Lin Yun spoke casually, as if she really pitied Song Ruotang. But Song Ruotang knew that she was just insinuating that she was impolite.
"It's my fault for making the two elder sisters wait," Song Ruotang said obediently as she bowed to apologize. A hint of contempt flashed in the eyes of Du Lingxuan and Lin Yun who were sitting on their seats.
Just then, Yan'er came over with a cup of tea. As soon as Song Ruotang's fingertips touched the teacup, a searing heat spread through her hand. She instinctively wanted to pull back, but Yan'er said, "Third Madam, please offer the tea."
Song Ruotang looked up. There was a warning in Yan'er's eyes. She knew that the tea was scalding hot on purpose.
But she still endured the heat and picked up the cup. Her slender, fair fingertips instantly turned pink. She walked up to Lin Yun with the tea in her hand, bowed respectfully, and said, "Madam, please have some tea."
Lin Yun looked at the steaming tea in the cup but didn't move. Yan'er "kindly" reminded her again, "Third Madam, when a new bride offers tea to her elders, she should kneel. If Third Madam doesn't kneel, does it mean she's dissatisfied with the First Madam?"
Song Ruotang's fingertips were already numb from the heat. She took a deep breath, endured the pain, and knelt down in front of Lin Yun. She held the tea above her head again and said, "Madam, please have some tea."
Lin Yun looked down at Song Ruotang's hands, which were trembling slightly. She knew that Song Ruotang was about to lose her grip on the teacup.
She slowly curled her lips and waited for a while. Just as Song Ruotang was reaching her limit, she was about to take the teacup.
Lin Yun took a sip of the tea and then put the cup on the table. She said indifferently, "It's cold."
Yan'er brought over a kettle of freshly boiled water. "Third Madam, cold tea is inauspicious. Please offer a new cup of tea."
A maid handed Song Ruotang an empty teacup. She lowered her eyes to hide the emotions in them.
The Lin family behind Lin Yun was extremely powerful. Her father, Lin Wei, was the Marquis of Dingyuan personally conferred by the late emperor. He had married Princess Nanyang, the younger sister of the current emperor. It was truly a noble family.
If she wanted to gain a foothold in the Pei Mansion, she couldn't be too aggressive. She could only adopt a conciliatory strategy.
Song Ruotang pulled herself out of her thoughts and obediently held the teacup above her head again. Yan'er poured the boiling tea into the cup. The searing heat tore at her hand.
It was the depth of winter, but Song Ruotang was already covered in a cold sweat.
Lin Yun watched as Song Ruotang struggled to hold on. When her hands were trembling violently and the water had cooled down a bit, she reached out to take the tea.
But just as her fingertips touched the cup, Song Ruotang suddenly let go. The teacup hit Lin Yun's forehead, and the scalding tea poured down, soaking half of her shoulder.
"What do you mean by this?" Lin Yun frowned and was about to speak when Song Ruotang quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, Madam. It's my fault. I'll offer a new cup of tea..."
Just as she was about to look for another teacup, someone walked in through the door. The maids all bowed in salute. Pei Zhiyan walked in quickly. He looked around and finally fixed his eyes on Song Ruotang. "What's going on?"
Lin Yun and Du Lingxuan quickly stepped forward to greet him. Yan'er explained on the side, "Third Madam accidentally broke the teacup while offering tea. The First Madam was kind enough to excuse Third Madam from the tea - offering ceremony. Just then, the Master came in."
"I thought that since my younger sister is new here, she may not be familiar with the rules of the mansion. Since she couldn't hold the teacup steady, I excused her from the ceremony," Lin Yun said gently.
Pei Zhiyan nodded slightly. He walked to the main seat and sat down. He noticed a cup of cold tea on the table and the fragments in front of Song Ruotang. His eyes darkened slightly.
Song Ruotang straightened up and still knelt in front of Pei Zhiyan. A large area of her neck was red. Her voice was soft as she timidly called him, "Master."
In this situation, she mustn't call him by his name in front of these two women. Otherwise, it would only invite more hostility.
"Get up," Pei Zhiyan naturally understood what she meant. He concealed the emotions in his eyes and looked at her calmly. Song Ruotang stood up, and he waved to her. "Come here."
Lin Yun tightened her fingers on the side and silently watched as Song Ruotang walked up to Pei Zhiyan.
Pei Zhiyan pulled her to sit beside him. Then he looked at Lin Yun. "There are only the three of you in my backyard now, and I haven't married a principal wife yet. There's no need for so many rules. You don't have to perform these empty rituals."
Lin Yun knew that Pei Zhiyan had deliberately mentioned that there was no principal wife to remind her that Song Ruotang had the same status as her. She bowed reluctantly. "Yes, I understand."
Pei Zhiyan nodded slightly. "If there's nothing else, you may leave."
Lin Yun and Du Lingxuan left with their attendants. Song Ruotang also stood up and wanted to leave, but Pei Zhiyan grabbed her hand. "Stay for a while..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Song Ruotang frowned and couldn't help but let out a soft cry of pain. Even though her voice was soft, Pei Zhiyan still heard it.
He lifted her hand. Her originally slender and fair knuckles were now red and swollen. Song Ruotang tried to pull back her hand, but Pei Zhiyan didn't let go.
"I was just careless..." Song Ruotang wanted to explain, but Pei Zhiyan interrupted her. "No need to explain."
Song Ruotang moved her lips but finally said nothing. There really was no need to say more. As the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, how could Pei Zhiyan not know how she got the injuries on her hand? And how could he not know that Lin Yun had made things difficult for her?
Pei Zhiyan took out some wound medicine from his bosom and gently applied it to her hand. Song Ruotang's skin was delicate and soft, like ointment, which made Pei Zhiyan a little distracted.
Unconsciously, the image of Song Ruotang wrapped in a light veil on their wedding night flashed through his mind. At that time, she had shrunk back timidly, with a large expanse of her skin exposed, like a finely polished white jade, alluring.
Song Ruotang watched as he applied the medicine to her hand himself. She pursed her lips slightly. Pei Zhiyan himself knew that if he wanted Lin Yun and Du Lingxuan to leave the Pei Mansion, he had to hide his feelings as much as possible.
But when he saw the burn on Song Ruotang's neck, he still couldn't help but feel a surge of anger. Lin Yun...
Pei Zhiyan's eyes darkened gradually. His hand holding the medicine bottle tightened slowly. Seeing this, Song Ruotang gently placed her hand on his clenched fist.
It was like a soft feather brushing past. Pei Zhiyan pulled himself out of his thoughts and met Song Ruotang's gentle eyes. She shook her head slightly.
Pei Zhiyan also understood that when he brought Song Ruotang into the mansion, he had already prepared himself.
Lin Yun and Du Lingxuan had already noticed Song Ruotang's presence. If he had left her outside the mansion, it would have been even more dangerous, especially considering the harassment from the Song family.
By bringing Song Ruotang into the mansion, as long as they made a move, he could slowly collect evidence and openly drive them out of the mansion.
"A Tang, you've had a hard time..." Pei Zhiyan said softly. Song Ruotang shook her head. "I'll be more careful. I'll be fine."
There was a hint of determination in Pei Zhiyan's worried eyes. Although they didn't say a word, they had already understood each other's intentions. Their common goal was to drive those two women out of the mansion.