This matter had later reached Qi Le’s ears through various twists and turns. He had always protected his Yao’er sister, so naturally he had been wanting to obtain an invitation for her all along. Unfortunately, he rarely got to see Second Brother, and it was delayed until the very day of the flower festival. With Yao’er’s attendance now hopeless, he only wanted to speak a few words of defense for his sister before Second Brother, lest she be unable to attend next year’s flower festival as well. But Second Brother had only sat under the cherry tree for a short while before leaving with the other families’ elder brothers, and now he was nowhere to be seen again, exhausting Qi Le as he searched everywhere—truly laborious work.
Seeing his fourth brother acting so foolishly, Qi Ning didn’t even have the energy to call him an idiot. He waved his hand, letting him search everywhere, too lazy to manage him anymore.
At this moment, under the Qi family’s cherry tree, there was no one else besides him. Father had already taken his legitimate mother to socialize everywhere with others, the two elder brothers had gone to gather with friends, and Fourth Brother was hot-headedly rushing about searching for Second Brother, leaving him alone sitting idly under the cherry tree. He neither knew what to do nor had anyone come to speak with him. The vast flower festival was lively everywhere, yet he sat alone in desolation, feeling somewhat lonely for a moment.
Just as he was feeling bored, he suddenly heard someone nearby say, “You’re also alone?”
Hearing the sound, Qi Ning turned his head and saw that the speaker was Fu Ran, the Fu family’s illegitimate son.
Under the Fu family’s cherry tree at this moment there was also no one else, leaving only him leaning against the tree.
This illegitimate son of the Fu family was rarely seen at various banquets, reportedly because the Fu family matriarch was extremely stern and not very kind to illegitimate children, rarely giving illegitimate children opportunities to go out and meet people, making their lives quite difficult.
Fu Ran was seventeen years old, slightly older than Qi Ning, and extremely thin with somewhat sunken cheeks. His skin was very fair, almost pale, and his hands hung quietly, slender with prominent joints. When he spoke, he slightly lifted his neck while his eyes drooped slightly, giving off a strange sense of languidness.
Qi Ning had rarely seen him and had never spoken with him. Suddenly hearing him ask this question left him somewhat stunned. After a moment of silence, he nodded and asked, “The Fu family brothers and sisters are also not here?”
Fu Ran glanced lightly at Qi Ning and responded indifferently, “How could they be here? They all have many friends, and many people eagerly fawn over them—quite different from illegitimate sons like us.”
Hearing this, Qi Ning unconsciously frowned.
Though he was indeed an illegitimate son, the Qi family maintained upright family traditions, and his stepmother Yao Shi was kind to people, never mistreating him and Qi Le, nor frequently reminding them of their illegitimate status. Therefore, Qi Ning’s perception of the legitimate-illegitimate distinction wasn’t very strong. Now hearing Fu Ran point this out so bluntly, his heart stung, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
Fu Ran noticed his frown and revealed what appeared to Qi Ning as a somewhat sarcastic smile. Qi Ning felt somewhat offended and asked angrily, “What are you laughing at?”
Fu Ran’s pale face still wore that languid and strange smile as he answered slowly, “Nothing much, I just think you’re very fortunate to be born in the Qi family; and also think you’re very pitiful to be born in the Qi family.”
Qi Ning’s frown deepened as he retorted, “How am I pitiful? My stepmother is benevolent and my brothers are kind—much better than your Fu family.”
Fu Ran lifted his eyes to glance at him, shook his head, and said, “How are you not pitiful? They’re benevolent and kind, yet they still let you sit here bored and idle. Will your father take you to befriend distinguished nobles? Or will your brothers pave the way for your future? They only care about themselves—how would they manage an illegitimate son like you?”
Qi Ning was angry and wanted to retort, but found himself momentarily speechless. Then he heard Fu Ran laugh and add, “All the good things belong to the elder brothers. As for us, we can only eat what they’ve left behind and pick up what they’ve discarded—what’s there to be ashamed of admitting? Aren’t all illegitimate sons in the world like this?”
