Yun Jinnian turned her head and saw the second young lady, Yun Zihan, "Second Sister!"
Yun Zihan smiled at Yun Jinnian and stepped forward to take her hand, "Why are your hands so cold? Didn’t you bring a handwarmer when you came out?"
Niannian Garden, however, didn’t have any.
"I’m used to it, I’m not cold!" Yun Jinnian said, attempting to pull her hand away.
Yun Zihan, however, stuffed her own warm flask into Yun Jinnian’s hands, "Use mine to warm up for now!"
"No..." Yun Jinnian was about to refuse.
Yun Zihan laughed, "Let’s go in quickly, otherwise the Master will get angry soon!" She pulled Yun Jinnian towards the inside.
Yun Jinnian’s body stiffened, not quite accustomed to such close contact with others.
Once inside the courtyard, the playful crowd suddenly all looked over, with Xu Xinmo taking the lead, looking particularly hostile.
"What are you doing here?" Xu Xinmo asked coldly, full of arrogance.
She had completely forgotten that this was Yun Jinnian’s home; she was just a cousin, in plain terms, a guest.
"Grandmother asked me to come here to study!" Yun Jinnian stood tall, neither humble nor arrogant.
Her eyes were calm, like deep pools, gazing at Xu Xinmo.
Xu Xinmo grew increasingly envious.
Envious of how Yun Jinnian’s every gesture exuded beauty, elegance, and nobility, as if it came naturally to her.
"Hmph, do you even know how to read?"
"Ahahaha, you actually can’t read? If you can’t read, what are you doing here?"
Their laughter was mocking and unrestrained.
Yun Jinnian looked up to see the two legitimate younger sisters born to the wife of the first house.
Eight-year-old Yun Musi, and six-year-old Yun Mulan.
Being the legitimate daughters born to the first house, their mother was in charge of household provisions and was the Lady of the house. Their father was a third-rank official. No wonder they dared to openly mock their legitimate sister.
Other half-sisters all kept their heads lowered, trying to minimize their presence as much as possible.
"I cannot recognize characters because I have never had the opportunity to enter the private school. No one is born able to read, you are only laughing at me because you started learning earlier than I did. Whose rule is it to ridicule me for this— your family’s or someone else’s? Grandmother’s or the Lady’s?" Yun Jinnian’s words were like pearls dropping onto a jade plate.
This made Yun Musi and Yun Mulan swallow hard.
Because at this moment, Yun Jinnian frightened them.
If a real commotion broke out, or if the news spread that they mocked their legitimate sister and tarnished her reputation, that would be enough to deal with them.
"Isn’t it just being able to come to the private girls’ school—what’s there to be so arrogant about!" Xu Xinmo, seeing Yun Musi and Yun Mulan defeated, chimed in to take their side.
"I have never been arrogant; on the contrary, I cherish the opportunity to study here at the academy!"
Having said that, Yun Jinnian stepped inside the house.
And sat in the foremost position.
That used to be Yun Muyou’s exclusive seat, but now that Yun Mulan had gone to Songshan Academy, that seat had become vacant.
Yun Musi, Yun Mulan, and Xu Xinmo looked at each other outside, shocked at how Yun Jinnian dared to sit in that spot.
Xu Xinmo, however, emboldened by a habit of bullying Yun Jinnian, furiously stepped forward and grabbed Yun Jinnian’s arm, "What gives you the right to sit here!"
Yun Jinnian looked up, her gaze cool as she looked at Xu Xinmo, "Is this your seat?"
"It is not!" Xu Xinmo said sternly.
"Then is there someone sitting here?" Yun Jinnian asked again.
"This is the seat of the eldest cousin, by what right..."
"By the right that I am the legitimate daughter of the Yun Family, by the right that my father is the Second Master of this house, I am the legitimate granddaughter of Grandmother, and since the eldest sister has gone to Songshan Academy and this seat has been freed up, and there are no spare seats for me in this room, what is wrong with me sitting here?"