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Yes, Xu Qingyi was doing it deliberately.
Reflecting on her life, this was the first time she had consciously engaged in a power struggle with others.
Initially, she had felt quite guilty.
After all, why should women make things difficult for other women?
But the thought of the original Xu Qingyi’s fate in the book erased that guilt.
Because she understood this wasn’t a conflict between women.
It was about oppression and the oppressed.
If she wasn’t ruthless, she would only be the one oppressed.
“Liu, since everyone is here, quickly prepare some tea,” Xu Qingyi ignored Xie Huaian’s unfriendly glare and firmly instructed Liu, who was standing by.
“Yes, Madam,” Liu readily went to carry out the task.
The servants who served Xu Qingyi all felt satisfied to see Du Jinyun suffer.
Seeing the situation unfolding, everyone, having eaten and drunk their fill, remained seated, unwilling to leave, eager to watch the drama unfold.
Du Jinyun was soon brought in.
She entered with a wronged expression, gently stroking her abdomen, as if afraid people would forget she was carrying a Xie family heir.
However, she found that everyone except Xie Huaian was looking at her coldly, showing no sympathy.
“…” Xie Huaian, seeing his beloved woman being bullied by the entire household, looked grim, his jaw clenched tightly. He endured with great difficulty, refraining from standing up to object.
“Kneel down and kowtow to apologize to your mistress,” the Marquis said coldly.
Du Jinyun’s face changed upon hearing this.
It had been agreed that she would only apologize by serving tea; why had it become kowtowing now?
Xie Huaian also felt it was excessive and, unable to bear it any longer, spoke up. “Father, Sister-in-law didn’t ask for her to kneel and kowtow; only to apologize by serving tea.”
Kowtowing would reduce Du Jinyun’s status to that of a lowly servant girl, making it impossible for her to hold her head high in front of Xu Qingyi.
Apologizing by serving tea implied they were equals.
Du Jinyun was, after all, the woman he loved, and Xu Qingyi shouldn’t refuse even this much face.
“Humph, your sister-in-law didn’t make the request; she’s giving you face,” the Marquis said. “But you can’t bully your sister-in-law like this. If you’ve done wrong, you must admit it!”
Xie Huaian’s hands trembled with anger. Who exactly was bullying whom?
Now that Xu Qingyi was the apple of everyone’s eye, who could possibly bully her?!
Xu Qingyi, the ‘culprit’, leisurely took a sip of tea and patted Heng’s head.
Heng, having eaten his fill, was lying bonelessly on her lap.
Normally, he feared the elders and wouldn’t dare to do this.
But now no one paid him any attention. Madam Qin, who had been most hostile towards him, had her attention diverted by her incompetent son and the servant girl who had slept her way into the family.
The only one who paid attention to him was probably Zhen.
Zhen envied his younger brother, who, taking advantage of his young age, received more of his mother’s affection.
It wasn’t that Xu Qingyi didn’t treat him well.
She was already very good to him; better than to his elder brother, anyway!
Thinking this, Zhen smiled gleefully.
He felt he could eat another meatball, so, taking advantage of everyone’s inattention, he secretly ate another one.
Mother was right; one needs to eat one’s fill to have the energy to lose weight.
Lin slowly sipped his tea, his eyes cold and indifferent.
Born into poverty, he was proud and ambitious, and unscrupulous, but he felt no pity for Du Jinyun, who was being ‘bullied’ by everyone.
Because he and Du Jinyun were not the same.
He despised such shameless people.
“My Lord, Qingyi’s consideration is also correct. After all, she’s carrying a Xie family heir,” Madam Qin spoke. While she disliked Du Jinyun, she didn’t want the future grandson to lose face, so she cautiously advised, “Why not do as Qingyi suggests? We will all appreciate Qingyi’s magnanimity.”
The Marquis became even angrier. “If she hadn’t been carrying a Xie family heir, she, a mere servant girl, would have been beaten to death for doing such a thing!”
Madam Qin opened her mouth to speak: “…”
Before she could utter a word, the Marquis looked at her coldly. “Yunzhi is not your biological son, so naturally you don’t care for him, and you neglect his wife and children as well.”
