“ Hmph. ”

 

Echoed in the room.

 

It told what it wanted to say and it delivered to those that needed to hear it.

 

Yu Jiao, daughter of Li Shu, and granddaughter of Song Jinjing displayed no outward reaction to the cold reception she had heard from her grandmother in this life.

 

It was as if she knew she would gain such a reception the moment she came to this place. She even showed off her reaction by not reacting at all to her grandmother's expression and took a seat opposite the other two people in the room.

 

Lady Ye Ai, the concubine of Yu Liwei and her daughter Yu Lijuan, stayed silent as they observed what was about to happen. 

 

After all, they had been the ones to facilitate this gathering in the first place.

 

They had been told that Yu Jiao would be coming very soon, so they had a servant wait by the gate into the inner city. The servant's goal? To immediately report when he saw Yu Jiao.

 

Afterward, it took a bit of tact and skill to arrange everything. but the years of proper scheming had enabled that skill in Lady Ye. 

 

Her current goal was to properly educate her daughter in such things, and there was a proper target to showcase to her how some things happened behind the scenes.

 

As Yu Jiao took a seat and her servant stayed behind her, all three women observed every detail of the girl in question. 

 

The youngest of them, Yu Liuan, had already seen the outward changes that her half-sister had undergone, and she even noticed her temperament had changed in her. 

 

She even knew why her temperament changed so much. 

 

In truth, if anybody met her they too would be in the knowhow of why she was behaving as she was. 

 

And it was not just here in the manor of the Yu Clan but in the whole capital of the Empire. 

 

Yu Ying did not know how or why it happened, but about a year ago a rumor had spread to the public. 

 

It said many things but the problem was that most of them were the truth. 

 

It is with it, that now the whole capital knew that Yu Jiao was a reincarnated person, or however that worked in Yu Ying’s mind.

 

Yet even knowing all that she was taken by surprise when she went to get her half-sister. 

 

The abrupt wording of ‘ A Wild Sister appeared. ’ still echoed in her mind. 

 

Only now it was hidden by a facade that she had been cultivating her whole life, in preparation for entering a new household when she married, as was tradition. 

 

Thanks to cultivation, she still had a few years ahead of her before that became a question, but her mother had insisted that she prepared for it as soon as possible, just as she had been prepared for it.

 

Despite all her inner turmoil, Yu Ying knew that this was a moment for her to stay still and observe. 

 

Lady Ye Ai, the girl's mother on the hand, was a full-fledged woman immersed in the courtesy rituals. 

 

She knew that her mother-in-law Song Jinjing knew that she had prepared for this meeting on purpose. 

 

The only reason why the old woman went with it, was that this was an excellent chance to test the returning daughter.

 

Still, as Concubine Ye observed Yu Jiao, she had no choice but to admit that she never expected her to be so brazen as to ignore the courtesy rules that she had been practicing all her life.

 

“ Is that all you are gonna do? ” Ye Ai heard her mother in law say. 

 

Glancing at the old woman's expression, she saw no happiness or displeasure as she spoke her question.

 

She immediately took that as a good thing. For that meant that she too was in a bind on how to treat the girl that had drastically changed, three years ago. 

 

Not to mention that she was also gone for those three years. 

 

Making it so that they might as well look at Yu Jiao as a long-lost daughter that somehow found her way to return to the family of her origin.

 

Song Jinjing gazed upon her old and yet new granddaughter. 

 

Her demeanor portrayed her as a foreign woman intruding upon this place, and she would treat her as such if not for the resemblance that her face evoked.

 

Yet, even that wasn't how it should be, in her mind.

 

Yu Jiao blinked a few times and tilted her head in confusion as her grandmother had spoken. “ I am not sure what you're referring to, grandma? Please, do tell me if I have missed something? ”

 

“ Hmph. ” Echoed in the room, again.

 

“ Granddaughter of mine. ” The old woman addressed the youngest member of the family. “ Did you know that I have a very tight relationship with my boys? It's so tight that they tell me everything that I want to know and that includes things about you. I know every single thing that your father knew about you. ”

 

“ Oh. ” Yu Jiao’s eyes widened in surprise and murmured without any thought of repercussions. “ I didn't know that my father was a Mama’s boy. Truly, I did not expect that. ”

 

Hearing that, the mother-daughter duo was stunned. They had never before heard of anybody saying such things about their husband and father respectively. 

