Chapter 9

Madam Hong didn’t actually recognize Ying Yue, as Madam Xu had never brought her stepdaughter out to meet her. However, she did know Wangyue. When she glanced at the bed, she exclaimed in surprise, “Who is this?”

Ying Yue’s face burned as if branded, her heart as cold as ashes—her worst fear had come true. This was beyond mortifying!

She couldn’t bear to open her eyes. After a brief silence in the room, Madam Hong’s voice rang out again in denial, “No, this isn’t the eldest daughter of the Xu family.”

Ying Yue continued to feign unconsciousness. Even if she hadn’t bitten her tongue and couldn’t speak, she wouldn’t know how to explain to the people of Marquis Pingjiang Manor—that she had no prior knowledge of this, that she was entirely forced into it?

Who would believe her?

Though her eyes remained shut, she could feel multiple gazes sweeping over her in shock. The embarrassment made her limbs go numb. At this point, she no longer cared about the medicine she had coveted earlier—she only wished Madam Hong would get angry and order someone to carry her out and toss her away.

“Madam, this old servant greets you.”

Ying Yue’s eyelashes fluttered—it was Mama Cai’s voice.

The formidable old matron, Madam Xu’s personal attendant, had an iron grip. The spot under Ying Yue’s arm where she had been pinched the most still throbbed faintly.

Madam Hong’s voice was laced with displeasure. “Old Cai, what is the meaning of this? Has our Fang family wronged you in any way these past years, that you would pull such a stunt on this auspicious day? Who among your family’s representatives came with the bridal party? Summon them here to give me an explanation!”

Mama Cai forced a smile. “Madam, please calm your anger. The auspicious day was set in haste. Our eldest master is away in the south and couldn’t return in time. The second young master is still a child—he’s only here for appearances and knows nothing. If you have questions, you may ask this old servant directly.”

Traditionally, the bride’s brothers should escort her to the groom’s home. The Xu family’s eldest son, Xu Shangxuan, was conveniently away, while the second son, a stepchild, was only eleven. Mama Cai’s words held truth—at his age, he truly wouldn’t know anything.

Madam Hong scoffed. “Fine, you know. Then you explain. Once you’re done, I’ll settle this with the Xu family in one go!”

Turning, she softened her tone slightly to reassure Fang Hanxiao. “Xiao’er, don’t be upset. If the Xu family dared to send you a fake bride, your aunt will make sure they pay for this insult!”

Ying Yue’s lashes trembled again—she was lying right here. Wouldn’t she be the first to face retribution when the reckoning came?

She didn’t dare open her eyes, so she couldn’t see Fang Hanxiao’s reaction. She only heard Madam Hong swiftly issue more orders. “Has someone been stationed to keep the old marquis in the dark? He must not hear of this. If anyone leaks a word and upsets the old marquis, I’ll have their hide!”

A chorus of hushed acknowledgments filled the room.

“Send for the marquis as well—Old Cai, what are you doing?” Madam Hong’s voice sharpened.

Mama Cai halted her stealthy steps toward the bed and replied cautiously, “This old servant wished to check on our young lady. The eldest master carried her away before I could see her condition. I’m worried.”

Her main concern was whether Ying Yue was still breathing. If she was alive, that would be very troublesome indeed.

Her thoughts didn’t escape Madam Hong’s notice. With a cold sneer, Madam Hong said, “If you were truly concerned about your young lady, the first thing you should have done upon entering was to check on her. Now you say this—what, are you trying to pin the blame on Han Xiao? Don’t play these underhanded tricks with me. Speak plainly—has Xu Wangyue grown too ambitious, looking down on Han Xiao now?”

Mama Cai hurriedly replied, “Madam, you misunderstand, it’s not—”

“Not my foot!” Madam Hong cut her off sharply. “If she has such thoughts, she should have said so earlier. I wouldn’t blame her. Our Han Xiao is a fine young man—there’s no shortage of good matches for him. If Xu Wangyue wants to climb higher, let her go. I won’t stand in her way. But what is this now? Pushing out a—who is this girl?”

Mama Cai’s lips trembled. “She’s the third young lady of the household.”

Madam Hong continued, “Pushing out a mere concubine-born sister as a substitute! Is this how you insult and humiliate people? What do you take our Han Xiao for?!”

It was indeed outrageous—Ying Yue silently agreed. Yet, she also felt something was off.

This Madam Hong sounded shrewd—so shrewd that even before Mama Cai had confessed anything, she had already pieced together most of the truth. But then it was strange—if she was this sharp, how had she failed to notice Wangyue’s dissatisfaction with the marriage before? How had she generously indulged Wangyue’s attempts to test the waters, allowing things to reach this point?

Ying Yue didn’t dwell on it further. She wasn’t familiar with Madam Hong, and no amount of thinking would yield an answer. All she wanted was to escape. Fang Han Xiao couldn’t speak, so closing her eyes had been a way to avoid confrontation. But now, with Madam Hong here, every sharp word made her cheeks burn with shame, leaving her nowhere to hide. The bed beneath her seemed to grow thorns, pricking her until she could hardly lie still.

“Young Master, the medicine is ready.”

At that moment, Doctor Wang entered. The unexpected crowd in the room gave him pause, but having served noble households, he knew to stick to his role as a physician and asked no questions. Instead, he addressed Fang Han Xiao, “The young mistress may take the medicine now.”

