Kong Linglong Requests an Audience

"Why is Little Eighth not a sensible person? She is quiet on ordinary days, doesn't fight or brawl, doesn't chase chickens or walk dogs, and merely reads books, plays chess, practices painting, and does needlework... Who would dare say such a Little Eighth is not a sensible person?" Madam He looked back at Xue Wanying and asked.

Xue Wanying snorted: "Mother, if you say she is sensible, then you are agreeing with what she said. Qin Jianyu did bully her!"

"Isn't this bullying? He clearly has a sweetheart yet conceals it and refuses to call off the engagement. Even worse, when people find out, he still shamelessly refuses to break it off. If this isn't bullying, what is? If this happened to you, your father would beat the other person to death, wouldn't he?"

That was indeed true!

Father would never watch her suffer such grievances.

"Then will Father actually call off Little Eighth's engagement this time?" Before Xue Wanying could start, Xue Jiaoyue, lying in bed and temporarily lucid, couldn't help asking.

Madam He glanced at her and said, "Then do you hope your father calls off Little Eighth's engagement or not?"

"Of course not!" Xue Jiaoyue answered, enduring the pain.

How could they call off the engagement now?

Qin Jianyu had clearly revealed his fickle and ungrateful nature. If they called off the engagement now, Xue Fanzhi wouldn't have to marry this fickle and ungrateful man—that must not happen! If she didn't marry a fickle and ungrateful man, Xue Fanzhi might find a good marriage, and she could not bear to watch Xue Fanzhi have a good marriage.

"Eldest Madam!" Xue Jiaoyue anxiously called out to Madam He, "Father listens to you the most. You must tell Father that he cannot call off this marriage for Little Eighth!"

"You silly child!" Madam He smiled and said, "Focus on recovering from your injuries for now; I cannot stay long!"

With that, she stood up.

Xue Jiaoyue looked at Madam He with aggrieved eyes, her gaze still filled with reluctance.

However, this did not stop Madam He from proceeding to leave.

Xue Wanying did not know why her mother was leaving in such a hurry, but no matter what, now was not the time to ask. She also stood up and said, "I will see Mother out!"

Madam He nodded.

Out of Xue Jiaoyue's room, Xue Wanying looked at Madam He in puzzlement and asked in a low voice, "Why is Mother leaving in such a hurry?"

"Because I cannot go and speak to your father about this!" Madam He raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Look, when have I ever spoken to your father about matters concerning your Xue family?"

*Your* Xue family!

Xue Wanying strongly disliked her mother cutting herself out like that; her mother was, after all, the legal primary wife of the Xue family.

"Then Mother could have just told Little Eighth. If you leave like this, Little Eighth will be left feeling resentful!"

"You said it yourself—she is resentful!" Madam He suddenly turned her head to look at Xue Wanying and sneered, "No matter how good a child is, once raised by Xue Yang, they all grow cold hearts! And as for me, I cannot let her be merely resentful; I have to make her suffer!"

"Suffer? Resentful? Mother, what on earth are you talking about? What do you mean?"

What did she mean?

If she was resentful, she would try to use her; only when she suffered would she remember her hardships and consider things from her perspective.

The art of employing people lies in arousing the other person's empathy toward you.

Madam He shook her head and said, "Seventh Young Lady would definitely understand. Yingniang, you cannot go on like this. If you aren't clever, you must treat your husband well. If you don't want to treat your husband well, you must be clever enough so that no one can tell you aren't treating him well!"

"How am I not treating him well?" Xue Wanying asked with great annoyance.

They had already reached the covered corridor of the Xue family estate, and servant women might pass by at any moment. Madam He shook her head and said nothing more.

Over at Xue Jiaoyue's side, her maid applied medicine for her once again. The pain made it difficult for her to speak, and her thoughts drifted back to how Madam He had just left.

"I... Eldest Madam just left like that!"