 

The old woman, on the other hand, had been told that the new Jiao was very coarse in her language and she did not shy away from saying the things she thought about. 

 

Despite all that, she was still surprised and had to use her life experience of holding a neutral face to hide the smirk in her mind of having her boy be described as such. 

 

A second later though, she spoke, after all, she had to maintain a persona for now. “ Hmph, how bold of you to say such things. You're lucky this is a private setting, if you had such things in public I would have been furious for your neglect of the courtesy rules. ”

 

“ Rules? ” Again, Jiao tilted her head for a second before she remembered what her new grandmother was hinting at. “ Ah, you mean those rules. I am sorry to inform you of this Grandma, but I paid very little attention to those lessons. ”

 

Narrowing her eyes at the young girl in front of her, Song Jinjing, the matriarch of the Yu Clan, spoke in a stern voice. “ So you're telling me that you ignored the teacher I sent your way deliberately? ”

 

“ Oh, was it you that sent her? ” Jiao asked, knowing full well that the courtesy teacher was sent to her for a reason, only she had not been told by whom. 

 

She had hunches but she didn't know exactly who. There were two options to choose from. 

 

If it had been Concubine Ye, then it was very likely that she could have been through some things incorrectly on purpose. 

 

For that reason, she had not paid that much attention to it. 

 

On the other hand, if it had genuinely been her new grandmother that sent the teacher, then she fully expected her to follow the tradition. 

 

Problem was that said traditions irked her in a few ways so even if she had sent the teacher she still paid little attention to them.

 

“ Honestly, it does not matter who sent her. ” Jiao stated. “ After I had seen what I was to be taught, I have selectively ignored some things. ”

 

A bit unhappy, the old woman said gravely. “ Elaborate. Which rules have you chosen to ignore?”

 

Nodding in agreement, Jiao replied. “ Grandma, I know we both are strangers to each other, in some way. If you want our relationship to be cordial then it will be simple. I will stand up, come to your side, hug you, and maybe even add in a kiss on the cheek for good measure, as that is how I treated my grandmother in my past life. With love and affection, but if you expect me to follow those traditions that enforce respectful distance between us, I will probably ignore them. ” 

 

“ Ultimately though, there is one thing that I refuse to do under any circumstances. ” There Jiao stopped for them to realize that she meant all she said and added in the last nail to hammer those thoughts in their heads. “ I don't kneel. I simply refuse to kneel to anybody. ”

 

Another declaration echoed in the room as Song Jinjing observed the stiff posture and the serious expression that said that there will be no discussions on this point. 

 

Yet, the next second the serious expression melted away as if she remembered something and had to add on. “ Oh, the same applies to Tao Fang. ”

 

For a second Song Jinjing wondered who Tao Fang was when her granddaughter pointed at the servant that was standing behind her, dutifully. 

 

A moment passed as her mind worked to puzzle out the hidden meaning in those words. 

 

Only to realize, that this time the words that came out of her granddaughter’s mouth, were meant in full.

 

In a second after the old woman recognized that truth, her relaxed posture vanished. 

 

She went from a slightly leaning pose on the bench/chair that was decked with lots of pillows into a sitting position with her spine pointing straight into the sky, despite her age.

 

The next second, she deployed her cultivated and initiated a Core Stage Suppression on everybody in the room. 

 

She cared not if the mother-daughter duo was exposed to it. 

 

In truth, she counted on it to remind them of their position in this family and that she would stay the Madam of the House for quite a few years more. 

 

Or at least until her second son found a new main wife, as tradition dictated.

 

With a glance, she saw the message arrived on the Ye Ai complexion. Her daughter on the other hand was far too preoccupied with the suppression to get the message, but that did not matter in her mind. 

 

If she did not get it now, her mother would inform her later.

 

Yet, when the old woman glanced on the other side of the low table to the intended target, a completely different picture could be seen.

