“What’s wrong, do you regret it?” Rong Ke’s voice echoed gently from outside the room.
“No.” Xiao Jingduo responded and walked out.
There are gains and losses, nothing to regret.
In an instant, the ladies’ reception hall was reached. Those with sharp eyes saw Princess Pingwei and Princess Yangxin and stood up to greet them. Wu Junru had been standing among the crowd, smiling. Her gaze shifted and she saw Xiao Jingduo walking behind Princess Pingwei. Wu Junru’s expression suddenly changed, and the smile on her face froze.
A sense of foreboding arose in Wu Junru’s heart. She had always considered Xiao Jingduo just a nine-year-old child. Though troublesome, he was not difficult to deal with, so Wu Junru never paid much attention to Xiao Jingduo, let alone viewed him as an opponent. But now, seeing Xiao Jingduo inexplicably appear beside the princess, Wu Junru suddenly realized that she might have underestimated him.
The first direct confrontation between Xiao Jingduo and Wu Junru took place silently in the bustling and lively Zhao Guogong Mansion.
The other ladies naturally also saw Xiao Jingduo. Their eyes circled around Princess Pingwei and Xiao Jingduo, and they smiled, asking, “Your Highness, who is this?”
Princess Pingwei waved at Xiao Jingduo, signaling him to come forward. Then, she raised her head and looked at Wu Junru with a half-smile, “Marchioness of Dingyong, who do you think this is?”
Wu Junru forced a smile, her tone aggressive as she retorted, “What do you mean by this, Princess?”
After speaking, Wu Junru, still smiling, but with a tone turned stern, scolded Xiao Jingduo, “Going out to a banquet and behaving so improperly, running around everywhere, and even bothering the Princess. Why aren’t you coming over here?”
By now, even if Wu Junru was slow to react, she should understand what Xiao Jingduo intended. Alright, he had learned to use others to do his bidding. Wu Junru had always prided herself on her modern knowledge, confident that dealing with these ancient people would be a breeze. However, after just a brief encounter, she felt she might have overestimated herself.
Wu Junru initially thought Pingwei was just an overbearing and brainless princess, but the facts proved that the Rong family had their reasons for conquering the world. The seemingly casual question from Pingwei just now was full of traps. Whether Wu Junru said Xiao Jingduo was a legitimate or illegitimate son, Pingwei would seize on the flaw. Wu Junru had no choice but to avoid answering, turning instead to threaten Xiao Jingduo, shifting the matter into a family affair. Even an unreasonable princess couldn’t interfere in others’ family matters. As long as Wu Junru could suppress Xiao Jingduo and make him keep quiet, today’s crisis could be safely resolved.
Unfortunately, Xiao Jingduo was not a soft target for Wu Junru to manipulate. Xiao Jingduo stood still, not intending to walk over to Wu Junru. Princess Pingwei also reached out to block Xiao Jingduo, “Marchioness, why are you so fierce? Could it be that this child’s identity cannot be questioned? I used to think that women from the Wu family were very dignified, but now it seems they are no different and can also do some lowly things, such as mistreating children left by their predecessors?”
The ladies were in an uproar. They didn’t expect to hear such explosive news. After exchanging meaningful glances with those around them, they all perked up their ears, eagerly anticipating this drama between a royal princess and a noblewoman.
“His mother has already been dismissed; my conscience is clear,” Wu Junru’s tone was quite fearless. “Princess, our Wu family has held high positions for generations. We are not a family you can slander.”
This was already a threat. Princess Pingwei’s expression froze, and she showed signs of anger, “Wu Eight Miss, you, who were once rejected from a marriage, dare to disrespect me?”
Hearing Princess Pingwei mention her broken engagement with the Bai family, Wu Junru also became angry, “Princess, watch your words. I know you still harbor grievances over past events, but to vent your anger on me is unreasonable, isn’t it? All the ladies here surely understand how devastating it is for a woman to be rejected from marriage. I almost lost my life because of it. Now, for the sake of a petty dispute, you heartlessly expose my wounds. Is this your idea of benevolence?”
As Wu Junru spoke, tears welled up in her eyes. It seemed she could no longer hold them back and turned her face to secretly wipe away her tears. However, this stubborn posture only made people feel more sympathy for her. People tend to habitually pity the weak; Princess Pingwei’s aggressive demeanor contrasted sharply with Wu Junru’s tearful plight, resulting in most of the ladies siding with Wu Junru.
Princess Pingwei, who had always been strong-willed, had spent years fighting alongside her father and brothers, fearlessly charging into battles. She couldn’t stand women who cried after just a few words, yet the world seemed to sympathize with such behavior. Just as she was about to harshly scold Wu Junru, a hand suddenly tugged at her sleeve.
“I still don’t understand,” Rong Ke, who had been as quiet as a porcelain doll since entering, suddenly spoke up. “Is this… brother of mine legitimate or illegitimate?”
