Chapter 141: Lady Xue the Eighth Scolds Someone

"Even if I cannot make the final decision, it is still much better than you, Third Aunt, knowing the truth and keeping it hidden!" Lady Liang now loathed the elderly mistress of the third branch to the core, and she retorted sharply, "You have already forgotten that you are now Madam Qin of the Xue family! Your surname is no longer Qin!"

"You..." The third elderly mistress trembled with fury. She pointed at Lady Liang and said to the Dowager Lady Xue, "Insubordinate and disrespectful! The wife of the seventh branch has never shown me any respect. Eldest sister-in-law, aren't you going to discipline her?"

"People are not respected because of their age," Dowager Lady Xue said with a heavy, drooping eyelid, "but because of their character. Third sister-in-law, you have lived to such an advanced age, do you still not understand this?"

Lady Liang nodded in agreement. "Precisely!"

"Eldest sister-in-law, are you implying that I lack the dignity befitting my age?" The third elderly mistress slapped her thigh in rage. "What unforgivable crime have I committed? The juniors lecture me, the elders lecture me... Poor my granddaughter, they still refuse to release her, and her fate remains unknown. I have no time to mind other people's business, yet everyone is lecturing me..."

By her own logic, the Eighth Young Miss's affairs were not anyone else's business either; but people like her were always the same—their own matters were of the utmost importance, while everyone else's was trivial. Nothing mattered unless it served her own interests.

No matter what topic was brought up, she would inevitably drag the Fifth Young Miss into it. She still harbored deep resentment toward the main branch, and the only reason she had come was to seize any opportunity to get the Fifth Young Miss released.

If they were to bicker with her like this, it would never end.

Lady Liang opened her mouth to snap back.

Dowager Lady Xue intervened, "Enough, Third Branch's mistress. If you truly do not wish to listen, you might as well go back first. We are discussing serious matters here!"

Her own granddaughter's plight was apparently not a serious matter, but everyone else's was.

The third elderly mistress was deeply resentful and felt profoundly aggrieved, but what could she do? Could she just leave? She could not; she had to keep an eye on Dowager Lady Xue to prevent these people from ruining the marriage alliance with the Qin family.

With a cold snort, the third elderly mistress firmly planted herself back in her seat.

Dowager Lady Xue no longer looked at her. Instead, she turned her gaze to Xue Fanzhi and said, "Eighth Miss, speak your mind."

Her turn had finally come.

"Yes, Grandmother," Xue Fanzhi acknowledged, bowing respectfully to Dowager Lady Xue.

Lady Liang chimed in from the side, "Eighth Miss, your grandmother is letting you handle this yourself because she loves and cherishes you. Don't be foolish and bring shame upon the daughters of our Xue family!"

What remaining dignity did the daughters of the Xue family even have?

Their reputations had long since stunk to high heaven.

What was the point of putting up a front now?

Qin Jianyu felt a surge of intense annoyance toward Lady Liang. Wasn't she just a troublemaker stirring up the mud?

"Yes," Xue Fanzhi replied, bowing to Lady Liang to acknowledge her words before finally turning her gaze to Qin Jianyu.

That clear yet freezing gaze made Qin Jianyu's heart skip a beat.

Initially, he had thought the Eighth Miss of the Xue family was ugly, so he had refused to look at her. Upon truly meeting her in person, he had been struck as if by a heavenly beauty, but he had merely thought her good-looking—pretty like a painting, much like any other attractive woman, nothing more than a portrait devoid of any soul.

Now, her gaze was so profound it felt as though the painting had suddenly come to life.

What would she say to him?

She seemed sensible enough; she would probably say things that Dowager Lady Xue liked to hear, right?

"My lord..."

"Eighth Miss!" Qin Jianyu interrupted her, not allowing her to finish. He said, "As for whatever the matter may be, let us wait for your uncle and my father to make a decision!"

Did she still want to bring Xue Yang into this?

How could Xue Yang possibly let her off easily?

Xue Fanzhi shook her head.

Dowager Lady Xue also looked deeply displeased. What was this? As the matriarch and grandmother, did she need Xue Yang to direct her? Utterly absurd.

"Whatever Grandmother says goes!" Xue Fanzhi said with a faint smile. "I will listen entirely to Grandmother!"

Only then did a trace of a smile return to the faces of Dowager Lady Xue and Lady Liang.

