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

Madam Jiang's hand suddenly gripped the armrest of the armchair tightly.

The shrewdness that had been cultivated in the inner quarters for forty years suddenly developed a huge crack. Guilt and embarrassment surged like uncontrollable volcanic lava, overflowing from the crater.

Why would someone say something like that for no reason?

What did she find out?

Do not!

impossible!

How could she know about things from her youth, especially since she was far from the capital?

Jiang Ruining, who is unwilling to admit that she is ill-mannered and always likes to snatch things, is just like her when she was a child. But if she doesn't admit it, how can she convince herself that her deliberate ignoring and suppressing for so many years is reasonable?

"you……"

Jiang Ruining spoke first: "I feel that my clear-headed appearance, way of handling things, kindness, and tolerance are all like those of the Jiang family, and I have nothing in common with you, Mother!"

"As for their tendency to compete... they're probably like some people in my maternal grandparents' family!"

Madam Jiang couldn't suppress the rising suspicion and guilt within her.

She knows!

She must know something!

Otherwise, he wouldn't have said something so obviously malicious!

She forced a voice, which was hoarse beyond recognition: "Why are you bringing up all this nonsense?"

Jiang Ruining let her gaze out guiltily, and stared back at her with a gaze so indifferent it seemed to see right through her.

Who says that making Madam Jiang regret it means you have to continue loving her?

Such a selfish, malicious, and mean-spirited person doesn't deserve to be called a human being!

Regret is far from enough! She wants Madam Jiang to spend the rest of her life begging for the original owner's forgiveness, enduring the accusations of the Jiang family elders, and the contempt of outsiders!

She saw the original owner as her selfish and erroneous younger self, thinking that by mentally torturing the original owner, she could achieve what she considered redemption and live a peaceful life as the wife of a high-ranking official, enjoying her honor and wealth. What a dream!

Jiang Ruining smiled and asked her in return, "It's just casual conversation between mother and daughter, what could possibly be the reason? Or is it that Mother has some secret that I can't know?"

Madam Jiang's open mouth was like a rotten mortise and tenon joint, stuck and misaligned, unable to open or close.

Jiang Ruining sighed deeply, "It's really disheartening. My maternal grandparents all seem so kind and tolerant, yet they secretly harbor such a terrible flaw, which they even passed down to me across generations!"

"Next time I see my grandparents, I'll make them make me pay for it!"

Madam Jiang's lips trembled, the trembling no longer carrying anger or displeasure, but only the embarrassment of being seen through: "What right do you have to question your elders!"

Faced with her sharp words, Jiang Ruining smiled and said, "My maternal grandparents and uncles and aunts are not like you, unable to take a joke, and they would never take my joke as an interrogation."

She clicked her tongue softly.

With an tone of agreement tinged with a hint of disdain, she said, "No wonder the elders on my maternal grandparents' side always said that my mother had a bad temper, was petty, and couldn't compare to my aunt in anything!"

These words struck Madam Jiang's heart like a sharp arrow, causing her excruciating pain.

It can't compare!

Nothing can compare!

Because of the forced marriage, which caused her elder sister to be sent to the border, Madam Jiang was constantly tormented by guilt. However, whenever she heard comparisons and heard that she was considered inferior to her elder sister in the eyes of others, she would still feel a pang of pain in her heart.

She worked so hard to learn music, chess, calligraphy, painting, housekeeping, and even how to be polite and respectful, striving to do her best in everything. Over the years, she has devoted all her energy to raising Chu Jin!

Why did I only get the comment, "You're not as good as your older sister in anything"?

Why?

Why does no one see her excellence?

Madam Jiang absolutely loved seeing her in such an embarrassing and painful state!

The thrill of revenge made her feel completely refreshed.

She rose gracefully.

"Mother, take a break! Stop trying to mentally torture me. I won't give you that chance again."

Madam Jiang abruptly snapped out of her resentment and looked at Jiang Ruining with a puzzled expression.

