Chapter 15

Fang Hui, though young, had quite the temper. When she spoke again, she even changed her form of address: “So, the Qian family’s servant, you were deliberately waiting here to stop me? I wasn’t aware that I needed your permission to come and pay respects to Grandfather!”

The Qian family’s servant forced a smile. “Don’t misunderstand, Eldest Miss. How would I dare? It’s just that Madam has instructed that the Old Master needs utmost peace and quiet for his recovery. Once he’s better in a few days, you can come and show your filial piety then.”

Fang Hui nodded. “I see. So Second Aunt has grown so powerful she can even keep Grandfather under lock and key—”

The servant hastily interjected, “Eldest Miss, you mustn’t say such things! It’s not about keeping him under lock and key—it’s for the Old Master’s health. Even the Master knows and agrees with this.”

Fang Hui lifted her chin. “So I’m the one talking nonsense, and you’re the one making sense?” Her voice sharpened. “Move aside! I’m bringing my sister-in-law to see Grandfather, and I certainly don’t need permission from your Second Household!”

The little girl’s voice was shrill. Ying Yue, standing beside her, felt her eardrums nearly ache from the sound. Shinan was also startled and whispered to Ying Yue, “She really is a young lady from the Earl’s household—look at that attitude.”

But the Qian family’s servant neither cowered nor yielded. She bent at the waist, yet her smile remained unchanged. “Eldest Miss, if you had come alone, I might have risked Madam’s displeasure to accommodate you. But since you’ve brought this—” Her eyes flicked toward Ying Yue, as if unsure how to address her, and she skipped over it, “—this person, I absolutely cannot agree. The Old Master doesn’t even know the Eldest Young Master has changed his bride. What would he think if he saw her now? You know how frail the Old Master is—he can’t handle such a shock.”

The more she spoke, the more Fang Hui’s anger swelled. Her already round face flushed red with fury, turning her into a bright crimson apple. Truth be told, she hadn’t thought this through, and now that the servant had pointed it out, she realized her own recklessness. But she refused to admit defeat, her pride refusing to let her back down, leaving her fuming in silence.

Ying Yue thought for a moment. “I’ll go back. You go in.”

Hadn’t the servant said Fang Hui could enter alone? Ying Yue didn’t actually need to see Old Master Fang—she could just return and find another opportunity to meet Fang Han Xiao later.

Fang Hui was still unwilling to give up, but the servant’s expression stiffened. “This—”

Ying Yue suddenly realized—the servant didn’t even want to let Fang Hui in. She had just been making excuses.

Fang Hui noticed it too. Her eyes lit up, and she let go of Ying Yue’s hand, darting forward. The servant, unwilling to let her pass, hurried to block her. Wang Shi, afraid Fang Hui might get hurt, rushed to shield her. But Fang Hui, small and nimble, slipped between the adults’ legs. The servant and Wang Shi collided instead, both crying out as they fell backward.

Ying Yue: “…”

She was dumbstruck.

Fang Hui giggled triumphantly, taunting the servant over her shoulder as she sprinted ahead—

“Ouch!”

Her victory was short-lived. She crashed into someone’s leg and yelped in pain.

The person she had bumped into didn’t make a sound, only reaching out in time to steady the back of her head to prevent her from falling. Then a slender hand brushed aside her bangs to check her forehead.

Fang Hui seemed to sense something. When she looked up and saw the scar on the wrist before her, her cry of pain instantly died in her throat. Her little face stiffened, and she swatted the hand away, stepping aside on her own.

Wang Shi and the Qian family’s woman scrambled up from the ground and bowed before him, greeting, “First Master.”

Fang Hanxiao gave a slight nod, his gaze fixed on Wang Shi.

Wang Shi promptly reported, “First Master, the eldest young lady brought First Madam to pay respects to the Old Master. Sister-in-law Qian wouldn’t let them in. First Madam wanted to leave and have the eldest young lady go in alone, but Sister-in-law Qian still refused, saying it was all on Second Madam’s orders—”

The Qian family’s woman hurriedly defended, “Madam had no choice. It was all for the Old Master’s health.”

Fang Hanxiao’s expression remained unchanged, as if he had heard but also as if he hadn’t. He simply withdrew his hands from behind his back and gestured to Fang Hui.

