The story of a bullied daughter's rise to power

Xiu'er's eyes reddened upon hearing this: "Dad married a concubine who has always looked down on Mom and me. Over the years, we, mother and daughter, have been living under the control of those two concubines. Dad is quite capable in Luocheng. But... he has five daughters. They are all of marriageable age now. It's impossible for all of them to marry well. We have all passed the female examination. Mom thought about it and was afraid that I would be married to some unworthy family, so she asked my aunt to help make the decision. As soon as my aunt heard it, she agreed. It just so happened that my cousin was going to marry the prince, so my aunt said that I should go to keep you company. Who would have thought... my cousin was kind and didn't want me to suffer with her."

When Xiu'er said this, she started to cry.

Upon hearing this, Situ Yaorao raised an eyebrow. She pulled her close to him and comforted him, "Don't worry, cousin. Now that you're here, you'll marry into a good family." Situ Yaorao's attitude was gentle, but her heart was chilled. Are you kidding? Besides the Situ family, how many other families would dare to treat the Gu family's daughter so disrespectfully?

No matter how blind one is, they dare not be careless about the matter of marriage. Especially, those families are not fools, how could they not know that Xiu'er is backed by the Gu family?

Moreover, Xiu'er looked well-educated and had obviously received a good education, so how could she not be favored? Every piece of clothing she wore was worth a fortune.

The incense she wore was leaf incense. This kind of incense was something very few people in the capital could afford. The leaf incense on her body was already very strong, clearly not something she had just started using.

Coupled with the nobleness in her gestures, all this showed that her little cousin was lying.

However, these things had nothing to do with her. As long as her cousin didn't do anything that made her unhappy, she could turn a blind eye. After all...it wasn't easy for her either.

Sent by the Gu family to look after her.

"Situ, give this handkerchief to your cousin to wipe her face." Yu Sheng handed over the handkerchief and said calmly. However, there was no sympathy in his eyes.

He is neither a fool nor a blind man. What Situ Yaorao can see, Yu Sheng can see as well.

He had no interest in listening to these lies, so he took out the handkerchief.

Situ Yaorao wiped Xiu'er's face. Xiu'er looked at Situ Yaorao aggrievedly and said, "Cousin, Xiu'er knows that staying here with you is already causing you trouble."

"What are you talking about? I'm not good at anything else but hospitality. You can stay as long as you want. Of course, the premise is... Xiu'er, you won't make me angry."

"How could I make my cousin angry?" Xiu'er looked confused.

"That's right. After all, you are not Situ Honglei."

"Situ Honglei? Is she my second cousin?" Xiu'er asked curiously.

"I guess so, but she and I have different mothers and fathers. I have always loved my sister very much, but she used me to do many things that disappointed me. She even framed me many times. Later, cousin, do you know what happened to her?" Situ Yaorao asked with a smile.

"do not know."

"Then there's no need to know. Cousin, just know not to mess with me." Situ Yaorao said calmly. Xiu'er nodded after hearing this, but a hint of fear rose in her heart. This cousin wasn't as easy to fool as she seemed.

As the two of them each harbored their own ulterior motives, the carriage slowly drove to Yaoguang Temple. Just as Situ Yaorao had said, outside Yaoguang Temple, peach blossoms were everywhere.

The only place with peach blossoms at this time is Yaoguang Temple.

After Situ Yaorao and the others got off the carriage, they began to feel reluctant to leave. Finally, Xiu'er said, "Cousin, it's rare for you to come to the temple. I want to go and pay my respects."

"Then let's go to Yaoguang Temple first." Situ Yaorao said.

Yu Sheng naturally had no objection, so the three of them entered Yaoguang Temple.

The temple was filled with incense. Xiu'er and the others went to the temple where the Bodhisattva was, and after burning incense, they knelt down and worshiped. Situ Yaorao didn't believe in Buddhism, but since she was here, she had to be sincere.