 

Jiao, behaved as if the suppression didn't even exist. 

 

Son Jinjing remembered that she could resist the suppression, but that was when she deployed that phantom she had been told about. 

 

Problem was, she neither saw nor felt said phantom. ‘ Has she figured out a new way to resist it? ’ The old woman thought. 

 

Mentally shaking away that thought for later, she focused on the second anomaly in the room. 

 

The servant Tao Fang, who prompted her reaction, displayed no outward notice that she was suffering suppression at all. 

 

Yet, she knew that it did affect her. Stage Suppression wasn't a one-sided skill that you just deployed and that would be it. It gave the user feedback on the target's resistance, otherwise, they would be killing mortals every time they deployed it on them.

 

Placing more attention on the servant in question, Song Jinjing, tried to figure it out only to be interrupted by her granddaughter. 

 

“ Grandma, there is no use in trying to use suppression on Tao Fang. ” Said the youngest in the room. “ The innate Serenity ability of the Mantra that she practices gave her remarkable protection against outside forces affecting her performance. That combined with the different way her initial cultivation is designed, you need at least two stages above her to be able to affect her with suppression. ”

 

Stunned by her daughter's proclamation, the grandmother spoke. “ Are you saying that you need to have Soul Suppression to affect her?”

 

“ Ah. ” Jiao replied before she began speaking. “ I may not have conveyed it properly. Tao Fang is close to reaching Foundation, or its variant. Right now Foundation Suppression does not affect her at all. Core Suppression will be felt but if she uses the Mantras Serenity at full capacity she can ignore it even though it's difficult to do. Only Soul Suppression will make it so she can not ignore it, as for the performance she can exhibit, that will depend on her. ”

 

With those words, it dawned on the old woman’s mind. 

 

She remembered how her son described Jiao’s servant and her transformation, but she never imagined it would be like this. 

 

Standing up from her seat, she made her way to the servant in question. 

 

Unlike what normally should happen when a servant gained the attention of their masters, this one only pronounced a small bow of the head and shoulders. It may have been a bow or respect but it was not one a servant should exhibit at all.

 

Once by her side, the old woman grabbed the servant's chin with her right hand and pulled her face upward to gaze at her eyes. There she was what she needed to see.

 

Tao Fang was exhibiting respect but there was also defiance as she used her Mantra to the maximum effort to not be forced to bow in front of her mistress.

 

“ Tell me one good reason, as to why I should not have you whipped for your insolence in thinking you could exhibit the behavior you now have? ” Song Jinjing voiced the threat.

 

Tao Fang knew immediately that she would make do with her as she promised if her reply was not good enough. “ This servant replies, Madam. Because Madam would lose any good standing with the Miss if Madam does as she wants? ”

 

“ Ho ” Came out of the Madam's mouth as she noticed a smirk on her granddaughter's face, thanks to the Suppression that was powered by Divine Sense.

 

“ So you, a servant, are telling me that my granddaughter, even if she has forgotten all familiarity between us, will hold a grudge against me, for you? ” The Madam asked as she stared into Tao Fang's eyes.

 

“ Yes. ” Was the reply. 

 

It was steeped with conviction. That there was no doubt that she believed it with every strand of her being.

 

“ Tao Fang, was it? ” Song Jining questioned and the servant nodded. “ Tell me one more thing. I remember the You from before you went with my granddaughter to that place, have you always had this rebellious nature in you, or has the Mantra given you that as it has given you your improved beauty? ”

 

“ I believe that I did. ” Replied Tao Fang with conviction in both her gaze and voice. 

 

Moments later, she then added more to it. “ Only it was Miss that helped me explore more of myself and it was those changes that made the Mantra into what it is now. ”

 

“ Hmm. ” Hummed the old woman for a bit more as she observed the servant. 

 

Moments later she released the Core Stage Suppression for all of them and immediately felt the relieved breaths of the mother-daughter duo. 

 

Ignoring them, the old Madam, let go of the servant and made her way back into her cushy bench chair. 

