People naturally sympathized with the weak. More than that, they felt immense pity for Yu Fanfan—an orphan of fallen warriors who had married into the Cheng Manor as its young madam, only to end up an abandoned wife.
Seeing the crowd’s outrage and realizing they had all sided with Madam Yu, Li Jiayu sensed danger. She had remained silent while supporting the old madam, but this turn of events caught her off guard.
She had never thought much of her stepson’s wife, assuming she was a quiet, harmless creature. Yet now the silent dog had begun to bark, snapping madly at their household and threatening real damage.
“Mother!” Li Jiayu tightened her grip on the old madam’s arm. “This touches on the imperial court and His Majesty. We cannot let Madam Yu go on like this, or the Xie family’s reputation will be ruined!”
The family’s ruin was one thing, but what truly mattered was her own son and the ducal title meant to pass down to the fifth generation.
Otherwise, if someone with ill intentions spread the word, what was meant to target nothing more than an insignificant abandoned wife could easily be twisted into something far worse.
Letting this fool continue making a scene might give malicious people an excuse to accuse the Cheng Manor of showing contempt for His Majesty and the imperial court, or even of disloyalty and unfilial conduct. That was absolutely unacceptable!
Li Jiayu steadied her mind. Supporting the old madam firmly, she continued to urge her in an anxious, low voice.
“Mother, look, the current situation isn’t right—it’s very disadvantageous to us! Madam Yu has thrown all shame to the wind and won’t hesitate to drag our entire duke’s manor down with her.”
“She has nothing to lose, but we cannot allow things to keep developing like this. Otherwise, even if an upright person fears no crooked shadow, the families who hate to see us prosper will surely seize this chance to take a bite out of us!”
“Mother, for the sake of the Lord Duke and for the honor of our entire duke’s manor, we cannot let Madam Yu continue to cause such a scene!”
Li Jiayu’s words were weighty and hit the nail right on the head.
In particular, as her gaze lingered on a familiar group of servants standing with arms crossed at the back of the crowd to watch the spectacle, the old madam saw clearly: weren’t those servants precisely the dog-slaves from their family’s longstanding rivals?
At that thought, the old madam quickly swallowed her rising fury.
Decades as the head matriarch had not been in vain. Even with the situation spiraling out of hand, she kept her composure, realizing at once that it was useless to keep trading barbs with such a foolish woman.
With a sweeping wave of her hand, her sharp gaze locked onto Yu Fanfan, who was still playing the aggrieved victim below to stir up trouble.
“Madam Yu, that is enough from you!”
Yu Fanfan looked up at the old woman, who was surrounded by maids and servants, visibly straining to rein in her flustered rage. Tilting her head slightly, she waited to see what move would come next.
“Madam Yu,” the old madam began, “I know you came to make a scene at the duke’s manor because you feel wronged. Fine, fine. Seeing as you are an orphan with no one to rely on, I will forgive your rudeness and overlook a child’s folly.
“Yet, while I am willing to be magnanimous, you cannot keep inciting the crowd and throwing such unreasonable tantrums.
“Whatever grievances or complaints you harbor, we can sit down and discuss them calmly. As the saying goes, even the wisest magistrate cannot settle family affairs, and dirty linen should not be washed in public. Whatever anger you have, come inside with me first and let us talk it through properly. We shouldn’t trouble everyone with our private matters. What do you say?”
The older ginger was indeed spicier.
With just a few words, the old woman tried to dismiss Yu Fanfan’s entire scene as youthful ignorance, reducing it to a private domestic dispute while subtly reminding the crowd that even the most upright official could not settle family matters.
Yu Fanfan had spent far too many tears and too much breath framing this personal grievance as a matter of national righteousness. She was not about to let the old madam undo her work with a couple of dismissive remarks.
Not a chance.
Instantly slipping into character, Yu Fanfan shivered as though terrified of the old crone, swaying delicately like a fragile white lotus. She could not help but admire such tactics in her heart—innocent act or manipulative tea, they truly had their place. For now, everyone was welcome to call her the ultimate master of both.
“I won’t step a single foot through the doors of the Cheng Manor!”
“Why?” startled, Duchess Li Jiayu blurted out.
“Why?” Yu Fanfan raised an eyebrow, astonished by the woman’s nerve.
“My grandfather gave his life to save the old duke, securing the marriage alliance between our families. Later, after my brother fell in battle, my father dragged his wounded, broken body from the front lines to escort me, Yu Fanfan, through the front doors of your Cheng Manor—with the accumulated wealth of generations of the Yu family, married in full honor and dignity.”