Meeting those cold, all-seeing eyes, she felt as if she had suddenly fallen from the clouds, the weightlessness making her heart clench, her breath catch in her throat, and all the strength in her body seemed to be drained away in an instant.

Degradation, humiliation, reprimands... all the attack tactics that were once so familiar to me were rendered useless at this moment.

Jiang Ruining seemed oblivious to the rapidly cracking expression on her face and continued, "Mother thinks that by driving me crazy, by making me target and scheme against Chu Jin at every turn, and ruining my reputation, you can justifiably tell others: 'Look! She doesn't deserve my attention; Chu Jin is the one who does.'"

"With Chu Jin's talent and beauty, if you were to properly promote and pamper her, she could easily gain a foothold in aristocratic circles. But Mother, this is the capital, a city teeming with intelligent people. How could you not see that you have repeatedly and deliberately belittled and suppressed me in public, and intentionally coerced me?"

"Those who praise Chu Jin to your face don't truly respect a woman who stands out by stepping on her cousin. Is your favor truly just a matter of genuine affection?"

"My daughter might not think so... Ah!"

The last sound, tinged with a mocking laugh, was soft and slightly upturned, yet sharp enough to pierce through all pretense.

Madam Jiang was trembling all over.

The secret deep within her heart, a secret she herself had never discovered, or rather, a secret she dared not face, was suddenly torn away from its concealment without warning, and laid bare to the air.

They wanted to cover it up.

I want to die.

But he couldn't make a sound at all, and his vision kept going black.

Jiang Ruining stood up and curtsied.

She turned around gently and calmly, amidst Madam Jiang's astonished gaze.

He opened the door and left.

As her skirt swept across the threshold, the gold thread embroidery shimmered with a sharp light, just like her life—facing the sun, it would only get better and better!

"Mother, please don't faint! You know how awful I am. If word gets out that I made you faint, I'll go crazy!"

Madam Jiang wanted to call out to her and question her, but she couldn't make a sound. She collapsed against the armrest, panting heavily, her eyes glazed over!

Jiang Ruining went out.

They locked eyes.

Chu Jin was certain once again that her cousin had completely left the past behind. Her indifference gave her the upper hand in this twisted mother-daughter relationship, and she no longer cried or became hysterical.

"Ningning..."

Jiang Ruining smiled and said, "I'm fine, and she'll be fine too. This is a matter between her and me, and it has nothing to do with you. If she's willing to pamper you, then accept it. Nothing is more important than living well."

"Go back! Let your mother calm down by herself for a while. She's had a long and eventful day; she should go back and get some rest."

Chu Jin nodded.

indeed.

She can't go in now.

Otherwise, her aunt would think she had suffered a great injustice. But today, she felt no injustice. On the contrary, she understood Ningning's previous emotions even more: "Okay, you should go back and rest some more."

As Madam Jiang's confidants watched the two leave, and recalling the calm sarcasm Jiang Ruining had just heard and Madam Jiang's exasperation, they were all shocked.

The emotions and postures of the two were completely reversed from what they had been before.

"Young lady...how dare you!"

Granny Song coldly rebuked, "How dare you! How dare you discuss your master like this?"

The two maids lowered their heads, not daring to speak again.

At first, she was worried about Jiang Ruining's "stubbornness," but after hearing more, she began to worry about the lady.

Because she knew better than anyone else that the eldest daughter's jealousy and struggle back then had shown the lady a reflection of herself in her youth, constantly fighting with her elder sister and causing her sister's death in the massacre at the border. Regret and pain led her to choose to take revenge on her ignorant self from back then.

The eldest daughter was the "Madam" back then.

Little did anyone know that the secret they had been so tightly guarded had been discovered by the young lady at some point.

She denied having any romantic feelings for the lady, which was actually a powerful rebuttal to her: You have not reflected on the mistakes you made when you were young. You killed your elder sister and now you are harming another innocent child. You are incorrigible!

This is completely contrary to what the lady wanted to achieve. Such a heavy blow will either make the lady realize the truth or... drive her to madness, and she will not stop until she has completely killed the young lady!

What if, Madam…

What should we do?!