Ah.

Ying Yue sighed inwardly. Though Fang Han Xiao couldn’t voice his anger, being mute, he must be furious. It would be a miracle if he didn’t throw the medicine in her face—let alone let her drink it.

But after a moment, she heard Doctor Wang approach the bedside and call softly, “Young Mistress?”

Ying Yue was startled, then quickly realized Fang Han Xiao probably didn’t want her to die here and bring bad luck upon the household.

She didn’t want to die either, so she nervously opened her eyes, not daring to look at anyone else. First, she shook her head at Doctor Wang to indicate she wasn’t the “young mistress,” then struggled to sit up slightly to take the medicine bowl.

As an outsider, Doctor Wang couldn’t assist her directly. Seeing her pallid face and weak movements, he glanced around for a maid to help. The servants Madam Hong had brought wouldn’t lift a finger without permission, and Mama Cai, noticing Ying Yue’s open eyes, sighed inwardly, preoccupied with how to navigate the current crisis rather than stepping forward. Unable to assign anyone himself, Doctor Wang scanned the room and finally looked to Fang Han Xiao.

Having not been present earlier, in his view, no matter what had gone wrong, this bride was still the one Fang Han Xiao had married—making him the most appropriate person to handle the situation.

Fang Hanxiao caught his pleading gaze, paused for a moment, then took the medicine bowl from him.

With his long legs carrying him forward, he moved to the bedside and sat down. Yingyue finally had no choice but to face him directly, and her eyes instantly brightened.

This Young Master Fang—was completely different from what she had imagined.

According to the words of her stepmother, Madam Xu, and her elder sister Wangyue, Fang Hanxiao, after losing his voice, should have been utterly destitute. A pampered noble son, raised in luxury until sixteen, who had probably never even dressed himself, had thrown a tantrum and disappeared. After wandering outside for several years, how could life have been easy for him? Who knew what he had done to survive or what shady dealings he had been involved in—most likely nothing respectable. As for his future prospects, there was no way he could have built any; returning with all his limbs intact was already thanks to his ancestors’ blessings.

All these repeated descriptions had painted an image in Yingyue’s mind of Fang Hanxiao as gloomy, extreme, gaunt, cold, or perhaps even violent—someone who would frighten at first glance.

But the Fang Hanxiao who now stood before her was a bright, relaxed young man with gentle eyes and an energetic demeanor.

Still dressed in his wedding robes, the vibrant red made him look even more spirited, every bit the noble young master, without a trace of hardship.

The contrast was so stark that she was stunned. So much so that she didn’t notice Fang Hanxiao gesturing for her to stay lying down. Still caught in her surprise, she struggled to sit up until a spoonful of medicine was brought directly to her lips.

Yingyue: “…”

Her former brother-in-law was being bizarrely kind—not smashing the bowl over her head but actually feeding her medicine!

The white porcelain spoon was right at her lips, and leaving it hanging would be impolite. Trembling, Yingyue drank the spoonful—her stress was overwhelming. She quickly reached out, enduring the pain as she mumbled, “Mmm… me.”

*I’ll do it myself.* Only the last syllable was clear, but combined with her actions, it wasn’t hard to understand. Fang Hanxiao didn’t insist and handed her the bowl. Unable to sit up, Yingyue lay on her stomach and, driven by sheer will to survive, managed to drink half the bowl of pitch-black medicine by herself without spilling a drop.

Perhaps it was psychological, but as soon as she swallowed, she felt much better—certain she wouldn’t die now.

But if she wasn’t going to die, she’d have to face the problems of living.

Madam Hong was already launching another attack: “Someone! Go to the Xu residence right now and bring Xu Wangyue here! Let her explain to Hanxiao’s face exactly what she was scheming!”

Mama Cai hurriedly interjected, “Madam, there’s been a misunderstanding. Our eldest young lady truly fell ill—you saw her yourself that day. After you left, her condition worsened, and now she’s delirious with fever. But with the old Viscount’s illness being urgent, our Madam had no choice but to resort to this desperate measure. She didn’t want to disappoint the old Viscount.”

Madam Hong’s eyebrows shot up. “So, I should be thanking your Madam for this?!”

Mama Cai didn’t dare accept such words, only repeatedly apologizing while emphasizing their helplessness. But Madam Hong wasn’t fooled. Pointing at Yingyue, she snapped, “You make it all sound so reasonable, but what about this substitute bride? If you’re so blameless, why did this girl try to bite off her tongue? Or is it that even your family’s illegitimate daughter looks down on Hanxiao and refused to marry him?”

This statement was too powerful—Mama Cai was stunned. It wasn’t that she had no excuses to argue; it was that she suddenly realized at this moment that while Madam Hong appeared to be standing up for her nephew, every word she spoke was deliberately aimed at stoking Fang Han Xiao’s anger, as if she feared he wouldn’t feel utterly humiliated or wouldn’t explode in fury.  

This was completely different from Madam Xu’s prior assumption that Madam Hong would merely go through the motions before suppressing the matter.  

At its core, Madam Xu dared to play the trick of a substitute marriage not because she naively believed she could deceive Madam Hong, but because she thought Madam Hong would cooperate with her deception in order to trample her nephew!  

Mama Cai broke out in a cold sweat.  

She finally realized her situation was far more dangerous than she had imagined. Perhaps she should have listened to Jinling and fled right then and there.