Fengyu chuckled lightly and said, "Elder sister, I didn’t overthink, so there’s no need for you to do so either."
Zhou Xuejia also smiled as she stood up, kneeling slightly to salute Fengyu, "This humble servant pays respect to Her Majesty, the Empress."
"Rise!" Fengyu accepted her courtesy. She had briefly encountered Zhou Xuejia at the Marchioness’s banquet, where Zhou Xuejia had been put in a difficult position by Mrs. Fang. As a guest and junior, Fengyu found it inappropriate to intervene. Whether three years ago or now, Fengyu and Zhou Xuejia barely had any interaction.
Zhou Xuejia smiled softly and said, "My mother once ntioned that she and Second Mrs. Feng were close friends. I am of a similar age to Her Majesty, and when we were children, they often took us out to play. There was even a ti when I foolishly fought with Her Majesty over candies. I never imagined that fate would lead us to et like this."
"I don’t recall anything before the age of three," Fengyu remarked coolly, sitting down nearby. Qiuxiang inspected the food before pouring Fengyu a cup of tea and arranging so pastries. She had co straight from the matriarch’s courtyard, bringing so treats for Chang Huan and Yuan Ge.
The Marquis An Yuan Mansion had close ties with the Feng Family. Fengyu and Zhou Xuejia had played together as young children, but Fengyu had no mories of anything before the age of three. She had rely heard Su Yuejiao ntion how Zhou Xuejia was cherished by the Marchioness as if she were her own precious gem. Whenever Su Yuejiao was in the capital, the two won would take their daughters out together.
Regrettably, Fengyu didn’t rember any of it.
Zhou Xuejia, unfazed, smiled gently and said, "Indeed, we were too young back then—I don’t recall much either, only pieced together from what my mother ntioned."
Fengyu sipped her tea indifferently and said, "Since my return to the capital, the young lady from Marquis An Yuan Mansion is Princess Xue Lan. Miss Zhou, your so-called mother... didn’t she sever ties with you during the jubilee banquet? Why do you still persist in addressing her as your mother? Isn’t that rather inappropriate?"
Zhou Xuejia’s expression stiffened, and Feng Wan could clearly sense Fengyu’s irritation. Fengyu truly disliked Zhou Xuejia, leaving Feng Wan a bit regretful that she had softened her heart and associated with Zhou Xuejia for the sake of the children.
Zhou Xuejia said, "Ten years of nurturing is a debt as heavy as a mountain. Regardless of how my mother and father feel, in my heart, they will forever remain my parents."
"Miss Zhou, isn’t it amusing? You are no daughter of the Marquis Mansion, yet you constantly bring up your identity in front of others, adding tension for the real princess of the Marquis An Yuan Mansion. The Marchioness raised you for ten years. If you were truly filial, you wouldn’t tarnish the family’s reputation," Fengyu said sharply. "Xue Lan’s troubled marriage is partly due to her being raised in the countryside when she was young. Even so, she is a true commandery princess—noble in status, soft in nature, suitable as a second wife if not a first. But you? You go and entangle yourself with Li Si, disgracefully becoming his mistress and bearing him children. The capital’s aristocratic circles aren’t large—such matters have spread far and wide. Others question the Marchioness’s upbringing, and even Xue Lan avoids associations with you. You degrade yourself and implicate her daughter—is this your way of showing filial piety to the Marchioness? Truly peculiar."
Fengyu wasn’t one to indulge such behavior. Compared to feigning vulnerability, Fengyu excelled in the art herself. She could easily see through Zhou Xuejia’s little sches, ones that seed feeble after playing similar airs in front of Feng Shu when she was younger.
Zhou Xuejia’s face turned pale. She hadn’t anticipated Fengyu’s bluntness, devoid of any tact or euphemism, as if peeling off her facade and crushing her dignity without hesitation.
Her eyes welled up, tears brimming and threatening to fall.
Feng Wan realized it was ti to dismiss the guest. "Miss Zhou..."
"Your Majesty the Empress!" Zhou Xuejia’s true intention was directed at Fengyu. She understood that leaving this door would likely obliterate any prospects of interacting with Fengyu in the future. She interrupted Feng Wan, saying, "I know you dislike . You’ve surely heard my story by now. My biological mother swapped and Xue Lan in pursuit of wealth and prestige—it wasn’t sothing I wished for. I was showered with affection for ten years in the Marquis Mansion, utterly unaware of my true identity. But once the truth ca to light, I couldn’t find a place for myself. My biological parents were driven out and crushed by the Marquis Mansion. If I were to even slightly associate myself with them, I’d be inviting my own ruin. The Marquis Mansion raised for ten years, but to , they were strangers—I held no emotions for them, yet I could only stand by as I watched them banish my parents to the bitter wilderness. I—a re girl of ten—was cast out of the Marquis Mansion, trapped in a tiny courtyard as if imprisoned, and I had no choice but to save myself."
Zhou Xuejia’s tears cascaded down her face. "I wanted to be a noble, refined lady of a prestigious family too, but my birth determined my status. Not everyone can be like Your Majesty the Empress, born into affluence, worry-free, cherished by elders. At that ti, I was isolated and helpless; my nights were haunted by nightmares of being hunted and killed. I was terrified beyond asure. Li Si and I truly loved one another—he even promised to marry with proper ceremony, to make his rightful wife. I believed his words and pledged unwavering love to him. But he failed to honor his promises. The Li Family refused to accept . Your Majesty the Empress, if I had truly been a daughter of the Marquis Mansion, Li Si and I would’ve been an exemplary match of scholar and beauty. But because of my birth, I could only hide in the shadows and endure the disdain of others. Isn’t that unfair?"
"Indeed, it is unfair!" Fengyu replied, sipping tea to moisten her throat as she looked into Zhou Xuejia’s flushed, reddened eyes. Her own heart remained composed. "In this world, what is truly fair? If you feel slighted, then fight back. You knew the Li Family wouldn’t accept you, and you should’ve convinced them instead. Zhou Xuejia, while your words evoke pity and sympathy, was anyone forcing you to engage with Li Si without proper marriage rites and bear him children?"
As a young unmarried lady, Fengyu’s words were blunt to the point of crudeness. Zhou Xuejia froze montarily, hurt by the harsh condemnation and contempt in Fengyu’s gaze.
"Yes, I regret it—I shouldn’t have trusted Li Si’s promises, shouldn’t have had delusions. While isolated and vulnerable, I sought soone to rely on and forgot that depending on a man pales in comparison to relying on oneself. Only by being self-reliant and strong can one establish a foothold in this world," Zhou Xuejia said tearfully yet resolutely. Her expression turned to a faint smile, though her tears persisted. "So I’ve fully awakened, severed ties with the Li Family, and resolved to start anew, hoping my children will not repeat my mistakes."
Fengyu, "..."
No more playing the victim? This deviation from expectation was rather surprising.
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