Old Madam Yu laughed incredulously. “If Yu Jianjia’s illness worsens because of the time I took for my consultation, wouldn’t I, her grandmother, become a bad person? Yu Zongzheng, have you become resentful towards me because I’d scolded you earlier, so you’re trying to frame me as revenge?”

When Yu Zongzheng realized this, he was so embarrassed that he wanted to crawl into a hole in the ground. “Mother, I didn’t mean that. I wasn’t thinking carefully.”

He glanced at Madam Yang and frowned.

Earlier, he hadn’t agreed with this either. He had only asked Imperial Physician Hu to visit his mother first because Madam Yang was worried about Old Madam Yu’s health and had strongly persuaded him. He had thought that Madam Yang was being a filial daughter-in-law, but who would have realized that she was actually being thoughtless?

At the thought of this, the many bad thoughts within his heart suddenly gained momentum again.

Everything had gone wrong today. Because of Yang Shuwan, he had been taught a lesson by his mother. Even some of his shameful pasts had been dug clean.

At this moment, he had once again angered his mother completely because of Madam Yang.

After reprimanding Yu Zongzheng, Old Madam Yu looked at Yang Shuwan. “Yu Jianjia is just a young child who doesn’t know any better. The Eldest Master is busy with the imperial court and doesn’t have time for the internal affairs of the family. You’re the mistress of the Yu Residence, yet you behave like a child too, not knowing how to weigh the severity of the matter. Look at what your family has become under your management.”

Yang Shuwan’s expression stiffened at the scolding. She tightened her grip on her handkerchief. “Mother, don’t be angry. Jia Jia suddenly became seriously ill, and I was momentarily flustered. I thought that Imperial Physician Hu would be able to treat her with peace of mind if he helped you first.”

She had wanted to use this chance to put on a show of “filial piety” together with Jia Jia, so that they could allay Yu Zongzheng’s suspicion and dissatisfaction towards her. However, she did not expect Old Madam Yu to ruin it.

This time, her plan had really backfired.

Old Madam Yu sneered. “Jia Jia came out of your stomach. It’s a piece of flesh that came from your body. As a loving mother, you know better than anyone else whether she’s doing well or not. You don’t seem too worried, and you’re not caring about your own child. Instead, you came over to be a filial daughter-in-law in front of me. It’s obvious that Yu Jianjia is fine.”

These words had completely exposed the thoughts of Madam Yang and her daughter. Despite how stupid Yu Zongzheng was, he finally realized what was going on.

In the past, whenever Jia Jia had a headache or fever, Yang Shuwan would always be the most nervous. Today, however, she was uncharacteristically focused on his mother’s health.

Yu Zongzheng’s face turned ashen, but he could not flare up in front of Imperial Physician Hu and Old Madam.

Yang Shuwan gritted her teeth in hatred.

She had originally thought that this old woman would appreciate Jia Jia’s filial piety, but she didn’t expect her to be so hard-hearted. To think that not only had she not fallen for the plan, she also did not care about Jia Jia, her own granddaughter, even saying all this while repeatedly using her full name, “Yu Jianjia,” in front of Imperial Physician Hu.

Old Madam Yu ignored them and quickly asked Imperial Physician Hu to sit down. She also ordered someone to make some good tea. The two of them chatted for a while before he started to take her pulse.

Imperial Physician Hu was usually in and out of the Inner Palace, as well as the various residences of the capital. What had he not seen before? Even some shady dealings hadn’t escaped his notice, so the Yu family’s petty schemes within their residence actually meant nothing much to him.

It was also because of this that Old Madam Yu had embarrassed Madam Yang by exposing her fake filial piety scheme on the spot.

After a while, Imperial Physician Hu finished taking her pulse and said, “Old Madam is generally healthy. It’s just that she’s getting on in years, so she needs to take care of herself and not fret too much. She needs to rest and relax for good blood flow.”

After that, he also gave some dietary advice, and was finally done with checking her health.

Before Imperial Physician Hu could get up, Yang Shuwan rushed forward to lead him back to the main courtyard to treat Yu Jianjia, in order to show that she was anxious.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t been in a hurry earlier, so being anxious now just seemed like a deliberate act.

Yu Zongzheng had been working in the court for many years, but he had never suspected Madam Yang in the past, and had naturally felt that she was wonderful in every way. However, he was now filled with rage and dissatisfaction with Madam Yang, so of course he could see through her little act.

He glared coldly at Yang Shuwan and was about to leave when his gaze inadvertently landed on Yu Youyao, who was sitting beside Old Madam Yu.

Suddenly, he realized that his eldest daughter had lost a lot of weight. Her once round appearance had become slim, and her chubby face had become palm-sized.

It was as if she had become a different person.

If she hadn’t indeed been learning from Nanny Xu and suffering some hardship, how could she have lost so much weight in just a month?

Yu Zongzheng stopped in his tracks and saw that the left side of his eldest daughter’s face was swollen. Although she had applied a layer of medicine, it was still a shocking sight.

The remaining doubts that he’d still had about Yu Youyao completely vanished.

Perhaps noticing his gaze, her small body shrank behind her grandmother timidly. Her face was pale and frightened, and she looked nothing like an arrogant brat.

If he hadn’t listened to Madam Yang and misunderstood Yao Yao, he wouldn’t have been so angry at her.

It was rare for Yu Zongzheng to feel guilty towards his daughter. “Yao Yao, is your face feeling better now? It was my fault today, I shouldn’t have hit you.”

Yu Youyao looked at her father in shock. Her eyes were red, and she almost cried on the spot. “No, no, it’s my fault. I haven’t been going to class for a long time. My younger sisters are all learning from the female teachers at home. As the eldest sister, I shouldn’t get to be exempted. I should go to class like everyone else.”

She was like a frightened rabbit. Her weak voice was filled with uneasiness and panic. There were tears in her eyes, but she held them back, not daring to cry in front of him. Yu Zongzheng recalled that Yu Youyao didn’t shed a single tear when he had slapped her. She only cried when his mother came over.

Yu Zongzheng felt a little upset and began to reflect on himself. Had he been too harsh on his eldest daughter?

Seeing that he wasn’t saying anything, Yu Youyao felt a little anxious. She quickly raised her head and glanced at him carefully. At this moment, a crystal tear fell onto the back of her hand. As if afraid that someone would see it, she hurriedly lowered her head and wiped it with her sleeve.

This scene happened to be witnessed by Yu Zongzheng. “Yao Yao, don’t cry. I know that you’ve been learning from Nanny Xu recently, and it takes a lot of your time every day. You don’t have time to attend the classes at home. Nanny Xu has strict rules, so you should just focus on learning from her. You’ll be able to learn a lot from her too, so you don’t have to go for class at home anymore.”

Nanny Xu used to work in the palace, so what was there that she wouldn’t know?

It was also a good thing that Yao Yao could follow her and learn well.

Yao Yao was indeed not suited for academic studies, so there was nothing he could do about that.

In the past, he had misunderstood her. Every time Jia Jia was praised by her teacher, Madam Yang would inevitably worry about his eldest daughter’s studies in front of him. This had caused him to be mistaken, thinking that Yao Yao was lazy or incompetent, so he naturally had a bad impression and thought that she was hopeless.