Old Madam Yu stared at Yang Shuwan sharply and said sternly, “You’re so clumsy. You can’t even do such a simple thing well. Get off me this instant.”

Her harsh words made Yang Shuwan shiver as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on her. She could only hang her head low and take a step back, not daring to say another word.

Nanny Liu stepped forward. “Old Madam, did you get scalded?”

Old Madam Yu shook her head. “I’m not hurt. Help me back to my room to change.”

Nanny Liu quickly agreed and helped Old Madam Yu into the inner room. Madam Yao followed behind. When Yang Shuwan saw this, she also wanted to follow, but Old Madam Yu’s stern glare when turning to look back stopped her in her tracks.

Yang Shuwan was so embarrassed that her face turned pale.

In her heart, she was furious that Madam Yao had deliberately come to the main house to gloat at her misery and even caused her to spill the tea, upsetting Old Madam. She was also jealous that Madam Yao had gained points in front of Old Madam. Even the children of Madam Yao were nothing good—only knowing how to get on Old Madam’s good side.

Yu Youyao and the other grandchildren were relieved when they saw that their grandmother was really fine.

Yu Shuangbai hadn’t seen Yu Youyao for a few days and wanted to drag her to feed the fish at the lotus pond. Yu Youyao rolled her eyes and brought Yu Shuangbai back to the Jade Courtyard. She then asked Chun Xiao to bring some fish food, and they climbed onto the wooden railing to sprinkle it into the pond. Nanny Xu instructed two old maids to keep watch so that they wouldn’t fall into the water.

A large group of koi fish were fighting over the fish food. Seeing how lively it was, Yu Shuangbai clapped her hands. “I know that Grandmother asked you to learn the rules from Nanny Xu, but I can’t believe you really did so obediently? Now, my mother can’t stand it when I play all day, and she keeps nagging at me to learn the rules as well. I’ve really suffered a calamity because of you.”

Yu Youyao was speechless. “What else could I do? You don’t know how formidable Nanny Xu is.”

Yu Shuangbai looked at her sympathetically. She looked around and whispered into Yu Youyao’s ear, “I heard that the palace is a dog-eat-dog place. Those who come out of the palace are all very bad people.”

Yu Youyao glared at her. “Don’t talk nonsense. Nanny Xu is great.”

Yu Shuangbai rolled her eyes and changed the topic. “A few days ago, my mother asked Nanny Qian to teach me needlework. Look at my fingers, you can even see the needle marks.”

As she spoke, she spread her hands in front of Yu Youyao.

Yu Youyao took a closer look and indeed saw two needle marks. Recalling that her fingers had also been pricked by many needles, she smiled and gloated. “You’ve been pricked so many times and yet you still haven’t mastered needlework.”

Yu Shuangbai’s eyes widened. “You make it sound like you’re an expert now.” It was so difficult to learn needlework—how could she have mastered it in just ten days?

Yu Youyao was smug. “Of course. I’ll take you to have a look so that you won’t think I’m just bragging.”

Yu Shuangbai was in a daze as she followed Yu Youyao into the Embroidery Pavilion. She watched as Yu Youyao picked up her half-embroidered pattern from the basket, then worked the needle and thread in front of her. Her eyes widened in shock, and she clutched her chest with an expression that said, “We agreed to only eat, drink, and play together, but you secretly worked hard behind my back.”

Seeing that Yu Shuangbai was so taken aback and had such an expression of disbelief, Yu Youyao felt bad and asked Chun Xiao to bring two boxes of apricot flower cream that she had made herself. “I’m learning how to concoct perfume from Nanny Xu. This is apricot flower paste that I made myself. When you wash your face in the morning, apply it evenly on your face and wash it off after a short while. Not only will you look better, but your face won’t be dry as well. Nanny Xu said that all the nobles in the palace also use apricot flowers to make creams and wash their faces with it. You and Auntie can each have a box. Ask me for more when you’ve finished using it.”

