"At least you know your place, hmph!" Yunmeng scoffed, raising her head haughtily.
"Pfft!" Yunjing, standing to the side, couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Yunxi also covered her mouth, secretly amused.
Yunmeng looked at the two of them, completely confused.
Soon, she realized what was going on, and her face flushed bright red.
Yunmeng suddenly stood up, marched over to Duoduo, and raised her hand to strike her.
Yunxi stood up and immediately blocked Duoduo, grabbing Yunmeng's hand.
"Little Seven, you can't."
Yunmeng pulled her hand back with all her might. "Get out of my way! How dare she insult me, I must teach her a lesson today!"
The commotion between the three girls startled the adults who were talking nearby.
Madam Zhao saw Yunmeng's hand being held by Yunxi. She hurried over and pried Yunxi's hand away.
"Third Niece, how can you bully your seventh sister? You are the older sister!"
"Wah! Mother, they are all bullying me!"
"Mother, I want to go home! I don't want to stay here!"
Yunmeng threw herself into Madam Zhao's arms and began to cry loudly.
Scolded by Madam Zhao, Yunxi felt deeply wronged, tears welling up in her eyes.
Madam Lin walked over, pulled Yunxi close, and looked her up and down.
"What happened?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang reached out to Duoduo. Duoduo threw herself into the Princess Consort of Pingyang's arms and buried her head in her embrace.
Seeing her own mother, Yunxi's tears finally fell.
Seeing her sister cry, Yunjing immediately got angry.
"Seventh Sister was bullying Sister Duoduo. Third Sister tried to stop her, but Third Aunt scolded Third Sister."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang looked at Duoduo, who was snuggled silently in her arms, and her heart ached.
She had originally thought that since Duoduo didn't have any sisters, she would let the children of her sisters-in-law from her maiden home interact more with Duoduo.
Therefore, when the children had a conflict just now, she didn't stop them immediately.
Children, after all, always play and fight.
One second they are fighting and crying, and the next second they are as affectionate as biological sisters.
But she never expected that her third sister-in-law's child would actually bully Duoduo.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang stood up.
"Third Sister-in-law, since the child doesn't like it here, you should take her back."
Madam Zhao didn't expect the Princess Consort of Pingyang to actually ask them to leave.
"Princess Consort, it's just a little squabble between children. Your third sister-in-law will coax her for a bit and she'll be fine."
Hearing this, Yunmeng cried and pointed at Duoduo to complain.
"She called me an ugly monster! I don't want to play with her!"
"Sister Duoduo did no such thing, it was you who called her an ugly monster!" Yunjing argued back at Yunmeng.
"Yunjing, this is your seventh sister. How can you say that?" Madam Zhao felt very uncomfortable.
"Usually, Yunmeng loves playing with you all. She calls you 'sister' all day long. You can't take an outsider's side."
Yunmeng and Yunjing were both children of the Su family, while Duoduo was just an outsider bastard.
"Third Sister-in-law, what you said is wrong!" The Princess Consort of Pingyang's face darkened.
"Duoduo is also Yunjing's sister. How can you say she is taking an outsider's side when she is helping her own sister?"
"Could it be that in Third Sister-in-law's eyes, we are outsiders?"
Madam Zhao had been too angry just now and blurted it out without thinking.
Now, realizing she had misspoken, she looked a bit embarrassed.
"Princess Consort, that's not what I meant. What I meant was that they both have the surname Su..."
"Enough, Madam Zhao, shut up." Madam Lin, standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore.
A cold sneer curled the corners of the Princess Consort of Pingyang's lips.
"I understand what Third Sister-in-law means."
"They both have the surname Su, so we are the outsiders!"
"But, Third Sister-in-law seems to have forgotten, this is the Xiao Manor, not the Su Manor!"
Madam Lin glared fiercely at Madam Zhao, and then she bowed to the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
"Princess Consort, please don't hold it against her. She is just shallow and short-sighted."
"By the way, mother-in-law asked me to bring gifts for the child. Men, bring the chests in."
Seeing her eldest sister-in-law sweating from anxiety, the Princess Consort of Pingyang pursed her lips.
"Are you hurt?" she asked Duoduo softly.
Duoduo lifted her head from the Princess Consort of Pingyang's embrace and shook her head.
"Third Sister protected me, she didn't hit me."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang decided to let her third sister-in-law off for now and deal with it later.
Today was a big day. The arrival of her eldest and third sisters-in-law represented the attitude of her maiden family.
If she kicked her sister-in-law out right at the beginning, who knows how the other guests would gossip later.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang held Duoduo's hand. "Stay with Mother, don't run around."
Duoduo nodded and obediently held the Princess Consort of Pingyang's hand.
Servants carried two large chests and walked in.
Madam Lin stepped forward and personally lifted the lids.
"Princess Consort, these are the gifts mother-in-law prepared for the child. Come and take a look."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was very surprised to see two such large chests.
She led Duoduo over.
Inside the two half-human-tall chests, things were packed to the brim.
At the bottom were various clothes, skirts, shoes, and socks for spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
On top were various golden collars, small bracelets, hair ornaments, and jade pendants, totaling dozens of small boxes.
The gaps in the chests were also stuffed with all kinds of toys.
There were cloth tigers, bamboo whistles, cuju balls, and kites...
The Princess Consort of Pingyang and Duoduo stared at the chests, dumbfounded.
Madam Lin couldn't help but be amused by the identical expressions on the mother and daughter's faces.
"Mother-in-law said that these are gifts she has been saving up for the child for a long time."
"Originally, there was another set, but those were food and clothes for a baby boy."
"Mother-in-law cleared out a lot, and in the end, we only got these two chests."
"Oh right, mother-in-law also said that she has saved a dowry for Duoduo, and will send it over when she gets married."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang felt her eyes stinging intensely.
It was the first time she realized that her mother was looking forward to her having a child even more than she was.
These things, whether it was the tiger-head shoes or the bellybands, one look at the craftsmanship and she knew it was her mother's handiwork.
She could imagine her mother squinting her eyes, stitching things for her child, needle by needle.
It was all her unfilialness! The Princess Consort of Pingyang felt extremely sad.
Duoduo sensitively felt that the Princess Consort of Pingyang's mood was off.
She tightly held the Princess Consort of Pingyang's hand.
"Mother, are these gifts from Grandmother for me?" Duoduo shook the Princess Consort of Pingyang's hand.
Suppressing the sorrow in her heart, the Princess Consort of Pingyang nodded gently.
"Yes, these are all from your maternal grandmother, all for you."
Duoduo raised her head and looked at the Princess Consort of Pingyang.
"Then can I go see Grandmother? I want to kowtow to her and thank her!"
A look of pleasant surprise appeared on Madam Lin's face.
"Sister, mother-in-law is really looking forward to your return."
"If you can go back, mother-in-law's illness will definitely get better at once."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang hesitated a little.
Duoduo took out a jade Buddha's hand ornament from the chest.
"Mother, this is so pretty."
"Mother, didn't Grandmother say that was saved for me?" Yunmeng pointed at the jade Buddha's hand in Duoduo's hand.
