“Guoxi!” Xue Fangmi didn’t expect that Qiu Yelan dared to kill her at her home. She was scared out of her wits. Seeing Cheng Guoxi coming out, she was thrilled and yelled in a hurry, “Guoxi, you have seen it all, haven’t you? She not only hit me, but also wanted to kill me! It’s so terrifying. Thank God you’re here. Run! In case she…”
Unexpectedly, Cheng Guoxi interrupted her coldly, “Miss Xue, what are you talking about? Aren’t you the one who brought me here? But then you made an excuse to leave. Before you left you warned me not to wander around in case that I would offend the taboo at your home.”
She squinted, “Otherwise, why would I be here on such a cold day in the wind?”
Xue Fangmi was stunned. She glanced at Qiu Yelan and then Cheng Guoxi, biting her lips, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“But I have understood what you said!” Cheng Guoxi said impolitely, “I don’t think you’re badly hurt. You just fell over. Just see a doctor and you’ll be fine. Your wedding is in seven days. Even if it’s in three days, you’ll be able to get married, won’t you?”
“…” Xue Fangmi got her implication. If she dared to refuse to get married by accusing Qiu Yelan of hitting her, Cheng Guoxi would go to Xue Chang and tell on her.
Since Xue Chang selected Li Xuan to be her husband personally, she believed that he would be hopping mad if he knew what she did!
At that time, even if she didn’t need to marry Li Xuan as she wished, Xue Chang would be furious and marry her to a more inferior one just to get rid of her!
“Don’t forget that Qiu Yelan and your fiancé…” Xue Fangmi’s face became pale with anger and she tried to sow discord However, Cheng Guoxi interrupted her indifferently, “Our seniors never mentioned anything like that. You’d better watch your mouth! Otherwise, I have to go to Prime Minister Xue to seek justice. Although your family is powerful, I’m a decent girl. I’m here to congratulate you. But I can’t let you slander me at will!”
Xue Fangmi came with confidence but left with embarrassment. She really cried when she left. She thought, “If I had known that my plan would fail, I wouldn’t have been kicked and lied on the ground on such a cold day.”
Qiu Yelan looked towards Cheng Guoxi after Xue Fangmi left. They’ve met two years ago at Emperor’s birthday on Mount Dizi. But their families weren’t on the same side. So, no one introduced them to each other and they never talked. They met briefly during the dinner.
When she looked at Cheng Guoxi at that moment, she found that Cheng Guoxi looked a little childish, but with her slim figure and good looks, she was a graceful lady.
However, Cheng Guoxi had a cold look. She asked indifferently after being watched by Qiu Yelan for a moment, “Madame Qiu, may I leave if you’re done looking at me? I’m just a mediocre person.”
“Xue Fangmi tricked my cousin before. So, there’s bad blood between her and us.” Qiu Yelan knew why she was hostile towards her even though she just sent Xue Fangmi away for her. So, she explained, “Since you heard her every word, you should know that what she said about Xue Nongying is pure nonsense! She wanted you to hear it!”
“Madame Qiu, you’re right!” Cheng Guoxi was noncommittal after hearing that, “However, Madame Qiu, you are really beautiful. I can’t bear comparison with you!”
Her jealous tone amused Qiu Yelan, “You’re also young and pretty. Just now you told the truth that Xue Fangmi asked you to wait behind the flowering shrubs, which indicated that you’re sensible. Since you have known that she was up to no good, why are you still prejudiced against me because of her side of the story?”
Cheng Guoxi was embarrassed to have her thoughts spoken out. She managed to maintain her cold look and sneered, “Madame Qiu, I’m not prejudiced against you… I’m leaving if you don’t have anything else to say.”
She turned around and left hastily before Qiu Yelan could answer.
“That lady…” Chunran and Xiaran had mixed feelings. They talked about her while watching her leave, “She doesn’t seem to be a fool since she wasn’t incited by Miss Xue. But she seems not to be smart either. How could she be jealous of our madame because of what Miss Xue said?”
The maids might believe Xue Fangmi when she swore that Xue Nongying had a crush on Qiu Yelan at other times. But after seeing Xue Fangmi make such a scene, Chunran and Xiaran didn’t trust her at all. They didn’t believe Xue Nongying would do something so inappropriate.
“She’s smart.” Qiu Yelan twisted her shawl and said with a faint smile, “Her honesty scuttled Xue Fangmi’s plan to harm me. Although she didn’t mention it, it was the truth! And then she showed her jealousy after that. I won’t hold a grudge against her even if I feel wronged. Besides, do you think I dare not to make a detour when seeing Xue Nongying in the future after she made it so clear? In this case, she doesn’t need to worry about me no matter Xue Nongying likes me or not!”
“…” Chunran and Xiaran were frustrated, “But there’s nothing between you and Mr. Xue!”
“It’s all Xue Fangmi’s fault!” Qiu Yelan looked furious at once, “She’s Xue Nongying’s aunt. How couldn’t Cheng Guoxi care about what Xue Fangmi said even though she didn’t trust her? After all, Cheng Guoxi hasn’t married Xue Nongying yet. She doesn’t know him or me at all.”
