The scalding steam blurred Madame Qin’s vision. In her panic, she cast a desperate, pleading look toward the Marquis of Yingchuan.
The Marquis merely turned his head away. Swallowing hard, Madame Qin’s hands trembled against her knees for a moment before she slowly took the teacup.
By then, the heat from the scalding tea had permeated the porcelain, turning her fingertips a stark, angry red.
Xiao Lanting watched her with a serene, pleasant smile.
“If Mother refuses to drink, do you wish for me to personally feed it to you?”
Madame Qin closed her eyes and quickly gulped down a mouthful. As the hot tea slid down her throat and into her stomach, she felt as though her throat were on fire. Her stomach convulsed in pain, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
Clutching her throat, she could no longer bear it. She sprang up and rushed out of the room.
The Marquis turned back around, his voice calm and unbothered. “Lanting, your mother’s temperament is indeed a bit arrogant, but she is not malicious at heart. Do not argue with her too much.”
“Understood,” Xiao Lanting replied lazily. “Since we have paid our respects, I will take her back now.”
“Very well.”
As Yun Xiu watched the two of them depart, she stood up and quietly slipped out after them.
Yun Juan let herself be led away from the front hall by Xiao Lanting. She kept her head down, staring blankly at their clasped hands.
Just now, Xiao Lanting had not only defused her predicament but had also avenged her.
Yet, he probably hadn’t done it solely for her sake. After all, he and Madame Qin already had a deeply strained relationship, and since she was now his wife, humiliating her would be equivalent to slapping Xiao Lanting in the face.
Even so… this feeling of being protected was truly wonderful.
This was already the second time.
Once they were a short distance away from the front hall, Xiao Lanting let go of her hand. Seeing her dazed expression, he arched an eyebrow, pinched her chin, and forced her to look up.
“What are you daydreaming about? Scared out of your wits?”
Her delicate chin felt quite bony. Xiao Lanting had already noticed last night that his new wife had barely any flesh on her bones—she was like an undernourished little lamb.
Yun Juan snapped out of her thoughts, uncomfortably turning her face away. “No. Just now… thank you.”
Xiao Lanting shrugged. “Don’t mention it. She dared to bully my person right in front of me. If I didn’t teach her a lesson, how would I maintain my reputation?”
Yun Juan blinked. Xiao Lanting had always been this arrogant, in both her past life and this one.
But he certainly had the leverage to back up his arrogance. Even though people privately sneered that he was merely the Crown Prince’s lapdog, not a single soul in the entire capital dared to treat him with anything less than absolute respect.
“I have to go to the magistrate’s office today and will be back late.”
Yun Juan snapped out of her daze. “You’re leaving now? What about breakfast?”
Xiao Lanting’s expression cooled instantly. “I don’t have the habit of eating breakfast. But I’ve ordered some to be prepared for you. Go back and eat on your own.”
His hot-and-cold attitude caught Yun Juan entirely off guard. Before she could say anything, he turned and strode away.
Yun Juan shook her head and was about to head back to her quarters when a figure suddenly lunged from the side of the corridor, blocking her path.
“Sister!”
Yun Xiu stood squarely in front of Yun Juan. Her face was slightly contorted, her eyes burning with an unquenchable mix of jealousy and rage.
She had been hiding in the shadows just now and had witnessed everything!
Not only had Xiao Lanting saved Yun Juan from humiliation, but he had also behaved so intimately with her!
Staring at Yun Juan’s delicate, pretty chin, Yun Xiu felt a violent urge to reach out and snap it in half.
In Yun Xiu’s mind, even though she hadn’t married him in this life, Xiao Lanting had still been her nominal husband in her past life. How dared Yun Juan—a mere daughter of a concubine—touch what belonged to her!
If even she couldn’t have him, why was he treating Yun Juan so well?!
Yun Xiu curled her lips into a contemptuous sneer. “Sister, you truly are Auntie Rong’s daughter. The talent you mother-daughter pair have for seducing men is indeed hereditary. What tricks did you use to get the Eldest Young Master to treat you so intimately? Why don’t you teach me, so I can copy you?”
She paused, pronouncing each word with venomous deliberate intent: “After all, my mother is indeed not like your concubine mother, who came from a brothel and knew exactly how to please men. She couldn’t teach me those things.”
Yun Juan understood Yun Xiu’s mind all too well; this woman had always been insatiably greedy.
Her eyes darkened slightly as she said in a measured voice, “Second Sister-in-law, is this how you should speak to your elder brother’s wife?”
Yun Xiu froze in disbelief, her teeth grinding together. “You’ve certainly grown some backbone, haven’t you? Do you think marrying Xiao Lanting makes you someone extraordinary? Do you think you can climb over my head now?!”
Recalling the events of her past life, she suddenly burst into a fit of mocking laughter. “Yun Juan, do you honestly believe Xiao Lanting will inherit the title of Marquis? No matter how capable he is, he is still just a concubine-born son. Mingyu is the legitimate heir; he is the one who will become the Heir Apparent! He will be celebrated throughout the imperial court, achieving great honor and fame!”
As for you, you can spend the rest of your life weeping over Xiao Lanting’s spirit tablet.
Yun Juan’s expression became profoundly subtle. “Celebrated throughout the court, achieving great honor and fame?”
“That’s right!” Yun Xiu lifted her chin proudly.
Perhaps Xiao Mingyu was currently a useless piece of trash, but sooner or later he would wake up. After Xiao Lanting’s death, he would realize the burden of responsibility on his shoulders, inherit Xiao Lanting’s legacy, enter the imperial court, rise to the position of Minister, and even join the Grand Secretariat!
Even though all of this had been driven and orchestrated by Yun Juan in their past life, Yun Xiu refused to believe she couldn’t do a better job than her sister.
Yun Juan let out a soft chuckle. “Then I wish you the best of luck.”
In truth, Yun Juan was utterly unwilling to look back on how she had worked herself to the bone in her past life just to drag Xiao Mingyu up to the position of Minister of Revenue.
Though she had never borne children, she felt she possessed more than enough experience in raising them.
After all, she had successfully managed to take an oversized infant like Xiao Mingyu—whose head was entirely empty and who couldn’t even balance a ledger—and cajole and force him all the way to the position of Minister of Revenue. There was truly nothing she couldn’t achieve.
But how wonderful indeed; in this life, that giant baby was no longer her problem.
Yun Juan’s eyes curved into crescent moons of pure amusement.
Failing to provoke the reaction she wanted, Yun Xiu’s chest heaved with suppressed rage. She raised her head to bark another insult, but as her gaze drifted down, her pupils dilated in absolute shock.
“What is that on your neck?!”
She grabbed Yun Juan’s wrist, her voice filled with utter disbelief. “Xiao Lanting touched you?!”
Yun Juan uncomfortably tugged at her collar, a reaction that instantly confirmed Yun Xiu’s worst fears.
The flames of jealousy raged wildly in Yun Xiu’s chest, completely vaporizing her sanity.
The one thing she absolutely could not accept had actually happened. That bastard Xiao Lanting—just how on earth was she inferior to Yun Juan?!
“What kind of tricks did you use?! You drugged him, didn’t you?! Yun Juan, make yourself clear!”
“Are you insane? Let go of me!”
Yun Juan truly had no desire to clash with Yun Xiu over such matters. But this woman had been so thoroughly spoiled by their parents that she was entirely devoid of sense, clawing and pulling at Yun Juan, refusing to release her grip.
Right at that moment, a sharp voice echoed from down the corridor:
“Yun Xiu! What are you doing?! Stop this instant!”