In an instant, Madam Qin swallowed her words back down.
She was afraid that if she spoke another word, it would bring up her lack of care for Xie Yunzhi’s children.
“Just do as Mingzong said,” the Old Madam, who had remained silent, finally spoke.
Du Jinyun’s face turned pale, feeling deeply humiliated!
Was her child in her belly not worthy of any love at all?
Ultimately, it was all because the Marquis and the Old Madam were partial.
They only cared for the Heir, Xie Yunzhi!
And because of that, Xu Qingyi, who had no brains, had also risen in status, giving her the right to sit high and mighty, waiting for her to kowtow and apologize.
Du Jinyun bit her lip, looking at Xie Huaian with a pitiful expression. She saw in his eyes a mixture of heartache and impotent rage.
This made Du Jinyun feel a little better.
As long as Second Young Master loved her, that was enough.
“It’s Jinyun’s fault. Second Young Master, please don’t plead for me,” Du Jinyun said with a sad smile.
Xie Huaian clenched his fist.
“Then let’s begin,” the Marquis frowned in displeasure. A concubine is a concubine; she’s so affected and doesn’t look presentable.
“Yes…” Du Jinyun responded in a low voice, feeling aggrieved.
Then, she walked to Xu Qingyi, protecting her belly as she slowly knelt down. She bit her lip and whispered, “Madam, Jinyun is sorry. I’m kowtowing to apologize.”
“Wait,” Xu Qingyi gently stroked Heng’s hand and calmly corrected her. “You should call yourself ‘this servant girl.'”
Didn’t Du Jinyun consider herself a former young lady?
She was proud and arrogant, so Xu Qingyi insisted that she face the consequences of her actions.
Since she was so happy to be Xu Qingyi’s maid, then let her be a proper one.
Du Jinyun gasped, staring up at Xu Qingyi, her eyes full of disbelief. The once gentle and kind Xu Qingyi now seemed like a completely different person.
Xu Qingyi found it amusing. What was she so disbelieving about?
Didn’t she know what she had done wrong?
She had such a thick skin.
“Sister-in-law, why must you be so unforgiving…?” Xie Huaian gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with anger.
Xu Qingyi blinked her eyes and softly said, “Second Brother, you misunderstand me. I just remembered how kind I used to be to her, treating her like a sister, and yet… her apology isn’t sincere at all.”
Liu, standing beside them, couldn’t help but say, “Yes, everyone in Yong’an Marquis Mansion knows that Young Madam used to share everything good with her, treating her like a sister. No wonder Young Madam is heartbroken.”
Xie Huaian glared at Liu angrily. “The mistress is speaking; what right do you have, a mere servant girl, to interrupt?”
Seeing Xie Huaian scolding her maid, Xu Qingyi didn’t react, but tapped the deed of contract on the table. “Du Jinyun, you insisted on becoming my personal maid, even crying and begging me when I refused. Were you already pregnant then?”
This statement immediately shifted the blame back to Du Jinyun.
The Xie family members looked at her with contempt. She was so vicious and scheming; truly despicable!
“Xie Huaian, how could you like such a woman?” The Marquis was furious at the thought of a Xie family heir coming from such a woman’s womb.
With her shameful act exposed, Xie Huaian’s face flushed red.
He also knew that having an affair with his fiancée’s maid was shameful.
But Du Jinyun had been desperate; they were simply in love.
“Yes, was Huaian deceived? Otherwise, how could he be so… foolish…?”
The uncles and aunts watching from the sidelines began to gossip.
They truly despised Du Jinyun.
She seemed timid and weak on the surface, but she was actually scheming and refused to admit her mistake.
Unable to bear the pointing and whispering, Du Jinyun’s eyes welled up with tears. She gave up and said, “Madam is right. It’s this servant girl’s fault. This servant girl is kowtowing to confess her guilt.”
Then, with tears streaming down her face, she began to kowtow.
Xu Qingyi felt satisfied, a slight smile playing on her lips.
She didn’t want to oppose the main characters, but she’d be more careful next time.