Lei Fang then turned toward her mother and gently pulled her closer.
Her playful expression softened as she reminisced about her childhood in the village—the peaceful days she had spent running around without a care in the world, the familiar scenery she had grown accustomed to, and, most of all, her brothers.
"Muqin," Lei Fang said sadly, leaning against her mother. "I'm going to miss living here. I'm going to miss you, Father, and my brothers."
Tears slowly trickled down Madame Yu's cheeks. She lovingly patted her daughter's hand.
"Fang'er, I am happy to have given birth to such a cheerful and lovely daughter like you. I always knew that one day, someone would come and take my daughter away from me."
Madame Yu sighed emotionally.
"After the engagement between our two clans was annulled, I never imagined that Wangye, a man known throughout the kingdom as a ruthless prince, would voluntarily choose to marry you instead. In all honesty, I was extremely worried because of his reputation."
She paused and smiled warmly at her daughter.
"But after seeing how dearly he cherishes you, all my worries have disappeared. I am happy that the person standing beside you is him rather than Young Master Mu."
Lei Fang quietly listened to her mother.
The two continued walking through the courtyard, chatting about the scenery. Madame Yu admired how beautiful the yard had become, especially the decorative rocks surrounding it that made everything appear even more eye-catching.
After exchanging a few pleasantries about the courtyard, Lei Fang eventually changed the subject to Yi Mei's wedding and discussed several adjustments she wanted made to the decorations.
About thirty minutes later, Xi Ting approached them unhurriedly.
With a respectful bow, she said, "Wangfei, the wedding dress is ready for you and Madame Yu to inspect."
Lei Fang's eyes immediately brightened.
She grabbed her mother's arm and happily pulled her along toward her chamber.
"Come, Muqin! Let's go see it!"
However, just as they reached the door, a furious scream came from inside.
Madame Yu and Lei Fang immediately frowned.
Madame Yu reached for the door, intending to find out who dared cause such a commotion inside her daughter's chamber, but Lei Fang abruptly stopped her.
"Shh."
Lei Fang raised a finger to her lips.
Madame Yu immediately understood.
The mother and daughter remained outside, silently listening.
Inside the chamber, Yi Mei angrily stomped her foot while shouting at the servants who had been instructed to help Xi Ting clean and organize the room.
The servants stood silently with their heads lowered, none daring to look directly at the Second Miss.
One young maid, Xi Lee, felt particularly wronged. They had merely been following the instructions given to them by Madame Yu and the First Miss. Yet Yi Mei continued directing her anger toward them.
Finally gathering her courage, Xi Lee raised her head.
"Second Miss, we lowly servants are only following Madame Yu and First Miss's instructions. Please calm your anger. We did not mean to offend you."
Yi Mei's entire body trembled with fury.
She pointed accusingly at Xi Lee.
"How dare you! You are merely a servant, yet you dare talk back to me?! I want a new wedding dress, not some passed-down dress belonging to First Miss! Even if I am the Second Miss, I am still your master!"
Unable to control her temper, Yi Mei struck the maid across the cheek.
Xi Lee stumbled backward, immediately clutching her reddened cheek.
Terrified, she quickly dropped to her knees with a thud.
"Second Miss, please forgive this servant!"
Seeing the frightened maid kneeling before her, Yi Mei felt a sense of satisfaction.
She lifted her chin arrogantly before pointing toward the wedding dress.
"Throw that dress away! I refuse to wear it!"
The servants hesitated.
"Did you not hear me?" Yi Mei shouted. "Throw it away!"
Left with no choice, two servants slowly reached toward the wedding dress.
But before their hands could touch it—
BANG!
The chamber door suddenly flew open.
Every servant froze.
Yi Mei's face instantly turned pale.
Madame Yu stood in the doorway with Lei Fang beside her.
The fury on Madame Yu's face was unmistakable.
"A-Aunt..." Yi Mei stammered.
She immediately lowered her head and dropped to her knees.
"Why... why are you here?"
Madame Yu's chest rose and fell heavily as she struggled to contain her anger.
Lei Fang gently patted her mother's back.
However, she had absolutely no intention of stopping her mother from reprimanding Yi Mei.
Madame Yu pointed a trembling finger at her niece.
"Mei'er! How dare you enter my daughter's chamber without her permission?!"
Yi Mei lowered her head further.
"And how dare you order the servants to throw away your wedding dress when your wedding is tomorrow!?"
Madame Yu's voice grew louder.
"Worse yet, you struck a servant simply because she defended herself after being wrongly accused by you! Do you have any idea what you are doing?"
"Aunt, I—"
"Enough!"
Yi Mei immediately fell silent.
"Do you have any idea how long it takes to make a wedding dress?" Madame Yu continued. "Fang'er willingly offered to have her own dress readjusted so that you would have proper attire for your wedding tomorrow. Yet instead of appreciating her kindness, you come here throwing a tantrum!"
Madame Yu was so furious that her next words escaped before she could reconsider them.
"If you are going to be this ungrateful, then you might as well walk down the aisle naked! Perhaps then you will finally understand the value of the love and generosity this family has shown you!"
Lei Fang's eyebrows shot upward.
Muqin!
She nearly burst out laughing.
Who knew her gentle mother could say something so ruthless?
Yi Mei remained kneeling with her head lowered.
Although she appeared obedient on the outside, her eyes burned with fury.
Her fingers tightly clenched the fabric of her dress as she desperately tried to suppress her anger.
"I apologize, First Miss... Aunt..."
Madame Yu rubbed her forehead as a headache began forming.
She had heard enough.
"Take Second Miss back to her chamber," she ordered. "She is not permitted to leave until her wedding ceremony tomorrow."
"Yes, Madame!"
The servants immediately bowed.
Two maids escorted Yi Mei away before another incident could occur.
Once the room finally became quiet, Lei Fang glanced around.
Truthfully, she found the entire fiasco rather boring.
After all, she already knew she would not remain in this plane for much longer.
There were far more important matters she needed to accomplish before leaving.
Noticing Madame Fang massaging her forehead, Lei Fang quickly guided her mother toward a chair.
"Muqin, sit down. Don't let someone like her ruin your health."
She then turned toward the servants.
"Go fetch the seamstress. And bring my mother some calming tea."
"Yes, Wangfei."
The servants hurried away.
Madame Yu slowly raised her head and looked at her daughter.
For several moments, she simply stared at Lei Fang.
Then she released a long, exhausted sigh and shook her head.
"Fang'er..."
Her eyes filled with disappointment.
"I truly do not understand where Mei'er learned to behave this way. Your uncle and aunt entrusted her to our family, and I have tried my best to treat her as though she were my own daughter. Yet the closer her wedding approaches, the more unreasonable her behavior becomes."
Madame Yu gently squeezed Lei Fang's hand.
"But what pains me most is seeing her repay your kindness with resentment. You gave her your wedding dress when you had no obligation to do so, yet she still believes it is beneath her."
Lei Fang stared at her mother for a moment before giving her a small smile.
"Muqin, don't trouble yourself over it. Tomorrow is her wedding. Once she enters the Mu household, whether she appreciates what we have done for her or not will no longer be our concern."
Madame Yu looked at her daughter in surprise.
Lei Fang innocently smiled.
But deep inside, another thought crossed her mind.
Besides... after tomorrow, Yi Mei is going to have much bigger problems than an old wedding dress.