The Poisonous Consort, the Regent's Beloved

"You unfilial daughter, kneel down!" As soon as he entered the courtyard, Su Chengde glared at Su Fuying with eyes that looked like he wanted to devour her, all traces of the joy he had shown when he first saw her gone.

After saying this, seeing that the Crown Prince was still standing to the side, he immediately bowed to him obsequiously and said, "Your Highness, I have failed to discipline you properly, please forgive my shortcomings."

"It's alright. I have no intention of interfering in Minister Su's family affairs." After saying that, the Crown Prince left, his gaze lingering somewhat reluctantly on Su Fuying. He had thought that she had grown up in the countryside for so many years and was unsightly, but who knew she was such a beauty? He could reconsider the marriage.

Hearing this, Su Chengde breathed a sigh of relief, as long as the emperor didn't accuse him of lax discipline.

Turning his head, he found Su Fuying still standing there, ignoring his words. A surge of anger rushed to his head, and he felt his dignity had been violated.

"Guards, bring the family punishment."

Su Fuying raised an eyebrow. See? This is his father. Even if he has some fatherly affection for her, it's worthless in his own self-interest.

"Chengde, that's enough."

The old lady had a serious expression, and her eyes were full of disappointment.

When the old lady spoke, the servants stood frozen in place, unsure whether to go or not.

Seeing that the old lady was still speaking up for Su Fuying, Liu Hui's voice became somewhat anxious: "Mother, you are too biased towards her. She should accept the punishment for her mistake."

The old lady's eyes darkened, and the authority she had held for over a decade as the mistress of the house suddenly radiated. Her somewhat cloudy eyes looked at Liu Hui and said, "As the mother of these children, you have them both, yet you cannot treat them equally. All these years, you have raised Wan'er by your side, but she has not learned even a fraction of Ying'er's qualities. This is your mother's dereliction of duty."

"Look at your precious daughter now. Other girls her age are busy going to school, but what does she do? She's always following His Highness the Crown Prince around. Where is her dignity now?"

"Ying'er has suffered so much in the manor all these years, all because of your dereliction of duty as her mother. The servants are causing trouble under your control, yet you are completely unaware. Was it intentional or unintentional?"

Liu Hui blushed at what the old lady said and was about to retort when she heard the old lady's next sentence, and she felt like the sky was about to fall.

“You, the mistress of the house, cannot even discipline your daughter. Starting tomorrow, Su Wan’er will copy the ‘Women’s Code’ three times a day to reflect on your actions.”

“Since you can’t properly manage the servants, you should give up this position. Ying’er will be of marriageable age in three months. She will need to learn how to manage these things after she marries into her husband’s family. It’s better to practice now.”

As the sound faded, the only sound in the courtyard was the old lady's heavy breathing. Su Fuying was the first to recover from the shock and quickly pressed the old lady's acupoints with her hands, which finally calmed her down.

"What?" Liu Hui suddenly raised her voice, utterly incredulous that the old lady would make such a decision.

She had been married to Su Chengde for over thirty years and managed all the affairs of the household. Now, she was being asked to relinquish her power. How could she possibly agree to that?

“Mother, I disagree. How can an unmarried girl take away your power to manage the household?”

The old lady didn't say a word, but the firmness in her expression showed her attitude.

Seeing that the old woman was unmoved, Liu Hui could only wipe away her tears and look to Su Chengde for help, "Master, please tell Mother that after all these years, if I hand over the power to manage the household, who knows what the ladies in the capital will say about me behind my back."

Su Chengde initially thought the old lady's words made a lot of sense. Su Wan'er's grades were not good enough to get her into school, so he tried every means to find someone to send her there. Who knew that she didn't like to study and spent all her time hanging around the Crown Prince.

However, if she could really become the Crown Princess, it would be entirely beneficial to him, so he would turn a blind eye.

But seeing Liu Hui's aggrieved face, a pang of heartache rose in his heart, and his previous rationality shattered. After thinking for a moment, he respectfully said to the old lady, "Mother, Hui'er has managed this family for so many years. Even if she has not made any great contributions, she has certainly worked hard. It is somewhat unreasonable to take away her power to manage the family in this way."

The old lady glanced coldly at Liu Hui and said calmly, "Her hardship? I may be old, but I'm not dead. Do you really think I don't know what she's done all these years?"

Liu Hui's heart sank. What did this old hag know? It seemed she had to speed things up.

Su Chengde immediately thought of what had just happened and felt guilty. His gaze towards Su Fuying softened considerably, and after a moment of hesitation, he said nothing.

Su Wan'er, who was already sweating profusely, couldn't say a word, mainly because she felt a pair of cold eyes staring at her.

Seeing that everyone had finally dispersed, she breathed a sigh of relief. But when she looked up, she was suddenly met with a pair of dark eyes. The murderous intent in those eyes made her freeze, and a chill ran up from the soles of her feet, making her feel cold all over.

She... she wanted to kill her.

The thought suddenly popped into her head, sending a chill down Su Wan'er's spine.

"Mother, Mother." Seeing Liu Hui standing there silently with a gloomy face, the grievances in her heart burst out at once, and she cried and threw herself into Liu Hui's arms.

Looking at the person in her arms, Liu Hui felt a sense of disappointment and frustration. If she had even half the intelligence of Su Fuying, she wouldn't be so isolated and helpless today, at the mercy of others.

But thinking of the daughter she had carried for ten months and given birth to with great difficulty, she couldn't bear to blame her and gently comforted the person in her arms.

"Ying'er, have you met Wan'er before?"

Back at the old lady's Shou'an Residence, as soon as the two sat down, the old lady looked at Su Fuying with some concern. Su Wan'er, that brainless girl, had she secretly gone to the estate to bully Ying'er?

She wasn't surprised by the old lady's question, after all, the old lady had just been beside her, and the old lady must have been the first to notice the coldness emanating from her.

She suddenly saw someone who looked exactly like her, and the hatred in her heart almost overwhelmed her, but in the end, reason prevailed over everything.

Further observation revealed that Su Wan'er was timid, cowardly, and lacked any common sense; she was simply incomparable to that person.

Thinking of this, she reached out and brewed a cup of tea for the old lady, saying in a gentle voice, "No, it's just that he looks somewhat similar to the servants who used to bully me."

Hearing that even servants could bully Su Fuying at will, the old lady felt another pang of heartache. "It's all my fault for being useless and not keeping you by my side. Alas."

“Grandma, I don’t blame you. From the age of three, I felt that my mother didn’t like me. It was Grandma who took me in and cared for me. Otherwise, I might have suffered for several more years.”

Hearing Su Fuying's words, the old lady suddenly thought of what happened more than ten years ago, and felt even more guilty. She put the bracelet on the girl's fair wrist.

Su Fuying did not refuse; who doesn't like money?

"grandmother."

"The little girl wants to whisper something to her grandmother."

Seeing Su Fuying's cunning eyes, she knew he was definitely in her heart. She waved her hand and dismissed all the maids and servants, except for an old nanny standing by the old lady's side.

Following Su Fuying's gaze, a hint of amusement appeared in his cloudy eyes. "This is my dowry maid, who has been with me for decades. Can't she even listen to me?"

"Grandma~"

Su Fuying blushed shyly, and the old lady immediately understood, teasingly saying, "My little girl has grown up. Xiaoqin, you can go down now."

The old nanny, named Zhang Qin, had been with the old lady for decades. When she heard the old lady tell her to leave, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she respectfully withdrew.