Chapter 12: Turning the Tables (Part 1)

In Lady Qin's chamber.

"Mother." Yuyan entered gracefully, dressed in a silk pipa-collar blouse adorned with silver embroidery of a hundred butterflies, and a flower-patterned skirt. Upon seeing Qin Shi engrossed in bookkeeping, she couldn't help but speak softly.

Qin Shi's thoughts were interrupted by her, causing her to place the account book on the table. Her tone softened as she said, "Wan'er, how come you have the time to come over?"

"Tired of playing the qin, let's go out for a stroll." Yuyan sat down beside her, looking at Qinshi with a smiling gaze. "Mother, you seem somewhat haggard these days. What has been troubling you?"

Qin Shi wanted to say something but then stopped. Immediately, she gave a signal to Lin Mama, who then instructed the servants to leave.

After seeing that everyone had left, Yu Wan thought for a moment and said, "Mother, are you busy taking care of Third Brother, who just returned?"

Speaking of Yu Li privately, Qin Shi's expression no longer retained its previous kindness and amiability. Instead, it was filled with disdain and disgust. She said, "What kind of respectable young master is he? You even call him 'Third Brother' without fearing to demean your own status! A low-born person like him should just stay in the countryside and behave. What's the point of coming back to cause trouble?"

Moreover, she said, "Ironically, Grandma still likes him. She calls him a good grandson, she's really confused!"

Yuan Han heard this and smiled. She responded in a coquettish tone, saying, "Mother, why bother being angry with him? He is a helpless and inexperienced country bumpkin. All you need to do is to employ a few tricks to make him fall out of favor in front of our grandmother."

"Oh?" Qin Shi showed a smile on her face. "Wan'er, you have always been clever. Do you have any good strategems?"

Yu Wan pressed her lips with a handkerchief, concealing a hint of a wicked smile on the corners of her mouth. "Doesn't he like to please and act cunning in front of his grandmother? Let Wang Mama go and coax and flatter him, send some food to his grandmother. If anything happens to his grandmother, won't he end up gaining nothing but trouble?"

Upon hearing these words, a calculating glint flashed in Qin Shi's eyes. Her smile grew noticeably sinister as she said, "You're right. Since he enjoys fawning over the old lady so much, let's make sure he goes all out!"

"When the time comes, if grandmother gets tired of him, won't he be left with no support, at the mercy of you, mother, to mold and squeeze as you please?" Yuran poured a cup of tea for Qin Shi and said, "Mother, the truth is that Yuli is just an insignificant servant. You have also tolerated Yuchi and Yuyan, haven't you? Why is it only him that you can't stand?"

Qin Shi took a sip of tea, forcefully pressed the teacup on the table, and revealed a sinister expression as she said, "You don't know, that vixen, Liu Siyan, looks like a seductive fox and thinks highly of herself. She spends her days reciting poetry, painting, and pretending to be refined. She is accustomed to looking down on others with arrogance, but in reality, she is just a prostitute! Unfortunately, your father is infatuated with her appearance. The moment she entered the household, she became the favored one, truly infuriating."

"What happened afterwards?" Yuyan asked, pressing for an answer.

"Afterwards, I planned to send that little slave girl Yuli away. The Liu family resented your father, so they grew distant. Your father was proud and arrogant, and he couldn't stand having a woman coldly face him every day. He turned his attention to other concubines. Once she fell out of favor, I had someone put medicine in her food. Since she always claimed to have a weak body, who would suspect anything if she fell ill? It didn't take long for her to meet her demise. Your father resented her for arguing with him, so he couldn't be bothered to pay any attention to her. He had a coffin bought and buried her casually."

Qin Shi spoke with an air of pride and then said to Yudan, "You see, men are like this. When you get married and become the main wife, you need to handle things skillfully. No matter how much a concubine is favored, she will never be able to replace you. By using some ingenuity, you can make her lose favor. Therefore, when you see a concubine being favored, never resent your husband. You should be tolerant and understanding. Whenever he gets bored, he will turn back to you and see that you are the main wife. That's the way for the main wife to survive. Do you understand?"

Yu Wan also smiled and said, "Thank you, mother, for your guidance. Wan'er understands now."

...

These days, Yu Li has been preparing to attend the family school. Because the Yu Mansion has many people, a family school has been established. Inside, the children who study are all of the same age. They are not only the children of the Yu Mansion, but also the children of relatives and friends of the Yu Mansion. The teacher is a famous scholar named Jiang Hechen. Jiang Hechen used to be an official in the imperial academy, but he was removed from office because he wrote poems satirizing political affairs, which irritated the emperor. Yu Zhangci admired his talent and invited him to come and teach at his home. Yu Xuan and Yu Zhang's eldest son, Yu Qing, was one of his first students. This Jiang Hechen is talented, but arrogant due to his talent. However, he is grateful for the kindness and acceptance shown by Yu Zhangci, so he is very dedicated to the education of his sons.

Originally, he could have just gone to the private school to study, but Jiang Hechen was afraid that he would be delayed by staying in the countryside. Therefore, he sent someone to bring him a few books for him to catch up on. Once he had read them more or less, he would go to Jiang Hechen's place for an assessment. If he passed, he would be able to join the other children in attending classes.

Yu Li took the book and glanced through it. However, they were all basic texts, such as the "Thousand Character Classic" and the "Three Character Classic". The most challenging ones were the "Analects of Confucius" and the "Mencius". When Yu Li got hold of them, they found it ridiculous – in their past life, they probably couldn't even recognize the entire "Thousand Character Classic". But in this life, the "Thousand Character Classic" and the "Analects of Confucius" couldn't defeat them. After all, in their past life, they had "crammed" for it. Even though there were some sentences in the "Analects of Confucius" that they didn't understand, they could still recite them perfectly, and they could even recite certain chapters fluently.