“Barely three years later, right after the old duke passed away, you conspired with the newly appointed duchess. While my husband was away on an imperial errand, you fabricated charges out of thin air to drive me out. You used jealousy as a pretext, accusing me of refusing to let my husband take your niece as a concubine. Never mind that I was in mourning for the old duke, or that I was the orphaned daughter of fallen soldiers. ”
“When I refused to yield, you starved me until I fell gravely ill. Then, ignoring my failing health, you embezzled my dowry, loaded me into an empty mule cart, and sent me alone to a suburban estate. ”
“I had not a single servant to tend to me. And once I arrived, you even sent thugs to take my life! ”
Sobbing…
“I knew the Xie family’s manor ran deep with intrigue, too deep for a soldier’s orphan like me to navigate. But I never imagined you could be so vicious. Just to elevate your own kin, you were willing to take my life!”
“Pity a helpless orphan like me, who barely escaped with her life just to come here today and demand justice. Yet before I can even get it, how could I dare step through your doors? I’m terrified—terrified that once I go in, I’ll never come out alive!”
“You… You!”
Both the old madam and Li Jiayu were trembling with rage, their faces contorted by Yu Fanfan’s shameless accusations.
They had never imagined Yu Fanfan would go this far, daring to say anything without fear that they might lift a single finger and silence her forever.
Little did they know, it was precisely that fear which had driven Yu Fanfan to burn her bridges and stage this scene in the first place.
The crowd listening to Yu Fanfan’s tearful outcry took note of the fierce, venomous expressions on the faces of the old madam and the duchess, contrasting sharply with Yu Fanfan’s desperate resolve.
Convinced that she was telling the truth, onlookers began speaking up in her defense, pointing fingers at the noblewomen who had once seemed untouchable. After all, such an opportunity rarely presented itself.
A few among the crowd, thrilled at the chance to kick their longtime rivals while they were down, eagerly joined in. Stripping away the dignity of the Cheng Manor and watching them make fools of themselves was too good to pass up, and they threw their full support behind Yu Fanfan’s public confrontation.
Seeing how things were unfolding, the old madam and the duchess knew they could not let Yu Fanfan blow this any further out of proportion. Suppressing their murderous rage, they forced out a promise through gritted teeth.
“Madam Yu, you’re overthinking things. This is all a misunderstanding. We swear no harm will come to you. Let us speak inside—don’t make a spectacle of ourselves before outsiders.”
Yu Fanfan offered a serene smile. “These are all kind-hearted people trying to help me, not outsiders.”
Gods, that sounds so sanctimonious, she thought, cringing inwardly. But for the sake of payback, she had to keep playing the part.
The crowd silently agreed: Right, we’re all on your side—and here for the show.
In the end, joined by the arriving second and third madams, the old madam and the duchess took turns persuading Yu Fanfan with earnest, painstaking care.
Judging that the moment was ripe and having manipulated the crowd’s sympathy just right, Yu Fanfan feigned a reluctant nod of compromise. Her apparent surrender to the wicked pair immediately alarmed the eager onlookers around her.
Fortunately, Yu Fanfan knew how to work an audience.
Amid their chorus of anxious reminders and fretful warnings, she curtsied to the crowd, offering a forlorn, bitter smile of helplessness before turning away.
“I am truly grateful to all the elders, neighbors, and fellow townsfolk here today for standing by me,” Yu Fanfan said. “I offer you my deepest thanks. But as a lone woman stepping into this ruthless, black-hearted manor, I must ask for one more favor. Please wait for me. If an incense stick burns down and I have not returned, it means this manor has murdered me for my wealth!
“If that happens, I beg you all to spread the word. Tell everyone across the capital and throughout Great Qi that the orphaned daughter of a frontier general was tricked back through these doors, never to leave again—destroyed, body and bone!”
“Madam Yu!”
Before the watching crowd could respond to this clever safeguard, Duchess Li Jiayu snapped, her voice trembling with suppressed rage.
What did she mean, if she didn’t come out, the Cheng Manor had murdered her for money? Left without so much as a corpse? How could anyone utter such slander?
Li Jiayu was spitting blood from fury, and the crowd’s reaction only made it worse.
Young and old alike, the onlookers acted as if Madam Yu, that utterly ignorant fool, had brainwashed them. Not only did they shout their agreement, but some even rolled up their sleeves and patted their chests, promising that she could go inside without fear—they would wait right here for her.
One utter lunatic dug into his own pocket, produced an incense stick from who knew where, and lit it on the spot, repeatedly urging Madam Yu to take care.
To make matters worse, stewards from rival households stepped forward, sneering as they called out to the woman. They told her not to worry; their masters were watching, and they guaranteed she would come to no harm.
To hell with “no harm,” and to hell with their masters!
Li Jiayu could hardly blame herself for cursing. Were these people all complete morons, idiots, or lunatics? Why on earth were they listening to Madam Yu? She could not fathom it.
Yet no matter how baffling it was, the situation had to be dealt with, and quickly.