Luyi said in a pitiful tone, "Indeed, she didn't even care about the young lady. She just took a look and left. In the past, the young lady was very close to the Eldest Madam, but this servant thinks the Eldest Madam isn't close to the young lady at all!"

"Silence!" Xue Jiaoyue scolded, "How can you speak of my Eldest Madam that way!"

Following that was a fit of hurried coughing.

"Young Lady, this servant was wrong, this servant was wrong!" Luyi repeatedly admitted her mistake.

Of course she was wrong; she had to be wrong.

Her own mother—when would her mother ever truly be her own mother? What was Lady Jin anyway?

Just now, she had wronged her mother; she was the one who had spoken inappropriate words.

Letting her mother go talk to Father?

Yet when had her mother ever spoken to Father about members of the Xue family? Wasn't this putting her mother in a difficult position?

She was an abandoned wife, and she lived in such hardship.

Even when coming to see her, she had to be extremely cautious, having to wait until the Old Madam went back before she could secretly follow the eldest sister to visit her.

How difficult it was, how arduous!

Yet she had still put her mother in such a difficult position. She was truly unfilial, thoroughly unfilial!

"You, go call Father here!" Xue Jiaoyue endured the pain and mustered her remaining breath to command.

***

Qin Jianyu had left. When Xue Fanzhi returned to her room, Hongxiao and Honglian naturally followed.

"Young Lady, what if the Head of the Family refuses to call off the engagement?" Hongxiao asked.

They all knew of Qin Jianyu's vile deeds, and logically speaking, the engagement should be broken off right away. However, the Head of the Family was truly unpredictable—a man who looked handsome and dashing but actually lacked any brains.

No, apart from abusing his own children, he was a man of no competence. He might very well let his own daughter jump into a fire pit even while knowing full well it was one.

Xue Fanzhi shook her head and said, "It doesn't matter. This matter has already spread; it is no longer something Xue Yang alone can control. Second Great-Uncle will not agree either, and moreover, my uncle is still around. Xue Yang cannot cover the sky with one hand. The problem right now is how this engagement should be called off!"

"How to call it off?" Honglian snorted. "Just go to their house and curse them out! Are we supposed to quietly call off the engagement with such a shameless family? I heard from my concubine-mother that there was a man just as shameless in her village, and it was only after the woman's family went and scratched him up that the engagement was called off!"

Hearing this, Xue Fanzhi burst out laughing.

"What is Young Lady laughing at!" Honglian was so startled she felt goosebumps.

Xue Fanzhi asked, "Scratched him up, you say?"

Honglian nodded and said, "Yes, scratched him up. Let's send people to scratch him too, and ruin his face!"

Yet what if the other party didn't let you scratch them?

Xue Fanzhi didn't really care about reputation or lack thereof, but she had to consider whether it was actually feasible.

Scratching someone up might vent some anger, but it wouldn't genuinely cause the Qin family any real loss; it would merely offer a tiny bit of satisfaction.

Besides, killing people was illegal.

Therefore, resorting to violence should not be considered for the time being.

Xue Fanzhi shook her head: "Let's wait a little longer. This is definitely not something that can be made clear all at once!"

As she spoke, a little maid came from outside to report. Now that she had the Shadow Guards protecting her, these maids did not dare to be negligent, and the flow of information to her had become much smoother.

The maid reported, "The Young Lady of the Kong family says she wishes to see you!"

"Kong Linglong? Qin Jianyu's mistress!" Xue Fanzhi nodded and said.

Hearing this, Honglian flew into a rage, glared toward the doorway, and said, "Tell her to get lost! Who does she think she is, still having the cheek to see the Young Lady? Is she here to let the Young Lady scratch her?"

The little maid looked toward Xue Fanzhi.

Xue Fanzhi chuckled softly: "I'm not entirely certain why she has come, but it seems I already know how to go and 'scratch' Eldest Young Master Qin. Kong Linglong, the Kong family!"