Chapter 139 Persuasion

"Did she really say that? Did Seventh Aunt actually say she has the final say?" Xue Wanying looked ahead, lost in thought, and murmured, "That is a true woman of the Xue family—decisive, straightforward, and unwilling to let the women of the family be wronged. What a pity, though!"

What a pity that she was protecting some good-for-nothing born of a second wife.

Madam He nodded and said, "Yes, I heard it with my own ears. That is exactly what she said!"

At the time, Madam He had been heading back to the back alley and noticed Lady Wang and the others losing their way, so she had slowly followed behind them, only to witness a magnificent spectacle.

Although she had already returned to her quarters by now, the impact of that incident still lingered vividly in her mind.

"Yet, in the end, her word isn't final!" Xue Wanying said with unresigned discontent. "Grandmother is the one whose word carries weight!"

"Then you have even more reason to resign yourself to disappointment!" Madam He replied. "Your grandmother is the most intolerant of a man's infidelity. Why else do you think she and your grandfather haven't spoken to each other in over a decade? Before Qin Jianyu has even married, he has already produced a confidante. Your grandmother will never tolerate this, and this marriage will undoubtedly be broken off!"

What an absolute pity that would be.

Back then, people thought it was a stroke of good fortune for Eighth Miss Xue to be able to marry Qin Jianyu. But looking at it now, how could this be good fortune? It was clearly her karmic retribution.

Yet why was this retribution coming to an end so soon?

A woman born of a second wife deserved to be tangled in a disastrous romance, tortured until she looked neither human nor ghost. Only then would she be doing justice to the first wife; only then would justice be served; only then would she live up to public sentiment.

If marrying as a second wife brought no retribution whatsoever, wouldn't all men under heaven divorce their wives and take second wives instead? On what grounds should that be allowed?

"No, I will have my Father step in. Since ancient times, children's marriages are decided by the orders of one's parents and the words of a matchmaker. As long as Father refuses to break it off, this marriage cannot be canceled!" Xue Wanying declared, standing up. "Mother, I shall return to the estate first and visit you again when I have time!"

"Yingniang, would you perhaps prefer that whenever people bring up the foolish things your father has done, they add yet another bizarre tale to the list?" Madam He asked, looking up.

Xue Wanying looked at her mother in confusion.

Madam He continued, "Do you not know the reputation your father has outside? And haven't you heard what people call your husband? Besides being foolish, he's rash, and perhaps a complete idiot to boot!"

Xue Wanying: "..."

Madam He smiled and said, "Because he didn't want a son by a concubine, he cast aside his first wife, took a second wife, and fed decoctions to his concubines. Is there anyone else in this world whose mind defies all understanding quite like his?"

Indeed, his brain worked quite differently from everyone else's.

Xue Wanying sat back down.

Madam He went on, "Knowing full well that it was Seventh Miss's fault, he stubbornly insisted on sacrificing Eighth Miss to polish Seventh Miss's reputation, only to be cursed out by Lady Liang. He's probably the only one in the world who manages to play the villain so glaringly!"

Xue Wanying pressed her lips together.

"And do you really believe the Ninth Prince will let him enter official service? It was clearly a lie to deceive him, yet because of that, he let Eighth Miss off the hook. Is he a normal person?"

Xue Wanying looked at her mother with a mixture of shame and exasperation. "Mother!"

She uttered the name with a mix of reproach and helplessness.

However, Madam He cut her no slack, saying, "And these are just a few minor matters—very trivial ones at that, happening merely within the span of three or five months. So, do you want people to add yet another story when they discuss these affairs? Do you want them to add that the head of the Xue family knew full well his prospective son-in-law's character was corrupt, yet insisted on marrying his own daughter to him anyway—that he is either out of his mind or has a deep grudge against his own biological daughter? Which version would you prefer to hear?"

She did not want to hear either of them.

Why did her mother-in-law look down upon her? Wasn't it because her father's actions were always so incomprehensible and unconvincing?

A woman's natal family was her greatest backing in her husband's household.

