Xu Hengce did not look at Xiao Ruqiong, nor argue with her. He only said to Madam Xu, “Mother, please return Fourth Miss Xiao’s betrothal papers.”
Madam Xu’s expression wavered. “Heng’er, this matter should be considered carefully…”
Xiao Yunzhu glanced at her speechlessly. Perhaps out of shared misfortune, she even felt a pang of sorrow for Xu Hengce. And a measure of gratitude for herself. At least her mother listened to her and always stood by her side.
But Madam Xu was truly muddle-headed. Was Xiao Ruqiong’s humiliation directed only at her? No—it was also at Xu Hengce. In fact, primarily at Xu Hengce. She was merely collateral damage.
As a mother, Madam Xu did not think to defend her son’s dignity, but hesitated, unable to distinguish between closeness and distance. To be her child must be exhausting.
Xu Hengce’s brows did not move. “Mother, say no more. If you still regard me as your son, then dissolve this engagement.”
Madam Xu’s tears immediately fell. “Very well, we’ll break it off, we’ll break it off!”
For Heng’er to speak so heavily showed how deeply he was hurt. Yet his face betrayed no pain. He glanced at the guard.
The guard understood and called out loudly, “Ladies, you are blocking the wind in the courtyard. Please!”
“We’re leaving, we’re leaving!” Madam Xu hurriedly led everyone away.
Their steps were quick; Xiao Yunzhu was pushed to the rear. Just before leaving the courtyard, she unconsciously turned back. To her surprise, Xu Hengce was also looking her way. She paused, then returned him an encouraging smile.
In life, no one wishes to encounter misfortune. But misfortune is misfortune precisely because it strikes unexpectedly, in ways impossible to foresee or avoid.
Those struck by it can choose to abandon themselves, bow their heads to fate—or they can choose to face it with strength, refusing to yield or admit defeat.
The latter is undoubtedly more admirable.
The sky was still early; Xiao Yunzhu had already returned to the Xiao residence.
Leaving Duke Ning’s residence, Qing Zhi said a little anxiously, “Miss, if you leave without saying goodbye, won’t people think it rude?”
Xiao Yunzhu smiled. “Don’t worry. No one in the Xu household wishes to see your young mistress.”
Today’s affair was undoubtedly an unseemly farce. And since she had been the one to expose it, if she stayed any longer, it would only look like she was watching the joke. To slip away quietly was the sensible choice.
So after leaving Mingxi Courtyard, she went straight out.
The attendants of the second branch did not understand why she left early, but dared not ask. They obeyed her orders and escorted her and Qing Zhi back to the Xiao residence.
By rights, such a matter should be told to her mother.
Xiao Yunzhu had intended to, but when she went to the Buddha hall and saw her mother absorbed in chanting scriptures, she suddenly lost the desire. Such worldly troubles should not disturb her mother’s peace of mind. After supper, she read for a while, when Madam Huang suddenly sent two stout matrons to summon her.
Xiao Yunzhu had long expected this. She adjusted her appearance, and with Lü Mei, Qing Zhi, and two other maids—Zi Ye and Lan Hua—followed the matrons to Madam Huang’s Dangui Courtyard. As they walked, she suddenly laughed aloud.
Lümei: “Miss, why are you laughing?”
The second branch clearly meant to make things difficult for her. The four maids were tense, yet their mistress could still laugh.
Xiao Yunzhu made a gesture and said with a smile, “What I lack is a great blade.”
Lan Hua: “Miss, what do you need a blade for?”
Surely she didn’t mean to fight the second branch head-on? Then she would need an axe.
Xiao Yunzhu kept smiling. “With a great blade, your mistress would be going alone to the meeting, with the spirit of Guan Yu.” Then she shook her head, teasing, “No, not alone with one blade—I have you four Vajra guardians.”
Zi Ye, being serious by nature, apologized earnestly. “Miss, it is our fault, delaying your chance to emulate Guan Yu.”
Xiao Yunzhu: “…Haha!”
For some reason, she suddenly recalled Xu Hengce’s guard, who, when driving the crowd away, had said they were blocking the wind in Mingxi Courtyard.
It was much the same as Zi Ye’s words—both so oddly phrased that one hardly knew how to respond.
Qing Zhi glanced at the matrons ahead, then whispered, “Miss, could the second branch, in their anger, kill to silence you?”
Today, the second branch had failed in their scheme to frame her, and instead disgraced themselves terribly. They would surely seek revenge.
Xiao Yunzhu chuckled softly, replying in the same low voice, “They are not mountain bandits.”
Mountain bandits act directly, always resorting to violence. But noble households have their own ways of doing things.
Bloody violence is considered crude, staining fine silks and brocades. They prefer methods of killing without blood—more subtle, more cruel.
Besides, Second Uncle and Second Aunt must know: alive, she might not matter much, but if she were to die suddenly and inexplicably, many would be dragged down with her.
Before long, they arrived at the main hall of Dangui Courtyard. Madam Huang and Xiao Ruqiong sat together on the golden silk couch embroidered with entwined flowers, while five or six unfamiliar servant women stood to either side, all with brutish faces and powerful builds.
Madam Huang’s expression was dark as water. At the sight of Xiao Yunzhu, she barked, “Kneel!”
This was the strategy she and her daughter had agreed upon: crush Xiao Yunzhu’s arrogance at the outset, then she would be easier to control. It was her own indulgence in the past that had allowed Xiao Yunzhu to grow so bold.
But Xiao Yunzhu did not kneel. She gave a slight bow, smiling calmly. “Second Aunt, what is this? Do you mean to kill me?”
Madam Huang’s face remained stern. “Sixth girl…”
Xiao Yunzhu interrupted, her smile unchanged. “Second Aunt, don’t be angry. I was only joking. Who in the capital does not know that Second Uncle and Second Aunt are the most righteous and kind, caring for the widow and orphan of the main branch with utmost devotion? Even His Majesty and the Empress have praised you.”
Madam Huang: “Since your father and brother are gone, of course, we must care for you and your mother.”
Her imposing momentum suddenly drained away. She recalled how the emperor and empress had each instructed her and her husband to treat Madam He and her daughter kindly, referring to Madam He as the widow of a loyal minister and to Xiao Yunzhu as the daughter of a loyal minister.
If anything happened to them, the second branch would surely be held accountable.
Indeed, the mother and daughter of the main branch were widowed and orphaned, but not pitiful. The emperor, for the sake of Xiao Yun’s father and son, sheltered them. True, nearly ten years had passed, and perhaps the emperor no longer cared about their lives.
But Madam Huang dared not gamble. She thought silently: to deal with Sixth Girl, she must use soft methods, not hard ones.
Xiao Yunzhu saw her expression and knew her thoughts. She smiled. “Thank you, Second Aunt. Today I am rather tired. Might there be a seat for me before you?”
Madam Huang: “Sit, then!”
After Xiao Yunzhu’s deft mix of retreat and advance, Madam Huang’s spirit had already waned, her sharpness gone, unable to summon that confrontational edge again.
Xiao Yunzhu bowed once more, then sat on a huanghuali wood-backed chair to the right. Her four maids stood behind her, each solemn in bearing—truly like four Vajra guardians. They glared fiercely at the servant women in the room. Though fewer in number, their presence was no weaker.