Chapter 362: Hatred and Grievance

Chapter 362: Chapter 362: Hatred and Grievance

A girl of seventeen or eighteen walked out of the main house. She was dressed in fine silks, but her features were somewhat plain.

"I am your elder sister. Who do you think you’re yelling at with such disrespect?" She huffed sarcastically. "Did you go out and cause trouble again?"

"None of your business!" Di Rong demanded impatiently. "Are you going back to the capital? What about me? When can I go back?!"

Di Yue chuckled. "How would I know? Mother’s letter only said she was sending for me to return to the capital."

"I don’t believe you! I don’t believe Mother didn’t tell me to come back!" Di Rong was furious.

Di Yue’s face was alight with unconcealed glee. "If you don’t believe me, you can go ask our maternal grandparents."

Di Rong spun around and left the western courtyard, heading straight for the main courtyard.

He returned a moment later with a dark expression, went into his room, and was immediately followed by the sound of things being thrown and smashed.

Di Yue deliberately raised her voice. "Go on, smash everything! Your ban was supposed to be up in a month, but Mother said that if you cause any more trouble, you’ll be spending the new year here in Yeyang. Maybe next year too, or the year after... Who knows when you’ll be allowed back."

The commotion in the room stopped abruptly, followed by an even louder CRASH, like a large piece of porcelain shattering.

Even though Di Yue had been prepared for it, she was still startled and patted her chest.

"That little beast..."

Her nanny came over and whispered, "Why must you provoke him at a time like this?"

Di Yue’s face turned cold. "Me, provoke him? Hasn’t he provoked me enough over the years?! Mother’s heart is completely devoted to him, and Grandfather and Grandmother spoil him rotten. Father doesn’t particularly like him, but he doesn’t like me either. The one he favors is Di Qi, Aunt Yan’s son! I’m the only one, the eldest daughter of the Di family, with no one to rely on, living like I’m invisible! Haven’t I suffered enough injustice all these years? It’s all because of him! If it weren’t for him..."

The nanny quickly pulled her back into the room and shut the door firmly.

"My lady, why do you get so hung up on this? You already know why the Madam favored him. Besides, she favored him in the past, but who knows about the future? This time, the Madam sent people to bring you back to the capital, but she didn’t send for him."

Di Yue scoffed.

"Nanny, don’t try to comfort me. If Mother weren’t pregnant, why would she have ever thought of me?"

’No wonder... It was common for Di Rong and Di Qi to get into major fights. In the past, the worst he’d get was a scolding and half a day of kneeling in the ancestral hall.’

’But this time, because Di Rong accidentally knocked Mother over, she flew into a rage at him for the first time. She slapped him hard and had him sent here to Yeyang to reflect on his misdeeds.’

"Do you know how happy I was, Nanny? But I celebrated too soon. She actually made me accompany Di Rong here..."

’And her pregnancy... she must have known about it back then, right? Why else would she have been so nervous after a simple fall?’

’But she hid it from everyone, even me!’

"Now that she’s further along, her health is poor, and she has to contend with Aunt Yan, she finally remembers to tell me and bring me back."

Di Yue clutched a flower stem in her hand, her face full of resentment.

"Even without Di Rong, I’ll still have a brother—a real one this time. And I’m just here to plug a hole and put out fires."

"Miss! You mustn’t think that way. In a couple of years, you’ll be married off. Why should you care if the Madam gives birth to a boy or a girl?"

"From a long-term perspective, it’s naturally better if it’s a boy. After all, Di Rong... he is..."

"Once the Madam has a son of her own bloodline, she’ll no longer have to live in constant fear. No matter what happens in the future, her position in the Uncle Mansion will be unshakable. And that has a great deal to do with your status in your future husband’s family!"

"I know that, of course. It’s just a momentary burst of anger. Are daughters really so worthless? I serve her dutifully day in and day out, yet all she can think about is having a son..."

At this, Di Yue suddenly let out a breath.

"But I’ve come to terms with it now. You’re right, Nanny. No matter what, I am the legitimate eldest daughter. Even if Mother has another son, it will only benefit me, not harm me. I’m long past the age of competing for favor."

All her competitiveness and desire for favor were directed solely at Di Rong.

If he were her real brother, it would be one thing. But he was some bastard whelp adopted from who-knows-where, who not only stole all the affection that should have been hers but has also lorded it over her all these years. How could she possibly endure it?

"When we return to the capital this time, have Ma Chao stay behind for now."

Ma Chao was the nanny’s son.

"You mean, have him stay to keep..."

