Lady Bai Chen was visibly choked up: “This… this humble woman truly does not know. Please, Your Excellency, be magnanimous and spare me this once for the sake of my family’s old master!”
The Marchioness sneered coldly: “It’s true that your family’s old master once saved the Marquis’s life, and over the past two years, our Dowager has also relied heavily on your family’s exceptional medical skills. Otherwise, do you think we would have allowed that illegitimate wild girl of yours to enter our household as the future Marchioness? Dream on!
And now you’re resorting to any means to break off the engagement? We couldn’t be more pleased! Go back and prepare to face a lawsuit!”
The Marchioness vented all the anger she had suppressed over the past days onto Lady Bai Chen, berating her mercilessly until she was thoroughly humiliated.
Lady Bai Chen knelt on the ground, sweating profusely, kowtowing repeatedly and begging for mercy.
Bai Jingchu lowered her eyelids, concealing the storm brewing in her eyes.
After more than a decade of mother-daughter affection, if Lady Bai Chen hadn’t been so utterly heartless, she wouldn’t have wished to see her kneeling in such disgrace, begging for mercy from others.
After unleashing her fury, the Marchioness waved her hand dismissively at the mother and daughter: “Get out of the Marquis’s residence!”
Servants of the Marquis’s household stepped forward and dragged Lady Bai Chen to her feet.
Bai Jingchu followed behind, struggling to suppress the curve at the corner of her lips.
This outcome was worth all the meticulous planning she had done over the past days.
If Bai Jingshu were to truly marry into the Marquis’s household, enjoying prestige and power, how could she, Bai Jingchu, ever have a good life?
“Wait!”
Just as they turned past the screen wall in the rear courtyard, a cool and languid voice rang out, stopping them in their tracks.
The servants immediately released their grip.
Bai Jingchu looked up and met a pair of eyes filled with scrutiny and a roguish, carefree air.
Of all times, the main character had to return at this critical moment.
Dressed in a vibrant crimson official robe and wearing a gauze cap, he looked imposing and noble. Judging by his rank, he must have held a position of at least the fourth grade.
The only question was which government office he was currently serving in.
Lady Bai Chen seemed to have met Chi Yanqing before. She hurried forward and eagerly grabbed his sleeve:
“Young Master, this humble woman meant no offense. It was truly a misunderstanding. Please be magnanimous and do not hold it against me…”
Her words trailed off abruptly as she stared wide-eyed at Chi Yanqing’s neck, her voice clearly faltering.
Bai Jingchu, standing not far away, caught a clear glimpse: as Lady Bai Chen anxiously tugged at Chi Yanqing’s sleeve, his collar loosened slightly, revealing two red bumps on his neck, each about the size of a fingernail.
Chi Yanqing shook off Lady Bai Chen’s hand in disgust: “Get lost!”
Lady Bai Chen was momentarily at a loss for words.
Having just suffered a major setback, she dared not speak recklessly again, even though her mind screamed: Young Master Yan is clearly ill! Your Marquis’s household is just ashamed and enraged!
Do you truly dare to report this to the authorities and let it become the talk of the town?
She forced an awkward smile: “I’ll go, I’ll go!”
Chi Yanqing sneered and suddenly made a shocking statement: “You can go, but leave her here.”
The “her” he referred to was Bai Jingchu.
Bai Jingchu froze for a moment.
Lady Bai Chen was equally astonished: “Young Master, why do you want to keep her?”
“The engagement can be broken off, but she is already mine. I want this girl.”
Lady Bai Chen stammered: “B-but she is a member of the Bai family.”
Chi Yanqing ignored Lady Bai Chen’s words and walked directly toward Bai Jingchu.
He took a step forward, and Bai Jingchu fearfully retreated one step at a time until her back was against the shadow wall, leaving her with no way out.
Chi Yanqing’s stern expression melted away, replaced by a teasing curl of his lips. “What, so afraid of me? Do you really think I’d eat you alive?”
Bai Jingchu pressed her lips together. “You said you eat people.”
“Then why weren’t you afraid when you were carrying me on your back? And why did you have to go and expose my shortcomings?”
Two inches long—couldn’t you at least have added another inch?
Now even Chu Jiu was giving her strange looks.
Bai Jingchu’s lips twitched. So those words had finally reached his ears after all.
“I didn’t say anything bad about you,” she whimpered pitifully, her eyes red with fear. “And I don’t taste good either.”
“Whether you taste good or not, I wouldn’t know. All I know is, you’re quite amusing.”
“I’m not amusing at all,” Bai Jingchu insisted seriously.
Chi Yanqing lowered his voice. “In just a few days back at the Bai residence, you single-handedly played the fool and managed to turn Bai Jingshu upside down, even forcing Madame Bai to come and call off the engagement herself. You made my marquis’ estate suffer such a humiliation. So, no one is more amusing than you.”
As he spoke, he tilted his head slightly, leaning close to Bai Jingchu’s ear. The warmth of his breath seeped into her ear canal.
Yet Bai Jingchu felt a sudden chill in her heart.
She had only met this scoundrel twice—how did he know so much? How could he tell she was pretending to be a fool?
Was he testing her, or was he certain?
Was he truly as reckless and dissolute as the rumors claimed?
A deep-seated fear rose within her, urging her to stay far away from this man. For a moment, she was at a loss for how to respond.
Chi Yanqing had no intention of letting her off so easily. Straightening up, he added, “After all, you’re the woman who’s played with my little bird—how could I possibly let you go? Wouldn’t it be better to follow me and live a life of luxury?”
His words were far too explicit. The old matron nearby overheard and blushed, feeling utterly embarrassed.
The young people these days were simply too bold—it was downright indecent!
Faced with such a devilish troublemaker, Bai Jingchu finally ran out of options. She burst into tears, wailing, “I want to go home! I don’t want to stay here! You’re a big bully!”
Chi Yanqing leisurely teased her, “You cry so unattractively—not like a woman at all. You’ve even got snot bubbles coming out of your nose.”
Bai Jingchu grabbed his sleeve and wiped her nose on it.
Chi Yanqing’s smile instantly froze.
Disgusting!
He couldn’t stand slovenly women!
The servants of the marquis’ estate exchanged glances, wondering why their young master was in such a leisurely mood today, amusing himself with a foolish girl.
The marchioness also came out upon hearing the commotion. “Yanqing, why are you wasting your breath on a fool? Send her away quickly—just looking at her gives me a headache.”
Chi Yanqing took a deep breath. “Mother, haven’t you always complained that there’s no one serving in my quarters? I think this girl would do just fine.”
“Utter nonsense!” the marchioness exploded in fury. “There are so many decent maids in the estate for you to choose from! Only a blind and foolish man would take a liking to this idiot! She served beside a eunuch for three years!”
“That day when you forced me to perform the marital rites with her, you didn’t say that. Your memory seems to be failing you—shall I remind you of what you said?”
The Marchioness gritted her teeth in fury. “Must you always contradict me? That was then, this is now! Why keep a fool around? To humiliate us?”
“I happen to adore her naive, simple-minded foolishness. It’s rather amusing.”
“If you like innocence so much, why not father a child yourself? Wouldn’t that be even more pure?”
As mother and son exchanged sharp words, Bai Jingchu wept and wailed while staring fixedly at the red bump on Chi Yanqing’s neck.
That bump was clearly fake!
With the slight movement of his Adam’s apple as he spoke, the tiny bump was about to peel off!
So it was true—he was pretending, and not even convincingly. Unlike her own authentic, full-arm rash of small bumps that had successfully deceived Madam Bai Chen and the others.