Novel Full Chapter 49 -
Chapter 49: Chapter
It was already late into the evening, and the quiet rustle of the wind outside signaled the complete end of a chaotic day.
Grand Duke Xi, Master Xi, sat at the head of the table. To his right sat his wife and the rest of the family but Xi Wenzhe’s seat was completely empty. So was Su Yueqing’s.
Before Master Xi could ask about the empty chairs, a young kitchen maid walked into the dining hall, bowing low. "Greetings, Old Madame, Grand Duke, Duchess. Young Madam Su sent me to inform the family that she will be eating dinner in her own room tonight. She says she is... utterly exhausted from her hard work earlier today."
"Hard work?" Master Xi repeated, his deep voice filled with amusement and confusion. He leaned back, looking around the noisy table. "I returned from the palace to find the entire household buzzing, yet my daughter-in-law is hiding in her room, and my eldest son is nowhere to be found. What exactly happened?"
Hearing his question, the kids instantly lit up. They had been bursting at the seams all evening, waiting for the perfect moment to tell him the entire story.
"Oh, Father, you missed a legendary battle!" Xi Yunhao joked, leaning forward with a wide grin. "Lady Pei came to the banquet completely looking for trouble, throwing insults at sister-in-law right in front of everyone!"
"She even claimed that Brother Wenzhe hated sister-in-law and wanted nothing to do with her," Xi Yunchen added, chuckling as he shook his head. "But sister-in-law didn’t take it lying down at all. Before anyone could even blink, she grabbed Lady Pei by her fancy collar and shoved her straight into the lotus pond!"
"And she went flying right into the deep mud!" Gu Xiang chimed in, highly entertained as he nudged his sister, Gu Yue. "You should have seen the splash, Uncle. It was spectacular."
Little Xi Anran gasped loudly, her round eyes widening as she held her small hands up in the air. "A big splash?! Did the mud get on the pretty fishies, Brother?"
The entire table laughed at her innocence, and Duchess Lin smoothly added, "The fish were perfectly safe, darling. But Lady Pei was completely covered in mud from head to toe."
Xi Qianqian nodded rapidly, her eyes sparkling. "And the best part, Father! Brother didn’t get angry at sister-in-law at all! He walked right into the garden, completely took her side, and ordered Madame Pei to take her muddy daughter and leave our estate immediately. He even called sister-in-law ’our people’!"
"Indeed," Aunt Ronghua chimed in, exchanging a smiling glance with her husband, Gu Zhen, before laughing softly behind her fan. "The look on Madame Pei’s face was worth a thousand gold coins."
Old Madame Xi let out a dry, amused chuckle, knocking her walking stick lightly against the floor. "That girl Su Yueqing looks fragile, but she has the spine of a tiger. Shoving a minister’s daughter into the mud? Bold. Very bold."
"Grandma.. Sister in-law is the daughter of the "grand chancellor." Lady should be the sacred one not her!" Xi Qianqian said with her full chest, as everyone burst out laughing.
Master Xi looked at his family, thoroughly stunned by the sudden turn of events. For days, the entire household had been walking on eggshells because of the icy cold relationship between Wenzhe and Su Yueqing. Hearing that his son had openly protected her in front of high society was a massive shock.
"Is that so?" Master Xi murmured, a proud, booming laugh suddenly escaping his chest. "Haha! It seems my daughter-in-law has quite the temper, and Wenzhe is finally learning how to act like a proper husband! Good, very good."
Meanwhile, inside the quiet Northern Courtyard, the "exhausted" Su Yueqing was currently sitting cross-legged on her soft bed, wearing comfortable inner robes.
Far from being tired or upset, she was happily munching on a crispy roasted duck leg, a large plate of the promised sweet lotus pastries sitting right next to her.
[Ah, this is life.]
Su Yueqing thought cheerfully, taking a massive bite of the sweet pastry.
