003 Accident, Apologies
Originally, the entire capital knew that Su Niao was to be betrothed to the Fifth Prince, Xie Qinglan. But suddenly, news of their falling out spread like wildfire.
There were those who gloated and even more who were simply curious. Before long, rumors began to circulate that some sort of discord had arisen between the two sisters of the Duke's Mansion over the Fifth Prince, forcing the engagement to be shelved.
A rivalry between sisters was prime entertainment, and for a time, this matter threatened to become the talk of the entire capital over tea and idle chatter…
In the chambers of Liu Ruyu, wife of the Duke of Dingguo, Nurse Qin quietly tried to persuade her: "The matter has already spread. If you do not make a decision soon, both young ladies' reputations will be ruined… The eldest young lady is your biological daughter after all, and she has always been gentle and obedient. Madam…"
Nurse Qin's eyes were red-rimmed, and Liu Ruyu looked equally haggard.
It wasn't that she didn't resent her wet nurse, but she knew full well that back then, had Nurse Qin not made the decision to find a child to deceive her with, she—having suffered a hemorrhage during childbirth on the road back from visiting her family—would likely have died from the additional shock and become nothing but a mound of yellow earth by now.
But now, the daughter she had raised for over a decade was not her own flesh and blood, and had fallen out so badly with her biological daughter. Even for someone as decisive as Liu Ruyu, her mind was momentarily thrown into chaos.
Hearing Nurse Qin speak of the rumors outside, she knew this could no longer be dragged out. Letting out a long sigh, Liu Ruyu said, "Summon Niao Niao."
When Su Niao heard that the Duchess wanted to see her, she guessed what was coming. Sure enough, when she arrived before her adoptive mother, she heard Liu Ruyu say she would be sent to the country estate to lie low until the storm passed.
Su Niao was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement. This surprised Liu Ruyu.
Given her youngest daughter's temperament, she would have expected a huge fuss upon hearing she was being sent away—after all, everyone understood that sending someone away at a time like this was equivalent to pinning all the blame and guilt on that person.
Su Niao was not one to meekly accept her fate, yet now she hadn't uttered a single word of objection.
After a pause, Liu Ruyu looked at her youngest daughter standing there with hands lowered and head bowed, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Niao Niao, do you resent your father and mother?"
However, Su Niao neither said yes nor no.
Liu Ruyu saw her usually willful youngest daughter finally raise her head, eyes red-rimmed: "Mother… are you not going to want me anymore?"
Those words instantly stirred a surge of deep heartache in Liu Ruyu.
After all, this was the daughter she had raised for over a decade. Even if she had suddenly learned they shared no blood, more than ten years of affection was no lie. Now seeing her usually spirited youngest daughter looking so anxious and pitiful, Liu Ruyu's heart ached unbearably.
She reached out, pulled the girl before her, and wiped away Su Niao's tears: "How could Mother not want you? I raised you from a child. But if no choice is made today, both your and your sister's reputations will be…"
Su Niao interrupted her: "I'm willing to go, Mother."
Liu Ruyu froze, then watched her youngest daughter sniffle and say with an air of indifference: "Anyway, my reputation was never that great to begin with. Mother needn't be troubled. I'm willing to go."
For a moment, Liu Ruyu's heart softened with bittersweet emotion: "My Niao Niao has grown up."
Her eyes were full of guilt and heartache: "I'm sorry to put you through this, Niao Niao. Once the storm passes in half a year, I'll come fetch you back."
As her words fell, she saw her youngest daughter's eyes light up instantly, then break into a smile: "Then it's settled. I'll wait for Mother to come take me home."
Liu Ruyu couldn't help but reach out and pull her daughter into an embrace… What she didn't see was that the tears and smile on her youngest daughter's face, held in her arms, had already faded away.
Su Niao had long since anticipated the Su family's choice. She had guessed it from the moment Liu Ruyu unhesitatingly chose to protect Su Xuan in the palace—just like in her previous life, an adopted daughter and a biological daughter were, after all, different.
When one holds no expectations, there can be no disappointment.
Rather than making an ugly scene and being sent away anyway, it was better to take the initiative herself. That way, at least she could temporarily secure her position in the Duke's Mansion by leveraging the Duke and Duchess's guilt and sympathy toward her.
She blinked, then spoke to Liu Ruyu in her usual coquettish tone: "Then I want to buy lots of nice things to bring to the estate."
Liu Ruyu immediately pulled out a stack of banknotes: "Buy them, buy whatever you like. If it's not enough, just tell Mother."
Su Niao hugged her and acted spoiled: "Mother is so good…"
Seeing that her youngest daughter had indeed been appeased, Liu Ruyu was finally able to suppress the lingering guilt in her heart.
On the other side, after learning that Su Niao had been summoned by her mother, Su Xuan waited for that voice to sound. She was certain that upon learning she was to be sent away, Su Niao would surely throw a tantrum, provoking dislike from those around her, and her cannon fodder value would inevitably rise.
As Su Niao's cannon fodder value increased, Su Xuan's own Pleasure Value and Halo would grow.
The higher her Halo Value, the more people she could influence, and the greater the power of that influence!
In this way, she would become the female lead that voice had spoken of. Everything in the world would make way for her, and she would obtain all that she wished for, possessing the very best of everything.
However, she waited until nightfall and still heard no notification from the voice.
A deep sense of unease suddenly surged within Su Xuan… What exactly had gone wrong?
Everything had been going so smoothly before!