 

Once on it, she addresses Jiao. “ For now I will allow your servants… behavior, in favor of building a proper relationship with my new granddaughter. But that will only apply in this household. Outside she is to follow proper rules of behavior to not affect the Clan. If it does happen I will not be shielding her for you. Is that understood? ”

 

“ Fang, reply to grandma for me and explain my reasoning.  ” Jiao said. 

 

“ Yes, Miss. ” Immediately the old madam became more intrigued. 

 

“ Madam, this servant will explain. ” Tao Fang said with a slight bow of her head. “ As Miss stated before, she hates bowing to others. The same applies to those who bow to her, especially those that are in a close relationship with her. It is for that reason that she has ordered me multiple times to not bow to anybody. But as it would create too many problems if a servant like me displayed such behavior, she has allowed me to bow if truly necessary. Only every time I am forced to do such, she will consider it a slight upon her mind and seek justice for me, no matter who the offender is. ”

 

Surprised by such a statement, the old madam looked upon her granddaughter. “ No matter the offender? Then tell me this, granddaughter of mine. How will you accomplish that justice? ”

 

Hearing the question, Jiao only raised her right hand and displayed a closed fist as an answer.

 

“ A fist is it? ” The old madam asked and Jiao nodded. “ And is your fist already big enough to do as you please and face all the consequences without a shred of doubt? ”

 

Shaking her head, Jiao replied. “ Not yet, but it's getting there. Besides, Fang's cultivation is increasing at a great speed, even if she is using up the resources that would have gone to me if I practiced Qi. Once she is strong enough, she will be able to take care of herself. ”

 

Reminded about her cultivation level and the speed with which she was cultivating, the old madam decided another talk with her son was in order. 

 

She clearly did not remember him ever mentioning the said fact.

 

That aside, the old madam looked at the granddaughter before her and had no choice but to sigh. 

 

For a moment she remembered the old Jiao. ‘ I don't think I will ever again see that sweet smile of hers? Guess, I too will have to face the future with the new Jiao? ’

 

“ Jiao, come here. ” The old madam said and pointed at the empty place beside her on the bench/chair with lots of pillows.

 

Not expecting such a direction, it took Jiao a moment to agree. She stood up and sat beside her grandmother. 

 

The next second, the old madam began exploring her face with her hands. From the chin to the nose, the eyes and ears, and even her hair was examined in detail.

 

“ You know. The first time Liwei came home from that place and told me about you, I thought he was exaggerating when he stated how much you have changed. ” The old madam said. 

 

For a second sadness flickered on her face before she went on. “ If not for Jing saying the same, I would have thought he went mad from not seeing your face for so long, yet here you are now and I barely recognized you when you came into the room. ”

 

The only response from Jiao was a raised eyebrow. 

 

Seeing it, the old madam removed her hands from Jiao and explained. “ This cute nose of yours and the cheekbones you inherited from your mother. The chin came from your father and the same was for the bone structure around the shape of the eyes. At least it was before the current you came into existence. Now I am not so sure. If there is one thing that I am happy about, it is this hairstyle of yours. It suits you just fine. ” She said as she began stroking the bangs on the side of her face and the Arthurian bun on the back of Jiao’s head that was held in position with a Jade needle.

 

“ Thanks, Grandma. I used to have very short hair, so It took me a while to get used to having long hair. ” Jiao explained. “It's only in the last year or so that I began to let it grow again. That being the case I practiced this Arthurian style. It is named as such since it was iconic for a mythical Queen that had ruled in the past. ”

 

“ A Queen you say? ” Questioned the old madam. 

 

“ Yes. ” Jiao said. “ Still that is beside the point. You were asking for the shape of the eyes, right? ” 

 

Seeing the nod of the elderly woman, Yu Jiao began to explain. “ My Power is far more sensitive to one's thoughts than Qi will even be. Every time I looked at myself in a mirror I saw a strange new face. My guess is, that I have subconsciously influenced how the shape of my eyes developed. ”

 

“ Here, take a look at this. ” Jiao said and with her right palm facing up into the sky, a shimmer began appearing above it. 

 

Moments later an image manifested into a face. “ This is how I looked in that life. See how the shape of the eyes and the eyelid is formed on it. It is due to that fact, that the tilt of the eyelids I have now is far less prominent than it was before. ”

 

Observing the face of the unknown man in that still image hanging in the air, the old madam understood why the face of her granddaughter bothered her so much. 

