Bai Fu went to get a dry cloth, and Xiao Xin went back to tidy himself up. Then Bai Fu called Xin Cheng and others to go in and clean up the mess. He followed Xu Rong to the warm pavilion with a long face.
Xu Rong found his displeased expression, as if he had been sexually assaulted, somewhat amusing. She bit her lip to suppress her laughter, then reached out to pour him some tea. Seeing that he had drunk it and his emotions had gradually calmed down, she asked, "That maid said she was acting on Madam's orders?"
"That's what she said." Xiao Xin got a little agitated again when he mentioned it. "Who knows if she took the wrong medicine or not. She suddenly came in and said she wanted to help me take a bath. I told her to leave, but she wouldn't go."
Xu Rong: "...cough."
She had to hold back. But she really found Xiao Xin's cursing quite funny.
He was furious, as if he had been taken advantage of.
Xiao Xin stared at her: "What are you laughing at?"
"Did I laugh?" Xu Rong suppressed the corners of his lips and said naturally, "I didn't laugh."
Xiao Xin looked suspicious.
He had wiped his temples and face, but it was a hasty wipe. The stray hairs on his forehead were no longer dripping wet, but they stood up straight. Xu Rong suppressed the urge to let him pat them down and said, "Second Young Master, did you—um, have she served you before?"
"No," Xiao Xin said coldly and awkwardly.
"What about others—?"
"No." Xiao Xin lowered his eyes, his fingers tightening their grip on the empty teacup. "I'm not in the mood to think about those things."
As he grew a little older, he became trapped in a state of confusion and uncertainty about the future. With the passage of time, he also developed anxiety, unwilling to truly drift aimlessly with the tide, yet unsure how to break free, or even if he could.
He doesn't even have enough energy to fight against himself, let alone spare time for other people and things.
Xu Rong was taken aback. This was his private matter, and she had hesitated to ask him the whole question. She hadn't expected him to be willing to answer.
"Then it seems to be Madam's order," Xu Rong said, coming back to his senses.
Since there was no precedent, there was always a limit to the boldness of a maid. Even if she had a wrong idea for a moment, she should have backed down after being directly rebuked. However, Cui Ting lingered for a while and only ran away after she arrived.
So the question now is, what was Madam Xiao's purpose in making this scene?
It all happened so suddenly, like it was all to catch her off guard—
wrong.
Xu Rong suddenly realized that her reaction just now was wrong.
If she were truly in love with Xiao Xin, she wouldn't have been so calm upon seeing Cui Ting.
Perhaps this is exactly what Madam Xiao wanted to know.
A ray of light shone through the blocked line of thought, and it became easier to deduce the next steps: Madam Xiao had shown no unusual behavior before, and the fact that she made this move immediately after returning from the Duke of England's mansion suggests that she could have been inspired by Old Madam Zhang.
Her two strange glances were for this very reason.
"Second Young Master—" she slowly revealed her discovery.
Xiao Xin's face went blank: "Is she still not done? Even my grandmother didn't say anything."
Xu Rong pondered: "What the old lady can let go of, the lady may not be able to let go of either."
She realized that Madam Xiao was, in some ways, similar to Madam Xu. Madam Xu made a mess of her life because of her incompetence, while Madam Xiao was capable, but her ability, combined with her personality, made her already bad life even worse.
For example, this probing was unnecessary.
Perhaps she did learn something from it, but every action leaves a trace, and Xu Rong also obtained the information.
"It must have been Shawn who pushed me back then."
Xu Rong directly stated a startling conclusion.
In the soft candlelight, Xiao Xin suddenly looked up.
That was the beginning of everything.
Because he was forced into the situation by Madam Xiao, he knew the cause and effect, but since he wasn't directly involved, he couldn't follow Xu Rong's line of thought directly. He asked, "What do you mean?"
"Before I fell down the hillside, the Xiao family only came to annul the engagement."
Betrayal and treachery, though despicable, are common occurrences in the world.
“After I fell, Madam Xiao changed her mind and insisted that I marry you.”
This is going too far and is beyond reason.
"At this point, I already had a guess."
But she didn't say, firstly because there was no evidence, and secondly because, given Madam Xiao's strong personality, it was possible that she would act in such a reversed manner in order to retaliate and undo the damage to the reputation of the Xiao family caused by Madam Xu's tearful complaints.
She really didn't want the trouble of having to deal with a third one.
She disliked complicating simple matters, so when she first discovered this, she struggled fiercely between her dowry and running away. It was Madam Xiao who later intercepted her and Xiao Xin at the teahouse and made the choice for her.
The dowry is in hand, and it still smells sweet, so let's just leave it at that.
Six months have passed since then, and she has not mentioned it again. It's not that she has forgotten about it, but rather that it is not something that should be spoken of.
Judging from Madam Xiao's reaction, she had not forgotten, otherwise there wouldn't have been such a scene tonight.
“What she really wanted to test wasn’t how things were between you and me,” Xu Rong smiled, his eyes brighter than candlelight, “but whether I remembered what happened that day.”
She looked at Xiao Xin: "—Second Young Master?"
She wanted to discuss it with him, but he seemed a bit lost in thought.
Xiao Xin snapped back to reality, looked away from her face, and hurriedly replied, "Oh."
Xu Rong thought he didn't understand, so he explained further: "It's not me who's still thinking about what happened back then, it's Madam. She's been trying to trace back and confirm it."
Madam Xiao needed her to know nothing, like a blank sheet of paper.
But we can't completely trust that she really knows nothing.
Even the slightest hint of inspiration could startle her, and she would immediately activate her defense mode.
"You said it was your elder brother who pushed you." Xiao Xin regained his composure, his gaze sharpening. "Is your wife afraid you'll remember and make a scene?"