"You..."

This time, it was Xue Fanzhi's turn to interrupt Qin Jianyu. She continued, "Actually, there is no need for anyone to make arbitrary decisions. We can simply talk about reason and propriety!"

"Talk about propriety?" Qin Jianyu's eyes lit up as he said, "Naturally, the Qin and Xue families share deep affection, and as for propriety... it was I who lacked propriety, and I who failed to do enough. I offer my apologies to the Eighth Younger Sister!"

How pleasant his manner was.

How exceptionally gentle his tone sounded.

Xue Fanzhi remembered how in her past life, when her reputation was less than stellar, Qin Jianyu had also sent messages to her through others, telling her to trust him and urging her not to let her imagination run wild.

When her maid delivered those messages, she had always praised her for her good fortune in finding such a fine husband.

Back then, she too had fantasized that her lord's tone must be immensely gentle, just as it was now.

It was only later that she realized, failing to understand at the time, that a gentle person could be so utterly shameless.

No, to put it more accurately, a shameless person could also be exceptionally gentle.

"That is not the kind of propriety I mean!" Xue Fanzhi smiled, her tone equally amicable as she said, "As for affection—since my lord and Miss Kong are deeply devoted to one another, you should no longer have concealed it from me, nor from our Xue family. My lord should have made a clean break and spoken frankly with our family much sooner. Our Xue family is not an unreasonable household. Look, since the two of you share such deep and profound affection, you should simply formalize your marriage union, and our Xue family will not stand in your way!"

"It's not like that!" Qin Jianyu panicked.

"My lord, I haven't finished speaking yet," Xue Fanzhi said with a smile, dipping her head slightly as though she were the one being impolite.

Indeed, pointing fingers and interrupting someone else was quite discourteous, but one only needed to look at what kind of person he was to know the truth. He was the one who had wronged her, so precisely who was being discourteous here?

The more polite she acted, the more boorish he appeared by comparison.

The two maids standing outside the door exchanged glances, their eyes filled with surprise and hidden delight. Their young mistress was becoming increasingly poised, yet at the same time, increasingly wicked.

Blushing fiercely with shame, Qin Jianyu slumped back into his seat.

Xue Fanzhi smiled and said, "Now, let us talk about reason!"

"The principle of reason is simply this: one must maintain a kind heart in this life, and one must never bully honest people. Bullying an honest person is a grave sin, my lord—you will be struck down by divine retribution!"

...............

"The principle of reason is simply this: one must maintain a kind heart in this life, and one must never bully honest people. Bullying an honest person is a grave sin, my lord—you will be struck down by divine retribution! Did she really say that? Did she truly utter those exact words?!" Xiao Yi asked Xiao Yi, who stood before him, a delighted smile spreading across his face.

"Indeed she did! That is precisely what the young mistress said!" Xiao Yi replied with a look of utter astonishment. "Isn't it hard to believe? His Highness did not witness it with his own eyes, but at the time, the young mistress wore an utterly harmless smile, acting exceedingly gentle and courteous as if she were comforting someone. Who could have imagined she would deliver such a vicious scolding? Qin Jianyu's face turned green with rage, and he fled in utter shame and humiliation, yet he didn't dare utter a single word against her!"

How could he possibly have the face to accuse A-Zhi of wrongdoing?

What wrong had A-Zhi ever committed?

He was the shameless one who, despite having a fiancée, went chasing after a confidante; how could he ever have the gall to accuse someone else of being in the wrong!

"Splendid!" Xiao Yi could vividly picture his A-Zhi speaking those words in such an easygoing tone. A-Zhi possessed a pair of exceptionally innocent eyes; when she said those things, she must have looked at Qin Jianyu with that wide-eyed, endearing innocence, catching him completely off guard and leaving him utterly stunned.

How wonderful. In her past life, that scoundrel had played a dirty trick on A-Zhi, driving a wedge between them as husband and wife until their hearts drifted apart. In this lifetime, let him be utterly ruined and disgraced.

That was the price of bullying an honest person!

...............

"How on earth is this bullying an honest person? Who is an honest person? How could she possibly be considered an honest person?"

Xue Wanying and Madam He had come to visit Xue Jiaoyue. Upon hearing the servants recount the conversation that had taken place outside, Xue Wanying spat out a contemptuous scoff.