“Shut up,” Old Madam Yu stared at him with a dark look. “You resent me for making the decision to arrange your marriage with the Xie Residence in Quanzhou back then. You look down on Xie Roujia for her family’s merchant background, and you even dislike her daughter. That’s why you don’t dote on Yao Yao at all. You find every opportunity to teach her a lesson. Do you think I don’t know that?”

She had not planned to say these words.

However, her eldest son was becoming more and more outrageous over the years. Now that he has started to hit Yao Yao, there would be a second time, a third time, or even countless times.

She had to thoroughly rid him of his self-righteousness today. Otherwise, how could Yao Yao have any good days ahead in the future?

Yu Zongzheng’s body trembled violently, and he instinctively denied, “Mother, you’ve misunderstood me. I respect you, and I feel indebted to you for teaching me well. I’ve never resented you at all…”

“You respect me, but you’ve transferred your resentment towards me to Roujia and Yao Yao.” Old Madam Yu looked at him with disappointment, and her tone became colder. “Let me ask you, after Roujia married into the Yu family, did she ever let you down?”

No! Yu Zongzheng’s mouth twitched, but he couldn’t say anything against his conscience.

Ever since Xie Roujia had joined the family, she had been filial to Old Madam Yu and managed the household well. She was amazing at everything, but even so, he did not like her for being too shrewd and capable.

Old Madam Yu understood what he was thinking. “The Yu family’s business had fallen, and it was difficult for the family to hold a high position. It was fortunate that you and your second brother achieved middle ranks in the examination and became officials, although it was tough for the both of you too. It was precisely because of this that I’d arranged for you to form a marriage with the Xie family of Quanzhou.”

Then why was it that he had married a woman from a merchant family, but his second brother had married a scholarly woman? Yu Zongzheng lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly. He said in a low voice, “Mother, I understand your good intentions.”

“What do you understand?” Old Madam Yu raised her voice and said resentfully, “Although the Xie Residence in Quanzhou is a merchant family, they have a lot of connections. How is Roujia not worthy of you? That dog, Yang Shiguang, isn’t even worthy of carrying shoes for the Xie Residence. Is the daughter of his concubine worthy of you? Is she worth it for you to abandon your morals, dignity, and future, to do such an embarrassing thing?”

At the mention of his past, a surge of anger rushed to his head, causing Yu Zongzheng’s face to turn red, though he didn’t know if he was feeling embarrassed or angry. “I was indeed in the wrong back then, but no matter what, Madam Yang has given birth to my children and raised them all these years. That should be appreciated. You…”

Even after saying so much, he still hadn’t come to his senses. Old Madam Yu was furious. “What about Roujia? If it weren’t for her money and connections, would you and your second brother be where you are today? She even lost her life because of you. Why do you only insist on thinking of her badly? Why don’t you treat Yao Yao well?”

Yu Zongzheng wanted to say that Yang Shuwan was from a scholarly family, had a gentle personality, and was an outstanding talent. Madam Xie reeked of copper, so how could she compare to Yang Shuwan?

Old Madam Yu sneered. “Roujia contributed a great deal to our Yu family. Your second brother still remembers his gratitude towards her and treats Yao Yao very well. Everything that Shuangbai has, Yao Yao gets too. Madam Yao is also very close to Yao Yao. But you, as her father, have you ever treated Yao Yao as your own daughter? Those who don’t know might even think that Yao Yao is actually your brother’s biological daughter.”

Yu Zongzheng did not want to talk about Xie Roujia anymore. He could not help but feel frustrated. “Mother, Madam Xie has been dead for many years. Why are you saying this?”

Old Madam Yu scoffed. “You’re unwilling to mention Rou Jia because you feel guilty, right? Why did she give birth prematurely back then? Why did she die early? Do you think you can hide it from an old woman like me? All these years, I’ve helped you cover up your dirty deed. Have you forgotten what you’ve done to her?”

A bloody scene suddenly flashed through his mind. Yu Zongzheng’s body turned cold as he looked at Old Madam Yu in horror. “Mother…”

Old Madam Yu said sternly, “Back then, when you were fooling around with Yang Shuwan, Roujia had noticed it and you had a big fight with her, accidentally pushing her to the ground and causing her to lose a lot of blood. You had no regard for your relationship as husband and wife and even abandoned her to fend for her own life, choosing to escape without informing anyone in the residence. If it weren’t for the fact that Roujia’s maidservant had sensed something amiss and quickly called for a doctor, it would have cost two lives. It was also because of this that Rou Jia passed away not long after giving birth to Yao Yao. You were the one who caused her death, yet now you even slap Yao Yao. Aren’t you afraid that she would crawl out of the netherworld to take your life?”

It was also because she had to cover up this despicable incident that she had sent everyone who was from Xie Roujia’s courtyard to the village, not even keeping Yao Yao by her side.

Everyone thought that Madam Xie’s fall was just an accident, and Madam Xie herself had not said anything about it. Yu Zongzheng thought that no one else knew about this besides him and Madam Xie.

Every time he recalled the scene of her lying in a pool of blood with her eyes wide open, a strong sense of fear and panic overwhelmed him.

All these years, he had tried his best to avoid thinking about Xie Roujia’s death, even ignoring his eldest daughter, Yu Youyao. He did not expect that his mother had already known the truth.

Yu Zongzheng took a few steps back. He had the urge to turn around and escape. However, he braced himself and denied, “Mother, you can’t accuse me wrongly. Everyone in the residence knows that Madam Xie fell on her own. What has that got to do with me? I was handling official business in the study at the time. I only found out after…”

Old Madam Yu didn’t argue with him. She only said, “You don’t like it that I treat Yao Yao well, but what you don’t know is that I treat Yao Yao well not only because she’s Roujia’s daughter and my eldest granddaughter. I’m also doing this as atonement for your sin.”

Actually, what she didn’t say was!

The Yu Residence was a family of scholars. If the descendants of the Yu family wanted to take the paths of scholars, then the money, connections, and avenues needed would all depend on the Xie Residence.

The connection between the Yu family and the Xie family in Quanzhou was all tied to Yao Yao. If Yao Yao wasn’t treated well in the Yu family, the Xie family in Quanzhou probably wouldn’t let the matter rest either.

She had planned and devised strategies meticulously in the past, but all relationships were built through interaction and time together. Now, she sincerely hoped for the best for her granddaughter.

The word “atonement” was ear-splitting, causing Yu Zongzheng’s mind to go blank, and it even became difficult for him to breathe.

Seeing that he was still being stubborn, there was no point in saying anything else. Old Madam Yu raised her voice and called out to Nanny Liu.

Nanny Liu, who was in the outer room, heard the call and quickly entered the house. However, her head was lowered even more than usual, and she didn’t dare to make a single sound.

Glancing at her eldest son, whose face was a deep red, Old Madam Yu instructed Nanny Liu, “Call Nanny Xu over to let Master know what Yao Yao has been up to recently.”

She had used the incident from back then to shock him, but in order to prevent him from taking his anger out on Yao Yao, she had to let him know that Yao Yao wasn’t as arrogant and useless as he thought.

Nanny Liu bowed her head, turned around, and quickly left the hall.