Xu Rong nodded slowly—but not quite.
She had a vague feeling that perhaps it was more than that.
Now that she's already trapped in the Changxing Marquis's residence, even if she remembers, it wouldn't be difficult for Madam Xiao to silence her. She wouldn't even need to be too forceful; simply asserting her status as the mother-in-law would suffice.
Therefore, this excessive vigilance is unnecessary. Madam Xiao's own personality can explain part of it, but it doesn't seem to explain everything.
"You—" Xiao Xin frowned and thought for a moment when he saw her reaction, "Did you see or hear something at the time?"
Xu Rong simply shrugged: "I don't know."
It's impossible to "think" about it; it's impossible in this lifetime.
Madam Xiao was overthinking things. However, if it weren't for her unnecessary actions, her thoughts wouldn't have wandered off to this point.
"Second Young Master, if I heard anything I shouldn't have, it must be something concerning your family." Xu Rong then asked him, "Is there any secret in your household that you can't tell others? — You don't need to tell me, just tell me if you do or don't."
This time it was Xiao Xin's turn to shake his head: "I don't know. My aunt used to keep me locked up, and she herself rarely went out to wander around."
Xu Rong understood. They were on the margins of the Changxing Marquis's household. If they had secrets, they would be excluded. Given Wei's cautious nature, she might hide far away before anyone even asked her to.
But Xiao Xin and Lady Wei are, after all, members of the Xiao family. If there is something they don't know, then it must be something serious.
It is possible that only Lord Xiao, Lady Xiao, and Xiao Lunchang and Shuyin from that day know. Whether Aunt Ruan's lineage knows is yet to be determined.
Xiao Xin said, "I'll inquire about it for you."
Xu Rong shook his head: "No need, Second Young Master, you should focus on your studies and not worry about anything else."
She casually fiddled with the several teacups, arranging them back and forth on the kang table, finally leaving one behind.
This one's code name is Chang Shuyin.
This "eldest sister-in-law" is the best target for a breakthrough.
After she finished arranging things, she looked up and saw that although Xiao Xin didn't say anything, his face showed his opposition. She immediately continued earnestly, "I've inquired, and this year's county examination is scheduled for June. It's already February, so there are only four months left. After the county examination in June, there will be the provincial examination in August. Second Young Master, your future and my future both depend on you."
Whether her words struck a chord with Xiao Xin or he himself knew the gravity of the situation, he nodded and said, "I understand."
Xu Rong noticed a difference in his demeanor—he no longer seemed to be struggling to defend himself, appearing hesitant and lacking confidence. She couldn't help but ask curiously, "It seems the Second Young Master's hard work has finally paid off?"
Xiao Xin didn't answer, but gave her a half-smile, raised his chin and glanced at her before standing up to leave.
When he reached the curtain, he remembered something and turned back, saying to her as if giving instructions, "I'll go and chase Cui Ting away."
Lady Wei could tolerate it, but he couldn't. He didn't want to keep such a useless and troublesome girl in his courtyard.
Xu Rong thought for a moment and nodded.
It was really appropriate for him to step in on this matter. He remained unmoved and firmly rejected her advances, which was just a way of making up for her previous indifferent reaction. As for the things that couldn't be made up for, he just let them be.
Removing all of Madam Xiao's suspicions may not be a good thing. More suspicion leads to more trouble, and more trouble leads to clues emerging—just like this time.
Xiao Xin went out, and soon Xu Rong heard crying and pleading outside through the window. The maids all ran out, and some of them took the initiative to help drag Cui Ting out.
Cui Ting refused to leave, crying, "Second Young Master, I know I was wrong. It's so late, boohoo, where am I supposed to go—"
"Go to whoever tells you to do something."
Xiao Xin's voice rang out, no longer hoarse, but low and deep. Perhaps it was the distance created by not seeing his face that made it sound cold.
Cui Ting's crying paused, as if she were frightened: "But...it was Madam's order, Second Young Master! I'm not lying, it really was Madam who told me to serve you, that's why I dared to do it. How can you explain to Madam that you've just chased me away like this—"
"Do you want me to give you an explanation first?"
Xiao Xin's voice grew even colder. The early spring night was still chilly, but he was colder than the night: "You don't have to leave. Bring the board, endure forty strokes, and then you can go back inside."
"……Well!"
After a while, Cui Ting sobbed as she got up from the ground in the courtyard. She was unsteady on her feet, and Xu Rong saw that Bai Fu was helping her up. She staggered away.
The courtyard returned to silence.
Xu Rong yawned and came out of the warm pavilion. Just then, Bai Fu came in as well. Xu Rong casually said to her, "The Second Young Master is quite good at bluffing."
Bai Fu's face turned a little pale: "--What?"
Xu Rong noticed that she looked lingering fear and stopped in surprise: "What's wrong? There's no board in this yard."
When she was organizing the dowry and arranging the maids' accommodations, she had already thoroughly explored and familiarized herself with the entire courtyard. Apart from the east side room that Xiao Xin used as his study, there were only a few pieces of furniture, which she had seen before. Surely he wouldn't have hidden a board under the bed.
“There’s no board, but the second young master pointed to the bamboo pole for drying clothes,” Bai Fu whispered. “Miss, he really knows how to hit someone.”
Xu Rong: "..."
Xiao Xin stood at the entrance of the main room. From her angle, she could see into the courtyard, but not him, so she didn't know that he had taken any further action.
That might actually be a bit fierce.
But she couldn't quite imagine how fierce he would be.
"Don't be afraid," she comforted Bai Fu, "I won't hit you."
Bai Fu nodded cautiously.
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