Chapter 44: Malicious
The argument in Lian Shui Pavilion was exceptionally clear, reaching outside before one even stepped into the room.
“Don’t be ungrateful… I’m giving you a way out today, but if there’s a next time, it won’t be so easy.”
“I’m not going back. Just give me a divorce letter and be done with me…”
“You don’t want face, do you?” Yao Wei’s voice carried a hint of ferocious pleasure, followed by Xue Yue Lou’s pained groans.
Xiao Zhao clenched her fists, her gaze fixed intently on Xue Sui.
“Miss, should we kill him?”
Xue Sui’s fingers trembled slightly. “Kick the door open.”
Xiao Zhao responded, “Yes.”
Seeing them rush forward, two old women stepped forward to block Xiao Zhao, shouting.
“What are you doing? What do you think you’re doing? Unmarried young ladies, how can you interfere in the affairs of a paternal aunt and her husband?”
There were also two servants who had come with Yao Wei, their brows furrowed as they stood by the room door, glaring fiercely at Xue Sui and the other two. Xue Yue Lou’s maids, Cui Yu and Bi Zhu, huddled to the side, silently shedding tears, not daring to rush in and stop them.
It seemed they were used to it.
Used to the Second Young Lady being bullied.
Xiao Zhao, however, didn’t care.
She only listened to Xue Sui.
Even without an imperial envoy’s decree, the Miss was an imperial envoy in her heart.
“Scram!” Xiao Zhao, with her great strength, shoved the women towards the door, and with a bang, the ajar door was forced open.
Xue Sui’s eyes stung, her expression changing drastically—
Inside the room, Yao Wei was straddling Xue Yue Lou’s slender, frail waist, seemingly in a frenzy. He was choking her, pulling her hair, and viciously slamming her head against the ground, showing no regard for their marital bond. It was as if he wasn’t hitting a living person, but a mute, unresisting, unfeeling wooden doll…
This scene was so familiar.
So familiar that she felt a chill run through her body, a coldness creeping up her spine, and a murderous intent flared in her eyes.
“Stop!”
Yao Wei, his eyes red from exertion, paused at the sound. He spat and his gaze fell upon Xue Sui’s ice-sculpted face.
After a moment of hesitation, he seemed to realize something and slowly released Xue Yue Lou, patting his clothes as he stood up.
“I wondered who it was. Isn’t this the Sixth Miss Xue, found from the countryside?”
Xiao Zhao also recognized him.
Taking a shallow breath, she said in a very low voice:
“I remember him! He’s on the third page of the picture album!”
–
Seeing her Sixth Sister, Xue Yue Lou hastily tidied her clothes and sat up, not daring to raise her head.
They had been sisters for years, but their interactions were few.
“Have all the relatives arrived? Is it time for the banquet? Sixth Sister, you go ahead, I’ll change my clothes and be there soon.”
After saying this, she looked at Yao Wei with a pale, ashen face, her eyes filled with helplessness and pleading.
She didn’t want her Sixth Sister, who had just returned to the mansion, to see what a scoundrel she had married, feeling ashamed and disgraced, unable to face her.
Yao Wei’s slumped face immediately showed a hint of smugness.
His male vanity was satisfied.
“Second Madam, please hurry. Your husband is waiting for you at Wang Yue Tower.”
Xue Yue Lou lowered her head and softly hummed in agreement. If not for her rapidly blinking eyelashes, one would hardly notice any pain.
Yao Wei snorted, stepped over the threshold, and swaggered out.
He walked up to Xue Sui, let out a soft snort, and a familiar, exaggerated, and ostentatious smile spread across his face, looking at her with utter contempt.
“Xue Liu, I’m not one to gossip, but even if you grew up in a shabby alley, you should know basic etiquette. How can a sister-in-law interfere in her brother-in-law’s private affairs?”
Xue Sui seemed not to hear, her expressionless gaze fixed on Xue Yue Lou.
Seeing the sisters looking at each other, Yao Wei could only fall silent, laugh heartily twice, deliberately elbow Xue Sui, and leave with his servants.
Lian Shui Pavilion fell silent for a moment.
After a long while, Xue Yue Lou slowly got up. “Sixth Sister…”
Xue Sui asked softly, “Are you alright?”
Xue Yue Lou gave a bitter smile. “A woman marrying is like a blind person touching an elephant. If she marries well, she has a reliance for the rest of her life; if she marries poorly, she gets no reward even if she works like an ox or a horse. It’s also my own fault for not being more capable, for giving birth to a foolish son. It’s only right that my in-laws dislike me…”
Her in-laws disliked her, and no one from her maternal home properly supported her. She had only been back for less than ten days, and the First Madam had already made her feel unwelcome in subtle ways.
Xue Yue Lou felt bitter but had no one to confide in.
Seeing her constantly blaming herself, Xue Sui didn’t say much more, nodded, and left.
Xue Yue Lou watched her retreating back, her body collapsing with exhaustion. Overwhelmed by bitterness and helplessness, she covered her face and wept.
–
By the time Xue Sui arrived, Yao Wei was already laughing and chatting at Wang Yue Tower.
Several young masters from the collateral branches of the Xue family, full of admiration for this Second Son-in-law, were gathered around him, listening with keen interest as Yao Wei discussed Prince Duan’s newly issued twenty-eight articles of criminal law.
When the First Madam and the Old Madam arrived, Yao Wei quickly stepped forward to pay his respects.
The Old Madam chided him, “That’s improper. Arguing with your wife and leaving Second Young Lady at her maternal home will lead to gossip.”
Yao Wei quickly cried out in protest, “Old Madam, you know Second Madam’s temper. She can curse me ten times for every word I say. How can it be my fault? It’s not that I didn’t come to invite her, it’s that I couldn’t get her to come.”