Though Fang Hui didn’t get along with him, she knew when to be pragmatic. Grabbing Ying Yue’s hand, she declared, “Eldest sister-in-law, let’s go in. I’d like to see who dares stop us.”

Ying Yue hesitated slightly, but seeing Fang Hanxiao standing still without any intention to stop them, she reluctantly followed.

The Qian family’s woman panicked, “First Master, this won’t do—”

Fang Hanxiao turned his head, and with some unspoken signal, a young servant who had been sorting herbs under the eaves stood up and approached, smiling, “Sister-in-law Qian, you keep saying others will disturb the Old Master’s rest, yet here you are making a scene and even getting into a fight. Aren’t you afraid of disturbing him? You’d better leave now.”

As he spoke, he began ushering the Qian family’s woman out, practically forcing her away.

Fuming but not daring to cause a commotion at the entrance of Tranquil Virtue Courtyard, the Qian family’s woman stomped her foot and stormed off.

Fang Hui stood on tiptoe to watch and remarked, “She’s definitely going to tattle to Second Aunt now. Hmph.”

Seizing the moment, Ying Yue turned to Fang Hanxiao and said, “I want to talk to you.”

Fang Hanxiao glanced at her, nodded slightly, and walked away.

Ying Yue hurried after him. Fang Hui, puzzled, turned to follow as well, but Wang Shi held her back, saying, “Eldest Young Lady, the First Master and First Madam need to speak privately. It’s not for you to hear. Wait here with me. If First Madam comes out and the First Master agrees, you can take her to see the Old Master.”

Fang Hui wasn’t pleased but reluctantly agreed. Not wanting to stand idly in the courtyard, she glanced around and soon ran off to watch the servant sort herbs under the eaves.

Ying Yue followed Fang Hanxiao into a side room.

As soon as they entered, Ying Yue blurted out, “I want to go home.”

She hadn’t given up on the idea. Marrying Fang Hanxiao was too unbelievable. She came to him thinking there must still be a chance to correct this.

Fang Hanxiao paused briefly before continuing to the desk. Wherever he went, paper and brush were always at hand. He quickly wrote a few words and pushed the paper toward her.

Ying Yue stepped forward hopefully, only to read: No.

Why not?

Rejected so bluntly, Ying Yue grew anxious. “My family was wrong—”

Her words tumbled out too fast in her agitation, becoming unclear, and she nearly spat. Embarrassed, she peeked at Fang Hanxiao, relieved he didn’t seem to notice, and quickly shut her mouth.

A small writing brush lay on the desk. Inspiration struck, and she grabbed it, scribbling: My family sent me to deceive you, which was wrong, but keeping me here is also wrong. I’ll tell you—my elder sister was pretending to be sick. Just swap her back, and everything will be fine.

Even a rabbit bites when cornered. She was betraying Wangyue now—something she would never have dared before.

Fang Hanxiao skimmed the words, his eyes flashing with exasperation—even her complaint was utterly devoid of cunning.

He twisted his wrist and wrote back casually: Really?

Ying Yue nodded eagerly.

Fang Hanxiao continued writing without pause: Then I can’t accept her.

Ying Yue: “…”

She realized—wasn’t this confirming that his fiancée didn’t want to marry him?

Regretfully, she crumpled the previous paper and wrote: I’m Eldest Sister’s younger sister. I’m not good either. You should send me back and marry someone else.

Fang Hanxiao: No.

This refusal was even shorter and more decisive than before. Seeing this, Ying Yue not only grew anxious but also a little angry. Her characters became larger: I want to go home!

Fang Hanxiao wrote fluidly: You’re already married. This is your home now.

Ying Yue resisted: But it should have been Eldest Sister marrying you.

Fang Hanxiao finally glanced at her paper. In her urgency, her handwriting no longer resembled the delicate strokes typical of refined young ladies. The sharp, decisive turns of her brushstrokes became evident, and their clarity gave them a uniquely pleasing appearance.

It was unclear how she had developed such handwriting. They say handwriting reflects character, but this wasn’t entirely true.

Seeing him pause, Ying Yue thought he was reconsidering and felt a flicker of hope. His engagement with her elder sister had lasted so long that she had never met him before. In the Xu family, he was always referred to as “Eldest Sister’s fiancé.” Now, suddenly being forced to replace her, she couldn’t reconcile with the idea—it simply felt wrong. If Madam Xu had arranged for her to marry someone else, she might not have resisted so strongly. Perhaps she would have cried and resigned herself to fate.

