Chapter 79: Not Afraid of Being Stabbed in the Back

"What, nothing else besides the usual formalities?"

Zhou Xiaoyue was shocked and deeply disappointed. She had thought that the Pei family's betrothal gift would be generous so that she could be proud and annoy Ruan Qinghuan. However, she had not expected the Pei family's betrothal gift to be so shabby.

If things turn out like this, wouldn't Ruan Qinghuan be laughing at me?

Although He An was so reluctant at first, she did a perfect job in welcoming the bride, and there was nothing to fault about her...

Seeing her daughter angry, Zheng Qiaohui soothed her, "Although the betrothal gifts are a little poor, I just took a look and found some good things. For example, the Dongzhu headdress was a gift from the late emperor for the Pei family's military exploits."

However, Ruan Xiaoyue couldn't laugh. When the two of them were intimate, Pei Chong promised to prepare a generous betrothal gift for her and would never let her lose face.

Now looking at the gift list, she felt really upset. She threw the list on the table and went out with her maid.

Zheng Qiaohui thought she was going to find Pei Chong, so she stopped her and said, "You have come to this point, and there is no way to have a small betrothal gift. You must not make trouble. What if the Pei family gets angry and the marriage fails? What will you do in the future?"

If a girl loses her reputation, it will be difficult for her to marry into a wealthy family, let alone the daughter of a merchant family or even a daughter of a powerful family in the imperial court.

Ruan Xiaoyue: “…”

After listening to her mother's words, she felt even more upset. She walked around her mother and quickly left the yard.

The streets were bustling with people, but Ruan Xiaoyue's mood seemed to be blocked and she felt depressed.

Of course she couldn't go to Pei Chong. Since the Pei family had done such a thing, they were determined and she dared not regret it.

Ruan Xiaoyue didn't care about the other people in the Pei family, but she was really hurt by Pei Chong's behavior. But now that things have come to this, what's the point of saying these things?

In a daze, Ruan Xiaoyue heard a familiar voice. She wanted to go over, but after hearing the content of the conversation, she paused.

"I heard that your brother is getting married, and the girl is from the second branch of the Ruan family?"

"yes."

"Don't you look down on the Shangjia family the most? This time your brother married a woman from the Shangjia family, and you still have to call her sister-in-law."

"Hmph, she doesn't deserve it. She even recommended herself to my brother, which shows that she loves him terribly. My brother and my mother felt sorry for her reputation, so they agreed to take her in."

"That's a nice way to put it. Do you feel sorry for her or are you afraid of Prime Minister He? After all, she is the Prime Minister's sister-in-law."

"The Ruan family's daughter is shameless. So what if she has a brother-in-law who is the prime minister? Everyone knows that her sister was also forced into the prime minister's residence."

…

Ruan Xiaoyue was pulled away by the maid, her expression in a trance. Pei Wen's words were like a knife, hurting her completely.

"Miss, don't take it to heart." The maid advised softly.

Anger flashed in Ruan Xiaoyue's eyes. A mere Pei Wen looked down on her?

Ever since she and Pei Chong met, which of the nice things Pei Wen wears was not given by her?

On the surface, he treated her sister-in-law with all her affection, saying that he hoped she would marry into the Pei family soon, but behind her back he slandered her so badly.

In the final analysis, it was all Ruan Qinghuan's fault. If she hadn't insisted on marrying into the prime minister's mansion, such a big hat would not have been put on the girls of the Ruan family.

"Hey, isn't this Miss Xiaoyue?"

Ruan Xiaoyue looked up and saw a strange woman standing opposite her. She was about the same age as her and was wearing a light green silk double-breasted long dress which made her face look even paler. Although she was smiling, there was a coldness in her eyes.

"Who is the girl?"

"My name is Liu Yueru. My brother and Prime Minister He were close friends. You look a bit like the Prime Minister's wife, so I wanted to try and guess, you must be the second daughter of the Ruan family, right?" As she spoke, she glanced towards Jubaozhai not far away, where Pei Wen was with several other girls.