Fortunately, the truth about the sisters' conflict at the Dingguo Duke's Mansion soon spread. Everyone in the capital learned that the Second Miss of the Duke's Mansion, Su Niao, was not actually the Duke's biological daughter, and that she had falsely claimed credit for saving the Fifth Prince—a deed that rightfully belonged to her elder sister Su Xuan—in an attempt to climb the social ladder, only to be exposed.
In an instant, Su Niao became the target of public condemnation, and Su Xuan finally saw her Pleasure Value and Halo Value rise.
Though these were all insignificant people who provided very little increase, at least it was something useful.
Sure enough, on the second day after her Halo rose, Xie Qinglan sent someone to deliver gifts to her.
Su Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a faint trace of worry.
Su Niao was to be sent to the estate and would no longer be by her side, making it harder to increase Su Niao's cannon fodder value… But that was fine. Su Niao's temperament would make her disliked wherever she went, so her cannon fodder value would increase to some degree regardless.
As long as she could smoothly secure her engagement with Xie Qinglan and see her Halo surge dramatically, then correspondingly, Su Niao's cannon fodder value would increase even further. And the more of a cannon fodder Su Niao became, the greater Su Xuan's Halo would grow… a virtuous cycle.
Within a few days, news of Su Niao, the number one beauty of the capital, spread everywhere. Everyone learned that the arrogant Second Miss of the Su family was no longer what she used to be. Word had it she was to be sent to the Su family estate in neighboring Yunzhou Prefecture to cultivate her character… Tsk, it seemed she would be slinking out of the capital in disgrace.
But immediately after, those secretly waiting to watch the show were dumbfounded: Su Niao did not slink away in disgrace at all—instead, she swaggered out of the mansion in grand style.
Just as always, dressed in her finest, she took her maids and servants to Wanbao Pavilion and made lavish purchases of jewelry and ornaments without the slightest sign of defeat.
And indeed, Su Niao did not hold back in the slightest.
Since she would be staying at the estate in Yunzhou for half a year, she naturally had to stock up on plenty of things for herself. She nearly carried off half of the newly released jewelry and headpieces from Wanbao Pavilion before she was finally satisfied. But just as she came downstairs to leave, someone blocked her path.
"Isn't this Second Miss Su? What a coincidence."
The young woman speaking wore a set of gorgeous robes and stood with her maidservant blocking Su Niao's way, her face full of gloating delight.
People nearby immediately recognized her—wasn't this Ye Lingxi, the young miss of the Grand Tutor's Mansion?
Ye Lingxi had always been at daggers drawn with Su Niao, the two constantly competing with each other openly and covertly. Now that news of Su Niao's fall from grace had just spread, Ye Lingxi couldn't wait to be the first to jump out and mock her.
She looked at Su Niao, as if just remembering something: "Ah, I almost forgot—the Dingguo Duke's Mansion doesn't have a Second Miss anymore. There's only a First Miss and an adopted daughter… Su Niao, are you alright?"
The feigned concern was blatant mockery. Su Niao looked at Ye Lingxi and curled her lips: "Ye Lingxi, I think you've got something wrong. I've only become an adopted daughter, not an ugly one… No matter how sour you are, you're still uglier than me. So tell me, what exactly are you so happy about?"
Ye Lingxi's expression shifted at her words: "You…"
Su Niao let out another "ah": "Ye Lingxi, isn't that hairdo of yours imitating my style from the Dragon Boat Festival?"
A flicker of guilt passed through Ye Lingxi's eyes: "What nonsense are you talking about? Who's imitating you!"
Su Niao clicked her tongue: "I'm just kindly reminding you—that hairdo is almost taller than your legs. It really doesn't suit you."
Ye Lingxi was about to explode with rage: "Su Niao…"
But Su Niao had already leisurely walked past her and out the door. Ye Lingxi stomped her foot in fury: "Just you wait—let's see how much longer you can stay arrogant!"
Without even turning her head, Su Niao replied: "Then just wait and watch."
The jewelry she'd bought would be delivered directly to the Duke's Mansion. Su Niao planned to look around elsewhere, but just as she stepped into her carriage, she suddenly sensed something wrong. Before she could react, a cold gleam flashed before her eyes, and she found herself pressed against the carriage wall with a hand over her mouth.
A dagger was pressed against her cheek, and a man's voice was lowered to a whisper: "I'll trouble the young lady to see me out of the city."
The man wore plain commoner's clothing, but a mask covered the upper half of his face from the nose up. There was a faint smell of blood about him.
"I have no wish to cut that pretty face of yours, so please—be smart about this."
The dagger radiated cold menace. Su Niao quickly nodded, and only then did the man slowly release his grip.
Su Niao swallowed hard, staring straight at him, and tested the waters: "And what if you don't let me go once we're outside the city…"
That concern was only natural. The man began: "You…"
But in that instant, Su Niao moved without any warning.
She raised her hand, and the small crossbow Xie Qinglan had given her suddenly fired a bolt—yet unexpectedly, the man dodged to the side even faster. He immediately closed in, using his knee to pin her down and covering her mouth once more.
But the carriage was cramped, and the man couldn't afford to make any noise. In that split second, in order to keep the dagger away from the young woman's face, he had no choice but to drop his elbow… When he realized his elbow had brushed against something soft and springy, his movements froze.
The young woman gritted her teeth: "You shameless—!"
Seeing the cat-like eyes glaring at him furiously and the humiliated tears welling up in them, the man paused for a moment before speaking: "An accident… my apologies."