Lord Xiao slumped back into his chair.
He actually wanted to walk away, but Xu Rong had offended him so much that he was stunned and couldn't leave.
Seeing his expression, the Duke of England coughed lightly and tried to smooth things over, saying, "Brother Xin's wife is a bit too blunt. However, she's not entirely without reason. Yuan Hong, from the very beginning, you were in the wrong."
Lord Xiao's nostrils twitched slightly; he could no longer deny this fact, and even if he tried to argue, it would be useless.
No one will agree with him anymore.
Moreover, the one who spoke was the Duke of England, whose father-in-law was the most powerful noble in the court. He had no choice but to give way, so he squeezed out the words through gritted teeth: "—In your opinion, father-in-law, what should be done?"
"How about you both compromise?" the Duke of Yingguo said gently. "To have Lady Wei feign death and separate her from her husband and children is going too far. But you also need to consider your reputation. So let's compromise: after the Yongjing Marquis's mansion is completed, let her stay there and claim illness for a few years and not receive any guests."
Lin Ding frowned, but when he looked at the Duke of England, the Duke looked back at him sternly. Lin Ding shifted his chair reluctantly, but finally shut his mouth.
Well, he has to give the Duke of England face, so this condition is barely acceptable.
Lord Xiao also remained silent, not speaking for quite some time.
Lin Ding couldn't hold back any longer: "Do you agree or not? A real man should be straightforward and give me a straight answer. I'll tell you! If you don't agree, fine, we can discuss it further!"
To everyone's surprise, Lord Xiao did not refute him, but finally said, "Alright, I will follow my father-in-law's words on this first condition."
The Duke of England's expression eased for a moment, but then turned solemn again—he understood what Marquis Xiao meant: after saying the first thing, there was a second.
He was forced to concede to the first condition, but it's hard to say whether the second one will ever be so cheap.
"My second condition—" Lord Xiao did indeed speak, but he wasn't addressing the Duke of Yingguo, Lin Ding, or even Lady Wei Xiao Xin. Instead, he fixed his chilling gaze on Xu Rong and said, "I have a daughter of marriageable age. She is virtuous and beautiful, but her health is a bit weak. I am reluctant to give her away to just anyone. So far, I have not found a suitable husband."
Xu Rong's heart skipped a beat.
Lord Xiao had already chosen this person, but now he certainly couldn't bring it up again; that would be too humiliating. At the same time, while the choice was gone, the matter remained, and he chose this occasion, this moment, to bring it up to her.
“Xu, you have a younger brother who is also unmarried,” Lord Xiao said, no longer hiding his true intentions, “Shan’er and he are a match made in heaven.”
Xiao Xin suddenly looked over.
Xiao Shan is not Lord Xiao's biological daughter at all—her biological father is still unknown. Outsiders do not know this, but Lord Xiao himself knows it well. Aunt Ruan mentioned it once before, and he refused. How can he say that she is a good match for Xu Huazhang now!
Just as he was about to speak, Xu Rong raised his hand to stop him.
These words were not new, but at that time, Lord Xiao was afraid of continuing to tie Xiao Shan to the Xiao family by marriage, and since Xiao Xin had already shown his talent, Lord Xiao was probably also reluctant to implicate Xiao Xin.
Now, neither of these concerns exists.
Xiao Xin is not a member of the Xiao family, so whether he succeeds or not is none of the Xiao family's business.
Xu Rong was lost in thought and didn't reply for a moment. Lord Xiao pressed her with his gaze: "Xu family, you have spared no effort in advocating for them. Now, it shouldn't be difficult for you to do this little thing for them, right?"
If you're going to do it, you have to accept this marriage fraught with hidden dangers;
If she doesn't do it, then all her previous statements, no matter how generous they were, were nothing but empty words.
Xu Rong had to admit that Lord Xiao's title of marquis was well-deserved.
but--
Isn't that a coincidence?
Lord Xiao had revealed his dagger, but she wasn't empty-handed either.
Ah, blade against blade.
Xu Rong lowered his eyes, his voice softening as if he were timidly trying to escape: "Brother Zhang already has a girl he likes. Once I come back, my mother will be at ease and will go to propose marriage."
Lord Xiao sneered: "Oh? What a coincidence?"
Xu Rong nodded: "It's true. Besides, Brother Zhang is a free spirit, I'm afraid he's not suitable for the young lady."
"It's impressive that you could come up with so many excuses." Lord Xiao's smile turned sarcastic. "Xu, you are indeed quick-witted and adept at turning black into white."
This is going back in time to dismantle and overturn all her previous accusations.
Xu Rong clutched her handkerchief, seemingly indignant, yet also embarrassed in front of everyone. Suddenly, she looked up at Lord Xiao and said, "It is you, Lord Xiao, who is making things difficult for me. Even if I agree to your terms, won't you come up with new conditions to make things difficult for me again?"
Lord Xiao was certain he wouldn't lose this round, and said, "You don't need to argue. Just state these two conditions: yes or no."
"Alright, I'm willing to agree."
Xu Rong spoke frankly, and then, when Lord Xiao finally showed a hint of satisfaction, she smiled and added the second half of her sentence, "But Lord Xiao just said that you have 'a daughter'—do you really have a daughter who can marry Zhang Ge'er?"
Lord Xiao: "..."
His expression froze, and he suddenly looked at Xiao Xin: "You actually told her!"
Xu Rong was a little surprised. She realized that Lord Xiao was unaware that she already knew about Xiao Shan's background. Not to mention Xiao Xin, she had clearly had a conversation with Xiao Shan herself before she ran away. It seemed that Xiao Shan was probably afraid and did not want to touch the scar of her "unknown father" and had not told Lord Xiao about it until now.
