SGEIRS -Chapter 58 A Hard Slap in the Face

“Stop!”

At that critical moment, a voice full of authority suddenly rang out. Gu Xuanyi’s hand froze mid-air, and with a stiff expression, she turned to look toward the source of the voice.

Meng Jinyao, her face stern, was walking toward them with several maids. Although she was only a year older than them, her aura was intimidating—an invisible pressure that made Gu Xuanyi’s raised hand hesitate, unable to land on Gu Xuanling’s face.

Perhaps it was because Meng Jinyao was an elder, the wife of their Third Uncle. Out of respect for him, Gu Xuanyi instinctively felt fear toward Meng Jinyao as well.

Gu Xuanyi’s domineering air faltered instantly. Awkwardly, she lowered her hand and stammered, “Th-Third Aunt…”

Gu Xuanling was stunned. Thinking about her earlier behavior, she feared that the elder had seen everything. Her heart pounded, but she did not regret it and respectfully performed a junior’s bow to Meng Jinyao: “Xuanling greets Third Aunt. I hope Third Aunt is well.”

Meng Jinyao nodded slightly, her gaze falling on Gu Xuanyi as she said calmly, “Xuanyi, you’re really bold—wanting to hit your sister just like that. Didn’t elder sister-in-law ever teach you that sisters should get along?”

At these words, Gu Xuanyi’s heart jolted. She hurriedly explained, “Third Aunt, it was Second Sister who pushed me first. She was way out of line!” Saying this, she opened her palm in a show of injury, the classic tactic of the guilty blaming the innocent. “Third Aunt, look! She pushed me and I fell—my hand even got scraped.”

Meng Jinyao glanced at her. Indeed, the skin was broken and bleeding, but it was only a superficial injury. She then looked at Gu Xuanling and asked, “Xuanling, aren’t you going to explain?”

Gu Xuanyi’s expression instantly lit up with triumph, looking at Gu Xuanling with malicious delight.

Gu Xuanling’s face tightened. She felt completely trapped. She hadn’t been the one injured, so who would believe that she was the one being bullied? She hung her head in frustration and murmured, “Third Aunt, I did push my elder sister, but she was rude first.”

“She’s lying!” Gu Xuanyi snapped angrily, turning the blame back on Gu Xuanling. “She walked too fast, accidentally knocked over the pastries, and then blamed me! She even pushed me down!”

Gu Xuanling’s face turned red with anger. Clearly, it had been her elder sister who snatched the food container and dropped the pastries, yet now it was being said that she had done it by accident. The only witness was the elder sister’s maid, and without her own maid present, Gu Xuanling had no way to defend herself.

Meng Jinyao’s expression remained calm as she looked at Gu Xuanyi. In her, she saw the same arrogance and impudence as her own half-sister, Meng Jinyu—boldly shifting blame without a hint of shame, utterly self-righteous.

Thinking of Meng Jinyu reminded her of Madam Sun, and her expression darkened. She asked again, “Xuanyi, is that really what happened?”

Gu Xuanyi nodded without hesitation, pointing at the two maids. “Absolutely. Third Aunt, if you don’t believe me, you can ask these two maids—they saw everything clearly.”

The two maids, both loyal to Gu Xuanyi, dared not betray her, so they hurriedly agreed: “Mistress, everything the elder lady said is true. Second Miss falsely accused her and even pushed her. Second Miss has bullied her before, but the elder lady is kind and didn’t argue. Who would have thought she’d pick a fight today again?”

Gu Xuanling shook her head repeatedly. “Third Aunt, no, that’s not true. I didn’t—”

“Someone witnessed it, and you’re still arguing?” Gu Xuanyi glared at her, warningly. Then she feigned magnanimity. “Well, Second Sister, I won’t blame you. It’s natural to feel upset when the pastries you worked hard on fall. I forgive you this time.”

Meng Jinyao rubbed her forehead, then turned to Chunliu and instructed, “Chunliu, repeat exactly what you just heard, only recount the words of the elder sister.”

Gu Xuanyi: “???”

Gu Xuanling: “???”

Both sisters froze. The first was shocked, terrified, and disbelieving; the second hadn’t yet processed what was happening.

Chunliu had a good memory and recited Gu Xuanyi’s words verbatim, even mimicking her tone perfectly. Upon finishing, she glanced at her mistress and received a look of approval. Overjoyed, she felt like she was almost clinging to her mistress’s side for good.

Gu Xuanyi went pale, realizing the gravity of what she had said. Embarrassment and fear overwhelmed the fifteen-year-old girl. She stared at Chunliu in disbelief, never imagining that Third Aunt and her maid had seen through her bullying of her cousin from the second branch.

Gu Xuanyi’s two maids also turned pale. If the elder sister’s lies were exposed, she would be punished—but since they helped her lie, Madam would surely blame them for corrupting her, punishing them severely.

Gu Xuanling stared at Meng Jinyao in awe, thinking that Third Aunt was a living goddess who had saved her from a dire situation. Otherwise, her eldest aunt would have made snide remarks about her mother’s lack of teaching and forced her mother to punish her.

Meng Jinyao’s face remained serious. “Xuanyi, did elder sister-in-law not only fail to teach you to get along with your sisters, but also fail to teach you not to lie to elders?”

“Th-Third Aunt, I…”

Gu Xuanyi could say nothing. Tears fell freely as she felt an invisible slap burn her face.

Meng Jinyao glanced at the stunned Gu Xuanling beside her, thinking how naive she looked. No wonder she was being bullied.

She asked again, her voice firm, “Xuanling’s mother may not have been the main wife, but she was still your elder by half. Is this how you treat someone who has passed away? And your second aunt, though not her birth mother, is her lawful mother. A daughter making pastries to honor her mother is perfectly normal. Why do you disparage her like this? Do you think one only owes filial piety to a biological mother?”

Of course, filial piety doesn’t require biological relation, but it does show respect for a mother who genuinely cares. Gu Xuanling’s voluntary respect proves that her mother, Madam Chen, hadn’t done anything particularly wrong.

Unlike her own stepmother, Madam Sun, who for some reason had hated her from the start. There was a time when she truly considered Madam Sun her mother, cherishing her and calling her “mother” sincerely. But after discovering Madam Sun’s cruelty, she began to distance herself and guard against her, even occasionally standing up to her.

Gu Xuanyi’s heart skipped a beat. What Meng Jinyao just said was serious—her own father was also a child of a secondary wife, not her grandmother’s biological child. By this logic, that would mean…