Chapter 84: Chapter 84
Chapter 84
"Is that so? I had suspected, but I didn’t expect him to actually do it," Ailing paused slightly upon hearing this.
She didn’t have the support her daughter did, so she could only guess at the situation. When she received confirmation from Yueqian, she came to a conclusion.
She hadn’t thought her suspicions would be correct because this meant that... her Qian’er would always be his target. Escaping this gold cage would become even more difficult.
"But never mind that. Whatever he plans to do, there are still limits. You don’t need to get involved," Yueqian said nonchalantly.
She knew that her mother must have been thinking on her behalf, but it was her life. She could make her own choices and take care of herself. No one needed to sacrifice themselves for her.
"Limits? The limits you speak of might be as high as the sky."
"In that case, I will shatter that sky. Is that alright?" Yueqian smiled, but her eyes showed a glint of ruthlessness.
The terror of someone who had faced death before—who knew it? But Yueqian knew well.
Having once escaped death, life beyond it no longer scared her. If she had the choice, she would prefer to stay out of trouble. But if he still insisted on messing with her and harming her, even if it was her father who intervened, she would cut off his hand. If it was the Young General, the beloved hero of the writer, she would deal with him too.
If the original storyline cannot be maintained, should she just destroy it completely when it is time to do so?
Death is merely paying for one’s karma in the next life. If she had to endure karma in this life with him, wouldn’t it be better to face death head-on? Who, upon realizing that their situation is as wretched as living hell, would still choose to dive in, hoping for a better life in the next?
What a joke! If anyone really thought that way, it certainly wouldn’t be her.
“Qian’er, don’t be too confident. Many things are beyond your control,” the mother warned. She had seen this look in her daughter’s eyes once before, and this was only the second time.
A mother’s heart never wants her child to become a true demon. It wasn’t out of fear of losing face, as others might think, but because she feared her daughter would regret her own choices.
This mother was willing to be selfish, foolish, and a villain, all so her daughter could live life as she pleased—a life that even she had never been able to choose for herself.
“Maybe I can’t choose everything, but I can still choose one thing.”
“..................”
“I can choose whether I live or die. Ah, no, I can even choose for everyone to die along with this demon,” Yueqian laughed, but her tone was rather cold. The mother’s heart felt as if it were being squeezed.
Yet, she couldn’t say anything, because once, she herself had considered dying as a sacrifice for her daughter. It seemed she had done much for this daughter, but there was another truth she had hidden.
Li Ailing, this woman, was a coward!
She didn’t want to live, but her cowardice made her too afraid to die just yet. It wasn’t until she thought she might be useful to her daughter that she found the strength to consider dying.
Even though she knew that death might be better, Ailing couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Seeing her daughter’s strength surpassing her own, she didn’t dare to stop her. She understood the torment of living and how painful it was.
The two mothers and daughters, along with Mu Heng and Sisi, remained silent. It seemed Yueqian’s words had been too harsh, until a voice broke the silence from outside the quarter.
"First Furen, Third Young Miss requests to see you," the servant at the entrance asked for permission.
Hearing this, Yueqian smiled slightly. She pulled her husband down to the floor, kneeling before her mother.
Ailing did the same. Upon hearing that an outsider was coming in, the beautiful woman picked up the embroidery she had been working on. She examined it slowly and carefully before picking up the needle again to make the pattern clearer.
"Let her in," her cold voice echoed outside the room.
The main door slowly opened, revealing a woman in bright attire, accompanied by the sunlight streaming in. The beautiful woman didn’t enter immediately, merely casting a glance at those on the floor. A small, satisfied smile appeared on her lips before it faded away.
Her expression of satisfaction transformed into one of profound sorrow.
"First Mother, sob," the young woman entered, looking as if she were about to collapse. The moment she crossed the threshold, she fell to the ground, crying incessantly. It was such a continuous performance that Yueqian couldn’t help but roll her eyes.
"What is it?"
Li Ailing’s distant tone was normal. It was well-known in the capital that the First Furen favored her own daughter greatly. Otherwise, where would Yueqian’s personality have come from?
She was the eldest young miss, pampered by her mother, and the Li family, her mother’s side, was an old and wealthy family. The First Furen’s dowry was so vast that it made the Qin family’s original wealth seem like mere dust.
