Chapter 122: Taking Advantage

"Father's leg has healed; he can get out of bed!" said Xue Jiaoyue.

Xue Fanzhi had naturally not visited Xue Yang for a long time. She felt that Xue Yang had also accepted their reality—that while they were nominal father and daughter, they were in truth bitter enemies.

Therefore, she truly had no idea that Xue Yang had already recovered.

However, wounds eventually heal, and she had never imagined Xue Yang would remain bedridden for the rest of his life.

Yet for him to regain his mobility so quickly—Heaven seemed rather partial to Xue Yang after all.

"Oh!" Xue Fanzhi smiled. "Then what is it? Are you here to threaten me with this?"

Why on earth would their father's recovery become a threat?

Of course, when their father was lame, he had no time to pick fights. But now that he could walk about, it meant he was once again capable of making trouble.

Xue Jiaoyue covered her mouth with a laugh, then assumed a deeply aggrieved expression. "What is my sister saying? We are full sisters; how could I ever threaten you? I merely came to ask what gifts you have received."

In the past, she had received no gifts of her own, save for those from her maternal uncle, which Xue Fanzhi had ultimately taken away or had been intercepted by Madam Jin.

Today, she actually had gifts coming her way, and she truly wondered how Xue Fanzhi would react.

"Indeed I have, quite a few of them!" Xue Fanzhi replied indifferently.

Xue Jiaoyue froze, her eyes darkening slightly. So she really did receive gifts, and this fool had actually dared to answer honestly.

Yet, at present, she could not simply take them.

"It is good that you have gifts!" Xue Jiaoyue said, her tone dripping with sincerity. "I was only afraid that my sister might receive none and feel saddened by it."

Xue Fanzhi nodded. "Have no fear. Gifts are valued for the sincerity behind them; I would not be very happy if someone lacking in sincerity were to send me anything."

And indeed, she was far from happy. Those people were merely friends of Xue Yang and Madam Jin, and the gifts they sent were nothing more than matching equivalents of what Madam Jin and Xue Yang had given out as congratulatory gifts in the past—utterly devoid of novelty. Some were even inferior in material to the fabric used by the servant girls by Old Madam Xue's side. Could those even be called gifts?

They lacked genuine sincerity!

Therefore, she had been quite eager to see what Xue Fanzhi had received this year.

Yet she could no longer do as she pleased.

Xue Fanzhi now enjoyed the protection of Old Madam Xue; she could no longer plunder her belongings with the reckless impunity of the past.

Yet what was she to do? She wanted them desperately—she wanted everything Xue Fanzhi possessed, and more than that, she wanted her dead.

"Sister, the time for our joint coming-of-age ceremony is fast approaching. Tomorrow, let us go out onto the streets together to see what items we need to procure, and we can purchase them side by side."

Xue Fanzhi smiled and shook her head. "You know very well I will not go with you."

Ah yes, she knew.

So what if she knew? She still had to ask anyway.

It was not a matter of whether Xue Fanzhi would go or not, but rather whether she would answer.

Xue Jiaoyue smiled as well. "My sister must still be angry with me!"

"Not at all!" Xue Fanzhi replied. "Truly, I am not."

There was no mere anger between them; people who were angry could eventually make peace. But between them, reconciliation was an absolute impossibility. Therefore, there was no room for anger—it was a battle to the death where only one could survive.

Xue Jiaoyue continued with her cheerful smile. "My sister is magnanimous. Previously, it was entirely my fault as the elder sister!"

Xue Fanzhi shook her head. "I was at fault as well." Her only fault lay in having failed to see a person's true colors clearly.

Hongxiao and Honglian thought to themselves: What fault could their young mistress possibly have?

Xue Jiaoyue's smile widened. "Sister, you truly are broad-minded!" Repeating her stance, she added, "Since sister will not go out, shall we write our invitation cards together? After all, it is the coming-of-age ceremony; we must invite guests!"

Honglian and Hongxiao finally understood what Xue Jiaoyue had come here for. So this was where she had been laying her trap all along.

Their young mistress now enjoyed the protection of Old Madam Xue and had formed a close friendship with Princess Minglan. Naturally, the *zan* (the woman who assists at the capping or hair-pinning ceremony) and the *binxiang* (the attendants) would be among the most distinguished and noble figures within Jiankang City. But what did Xue Jiaoyue have?

Nothing more than some distant, elderly relatives of the Xue family, whose attendance still depended entirely on Old Madam Xue's face—hardly figures of any real distinction.