 

While the individual parts of her whole are inherited, now, when they were combined they resembled more the strange face in the image she was seeing.

 

“ Sigh. Alright, you can put away that projection. ” She said to her granddaughter not even bothering on asking how said projection was made in the first place. 

 

Yet, her mind had already memorized said face and now she had no choice but to compare it to Jiao that was in front of her. “ Does this mean that you will change even more in the future? ”

 

“ Maybe? Maybe not? ” Jiao replied. “ I simply don't know as I said before, I have been unconsciously doing this. But if I had to make a prediction, then I have to assume that if changes happen they will be minuscule. No matter how important the memories were, it's been three years. That is enough time for me to get used to being a woman. ”

 

“ Very well. ”

 

“ Say, grandma, is there anything else you want to ask me? Or is it finally time for me to ask the questions? ” The switch in roles came as swift as Jiao’s unpredictable behavior right now. 

 

The old madam blinked a few times and considered things. ‘ If the plans Liwei has concocted are to be taken into account and if the tales of her strength are true, then she will be far too busy in the near future. ’

 

“ Are you aware of the plans your father has made for you? ” She asked Jiao.

 

“ Plans? ” Jiao repeated the question, before answering. “ I have a general idea since I was the first one to propose it. After that, he said that I should leave it to him to make the arrangements and that we will talk again once I reach this place. Before my older sister interrupted me and told me you sought me out, I was on my way to meet my father. ”

 

“ Alright, then listen to this small request of mine. ” The old madam said. “ I have lost you once already, and now we have reconnected again, even if only slightly. I won't interrupt your desires but I do request that you pay attention to yourself and come back alive from the missions. ”

 

“ Umm, that was my plan, anyway. ” Jiao said with a smirk on her face. “ So don't worry. I will be here until Time takes you away. Meaning there will be a lot of time for us to forge a good familial relationship. ”

 

“ Good. You can ask your questions now. ”

 

“ Alright, here is my first question. ” Jiao stated. “ Was it you that made this meeting happen as soon as I came home, or was it Concubine Ye that arranged it? ”

 

As Jiao posed that question, she looked directly into her grandmother's eyes. 

 

With them, she told her that she was deadly serious.

 

“ Without my permission, it would not have happened. ” Song Jinjing answered directly without sugarcoating anything. “ But it was Concubine Ye that brought it up. It was a good idea so I went along with it. Does that satisfy you? ”

 

“ It does. ” Jiao replied. “ Here is my second question. What was my relationship with Concubine Ye and her daughter Yu Lijuan? Were there grievances between us or was it a cordial relationship? ”

 

Saying that Jiao again looked into the old madam's eyes, expecting the truth to be told. 

 

Meanwhile, Ye Ai, the concubine of Yu Liwei, was beyond surprised at how bold Jiao asked her questions. 

 

She didn't fear the answer, as she had never shown any bad behavior regarding Jiao to anybody. 

 

Her daughter on the other hand was a different story. Glancing beside her at Yu Lijuan, she had no choice but to shake her head a bit. 

 

The love her husband had for his firstborn daughter was nothing when compared to the unconditional love he had shown to the dead Lady Li Shu's daughter. 

 

That resentment had followed her daughter's whole life, and it was only in the last three years that those feelings had changed somewhat. 

 

Yet, even then it couldn't compare to this Jiao, who somehow remained his number one priority despite the pain she had brought to him. ‘ Sigh, the Heavens are truly unfair. ’

 

Shaking that thought away she heard her mother-in-law speak. “ It was cordial for the most part. If there were grievances then they are hidden deep in the case of Concubine Ye. She is an adept schemer so if she had them she would never have shown such indications to even exist. Your half-sister on the other hand is an open book to me. ” Said the old madam as she looked at the granddaughter in question.

 

Looking at her own daughter, Ye Ai saw her facial expression crack. 

 

The earlier Suppression had unnerved her so much that she was very easy to read. 

