Chapter 102 -
The big dining hall was bright with morning sunlight. The air smelled delicious, filled with the scent of hot steamed buns, sweet jasmine tea, and roasted meat. Dozens of important officials, noble ladies, and young lords were sitting around low tables, talking softly with one another.
However, the second Su Yueqing walked into the room, a sudden hush fell over the entire hall.
Dressed in a simple, elegant purple dress with a jade pin holding up her hair, she looked calm and confident. But behind her sweet, relaxed smile, her brain was practically buzzing with irritation.
[Look at them staring like I’m an animal in a zoo,] Yueqing complained in her head. Her private thoughts echoed clearly inside the minds of Lanyin and Wenzhe he latter having just walked quietly into the back of the room, his dark eyes fixed tightly on his wife with deep, painful focus. [If these bored rich people put half this energy into real work, the whole country’s economy would double overnight.]
Lanyin, sitting near the front with a tea cup in hand, almost choked on her drink. She quickly wiped her mouth with her silk napkin. Economy?! Double what?!
Yueqing walked gracefully toward an empty seat, but before she could sit down, a sharp, fake-sweet voice cut across the room.
"My, my! Isn’t that Young Madam Xi?"
Lady Lin the Governor’s daughter and Young Master Song’s fiancée sat at a large table surrounded by a group of noble girls. She fanned herself with a painted silk fan, her eyes shining with mean excitement.
"I was wondering where you were, Young Madam Xi," Lady Lin said loudly, making sure everyone in the hall could hear her. "Young Master Song went outside earlier to get fresh air, and you were missing at the exact same time. One wouldn’t want people spreading gossip about a married woman cornering handsome young men in garden pathways before breakfast, would they?"
Quiet giggles and gasps broke out around the neighboring tables. Several women covered their mouths with their sleeves, whispering behind their fans.
"She has no manners..."
"Well, even if she’s the Grand Chancellor’s daughter, she acts so arrogant."
"Poor General Xi, marrying a woman like that."
Yueqing stopped in her tracks. She slowly turned her head, her light green eyes locking onto Lady Lin with a cold, sharp smile.
[Oh, wonderful!] Yueqing’s inner voice cheered with mean delight, ringing loudly in Wenzhe’s and Lanyin’s heads. [An annoying, arrogant rich girl appears! I was literally looking for someone to yell at after dealing with that Block of Wood! Thank you, Universe!]
"Lady Lin," Yueqing began, her voice smooth and clear enough for the whole room to hear. "You seem very worried about where your fiancé walks in the mornings. Tell me... is your hold on Young Master Song so weak that you have to spy on him through the garden bushes?"
Gasps erupted around the room. Lady Lin’s face turned bright red, and she slammed her fan shut with a loud CLACK.
"You—How dare you?!" Lady Lin hissed, standing up angrily. "I was just talking about proper manners! A good wife stays right beside her husband, not wandering off alone!"
"A good wife also doesn’t scream across a public dining room like a loud chicken, yet here we are," Yueqing replied calmly, taking a small sip of tea from a cup brought by a servant.
DING!
[System Announcement: +5 Villain Points!]
Lady Lin shook with rage, her fingers digging into her skirt. Another noblewoman sitting next to her, Lady Chen, quickly stood up to help her friend, glaring at Yueqing.
"Young Madam Xi, your mouth is way too mean!" Lady Chen sneered. "Just because you are the daughter of the Grand Chancellor doesn’t mean you can disrespect us! No wonder General Xi looks so cold and distant whenever he is near you. A great man like him deserves a gentle, quiet lady not someone who acts like a street viper!"
The entire room went dead silent, waiting to see how the General’s wife would respond to such a direct insult.
Yueqing simply raised an eyebrow, placing her tea cup down without making a single sound.
"Gentle and quiet?" Yueqing said out loud, her voice full of fake curiosity. "Lady Chen, if General Xi wanted a gentle and quiet pet, he would have bought an hamster. But tell me... if you think I am so bad, why did your own husband spend three whole months of his money at the local tea house last week just to stay away from your gentle presence?"
The whole room gasped out loud. Lady Chen’s mouth dropped so wide her tea spoon fell onto the floor with a loud clatter.
DING!
[System Announcement: +2 Villain Points!]
[Ha! Nine, did you see that hit?!] Yueqing’s mind cheered in victory. [I heard all these juicy rumor from the other ladies yesterday! You talk about me, I talk about you, sweetheart!]
Lanyin held her forehead in her hands, feeling both shocked and deeply impressed. Sister-in-law is completely scary today!
"You... you rude creature!" an older magistrate’s wife snapped, standing up to join the fight. "To talk about noble husbands in such a shameless way! General Xi ought to teach you a lesson! A real husband would have punished you long ago!"
"Is that so?" Yueqing turned her glare toward the older woman, her eyes turning icy cold. "And a real lady wouldn’t spend her morning judging my family when her own son failed the big government exams for the fourth time in a row. Maybe spend less time talking about my marriage and more time helping your son study?"
DING!
[System Announcement: +1 Villain Point!]
The whole room fell into absolute chaos. Noblewomen were turning pale, men were coughing awkwardly into their robes, and Lady Lin looked ready to cry from pure embarrassment.
