In the two days since Songyin entered the Xie residence, Xie Yingyue had not dared to step out of her courtyard.
Not only that, to ensure her own safety, she even tested her daily meals with a silver needle, fearing she might fall victim to poisoning.
She was restless and anxious, unable to sleep. Even when she closed her eyes, she was plagued by nightmares—dreams of being mocked and pointed at, waking up in a cold sweat. In the dead of night, she would rise and cry for hours. In such a short time, she had already lost weight.
Today, she heard that her father had gone to the prince’s residence to deliver medicine. Worried, she hurried over to ask about it, but as soon as she entered the room…
Was this still her own mother?
Madam Meng met her daughter’s shocked and somewhat aggrieved gaze, a flicker of discomfort crossing her face. She quickly beckoned her daughter forward.
“You heard everything?” Madam Meng shot a glare at the maid guarding the door, wondering why she hadn’t stopped her. Her own daughter had just been through a traumatic experience and was still suffering. How could she bear to see her enemy living well?
“Yes.” Xie Yingyue nodded. “Mother, is Songyin… really Father’s biological daughter? Is that why you’re treating her so well?”
“…” Madam Meng sighed helplessly. “Your father can’t see it, but I think… it’s very likely.”
“But there’s no proof…” Xie Yingyue quickly interjected.
“Yue’er, I don’t want her to be either. After all, I know how much it pains you that you’re not your father’s biological child. If there were suddenly an older biological sister ahead of you, you’d surely be hurt. But I’ve thought it through—as long as this girl doesn’t harm our family again, as long as your father and eldest brother don’t drive her away, even if she isn’t biological, I must treat her with the courtesy due to a true daughter…”
“If I clash with her, I won’t suffer much, but in the end, you’ll be the one who gets hurt.” Madam Meng spoke frankly.
Although her daughter had been entered into the Xie family register, everyone in the capital knew that her daughter Yingyue was not a biological child of the Xie family.
She had been forced into a substitute marriage and had long severed ties with her birth family.
Yingyue’s biological father had favored concubines over his wife back then, but fortunately, he met his retribution and passed away. However, because she had Yingyue change her surname, she offended the clansmen of Yingyue’s biological father. Those people were all waiting for Yingyue to make a fool of herself, waiting for her to be driven out!
That was why, over all these years, she had held higher expectations for her daughter than for any of her other children.
Her daughter’s appearance must not be inferior to others, nor could her talents be lacking. Even her conduct and reputation in public had to be outstanding. She had worked hard to raise her daughter to be dignified, restrained, steady, and talented—all to prove a point!
“Before, she followed Jiang Tan’er, and that Jiang Tan’er caused you to lose your most important reputation. I resent her deeply for that. But now that she’s entered our household, you mustn’t engage in internal strife with her. You can’t let anyone know that you can’t tolerate the Xie family’s true daughter! Do you understand, Yue’er?” Madam Meng held her daughter’s hand, her heart filled with pain.
How long had it been since the incident at the tavern? Her little face was already thin and pale, without a trace of color.
Xie Yingyue felt utterly wronged.
“But Mother, when you treat her well, I feel angry and jealous! If it weren’t for her… I wouldn’t have been so humiliated. I’ve never been so humiliated in my entire life… Everyone laughed at me. They thought I was a hypocrite, said my previous dignity and understanding were fake, and even called me… called me wanton… I can’t bear it!” Xie Yingyue wept.
Madam Meng felt her heart breaking.
She quickly embraced her daughter: “Mother knows, Mother understands. My daughter is the best girl in the world, no one can compare to you. It’s all their fault for bullying and humiliating you. You did nothing wrong! But Yue’er, you mustn’t be so hard on yourself. I’ve told you, this will pass. In the capital, scandals come one after another—today, some girl loses her handkerchief; tomorrow, another girl is caught meeting a young man in secret. Haven’t they all been forgotten after a while? Wait a few days, and no one will remember.”
Madam Meng stroked her daughter’s hair, her voice gentle to the extreme.
This was the only way she could comfort her daughter—what else could she do?
Have her son take up a sword and go out for revenge like before? That might provide momentary relief, but it would only make the situation worse.
Those irrelevant bystanders are the cruelest. They don’t care who fights or who wins; they’re only interested in the romantic gossip behind it all. In the end, it would be her daughter’s reputation that suffers even more.
“But Mother, my enemy is right before my eyes, yet I can only hide. I have to watch you treat her kindly, and it hurts so much…” Xie Yingyue felt as if the sky were collapsing.
She had always listened to her mother, studying poetry and literature. She had always been gentle and kind to others, even toward Jiang Tan’er. To this day, she didn’t believe she had done anything wrong, yet she had paid such a heavy price. Jiang Tan’er had humiliated her, but Songyin was even worse—she was about to enter the Xie household, forcing Xie Yingyue to endure both grief and anger without being able to resist, even stealing her family away!
How could she not care?
The injustice was too great. Xie Yingyue didn’t know how long she had cried, weeping until she fell into a deep sleep, still sobbing even in her dreams.
“Madam, should we still send maidservants to the eldest young lady?” After a long while, a servant finally came to ask.
“Send them,” Madam Meng gritted her teeth and replied.
Some grievances simply had to be endured.
The servant then carried out the order.
The maidservant Lanhua returned much later than expected, far later than Songyin had anticipated.
When she came back, the young girl’s eyes were slightly red, which surprised Songyin greatly. “Did Madam scold you? That shouldn’t be the case, right?”
“No, no!” Lanhua quickly waved her hands, lowering her head slightly. “It’s the eldest… no, the second young lady. She’s lost so much weight. It pains me to see her like this…”
Although Madam Meng had sent all the maidservants away, Lanhua had waited outside the door. She could clearly hear Xie Yingyue’s sobs and couldn’t help but feel her nose sting and her eyes redden. As Madam Meng’s trusted confidante, her bond with Xie Yingyue was naturally deep.
“Her…” Songyin’s voice was faint, tinged with helplessness and melancholy.
She had been reborn too late. If only it had been a day earlier, she could have prevented Jiang Tan’er from carrying out her poisoning plan.
But what was done was done. There was no way to turn back time; all she could do now was try to make amends.
What Xie Yingyue valued most was her reputation. Jiang Tan’er claimed she wanted to “expose her true nature,” but in reality, she had destroyed everything Xie Yingyue had always stood for.
And this was only the beginning of Xie Yingyue’s humiliation.
In the future, every time Xie Yingyue went out, she would become a foil to Jiang Tan’er, mocked by everyone. Eventually, her spirit would be completely broken, to the point where she would foolishly attempt to kill Jiang Tan’er with a dagger!
Of course, the Seventh Prince, who favored Jiang Tan’er, ended up with a scratch from Xie Yingyue’s blade.
Assassinating a prince is no light offense. Xie Yingyue was immediately arrested. To avoid implicating the entire family, she was also removed from the clan registry, no longer considered a daughter of the Xie family. Yet in Xie Yingyue’s eyes, her identity as a “daughter of the Xie family” held immense importance to her, and she went mad on the spot.
But that was not enough. Seeing her madness, the Seventh Prince ordered her to be taken outside the city walls, where countless people watched her rave and rage.
By the time the Xie family rushed to the scene, Xie Yingyue had already been violated, lying disheveled on the ground, lifeless.