When she said the words “brother,” Rong Ke noticeably paused, clearly unwilling to say it.
Xiao Jingduo ignored the little girl’s feelings and immediately understood Rong Ke’s intention, smoothly picking up the conversation, “I am also unclear about this; it should be asked of the Marchioness of Dingyong.”
Rong Ke smiled faintly and looked at Wu Junru casually, her eyes shining brightly, “Marchioness, is he an illegitimate son?”
Wu Junru opened her mouth. Although she had already agreed with the Xiao family to make Xiao Jingduo an illegitimate son, she didn’t dare to say it in front of so many people. So she mumbled, “This is a family matter of our Marquisate. Does the princess need to meddle in even this?”
“Family matters,” Rong Ke nodded, smiling. “So, in Lady Wu’s eyes, demoting a wife to a concubine and treating a legitimate child as illegitimate are family matters. The family customs of the Wu family are indeed eye-opening.”
Wu Junru felt a sense of foreboding, “What do you mean by this, Princess? The Wu family of Qinghe is a century-old noble family, always dignified and upright. We don’t deserve such disdain from you.”
“If it wasn’t taught by the Wu family, then it must be the Cui family?” Rong Ke nodded as if she had understood. “I was wondering how you dared to do such an absurd thing as making the son of the original wife a concubine’s child. It turns out it was instigated by the Cui family. Ah, I’ve heard that a woman from the Cui family is going to enter the palace as Empress. Could it be that she won’t tolerate the bloodlines of her predecessors and might do the same thing?”
“Princess, mind your words!” Wu Junru hastily interrupted. The Wu family was entirely dependent on the Cui family, and Wu Junru wouldn’t dare offend them even if she had several times her current courage. Panicked, she exclaimed, “What does this have to do with the Cui family?”
Before she finished speaking, she realized the connection herself. It turned out that, after all this maneuvering, the young princess’s real target was the Cui family.
Xiao Jingduo suddenly understood why the princess was willing to introduce him to Princess Pingwei and was now helping him speak up. When Rong Ke had previously asked, “Is your stepmother Wu from the Wu family of Qinghe?” he should have realized it then. Rong Ke had gone through all this trouble not to stand up for him but to leverage the situation to undermine the reputation of the Cui family of Qinghe.
Even Xiao Jingduo had vaguely heard that after the Emperor ascended to the throne, the original Empress had passed away, and the Emperor intended to marry a woman from the Cui family as the new Empress. As the daughter of the Crown Prince and a direct descendant of the original Empress, Rong Ke naturally did not want another Empress from the Cui family, especially one from the five prominent families.
No wonder, Xiao Jingduo realized. His situation was merely a pretext for Rong Ke, a legitimate excuse to attack the Cui family. By first using Wu Junru as the initial target and then linking it to the Cui family, if the woman from the Cui family acquired the reputation of mistreating the former Empress’s children, not only would her entry into the palace be jeopardized, but even her chances of marriage would be affected. Understanding this, Xiao Jingduo couldn’t help but marvel at the ruthlessness of the royal family. Even a young girl like Rong Ke possessed such cunning.
Wu Junru vaguely felt that today’s situation had escalated. If it truly implicated the Cui family, she wouldn’t need the Cui family to act; the elders of the Wu family would strip her of everything themselves. Feeling trapped, Wu Junru noticed that Rong Ke was not willing to let her go and kept pressing, “Lady Wu, you still haven’t said it. Is he legitimate or illegitimate?”
Xiao Jingduo added timely, “My mother’s marriage certificate is still intact, and I believe the records in the Zhuojun prefecture office can verify this.”
Wu Junru’s face stiffened, clearly unwilling to face this issue. Rong Ke smiled and asked again, “Madam, why are you not speaking?”
Wu Junru’s facial muscles froze, and with a forced smile, she gritted her teeth and said, “He is legitimate.”
If she claimed he was illegitimate, it would confirm the accusation of demoting the legitimate to the illegitimate and not accepting the children of the previous wife. Despite her reluctance to acknowledge Xiao Jingduo as the legitimate eldest son, Wu Junru had no choice but to grudgingly admit it.
Xiao Jingduo frowned and said, “Madam, didn’t you previously tell Grandmother that you would never agree to register me under your name? How am I now suddenly legitimate?”
The watching ladies were astonished. This statement carried a lot of implications, and they, having spent many years navigating the complexities of the inner chambers, could easily grasp the underlying meanings.
Interesting, is life in the Dingyong Marquisate always this lively?
Wu Junru was on the verge of losing her composure, glaring at Xiao Jingduo with eyes that seemed to blaze with fire, “Your mother was the first wife, and you are naturally a legitimate son. There’s no need to register you under my name. You must have misunderstood; I never discussed this with your grandmother.”
