Mu Yao’s fists had long been clenched beneath her sleeves, a hint of red gradually rising in her eyes.
Was Lu Zhi truly so contemptuous of the Mu family that he would go to such lengths just to elevate Liu Xiyin’s status?
Liu Xiyin noticed the indignation on Mu Yao’s face, her mental abacus clicking away as she nearly laughed out loud.
“Did this sister say something wrong and upset elder sister?”
“Then this sister will make amends to Yao elder sister.”
With that, Liu Xiyin bowed gracefully, and right there in the middle of the street, knelt directly before Mu Yao.
Mu Yao instinctively stepped back half a pace, looking down at Liu Xiyin on the ground with utter disgust in her eyes.
But before Mu Yao could speak, a figure hurriedly rushed out from behind her.
Lu Zhi dashed forward and helped Liu Xiyin up from the ground.
“Xiyin, what are you doing?”
“From now on, you and she are both Pingqi of the Houfu, equal in status. Why should you bow to her?”
Lu Zhi’s words were laced with undisguised heartache.
He had married Liu Xiyin as a Pingqi and given her the Bachengli precisely so she could hold her head high.
If Xiyin still had to grovel before Mu Yao in the future, then what use was the Bachengli he had spent so much money on?
“Shizi certainly knows how to cherish a person.”
Mu Yao looked down at the loving couple before her, a cold gleam spreading across her clear, cool eyes.
Right in front of her, Lu Zhi was being affectionate with his Tongfang.
Lu Zhi shot Mu Yao a cold glare, convinced that she had made things difficult and forced Liu Xiyin to kneel in the street.
“Xiyin, get up.”
Lu Zhi reached out to help her, but before Liu Xiyin could rise, Mu Yao’s voice cut through.
“Hold on.”
“What else do you want now?” Lu Zhi was thoroughly impatient.
Mu Yao’s slender brows arched slightly as she looked at Liu Xiyin, who wore the expression of one wronged.
It was Liu Xiyin who had first flaunted the Bachengli. Mu Yao hadn’t said a word before Liu Xiyin knelt.
Now she was playing innocent?
If she wanted to kneel, then let her kneel to her heart’s content.
Mu Yao curved her lips and looked at Lu Zhi with a light smile.
“The Shizi himself said that one only becomes a Pingqi after crossing the threshold.”
“She has not yet crossed the threshold. I am a Zheng-er-pin Xianzhu personally appointed by the Emperor, while she is merely the daughter of a household servant.”
“Is it such a grievance for her to kneel and bow to me?”
Mu Yao had always treated the household servants with kindness and never used her Xianzhu status to oppress others.
But just because she was kind didn’t mean others should forget that she was also a Xianzhu who drew a court salary and held an official rank.
Liu Xiyin kneeling to her was only right and proper!
After Mu Yao finished speaking, Lu Zhi’s outstretched hand froze mid-air.
Liu Xiyin bit her lip, the redness in her eyes finally condensing into teardrops that rolled down her cheeks.
“This sister was ignorant of the rules. This sister will bow to Yao elder sister.”
With that, Liu Xiyin knocked her head against the ground. When she rose again, her forehead was already bright red.
Lu Zhi could hardly hide his distress as he hurriedly helped her up, looking at Mu Yao with undisguised revulsion.
“The bow has been made. Are you satisfied now?”
Lu Zhi openly took Liu Xiyin’s hand, flaunting his hostility before Mu Yao like a display of ferocity.
“I truly don’t know what books you’ve read, using your Xianzhu title to bully Xiyin, a poor orphan.”
“I hope you’ll conduct yourself properly after you cross the threshold!”
After his vicious words, Lu Zhi took Liu Xiyin’s hand and turned to leave.
His demeanor made it seem as though Mu Yao were some heinous criminal.
Mu Yao turned to watch the two figures retreat, her flower-like countenance withering into cold desolation.
So Liu Xiyin bowing to her according to the rules meant she was being bullied?
Then wasn’t Lu Zhi also bullying her for being an orphan, using a servant’s daughter to trample on the Mu family’s dignity?
“Let’s return to the manor.”
Mu Yao let out a soft sigh and turned to leave with Ningzhu.
After that disruption, she had no heart for shopping.
Besides, the wedding in four days was merely a formality.
There was no need to spend extra money.
