Chapter 14

Xu Family.  

Madam Xu and Miss Xu had not slept all night.  

Mother and daughter were gripped with fear, dreading that the people from Marquis Pingjiang Manor would storm in at any moment, wreaking havoc and smashing everything to pieces. Yet, as the sun rose in the east, nothing happened.  

Madam Xu had learned last night about Ying Yue biting her tongue in the bridal sedan. Mama Cai, foreseeing trouble, had not allowed Xu Shangcong—the second son of the Xu family, who had been hastily arranged as a stand-in to escort the bride—to enter the manor with her. Instead, amidst the chaos, she had someone take him back to the Xu family to deliver the message.  

At the time, Madam Xu’s vision darkened, and she thought it was all over—completely over. But as dawn broke, everything remained eerily normal, the sun rising as if no mishap had occurred.  

—Could it be that Madam Hong was so formidable that she had forced Fang Hanxiao to accept the fake bride under such circumstances?  

Madam Xu was bewildered. On one hand, she hardly dared to believe such good fortune, yet on the other, she desperately wanted to.  

Wangyue was even more restless than her. She abandoned her pretense of illness, pacing the room in her undergarments before finally blurting out, “Mother, should we call Second Brother back and ask him?”  

Madam Xu, her eyes swollen, frowned and shook her head. “What’s the use? He didn’t even step inside the gates. How would he know what truly happened inside?”  

Wangyue fell silent, circling the room once more before stamping her foot. “If only Mama Cai or Jinling would return—but not a single one of them is back!”  

Indeed, the only unusual thing now was that aside from Xu Shangcong, all the Xu family’s bridal escorts had vanished without a trace—like meat buns thrown to a dog, never to return. In local weddings like this, the escorts were not supposed to stay overnight. After attending the banquet and receiving their rewards, they should have returned by now.  

Without her people back, Madam Xu had no way of knowing what had transpired afterward—whether the bride substitution had succeeded or failed.  

Her heart remained lodged in her throat, unable to settle.  

After a while, Wangyue ventured another guess. “Mother, could it be that Lord Fang was furious and detained them to vent his anger?”  

Madam Xu considered this and slowly nodded. Fang Hanxiao, isolated and powerless against the influential second branch of his family, might have directed his pent-up rage at the Xu family’s servants. Madam Hong would have no reason to stop him—in the eyes of a noblewoman like her, even if Mama Cai and Jinling were beaten to death, it would be of little consequence.  

Wangyue sighed in relief. “If that’s truly the case, then it’s for the best. Once Lord Fang has vented enough and releases them, Mother can compensate them generously with injury compensation money. At least they won’t have suffered for nothing.”  

Madam Xu doubted it was that simple, but of course, she wished it were. She tried to convince herself to ease her worries. Then, noticing Wangyue still in her undergarments, she hurriedly scolded, “Child, why are you walking around so lightly dressed? Go back to bed—what if you really fall ill?”  

“I’m not cold.”  

Still, after a sleepless night, Wangyue was exhausted. With no sign of trouble from Marquis Pingjiang Manor, she finally succumbed to drowsiness. Rubbing her eyes, she returned to bed under her mother’s urging.  

“Mother, you should rest too.”  

Madam Xu couldn’t possibly sleep. “You rest. I’ll send someone to gather more information.”

She spoke as she stepped out, summoning a maid to relay her message—to send a few clever servants to the households they knew had attended last night’s wedding banquet, to see if they could uncover any information.

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Marquis Pingjiang Manor, the bridal chamber.  

The mistress and her two maids woke up early. After all, it was an unfamiliar place, and with so many things still unclear and unresolved, none of them could truly rest easy.  

Upon waking, Ying Yue faced an awkward predicament—she didn’t want to wear the wedding dress again, but there were no other clothes in the bridal chamber for her to change into.  

Yuzan paced helplessly around the room before mustering her courage. “Wait here, miss. I’ll go out and ask. When we arrived, Madam packed quite a few trunks that were carried along—there should be clothes inside.”  

Ying Yue quickly pulled her back. “Don’t. Madam Hong is here.”  

Having spent the night in the bridal chamber, though no one from the manor had come to attend to her, neither had anyone come to trouble her. This subconsciously made her feel the bridal chamber was safe, but stepping outside might be a different story. Who knew if Madam Hong might seize her for a beating?  

Yuzan hesitated, also a little afraid upon reflection.  

With no other choice, Ying Yue didn’t mind making do. She got out of bed and reached for the wedding dress draped over the rosewood stand. She was young and resilient—though she had been in a miserable state the day before, a full meal and a night’s sleep had restored much of her energy. Only her tongue still ached, making speech difficult.  

Yuzan hurried over to help her. Just as she finished dressing, a crisp voice came from outside: “Sister-in-law, are you awake?”  

Ying Yue froze, glancing at Yuzan, who promptly called out, “We’re awake.”  

Shinan quickly walked to the door and lifted the curtain to greet the visitor. Fang Hui, now dressed in a goose-yellow jacket and skirt with matching hair ornaments, still wore the golden necklace from before. She stepped inside and said, “Sister-in-law, I came to see you.”  

Wang Shi followed behind, her expression apologetic. “The young miss came too early—I couldn’t dissuade her. Forgive the disturbance, First Madam.”  

Ying Yue shook her head to indicate it was fine.  