Nowadays, Xue Jiaoyue's days were not nearly as comfortable as before.

And so she had conceived the idea of writing invitation cards together with their mistress. Naturally, if they invited people together, wouldn't those guests become their shared guests? In that case, Xue Jiaoyue's guests would suddenly appear equally distinguished, wouldn't they? By what right?

The coming-of-age ceremony was a rite of passage into adulthood, a momentous occasion upon which one's future marriage prospects and beautiful life depended—and everything hinged on the prestige and nobility of the guests invited. By what right did Xue Jiaoyue presume to take advantage of their young mistress?

Honglian and Hongxiao desperately wanted to shout out to Xue Fanzhi: *No, do not agree!*

"There is no need!" Xue Fanzhi answered decisively. "You and I do not share the same circle of guests!"

Xue Jiaoyue's smile stiffened slightly.

The two maidservants felt a wave of relief wash over them. Their mistress was no longer so easily taken in, and they could rest much easier.

Xue Fanzhi gave a light yawn. "Is there anything else?"

If there was nothing more, she would show the visitor out.

Gone was the spring-breezed smile Xue Jiaoyue had worn upon entering; she rose with a darkened face, turned, and strode away.

The moment she left, Honglian and Hongxiao voiced their suspicions regarding her vicious intentions. Honglian exclaimed, "It is a good thing Your Ladyship thought it through and refused to write the invitations with her, otherwise she would have taken advantage of you yet again!"

Xue Fanzhi looked up at Honglian with a smile. "Do you truly think that by doing this, she will not be able to take advantage of me?"

"With things having reached this point, how could she possibly take advantage of Our Ladyship?"

...

Xue Jiaoyue walked out of Xue Fanzhi's chambers and headed upstairs. The gloomy expression on her face instantly vanished, replaced by an ambiguous smile that carried the smug superiority of someone who believed everything remained entirely within her grasp.

Luyi had heard it all—she had overheard the entire exchange between her and Xue Fanzhi.

"You are still smiling, My Lady? The Eighth Young Mistress did not agree to write the invitations together; we have lost out!"

Indeed, failing to gain an advantage was equivalent to suffering a loss.

Yet had she truly lost?

Xue Jiaoyue shook her head. "I have gained the advantage; you simply do not understand."

"Then this servant truly does not understand," Luyi said. "Might I ask My Lady to enlighten me?"

Xue Jiaoyue trusted Luyi, and there was nothing here that needed concealment. If she kept it to herself, she would only feel stifled; such a flawless plan of hers would be like wearing brocade and walking in the dark if she could not boast about it.

"Only when she refuses me repeatedly will she find it difficult to refuse me on minor matters."

"Minor matters?" Luyi still didn't quite grasp it. "For instance?"

"For instance!" Xue Jiaoyue smiled so brightly she looked ready to laugh out loud. "For instance, when we dine, we will end up sitting together."

...

Xue Fanzhi did not explain to Honglian precisely how she was being taken advantage of. Twirling a Go piece between her fingers, she quickly dropped it onto the board, then looked up with a smile and asked, "How are the investigations going into the matter I asked you to trace?"

The investigation!

Ah!

Both Hongxiao and Honglian snapped to attention. Their young mistress had been investigating whom Qin Jianyu was secretly associating with, which was why the men provided by the Ninth Prince and Honglian's cousin had been trailing Qin Jianyu all this time.

The reason two separate parties had been deployed was naturally to keep a check on one another.

This was a question Honglian could answer. She knelt down and lowered her voice. "Apart from his close association with the Miss of the Kong family, My Lady, guess who else Master Qin has been seeing?"

"I will not guess!" Xue Fanzhi blinked her eyes and replied with utmost promptness.

Honglian: "..."

Hongxiao burst into hearty laughter, while Honglian blushed and protested playfully, "My Lady, you know I wasn't genuinely asking you to guess!"

Xue Fanzhi smiled as well, nodding. "Very well, then tell me."

"You would never guess in a million years!" Honglian said with a mysterious air. "It is the Young Master of the Sun family!"

"It truly is the Young Master of the Sun family!" Xue Fanzhi sat up straight, suddenly deeply intrigued. In her past life, it was that very same man who had plunged a dagger into her abdomen and rendered her barren. So it was truly him! That meant the tragedy of her previous life was indeed inextricably linked to Qin Jianyu!