Qi Ning was choked into silence. Many scenes flashed through his mind: Zhao Yao’s indifference toward Qi Le while single-mindedly revolving around Second Brother; Wenwen sister’s polite courtesy toward him but her frantic rush outside upon hearing that Second Brother was leaving Jiankang; Father’s constant scolding that he and Fourth Brother were inferior to Eldest Brother and Second Brother. His hands clenched tightly into fists, not knowing what to say.
But he couldn’t remain silent now—once he stayed quiet, it would seem like he had lost. Qi Ning’s character was somewhat competitive, and he was unwilling to be outmaneuvered by Fu Ran. However, before he could think of how to respond, he heard an uproar from the other side.
Qi Ning turned to look and saw through the surrounding crowd that it was vaguely Sixth Princess Xiao Ziyu and Cousin Rong’er from the Fu family. The atmosphere between them was tense—the Sixth Princess stood aggressively while the Fu family cousin had fallen to the ground covering her face. It was clearly a scene of conflict!
This matter was quite complicated to explain.
Today when the Sixth Princess arrived, she naturally became the center of attention with everyone competing for her favor. The noble ladies from various families all desperately wanted to exchange a few words with her, while also trying to establish connections with her fourth brother, who had not yet taken a principal consort. However, the Sixth Princess had always been quite willful and didn’t particularly care for the noble ladies’ accounts, only getting along well with Fu Rong, the Fu family’s legitimate daughter. After the noble ladies had been enthusiastic for a while, they were unwilling to show warm faces to cold reception, so they all left somewhat resentfully.
After the men left their seats, Fu Rong also took the initiative to speak with Xiao Ziyu. The two close friends were as sweet as honey mixed with oil, strolling together among the mountain flowers.
Fu Rong linked arms with Xiao Ziyu, intimately smiling at her, “Speaking of which, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you—last time when the brothers gathered, I was ill and couldn’t go, so we didn’t meet. Counting back, the last time I saw you was actually before New Year.”
Xiao Ziyu smiled at her and answered, “It has been quite a while. I feel you’ve changed a lot.”
“Really?” Fu Rong smiled, “How have I changed?”
Xiao Ziyu looked at her and said, “I can’t quite say—just vaguely feel you’ve changed.”
Fu Rong faintly sensed there was more to Xiao Ziyu’s words, but didn’t take it to heart at the time, only smiling, “Perhaps it’s because we haven’t seen each other for so long. I think you’ve also changed quite a bit—more radiant and charming, with better complexion too.”
Such flattery Xiao Ziyu heard countless times daily and naturally paid no attention to it. She simply looked at Fu Rong and asked, “After not seeing each other for so long, surely some fresh things I don’t know about must have happened. The palace walls are boring, and I can only wait for you to amuse me—why don’t you tell me about them?”
Looking at Xiao Ziyu, Fu Rong felt that strange uneasiness growing stronger, suspecting she knew about her attending the Qi family academy and was now probing her.
But by Fu Rong’s estimation, Xiao Ziyu was someone without guile who couldn’t keep things to herself, especially regarding matters related to Second Brother Qi. If she knew about this, she would have already confronted her long ago and wouldn’t have remained silent until now.
Fu Rong actually hadn’t planned to hide from Xiao Ziyu for too long. After all, there were no walls that didn’t leak in the world. No matter how strictly she guarded against it, paper ultimately couldn’t contain fire—Xiao Ziyu would learn of this matter sooner or later. It was just that currently there was no progress between her and Qi Ying. If Xiao Ziyu found out now and interfered, this matter would be very difficult to hope for. Therefore, Fu Rong’s plan was to delay: delay as long as possible, hide for as long as possible. If she and Qi Ying developed feelings for each other, even if Xiao Ziyu found out, she would be helpless.
After thinking this through, Fu Rong concealed the contemplation in her eyes and smiled very naturally at Xiao Ziyu, “What fresh things could there be? You know me—I’m the most dull and boring. Whatever little fresh things there were, I’ve already told you about in letters. What else could there be?”
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Xiao Ziyu sneer coldly. Those beautiful and alluring peach blossom eyes turned cold as they looked at her, making Fu Rong’s heart suddenly tighten. Then she heard her mock, “Oh? So in your view, entering the Qi family academy—such a big matter—doesn’t count as a fresh thing?”
She already knew!
