The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

After Sun agreed, the old lady said, "My Qiu family's daughter should be well-mannered, decisive and generous, so that people can't take their eyes off her. Lingxiu's actions today have caught everyone's attention and are quite good. However, she is still not bold enough. Sun, you should keep a close eye on her in the future."

Now that you've entered the ancestral hall, Lingxiu is your legitimate daughter. You should treat her the same way you treat Lingfeng and Lingrong, without showing favoritism or making yourself a laughingstock.

As for Lingyun, her performance today has brought shame upon the Qiu family. Since the founding of our Qiu family, such a thing has never happened before. This matter must not be tolerated. In addition to the punishments already imposed, from today onwards, we will hire a tutor to properly instruct her.”

"My daughter-in-law understands."

Although Sun was dissatisfied, she nodded sternly, not daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction. Her mother-in-law had never interfered in the affairs of the inner quarters for many years, but she was not completely ignorant. She could make some small moves, but she could not disobey her mother-in-law.

"Yes, I trust you with the affairs of the inner courtyard. The prosperity of the Qiu family is inseparable from the peace and tranquility of this inner courtyard. Madam Sun, you have created a peaceful and harmonious inner courtyard for Zhenzhou, which will ensure that Zhenzhou's career will be smooth sailing and without any worries."

The message was clear: I pretended not to see your previous little tricks, since this girl wasn't very useful back then. But things are different now. We absolutely have to establish a relationship with the Princess, and Lingfeng can't be harmed. We can't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains.

Madam Sun immediately lowered her eyes and said, "I know."

After giving her a reprimand, Old Madam Qiu was satisfied. She then looked at Jian Yue and said, "Lingxiu's performance today was commendable, but not perfect. From now on, Lingfeng will be in charge of her discipline. I am pleased to see that you sisters have such a good relationship."

Qiu Lingfeng quickly nodded: "Grandmother, rest assured, I will teach my sixth sister well and not disappoint you."

After saying this, Qiu Lingfeng lowered her head and smiled. Although her words just now were not entirely to her liking, they had allowed her to make a good impression on her grandmother and gain her grandmother's support, which was not bad.

Grandma Qiu was satisfied, and the ancestral hall matters began. First, the ancestors were worshipped, and then a long and tedious eulogy was recited. Only then was the name of Jian Yueqiu Lingxiu written on the Qiu family genealogy, next to Sun Shi, with the inscription "Sixth Miss of the main lineage".

Jian Yue stared coldly at that name, a mocking laugh rising in her heart.

By the time they finished their business, it was past lunchtime. The old lady was tired and went back to her courtyard. Qiu Zhenzhou had official business to attend to, so he gave her a few instructions and left.

Not wanting to see her newly born legitimate daughter, Madam Sun waved her hand and told her to go back to her own food. She then took Qiu Lingfeng and Qiu Lingrong back with her. The remaining second wife, Madam Zhang, and the fourth wife, Madam Liu, also left quickly after congratulating Jian Yue. Only Madam Jiang couldn't pull her daughter's arm no matter what she did.

She was extremely anxious: "Yun'er, please don't be stubborn! The old lady has spoken. If anything else happens, I won't be able to protect you."

Regardless of what her aunt said, Qiu Lingyun kept her eyes fixed on Jian Yue. Jian Yue calmly got up and, with Xiao Cui's help, slowly approached Qiu Lingyun, smiling gently as she said, "Fifth Sister, are you alright? Your face is so swollen; you should probably see a doctor."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Lingyun gritted her teeth and said, "Don't think that just because you've gotten such a great advantage today, I won't dare to deal with you. Just you wait, you little bitch, you won't have a good end."

Jian Yue smiled and feigned surprise, saying, "What are you saying, sister? This is the Qiu family's ancestral hall. Is it proper for you to make a lot of noise and hurl insults here? Are you perhaps preparing to go through that lesson again?"

Qiu Lingyun was startled. She looked left and right, and when she realized that no one else was around, she saw Jian Yue walk past her to Jiang Shi's side, bow to Jiang Shi, and say:

“This morning, Auntie sent over a gift. I was thinking that after today, having met so many aunties, I would return the gift to each of them. But Sister’s actions today have made me feel very sorry for Auntie. Please don’t blame me.”

Madam Jiang was also furious, but she couldn't speak as freely as Qiu Lingyun. She smiled and forced a smile, saying, "No need to be so polite. Now that the Sixth Miss is being raised by the First Madam, her status has naturally risen. I am just a concubine, so there's no need for a return gift. Consider this my congratulations to the Sixth Miss."

Jian Yue was immediately flattered and said, "How could I dare? How could I dare? Ling Xiu doesn't know the rules. If she makes a mistake in this matter of reciprocity, wouldn't that invite criticism? What if it implicates Father and Mother?"

Qiu Lingyun said angrily, "Pah! You're just a fox borrowing the tiger's power. Just wait until the First Madam sells you off! Then I'll watch you come back crying like a beggar."