"Yes, have him keep Di Rong good company. Whether Di Rong wants to go galloping on his horse or try something else, just encourage him. Don’t stop him. Boys will be boys, wanting to play at dangerous and exciting things is perfectly understandable. And if an accident happens in the process, well, that’s even more normal."

Before the nanny could speak, Di Yue continued.

"Also, have him continue investigating what happened back then. I want to know who Mother got Di Rong from. I refuse to believe it left no trace."

The nanny hesitated slightly. "Shouldn’t we hold off on this for now? What if the Madam’s baby isn’t a boy... Di Rong would still be useful."

Di Yue snorted with a laugh. "Is Mother the type to act without a plan? If she wasn’t sure, would she have given Di Rong the cold shoulder for so long? Besides, I’m not planning to do anything to him right now. It’s just better to be prepared."

"But... we’ve been investigating for over a month since we came to Yeyang, and we haven’t found any leads."

At this, Di Yue grew annoyed and turned to blame her nanny.

"I was only five or six back then, so I don’t remember much, but you were there, Nanny. When Nanny Jiang, Mother’s attendant, found a child to adopt, did you really not hear a single whisper?"

"My lady, would the Madam tell me something so secret? It was only because you had a nightmare that night and insisted I carry you to her that I accidentally overheard a little..."

She had been terrified at the time. She’d rushed back to her room with the sleeping young miss draped over her shoulder, not daring to listen any further.

She had kept this secret buried deep inside, never daring to tell a soul. But then, two years ago, while staying up with her young miss for the New Year’s vigil, she had a few too many cups of wine and accidentally let it all slip out.

"It’s the Madam’s fault, in a way... Back then, not long after she gave birth to the young master, she caught the Uncle in bed with his cousin. What was infuriating was that the cousin was already pregnant, so they couldn’t get rid of her and had to make her a concubine. The Madam couldn’t stomach it, so she took you and the young master and returned to her family home. Such a small child, and the journey was so hot and bumpy... by the time you reached Yeyang, he fell terribly ill... Everyone thought he’d recovered, but who could have known...唉!"

"Her precious son, born after such a difficult labor, was gone just like that. My mother was naturally heartbroken, but she was more worried about how she would explain it back in the capital. The legitimate eldest grandson of the Di family had died on her watch. Whether she could even keep her position as the Uncle’s wife was one thing, let alone competing with Aunt Yan."

But Di Yue wasn’t concerned about any of that.

"The very night my brother died, Nanny Jiang brought Di Rong. That means Di Rong’s original home must be here in Yeyang!"

Di Yue paced back and forth, then suddenly spun around. "We’ve been searching inside Yeyang city, looking for human traffickers and procuresses within the city. Could it be... could it be that Di Rong was adopted from the countryside?"

"He doesn’t look like it..." How could a child from the countryside grow up to look like Di Rong?

Di Yue knew what her nanny meant and threw the flower stem fiercely to the ground.

She had to admit, this was another thorn in her side.

As Di Rong grew up, their faces bore no resemblance to each other. What was even more infuriating was that she was far less attractive than he was.

The only reason outsiders never suspected anything was because her looks took after her father, while Di Rong’s good looks were attributed to their mother.

"Even if he’s the spawn of a mud-legged peasant, being raised in the lap of luxury in the Uncle Mansion for all these years can give him an air of nobility. But peel back that skin, and his veins still run with lowly blood. How is someone like that fit to be my brother?"

"Just do as I say. Tell Ma Chao to investigate the villages and towns under Yeyang’s jurisdiction. Have him ask if any families sold or lost a male infant eleven years ago."

"Once the baby in Mother’s womb is born, Di Rong can go back to whatever hole he crawled out of."

The nanny still tried to persuade her to reconsider. "Di Rong has been the legitimate eldest grandson for all these years. It’s not so easy to just... you know."

But Di Yue said, "Why do you think Di Rong hasn’t been officially named the Princely Heir of the Uncle Mansion yet? Do you really think it’s because of Aunt Yan’s obstruction? The way I see it, Mother may very well have been using the situation to her advantage. Once she has a son of her own, she’ll have plenty of ways to make this imposter, Di Rong, disappear."

But she didn’t want Di Rong to simply disappear.

Disappearing would be letting him off too easily. It wouldn’t be enough to compensate for even a fraction of the pain and injustice she had suffered over the years.

She had to make him taste what it was like to fall from the clouds. That way, he would be immersed in misery for the rest of his life, and she would look down on him from above and tell him that he had always belonged in the gutter.