"You—You are a nightmare!" Lady Lin shouted, pointing an angry finger at Yueqing. "General Xi will never truly love a woman like you! He only stays with you because he has to!"
Yueqing’s smile faded just a little. Lady Lin’s words hit a bit too close to the argument she had just had with Wenzhe outside, but she didn’t let a single drop of sadness show on her face.
She took a slow, calm step toward Lady Lin, her presence so cold and powerful that the younger girl instinctively took a step back.
"Whether General Xi loves me or just tolerates me," Yueqing said softly, her voice cutting through the room like a sharp knife, "I am the beloved daughter of the Grand Chancellor and the official wife of the Grand General son of the Empire. My position is absolute. While you, Lady Lin... are still desperately trying to hang onto a fiancé whose heart is so far away from you he couldn’t even stand to sit at your breakfast table."
DING!
[System Announcement: +5 Villain Points!]
Lady Lin gasped, totally unable to speak, and fell back into her chair with a pale, shocked face.
The entire room went completely quiet. Nobody dared to breathe. Nobody dared to say another word. Yueqing stood in the middle of the hall like a winning queen, her purple dress swaying gently in the morning breeze.
[Phew! That felt great!] Yueqing’s inner thoughts sighed happily, stretching out in sweet relief. [Thirteen points in total! Not bad for a quick warm-up before breakfast! Now, where are those delicious steamed buns? I’m starving.]
From the back of the room, Wenzhe stood silently against a wooden pillar.
He had watched the entire argument without stepping in once. He had seen how easily she crushed the mean noblewomen, how sharp her mind was, and how strong her pride remained as the Grand Chancellor’s daughter.
Yet, as he listened to her happy inner voice talking about steamed buns, his heart hurt with a deep, dull pain.
She doesn’t need my protection at all, Wenzhe thought bitterly, his hand tightening into a hard fist at his side. She fights her own battles... because she has already decided I won’t be in her life for much longer.
Once the chaotic breakfast banquet wrapped up, the noble families began making their preparations to depart. Servants bustled back and forth through the estate courtyard, carrying heavy wooden trunks, securing silk canopies, and readying the carriages for the long journey back.
Meanwhile, Yueqing was strolling slowly toward the Xi family carriage, patting her stomach under her loose purple robes with deep, unbothered satisfaction.
She had eaten. A lot.
[Oh man, those sesame seed pastries and pork buns were absolute top tier,] Yueqing’s inner voice purred in absolute bliss, echoing directly into the minds of Wenzhe and Lanyin nearby. [I am so full I might actually turn into a round dumpling myself. Food coma incoming in 3... 2... 1...]
Lanyin, who was walking just a few paces behind her, bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Her sister-in-law had just completely decimated half the noblewomen in the capital during breakfast, yet here she was, wandering around like a fat, contented cat after a grand feast.
As they reached the grand, dark-wood carriage bearing the Xi family crest, the horses stomped their hooves softly against the stone path. The driver bowed respectfully as Yueqing approached.
Before Yueqing could lift her heavy, food-laden body up the carriage wooden steps, a tall shadow fell over her.
Wenzhe stepped up beside the carriage door, his expression unreadable, his dark eyes still carrying that quiet, heavy shadow from earlier. Without saying a word, he reached out his broad, calloused hand to assist her up.
Yueqing glanced at his offered hand, then up at his stoic face.
[Look at General Stone Face acting like a gentleman now,] her inner thoughts grumbled with a small, sleepy huff. [He was practically radiating murder vibes two hours ago, and now he’s offering a hand like a polite bodyguard. Don’t fall for it, Yueqing! You’re a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need—]
Her foot suddenly caught on the edge of her long dress hem.
"Whoa—!"
Yueqing stumbled backward with a small gasp, her balance completely ruined by her full stomach.
Before she could hit the ground, Wenzhe’s hand moved like lightning. His strong arm wrapped securely around her waist, catching her firmly against his chest before she could even squeak. The solid heat of his chest pressed through his robes, completely wrapping around her.
DING!
[MMP! Stupid dress!] Yueqing’s mind shrieked in embarrassment, her face flushing a burning red against his collar. [Why do these ancient dresses have so much extra fabric?! And why is this Block of Wood made out of solid steel?! My stomach is too full for this kind of dramatic physical contact!]
Wenzhe didn’t release her immediately. Holding her tightly against him, he could feel the soft warmth of her body and hear her heart fluttering alongside the loud, adorable panic of her inner voice ringing in his head.
His dark eyes softened just an inch as he looked down at her red face.
"Careful, Wife," Wenzhe murmured, his deep voice rumbling against her ear. "It seems you ate so much you can barely stand on your own two feet."
Yueqing’s eyes widened in outrage as she pushed against his chest, quickly stepping into the safety of the carriage interior.
"I did not eat too much!" she huffed, settling onto the cushioned bench and smoothing out her skirts. "I was merely... testing the host’s hospitality!"
Wenzhe stood outside the open carriage door for a moment longer, looking at her flushed, indignant face. For a fleeting second, the heavy knot in his chest loosened.
"Right," Wenzhe replied quietly, his voice carrying a subtle trace of amusement. "Testing the hospitality."
He stepped back as he prepared to mount his horse beside the carriage.