One month after the Curio Pavilion opened for business.
Capital, Wang Residence.
The doors and windows of the main hall were tightly shut, heavy curtains hanging in layers, sealing off every sound from within.
Wang Songbai sat in the main seat, his face dark as ink. He was over fifty, well maintained, the kind of man who should have carried himself with authority and dignity, yet at this moment his face was filled with anger and humiliation.
His only son, Wang Ping, paced like a trapped beast in the study. Suddenly, he stopped and slammed his palm hard onto the rosewood tea table, making the teacups rattle loudly.
“I cannot swallow this humiliation! Father, do you know what people are saying out there? That I am incapable? That our Wang family uses its power to oppress others and force a common girl into marriage? It has already been a month, and Xie Wenyuan has not even sent a word of apology! Does the Xie family think our Wang family is dead?!”
“I want to bring men to Leping County right now and tear that wretched woman apart—”
“Shut up!” Wang Songbai struck the table sharply. “Have you not embarrassed yourself enough already?!”
Wang Ping flinched and fell silent.
Madam Li quickly stepped in to ease the tension. “Master, Ping’er is only speaking out of anger. Our Wang family is still a respected household in the Capital, yet we have been made a laughingstock because of a county magistrate’s daughter…”
“Mother!” Wang Ping said furiously. “Are we just going to swallow this humiliation? Xie Qingyan has ruined my reputation so thoroughly that even children’s rhymes are being made about me! I cannot even hold my head up in the Capital anymore!”
“And what would you have us do?” Wang Songbai looked at his son coldly. “Kill her? Or break off the engagement and let the whole world know that the son of the Wang family truly is—”
He did not finish the sentence. The unspoken word hung in the air, more humiliating than if it had been spoken aloud.
Wang Ping’s face turned red, yet he could not respond.
“Back when the rumors first spread, our silence was the correct move. Acting rashly would have only confirmed them. The proper strategy was to lie low and wait for the storm to pass,” Wang Songbai said with a sigh.
Wang Ping refused to accept this. “And now? Has the storm passed? Has the Xie family apologized even once? No! They are living better than ever! That woman even opened some kind of blind box shop, making money hand over fist, adored by everyone! Meanwhile, we are the ones humiliated, turned into the Capital’s joke! The Xie family is stepping on our reputation to rise higher!”
Wang Songbai remained silent. His fingers tightened around the armrest until his knuckles turned white.
How could he not be angry?
His carefully cultivated reputation had been mocked behind his back by his colleagues. What he once considered strategic patience had now become a slap in the face.
Wang Ping paced again, then suddenly struck his head as if struck by inspiration. A lewd smile appeared on his face.
“Her shop is doing so well, isn’t it? We can send people to cause trouble there. Then… find an excuse to bring her to the Capital. And then… heh heh… once the deed is done, I will see if she and her stubborn father can still remain so proud!”
“Shut your mouth!” Wang Songbai shot him a cold glance. “Have you no shame? Kidnapping her back? That is the worst possible option!”
“We must make her, the Xie family, and the entire world see that this marriage is something our Wang family is entering openly and honorably.”
Madam Li understood immediately, her expression shifting slightly. “Master means…”
“Exactly.” Wang Songbai’s eyes turned cold. “Not only will we marry her, we will do so with great fanfare. We will let the entire Capital see that what the Wang family is taking in is a proper young lady, not some pitiful girl forced into a hanging scandal.”
“But Father!” Wang Ping grew anxious. “Even if we marry her publicly, how can that stop the rumors?”
“Ping’er,” Wang Songbai interrupted, his voice chilling. “Do you think I insisted on not breaking off this engagement for no reason?”
Wang Ping froze.
Wang Songbai set down his teacup, slowly stirring the tea with the lid, his voice measured.
“Breaking off the engagement is the worst option. Once we do that, the rumors become true. Who else would dare marry their daughter into our family after that? Even those small households seeking to attach themselves to us will hesitate.”
He lifted his gaze. “More importantly, Xie Qingyan clearly intends to force us into breaking the engagement. If we do so, we would be playing directly into her hands, proving that our Wang family was pushed back by a mere county magistrate’s daughter.”
Madam Li nodded thoughtfully. “So, Master means that the more we refuse to break it off, the more it proves our innocence?”
“Precisely,” Wang Songbai said with a cold laugh. “Not only will we not break it off, we will show her value. We will let outsiders see that the Wang family values the Xie daughter for her talent and virtue, nothing else. In this way, the rumors will collapse on their own.”
Wang Ping was still unwilling. “But Father, after we marry her…”
“After we marry her?” Wang Songbai’s smile turned even colder. “Once she is in the door, she belongs to the Wang family.”
“At that point, whether she lives or dies, whether she is honored or disgraced, will depend entirely on us.”
He placed the teacup down with a heavy sound. “She thought she could damage the Wang family’s reputation. Instead, I will make sure she enters our household and spends the rest of her life bound to the Wang name.”
Madam Li felt a chill in her heart, though she said nothing. In this household, she was the matriarch, but most decisions ultimately belonged to her husband.
“Father is wise,” Wang Ping said again, a smile returning to his face.
“Ping’er, remember this,” Wang Songbai said slowly. “In the Capital, reputation is everything. With reputation, you have everything. Without it, you have nothing. That Xie Qingyan wanted to ruin our reputation. I will make her understand that there are some things a mere county magistrate’s daughter cannot touch.”
“I understand,” Wang Ping replied.
He lowered his head, but a vicious glint flashed in his eyes. He silently vowed that once that woman entered their household, he would make her regret everything.
Outside, night had fully deepened. The lights of the Wang Residence burned coldly in the darkness.