After kneeling, Situ Yaorao stood up first. Xiu'er was kneeling there, not knowing what to say. Seeing this, Situ Yaorao whispered, "Xiu'er, are you done?"

"Cousin, I want to stay here and worship for a while. Is that okay?" Xiu'er looked at Situ Yaorao expectantly. Situ Yaorao smiled when she heard this and said, "Since you are interested in worshipping the Bodhisattva, then you can worship for a while. The carriage is at the foot of the mountain. Let's go to see the peach blossoms first and wait for you to come find us."

"Thank you, cousin." Xiu'er said with a smile.

Situ Yaorao and Yu Sheng left.

"Why let her go?" Yu Sheng looked at Situ Yaorao in confusion. The woman named Xiu'er obviously had something to do.

"If she wants to stay there, then let her stay there. It won't do me any harm anyway."

"Did you believe what she said before?" Yu Sheng asked suspiciously.

"Do you think I'm a fool?" Situ Yaorao asked back. Yu Sheng understood immediately after hearing this. Situ Yaorao didn't believe Xiu'er. However, she didn't intend to expose Xiu'er.

"I really don't know what you're thinking."

"Yusheng, do you know? My Situ family is like a big cage. They are all planning something, and everyone has their own thoughts. Whether it is the Situ family or the Gu family, they all have shocking conspiracies. And I am their pawn. I kept this Xiu'er because I wanted to see what they were going to do. Before, I even thought about running away. But... my mother took good care of me, and I couldn't let her be sad. So I gave up the idea. And this restaurant is my backup plan. In my opinion, the people of the Situ family, whether it is the Gu family, are just digging their own graves. I don't want to end up with my mother and me being left with nothing. At least, I want to have conditions that can allow her to live a stable life, or even be no worse than the Situ family."

Situ Yaorao said.

"You are really thoughtful. But Situ, since you are going to marry the prince, he will naturally help you. How could he watch the Situ family and the Gu family get into trouble?" Yu Sheng comforted with a smile.

Situ Yaorao shook her head upon hearing this. "Yusheng, there are times when he can't help himself. How many of these high-ranking people can actually do what they want? I'm afraid that one day, even if he wants to help me save the Situ family, he won't be able to do it. Besides, I only have one request: that my mother and I live." Situ Yaorao said this. However, she had another concern that she didn't mention.

That is, if she lived, perhaps Tan Tai Wu Yue would risk everything for her, but what if she died? In her new life, Madam Situ had made her feel the happiness of being a child, so she naturally had to leave something for Madam Situ. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a betrayal of her original intention?

"Situ, I don't understand what's going on in your Situ family, but don't work too hard. Those people should take responsibility for their own mistakes. How can you be held responsible?" Yu Sheng frowned.

Situ Yaorao smiled when she heard this: "You make it sound so easy, but I'm afraid you can't help yourself."

"I think you're just too soft-hearted."

"Maybe. At least I can't watch everyone in the Situ family die. After all, my last name is Situ."

"Hard on the outside but soft on the inside, that's you. You know very well how the Situ family treats you." Yu Sheng sighed.

"Maybe, okay, let's not talk about it anymore. Let's go see the peach blossoms." Situ Yaorao walked into the peach blossom forest, then found the paper bag she had prepared before, and began to pick up the petals that had fallen on the ground and were not stepped on by anyone.

"What are you doing?" Yu Sheng was puzzled.

"Gather the ingredients. If you want to make peach blossom wine, you naturally have to pick peach petals." Situ Yaorao looked at Yu Sheng with a look that said, "Are you an idiot?" Yu Sheng twitched her lips and said, "Wouldn't it be better to pick them directly from the tree? The petals on the ground are so dirty."

"The petals on the tree are for viewing. It's not easy for flowers to bloom, and you picked them before they fall. Isn't that a tragedy? Besides, the fallen petals make peach blossom wine more delicious." Situ Yaorao continued to pick peach petals. Seeing her like this, Yu Sheng shook her head helplessly, but followed suit.