Grandmother also praised me for being much more sensible.”
An Ran's words confused everyone. What was she trying to achieve by rambling on like that?
“That’s what they call, ‘People learn from books!’” An Ran’s smile was bright, as radiant as a delicate flower. She said with a smile, “Aunt Li probably doesn’t understand some principles, which is why she did such a foolish thing today.”
"Even so, why not let Auntie copy the books in peace?" An Ran winked mischievously and said to Third Aunt, "If Auntie copies more books, she'll surely understand things better. After all, people learn from books!"
Aunt Li trembled all over.
An Ran made it sound so easy—copying books seemed like a light punishment. But how much would she have to copy, and how long would it take? A sense of fear rose in her heart. Could it be that An San Niang was using this as an excuse to confine her to this small courtyard?
Third Sister was initially somewhat dissatisfied with the idea of copying books, feeling it was too lenient. However, seeing the genuine fear on Li's face, she felt much better.
"Alright then." Third Sister smiled gently, then said coolly, "First, copy the Four Books for Women twenty times, then I'll make a decision after I've seen them."
Li's eyes widened in astonishment.
Twenty times? How long would it take to copy that? Wouldn't it be too late for Dong-ge'er's full moon celebration?
"Oh, Auntie must think we copied too much!" An Ran pretended to suddenly realize something and said sincerely with a smile, "Since Auntie thinks it's too much and she can't handle it, let's take Dong-ge to Sister's room today."
Upon hearing this, Li was greatly alarmed.
Taking Dongge'er away is like cutting off her lifeline; how could she let go!
"Not much, not at all!" Madam Li could only grit her teeth and force a smile, "I can manage, please rest assured, Madam!"
Third Sister nodded slightly with an air of dignity.
“I will trust you one more time, Auntie. But if it happens next time…” Third Aunt said firmly, “then it won’t be so easy to fool you.”
After saying that, Third Sister took An Ran and left without looking back. Since Li Shi entered the household, she had never felt so carefree.
An Ran glanced at Third Sister and saw that she was in good spirits, her eyes were bright, and she had lost the dejection she had shown in recent days.
She smiled slightly.
We should thank Mr. Li this time; he's provided us with such a great opportunity. (Just Love Network)
Chapter 47 Sowing Discord
As they stepped out of Luoyue Pavilion, Anran and San Niang exchanged a smile.
"Li is always good at feigning weakness and playing the victim, acting like she's suffered some great injustice all day long!" Third Sister said with satisfaction, "Today, let her stumble on this trick too!"
An Ran smiled and chimed in, "Sister, you are the mistress of the house, and you have the reins of the household in your hands. Why worry about what trouble they might cause? In the end, no matter how pretentious she is, she will only be branded as disrespectful to the mistress of the house."
A satisfied smile finally appeared on Third Sister's face.
Seeing that she seemed to have regained her fighting spirit, An Ran breathed a sigh of relief, but also remained secretly vigilant.
The reason why Li failed twice in a row was simply because she didn't take Third Sister seriously. Li had lived in the Prince Yi's mansion and the Prince's backyard for a few months, so she was probably very confident that she could grasp Third Sister's temperament and knew how to control her.
San Niang and Yun Shen were once a loving couple. San Niang could hardly be described as virtuous and generous, otherwise, she would have remained childless all these years, and Yun Shen would not have had any new wives. On the day she climbed into the prince's bed, she witnessed San Niang's hysterical outburst and her flamboyant and somewhat domineering personality, which was really inconsistent with San Niang's status as the prince's wife.
This gave Li the feeling that he could take advantage of the situation.
For example, today, Li probably didn't intend to cause any major trouble. It's just that the young master and the third daughter reconciled yesterday, and Li was still angry, so she wanted to further damage the third daughter's image in the young master's heart. There's nothing else she intended to frame.
However, after these two consecutive setbacks, Li will probably not dare to be careless in the future.
Since Lady Li was able to endure being away for several months before returning to the Prince's residence, she was quite capable; she simply underestimated her opponent.
It is likely that Li will act more cautiously and carefully in the future.
"Ninth Sister, how did you come up with the idea of having Li copy the book?" Third Sister suddenly asked.
Today, having humiliated Li Shi in front of Yun Shen and forced her to kneel before her, bowing her head and begging for mercy, Third Sister felt a sense of satisfaction. In the past, Li Shi would always feign pitifulness, begging for forgiveness and admitting her mistakes first, but in the end, Third Sister was the one who suffered the most.
The method of copying books was truly ingenious; with just this one method, Li was firmly trapped. She was punished, and no one could say anything about it.
An Ran was taken aback, then looked somewhat embarrassed. She stammered, "...I wasn't good at studying, and back then I thought there was nothing more troublesome than studying. So, in my haste, I just blurted it out—" She cautiously looked up at Third Sister and said, "Sister, was there anything wrong with what I said?"
Third Sister smiled.
"Not only is it not bad, it's absolutely perfect!" Third Sister looked at An Ran with satisfaction and said with a smile, "This time, that Li woman won't be able to cause any more trouble."
An Ran smiled and nodded.
The two sisters returned to the main courtyard, both feeling refreshed and invigorated.
"Have you and Yunfang ordered all the clothes?" Third Sister asked, remembering where Anran had gone that morning. "Hurry up and order them. We need people to make them for you as soon as possible in the next few days."