Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Mother Locust

Thud, thud, thud—once again, the sounds of things being thrown echoed from upstairs.

Xue Fanzhi sat up from her couch and called to Honglian, “Go and inform Seventh Miss Xue that if she disturbs my dreams again, I won’t be so polite next time.”

Honglian had barely gone upstairs when shouts erupted above: “You think I’m afraid just because you sold yourself to a prince? Listen here! Don’t think seducing a prince makes you anyone special. Even if you become empress, this is still the Xue family, and my father has the final say. You’ve seen for yourself how much he dotes on me. It’s nothing for me to stomp around upstairs, and even if I tossed you out, no one would dare utter a word.”

Crying followed.

When Xue Fanzhi reached the staircase, she saw that Honglian had been slapped by Luliu, the maid of Xue Fanzhi’s cousin. Fiery by nature, Honglian refused to take it lying down and tried to fight back, but there were too many people upstairs...

Truly incorrigible, Xue Fanzhi thought, gently touching Honglian’s swollen cheek, her tone turning dark. “I won’t let you suffer these grievances any longer.”

In her past life, she had endured enough humiliation.

...

Downstairs soon quieted. Xue Jiaoyue, lounging upon her couch, spat toward the floor. “She really thinks herself someone important, trying to meddle with me!”

Though Luyi had a scratch on her face from Honglian’s nails, it didn’t dampen her eagerness to curry favor with her mistress. She presented a bowl of golden-orange loquats before Xue Jiaoyue like offering treasure, smiling as she spoke, “Miss, the master always cares for you most. Even when you’ve made mistakes, he doesn’t punish you, only worries about you, and now he’s sent you these fruits!”

“Bah!” Xue Jiaoyue snapped, “What mistake did I make? That shameless wretch was exposed and now can’t show her face—what’s that got to do with me? It’s not as if I pushed her!”

Yet sometimes words cut deeper than knives, wounding the heart and soul.

In truth, Luyi felt a pang of sorrow—after all, they were all maids, but she wasn’t the same as Yunluo.

She shifted the topic. “Eighth Miss hasn’t made a sound! Miss, have you noticed Eighth Miss has been acting strangely these past days? She wasn’t like this before.”

Indeed, ever since escaping the refugees that day, Xue Fanzhi seemed like a changed person, and Xue Jiaoyue couldn’t fathom the reason.

But what did it matter how she changed? As long as her mother and she were here, even if Xue Fanzhi clung to the prince, she’d still be beneath them.

Thinking of this, Xue Jiaoyue’s face darkened. That little wretch, Xue Fanzhi, never should have been born. She and her elder sister were the true daughters of the Xue family’s main branch—why should Xue Fanzhi claim a share? Since she dared, she would make her wish she hadn’t.

“Don’t bother with her!” Xue Jiaoyue said loftily. “In our family, only my sister and I count as people. The rest, you may as well treat as beasts to be ridden. Sooner or later, I’ll marry into a noble house, and they’ll all be beneath my feet!”

“What a boast! So young and already thinking of selling yourself. I always said the main branch girls lack manners. Even your elder sister, who should know better, lets you run wild like this!”

Startled, Xue Jiaoyue looked up. Wasn’t this the old matriarch from the third branch?

“Grand-aunt? What are you doing in my room, scolding people?” Xue Jiaoyue had never been berated before. As a girl, her pride was fragile, and she burst into tears at once.

The old matriarch paid her no heed, flanked by four sturdy matrons. Turning to them, she barked, “Take everything!”

At her command, the four matrons began ransacking Xue Jiaoyue’s room for anything of value. Both Xue Yang and Madam Jin doted on her; gold, silver, jewelry, jade, and fine vessels abounded. Anything portable was seized, even the loquats she’d just been given.

Xue Jiaoyue was dumbfounded, rushing to snatch things back but was no match for the matrons. She cried out to the old matriarch, “These are all mine! Are you a bandit? Give them back… Ah, that’s what I was going to wear for my coming-of-age banquet… Those are worth a hundred gold… Let go… Grand-aunt, these are mine—mine! Wuwuwu…”

At last, she managed to reach the old matriarch herself, only to be met with a powerful slap that sent her sprawling to the ground.

She stared up in disbelief, clutching her cheek, utterly aggrieved. “Those are mine!”

“What’s yours? While your parents live, nothing is yours—how could these things belong to you?” The old matriarch rolled her eyes. “You drove a maid to her death, show no remorse, and now you slander your own sister as a harlot—I heard every word. Because of you, our Sixth Miss’s reputation is stained. All these are your compensation to her!”

“What reputation does your Sixth Miss have? She’s no saint either—wuwuwu…” Xue Jiaoyue, who’d always put on a refined front for outsiders, finally cracked as her treasures were snatched away.

The old matriarch’s face hardened. “Outrageous, speaking thus to your elders!” With that, she grabbed Xue Jiaoyue by the collar and dealt her another resounding slap.

This blow was merciless. Dizzy, Xue Jiaoyue nearly fainted, her face swelling instantly, almost ruined.

Just then, Madam Jin arrived, having been summoned by a maid seeking help. Seeing the chaos, Madam Jin’s face turned livid with anxiety. She shouted, “Sister-in-law, this is the main branch—Seventh Miss is a main branch child. It’s not your place to discipline her! What are you doing?”

“What’s so great about the main branch?” The old matriarch rolled her eyes again. “The main branch is the least well-bred, and you, Jin, least of all. You gave up a noble maiden’s life to become a second wife, bore two sons but can’t outdo a favored concubine, and has Xue Yang ever looked at you properly? You still cling on, shameless beyond recognition! If I were you, I’d have found a tree long ago and hanged myself. What are you still living for?”

Every word was a blade, and Madam Jin was soon weeping hoarsely.

In the end, even with Madam Jin present, she could not stop the old matriarch from the third branch from sweeping through the place like a storm, even ransacking Xue Fanzhi’s scant belongings. But Xue Fanzhi was so poor there was nothing worth taking.

Upon finding a few bolts of cloth, the old matriarch hesitated, knowing they were connected to Old Madam Xue, and reluctantly left them untouched.

Still, she could not resist a scathing remark as she turned to Xue Fanzhi: “You call yourself a legitimate daughter? You’re not even as well-off as the ruined fourth branch—why don’t you and your mother just die together?”

Xue Fanzhi said nothing.

But she did not bother with the old crone, for she had lured her here on purpose.

Xue Jiaoyue, befouled and still playing the victim, could not be publicly denounced for her misdeeds—after all, they were one family, and their fortunes were bound together. If Xue Jiaoyue’s reputation was ruined, it would affect all marriage prospects for the Xue daughters, and that could not be allowed—nor could Xue Jiaoyue be let off so easily.

The old matriarch of the third branch was a notorious locust, leaving nothing behind wherever she went. Xue Fanzhi had sent Hongxiao to tip her off, saying that Xue Jiaoyue was unrepentant, slandered others, and that Old Madam Xue was praying in the family shrine, Xue Yang was injured, Madam Jin was nursing him, and Hui-niang was bedridden.

With no one from the main branch to stop her, the third branch had simply descended to plunder.