Chapter 45: Chapter
Lady Pei and her mother stood frozen, unable to believe their ears as Xi Wenzhe openly defended the woman he was supposed to detest.
Before Madame Pei could scream in protest, Xi Lanyin stepped forward, her expression firm as she looked at the mud-covered girl. "Lady Pei, you have been insulting my sister-in-law since the very moment you arrived today. Her anger is completely justified, is it not?"
Xi Qianqian and Gu Yue both nodded their heads in agreement, stepping up to stand beside Lanyin.
"Exactly," Gu Yue said, pointing toward the low stone railing. "You were standing so close to the edge of the pond. Everyone could see it. Even a slight bump could send anyone falling over, so it is mostly your own fault that you fell in the first place. The pond is not even that deep, yet you are overreacting so loudly. Do you wish to ruin the Duchess’s banquet intentionally?"
Madame Pei gasped, her face turning purple with rage. "You—how can you accuse my daughter of such a thing?!"
Qianqian didn’t back down. She crossed her arms and glared at Lady Pei. "And another thing. Why would you say that my brother hates his own wife? Did he tell you that himself? You are an outsider spreading foul rumors about the Grand Duke’s family right inside our own home."
Their sharp, back-to-back words left the Pei mother and daughter in utter anger and shock. Lady Pei was shaking so hard from a mixture of cold mud and pure humiliation that she could barely breathe. She looked at Wenzhe, then at his sisters, realizing that the entire Xi family was completely united behind Su Yueqing.
Even Su Yueqing herself stood behind Wenzhe’s broad back, completely stunned.
[Nine, are you sure you sent me to the right novel?]
Su Yueqing thought, her jaw dropping as she watched her usually hostile in-laws fiercely defend her.
[Since when did the brat squad become my personal defense attorneys? Aren’t they supposed to be plotting my downfall or something ? Why are they gaslighting this poor mud-rat for me?!]
[Ding!]
[Host, your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps your pure, unbothered rudeness has confused their brain cells. However, your villain points for this scene are currently fluctuating. Please fix the narrative.]
[Fix it? How can I fix it when they won’t even let me get blamed?!]
Su Yueqing sighed heavily in her mind.
[Whatever. If they want to fight my battles while I take the heat, I might as well enjoy the show. This is better than any drama on television.]
Seeing that nobody was paying attention to her while the elders argued, Su Yueqing quietly reached out and grabbed the sleeve of a passing kitchen maid who was carrying an empty tray.
"You," Su Yueqing whispered softly, her face perfectly blank. "Go to the pavilion and fetch me a large plate of those sweet lotus pastries and some hot tea. Hurry."
The maid blinked in surprise but quickly bowed. "Yes, Young Madam."
Su Yueqing settled herself comfortably against a nearby dry pillar, crossing her arms inside her elegant plum sleeves. If she had to stand here and watch the entire capital high society have a massive screaming match over a puddle of mud, she definitely wouldn’t mind having a snack while she watched.
Madame Pei turned around and rushed toward Duchess Lin Meiyun and the Prime Minister’s wife, Madame Zi. Her face was red with anger as she tried to get them on her side.
The Duchess and Madame Zi exchanged a single, heavy look. They both knew the truth after all they weren’t new to such schemes.
They felt no sympathy for the mud-covered girl.
Madame Zi spoke first, her tone calm but cold. "Madame Pei, young people will have their disagreements, but bringing false rumors about Master Wenzhe’s marriage into the open is entirely improper."
Duchess Lin Meiyun nodded, her voice strict. "My daughter-in-law may have been impulsive, but the accusations thrown at her were unjust. We will not punish her for defending her position."
Seeing that even the highest-ranking ladies were against them, Madame Pei and Lady Pei felt completely humiliated.
"You—you are all protecting her!" Madame Pei yelled, her voice shaking with rage. "The Pei family will not forget this insult! We will make sure the entire capital hears how the Xi family treats their guests!"
Xi Wenzhe stepped forward, his eyes icy as he cut her off. "If you are finished threatening my family, Madame, you should leave now. Our estate guards will happily show you to the gates."
Knowing they had completely lost, Madame Pei dragged her crying, mud-soaked daughter away, shouting threats the whole time.
Gu Yue turned to the surrounding servants and raised her voice. "What are you all staring at? Go back to your work right now!"
The maids and guards quickly scattered. Duchess Lin then turned to the remaining guests with a smooth, reassuring smile. "The drama is over, everyone. Please, let us all head back to the pavilion and finish the banquet."
Meanwhile, Wenzhe looked around the clearing, expecting to see his wife looking nervous or angry. But he didn’t see Su Yueqing anywhere near the main path. His eyes scanned the garden until he finally caught sight of her resting against a nearby dry pillar.
She wasn’t hiding or crying. Instead, she was actively arguing with the kitchen maid she had stopped earlier.
"I told you to get the sweet lotus pastries," Su Yueqing said, frowning deeply as she pointed at the tray. "Why did you bring these bitter tea cakes instead? How am I supposed to enjoy the show with these?"
The poor maid bowed repeatedly, looking terrified. "Forgive me, Young Madam! The kitchen was out of the sweet ones!"
Wenzhe stood there, his eyebrow twitching violently.
We were just busy fighting over her safety, and she was busy getting snacks? Is she crazy?
Walking toward her with long, angry strides, Wenzhe did not let her even take a single bite of her food. Before her fingers could touch the plate, he reached out, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her away from the pillar.
"Ah! Y-You let me go!" Su Yueqing yelled, her eyes widening in pure horror as she looked back at the tray. "Ahh! My snacks!"
Poor Su Yueqing was dragged away, her feet shuffling against the dirt as she tried to break free from his strong grip, completely mourning her lost food. The scene looked incredibly funny as the two of them left the garden, one looking furious and the other looking completely devastated over a plate of pastries.
Watching them disappear down the path, Aunt Ronghua and the Duchess just shook their heads and sighed.
"The drama is truly unending in this house," Lin Meiyun said, rubbing her temples, though a faint smile touched her lips.
Ronghua laughed softly, fanning herself as she looked in the direction the couple had gone. "But it has been a very long time since this house was this lively. I guess Su Yueqing isn’t as problematic as we originally thought. She just has a way of attracting problems, without actually being the problem herself."
