Chapter 362 Not Good Enough
At the Bai residence, Bai Youran was filled with worry; everything she feared most had come to pass.
“Mother, I have already said that Li Ruoxue is of bad character, but you still insist on inviting her to our house as a guest.”
If her mother's attitude hadn't been so obvious, Li Ruoxue wouldn't have been so arrogant and fearless. Now that Li Ruoxue and her elder brother Bai Dingfeng have had physical intimacy, if her brother doesn't take responsibility, it will damage the reputation of scholars.
Are you complaining about your mother?
Yan was already furious, and Bai Youran's words made her realize she was in the wrong, which only fueled her anger. She had been too self-righteous, thinking she knew more than Li Ruoxue and had never taken her seriously.
If it weren't for the money the Li family promised as dowry, Madam Yan wouldn't have hesitated so much.
"Whom am I doing this for? Isn't it all for your elder brother!"
Yan patted her chest with her hand, and it took her a while to calm down.
“You Ran, you still don’t understand. Although your father is the prefect of Beidi City, when he returns to the capital, he doesn’t even take a seventh-rank official seriously.”
Yan wanted to scheme, but her family's position was awkward and neither high nor low. Even though Bai Dingfeng was successful, she couldn't find a high-ranking family to marry into.
"So you're planning to betray your older brother?"
Bai Youran felt only sorrow. Her mother disregarded her elder brother for money, letting Li Ruoxue, that jinx, into the family. The Bai family would never have peace again.
"Is this something an unmarried woman like you should say? What about the rules you learned at the girls' school?"
Madam Yan raised her eyelids slightly and said coldly, "Even if she did something wrong, it doesn't mean her children can criticize her."
Besides, she's doing this for both sides; they're all her flesh and blood. The Li family's money is enough to pave the way for Bai Dingfeng, giving her son a good future. In the future, when Bai Youran is looking for a husband, her status will be enhanced, and she'll have a better match.
As a mother, she couldn't possibly not think about her children. Who is she scheming for?
“Mother, you only have one son, my eldest brother, so it’s understandable that you value him. But you must not be short-sighted. What is Li Ruoxue anyway!”
Bai Youran was furious. Even if the two families didn't end up getting married, it would still be a stain on her elder brother's reputation, a stain that could never be washed away.
Although the eldest brother was framed, the fact that he and Li Ruoxue had a close relationship cannot be changed.
"You Ran, you're still too green."
Yan let out a long sigh and asked Bai Youran to sit down so they could talk properly.
The engagement between the two families is not finalized until Li Ruoxue enters the family. Yan Shi has a hundred ways to sabotage the engagement.
“If Li Ruoxue can scheme against your elder brother, we can scheme against Li Ruoxue too.”
Madam Yan had always thought her daughter was exceptionally intelligent and quick to grasp concepts, and she admitted that she had neglected to teach Bai Youran.
"Mother, do you also intend to use the same methods to have someone ruin Li Ruoxue's reputation?"
If that's the case, then she and the lowly Li Ruoxue are no different. Bai Youran was surprised and uncertain, not understanding the meaning behind her mother's words.
Although Li Ruoxue is despicable, if we go too far, she will have no way out. She will either have to cut her hair and become a nun, or hang herself.
Bai Youran was indeed annoyed by the Li sisters, but she never intended for Li Ruoxue to die.
Ultimately, women have no say in their marriages; it's all arranged by their parents and matchmakers. If they had any choice, things wouldn't have come to this.
"You Ran, you're too kind, but have you ever considered that Li Ruoxue had already prepared for the worst when she took this step?"
Yan put down her teacup, her tone unconsciously becoming more forceful. She admitted that she had been looking for a better option while still employed, and Li Ruoxue was just taking advantage of the situation. She couldn't blame others for being ruthless if she had no face to lose.
"You sympathize with her but haven't considered how much your older brother has suffered as a result."
Ms. Yan hit the nail on the head, but that's not what she wanted to say: "Treating someone in the same way as them may feel good, but it's not smart."
Therefore, while Yan Shi did not intend to do anything herself, it did not mean that she would do nothing.
"Mother, I don't understand."
Bai Youran thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "If you don't take action, how can we prevent this marriage from happening without affecting your elder brother's reputation?"
When two families agree to a marriage, the party that breaks off the engagement is considered to have broken faith and will be looked down upon by others.
"What if the Li family is in the wrong and has no choice but to break off the engagement?"
Madam Yan tapped her daughter's forehead with her hand and said helplessly, "You Ran, you've always been smart, there's no way you wouldn't have thought of that. It's just that you're too kind and unwilling to think in that direction."
If you have a hundred methods, you must find the one that will cause you the least harm.
"When Mother saw Li Ruoxue's behavior after inviting these young ladies over that day, she felt that Li Ruoxue had no sense of propriety."
How could Li Ruoxue's bribery of the cook not be kept secret from Madam Yan? She was an insider.
In any household, the servants in the kitchen are crucial; they must be trusted confidants. Otherwise, they could be easily bribed to poison people, and countless people would have died as a result.
Yan decided to turn the tables on Li Ruoxue, also to teach her a lesson.
Lin Yuesha's maid was from the capital. Although she was disloyal, she wouldn't let Lin Yuesha lose face, so she easily replaced the zongzi.
Li Ruoxue was smug about her scheme, but little did she know that she was hoist by her own petard.
"The most important thing for a smart person is self-awareness. Mother prefers Lin Yuesha."
Madam Yan made it clear that she had underestimated this girl before. Perhaps Qingxing and Qi'er had already stopped listening to Granny Lin and had become Lin Yuesha's allies.
“Mother, didn’t you say that Lord Lin doesn’t care about Yue Sha and that you’re worried about her once she gets to the capital…”
Bai Youran hadn't expected her mother to see through things so clearly. Now, she no longer needed to hide anything from Lin Yuesha and recounted how Lin Yuesha had schemed against the Li sisters at the girls' school. It wasn't that she looked down on Li Ruoxue; even twenty more Li sisters couldn't compare to one Lin Yuesha.
"However, Yue Sha's status is still a bit too low."
Without Lord Lin as her biological father, Lin Yuesha would have had a hard time marrying into a wealthy and powerful family, especially since the Zhang family had already left the North.
“You’re wrong. If Lin Yuesha hadn’t grown up in the countryside, our family would never have been able to afford her.”
Given Lin Yuesha's personality, she would never wrong herself. How could a mere country girl like her have the Zhang family as her backer when she had no background whatsoever? This is something that not everyone can do.
If it were just a matter of mutual favor and face-saving, that would be fine. However, Madam Yan had inquired and found out that Lord Zhang and Madam Zhang treated Lin Yuesha as their goddaughter and valued her highly.
Now, Lin Yuesha has an additional identity, which makes her even more different.
“Mother, you’re right. I also think that my elder brother is not good enough for Yue Sha.”
Bai Youran spoke frankly: if she wasn't good enough for him, she wasn't good enough for him. Her older brother was just a good student; at heart, he was a complete foodie.
She could never forget how her older brother tricked her and stole her food when she was a child. Even though her older brother was now handsome and dashing, Bai Youran could always see through his appearance to his true nature.
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