The marriage of the current head of the Qin family was understood to be solely for financial reasons. There was never any sign of love or harmony.
Therefore, when Qin Tingting came today, she wasn’t here to ask for Li Ailing’s sympathy. She didn’t come to vie for favor either. She had simply been expelled from the banquet. After Yueqian left, no other women were present. The men needed to discuss business, and they believed that women, deemed incompetent and should not listen to men’s conversations, should leave.
Thus, Qin Majiao, the head of the family, had a servant escort her out immediately, not caring whether she had even had a bite to eat. He had only brought her in to improve his own reputation and avoid criticism after Yueqian had dared to harm her in front of everyone.
Once her role was over, her father drove her out like this...
Upon arriving at the residence, she heard that Qi Liang, her mother’s servant, was in poor condition, burning with fever. The other servants were already going to fetch a physician. Angered by Yueqian, she canceled her lodging plans and came straight here instead.
It was said that the First Furen disliked her brother-in-law greatly, making them wait outside for hours. She already knew the atmosphere here was unpleasant but hadn’t expected the First Furen to make Yueqian and her husband kneel like this.
While the First Furen was furious, Tingting thought to add more fuel to the fire. Initially, she planned to lie to get money for Aunt Qi Liang’s treatment, intending to give only a little to the physician and keep the rest to buy gifts from the countryside.
She might spend while waiting for the Young General to return from suppressing bandits. Now, she had other amusing ideas.
The extra money was still necessary, but the chance to harm the arrogant Yueqian was rare.
"Sob, sob, First Mother, Aunt Qi Liang is gravely ill. Because of her old age and being thrown into the water by the eldest young miss, she is now severely ill, and we don’t know if she’ll survive. Sob, sob. Please, First Mother, please help. No matter what, Aunt Qi Liang is still an old servant of the Qin family," Tingting almost knelt, tears streaming down her face, looking every bit like a top-tier actress.
"In that case, go fetch the physician. There’s no need to ask me for this," Ailing sighed. She shifted slightly and glanced at her daughter, who remained calm.
Although she had initially laughed when she heard about the chaos her daughter caused, she couldn’t show that in front of others. She had to discipline her daughter as well.
"Yueqian, do you understand your mistake?! Is it appropriate to use your power to bully others? Your father sent you here to reflect on your actions, and what is the result now?! Don’t you want to behave well to appease your father’s anger?!" Li Ailing reprimanded loudly, dropping her unfinished embroidery and pretending to clutch her chest as if in great pain.
Her eyes reflected a sense of disappointment, as if she had done everything to help Yueqian return to the capital, but her daughter continued causing trouble.
This display made Qin Tingting want to laugh out loud.
The First Furen was still the same, always hoping for Yueqian’s return to the capital. When they were together, if Yueqian wanted to harm a servant, Ailing never stopped her. Sometimes, she even supported her by selling the servant off. Both were equally malevolent.
It was fortunate that the First Furen had plenty of money. During any festival, she would distribute her money throughout the household, making many servants eager to work for her.
However, it was a pity that she was as foolish as Yueqian, though slightly different. The First Furen was a Furen in name only, almost devoid of any real power. She believed herself to be important and grand, but in reality, that wasn’t the case at all.
The affairs of the household were managed by the secondary wife, and the family accounts were handled by the steward. The First Furen’s role was merely to flaunt herself and her power, though everyone knew she never had real power. Without her wealth, she wouldn’t have been able to gain respect.
Unlike Yueqian, who was a fool that genuinely liked to show off her power, her mother was easily deceived. She wasn’t even trusted to manage the accounts, yet she believed her husband loved her immensely, allowing her to spend as much time as she wanted looking after their child, so he didn’t give her a work to do as she might be tired.
If you examine it, in which household are the family accounts managed by someone else?! A person like the First Furen is called a fool who pretends to be clever.
Unlike Yueqian, who was a fool pretending to be smart, she at least knew what she had the right to do. For example, when she was in front of villagers, she scolded them without caring. When she was in front of other young misses, she didn’t scold them outright but planned to harm them. She once pretended to walk and spilled water on the painting of a young miss who was drawing a portrait of the Young General.
It is her narrow-mindedness that makes her look like a clown!