Yuzan and Shinan stepped forward to greet Fang Hui. Being meticulous, Yuzan took the opportunity to ask where they might fetch some hot water. In this weather, wearing old clothes was bearable, but skipping washing up was unthinkable.  

Fang Hui turned to Wang Shi. “Nanny, go and have someone bring hot water.”  

As Wang Shi assented and prepared to leave, Yuzan quickly followed. “No need to trouble yourself, Nanny. Just point me in the right direction—I’ll fetch it myself since I’m free.”  

The two of them left. Ying Yue invited Fang Hui to sit and thanked her for the noodles sent the night before.  

Fang Hui waved it off generously. “It was nothing.” After a pause, she added, “Actually, it was Nanny who thought to send them.”  

After all, she was only eight years old. Her visit to the bridal chamber to share snacks with Ying Yue had mostly been for fun—she hadn’t realized Ying Yue had eaten out of hunger.  

Ying Yue smiled. “Still, thank you.”  

She understood clearly—without Fang Hui, why would the servants of Marquis Pingjiang Manor have shown her such kindness?  

Fang Hui’s large eyes crinkled slightly. “It’s really nothing.”  

With someone to guide them, things became much easier. Before long, Yuzan returned, carrying hot water. Wang Shi, walking beside her, wasn’t empty-handed either—she held a food box, likely containing breakfast.  

Shinan hurried over to take it, and together with Yuzan, she helped Ying Yue freshen up before the three of them gathered around the table to eat.  

Fang Hui lingered, wandering around the room until she drifted close again. Ying Yue tugged her small hand and pushed a plate of red bean cakes toward her.

Fang Hui initially declined, saying, “I ate before I came.”

But Ying Yue had injured her tongue, making her meal painfully slow. After pacing around a few times out of boredom, Fang Hui returned to the table and grabbed a bite to eat.

She ate one, then another. Wang Shi watched with delight, pouring her tea: “It’s rare to see you eat so much today, young miss. Usually, no amount of persuasion works.”

After a leisurely breakfast, Fang Hui tugged at Ying Yue: “Sister-in-law, let’s go pay respects to Grandfather.”

Only then did Ying Yue realize why Fang Hui had come so early and waited so long. Her first instinct was to refuse: “Is that appropriate? Old Master Fang is ill—”

She didn’t want to see Old Master Fang. Even now, she didn’t feel any connection to Marquis Pingjiang Manor.

But Fang Hui insisted, even adding, “Sister-in-law, don’t be shy. Since Big Brother won’t take you to see Grandfather, I will.”

Her tone carried a hint of smugness, as if she were scoring points against Fang Han Xiao.

Ying Yue found it both amusing and exasperating. Even someone as oblivious as her could detect the undercurrent of sibling rivalry. She wondered how Fang Han Xiao had managed to offend his little sister so thoroughly.

Wang Shi also felt it was inappropriate and tried to dissuade her, but to no avail. Finally, she conceded: “If you must go, miss, promise to return immediately if Old Master is still asleep or if the young master objects.”

Only after this compromise did Fang Hui agree: “Fine.”

Ying Yue sighed in relief. From Wang Shi’s words, it seemed Fang Han Xiao was currently with Old Master Fang, which was why she allowed Fang Hui to go.

Though Ying Yue didn’t want to see Old Master Fang, she did want to speak with Fang Han Xiao. Last night, she had been too overwhelmed by shock and exhaustion to address anything properly. Now, she needed to have a serious conversation with him—she couldn’t just passively settle into this strange new life.

With Fang Hui accompanying her, she wouldn’t have to worry about Madam Hong suddenly appearing to drag her away. When Fang Hui tugged at her again, Ying Yue nodded in agreement.

Yuzan hesitated: “Miss, your condition—”

She was better than yesterday, but going outside was still a stretch. Yuzan wasn’t at ease.

Ying Yue gave her a reassuring smile, signaling that she’d be fine.

Of course, she still felt unwell, but this wasn’t the time to be delicate. She needed to toughen up—sitting idly in the bridal chamber felt just as wrong.

With Shinan in tow, she followed Fang Hui out.

Though no firecrackers were set off in the manor to avoid disturbing Old Master Fang, the bridal chamber had still been placed far from Tranquil Virtue Courtyard. Fortunately, Fang Hui’s short legs meant she walked slowly, making the journey manageable for Ying Yue. The group arrived at the courtyard at a leisurely pace.

And then they were stopped.

A stout woman in a russet-purple jacket, who had been sweeping the courtyard gate, halted her work upon spotting them. She stepped forward with a broad smile and bowed: “Good morning, young miss. Old Master is still resting. You’ve come quite early.”

Fang Hui blinked. “Sister-in-law Qian? What are you doing here?” Then she said, “Grandfather is sleeping well today? We’ll just wait inside the courtyard for a while.”

Turning to Ying Yue, she added confidently, “It won’t be long, Sister-in-law. I remember—it’s almost time for Grandfather’s medicine.”

Ying Yue found her earnest, self-assured demeanor endearing and smiled. “Alright.”

But even after they agreed, the stout woman still showed no intention of stepping aside. Holding a bamboo broom as tall as a person, she blocked the courtyard gate and said with a smile, “Miss, I forgot to mention earlier—Madam has instructed that with so many affairs in the household these days, to avoid disturbing the Old Master, no one is to come and pay respects for the time being.”

Ying Yue froze in surprise, while Fang Hui’s face darkened at once.