Just as she was thinking this, she saw his brush move again: Your chastity is already lost. How can you return?

Ying Yue’s eyes widened in shock—how had she “lost her chastity”?!

“I didn’t—!”

Fang Hanxiao lowered his gaze slightly to look at her. Her clear eyes were utterly transparent, their trembling ripples resembling a mountain stream disturbed by a leaping fish.

For Ying Yue, the shock was overwhelming at first. But when her eyes met his, she suddenly understood—she had spent the night in the bridal chamber. As a young woman, spending a night in an unrelated man’s residence meant her chastity was already compromised in the eyes of others.

Whether Fang Hanxiao had been in the chamber or not didn’t matter. To outsiders, this was the reality. If she refused to accept it, there was only one alternative—suicide to preserve her virtue.

Perhaps people would sigh over her corpse and say: “How chaste and noble.”

Ying Yue wanted no part of that!

She had grown up carefree, receiving some instruction in texts like *Admonitions for Women*—which was how she had learned to read. But such books were dull compared to travelogues and storybooks. Though she had studied them, she had done so mechanically, without internalizing their lessons. Madam Xu paid little attention to her and never bothered to check her progress, so she had muddled through without supervision.

Thus, while she understood the rules, whether she took them to heart was another matter. Simply put: her moral resolve wasn’t strong.

She didn’t want to marry Fang Hanxiao, but she certainly wasn’t going to die for the sake of propriety.

Fang Hanxiao stopped looking at her and began gathering the written papers. Her transparent expression had already given him the answer. Perhaps being simple-minded wasn’t entirely a bad thing—she had found her way out faster than he expected.

Of course, for him, this wasn’t a bad thing either.

Ying Yue felt she was still struggling, still wanting to ask why he had accepted her. But the words died on her lips—she had a feeling she wouldn’t get the truth from him.

Fang Hanxiao had explained the issue with his writing, but that couldn’t account for his unusually calm demeanor. To suffer such deceit in a matter as significant as marriage—even if he couldn’t voice his anger, his body could have reacted. Throwing a cup or kicking a chair wouldn’t have been difficult to fake, yet he displayed none of it.  

Ying Yue couldn’t help but overthink. She didn’t know what lay behind his composure. She even had an inexplicable feeling that this very calmness was something he deliberately maintained.  

Her instinct for self-preservation kicked in, and she grew somewhat afraid of him—though on the surface, he seemed to treat her quite well.  

Fang Hanxiao tidied up the written papers, then walked to the medicine stove by the window and crouched down, feeding the papers into the fire.  

His limbs were long and well-proportioned, his shoulders broad, his waist narrow, and his arms strong. Ying Yue didn’t yet have the discernment to appreciate such qualities, but she couldn’t deny that even the way he crouched there exuded an air of uprightness. She sighed inwardly: *Apart from being mute, this—former brother-in-law—doesn’t seem to have any flaws. If Eldest Sister hadn’t been so disdainful and had agreed to marry him, they surely would have lived happily together. Then I wouldn’t be stuck here, trembling with anxiety as the replacement.*  

Fang Hanxiao fed the papers into the stove one by one. Ying Yue stood awkwardly, unsure what to do. Once he finished, he stood, wiped his hands with a nearby cloth, then lifted the lid of the medicine pot on the stove to check its contents. After a glance, he wrapped the pot’s handles with the cloth and lifted it.  

His movements were smooth and assured, without hesitation—clearly, this was a routine task for him.  

Then, he walked out the door.  

Left behind, Ying Yue felt at a loss. Fang Hanxiao was obviously taking the medicine to serve Old Master Fang. She didn’t know what to do—if she left, she’d have to return to the bridal chamber, but if she stayed, she had no idea what else to say to him.  

Caught in a dilemma.  

While she hesitated, Fang Hanxiao had already left.  

Fang Hui spotted her and trotted over, calling out, “Eldest Sister-in-law, let’s go too.”  

Wang Shi hurried over. “Miss Hui, wait a little longer. The Old Master is about to take his medicine. We should at least wait until he’s finished before asking the Young Master. If he says it’s fine, then we’ll go.”  

Her reasoning was sound. Fang Hui pouted. “Fine.”