"If this really is Master Jiang, then what about him and Miss Xing—how are we going to handle this?"
"Judging from this, the two of them are in love, but Third Master Jiang was married before, and Miss Xing became his mistress?"
The discussions among the crowd continued, and Jiang Chengli, who was already sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, naturally heard everything clearly.
He remained expressionless. Having experienced this scene countless times, he had long since lost all sense of shame. No matter how he behaved, the plot would continue to unfold, and everyone here was like a puppet on a string.
"Miss Xing, may I ask what your relationship is with this young master?" Cen Ying asked softly.
Instantly, the noisy ladies all fell silent. Everyone stared wide-eyed at Cen Ying, shocked by her direct question, and their ears perked up, eager to hear what she was saying.
“We treat each other like brother and sister, and we have never done anything inappropriate. He is a gentleman, and although I come from a poor background, I have a clean record and would never do anything indecent,” Xing Xiaoya said solemnly as she stood up.
Although she secretly admired men, this was ancient times, and she was determined not to reveal it. Otherwise, as these noblewomen said, she would at most be a mistress.
A mistress is someone who can't be brought into the open; she can only ever be a concubine, and even if the mistress of the house dies, she will never be elevated to the status of the principal wife.
Therefore, she wanted to eliminate all of this at its source; she was determined not to be labeled as a mistress.
Furthermore, even if she doesn't become a mistress, she still owes the man a life-saving favor, and with Princess Zhaoyang backing her up, she is a guest, not a mistress to be mistreated at will.
“Madam Hou, what do you mean? If you have any doubts about whether this young master is from your Jiang family, I can ask the Emperor to send a few Imperial Guards to take a look. If someone is impersonating him, we can find out the flaws.” Princess Zhaoyang coughed lightly and immediately changed the subject.
She knew that Xing Xiaoya had feelings for Jiang Chengli, and that this brother-sister relationship was just a temporary excuse. If people actually believed it, it would be difficult to bring them together in the future.
“No need to trouble the princess. Although my eyesight is failing, I can still recognize my own son. He is my third son.” Cen Ying waved her hand and acknowledged him directly.
"Oh, then what should we do with the Lady of the Marquis?" Princess Zhaoyang was slightly surprised; she hadn't expected her to recognize her so quickly.
"Of course we must take him back to the Marquis's residence to find out the truth, and then have him go to the palace to plead guilty. As for Miss Xing, you saved the third son, so you are naturally an honored guest of the Marquis's residence. Let me take a good look at you." Cen Ying stood up, walked over directly, took Xing Xiaoya's hands, and carefully examined her.
"Madam Hou, we've met before." Xing Xiaoya felt a little shy being observed so closely, and a slightly embarrassed smile appeared on her face.
“Yes, I never expected such a coincidence.” Cen Ying patted the back of her hand, looking quite kind.
The system immediately exposed her lies: "[What's going on? Lady Hou is clearly sharp of hearing and sight; has she suddenly developed dementia? That time Xing Xiaoya took the jade pendant's design to the shop to have it crafted, and clearly bumped into her, even showing her the design, didn't she come out?]"
[She said she never expected such a coincidence, but shouldn't she have been suspicious back then? Has she forgotten so quickly?]
The system remembered very clearly that during that encounter, it should have been Cen Ying who noticed Xing Xiaoya, and after seeing the pattern on the jade pendant, she recognized her immediately. Afterwards, she took Jiang Chengli and Xing Xiaoya back to the Marquis's residence.
However, Lady Hou seemed not to recognize her, missing the opportunity to acknowledge her. It wasn't until today, when she was recognized by the other ladies in public, that Cen Ying finally admitted it.
[Host, the plot has been delayed far too much. Do you think Lady Hou did this on purpose? When she saw the pattern on the jade pendant, she didn't suspect anything at all, and didn't even send anyone to investigate. Where did things go wrong?]
After briefly reviewing the system's logic, it immediately noticed numerous flaws and panicked.
"You've made many mistakes, not just this one!" Xu Wanying sneered and immediately reminded her.
[Where else is wrong? Tell me quickly!] The system seemed to react instantly, constantly asking questions.
[You are the system. You know better than I what changes have occurred in the plot. Why ask me? You know perfectly well.]
Xu Wanying directly retorted that the system had provided a lot of inside information, and its accuracy rate was indeed very high, but since Xing Xiaoya appeared, things had become quite different.
First of all, the news that Jiang Chengli is hopelessly in love with Xing Xiaoya is false.
On the contrary, Jiang Chengli, the second male lead, hates Xing Xiaoya to the core.
If even these most basic conditions are wrong, then the future described by the system is even more questionable.
Cen Ying coughed lightly, feeling a little awkward, after her true thoughts were exposed by the system.
Fortunately, she has a strong mental fortitude and was able to maintain a kind smile on her face.
"Good girl, you look so kind and you even helped the third brother. You must be a kind-hearted girl." Cen Ying raised her voice slightly and praised her directly.
Everyone in the hall heard it clearly, and Xing Xiaoya smiled shyly, her face flushed pink.
Princess Zhaoyang was overjoyed. Originally, the Jiang family women had been lukewarm in their reactions and had not taken the bait. She thought that the Marquis of Zhongyi's mansion disliked Xing Xiaoya. Now, hearing the Marquis's wife speak so frankly and be willing to promote Xing Xiaoya, it was clear that they were satisfied with her.
"Miss Xing, what do you think of me?" Lady Hou asked again.
"Madam Hou has a kind face and a gentle demeanor, which reminds me of Guanyin Bodhisattva," Xing Xiaoya replied politely, clearly a mutual compliment.
“Good child, you saved the third brother and then, seeing that he had lost his memory, accompanied him to Wangjing to find his relatives. I can never repay such kindness. We hit it off immediately and got along very well. How about I adopt you as my goddaughter today? If you don’t mind, you can call me godmother. From now on, the Marquis’s mansion will be your home, and the third brother will be your elder brother.” Cen Ying raised her hand, gently patted her shoulder, and tucked the stray hairs from her forehead behind her ear with the utmost tenderness.
As soon as she said this, the hall became lively. Everyone was obviously very surprised that she had recognized her as their goddaughter.
Jiang Jinyu reacted quickly, immediately stood up, took Xing Xiaoya's arm, and said with a light laugh, "I have three older brothers in my family, and I've always lacked an older sister. Today, I've finally got one. From now on, Sister Xiaoya will call him Third Brother, just like me, instead of Eldest Brother."
The mother and daughter stood on either side of each other, and in just a few words, they not only dispelled everyone's speculations about Xing Xiaoya and Jiang Chengli and firmly suppressed the rumors, but also established Xing Xiaoya's true identity.
If they are recognized as godparents, there is no possibility of having a mistress.
Who would have thought of a brother and sister sleeping in the same bed? This was completely impossible in ancient times, which effectively blocked Xing Xiaoya's idea.
Princess Zhaoyang exclaimed urgently, "Absolutely not!"
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