Quick Transmigration: Survive to the End

The second master stubbornly refused to answer, but the third master stepped forward and softened his stance, saying, "Sister-in-law is right!"

Upon hearing this, the Second Master and his wife were instantly filled with hatred, their eyes turning red. Originally, this hatred was directed at the eldest son's family, but now it was all directed at the third son's family. Even Zhan Shu'er, who was sitting at the head of the table, gave Zhan Hui'er an unfriendly look, causing Zhan Hui'er to involuntarily shrink back, looking quite pitiful.

Yu Miaoqi didn't care whether they had truly deepened their grudges or were simply taking their anger out on others because they couldn't outmaneuver the eldest son's family. She looked directly at the old lady and said, "You've seen this farce, old lady. Even now, you still insist that Yinyin go to the literary gathering with them?"

"Eldest daughter-in-law," the old lady said earnestly, "many young ladies from various families will be attending this literary gathering. On the royal side, the Fourth Princess and several princesses will also be present. Yinyin has been in the capital for so long, but she has only stayed at home. Others don't even know that our family has another young lady. This is not a good thing for her."

“You love this child like your own daughter, so you should know that she is about fourteen or fifteen years old, the age for marriage. If you don’t go out and socialize more now, let others know her good qualities, then which lady will dare to propose marriage in the future?”

It has to be said that the old lady was more shrewd; with her first words, she directly hit Yu Miaoqi's weak spot.

Hearing this, Yin Yin breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she had already revealed her plans to Yu Miaoqi, and Zhan Zheng's investigation had also come out. Otherwise, Yu Miaoqi might have been persuaded by the old lady to attend this literary gathering that might be full of pitfalls.

"Thank you for your consideration, Madam, but there's no need for her to attend the literary gathering," Yu Miaoqi's decisive refusal this time truly surprised the old lady.

"Zheng'er's wedding is just around the corner. Isn't this occasion more formal than a literary gathering that only includes the younger generation?"

"As for marriage, there's even less to worry about. Compared to the capital, I prefer Yinyin to marry into Yingzhou. There are members of our Zhan family there, and my maternal family, the Yu family, are also there. No matter which family she marries into, I guarantee no one will dare to mistreat her in the slightest."

While this could be considered an option, Yin Yin knew that Yu Miaoqi was only saying it to shut the old lady up and, incidentally, to warn the other wives not to try and control her marriage. Whether or not to follow this advice ultimately depended on fate.

However, the old lady was not satisfied with this. Not only her, but also Old Master Zhan, who had not appeared when the main house was in chaos, suddenly came in from outside.

"What day is it today? Why are you all here?"

Everyone stood up and greeted him.

The old man looked around and finally picked out the second wife: "What's wrong with the second son's wife's face? Second son, how could you treat your wife like this? How can she go out like this?"

Just as the second master and his wife were about to cry foul, the old master had no intention of listening to them. Instead, he called out the third master: "Third son, tell me what happened."

The third master then said, "It was Shu'er who invited her niece Yinyin to attend the literary gathering, but she refused. So she came back and made a fuss, which angered my second sister-in-law and made Yinyin say some things she shouldn't have. My second brother was sitting there without stopping her, so my eldest sister-in-law disciplined her."

When it comes to eloquence, it has to be the Third Master. Yin Yin wouldn't be convinced by anyone else.

However, from these few sentences, Yin Yin could see that the reason why the Third Master was able to surpass the Fifth Branch and be elevated to a position on par with the Second Branch by the Old Master, thus incurring so much hatred from the Second Branch, was entirely due to his ability to assess the situation, especially his ability to closely follow the wishes of Old Master Zhan.

Yinyin silently raised the risk level for the Third Master in her mind.

It wasn't that Yin Yin was afraid of him; in terms of status, the Third Master was definitely not as good as the First and Second wives.

Moreover, given the Second Master's personality, his behavior is predictable and his weaknesses are easily exploited.

The Third Master is even willing to sacrifice his own dignity. Although he seems to listen to Old Master Zhan now, there is no doubt that such an uncontrollable person might do something amazing in the future.

After all, if this kind of person is so ruthless to themselves, they will naturally be even more ruthless to others.

The second master was furious and immediately cursed, "Third brother, you shameless woman!"

But Old Master Zhan said, "So that's how it is."

"Father!" The second master's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.

Old Master Zhan pretended not to see it and turned to Yu Miaoqi and the others. Before he could speak, he noticed that the three women from the eldest son's family were looking at him with some wariness and defensiveness. He changed the subject he was about to say: "It's just a literary gathering. Yinyin can go if she wants to, or not if she doesn't want to."

He then looked at the second wife and said, "It was just a small matter, but it has escalated to this point. Is it wrong for your sister-in-law to reprimand you? And what about Shu'er?"

Zhan Shuer held the old lady's hand and listened with considerable unease.

"Among the sisters at home, you are the eldest. Not only can you not mediate the relationship between your sisters, but you also lead the bullying of your younger sisters. Do you think this is reasonable?"

"Alright," the old lady couldn't help but say, "Shu'er already knows she was wrong. Besides, Shu'er and Hui'er went together. Just now, the third son's wife was also very aggressive towards Yin Yin. How can you only listen to the third son's side of the story and blame the second son and the others?"

When the Third Madam saw Old Master Zhan glancing in their direction, she immediately defended herself, saying, "I'm innocent! When I arrived just now, I overheard Shu'er telling the Old Madam that my niece Yin Yin had betrayed their kindness. I believed her and, while Second Sister-in-law was speaking, I said a few words in support of Shu'er and the others."

“If the daughter-in-law is aggressive or says something unpleasant, does the eldest sister-in-law only discipline the second sister-in-law and not the daughter-in-law? The daughter-in-law is also the eldest sister-in-law’s sister-in-law!”

The eldest son and his mother sat to the side, quite amazed. The old patriarch openly favored the third branch of the family, and the third couple were both incredibly eloquent, knowing exactly how to distance themselves from the situation.

After dinner, when they returned to Dongchang Courtyard, the family closed the door and talked. Yu Miaoqi seemed to suddenly feel tired, leaning against the large bolster, and pointed at Yinyin: "You child, you are usually so polite, but today you dared to talk back to the old lady."

"I am my mother's daughter, so my temperament in the capital should naturally be like hers, so that others won't dare to bully me, right?"

As she spoke, Yinyin leaned closer and asked, "Mom, that slap you gave me today was really well done. Are you feeling a little better now?"