At this moment, Nanny Xu was making medicinal cuisine in the small kitchen. Yao Yao was about to turn ten and she was growing. She had to eat more to nourish her body and improve her health, so that she would look better in the future too.

Dong Mei rushed over. “Nanny, Master just slapped Young Mistress. She must be feeling terrible. As soon as she returned to her room, she chased Chun Xiao and me out of the room without even applying any medicine. Quick, go take a look!”

Nanny Xu’s heart skipped a beat. She quickly said, “Watch the fire on the stove. I’ll go take a look.”

She had already been in the residence for a period of time, and she knew that Master Yu Zongzheng was biased towards the mother and daughter pair from the main courtyard. He did not like his eldest daughter, Yu Youyao, and often reprimanded and criticized her.

But, wasn’t slapping her a little too much?

Yao Yao was still a child. How could she endure it?

Nanny Xu was very worried, so she couldn’t help but quicken her pace.

She had entered the palace since she was young and had endured a long time before she could leave the palace. She was old and had no intention of getting married again, nor did she have any relatives by her side.

After entering the Yu Residence and spending time with Yu Youyao, she had developed affection for the girl.

There were three large rooms on the second floor. On the left was the embroidery room. Usually, Yu Youyao did all her learning there. On the right was a room with boxes of things that girls needed, such as clothes, accessories, spices, and so on. In the middle was Yu Youyao’s room. The three rooms were all connected.

Chun Xiao wasn’t around, and neither were there any maidservants on duty outside. Nanny Xu frowned and knocked on the inner room door. “Yao Yao?”

There was no response from inside. Nanny Xu pressed her ear against the door and vaguely heard faint footsteps in the room, along with quite a lot of rustling sounds. She felt rather worried. “Young Mistress, I’m coming in.”

Without waiting for Yu Youyao to reply, Nanny Xu pushed open the door and quickly walked into the room. She saw Yu Youyao lying on the bed with the blanket over her. Her small body was curled up into a ball, and the embroidered shoes at the side of her bed were strewn about. It looked like she had been in a hurry to lie down in bed, trying to hide something.

Nanny Xu was a little suspicious. She sat on the edge of the bed. “Yao Yao, are you sad?”

Yu Youyao whimpered softly, her little body trembling under the covers like a helpless cub.

Nanny Xu felt very upset.

What a silly girl!

Usually, when she cried, her wails were loud as thunder, but she never troubled anyone. However, now that she felt truly and deeply sad, she only knew how to hide under her covers and whimper, not even daring to let others hear her.

“Even a mother who’s a beggar is more reliable than a father who’s an official.” A child without a mother could only endure in silence, even when suffering a great grievance.

“I used to work in the palace, so I’ve seen all kinds of ways to compete for favor. There are many ways to get your father’s attention and affection. I guarantee that even the people from the main courtyard won’t be able to compete with you.” In her eyes, the tactics of Yang Shuwan and her daughter were simply amateurish at best.

Yu Youyao’s body stiffened.

In the past, every time her father scolded her, she would always hold the child Buddha jade pendant on her chest in her palm and wonder if her father would have married Yang Shuwan if her mother had not died. If Yu Jianjia didn’t exist, would her father have doted on her more?

Nanny Xu tugged at the blanket that Yu Youyao had covered her face with. When Yu Youyao did not resist, Nanny Xu heaved a sigh of relief and pulled harder to remove the blanket.

Yu Youyao bit her lip and cried silently. Her fair face was stained with tears, and her face was shockingly red. There was also some dried blood at the corner of her mouth. If one did not look closely, they would not be able to tell how hard Yu Zongzheng had slapped her. He had used almost 70% to 80% of the strength of an adult man.

Nanny Xu gasped and pulled Yu Youyao up into her arms without any words.

The sadness that Yu Youyao had been suppressing for a long time suddenly exploded. She crawled into Nanny’s arms and cried, “Nanny, I miss my mother. My mother, she, she, Father…”

There seemed to be something stuck in her throat, and she couldn’t say it out no matter how much she tried.

Nanny Xu was relieved that she was crying aloud now, and stroked her trembling back repeatedly.

After wailing loudly for a while, Yu Youyao gradually stopped. She was probably still very upset, but she lowered her head and sobbed softly, saying, “It’s not worth it.”

A person who was neither fit to be a husband nor a father wasn’t worth her effort and sincerity. If he didn’t like her, so be it. She didn’t care anymore.

She still had her grandmother, Nanny Liu, Nanny Xu, and her cousin.

There was also her maternal grandfather’s family. Although they were far apart, they always remembered her during the holidays. Each time they sent a gift, it was always a meticulously chosen one.

Nanny Xu looked at her in surprise. She looked at the little girl’s bright black eyes, which were now red from crying, but looked crystal clear and calm, as if all of the dust of the world had been washed away.

With just one glance, she understood that the little girl had grown up. However, the price of this growth was too cruel. Nanny Xu gently stroked her cheek and asked, “Does it hurt?”

Yu Youyao nodded, then shook her head. “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

Nanny Xu smiled. Her eyes were a little moist as she gently caressed the top of her head. “Silly child, your face is swollen. How can it not hurt?”

Her face hurt, but her heart had hurt even more!

Yu Youyao blinked and said nothing. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked pitiful, but at the same time exuded a delicate charm.

Nanny Xu rebuked, “You have to change your habit of covering your face. Otherwise, you’ll get sick from holding it in. Sit down obediently. I’ll get you a glass of water.”

After crying for such a long while, Yu Youyao was indeed a little thirsty, so she nodded.

Nanny Xu poured a cup of water and handed it to Yu Youyao, who held the teacup and sipped slowly. “Nanny, I want to learn from you. I want to learn the abilities needed to develop a family, establish myself, and build a good life.”

Nanny Xu had no relatives, so she had entered the palace as a palace maid, becoming a favored person in the Empress Dowager’s palace. She had also received grace and was released from the palace before she was forty.

The palace servants who came out of the palace looked impressive, but there weren’t many who were truly capable.

Other palace servants had to wait to be picked by a family, while Nanny Xu was able to pick one that she was satisfied with. With her own capability, she had gained the favor of Old Madam Yu, and the respect of everyone in the Yu Residence. In just a few days, she had established herself in the Yu family. No one in the family dared to order her around like a servant, and they all greeted her politely.

Nanny Xu stroked Yu Youyao’s head and said gently, “Although women are restricted in many ways, there are still thousands of paths in this world. It depends on which one you want to take. As long as you learn everything I’ve taught you, you can always carve your own path and work hard to live a life you want. This is what it means to establish a family and a place for yourself in the world.”

Yu Youyao nodded thoughtfully.

Nanny Xu felt gratified, and she called out to Chun Xiao.

Chun Xiao had warned the servants in the courtyard to prevent them from gossiping. At this moment, she was waiting outside. When she heard Nanny Xu calling her, she quickly walked into the house with a copper basin.