3 Chapter 3: I will take responsibility

On entering the main hall, she could see that this family obviously had money... and a lot of it. She wondered which family's third miss she was..

Her eyes were lit up by the hall's brilliance; the tall walls were lined with gold leaf and supported by huge round pillars. Hanging on the walls were long scrolls with vivid paintings and calligraphy mounted upon them. Yingyue was so in awe of the beauty within the hall that her curious eyes were lit up, and caused her to look even more adorable.

However, particular people within the hall, in seeing that the little girl did not immediately pay her respects, looked upon her with disapproving eyes. Noticing this, Concubine Lu quickly pulled her daughter along with her to address the other wives. Seeing her mother paying respects, Yingyue finally noticed the other people who were also in the hall.

The other women only gave a slight nod to acknowledge her greetings, so Concubine Lu didn't stand for long before leading Yingyue to their seat on the right side. Yingyue obediently sat down, ignoring the pain on her sore backside. As she quietly examined the other wives, she noticed that there was an obvious hierarchy here.

Seated to the left of a large empty seat was a woman, presumably the main wife, who sat with an air of arrogance. Beside her were two children - a boy and girl - who both seemed to be around 12 years old. Their looks were even very similar, so she concluded that they were probably twins. Like their mother, their eyes also contained arrogance. At their childish expressions, Yingyue smiled coldly, thinking of herself as a child in her previous life. She found it quite amusing that these children who knew so little about the outside world were already adopting that kind of attitude.

She had to admit, however, compared to their clothes and accessories, hers were much too shabby that if outsiders saw, they would think she was their servant, not a sibling. This family was really becoming more and more interesting to her...

Other than the main wife, there were two others. Beside one of them was also a little girl who looked slightly younger than the one before. Her face was round with a cute plumpness to it. While she had an air of pride, she didn't seem to have the arrogance of the other two children and looked much more likeable.

The last wife was a round woman with a slightly pale complexion. Although she didn't appear to be nervous, she was clutching a handkerchief in one hand, and would occasionally cough into her sleeve.

The servant girl behind her couldn't mask her anxiety as she passed the woman a small ceramic cup with a beautiful lily pattern. While this woman didn't seem to have a child, she was still well-dressed and seated above both Yingyue's mother and the other wife who also had one daughter.

Even through her sickness, Yingyue could feel a sense of refined elegance emanating from the woman. Unlike the main wife, there was no hostility emitting from this woman. Hmm, what was her background...

In the midst of her thinking, a loud voice rung out. "Younger sister, I hope that you have been teaching Yue'er properly. You wouldn't want her to be beaten again, would you? My Yi'er has already let the incident go, so I won't bring it up again, but if Yue'er is ever lacking anything, she should ask for it... don't you think you should have taught her this, sister..." The woman in the upper seat sneered while the two children beside her sniggered quietly.

Pretending to bow her head in shame, Yingyue hid her amused smile. How funny... she was surprised that the modern Chinese dramas could capture these humorous scenes so well. She had to admit that these women were quite good at this game of plotting against each other.

However, they didn't know how well-versed she was at scheming. In her previous life, she was just a young woman, so people always had their doubts about her ability as a surgeon among her many other talents. It was needless to say that there was quite the population who were jealous, and even so much that they had dared to pit themselves up against her.

There had been constant plotting and scheming, but in the end, she had made every single one of them bow down to her in defeat. Truly, only those with abilities can stand above others! Looking at these women, she chuckled inside... how could their schemes possibly compare to hers...

A gentle voice beside her replied "Elder sister, of course I'm not as educated as you... I wasn't able to teach her well, so she took her sister's things. I will go back and teach her properly."

Before anyone could reply, a child's clear voice rung out "Please do not blame mother for my faults. Even though I am just a child, I will take responsibility. Mother taught me to be selfless so I have never asked for anything... however, other children were taught much better. They know how to ask for everything, so they end up being spoilt..." she trailed off quieter as if not meaning to say those words, but everyone in the hall had heard them distinctly. Yingyue's head was originally bowed, but as she raised it, her sharp eyes directed the comment at the two children whose faces were full of arrogance.

Hearing the words, Madam Jiang's face contorted in a mixture of shock and anger. When had that timid and useless child become so eloquent?! She was especially startled by the cold glint in the young girl's phoenix eyes.

"You! You..." The Madam's exclamation was interrupted by a servant who announced an arrival to the hall.

"Master has arrived."