“Is that so,” Xiao Jingduo nodded, nonchalantly saying, “Then it must have been someone else spreading falsehoods, and I remembered it wrong.”
Wu Junru dug her nails into her palms, barely able to resist the urge to hit him. Xiao Jingduo, with his innocent appearance and dark heart, dared to imply in front of so many people that she was the one spreading rumors? Furious as she was, she couldn’t lose her temper in front of everyone, as it would only confirm her guilt.
Wu Junru held back her emotions repeatedly, finally forcing out a smile: “You must have remembered incorrectly.”
Rong Ke seemed unable to hold back her laughter. She glanced sideways at Xiao Jingduo, not saying much, but instead teased Wu Junru again: “Madam Wu was crying after just a few words earlier, but now it seems the madam is quite sharp-tongued.”
Indeed, the looks in the eyes of the surrounding ladies had completely changed. They had thought Wu Junru was truly pitiful when she was crying earlier, but in fact, this person was eloquent and could even force a legitimate son to become an illegitimate one. She was truly two-faced and irritating.
The situation, which had originally been entirely in Wu Junru’s favor, immediately reversed. Princess Pingwei inwardly rejoiced. Earlier, without her saying anything, Wu Junru had put on a pitiful act, as if she had really bullied Wu Junru, and the people around them had all sided with this drama queen. Pingwei was furious and had planned to lash out and scold these blind fools, but unexpectedly, Rong Ke had stopped her and with just a few words had exposed Wu Junru’s true nature. While Pingwei felt satisfied, she also felt a bit embarrassed. As an elder, she had let a granddaughter-generation child vent her anger for her. It was… she didn’t know what to say.
Xiao Jingduo had perfectly resolved his identity crisis and managed to upset Wu Junru in the process. The weight on his heart finally lifted, and he now had the presence of mind to observe the young girl beside him.
She looked no more than four or five years old. What kind of life must she have lived in the palace to be forced into such a state at such a young age?
Fortunately, Rong Ke didn’t notice Xiao Jingduo’s gaze. She had achieved an unexpected victory today and was in a good mood, so she didn’t pay attention to others’ scrutiny. Having accomplished her goal, Rong Ke had no interest in staying longer in the reception hall. She stood for a bit longer and then rose to take her leave. Xiao Jingduo, not wanting to stay in the women’s reception hall either, followed suit and excused himself.
After leaving, Xiao Jingduo stepped back slightly, walking behind Rong Ke. Looking at her back, though his thoughts were jumbled, he sincerely expressed his gratitude: “Thank you for today.”
“No need to thank me. I wasn’t doing it to help you anyway,” Rong Ke replied frankly.
Xiao Jingduo knew that Rong Ke’s true purpose was related to the Cui family’s daughter who was about to enter the palace. He had merely provided Rong Ke with an opportunity to act. However, credit where credit is due, Rong Ke had indeed helped him reclaim his rightful status. So Xiao Jingduo insisted on expressing his gratitude: “Thank you. If you ever need anything in the future, I’ll be there for you, come hell or high water.”
Rong Ke just smiled casually. It seemed she had heard such promises many times before and didn’t believe the other party would actually follow through. But she was in a good mood today, and unusually nodded in agreement: “Alright. Your name is Xiao Jingduo, right? I’ll remember your promise.”
Xiao Jingduo, having completed his task, couldn’t stay in the back courtyard any longer. He immediately bid farewell to Rong Ke and headed back to the front courtyard. As he was leaving, Rong Ke suddenly called out to him: “Do you have any maternal uncles?”
“My maternal grandfather had only my mother as his daughter, no other children. My late grandfather passed away when I was seven years old.”
Rong Ke made a sound of acknowledgment and frowned with concern: “Then your situation is quite difficult. Your stepmother won’t let this go easily in the future. Take care of yourself.”
“I understand,” Xiao Jingduo smiled faintly at Rong Ke. “Thank you for the warning, Princess.”
He had taken matters into his own hands today, forcing Wu Junru to acknowledge his status as the legitimate eldest son. How could Wu Junru possibly let this go? There was still a tough battle to be fought in the Marquis’s mansion.
He bade farewell to the young and wise princess, then strode towards the Marquis’s carriage. He had taken the first step in fighting back against Xiao Ying and the Dingyong Marquis’s household. Even if this would make his future increasingly difficult, Xiao Jingduo was prepared to pay any price.
Author’s Note:
A small scene:
Many years ago:
Xiao Jingduo: “Thank you. If you ever need anything in the future, I’ll be there for you, come hell or high water.”
Rong Ke: “Alright. Your name is Xiao Jingduo, right? I’ll remember your promise.” (Actually thinking to herself: You’re in such a miserable situation; I wouldn’t need your help anyway.)
Many years later:
Rong Ke: “…Who was it that jinxed me back then?”
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