Xiao Qingrong staggered a couple of steps before she realized what was happening. She grabbed Xiao Qingyin tightly and said with an embarrassed smile, "Sister, the maid probably took the wrong one. This isn't the box of jewelry I was going to give you."
"So that's how it is." Xiao Qingyin stopped in her tracks. "Then you'd better discipline this maid properly. She's so careless; she even took the wrong gift. Luckily, she ran into me. If it had been someone else..."
Xiao Qingrong never expected that all her efforts would not only fail to discourage Xiao Qingyin, but would instead result in her being scolded, and she almost couldn't keep up the smile on her face.
"Sister, I have to go back first. I'll have someone send the jewelry over later."
"Wait," Xiao Qingyin grabbed the person and pointed to the cold dishes on the table, "Sister, not to be nosy, but the management in the manor is really too lax. I slept in late and wanted to heat up some food, but Chunhua said the kitchen wouldn't heat it up if it wasn't mealtime. They're so lazy..."
Xiao Qingrong was almost driven to death by her comments, and immediately asked the kitchen to send over hot food to stop Xiao Qingyin's incessant chatter.
She went to the main courtyard to find Madam Yao in a fit of rage, "Mother, that country bumpkin is disgusting!"
Madam Yao calmly sipped her tea. After she finished venting, she said slowly, "How have I always taught you? To keep your temper in check! But you, you get provoked into a rage by just a few words."
"Her words are really infuriating!"
"Alright, just bear with it. After tomorrow, she won't be so smug anymore," Yao comforted her.
Xiao Qingrong perked up. "Mother, what are your plans?"
Yao told Xiao Qingrong about her plans, and Xiao Qingrong clapped her hands and cheered, "She'll be lucky to escape with her life!"
“That’s right,” Madam Yao sneered. “Even if he were the heir of the Marquis of Yong’an, he wouldn’t be someone she could aspire to.”
Even if she looked down on the Yong'an Marquis's family and let Xiao Qingyin take the place of the bride, she would never stand by and watch her marry into the family and enjoy a life of luxury.
This little bitch should rot in the mud, serving as a foil for Rongrong.
...
The next day, upon leaving the mansion, Xiao Qingrong looked at Xiao Qingyin, who was dressed in a moon-white short jacket and a red horse-face skirt, and asked in astonishment, "Why aren't you wearing the clothes I gave you?"
Did she notice that the colors of those clothes were mismatched?
Xiao Qingyin shyly covered her face with a round fan and said, "Sister, your clothes are too small."
"Small? How could that be? We're about the same size."
“This is too small.” Xiao Qingyin gestured to her chest.
Xiao Qingrong: "..."
Ugh! This country bumpkin is so shameless!
"What about the gold jewelry I gave you? Why aren't you wearing it?"
“I originally wanted to wear it, but then I remembered that you seemed to be dressed very simply, and since I’m new here and don’t know anything, I thought it would be better to follow your example. So I simply put my hair up in a bun and added some pearl flowers.”
Xiao Qingrong's plan to embarrass Xiao Qingyin in front of others completely failed. She wrung out her handkerchief and glanced at Xiao Qingyin's waist without making a sound. Fortunately, she still had her mother's plan.
Xiao Qingyin keenly noticed her actions.
When she was changing clothes earlier, Chunhua gave her a sachet, saying that noble ladies in the capital would wear sachets at their waists so that they would smell fragrant as they walked.
Xiao Qingyin looked at the sachet; it contained nothing but dried osmanthus flowers, so she hung it up.
It seems there's something fishy going on. Xiao Qingyin glanced at the sachet at Xiao Qingrong's waist, a playful smile appearing on her lips.
The Yong'an Marquis's residence and the Minister's residence were only two streets apart, and they arrived in no time.
After entering the mansion, Madam Yao greeted the other ladies and young women with her two daughters. Everyone was very curious about the beautiful but unfamiliar Xiao Qingyin and asked her about her.
“This is our eldest daughter, the offspring of Sister Yun. She was raised in our hometown before, but now that His Majesty has granted her marriage, we have brought her back,” Madam Yao replied.
When she said that, everyone remembered that Minister Xiao had married the seventh young lady of the Yun family. Fifteen years ago, the Yun family committed a crime and was stripped of their title. The seventh young lady of the Yun family then died of illness, and over time, people in the capital forgot about her.
Unexpectedly, she also left behind a daughter. This daughter was raised in the countryside and grew up to be so outstanding, with a beauty and temperament that was no less than that of noble ladies in the capital.
While some people were feeling envious, others noticed the phrase "arranged marriage" and asked in confusion, "Madam Xiao, it turns out that not only your second daughter has been betrothed, but your eldest daughter has also been betrothed? Which family is it? How come we didn't hear about it?"
Madam Yao coughed lightly and said apologetically, "There is only one arranged marriage, between our eldest daughter and the heir of the Marquis of Yong'an."
"What?! This marriage is actually for your eldest daughter?"
Everyone was astonished and surrounded Yao, bombarding her with questions.
A plump, adorable little girl, like a chubby chick in winter, pulled Xiao Qingyin aside and whispered, "Have you seen the heir of the Marquis of Yong'an?"
Xiao Qingyin shook her head, "I've never seen them before. I just returned to the capital yesterday and don't know anyone here."
The little girl's face was immediately filled with sympathy.
"The heir of the Marquis of Yong'an is a living devil. He joined the army at the age of twelve and went to the battlefield at fifteen. He was disfigured in his first battle and has to live with a mask. He is extremely violent and will draw his sword to kill anyone he doesn't like. The playboys in the capital all avoid him..."
The little girl rattled off a whole bunch of things, and at the end, she looked at Xiao Qingyin with a regretful expression, "Sister, you're so beautiful, it's such a pity you married him, he'll beat you to death."
Xiao Qingyin finally understood why Madam Yao was willing to give her this good marriage, and smiled, "There's nothing I can do about it, this marriage isn't something I can decide."
“That’s true, the imperial decree has already been issued,” the little girl said, her eyes filled with even more sympathy. “My father still has influence with His Majesty. Why don’t I talk to him and ask him to persuade His Majesty to rescind the decree?”
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