She accidentally flirted with the villain and was fiercely criticized as the regent for forcibly mar

A group of people, talking nonsense and laughing, walked further and further away.

Even if Chu Jin was slow to realize what was going on, she knew what had happened inside.

Wait until the beggar is far away.

She asked suspiciously, "Ningning?"

Jiang Ruining's voice lost its composure and trembled violently: "Ruan Zhenzhen and Zhao Shuyun set up a trap to kidnap me and dump me here. You already know why they did it."

Chu Jin was taken aback.

Jiang Ruining looked at her and said, word by word, "You're very smart. You should have been able to sense that Ruan Zhenzhen was deliberately stalling for time by talking to you today. Zhao Shuyun lied to me, saying that you were being bullied and harassed. She tricked me into going to an empty room and tried to knock me unconscious and force-feed me aphrodisiacs..."

"Don't say it!" Chu Jin found her voice so hoarse she could barely utter a sound. "Ningning, don't say it..."

Jiang Ruining took a deep breath and continued, "I used to target you not only because Madam Jiang was mean and suppressed me while flattering you, but also because your confidantes and good friends have mocked, targeted, and schemed against me countless times behind your back."

"What have I ever done to offend them that I deserved such targeting and bullying? I thought you were behind it all, so I hated you even more. How could you take my mother away, steal my happiness, and drag me into this mess, only to hurt me like that again?"

"Chu Jin, what...what did I do to wrong you that you would do this to me?"

Chu Jin's heart almost turned upside down.

She really didn't know anything, but at this moment she finally understood why Jiang Ruining hated her so much!

"I never asked them to do that, and they never mentioned it to me. Ningning, believe me, I admit I did consider playing along, but I never thought... I really never intended to do this to you!"

Jiang Ruining swallowed the pain brought by the original owner's memories, and with all her strength, she leaned wearily against the wall: "I'm telling you all this today to tell you that my distortion, my targeting and scheming, were never without reason."

"Now I've seen through it all, and I don't want to do any more crazy, pointless things for people who aren't worth it. Please tell your friends that I've never hurt them, and please don't try to hurt me anymore."

"Ruan Zhenzhen... she is your friend. I'm letting her go today as my apology for what happened before. But if she goes crazy again and tries to scheme against me, I won't show any mercy."

Chu Jin's voice was filled with guilt and gratitude. These two extreme emotions tore at her heart, leaving her at a loss. Finally, she hugged her tightly and said, "I know. I will definitely make things clear to them and make sure that this never happens again."

"Let's get along well from now on, and I'll make it up to you."

Compensation?

Standing in the dappled sunlight of a sunny summer day, gazing at the vast sky, Jiang Ruining felt a chill creeping over her.

How can we make up for what the original owner suffered?

He slowly exhaled the stale air from his chest: Jiang Ruining, did you see that? I've avenged you, and this is just the first step!

……

By the time we returned home, the sun had already set.

Clouds of varying shades—gold, orange, and ochre—gradually intertwine on the horizon, flowing with rich, vibrant colors as if they were burning through the sky.

It was so beautiful that it evoked a strange sense of melancholy.

The carriage entered directly through the side gate and stopped again at the hanging flower gate where it had left in the morning.

"Miss, young lady, we've arrived."

The two lifted the carriage curtain and got out.

Before she could even get her footing, Song, the old nanny beside Madam Jiang, stepped forward, curtsied to the two of them, and then looked at Jiang Ruining: "Eldest Miss, Madam requests your presence."

Chu Jin gently embraced her: "I'll stay with you."

Jiang Ruining shook her head: "Aside from when she's going to scold me, when have you ever seen her willing to see me alone? Today I won the championship and stole your thunder, the news must have already come back, and she's going to call me in to scold me. If you go, it will affect her performance."

Chu Jin: "..."

Granny Song: "..." No one knows a mother better than her daughter!

Mingjing Courtyard.

Jiang Ruining had just arrived at the door.

Granny Song stopped her.

I went ahead of myself.

The hem of her dress fluttered, catching the eye of the person who had just stepped into the main room, when a teacup came crashing down on them.

Jiang Ruining felt a shiver run through her body, and a tightness gripped her heart—a pain etched deep into the original owner's bones.

