Chapter 10: Gu Xingwan’s Sharpened Tongue

The moment the words "calling off the engagement" were uttered, it was as if several bolts of lightning had struck the drawing room.

Two bolts landed squarely on the heads of Gu Zhijing and Lady Song.

A third bolt struck Tingzheng.

Would the Master and Mistress have her beaten to death to vent their rage?

Gu Yingying stared at her in utter astonishment as well.

"Calling off the engagement? Wannian, what kind of joke are you playing?" Gu Zhijing’s expression spiraled out of control, his face turning a terrifying shade of crimson.

"Yes, Wannian, you mustn't let your impulses get the better of you!"

Although Lady Song resented that a daughter born of a concubine was making a better match than her own daughter, Gu Yingying, she also knew that if the Ministry of Justice official’s household could provide support to the Gu family in the future, she, as the mistress, would enjoy the benefits too. She certainly did not want Gu Xingwan to call off the engagement.

"Father, Mother, your daughter is not joking. I intend to marry Lu Lan, the heir to the Duke of Yu’s estate."

*Crack!*

If the previous bolts of lightning hadn't finished them off, this one certainly had.

After confirming that his daughter wasn't suffering from madness, that her emotions were stable, and that she was in a normal state of mind, Gu Zhijing’s patience completely evaporated.

"Are you blind? Or has your heart been clouded by greed? You choose to spurn the son of a Minister only to pick Lu Lan, that wastrel? Who in all of the capital doesn’t know that Lu Lan is a good-for-nothing?"

He slammed his chopsticks onto the table with such force that it was ten times more violent than when he had heard of his daughter being harassed earlier; this was genuine fury.

"Even if you had said you wanted to marry his younger half-brother, Lu Zhongwang, I would have thought you were being clever."

Gu Xingwan did not rush to respond, letting them pace and fret for a moment longer.

Lady Song was frantic, her heart burning with anxiety: "Wannian, don't blame me for not warning you as your mother. The Duke of Yu’s estate looks impressive on the surface, but it is nothing more than an empty shell. They can't even produce the funds; how much of a bride price will you actually get if you marry into that house?"

"You, a young lady who stays deep within the inner chambers, how could you possibly know the wickedness of the world? You have likely been deceived by Lu Lan."

Gu Zhijing was worried about his future prospects, while Lady Song was worried about the dowry.

As for Gu Yingying, she was filled with resentment, baring her teeth as she scolded, "Gu Xingwan, do you have any idea how much effort and resources our Gu family put into your marriage? The two families have just discussed the betrothal, and you want Father and Mother to go and call it off? Where are they supposed to hide their faces? You’re doing this on purpose, aren't you..."

"Besides, Young Master Mei is a man of great talent and distinguished status. For him to marry a pitiful, motherless concubine’s daughter like you is more than generous. What right do you have to be so picky?"

A flash of sharpness crossed Gu Xingwan’s eyes.

Her mother was her reverse scale. Her mother had been dead for five years, and Gu Yingying had used this very tactic to provoke her for those entire five years. Every time, it had driven the original owner to the brink of madness, providing Gu Yingying with an excuse to bully her.

Gu Xingwan cast a sidelong glance at Lady Song. Seeing that her mother had no intention of mediating, she felt no need to hold back: "Sister Ying is right; Young Master Mei is indeed excellent. It’s just a pity that he doesn't have his eyes on you, sister. Otherwise, you would be the one marrying into that Ministry of Justice household you’ve been pining for."

Gu Yingying: "..."

"Does that Yang Chengyong know that you have Young Master Mei on your mind?"

The man engaged to Gu Yingying was a scholar from a humble background named Yang Chengyong, also a talent at the Cangqi Academy.

"Gu Xingwan, you... you..."

"Oh, right..." Gu Xingwan feigned a look of shock, using her teacup lid to point slightly forward, "Yang Chengyong and Mei Xianghan are close friends and classmates. Sister, you really have gone too far this time!"

The shadow on Gu Yingying’s face deepened inch by inch, until it finally turned the color of a bruised liver.

Her parents hadn't truly been diligent in choosing a match for her. At that time, Gu Xingwan hadn't even been betrothed yet. Although Yang Chengyong was beginning to make a name for himself at the Cangqi Academy in the capital and was expected to achieve a good rank in the spring imperial examinations next year, a humble background would always be a humble background. The influence gained from such a rank was a long way off, and it was nowhere near as sweet as the immediate comfort of a wealthy, influential family.

Gu Zhijing and Lady Song had felt that, given Gu Yingying’s looks, reputation, and the Gu family’s own standing, it was nearly impossible for her to secure a match with a high-ranking noble family. It was better to bet on someone with potential.

The couple had spent a long time persuading her before Gu Yingying had reluctantly agreed.

As fate would have it, just one month after Gu Yingying and Yang Chengyong became betrothed, the Ministry of Justice household came to the Gu family to propose a marriage for Gu Xingwan.

Gu Yingying was so furious she felt as if her lungs were about to burst. She truly could not understand: other than writing a few lines of pretentious poetry, what was so special about Gu Xingwan that all the wealthy young men in the capital loved her?

For a concubine’s daughter to make a better match than her, the legitimate eldest daughter, was a humiliation she could not bear!

A crow would not envy a phoenix in the sky because they lived in different worlds. But if that phoenix had emerged from a crow's nest, the crow would feel an extreme sense of imbalance.

"Gu Xingwan, what do you mean by that sarcastic tone? Do you still respect me as your elder sister?" Gu Yingying’s long-suppressed resentment erupted in an instant.

"Look at you, getting agitated again. Sister Ying is about to be married; you really must temper that hair-trigger temper of yours."

"And if I don't, what then? No matter what, I am marrying into a lower station; when the time comes, everyone in the Yang family will have to defer to me." Gu Yingying felt that with her overbearing personality, she wouldn't be the one to suffer after she married.

But that was not what Gu Xingwan meant at all:

"Sister, you’ve misunderstood. What I meant was, Old Mistress Yang is in poor health and relies on herbal medicine to keep going. When she came to our house to discuss the marriage last time, I felt her constitution was quite fragile... I’m just worried that if you speak too loudly, you might accidentally send the old lady to her grave!"