Ruan Nanxi recalled the original novel's content.
Oh, she remembered now. The Jin Guogong Mansion was a family of military generals, and Xiao Ye's grandfather was a great general stationed at the northern frontier.
Xiao Ye had exceptional bone structure—a martial arts prodigy rarely seen in the family in decades. Old General Xiao worried that such a fine seedling would be wasted if raised in the lap of luxury in the capital, so when Xiao Ye was four years old, he took him to the northern frontier.
The Duke and Duchess of Jin had waited seven or eight years for this one son, so naturally they couldn't bear to part with him, but they had no choice against their father's orders.
The couple was so grief-stricken they couldn't eat or sleep. Not long after, while taking a walk in the streets to clear their minds, they came across a little boy whose features bore a four or five-tenths resemblance to Xiao Ye.
They brought the child home, adopted him as their righteous son, and named him Xiao Tianci.
A year ago, seventeen-year-old Xiao Ye returned to the capital in glory after conquering five cities of the Beidi, his heart full of anticipation for reunion with his family—only to find his parents already had a filial son by their side.
At first, though somewhat disappointed, Xiao Ye was also grateful that Xiao Tianci had spent these years accompanying his parents.
But on the second day after his return, Xiao Tianci proposed a sparring match. Having grown up in the military camp, Xiao Ye found sparring with others utterly commonplace, so he agreed without a second thought.
Yet the moment Xiao Ye made his move, Xiao Tianci flew backward like a fallen leaf in the wind, pale-faced and clutching his chest, weeping to the mansion's crowd who happened to arrive:
"Don't blame Third Brother. Someone as blessed as me stole over a decade of his fortune—it's only right that Third Brother is angry."
Xiao Ye could only watch helplessly as his parents and relatives, whom he had missed day and night, all crowded around Xiao Tianci with solicitous care, leaving him nothing but distant reproach.
And that was only the beginning…
Pulling her thoughts back, Ruan Nanxi turned her gaze to Xiao Tianci. She had to admit—the man's acting was truly superb.
A grown man could cry on command, his expressions of grief, reluctance, and self-blame perfectly calibrated, without a trace of performance.
Sure enough, before he even finished speaking, Madam Xiao stood up with a face full of heartache, walked over, and habitually used her handkerchief to wipe his tears, saying helplessly:
"Why are you saying such foolish things again? Haven't I told you before? When we adopted you back then, even without blood ties, we would treat you as our own. Besides, my son is so filial and sensible."
"Alright, a grown man crying like this!"
When she turned to face Xiao Ye, her tone had turned noticeably colder and harder:
"It's getting late. Come inside quickly! Don't let the new bride see us as a laughingstock!"
Looking at the pitiful Xiao Tianci, she couldn't help but nag:
"Your younger brother has a heart condition and can't take stimulation. As his elder brother, must you insist on opposing him?"
Xiao Ye laughed coldly in fury: "From the moment I arrived until now, I haven't even had a chance to finish a single sentence!
Or perhaps Mother wants me to simply hand over the position of heir to him too, and I'll move out, clearing the space for your family of three!"
"You—"
Madam Xiao pointed her finger at him, veins bulging on her forehead in anger.
She couldn't understand how a child so obedient and well-behaved had become like this. Somewhere along the way, his words had become perpetually barbed.
The Duke of Jin, seated at the head, was now slamming the table in fury, cursing Xiao Ye for being unfilial. Xiao Ye glared back just as fiercely, father and son locked in a stalemate. Meanwhile, Xiao Tianci, who had provoked the whole affair, continued bowing his head and playing the victim—though a smug smile flickered at the corner of his lips.
Ruan Nanxi stepped forward, placing herself in front of Xiao Ye. She cleared her throat and looked at them all.
"So… in other words, my husband and this Tianci brother have a very bad relationship, is that right?"
The moment she spoke, the tense atmosphere in the hall stalled. Madam Xiao suddenly snapped back to reality—today was the day the new daughter-in-law served tea!
She sighed in frustration. She had decided before coming that they wouldn't argue, so how had it escalated to this again?
She grabbed Ruan Nanxi's hand and gave an awkward smile: "Good child, you've seen us make fools of ourselves. Third and Tianci…"
Madam Xiao's words stuck in her throat—she simply couldn't bring herself to say the two had a good relationship, so she hedged: "No matter what, they are both my sons…"
Ruan Nanxi nodded with blunt honesty: "Oh, I understand. Mother-in-law also believes their relationship is extremely bad."
Madam Xiao: "…"
Unbothered by their strange looks, Ruan Nanxi looked up at the grim-faced Duke of Jin.