A deep sense of helplessness flashed in Granny Song's eyes.

There was heartache in her eyes as she looked at the little girl; after all, she was a child who had grown up in her arms.

How many times has she stayed up all night to comfort and soothe the little girl when she was sick, just like her own flesh and blood? She also witnessed the little girl being abandoned, oppressed, and humiliated, yet she was powerless to do anything about it. How could she not feel heartbroken?

She whispered a word of advice: "Ning-jie, don't argue with Madam. If Madam gets angry, you'll be the one who suffers."

Jiang Ruining knew that Granny Song genuinely cared for her and was one of the few people in the mansion who had always shown her compassion, so she still obediently nodded and thanked her.

Recognizing her kindness doesn't mean you'll do it.

When the original owner listened to advice and went along with Madam Jiang, what did he gain?

Only intensified and harsh suppression.

She's not the original owner of this body, she doesn't need Madam Jiang's love, so why should she put up with her temper?

"Get in here now!"

Granny Song escorted her into the main room, hesitated for a moment as if she wanted to say a few words of advice, but knowing Madam Jiang's temperament well, she ultimately said nothing and left.

Jiang Ruining curtsied: "Mother, what brings you here?"

Madam Jiang stared coldly at her with a stern face: "Did I ask you to sit down?"

Jiang Ruining said in a gentle voice, "I'm tired."

Madam Jiang slammed her palm heavily on the side table, the bracelets cascading from her wrist jingling: "You kneel down and listen to my instructions!"

"I'm still recovering from a serious illness, I can't kneel." Jiang Ruining refused, not sharply or impulsively, but it only fueled Madam Jiang's anger.

"Look at the state you're in! Don't you have any semblance of a refined young lady?"

Jiang Ruining looked at her, her smile perfectly radiant: "After all, I was born of a mother but raised without one! It's already good enough that I didn't go out and commit murder and arson. Mother, don't be too harsh on me."

Madam Jiang was taken aback, and then flew into a rage!

His hand, pointing at her, trembled uncontrollably. The displeasure in his eyes gradually transformed into deep disgust amidst the thunder, as if the person before him was not his own daughter, but a heinous demon: "You! How dare you be so disobedient, cursing me!"

"Born of a mother but raised by one" is a harsh way for others to criticize those ill-mannered people!

She was alive and well, and she felt she hadn't wronged Jiang Ruining in any way. How could she not be angry at being cursed by Jiang Ruining like this!

A glint of light shone through Jiang Ruining's smiling eyes, cold and sharp, like moonlight after a snowfall: "Mother, that's a strange thing to say. All these years, I've been raised with the Jiang family's money. Aside from robbing me of my personal belongings, you haven't given me a single copper coin!"

"And who taught me?"

She spread her hands.

"No!"

"Isn't that just like what those old acquaintances outside say? Born of a mother, but not raised by one? How is that disobedience? How is that a curse?"

Madam Jiang's anger intensified after being rebuffed.

There are also countless grievances to be told.

Those outsiders know nothing, they don't know her pain, they don't know her sorrow, so what right do they have to judge her like that! What right do they have to say such things about her!

Seeing Madam Jiang's emotional breakdown, Jiang Ruining smiled with satisfaction: "I'm tired. If Mother has nothing else to say, I won't bother you any longer."

"Outrageous! This is utterly outrageous!" Madam Jiang slammed her hand on the table with a deafening roar. "Who gave you permission to leave without my permission? Do you even respect me as your mother?!"

Jiang Ruining remained unmoved, gently lifting her eyelids: "Otherwise, what would Mother think of me? Why am I not making a fuss?"

Why?

Naturally, it's because he no longer cares about that person!

Madam Jiang stared intently into her eyes.

There wasn't a single trace of emotional fluctuation. The unbearable pain, sorrow, pleading, and frustration after being unable to understand all seemed to be abnormal circumstances that had never appeared in this person!

Her chest felt completely blocked by a damp wad of cotton. She gasped for breath, but the more she tried to breathe, the more suffocated she felt, as if she were about to suffocate.

A sharp, bitter taste rose from her blood, burning her heart. Along with it came an indescribable panic and anger, as if something was slipping out of her control.

"You go kneel in the ancestral hall! You are not allowed to get up, and you are not allowed to come out, without my permission!"