“How ridiculous,” the second master scoffed.
“How can you be so sure what you want is best for him? Does Ye’er truly want to endure hardship with you, drifting from place to place without knowing where his next meal will come from?
“How do you know you’re making the right choice for him right now? What if he prefers wealth and status over a simple life?
“Without the power and backing of the Cheng Manor, he will have to fight for everything on his own. His path in the civil service will be far steeper, and he will suffer more trials and indignities than his peers. Can you guarantee he won’t grow to resent you for it? Can you swear that you won’t regret watching him wither in obscurity?”
Damn it.
Yu Fanfan had to hand it to him. Coming from the Court of Judicial Review, the man certainly knew how to argue and manipulate.
Her resolve had wavered for a split second, and she had almost bought into his reasoning. Fortunately, memories of the harsh life the original host and Little Bun had endured flashed through her mind, pulling her back from the edge just in time.
Even so, taking in the scene before her, the second master’s unyielding stance, and the elite guards behind him—who were clearly on a different level than the useless servants from earlier—she knew her chances of taking Little Bun away right now were practically zero.
Circumstances were against her, and throwing an egg against a stone would be utter folly. Left with no choice, Yu Fanfan feigned submission.
She gave Little Bun a soothing pat and whispered into his ear, “Don’t be afraid, Ye’er. Wait for Mother.”
As if sensing what was happening, the little boy trembled, tears welling in his eyes.
He clung to her neck with his tiny hands, whimpering pitifully, “No, Mother, don’t… Ye’er will be good. I want Mother. Mother, don’t go…”
Every fragile, pleading cry pierced Yu Fanfan’s heart like a blade. She wanted nothing more than to hold on to him, but she was powerless.
Tightening her embrace, she pressed close to the struggling child, murmuring desperately, “I’m sorry, Ye’er. Mother promises she won’t make you wait long, okay?”
Hardening her heart against the agonizing pain, she carefully handed Little Bun over to the second master’s attendant.
Tears slipped down her cheeks. It was the primal, visceral grief of a mother losing her young.
At that moment, Yu Fanfan truly believed this was no mere transmigration, but her own past and present lives. This was her body, and this boy was her flesh and blood.
Why else would her heart ache so terribly?
The little boy squirmed in the grip of the second master’s attendant. Afraid of hurting him, the attendant loosened his hold, letting the child slip down to the ground.
Ye’er dashed toward Yu Fanfan in two quick steps and wrapped his small arms tightly around her leg. He tilted his tear-streaked face up to look at her, eyes brimming with longing and reluctance.
The sight struck Yu Fanfan like a blow to the chest. She wanted nothing more than to scoop him into her arms and run for her life.
Yet her mind remained cursedly clear. She knew she couldn’t.
Damn this world, damn this feudal dynasty, damn the ties of blood, and damn this whole miserable life!
She wiped stubbornly at her tears, steeled her heart, and pried her son’s little hands from her leg. Inwardly, she swore a fierce oath.
Even if she had to steal him away in the dead of night, she would find a way. To hell with impossible choices, to hell with worldly wisdom. She knew only one thing: raising the boy herself was far better than leaving him to be ground down in this wretched household.
“Don’t cry, Ye’er. Be a good boy and listen to your granduncle. Eat well, grow up strong, and Mother promises she’ll visit often, all right?”
“Mother… don’t go, I’ll be good…” The boy sobbed, clinging to Yu Fanfan’s leg again.
His cries tore at her heart. Squeezing her eyes shut against the falling tears, she steeled herself to pry his little hands away and handed him over to the attendant.
Circumstances forced her hand. Since she couldn’t take her son with her, she had to do everything she could to pave a safe path for him and ensure his protection while he remained in the duke’s manor.
Trying her best to block out the child’s sobs, Yu Fanfan turned around. Her expression hardened with fierce resolve as she pointed sharply at the wet nurse, who had been helped to her feet by the older maidservants and was miraculously still breathing.
“Since you insist on keeping my son, Second Master, I assume you will guarantee his safety and make sure he is well provided for, won’t you?”
Xie Guangheng nodded. “Naturally.”
Yu Fanfan nodded with satisfaction. “Very well. In that case, Second Master, humble as I am, may I make a few requests for the sake of my child’s safety?”
“Speak freely, Shiyan’s wife.”
“First, I don’t want this wet nurse with her ulterior motives anywhere near my son. I must trouble you to find another—someone kind and attentive who will protect Ye’er, rather than taking advantage of his youth to manipulate him.”
“Agreed,” Xie Guangheng replied without hesitation.