[No annoying noble ladies screaming at me, no awkward family dinners, just me and my snacks. Hey, Nine, did you see how fast that block of wood dragged me away? I think he was genuinely afraid I’d jump back into the mud to fight that Pei girl.]
[Ding!]
Nine’s voice echoed in her head.
[Host, please do not flatter yourself. The male lead was likely trying to save what little dignity the Xi family has left. However, you should be pleased. The kitchen staff seems to respect you immensely now; they prepared this feast in record time.]
[Of course they do. I am the fearless Young Madam who purges the estate of mud-rats.]
Su Yueqing chuckled internally, licking sugar off her fingers.
[Let Wenzhe deal with the political fallout. As long as the food keeps coming, I will happily play the role of the lazy villainess.]
Some time after she was done eating, Su Yueqing let out a massive yawn, rubbing her eyes. Her stomach was full of duck and sweet pastries, and all she wanted to do now was collapse into her blankets and sleep for twelve hours.
But just as she was stretching her arms, the heavy wooden doors of her bedroom were pushed open.
Su Yueqing blinked in shock as the head maid marched into the room, followed by a line of younger maids carrying large wooden buckets of steaming water and silk towels. And standing right among them, keeping her head low with a perfectly submissive posture, was Li Mei.
"What is the meaning of this?" Su Yueqing asked, sitting up straight on her bed, her brow furrowing. "It’s late. Why are you all here?"
The head maid offered a polite but firm bow. "Young Madam, have you forgotten? Just as the Young Master instructed earlier this morning, we are here to prepare you for his visit tonight."
"What?!" Su Yueqing’s eyes widened.
[Wait, that block of wood actually meant it?! I thought he just said that to save face in front of the maids this morning!]
Before she could even argue or scramble off the bed, the head maid had already turned to her girls and issued a swift command. "Quickly now, the night is passing. Bring the Young Madam to the bathhouse."
Before Su Yueqing could process what was happening, she was gently but unyieldingly hoisted off the bed by two strong-armed maids. Within minutes, her comfortable inner robes were stripped away, and she was guided straight into a large wooden basin filled with perfectly warm water that had been prepared in the adjoining room.
The younger maids instantly went to work, scattering fresh red roses and fragrant lotus petals into the water while pouring ladles of warm, scented water over her shoulders.
"Make sure her skin is thoroughly perfumed," the head maid ordered, nodding in satisfaction. She then turned to two of the girls. "You two, come with me. We need to arrange the bedchambers, change the linens to the fine silk ones, and light the aphrodisiac incense for tonight."
With that, the head maid and two other servants hurried back into the bedroom to get the space properly arranged, leaving only a couple of younger maids and Li Mei behind in the bathhouse.
Grumbling under her breath as the warm water splashed against her skin, Su Yueqing didn’t even spare a single glance at Li Mei, who was quietly kneeling by the edge of the tub holding a dry towel. Usually, Su Yueqing would be glaring at the "fake lotus" or checking her expression, but right now, her mind was frantically racing to a completely different, terrifying place.
[Nine! System! Wake up right now!]
Su Yueqing screamed in her head, her internal voice filled with utter panic.
[I don’t want to do anything with that block of wood! Tell me what is going on! According to the original script, the villainous wife never consummated her marriage with the male lead! He detested her so much he wouldn’t even step foot into her courtyard! Why is this happening now?!]
[Ding!]
Nine’s mechanical voice echoed back, sounding unusually strained.
[Host, a warning calculation is currently running. Due to your chaotic actions today, specifically shoving a minister’s daughter into a mud pit and forcing the male lead to publicly claim you... the plot trajectory has suffered a severe deviation of 45%.]
[A deviation?! I just wanted to eat snacks and protect my dignity!]
Su Yueqing whined, splashing some water in her frustration.
[If Xi Wenzhe comes in here tonight expecting a proper wedding night, I am going to lose my mind! Is there a script-override button?! Can I pretend to have a sudden, contagious plague?!]