Fu Rong truly hadn’t anticipated this situation. Her heart immediately filled with panic, but her temperament was steady, so she didn’t immediately lose her composure. She forcibly steadied her mind and didn’t answer yes or no, only asking, “Who told you such nonsense? The Qi family academy is such a place—how could it be so easy to enter?”
Seeing that Fu Rong still wanted to deceive her with an attitude of not turning back until hitting the wall, Xiao Ziyu’s anger naturally intensified. She flared up, “You’re still pretending? This matter was told to me personally by Brother Jingchen—how could it be false?”
Hearing this, Fu Rong’s heart suddenly sank.
She never would have thought that this matter was personally told to Xiao Ziyu by Qi Ying. When did he tell her? During that palace visit after returning from Nanling? Why did he tell Xiao Ziyu? Was it casual mention, or…
Fu Rong was ice-snow intelligent and, guided by her brother, skilled at using others’ strength against them. Though her mind was unsettled now, she quickly understood the connections: Qi Ying telling Xiao Ziyu about this matter must have been intentionally using the Sixth Princess’s power to escape the marriage arrangement with her! He couldn’t disobey his dictatorial grandmother, so he would sacrifice her, Fu Rong’s, reputation and let Xiao Ziyu slap her face!
Second Brother Qi… didn’t cherish her at all.
She had forgotten that when it came to using others’ strength, Qi Ying was far more skilled than she, Fu Rong, could ever be.
Understanding this, Fu Rong felt both humiliated and angry, feeling that all her thoughts had been seen through—she was extremely ashamed and furious. But she knew she couldn’t act impulsively now and must first pacify Xiao Ziyu, or this matter would be very difficult to resolve well.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, she couldn’t make her situation even more unfavorable.
Fu Rong was indeed composed. Even when exposed face-to-face by Xiao Ziyu, she could maintain her expression. After just a moment’s hesitation, she frowned and showed a troubled expression, looking at Xiao Ziyu with sincere emotion, “Ziyu, don’t be angry first. You must hear my explanation before judging my guilt.”
Seeing that Xiao Ziyu said nothing but kept glaring at her, Fu Rong knew she was still willing to hear her explanation. Her heart relaxed a bit as she continued, “You know our family has kinship with the Qi family. My great-aunt has always loved me and knew I like reading. It just happened that Master Wang, who teaches at the Qi family, wanted to take female students, so my great-aunt called me along to audit the classes. I was just making up numbers—this wasn’t an arrangement made specifically for me.”
She paused, then took Xiao Ziyu’s hand and said with a furrowed brow, “As for not telling you temporarily, I was also afraid you’d overthink it. I’ve known since childhood that you like Second Brother Qi—how could I compete with you? Please don’t overthink this.”
After speaking, she stared intently at Xiao Ziyu’s reaction. Seeing Xiao Ziyu also staring intently at her, Fu Rong knew she absolutely couldn’t show any timidity or evasion now, so she forced herself to remain calm, looking back at Xiao Ziyu with a completely frank and composed expression.
Xiao Ziyu was silent for a while. The cold look in those rippling peach blossom eyes intensified, and suddenly she reached out and viciously slapped Fu Rong across the face!
Fu Rong hadn’t expected her to suddenly make such a move and was caught completely off guard, falling to the ground. Xiao Ziyu had used her full strength in this slap, making Fu Rong’s face burn with pain. She looked up at Xiao Ziyu from the ground in disbelief: this Sixth Princess was so willfully arrogant! She was after all a noble lady from one of the three great families, yet she dared to strike her publicly!
Such a commotion naturally startled all the distinguished guests in Qingji Mountain’s back garden. That slap’s “crack” made everyone turn their heads, causing people to inconspicuously gather around to secretly watch such a great spectacle. Under everyone’s gaze, Xiao Ziyu showed no concern for appearances, still looking down at Fu Rong from above and coldly scolding, “Even now you dare to lie to me? What your great-aunt was thinking—do you think others can’t guess? Or do you take me, Xiao Ziyu, for a fool who can’t see through your despicable little schemes!”
Author’s Note: Xiao Ziyu is really fierce… She’s slapped Fu Rong this time, what will she do next update?