Therefore, he wasn't in a hurry to go, instead, he picked up the "Analects" and started reading it. He even had someone buy the "Analects Collected Interpretations" to cross-reference as he read, in order to fully comprehend the meaning of the "Analects".

On that day, he was studying under the window when Mama Wang brought a bowl of soup in and said, "..."

"Third Young Master, you're tired from reading. Have some soup and take a break before continuing."

Yuli glanced at her and then at the bowl of soup. Immediately, she lowered her head to continue reading: "I understand, you can leave it be. I'll drink it later."

Wang Mama is unreliable again. Yuli would never eat anything made by her alone. What if she gives him some slow-acting poison or something? He would have nowhere to cry if that happened.

Mama Wang's expression turned a little unsightly when she noticed that he didn't seem to care much. However, considering that Yuli was still the master, she forced a smile and said, "This soup is made from stewed winter melon bones. It's best to drink it while it's hot. If it cools down, it won't taste as good. Young Master San studies every day, so please don't harm your health. Drink it while it's hot!"

Yu Li furrowed her brows and stubbornly buried her head, ignoring her.

Mrs. Wang was about to say something, but Zhi Xue, who was grinding at the side, found it annoying. She spat out, "Mrs. Wang, you mean well, but the young master doesn't want to drink right now. Please don't trouble him anymore! From the way you look, if people knew, they would think that you, Mrs. Wang, want to be the master instead!"

In other words, it means that Wang Mama is presumptuous and wants to be on par with the mistress Qin Shi. Naturally, Wang Mama dare not do that. She forced a smile, rubbed her hands on the clothes, and said, "How could this humble servant dare? It's simply that I genuinely feel sorry for Young Master San."

After listening, Yuli couldn't help but praise Zhixue in her heart. She thought to herself, "Zhixue is indeed clever, she already knows how to speak so quickly."

However, Aunt Wang still stood there without leaving. After a while, she said, "Young Master San, there's something the old servant wants to mention. I'm not sure if I should or not."

Yu Li thought to herself, "What good words could you possibly have? It's probably better if you don't say anything." However, she still responded, "We are among our own people here, so if there is something you want to say, Mom, please go ahead."

Madam Wang was very pleased to hear him consider himself as one of them and said, "I heard that these past few days the Old Madam hasn't been able to sleep well at night, and even medicine doesn't seem to be helping. If Third Young Master can seize this opportunity and express his concern, the Old Madam will surely like him even more. Third Young Master, you have just recently arrived, forgive me for speaking bluntly, but you are not the Old Madam's biological child. If you don't win the Old Madam's favor, your days in the residence may be difficult!"

Upon hearing this, Yuli raised her head and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Oh? In that case, what does Mom think I should do?"

Mrs. Wang, upon seeing that he believed in her, anxiously said, "When I was cooking soup earlier, I thought that Third Young Master could cook a soup that focuses the mind and calms the spirit for Lady Dowager. Even if this soup has no effect, Lady Dowager would surely take notice of your filial piety and regard you differently."

"But I don't know how to cook soup..."

How could it be the young master who really cooked? Naturally, it was the old servant who cooked it and the young master brought it over. He can simply tell the old lady that he cooked it himself. Anyway, the young master has been staying in the countryside all this time, so it's not strange if he knows how to cook soup." Nanny Wang said the plan in one breath, with a sincere and loyal expression on her face.

If it weren't for Yuli's reincarnation, I would have truly been deceived by her expression.

In the past life, Yu Li once followed Wang Mama's suggestion and sent lilies to the old lady. The reason she gave was the same, claiming that lilies could calm and soothe the mind. However, who could have known that after the lilies were delivered to the old lady's room for only two days, she started experiencing headaches, dizziness, and even worse insomnia. As a result, when the doctor came and examined her, he concluded that the old lady's insomnia was caused by exposure to cold wind. Lilies have a cold nature, so using them as a treatment only made things worse.

Originally, Yuli was not favored by the elderly lady. After this clumsy incident, the elderly lady disliked him even more. She even scolded him in front of everyone, saying, "You foolish and clueless person, your mind is not set on the right path, you only think about flattering others."

When Yu Li thought of this, she let out a cold laugh in her heart, but she didn't show it on her face. She said, "If that's the case, will it really please my grandmother?"

"Just listen to me, there won't be any mistakes!" Wang mama continued to put on a show of loyalty.

Yu Li didn't want to brush off her "kindness" or betray her "loyalty," so she said, "Alright then, Aunt Wang, you go ahead and do it. It's almost time for dinner, I'll go to my grandmother's place. It just so happens that I can 'add some dishes' for her."

"Ah, alright then! Young master, please wait a moment, I will go to the small kitchen immediately," Wang Mama happily said and left.

Yu Li's smile vanished from his lips as he watched her leave. He turned to Zhi Xue and said, "Ah Xue, she's definitely up to some mischief again."

"Ah? What should we do then?" Zhixue furrowed her brows.

"Don't worry, immediately go to Zhu Shou Tang and casually hang around there. If you happen to encounter Hong Zhu, pull her in different directions and pretend to accidentally let slip. Complain to her and say that Wang Mama seems to have a special dislike towards me, but I trust her a lot. Today, I said a few words about Wang Mama because of the soup she made, and I ended up being reprimanded by myself."

Although Zhixue didn't understand why Yuli would do this, seeing the determined smile on his face, she also became excited and nodded enthusiastically, saying, "Mhm, I've remembered."