Xue Wanying let out a long breath and said, "Are we just going to watch Eighth Miss break off her marriage like this? Mother, you saw Eighth Miss yourself, didn't you? She grows prettier by the day, and she has Grandmother protecting her. If this marriage is called off, her future husband's family will undoubtedly be exceptional. But why? By what right does Lady Jin's daughter deserve a good marriage?"

"By the right of being a good girl," Madam He replied calmly.

"Mother!" Xue Wanying said with burning anger. "How can you speak up for that daughter of the second wife?"

"And why shouldn't I?" Madam He smiled. "Just because your mother is a divorced wife cast aside by her husband? Must I therefore rail against the heavens and curse Lady Jin and her children day in and day out, wishing for them to die a miserable death, so that I might finally find peace of mind?"

Xue Wanying snorted. "They deserve to die a miserable death to begin with!"

"Yingniang, there is one thing your mother regrets deeply, and that is not fighting to take you with me and raise you myself back then," Madam He said, shaking her head. "Look at what you've become now."

"What? Are you saying it's your daughter's fault, then?"

"It is not your fault." On this point, Madam He was absolute. How could it possibly be her daughter's fault? What fault could her daughter have? Her daughter was merely trying to seek justice for her.

"No, it is your father's fault!"

Madam He continued, "The one who divorced me was your father; the one who took a second wife was also your father. All of these are his mistakes. Refusing to let me take you with me—that is his mistake above all! Yet you always direct your hatred at the wrong people."

It was true, indeed. It was clearly Father's fault. Back then, Grandmother hadn't forced Father to divorce his wife. She had been four and a half years old at the time and remembered things clearly. She knew Grandmother had merely brought it up once, asking whether they should bring someone else into the household, and Mother had even agreed. But Father had refused. He said he did not want sons by concubines, nor would he keep the child while executing the mother—he simply refused to have any more concubine-born children. And so, with stubborn, irrational, and unreasonable force, he had divorced her mother. She knew all of this.

"But Father treats me very well!" Xue Wanying said, biting her lip.

Madam He shook her head with a smile. "It's not that your father treats you well; it's that you dare not hate your father. Your father is the head of the Xue family, your backing. If you hated him too much, you would suffer in your husband's family. But hating Lady Jin and Eighth Miss Xue is different—they have no one to back them up!"

So she was simply bullying the weak and fearing the strong!

"Mother!" Xue Wanying refused to admit it and moved to stand up again. "I am your daughter! How can you speak to me like that for the sake of those two cheap wretches?"

"Sit down!" Madam He chuckled. "Why are you growing more impatient by the day? Sit down and listen to me!"

Xue Wanying sat back down, aggrieved, her eyes red as she said, "Who do you think your daughter is doing this for? Isn't it all for you, Mother?"

No, it wasn't for her. It was for herself, to vent her own frustrations, though she deluded herself into thinking it was for her mother.

Oh well, such was the way of mothers and daughters.

Madam He said, "Let's return to Eighth Miss. You must not meddle in her marriage. If she were not a good girl, she wouldn't secure a good marriage. Because she is a good girl, she will find a good marriage. Let nature take its course. After all, she is your younger sister, and you share the same blood!"

"Not likely!" Xue Wanying said with a sarcastic sneer. "Mother, are you really just going to let Eighth Miss off like that?"

"She is your younger sister, and she is innocent."

"Innocent? Then why did you let Father take Seventh Miss back home? If she were truly innocent, what were all those years of Seventh Miss bullying her worth?" Xue Wanying asked, shaking her head in incomprehension. "Mother, I truly don't understand you!"

"Then there is no need for you to understand." Not a trace of shame or anger crossed Madam He's face; she did not grow angry at having her inner thoughts laid bare by Xue Wanying. Her tone remained gentle and affectionate as she said, "Therefore, there is no need for you to lift a finger at all, Yingniang. You only need to live a good life with your husband. As for the inner courtyard affairs of the Xue family—whether good or bad—you need not concern yourself with any of it. Because there is Seventh Miss, and because there is me."