Xiao Ruqiong watched the scene unfold, inwardly cursing Madam Huang as useless clay that could not be molded. She had the status of an elder, and this was her own domain, yet she still let Xiao Yunzhu seize the initiative with just a few words.
What were all these servant women summoned for? To stand there and look imposing? Shouldn’t they have seized Xiao Yunzhu and beaten her first?
Now it was too late—because Xiao Yunzhu had already invoked the emperor and empress. They should have struck the moment she entered, without hesitation!
She gave a cold snort. “Sixth Sister, you’ve always hidden your claws well. Today I finally see you clearly!”
She admitted she had underestimated Xiao Yunzhu. She had thought her a clever little lamb—never imagining she had sharp fangs and claws.
Xiao Yunzhu smiled faintly. “I haven’t yet congratulated Fourth Sister on achieving her wish—successfully breaking off the betrothal.”
Xiao Ruqiong’s anger flared. “You dare say that!”
Of course, she wanted to dissolve the engagement. But the way she had envisioned it was different: Xiao Yunzhu entangled with Xu Hengce, while she herself became the innocent victim, standing upon the moral high ground, magnanimously yielding for the sake of her sister’s infatuation.
That way, her reputation would remain intact, even enhanced—people would praise her as dutiful both to her fiancé and to her sister.
Not like now, where Xu Hengce himself had broken the engagement, and the female guests had seen through her disdain for her crippled fiancé, making her appear cold-blooded and heartless.
In later generations, if a fiancé became disabled and the woman broke off the engagement, no one would blame her—netizens would even applaud her as “clear-headed.” But this was the cruel ancient world. Even if the fiancé died, the prevailing opinion praised women who married in carrying his memorial tablet.
To break off an engagement was treated like committing a grave crime. So she had needed the perfect excuse. But Xiao Yunzhu, cunning and unpredictable, refused to follow her script!
Now, though the engagement had been dissolved, the process and its consequences were utterly contrary to her plan. She seemed nothing more than a clumsy, base schemer. Her image as loyal, righteous, and virtuous had collapsed.
All because of Xiao Yunzhu!
Madam Huang also spoke coldly: “Yunzhu, I know you are usually jealous of Qiong’er. But when you and Qiong’er go out, you are both daughters of the Xiao family. One’s honor is everyone’s honor, one’s disgrace is everyone’s disgrace. You ought to support each other, help each other, and together uphold the Xiao family’s reputation! Yet today you disregarded sisterly affection and the family’s face, deliberately making things difficult for Qiong’er in front of outsiders! Do you still remember your surname is Xiao?!”
As Xiao Yunzhu’s second aunt, she had the right to discipline her.
Even if the emperor heard of it, he would say nothing—indeed, he would praise her for being a responsible elder.
Xiao Yunzhu looked at her, eyes full of surprise. “I never knew Second Aunt regarded me as a sage!”
Madam Huang: “Who said you were a sage?”
A sage? She was just flattering herself.
Xiao Yunzhu said slowly, “If you don’t take me for a sage, why demand such impossible standards of me? Fourth Sister slandered me first, claiming I had an affair with the heir Xu Hengce. Yet you did not rebuke her at all; instead, you scolded me. So your meaning is—no matter what Fourth Sister does to me, whether she hurts me or harms me, I must happily endure it. And if I resist even a little, then I am accused of disregarding sisterly affection and the family’s honor? Second Aunt, forgive my bluntness, but even sages could not do that!”
Holding her to the standards of a sage, while holding themselves to the standards of petty men. That was what Xiao Ruqiong called double standards.
But she would not accept it. Nor would she let them use the “Xiao family’s honor” as a heavy hat to press down on her. She was only one small person—her head could not bear such weight.
Xiao Ruqiong shouted angrily, “Who has harmed you? I wanted you to marry Xu Hengce for your own good! You were rejected by the He family, and Aunt does not socialize. What good family could you marry into? Xu Hengce may be disabled, but he is still the heir of Duke Ning’s household. For you, that is marrying upward!”
She did not mention that Xu Hengce could not keep his position as heir. She did not believe Xiao Yunzhu would know.
In her mind, a cloistered girl like Xiao Yunzhu, poisoned by feudal teachings, could only see the small patch of ground before her, never the deeper realities.
Xiao Yunzhu countered, “If it was truly for my good, why did you not tell me beforehand? If you had, perhaps I might have cooperated.”
That was always Xiao Ruqiong’s way—whatever the matter, she always had a justification, as if reason itself had been tamed to obey her.
Xiao Ruqiong declared righteously, “I feared your short-sightedness, that you would not see the benefits of this marriage.” Then suspiciously: “If I had told you beforehand, would you really have cooperated?”
For Xiao Yunzhu, this was indeed an excellent match. With only her mother and herself, they could never have secured such a high-level marriage.
Xiao Yunzhu smiled. “Of course not.”
Xiao Ruqiong realized she had been played, and snapped in anger: “Stubborn and ungrateful! I don’t care anymore—let’s see what kind of husband you can find!”
Xiao Yunzhu laughed. “Fourth Sister, you cannot blame me. My refusal to cooperate is not me deliberately opposing you—it is all Second Aunt’s teaching.”
Madam Huang: “What did I teach you?”
One cannot simply slander others with baseless words! And if Qiong’er has misunderstood, what then?
Xiao Yunzhu said: “Second Aunt, have you forgotten? You just said that Fourth Sister and I are both daughters of the Xiao family—one’s honor is everyone’s honor, one’s disgrace is everyone’s disgrace—and we ought to uphold the family’s reputation together. If I were to go along with Fourth Sister, my reputation would be ruined. And if mine is ruined, then hers is ruined too. So I cannot agree with her. That can only mean it was a misunderstanding!”
Madam Huang: “Sophistry!” Yet she could not refute it.
Xiao Yunzhu turned to Xiao Ruqiong, speaking earnestly: “Fourth Sister, I did it all for your sake!”
*For your sake.*
The words sounded familiar—she herself had just said them.
Xiao Ruqiong felt a tightness in her chest, for the first time at a loss for words.
Xiao Yunzhu continued: “I understand why Second Aunt and Fourth Sister blame me. But you truly wrong me. Without my push, how much longer would Fourth Sister have been trapped in this engagement?”
Madam Huang thought to herself—Sixth Girl was not entirely wrong. Without today’s events, the betrothal could not have been dissolved so soon, and Qiong’er would have remained troubled.
Now, though there would be some gossip, it was not ruinous. The capital was full of fresh scandals; in time, people would move on to other talk.
Xiao Yunzhu smiled. “Now it’s settled—Fourth Sister has her wish, the engagement is broken, and her reputation is not too badly damaged. Truly, the best of both worlds!”
Xiao Ruqiong did not feel it was the best of anything.
Xiao Yunzhu: “If you ask me, you ought to thank me!”
Thank you? I’ll thank your ancestors for eight generations!
Xiao Ruqiong nearly cursed aloud. Distraught, she pointed toward the door. “Out!”
Xiao Yunzhu rose gracefully, kindly reminding her: “Fourth Sister, mind your bearing! Poor bearing, and you’ll never marry a worthy husband.”
Xiao Ruqiong had mocked her with the phrase “worthy husband,” so she returned it in kind. Just as she stepped out, the sound of a teacup shattering came from within.
Ah—clearly, Fourth Sister was furious.