 

If there was a good thing out of all this, then it was that her teachings had played a good role for despite what she went through, she was still holding on.  

 

“Sigh, the amount of attention she received from your father can't even compare to the attention you had. ” The old madam spoke. 

 

Every truth spoken rendered Yu Lijuan with more shame than the last one. “ Due to that fact she had grown jealous of you, She had tried many ways to gain his attention but ultimately failed. Her smarts and your frailty combined hindered that jealousy to blossom into full-blown resentment. ”

 

Seeing her granddaughter lowering her head lower and lower, Song Jinjing took pity on her. 

 

“ Lately though, she has started letting go of those feelings. I think the distance between the two of you helped her. More time will be needed, so try being more patient with her, after all, even if your body is younger, your mental age is higher. Weird as that is. ” She explained with a small petition.

 

Hearing those words blew Yu Lijuan’s mind. 

 

All this time, she had known that Jiao had gained memories of a past life, but not once did she consider the fact that Jiao could be older than her, even if only mentally. 

 

‘ If that was the case, then how was she to behave now? How should she treat Jiao? Evidently, Jiao was the younger sibling, but should she treat her as if she was the older one? ‘ Stunned and shocked by those questions racing in her mind, she failed to see how Jiao looked at her. 

 

Jiao sighed loud enough to be heard by all, yet somehow it had slipped her, as her mind went on with the possibilities.

 

Still stuck in a mental state, Yu Lijuan did not notice that her younger sister's right hand showed a peculiar shape. 

 

A moment before and right after Jiao sighed, she prepared her right middle finger and her thumb in a hand flicker pose and pointed at her older sister.

 

She released the flick and a particular sound reached her ears.

 

“ Oww. ” Yu Lijuan announced, as pain showed itself on the left side of her head. 

 

Reflexively she held that spot with her left hand and looked around. The pain had brought her out of her existential contemplation. 

 

Once her attention returned to the here and now, she heard her younger sister speak. 

 

“ Lijuan, do you still hold any resentment for me? ” Jiao asked her. 

 

To that question, she was unsure as to how to reply, as Yu Lijuan herself, wasn't sure if she did or not. 

 

All that came out of her mouth was air without any sound.

 

“Seeing your unsure expression, let's do it this way. ” Jiao stated. “ We can try to grow a cordial relationship from scratch as I don't mind doing it since I am already doing it with everybody else. If you want that to happen though will be up to you. ”

 

Nodding to herself at the sound decision, Jiao switched her gaze from her to her mother. “ Concubine Ye, to you I will give you the same opportunity if you answer me one simple question. What do you think? ”

 

“ Go ahead. ” Her mother answered. 

 

Nodding Jiao spoke. “ Have you had any hand in that event three years ago? ”

 

Shock once again came upon Yu Lijuan. 

 

That question went to the heart of the matter. 

 

It was only the calm expression her mother projected that calmed her down, and it was also at that moment that she remembered that she should be doing the same. 

 

Taking a deep breath, her mother's voice rang out. “ No, I had no hand in that event. ”

 

“ Very well. ” Her younger sister said. “ If you did or did not, I simply have no way to find out so I will take your word for it, for now. But I will give you one warning. The same warning applies to my older sister. ”

 

Hearing words of warning echo in the room, Yu Lijuan sharpened her ears. “ I am a very direct person. The same will apply to my methods of behavior, therefore if hostility is sent my way, I will retaliate. Not with schemes, though. No, I prefer more direct methods, like beating the offender bloody, so that not even their family will recognize them. ”

 

The calm that had returned vanished and Yu Lijuan’s mind began again to wonder for a second before her mother's voice replied calmly. “ Don't worry, there never was and never will be. ”

 

“ Good, if that is the case, then we can officially begin this cordial relationship. ” Jiao stated. “ I have a question for you, this is a personal question in regards to father. ”

 

“ Go ahead. ” Her mother answered. 

 

“ I can understand why I am the only child of my mother since she died in childbirth. ” Jiao said. “ But why is it that you have no other children? Could it be that father does not desire you anymore? ”

 

“ That… is personal indeed. ” Yu Lijuan saw her mother's calm face crack slightly for the first time, ever.