The First Madam snorted, “Son-in-law, don’t try to gloss over it. Everyone knows our Second Daughter respects you. Could it be that you have a new woman in your household and can no longer tolerate our Second Daughter?”
Yao Wei repeatedly clasped his hands, “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. Mother-in-law, you jest, you flatter me too much.”
Madam Fu did not place much importance on Xue Yue Lou, but Concubine Liu always relied on her and treated her with deference. As the First Madam, she had to display some of the demeanor of a legal wife, lest she be made a laughingstock.
“Our Xue family’s daughters should not always be wronged. Son-in-law, where you should be accommodating, you should be more so.”
Yao Wei bowed with both hands, pleading incessantly, “Mother-in-law, you wrong me. I cherish Second Madam like my own heart. How could I possibly mistreat her? She wanted to visit her parents, so I let her. If not for Third Uncle’s joyous occasion today, I wouldn’t have dared to come.”
The First Madam’s gaze swept over, and she saw Xue Sui approaching, her smile not reaching her eyes.
“In the end, it’s all your fault, and our Second Daughter is in the wrong…”
Yao Wei also saw Xue Sui. Seeing her calm expression, he knew she wasn’t going to reveal what she saw in Lian Shui Pavilion publicly. He smiled with a dark, smug satisfaction.
“I treat Second Madam very well. Sixth Sister saw it just now in Lian Shui Pavilion…”
He looked at Xue Sui, a hint of provocation in his eyes.
“Sixth Sister, you come, you must plead my case before Mother-in-law…”
His attitude was arrogant.
This was the same demeanor Xue Sui had seen before.
Ten years, and he was still so confident that she could do nothing to them.
Xue Sui smiled slightly. “Xue Liu has just returned from the countryside and doesn’t understand etiquette. She can’t see clearly or explain things.”
Yao Wei raised his eyebrows. “Then you should learn from your Second Sister. A lady of a prominent family should observe propriety and decorum, maintain a dignified demeanor, and stay away from men when there’s nothing to discuss.”
Xue Sui smiled slightly.
Was Yao Wei counting on her not to expose his misdeeds at Third Uncle’s celebration banquet?
Or was he counting on Xue Yue Lou not to reveal the Yao family’s scandal?
“Second Brother-in-law is right.” Xue Sui looked into those cold eyes, a smile on her lips as she slowly walked over. She bowed her head, and as she looked up, she said in a very low voice:
“Third Master Yao lost so much silver at Hongfu Gambling House, and he’s still marrying into the main family to raise a nephew for his deceased elder brother? If all his family fortune is gone, what will happen to your widow sister-in-law?”
She paused, then chuckled softly, her gaze sharp as a knife.
“Oh, and your two mistresses, their children cannot be recognized by the ancestral lineage. How pitiful.”
She walked past lightly.
Yao Wei froze as if petrified.
Turning his head, he saw that the woman had already walked past with a calm expression, as if nothing had happened, chatting and laughing with Madam Qian, who was introducing her to relatives and friends attending the banquet.
Yao Wei felt a surge of anger.
What had Sixth Miss just said?
Xue Yue Lou, that slut, dared to speak of his affairs.
And she sent a mere girl to threaten him?
He admitted that the current Xue Liu looked unusually intelligent and calm. But in the end, she was just the daughter of a lowly dancer. Ten years ago, she was their plaything, and now she wanted to rise up and ride over him?
Who gave her the courage?
Did she think that by attaching herself to Princess Duan and becoming a Ru Ren of Prince Duan’s Mansion, she could reach the heavens?
Yao Wei looked at her blossoming beauty, and let out a sinister, low chuckle.
“I thought she was as thin as a stick before, but I didn’t expect her to grow into such beauty? I truly underestimated her.”
The servant lowered his head, not daring to reply.
Xue Yueying had been watching for a long time.
Only then did she slowly approach and ask with a faint smile, “Second Brother-in-law, aren’t you going to take your seat?”
Yao Wei glanced at her sideways, straightened his body slightly, wanting to leave, but couldn’t help but look at her a few more times, and asked in a low voice, “Do Father and Mother truly intend to elevate that slut Xue Liu?”
Xue Yueying feigned surprise.
“Second Brother-in-law, speak with caution. Now that Sixth Sister has caught the eye of Princess Duan and been granted the title of Ru Ren of the Prince’s Mansion, even Father treats her with respect in the mansion. The Old Madam praises her for her filial piety, propriety, dignity, and nobility. If, in the future, she gains Prince Duan’s favor and bears him a son or daughter, her future will be boundless…”
As she said this, she suddenly looked at Yao Wei with wide, tense eyes, as if she had just remembered something.
“Second Brother-in-law, you must be careful.”
Yao Wei’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you talking about?”
Xue Yueying winked at him, implying, “Sixth Sister still holds a grudge.”
After saying this, she smiled charmingly and gracefully departed, leaving Yao Wei standing there, his heart in turmoil.
Xue Yueying was reminding him that the things they did to Xue Liu back then, this girl was likely going to seek revenge.
He wasn’t afraid of Xue Liu, of course.
But that little slut was now beautiful, and it was possible she might catch Prince Duan’s eye and gain his favor.
If she bore children for Prince Duan and became the birth mother of the Prince’s heir, then the future would be uncertain…
What man could withstand the whispers of his concubine?
Prince Duan was a righteous man. Once he learned of this matter…
Yao Wei shivered.
This matter could not be taken lightly.
Yao Wei made up his mind. He would discuss it with his brothers later and then ask Princess Ping Le to intervene. They absolutely could not allow this marriage to happen…
