As soon as Yun Ruoyan had won the match, she went to the Lin manor to inform her grandfather and cousins of the good news. After asking about progress regarding the antidote, she returned to the Yun household.

Because the poison had yet to be cleansed, Yun Ruoyan fell asleep quite quickly. By the time she was woken up, it was already evening.

“Miss, the old madam’s summoning you again,” Peony informed her as she helped Yun Ruoyan dress.

Yun Ruoyan looked at the time of day. Given how late it was, there must have been an urgent reason for the old madam to summon her over. “Has she summoned anyone else?”

“Yes.” Peony nodded, somewhat worryingly. “The third miss and Miss Yi have also been summoned. I’m afraid it might be because of your match with the eldest miss today…”

Yun Ruoyan rubbed her temples, not thinking much of it. “That’s true—what else could it be?”

After all, her sisters in the Yun household kept causing trouble for her left and right, so she couldn’t even rest peacefully even if she tried. But what they didn’t know was that they were just playing into the hands of an outsider, Yi Qianying.

Yun Ruoyan made herself presentable, instructed Peony to light a lantern, and then went with her to the great hall.

Yun Ruoyu and Yi Qianying had been waiting there for quite a while. As soon as the old matriarch saw her enter, she put down her teacup and asked, “Ruoyan, I heard you beat Ruoyao in the competition today?”

“Yes, grandmother,” Yun Ruoyan answered honestly.

“Someone’s suspecting that you only managed to do so because you used some underhanded method.” Her tone was impartial, and it was hard to discern which side she favored.

Yun Ruoyan smiled and bowed. “Grandmother, there was quite a crowd during the actual battle. If I really had used some underhanded method, the judges would surely have been able to tell.”

Yun Ruoyan’s words were sensible, and the old madam nodded.

The judges from Kongming Academy were famed for being eagle-eyed, able to detect even the most minute attempt at cheating.

This was why those judges were so shocked when they saw Yun Ruoyao’s defeat.

Yun Ruoyu quickly interrupted, “Then, are you saying you won based on your own skill?”

“That’s right,” Yun Ruoyan answered honestly.

“Sister,” Yi Qianying finally spoke up, “If you really wanted to go to Kongming Academy, we would have supported you. Why stoop to such underhanded methods? What’s more, this sort of elimination-based selection is meant to stop the less talented, like you, from being endangered in the subsequent trials…”

Yi Qianying wasn’t going to let this go, was she?

“That’s right. Who doesn’t know that you’re not even a third-rank blademaster?” Yun Ruoyu gave her a supercilious look. “As for Sister Ruoyao, she’s been training under a blademaster ever since she was five! Even Qianying and I aren’t a match for her, so how could she have lost to you?! Do you think your cultivation’s higher than ours?”

Yun Ruoyan waited until Yun Ruoyu finished, her face calm and placid. Normally, Yun Ruoyan would have shaken her head timidly and weakly, but at this moment, all she did was look silently at her.

“That’s right,” came Yun Ruoyan’s clear voice. “My cultivation has always been above yours.”

Such confident words! If they hadn’t seen Yun Ruoyan beat Yun Ruoyao with their own eyes, the girls would definitely have thought that she was just boasting: a useless piece of trash, saying that her cultivation was better than theirs? How was that possible?

But having seen the fight with their own eyes, neither Yun Ruoyu nor Yi Qianying could refute her words.

Could it be…that Yun Ruoyan truly hadn’t cheated?! Had she really beaten Yun Ruoyao with her own skill? But this was impossible!

“Ruoyu, you haven’t forgotten how I beat you that day, have you?” Yun Ruoyan looked towards Yun Ruyou, smiling.

“You, you!” Yun Ruoyu began to panic.

Being beaten by someone like her was embarrassing enough, but now Yun Ruoyan had even brought it up in front of their grandmother!

But Yun Ruoyan said was the truth.

She’d thought that the only reason Yun Ruoyan was able to demonstrate such strength was a mere fluke. Hearing Yun Ruoyan’s words now, though… could it be that her defeat that day wasn’t just a simple coincidence?

Yun Ruoyu grit her teeth, unwilling to admit defeat. “That was just a coincidence, because you were lucky! I only lost to you because I wasn’t paying attention!”

“Then, does that mean that Yun Moyuan also lost to me because he wasn’t paying attention?”

Yun Ruoyu was about to continue arguing when the old madam interrupted, “Ruoyan, what did you say? Moyuan lost to you too?”

“Yes, Grandmother,” Yun Ruoyan replied with a smile.

The old matriarch looked at Yun Ruoyan’s honest expression, a smile dancing by her lips. This granddaughter of hers had truly changed for the better, but how unfortunate…

The old madam’s gaze landed on the birthmark on Yun Ruoyan’s face.

How unfortunate her appearance was…

Yun Ruoyan noticed her grandmother’s gaze, and her face instantly became boiling hot. She knew she wasn’t pretty, but she was trying her best to forget about the existence of the birthmark on her face. However, every time she was reminded of it, she would feel a little twinge of embarrassment, as though she had returned to her former weak self.

She hated this sort of feeling, and quickly averted her gaze. “Ruoyu, if you don’t believe that I’m strong, why don’t we have a match right here and now?”

Yun Ruoyu frowned. A rematch? And right in front of their grandmother? Wouldn’t that just cause her to embarrass herself once more? No, she wasn’t going to do so!

“My, my cultivation isn’t as good as Yi Qianying’s, why don’t you ask her?”

Yun Ruoyan smiled, her gaze landing on Yi Qianying.

Yi Qianying also took a step back, forcing a smile. “Sister, you really like to joke, don’t you? You’ve already won the match against Ruoyao today, so do you really have to try to have a match with us too?”

She made it sound as if Yun Ruoyan wanted to exhibit her skills in front of others.

Yun Ruoyan ignored her as she continued, “If you’re truly dissatisfied with my victory, why not just arrange a match with me one of these days? Why knock me down using, as you say, such underhanded means?”

The old matriarch nodded, her impression of Yun Ruoyan improving further and further.

After all, Yun Ruoyan was the only daughter from her son’s late wife, and she was the descendant of a family of renowned pillmakers and physicians on her mother’s side. Despite her lackluster performance to date, the Yun matriarch still held high hopes for her.

It was simply that, because of Yun Ruoyan’s personality and loss of talent, her hopes for Yun Ruoyan had been diminishing by the day.

Luckily, Yun Ruoyan finally seemed to be improving.

“It’s late, and we’ve talked for so long, so why don’t we all leave it at that?” The old madam cleared her throat and instructed Yun Ruoyu and Yi Qianying, “The two of you should console Ruoyao a little. If she really wants to get into Kongming Academy, there are still plenty of chances ahead.”

“Yes, Grandmother.”