Chapter 225 - 224: Both Sides Perfected (Monthly Votes 470+)
Jin Rui chuckled, her phoenix eyes glancing over Mrs. Xue Si, saying, "Or what? You want me to openly and secretly vie with Jin Ling for supremacy?"
"But..." Mrs. Xue Si hesitated, then opened her mouth, "But you can’t let her comfortably press you down!"
"Ha..." Jin Rui laughed, curling her lips in a mocking way, "How is she pressing me down? I’m the right-hand woman of the young lady, and even if you do your utmost in the manor, you’ll only be second class in Madam’s courtyard."
Mrs. Xue Si’s face darkened. She raised her hand intending to strike Jin Rui across the face.
Jin Rui didn’t dodge, but Mrs. Xue Si refrained at the last moment, instead pinching Jin Rui several times on her waist and hips, places not easily seen.
Jin Rui had been used to scoldings since childhood and knew that the more she evaded, the more energized her mother became.
After venting, Mrs. Xue Si calmed down, glared at Jin Rui while panting, and said, "You’re capable! Good with words, yet why don’t you try to curry some favors from the young lady?"
"The silver I give you, isn’t that from the young lady’s bestowal?" Jin Rui waved her hand, saying, "Don’t worry about it, I have my ways."
Mrs. Xue Si wasn’t easy to fool. She wouldn’t let Jin Rui leave unless she explained clearly.
Jin Rui stomped her foot, lowering her voice, "Why don’t you think about it, once Jin Ling is married off, I’ll be the only one left in the young lady’s room, and anyone moved in to serve will have to listen to me anyway.
Jin Ling’s husband works by the side of the Young Master, so she can no longer become the housekeeper by the young lady’s side. Other than coming to chat with the young lady, she has no role in the room’s matters.
The young lady cherishes her, wants her to marry well, and that man is good, so once Jin Ling is married, her mother and brother won’t have any worries.
If this succeeds, it’s good for me, and good for her. Everyone gets what they need, isn’t solving it happily the best approach rather than going against her?
If I do as you say and cause her trouble at every turn, by then hurting the enemy a thousand, yet losing eight hundred myself, would I even be able to serve the young lady anymore!"
Mrs. Xue Si opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn’t find the words.
Jin Rui continued, "Don’t you want me to stand out in front of my young lady? The repression and competition are exactly what would make people laugh at her. Dad kept saying to besiege Wei to rescue Zhao, the situation can be resolved with a detour, but you insist on wielding a cleaver to hack and kill recklessly."
Mrs. Xue Si took a sharp breath, clearly not liking what she heard, "Your dad has that clay-like personality, being pushed and molded by others, do you really think I like to raise a cleaver? Without it, would your dad accomplish anything?"
She said this, but Mrs. Xue Si did find Jin Rui’s solution effective and leaned in, "Sister Rui, can it really work? Do you really understand what your dad meant by besiege what to save what?"
Jin Rui gave a cold smile, glancing at Xue Ping’er who was sunning clothes, then at Mrs. Xue Si.
How could she not understand?
From a young age, she knew some things couldn’t be fought over, even when she and Xue Ping’er combined couldn’t compete against their plump, food-loving brother.
People have biases, and Mrs. Xue Si, after painfully waiting for a son, spoiled him like a precious jewel.
Jin Rui and Xue Ping’er had cried, fussed, even bullied their brother, but did it work? Not at all, it only triggered more scoldings and beatings from Mrs. Xue Si.
Gradually, Jin Rui figured it out.
Instead of staying home competing with her brother, it was better to serve in the manor.
It’s the same with Jin Ling’s matter now.
Jin Rui didn’t dislike Jin Ling, she even slightly envied her relationship with her mother and brother, but as the big maid beside Du Yunluo, they couldn’t avoid comparisons.
Over the past year, the young lady’s heart did incline, but not enough to make Jin Rui feel aggrieved, as she still treated her well, just slightly less favorably than Jin Ling.
According to Mrs. Xue Si’s thinking, she should tear into Jin Ling and fight to the death, but Jin Rui thought that was foolish. She wanted the young lady’s favor, and fighting Jin Ling to mutual destruction, losing the young lady’s favor, would be a great mistake.
Since Yun Qi liked Jin Ling, marrying her to Yun Qi brought only benefits, not harm, so Jin Rui was naturally in favor.
Just as she said, it’s a win-win, a perfect solution.
Jin Rui offered a few nonchalant responses.
Seeing her about to leave, Mrs. Xue Si hurriedly said, "Ping’er isn’t young anymore, see if the manor needs more people, let Ping’er enter too. You and your sister, oh, I’ve worried quite a lot about you two. Look at Ping’er’s hands, fair and tender, I’ve never let her do any rough work, afraid they’d get hurt and make the master unhappy."
Jin Rui frowned, knowing that when Du Yunying got married, her second and third-class maids still had to be rearranged, so there was no need to bring in anyone from outside, but she vaguely agreed, saying she would look into it.
Mrs. Xue Si was satisfied, lifting her foot to escort Jin Rui to the door. After taking a step, she suddenly stopped, turned her head, and said, "You just said once Jin Ling gets married, her mother and brother won’t have to worry? Oh, why don’t you have such fortune, still making me worry for your brother."
At this remark, Jin Rui felt her heart ache, and she gritted her teeth, "Is that my fault? People just like Jin Ling’s beauty, how could you not mold me into a celestial beauty when I came out of your belly?"
Mrs. Xue Si blushed, looking at Jin Rui, then at Xue Ping’er, and thought about her own appearance...
All three of them were good-looking, but compared to Jin Ling, they truly couldn’t compare.
"In any case, keep Jin Ling’s matter to yourself. If it gets out, I’m sure the young lady will hold me responsible. By then, Jin Ling will have a grand marriage, and I’ll just be despised by the young lady; that would be quite the loss."
Such a loss, Mrs. Xue Si would absolutely refuse to take, yet she was unwilling to meekly agree with Jin Rui, grumbling for a while before saying, "Then be smart, find someone with a solid family, don’t be like me, marrying your dad and having to scrimp and save for our son’s wedding."
Jin Rui pouted, "Find someone with a solid family? Can you afford my dowry silver? Without a dowry, you’ll be the laughingstock of the whole street."
At the mention of silver, Mrs. Xue Si hurriedly shook her head, "Just forget it then."
After sending Jin Rui to the street corner, Mrs. Xue Si slowly walked back, nearby wives complimenting Jin Rui’s elegance made Mrs. Xue Si extremely proud.
Once home, with the door closed, she saw through the open window that Xue Ping’er was trying on the blouse Jin Rui brought back, and Mrs. Xue Si muttered, "All enemies!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she took a closer look at the blouse, slapped her thigh, and said, "Oh! The young lady wouldn’t lack her dowry silver, that damn girl dares to fool me; next time she’s back, I’ll deal with her!"