Liu Yueru?

No wonder she looked familiar. That day, Liu Yueru had glanced at the Second Prince in the peach forest outside the capital.

Besides knowing that she was the woman who was brought back to the Prime Minister's Residence on the night of He'an's wedding, she was also the one who was defiled by the servants when the Second Prince held a banquet in the forest garden outside the capital.

After such a scandal, she still dares to go around in public. Isn't she afraid of being criticized?

Ruan Xiaoyue didn't want to have anything to do with such a woman, and wanted to leave by bypassing her. Liu Yueru just sneered: "Miss Xiaoyue, why do you have to be like this? You and I are no different. You had a secret meeting with Master Pei before the wedding, and now the Pei family doesn't even want to pay the betrothal gift. Aren't you angry?"

"Stop talking nonsense. General Pei treats me sincerely. How can I measure his sincerity with worldly things?"

"Okay, okay, you're right. I was just being petty. But..." Liu Yueru took two steps forward and got closer to her. "Your Ruan family's reputation is like this. Isn't it all because of your cousin?"

"Now that she has been conferred the title of Imperial Consort, you have been portrayed as low-class women. Don't forget that those rumors about her being arrogant and unreasonable all came from the Second House, right?"

Ruan Xiaoyue's eyes turned cold.

Liu Yueru took her hand and calmly put a note into her hand: "You are in such a situation now, and she, as your sister, didn't even come out to say a word for you. It's obvious that she is just making fun of you."

"In this case, it would be better for everyone to live in misery. As long as she falls into poverty, you will be the only noble official wife in the Ruan family. By then, I'm afraid the first wife will also have to curry favor with you."

After saying that, Liu Yueru smiled sweetly at Ruan Xiaoyue, turned around and left.

Ruan Xiaoyue clenched her hands tightly. The maid beside her was unaware of the two people's little actions and urged in a low voice: "Miss, it's almost noon, let's go back home."

Ruan Xiaoyue looked back at the empty alley, and walked back with mixed feelings. What she held in her hands felt like a ball of fire, burning her hands.

She knew that Liu Yueru had bad intentions and wanted to use her to deal with Ruan Qinghuan, but how could she not hate Ruan Qinghuan? The enemy of my enemy might become my friend.

Liu Yueru turned into an alley, and her strength seemed to be drained away. Fortunately, the maid beside her supported her and prevented her from falling: "Madam, why are you doing this? Now think about what to do with your husband."

When talking about Qu Yuancheng, Liu Yueru's eyes were full of hatred. Ever since the incident in Taoyuan, under pressure from many sides, she had to hastily marry Qu Yuancheng. As a result, on the wedding day, she was almost beaten to death by him.

She lifted her sleeves, and saw bloody whip marks on them, all caused by him. Not only that, verbal insults and swearing had become commonplace. But now, there was no one to support her anymore.

If she doesn't want to leave him anymore, she will probably die at Qu Yuancheng's hands sooner or later.

Thinking about her miserable experiences in the past few months, Liu Yueru wanted to kill him, but she couldn't. Firstly, she was no match for Qu Yuancheng, and secondly, if she killed him, she would be held accountable. If she wanted to get rid of him, she had to find another way.

A lot of things happened after she came to Beijing. She no longer had the romantic mood she had before. What kept her going was the hatred she felt for Ruan Qinghuan. She hated her so much that she was bleeding, and she would not let her go even if she became a ghost.

If she hadn't intervened, the person who married into the prime minister's mansion might have been her.

It just so happened that I met Miss Pei when I went out today, and heard about the Pei and Ruan families. The discord between the first and second branches of the Ruan family is no secret in Beijing. Ruan Xiaoyue is a jealous person, so it depends on whether she has the courage to do so.

If this were to succeed, she would be able to take the opportunity to completely eliminate Qu Yuancheng and ruin Ruan Qinghuan's reputation. Then, she would be completely freed.