Chapter 13 A dashing young man? A lewd and shady man!
The news about the princess's residence spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of Jinling City in less than half a day!
The fate of Xie Wuyou, the second young lady of the Xie family, in particular, became the hottest topic of conversation on the streets.
"Oh my goodness, you didn't see it! Zhenzhen was thrown out by the princess's mansion! She landed face down in the snow, and wow, her face was covered in bruises and swollen like a steamed bun! Even her hairpins and jewelry flew off!"
In teahouses and taverns, the speaker spouts spittle flying, while the listeners gasp and their eyes light up.
This flower viewing party was absolutely wonderful!
Meanwhile, on the carriage returning to the General's Mansion.
The heater in the carriage was burning brightly, and Xie Sangning leaned lazily against the soft brocade cushions, closing her eyes to rest.
Ru Chun, who was standing to the side, was still immersed in the thrilling confrontation just now. Her heart was pounding and her palms were still ice cold.
Looking at her young mistress's calm and composed demeanor, she felt both admiration and lingering fear, and couldn't help but whisper, "Miss...today at the Princess's residence was truly...too dangerous! My heart is still pounding in my chest!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Sangning's long eyelashes trembled, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"Dangerous?" She chuckled lightly. "Didn't you know that before you went? That flower-viewing banquet was a trap set for me."
She paused, her tone slightly teasing, yet also as if she were comforting the still-shaken girl:
"This is just the beginning. There will likely be plenty of excitement like this in the future."
The carriage rolled across the snow-covered streets, the wheels making a rhythmic sound.
A storm that shook Nanjing has subsided for the time being, but an even bigger storm seems to be brewing silently.
Having just been thrown out of the manor, Xie Wuyou returned to the General's Mansion in a daze. When she came to her senses, she rushed towards Xie Wulu's courtyard with her hair disheveled!
"You've ruined me! Do you know that? That bitch Xie Sangning wanted the princess to remember her, even hate her!"
Xie Wulu, who was still practicing calligraphy, suddenly trembled, and the tip of his pen left a mark.
He suddenly looked up.
"What did you say? Why is this?!"
"How should I know!" Xie Wuyou seemed to have found an outlet for her anger, screaming as she rushed forward and swept the books and inkstones piled on Xie Wulu's desk to the ground!
"I have lost face today, and I will never be able to hold my head up in Jinling again! The Second Princess pointed out my commoner status. You and I are from the same mother, so how do you think you can be any better?"
"Today I even got slapped in the face! I was thrown out like a dog at the gate of the Princess's residence! From now on, in Jinling, I, Xie Wuyou, will be a laughingstock! I'll never be able to hold my head up again! It was all your terrible idea! Don't you pride yourself on being clever?!"
The words "commoner status" struck Xie Wulu like a thunderbolt!
The color drained completely from his face in an instant.
Xie Wulu could no longer maintain his gentle demeanor. His eyes turned sinister, and his voice was icy cold: "Shut up! Tell me everything that happened today, from beginning to end, without missing a single word!"
Xie Wuyou was startled, and then began to recount the events of the day in a choked voice. As Xie Wulu listened, his knuckles cracked as he clenched his hands on his knees, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.
His meticulously planned scheme to kill Xie Sangning not only failed to harm her in the slightest, but instead became a stepping stone for her to declare war on the Second Princess!
Even more terrifying, the fire backfired, directly destroying the very foundation of his identity that he relied on for survival!
Leaving aside the General's Mansion, he is now just a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination). A Juren?
In this city of Jinling, scholars who have passed the imperial examinations are as numerous as hairs on a cow!
What is a mere scholar without a family background? He's not even as good as the sons of merchants!
All those so-called friends he had painstakingly cultivated over the years, those officials' sons who were polite to him and even fawned over him, never valued Xie Wulu as a person, but rather the General's Mansion!
Once this signboard is smashed in public by the Second Princess, those smiling faces will immediately turn into contempt, and the connections he has painstakingly built and the path to success he has paved for himself will collapse in an instant!
He absolutely could not accept it! Xie Wulu was born to be a superior person!
Xie Wuyou was still crying and complaining about her grievances and embarrassment, but Xie Wulu was no longer listening.
Those women's pride and reputation were as insignificant as a feather in his eyes.
He now had only one thought in his mind: to preserve his status! He would do anything to keep his identity as the "young master of the General's Mansion"!
The turbulent emotions in his eyes were gradually replaced by ruthlessness.
"Have you cried enough?" Xie Wulu's voice was unusually calm, yet carried a chill, interrupting Xie Wuyou's sobbing.
Xie Wuyou shuddered under his gaze.
"You can earn back your face if you lose it. But losing your identity..." Xie Wulu slowly stood up, walked to the window, turned his back to Xie Wuyou, and looked at the deep night outside the window, "that is true annihilation."
"Then what should we do!"
"Help me replace Xie Sangyu and become the true legitimate young master of the General's Mansion. This is our only way out!"
Xie Wuyou's wailing gradually subsided under Xie Wulu's cold gaze, leaving only suppressed sobs.
To replace Xie Sangyu? To become the true heir of the General's Mansion?
How is that possible!
But this thought gave her a glimmer of hope.
If her younger brother becomes the true heir, then her status as the older sister will naturally rise accordingly!
Let's see who can laugh at us now!
"You... what do you intend to do?" Xie Wuyou's voice was hoarse. "That bitch Xie Sangning, and her insane brother... they are Uncle's biological children! How could we..."
"Blood relatives? So what?"
He wanted the entire city of Jinling to know clearly and plainly that Xie Sangyu, the eldest son of the Zhenguo General's Mansion, had been completely destroyed!
Not only did he suffer from nightly fear and need someone to watch over him, but he was also mentally unstable. During the day, he was extremely dissolute and incapable of shouldering the heavy responsibilities of the General's Mansion, let alone inheriting the title and glory of the General's Mansion!
He's a complete and utter failure!
This would also incite Xie Sangning's hatred for the Second Princess, causing them to fight each other, allowing him to reap the benefits!
Xie Wulu walked to the window, gazing in the direction of Ruixue Tower, his voice extremely low: "My uncle's return is imminent. This is our last and best opportunity. We must make the news that Young Master Xie's mind is damaged and he is incapable of shouldering great responsibilities a tacitly accepted fact among the people of Jinling before they set foot in Jinling City!"
What did my grandmother value most? It was the honor and legacy of the Xie family!
She knew better than anyone what a mad eldest grandson meant to the General's Mansion!
It's a disgrace! It's a decline!
This is the last thing Grandma wanted to accept!
“At that time, wouldn’t I be the best candidate to save the General’s Mansion from crisis, continue the lineage of the eldest son, and uphold the family’s honor, as the only male heir of the second branch, the nephew with the closest bloodline in the Xie family, the diligent, studious, gentle, kind, frugal, and good grandson who has been pampered by my grandmother for many years?”
"My grandmother personally pleaded with my eldest uncle to adopt me into the eldest branch of the family and make me their heir, in order to preserve the Xie family's legacy! Isn't this reasonable? Isn't it for the greater good? Isn't it the best way to honor the ancestors of the Xie family?"
Xie Wuyou's eyes lit up, and his breathing became rapid: "Yes! Yes! Xie Sangyu is a madman! He doesn't deserve to be the eldest son at all! Only you, Wulu, you are the most suitable!"
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