But just as she returned to the manor, Uncle Wang, the steward of the Mu household, came rushing over, his face deathly pale as he stood before Mu Yao.
“Uncle Wang, just say what’s on your mind.”
Mu Yao’s parents had gone to the Chu region, and for ten years she had remained in the capital, raised under Uncle Wang’s watchful eye.
Though she had no blood relatives, every person in the household was someone she knew through and through, a trusted confidant.
Seeing Uncle Wang’s expression, she could guess what was coming.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
“Just now, the Pingyang Houfu sent word. They said that since the young miss is a Xianzhu, her status is more noble than Liu Xiyin’s. To make the two Pingqi equal in standing, the Houfu will reduce the wedding procession for the young miss by two carriages compared to Liu Xiyin’s—only giving Liucheng…”
Uncle Wang’s lips trembled as he finished speaking, and Ningzhu exploded completely.
“The Lu family is simply bullying people!”
“Miss, let’s not marry into that family. Let’s go find the Emperor and seek justice!”
Ningzhu grabbed Mu Yao’s arm as she spoke.
Since it was an imperial match, wouldn’t asking the Emperor to annul it solve everything?
But Mu Yao remained as steady as a mountain, sitting calmly by the table.
“What use is there in seeking justice from the Emperor? Do you still think the Mu family is what it once was?”
In the past, the Mu family had been full of loyal scholars. Now that the people were gone, the tea had gone cold—who would bother to champion an orphan?
Besides, even if she went before the Emperor, Lu Zhi could simply explain that he had never said such a thing, and that he had prepared the Bachengli for Mu Yao as well.
So then…
She would have to wait until the wedding day, let the entire capital see that the orphan of the Mu family had two fewer carriages than a servant’s daughter.
With clear evidence and solid grounds, only then could she find someone to seek justice for her.
“Wait patiently. There are only a few days left.”
Mu Yao spoke, unable to suppress a smile.
She had originally thought her plan might be too cruel toward the Lu family.
But after today’s visit—
She had been too merciful.
Two days remained until the wedding.
The Zhang Gongzhu hosted a flower-viewing banquet at her residence, inviting the young nobles and ladies of the capital to attend.
Mu Yao normally avoided such lively gatherings and their attendant gossip, but today she went anyway.
In the past, she had kept to herself, which had allowed the world to forget that the Mu family still had her among the living.
By showing her face among the nobles today, she could at least become a familiar figure when she later lodged her complaints.
By the time Mu Yao arrived at the princess’s residence with Ningzhu, the garden was already bustling.
There were few familiar faces inside, so Mu Yao sat alone. Before long, she heard a commotion at the entrance.
She looked up to see Lu Zhi arriving with Liu Xiyin.
“Isn’t the Shizi of Pingyang Hou about to marry that Xianzhu from the Mu family? Why has he brought another woman today?”
“The Shizi says she’s his cousin, and he plans to marry her as his Pingqi on the same day.”
“I never heard he had a cousin. Could it be some woman of dubious origins, given a title just so she can be raised to Pingqi?”
Amid the chatter around her, a faint smile curved at the corner of Mu Yao’s lips.
They had guessed it exactly right.
As the daughter of a household servant, Liu Xiyin naturally couldn’t attend such an occasion.
It must have taken considerable effort on Lu Zhi’s part to fabricate the identity of a cousin just so Liu Xiyin could appear in public.
Liu Xiyin naturally heard the gossip but offered no explanation.
Without letting her gaze wander, she walked straight toward Mu Yao’s line of sight.
“Sister Yao, it’s been many days. Your younger sister greets you.”
Liu Xiyin’s initiative to bow this time left Mu Yao with no grounds to find fault.
And this show of familiarity made everything clear to the onlookers.
Mu Yao was known to all as the wife of the Shizi of Pingyang Hou.
For Liu Xiyin to be so close to her, the matter of the Pingqi seemed all but settled.
Seeing that Mu Yao hadn’t made things difficult, Liu Xiyin sat down beside her.
Lu Zhi had told her that he had put Mu Yao in her place and guaranteed she wouldn’t dare cause trouble in the future—that was why she dared to be so bold.
“Sister, how did you cut your finger? With your status and family background, do you still have to embroider your own wedding dress?”
“As for my wedding dress, Brother Zhi… my cousin had already hired the finest embroiderers in the city. It was delivered to the residence yesterday.”