“You know how to make perfume?!” Yu Shuangbai was first shocked by Yu Youyao’s ability to concoct perfume. Then, she happily held the box and opened it on the spot. The light red flower cream was delicate and smooth, emitting a fresh fragrance which wasn’t too rich nor too light. It smelled very good.

Yu Shuangbai’s eyes lit up. “You’re really impressive. Nanny Xu has only been in the residence for a short time, but you’ve already learned needlework and perfume.”

Seeing Yu Youyao’s clear and calm eyes, Yu Shuangbai felt that her big sister really looked different from before.

Yu Youyao flashed a smile.

Yu Shuangbai sighed and changed the topic. “By the way, Grandmother has always been magnanimous and understanding. Why did she suddenly want to set rules for your mother?”

Yu Youyao did not mention that she had been slapped, and only talked about Imperial Physician Hu visiting to take Old Madam’s pulse. “Grandmother thinks that Mother didn’t behave with propriety. She was hopping mad at Mother.”

Yu Shuangbai puckered her lips. “Serves her right! You’re really pitiful to have such a wicked stepmother.”

Yu Youyao hit her playfully. “How daring of you to insult even your elders. You’ve really grown some guts. Be careful not to let Second Aunt find out or she’ll definitely teach you a lesson.”

Yu Shuangbai begged for mercy.

Then, Yu Youyao thought about how the rankings had not been released yet and felt a little uneasy. “Did Second Uncle say when the rankings would be released? In the past, it would always be out ten days after the examination.”

Logically speaking, the results of the Imperial Examination should have been released on February 19th. It was already the 21st today, yet the results still hadn’t been released.

These days, the students who had taken the examination did not even socialize much. They waited all day for news of the rankings to be released.

Yu Shuangbai did not answer. Instead, she looked at Yu Youyao curiously and asked, “Since when did you start caring about such things?”

Yu Youyao laughed a little. “I just found it a little strange. It was a casual question.”

If there were any issues at the Imperial Court, Second Uncle would need to inform Second Aunt about it first and foremost, in case their family was implicated in the matters of the Imperial Court and created trouble. Hence, Yu Shuangbai would definitely have received some information from Second Aunt.

Yu Shuangbai pursed her lips. “Father said that there were some differences in opinions towards answers of a few students in this examination. Those grading the papers couldn’t come to an agreement, and there was also a dispute about the rankings, so the results will be a little delayed. There have been similar precedents like this in the past, so it’s not a big deal, and he has instructed Mother to just focus on the household matters.”

Yu Youyao seemed to be in deep thought as she nodded. She did not ask any further.

But!

Recently, she had often heard Nanny Xu mention things that she had seen and heard while working in the palace, and she had also gained some understanding of the various residences in the capital. In addition, with the whole matter of the “Mentor-disciple deal”, she had become especially sensitive in picking up on certain things.

She was sure that the Imperial Court’s delay in releasing the rankings definitely had something to do with that matter of the examiner accepting disciples.

The so-called “disagreements” and “disputes” over the selection of the best answers and examinees might also be an internal struggle between the different factions of the Imperial Court.

Second Uncle and the Marquis of Weining’s Residence belonged to different factions. The two factions fought both openly and secretly for their own interests. The “mentor-disciple deal” was clearly a case of cheating in the imperial examination, to help or even pull strings for those from the Marquis of Weining’s Residence. Second Uncle must have learned about this “deal” from Grandmother, and it was impossible for his faction to allow it to happen.

The best way was to maintain a poker face during the grading process and eliminate the disciples from the Marquis of Weining’s faction one by one. If they did not manage to eliminate all of these disciples, they had to then at least curb them on the rankings and compete for the higher spots. Since this would mean a tug of war between both sides, it would naturally cause the situation to become a stalemate.

When it came to the interests of the factions, no one would back down, so it would probably take quite some time more before the rankings were released.