"Lingyun".

Jiang scolded Qiu Lingyun, then smiled at Jian Yue and said, "Lingyun is stubborn and has made a fool of herself in front of Miss Liu. I will definitely discipline her strictly when we get back. Please forgive her for not holding a grudge, Miss Liu, out of sisterly affection."

Jian Yue pursed her lips and smiled, "Auntie, you're being too serious. How could I hold a grudge against my own sister? But sister, can you forgive me for that slap I accidentally delivered? Lingxiu really didn't mean it. If you hadn't misspoke first, I wouldn't have made such a big mistake and offended you in a moment of panic."

Mentioning the slap, Qiu Lingyun's eyes reddened again, and she stared intently at Jian Yue: "Don't be so smug. Don't think that just because you won today, you've won for sure. Those two legitimate daughters are not to be trifled with. Just wait to be devoured by them until there's no trace of your remains."

Jian Yue smiled and looked at Jiang Shi, saying, "Auntie, look at my sister, she's talking nonsense again. How could such a thing happen between us sisters? I don't care much, but if Mother heard what my sister said, not only would my sister be punished, but you, Auntie, would also be guilty. It wouldn't be like this now."

Jiang smiled awkwardly, her face pale, at a loss for what to do. She was born proud and aloof, and marrying Qiu Zhenzhou as a concubine was her bottom line. Over the years, for certain reasons, Qiu Zhenzhou had spoiled her, and the First Madam had not made things difficult for her, which allowed her to maintain her personality to this day. That is why Qiu Lingyun had been spoiled into the way she is now.

For more than a decade, they had lived in peace, but now Jian Yue had turned the tables on her, leaving her unable to swallow her anger, feeling suffocated and pale.

Seeing this, Qiu Lingyun turned around and stood in front of Jiang Shi, sneering at Jian Yue: "I will take responsibility for my own actions. Don't try to scare my aunt. If you have the guts, go and complain to the First Madam. I want to see how bold you are, so that they can know your hidden schemes."

Jian Yue felt wronged upon hearing this and looked at Jiang Shi, saying, "Auntie, you see, my sister's behavior has chilled my good intentions. In that case, I'll take my leave now to avoid causing my sister any more trouble or distress."

She made a move to leave, but was stopped by Jiang. Qiu Lingyun immediately said with dissatisfaction, "Why are you stopping her, Aunt?"

Jiang bypassed Qiu Lingyun and held Jian Yue tightly, preventing her from leaving. Then she turned back to Qiu Lingyun and scolded, "Shut up! Do you know what mistake you made just now? Insulting and disrespecting elders is even worse than what you just said. If you do it again, there will be no place for my daughter and me in the Qiu family. Lingyun, can you please give your aunt a break?"

After saying this, Madam Jiang seemed heartbroken. She grabbed Jian Yue's hand and pleaded, "Sixth Miss, I know Ling Yun has a bad temper and has many complaints about you, but please, for my sake, don't tell the First Madam about this, okay?"

Although Jiang was proud, she understood that if they fell into the hands of the First Madam again at this time, they would definitely suffer the consequences. It would be better to endure it for a while and wait for a chance to turn the tables later. However, Qiu Lingyun did not cooperate at all, which made Jiang so angry that she almost slapped her stupid daughter.

After Jiang finished pleading, Jian Yue said, flattered, "What are you saying, Aunt? How could I go to Mother to instigate things? I know that my sister is just trying to make me angry, so I will keep this matter to myself and will never tell anyone."

"Alright, then it'll be more for Miss Six."

After Jiang finished speaking, she walked to Qiu Lingyun's side and said coldly, "Aren't you coming with me? Fine, if you don't come, I won't care about you anymore."

Qiu Lingyun refused to leave in a huff, which angered Jiang Shi so much that she simply turned and left.

Qiu Lingyun was stunned, but then she saw Jian Yue approach her and whisper in her ear, "I know that my sister is jealous of my status as the eldest daughter, which is why she said that. But even so, what can you do? It's just that you don't have a face that can compare with the eldest young lady."

Qiu Lingyun stared at Jian Yue with wide eyes. Jian Yue smiled and continued, "Qiu Lingyun, not everyone can reach my position. With your stupid brain, why don't you think about what you have to do today? You actually became someone else's scapegoat. You are really stupid."

"you……"

"Qiu Lingyun, this is a warning: don't mess with me again, or I'll be lenient by killing you."

Her voice was gentle, yet every word was like a venomous snake, coiling around Qiu Lingyun, making her feel suffocated and her whole body ice-cold. She stared at Jian Yue with fear, only to see Jian Yue already smiling and backing away, saying as she walked towards her own courtyard, "In that case, I'll be leaving now. Sister, please take good care of yourself. It wouldn't be good if your face were really ruined."

Jian Yue turned and walked away, leaving Qiu Lingyun, whose entire body was filled with fear, staring intently at Jian Yue's departing figure, her face pale and bloodless.