Looking across, seated were the parents of Legal Wife Jin Yuyu from the main branch. Although Jin Xufa was the Head of Jin Family, his aspirations lay elsewhere. Despite being someone who had hardly received any formal education, he had an inexplicable interest in inkstones. Even in such a tense and explosive moment as this, he was tightly clutching an inkstone, and that wasn’t enough; he watched it like a hawk, as if afraid it would grow legs and run away.
Next to him was his wife, Lady Hong, who also came from a distinguished family. Her posture and expression alone were enough to reveal that she was a woman of great refinement. However, at this moment, even a woman as cultivated as she could hardly maintain her composure.
Her daughter was being accused of plotting to murder her own grandmother and was kneeling on the ground. Lady Hong’s face was full of anxiety and helplessness, and what made it worse was that her husband was so unreliable, which made her feel like her hair was turning white.
"Mother, Yukyuk is your own flesh and blood; how could she possibly conspire with an outsider to harm you? You must believe in her," Lady Hong pleaded as she twisted her handkerchief nervously and stood up from the chair.
Seeing that Old Lady Jin only kept her eyes closed and said nothing, Lady Hong bit her lip and turned to her daughter, saying, "Yukyuk, say something."
Jin Yuyu looked calmly at her mother. She had never seen her mother so out of sorts before; she was clearly in a terrible state today.
Jin Yuyu felt sorry for her mother. Although she hadn’t intended to explain, for her mother’s sake she finally spoke up, "Grandmother, this matter was not my doing. Please believe me."
Lin Yuan shook her head silently upon hearing these words. Jin Yuyu was too indifferent; even her plea sounded so detached that it was unlikely Old Lady Jin would believe her.
And indeed, Old Lady Jin kept her eyes closed and remained silent, but the slightly rougher sound of her breathing indicated that she was very angry—extremely so.
The members from the second branch couldn’t help but snigger. Jin Xucai didn’t say much, but Lady Ruan covered the smile at the corner of her lips with a handkerchief, and then said earnestly to Jin Yuyu, "Yukyuk, it’s not terrible to make a mistake, but what’s terrible is trying to justify yourself after you’ve done wrong. You should quickly admit your mistake to your grandmother. She has always loved and doted on you; she surely won’t blame you. Besides, who speaks to their elders in such a way? You show no manners at all."
Jin Yuyu bit her lip and didn’t even glance askew; she couldn’t be bothered to look at Lady Ruan’s calculating face.
Jin Lingling knew Jin Yuyu very well—a better understanding than most—and seeing Jin Yuyu’s expression, she could tell that her sister looked down on their mother. She huffed coldly to herself, but her face showed extreme support.
"Mother, don’t talk about sister like that. With such an incident occurring, sister must also be suffering," she said.
After speaking, Jin Lingling gracefully stood up and knelt beside Jin Yuyu, then earnestly said to Old Lady Jin, who was still keeping her eyes closed and silent, "Grandmother, Lingling believes in my sister and in her filial piety toward you. She would never do such a thing. Grandmother, please don’t be angry anymore. If you hurt yourself because of your anger, Lingling will feel terrible too."
As she spoke, tears slowly welled up in Jin Lingling’s eyes before she turned to Jin Yuyu, who was also kneeling, and advised her kindly, "Sister, please soften your stance to grandmother. Look, grandmother is so angry her face has turned pale. Grandmother is not in good health; if her anger causes something serious to happen... then, then sister’s wrongdoing would be even greater."
Lin Yuan sneered silently. Jin Lingling certainly knew how to play her games. Compared to Jin Yuyu’s aloofness, her tears and concern would make Old Lady Jin feel she was more sensible and more considerate, while Jin Yuyu became even more estranged.