“Second, you know full well how the old madam and the duchess feel about Ye’er. Since you insist on keeping him here, you must guarantee his provisions, ensure he receives the treatment he is entitled to, and never let snobbish servants mistreat him.”
“Of course. Starting today, I’ll move him to the front courtyard and look after him personally until Eldest Brother and Xie Shiyan return. Does that satisfy you, Shiyan’s wife?”
“Second Master,” Yu Fanfan insisted through an aching head, “I am myself. I am Yu Fanfan, and I am no longer anyone’s wife.”
Xie Guangheng gave a quiet chuckle, ignoring her comment entirely. “Very well, Madam Yu. Do you have any other requests?”
Yu Fanfan nodded. “Third, please summon a physician to examine Ye’er. Tend to the injury the wet nurse inflicted just now, and have the doctor conduct a thorough examination from head to toe. Whatever nourishment or treatment he requires, see that he receives it.”
Her son’s health was what worried her most.
“Naturally.” Xie Guangheng raised no objection to this. “He is Xie blood, and the family will care for him properly. But after all this, Madam Yu, have you nothing to ask for yourself?”
“For myself? No.” She smiled, reluctantly tearing her gaze from her son to meet Xie Guangheng’s eyes.
“Everything I needed to do, everything I wanted to demand, I have already settled.”
“Then you should go. The incense stick is nearly burned out, isn’t it?”
A hint of sarcasm edged his voice. Before Yu Fanfan could reply, Xie Guangheng waved a hand, calling out to the servants and guards he had brought with him.
“Men, carry Miss Yu’s dowry chests out! I will escort her from the estate myself and let everyone outside see exactly how our Cheng Manor ‘murders for money’!” His loaded words dripped with pointed sarcasm.
It was hardly surprising Xie Guangheng had resorted to such a display. No matter how much sympathy he might have felt for his nephew’s wife, and regardless of the wrongs and harm she had suffered, her actions had brought dishonor upon their ancestral lineage.
She had dragged the Xie family name through the mud, reducing their grand house to laughingstock and common gossip. By tomorrow, who knew how many memorials impeaching the Xie family would pile up on His Majesty’s desk? The mere thought made him determined to teach this ignorant woman a lesson.
Even if he could not vent his fury by killing her, and even if he could not fully wash away the stain on their reputation, he still had to show this mere woman—and the world at large—what came of crossing the Xie family.
Watching the servants carry her dowry chests through the main gates one after another, and seeing the second master’s abrupt shift in attitude, Yu Fanfan knew what he was playing at. Her mind raced to devise a counter.
Following behind Xie Guangheng at the rear of the dowry procession, Yu Fanfan stepped out through the main gates of the Cheng Manor.
Watching Second Master Xie lower his haughty, dignified head—mimicking her earlier act by playing the martyr to the onlookers—she was thoroughly disgusted.
He painted the Xie family as aggrieved yet magnanimous, claiming that despite being insulted at their own doorstep by a mere woman, they were treating her with boundless charity. He was stepping on her to clear the manor’s reputation.
A stream of curses ran through her head.
She could not let him ruin the advantage she had worked so hard to build. And what did he mean by saying that if the Xie family were truly ruthless, she would never have kept her life, let alone been allowed to cause a scene and have every last coin magnanimously returned to her?
Yu Fanfan seethed with anger. Her panic grew as she noticed many in the crowd wavering, actually falling for his sanctimonious act.
This second master was the real danger—a master at drawing blood without showing a blade. Behind that seemingly kind, upright facade, his retaliation was razor-sharp, enacted without lifting a single finger.
Yu Fanfan was an orphaned girl left with a dowry lavish enough to stir dangerous greed—a fortune deliberately put on display.
She sighed inwardly. Fortunately, she had prepared for this.
Feeling the banknotes, land deeds, property titles, and household registry tucked securely against her chest brought a measure of relief. Outwardly, however, she maintained an expression of helpless, suppressed fury.
As the second master concluded his conciliatory speech and led his servants away, it was her turn to take the stage.
Yu Fanfan dipped into a curtsy before the watching crowd, fully stepping into her role.
“Thanks to all of you, justice has been served today,” she began, her voice tinged with emotion.
“I have little to offer in return, and keeping a dowry tainted by the Duke of Cheng only breaks my heart. Aside from a few changes of clothes and the precious keepsakes left by my late parents, I want none of it. If you don’t mind, please, take a piece or two home. Even if you only pawn them for a modest sum, you can buy some meat for your wives and children. Consider it a token of my gratitude for your kindness and righteousness today. Please, do not refuse.”