Chunran and Xiaran looked at each other, “What should we do now?”
“Let’s go to see Madame Sun first and tell her what happened.” Qiu Yelan’s face was gloomy, “And then I’ll tell Jiang Yashuang about it when we get back. Xue Fangmi grew more foolish and bolder. How dare she refer to Xue Nongying as a cripple in front of his fiancée… Who knows if she will tell the Jiang Family that Xue Nongying loves me!”
As expected, Madame Sun surely believed Qiu Yelan instead of Xue Fangmi. She was embarrassed and kept apologizing after hearing the beginning of the story. When she heard that Xue Fangmi referred to Xue Nongying as a cripple and let Cheng Guoxi hear it on purpose, she was so furious. Not caring about proprieties, she grabbed Qiu Yelan by her arm and asked in a high voice, “Did she really say that? How dare she say something like that! How dare she!”
Xue Nongying was really her nephew no matter how bad their relationship was. Besides, Xue Nongying had recovered a long time ago and his movements were just fine. He was just physically impaired due to the accident. So, he needed a long time to recuperate because he was still weak! But Xue Fangmi referred to him as a cripple. Madame Sun wanted to choke Xue Fangmi to death at that moment!
Qiu Yelan knew how she felt. So, she comforted her for a while and promised that she wouldn’t tell others about it. But she asked Madame Sun to subject Xue Fangmi to discipline, “Although she and I had a few disputes before, those were nothing serious. I don’t think we’re enemies! I shouldn’t have disturbed you on this very day but she really took it too far. I should have come to congratulate her on her wedding day. But now she hates me, I think I’d better not come so as to avoid upsetting her. Please don’t blame me for giving her the cold shoulder!”
Madame Sun was so embarrassed because of Xue Fangmi at that moment. And she was also mad at her. How could she blame Qiu Yelan? She held Qiu Yelan’s hands tightly, “It’s our fault! She trampled on your kindness. It’s so kind of you not to blame us. We’ll be way off base if we blame you! Don’t worry. I’ll tell my father-in-law about it when we don’t have so many guests. Although he adores her, he’s fair. He won’t let you be wronged.”
They comforted each other for a while. Qiu Yelan then went back home.
When Qiu Yelan met Madame Tao, she didn’t tell what happened between Xue Fangmi and her. She excused herself and went back to her yard. Jiang Yashuang was just there. She took him to the inner chamber and began to cry to him about her encounter with Xue Fangmi.
Jiang Yashuang was happy that his wife dragged him to the inner chamber. He was about to get handsy when the door closed. However, he was shocked when he saw the tears in his wife’s eyes, “What’s wrong? Who bullied you?”
He was so furious that he stood up after hearing the whole story from Qiu Yelan, “Prime Minister Xue’s daughter? She’s just a concubine’s daughter. She’s nothing! How dare she bully my wife like that! Wait here. I’m going to the Xue Family right now to ask Xue Chang how he raises her daughter!”
“Their whole family will be humiliated if you go now!” Qiu Yelan stopped him in a hurry. Xue Chang wasn’t that kind of father who would defend his offspring no matter what they did. Besides, he was so good to Qiu Jinglan. Qiu Yelan didn’t want him to be implicated because of his daughter. So, she dragged her husband tightly and pushed him back to the bed. She said, “We need to think of our brother! He’s Prime Minister Xue’s student. We’ll put him in an awkward position when he comes back if you cause a scene in their place today.”
Jiang Yashuang sneered, “If your brother were here, he would go and seek justice for you as well! I don’t know why Xue Chang still keeps that kind of daughter alive. Does he want her to harm others? He should beat her to death as soon as possible.”
“It is easy for you to say. Why are your vexatious cousins still alive?” Qiu Yelan criticized inwardly. She kept pinning him down and said, “Madame Sun has promised to give me an explanation. Why do we insist to be the bad guys? Besides, since Xue Fangmi was able to say things like that and asked Miss Cheng to listen behind the flowering shrubs, who would know what she might say if you went there and made a scene? There will be widespread rumours then! Let’s just wait for the Xue Family’s message. Prime Minister Xue and Madame Sun are sensible. They won’t let her keep looking for trouble!”
She added, “Besides, she’s about to get married. She cursed her nephew, Xue Nongying this time. Do you think Madame Sun who only has this one son will let her go? Once she gets married, she’s no longer a member of her Xu Family. She can’t be as willful as before. Madame Sun will probably give her a hard time.”
Jiang Yashuang’s look was vicious. He said flatly after a silence, “Since you insist on protecting the Xue Family’s reputation, I’ll agree. You’re right anyway. That b*tch is about to get married. We can deal with her after she gets married.”
“The Li Family is also the family of Ciyi’s husband!” Qiu Yelan meant to explain to him that there was nothing going on between Xue Nongying and her. She didn’t expect her husband to be furious. She was afraid that it might end badly after he made a fuss about it. She reminded him softly, “Besides, the Li Family is innocent.”
“I know. I won’t let them get in trouble.” Jiang Yashuang touched her hair and said, “No need to make a fuss to get rid of that b*tch. Just wait and see. How dare she bully you like that! She surely doesn’t take me seriously!”