Xiao Xin looked back at Lord Xiao, his head raised, his back straight, his whole demeanor cold and frank: "Yes."
In fact, Xu Rong already knew before he spoke, but he didn't intend to argue with Lord Xiao.
He told him, and he admitted it.
Lord Xiao's anger, which had just subsided, flared up again. He pointed at him and said, "I clearly told you, but you didn't listen!"
Master Zhang was completely confused, but couldn't help but interject: "Brother-in-law, let it go. No wonder you think you can keep things from each other in bed."
Lord Xiao's face turned pale: "..."
He kept it a secret.
They kept it a secret from Madam Xiao for many years.
He judged others by his own standards and never expected Xiao Xin to say that.
"They really are unreliable—"
He was about to utter some harsh words when Xu Rong interrupted him, saying, "My lord, I have agreed to this condition. It is you who cannot fulfill the agreement. You also said that there are no new conditions. So, we can consider this a consensus?"
That can't be that cheap!
Lord Xiao didn't say those words aloud, but his eyes clearly conveyed the message.
He hadn't expected Xu Rong to break the deadlock from this angle. In front of the Duke of Yingguo and others, he had to carefully consider his words and remained silent for a moment.
The Duke of England, seated at the head of the table, had already sensed something amiss. He observed the expressions on the faces of those below him and finally spoke up, asking, "Yuan Hong, what does this mean?"
Lord Xiao suppressed his anxiety: "It's nothing, it's just Xu talking nonsense."
—But your previous behavior didn't seem like it.
Even Master Zhang was staring at him.
Lord Xiao held out for a moment, but knowing he couldn't get away with it, he simply said firmly, "Shan'er was originally adopted by someone at someone's request. I raised her myself and she is no different from my own daughter. It would be perfectly acceptable for her to be my own daughter."
Master Zhang opened his mouth wide: "—Ah."
He let out a meaningless gasp.
Even with the Duke of England's shrewdness, he said, "..."
After a long pause, he said in a deep voice, "Does Yingyu know about this?"
Lord Xiao mumbled, "Now I know."
As for the past, of course, we don't know, otherwise we wouldn't have made such a big fuss over Aunt Ruan's entry into the family.
Bang.
Unable to contain his anger, the British Duke slammed his hand heavily on the table.
"Who entrusted you with this?" Master Zhang asked on his behalf, snapping out of his daze.
"Just an old acquaintance." Lord Xiao became even more vague. "He had an accident and couldn't take care of Madam Ruan, so he entrusted her to me."
When Zhang Erye heard that he was still hiding something, he turned around and asked Xu Rong, "Who is it?"
Lord Xiao's expression changed slightly, but he gradually calmed down. He hadn't told Xiao Xin the real story; that was all they knew.
But Xu Rong smiled at him and said, "That depends on you, my lord."
Lord Xiao asked suspiciously, using words sparingly, "Hmm?"
“If you think we have done what you asked, then I don’t know; if you think we haven’t,” Xu Rong smiled, “then I’ll try to think about it and maybe I’ll find out.”
"You're just making a fuss!" Lord Xiao rebuked angrily.
He didn't believe she knew.
Xu Rong smiled but remained silent.
Lord Xiao displeasedly looked away. He really didn't want to deal with Xu Rong anymore, but the more he avoided her, the more he recalled their previous exchange. While this former daughter-in-law was certainly uncouth, Lord Xiao couldn't deny her eloquence; perhaps—
"Does Your Excellency know what I'm thinking?" Xu Rong asked him.
As soon as she spoke, Lord Xiao couldn't help but look back and said coldly, "What?"
Xu Rong rubbed her forehead: "Actually, it's not that I deliberately thought about it. It's just that this trip, I don't know if it was because I went too far or because I was too frightened, but this part of my body keeps aching. And some strange words keep flashing in my mind, like what aunt or what kind of leverage. If I think about it more deeply, the pain gets even worse."
She looked up, her eyes seemingly troubled, but a smile flickered at the corner of her lips. "I dare not think about it, and I don't know what those words meant. However, if I endure the pain and try to think about it, maybe I can figure it out."
"..."
Lord Xiao's face was like a mask, neither fully open nor fully closed.
Master Zhang was completely baffled: "What kind of riddle is this?"
But he could also see that this riddle, which he couldn't understand, had Lord Xiao completely under his control.
**
The negotiations ended.
Lord Xiao has left—taking with him the only condition he negotiated.
He took large, heavy strides, looking as if he wanted to crush the floor tiles; he couldn't hide any of his composure.
Master Zhang, accompanied by Lin Ding, followed behind him. Although he still had some questions, seeing Lord Xiao's defeat pleased him. He said to Lin Ding, "He still has the nerve to be angry. My younger sister is truly unlucky to have married him. At least he's learned his lesson—"
Following behind, Xu Rong and Xiao Xin also came out. Xiao Xin's voice was cold: "You have a headache, why didn't you tell me?"
Xu Rong chuckled: "I was just trying to comfort him. When have you ever seen me in pain? How come you believed me?"
Xiao Xin: "..."
Master Zhang: "..."
Lin Ding didn't think too much about it. Listening to the subsequent conversation, he remembered something else and turned to ask Xu Rong, "By the way, Brother Xin's daughter-in-law, do you have a younger sister—umm?"
The second half was because he was suddenly dragged forward by Master Zhang.
Xu Rong was now bewildered: "Nothing?"
Master Zhang said decisively from the front, "Don't ask anymore, I'm sorry to bother you. My stupid son is not worthy."
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