"Father-in-law thinks so too, right?"
The Duke of Jin gave a cold snort without speaking—clearly a tacit admission.
Ruan Nanxi then turned to Xiao Tianci, tilting her head in feigned confusion:
"How strange. I'd wager even the dogs in this mansion know my husband and you, Tianci brother, have a terrible relationship. So how could my husband possibly ask you to help persuade Father and Mother to annul his engagement?
Listen to yourself—does that even make sense?"
Watching Madam Xiao freeze, then furrow her brows in thought, Xiao Tianci's expression stiffened slightly. He cursed inwardly—hadn't he been told this Ruan woman was as dull as wood before marriage? How could she be so sharp-tongued?
His eyes reddened as he prepared to cry, but before the tears could fall—
Ruan Nanxi shook her head with a face full of anxious guilt,
"Oh! Was my tone too harsh? I've made you cry, Brother Tianci. I'm so sorry, so sorry!
Our Jin Guogong Mansion is a family of military generals. Take my husband, for example—he wouldn't shed a single tear even with a blade at his throat. I never imagined… Brother Tianci, you have such a timid disposition. A slightly raised voice scares you into tears. I truly apologize!"
Xiao Tianci's tears froze on his face. He couldn't cry, nor could he stop—it was utterly ridiculous.
But it wasn't over yet. Ruan Nanxi quickly handed him a handkerchief and said with great sincerity:
"Don't hold it in. If you want to cry, go ahead and cry!
Ah, Brother Tianci, you look so beautiful crying like pear blossoms in the rain! Unlike my husband, who only knows how to fight battles to earn military merit and uphold the family's honor—he can't even cry. No wonder his parents don't like him."
"Pfft…"
Xiao Ye, whose mood had been at rock bottom, couldn't help but burst out laughing at those last few lines.
He hadn't expected this woman to be quite formidable—one sentence that took jabs at three people at once. The more he heard it, the more pleasing it became.
The words were truly venomous, dragging Xiao Tianci's petty schemes—the ones that couldn't stand the light of day—into the open and laying them out plainly.
Feeling the maids and matrons around him exchange glances of sudden realization and cast furtive, appraising looks his way after hearing those words,
Xiao Tianci clenched his fists beneath his wide sleeves. The warm, harmless expression he wore year-round nearly cracked, and he felt a humiliation unlike anything he'd ever experienced.
Damn it!
But when he looked up and saw Madam Xiao staring at Ruan Nanxi with furrowed brows, Xiao Tianci's flustered heart relaxed a little.
He sneered inwardly with contempt. He admitted Ruan Nanxi had caught him off guard, but this woman was truly stupid to go this far just to win Xiao Ye's favor—she'd insulted not only him but his parents as well.
Just wait. He wouldn't even need to lift a finger against her. Having offended her mother-in-law, Ruan Nanxi would have plenty of hardship to endure in this household as a daughter-in-law.
Then he watched as Ruan Nanxi gently tugged at Madam Xiao's sleeve, hanging her head like a child who'd done something wrong, and said softly:
"Mother-in-law, your daughter-in-law speaks too bluntly. Have I upset you?
It's just that I'm short-sighted, and I hold my husband as my everything. I couldn't bear to see him wronged and lose face. I know I've overstepped the bounds of propriety, so I ask permission to kneel in the ancestral hall for a month as penance."
Madam Xiao was taken aback. In truth, she wasn't angry at all—she was merely surprised that Ruan Nanxi would go to such lengths, without regard for herself, to speak up for A-Ye.
No one knew better than she did how the two of them had ended up together, and A-Ye's heart belonged entirely to that Jiang girl. She'd assumed they'd be a pair of bitter spouses, yet now…
Seeing Ruan Nanxi in this state of utter devotion, completely consumed by love for Xiao Ye, how could Madam Xiao possibly be angry? Her heart was filled with inexpressible comfort and warmth.
After all, no matter how strained her relationship with Xiao Ye had become, he was still her own son. A mother naturally wished nothing but the best for him.
Over this mismatched marriage between him and Ruan Nanxi, she had sighed countless times in private, wondering just how much chaos the two of them would cause after tying the knot.
Who would have thought Ruan Nanxi's virtues would far exceed her expectations?
She immediately linked her arm affectionately through Ruan Nanxi's, an involuntary smile spreading across her face: "It's fine. We're all family. What nonsense are you talking? Come inside—it's cold out here."
"Mhm, mhm. Thank you, Mother-in-law."
Watching the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law walk into the flower hall arm in arm, so intimately, Xiao Tianci was so furious he nearly clawed blood from his palms.