Volume 1, Chapter 6: Is She Heartless?

She had always been fostered by Old Madam Li.

Though Li was, in name, her grandmother, her father had been born of a concubine and was not Li’s own son.

For that reason, the old lady had never truly cared for her.

Five years ago, when the affair between her and Cheng Wenyuan came to light, the old lady learned of it.

By then, she was already with child.

After a fierce scolding, the old lady sent her to a convent to give birth.

As soon as she had recovered her strength, the old lady forcibly stuffed her into a sedan chair and gave her to a gatekeeper in his forties, a widower, as a second wife.

Those days were too bitter to recall.

After the gatekeeper died, she was sent back to the Cheng family by that venomous mother-in-law.

And so she continued living under another’s roof.

Even in the Cheng household, she could at least get by.

But ever since the old lady learned of her disgrace with Wenyuan, she resented her for seducing him and would no longer look at her with a proper eye.

The servants in the manor, seeing the old lady’s disdain, grew ever more contemptuous of her as well.

Her position was awkward to the extreme.

How could she possibly delay Yue'er’s future?

Only if Chu Yao adopted Yue'er would the child truly and properly return to the Marquis’s residence.

Only then could she one day marry as the legitimate daughter of the marquis house.

With a cool gaze, Chu Yao looked at Cheng Jinxi and had already guessed her intent.

She could not help but give a cold smile.

"So it really is true: when parents love their children, they plan far ahead for them.

"However, Cousin, I am curious.

"What exactly is your relation to Yue'er, that you would think so much for her?

"She is only an orphan. As long as she has food to eat, a stable place to live, and someone to care for her, is that not enough?

"What future is she even supposed to aspire to?

"What on earth makes Cousin believe she ought to enjoy the status of a legitimate daughter of the marquis house?

"Or else her prospects will be ruined?"

"This..."

Cheng Jinxi faltered for a moment, at a loss for how to answer.

She looked up at Chu Yao in confusion, as though seeing her for the first time.

The woman had married into the marquis household only half a year ago, and had always been cautious, obedient, and low-key. Her speech, too, had been gentle and modest.

She had never even crossed anyone in the household.

How had she seemed like a different person these past few days?

Not only sharp-tongued, but cuttingly astute.

It was as though she could see straight through what others were thinking.

The face was still the same, so how could her nature have changed so drastically?

Could this be her true self?

Yes.

The old lady had always said that the general’s household could never raise a lady who was gentle and refined.

It seemed that was true after all.

Chu Yao had always been a fiery sort.

When she first married in, she merely pretended to be meek for a while; now she no longer bothered to pretend.

What was lamentable was that in her previous life, Chu Yao had worn a mask of gentleness and virtue for an entire lifetime.

By the end, she had even forgotten her own original nature, frank and unrestrained as it was.

Only when Chu Yao was schemed against by the Cheng family in the general’s residence did she belatedly realize that the Cheng family was a place that devoured people without spitting out their bones.

She had poured out her heart and soul to care for the young and old of the Cheng family, to help Cheng Wenyuan rise to great heights, and yet what she received in return was betrayal, deception, and trampling.

Chu Yao suppressed the blazing fury in her chest and turned her sharp gaze onto Cheng Jinxi, wanting to see just how she would answer.

Then a deep male voice rang out loudly: "It is I who like Yue'er. It is I who want to adopt her."

At the sound, the others all turned toward the doorway, where Cheng Wenyuan stood tall and straight as he stepped inside.

"Grandmother."

After bowing respectfully to Madam Li, Cheng Wenyuan cast a cool, indifferent glance at Chu Yao.

Cheng Jinxi, however, looked as though she had seen a savior. She gazed eagerly at Cheng Wenyuan and spoke with delight.

"Exactly. Cousin likes Yue'er. He is the heir to the marquis house; if Cousin says he wants to adopt Yue'er, who would dare say another word?"

Madam Li nodded in satisfaction, the corners of her lips curving into a faint smile as she looked at Chu Yao.

Now that Yuan has personally said he will adopt Yue'er, Chu Yao can no longer keep making excuses.

This matter was settled.

A wife follows her husband; the husband is the head of the household.

How could a woman go against her own husband?

The few of them all looked toward Chu Yao, waiting for her to yield and agree.

Chu Yao lifted the corners of her lips slightly, her tone neither servile nor overbearing.

"Since the heir has agreed to adopt her, then let the heir adopt her.

"However, I do not consent to the adoption of Yue'er, and I will never have her recorded under my name."

"You!"

Cheng Jinxi’s smiling face turned stern at once.

"Chu Yao, what nonsense are you spouting?

"What do you mean, the heir adopts her, but she is not recorded under your name?

"You are the heir’s lawfully wedded wife, the mistress of the marquis household.

"If Yue'er is not entered under your name, how can that count as the heir’s adoption?!"

"Yes, Yao'er, you and Yuan are husband and wife, one flesh and one body. If Yuan adopts her, then it is the same as you adopting her.

"If she is not to be recorded under your name, whose name should she be recorded under?

"I think you are not old, but your mind has already gone muddled.

"Uttering pure nonsense."

With a mocking smile at the corners of her mouth, Madam Li looked at Chu Yao as though looking at a fool.

Chu Yao swept a glance over the two of them, then looked at Cheng Wenyuan, who frowned in confusion at her side.

Slowly and calmly, she said, "Since I am the mistress of the marquis household, it is perfectly reasonable that I should not wish to adopt a child of unknown origin. There is nothing wrong in that.

"But now that the heir wishes to adopt Yue'er, it would be improper for me to object. If the heir wants to adopt her, then let him adopt her."

Chu Yao paused and looked toward Cheng Jinxi, and sure enough, saw her eyes light up suddenly.

"However, I still say the same thing: she cannot be entered under my name.

"First, the heir should take a concubine.

"Yue'er can simply be recorded under the concubine’s name.

"In this way, would not everyone be satisfied?"

"You!"

Cheng Jinxi suddenly looked like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her emotions exploding as she stared at Chu Yao, eyes bulging.

"Chu Yao, you have some nerve!

"Is this how a mistress should behave, actually volunteering to take a concubine for your husband?

"Just so you won’t have to adopt Yue'er, you would actually have Wenyuan take a concubine?!

"Chu Yao, have you gone mad!"

Beside her, Cheng Wenyuan’s eyes were dark as he stared straight at Chu Yao, as though trying to find some flaw in her expression.

Chu Yao ignored Cheng Jinxi’s venomous glare and paid no mind to the icy chill in Cheng Wenyuan’s eyes. Instead, she looked at Madam Li and said calmly, "My husband is the heir to the marquis house. Having one wife and several concubines is only ordinary.

"Old Madam, by arranging a concubine for the heir, I am showing that Chu Yao is not a jealous woman.

"I am doing this for the heir’s own good.

"At the same time, it solves the matter of Yue'er. Would that not be killing two birds with one stone?"

Madam Li kept her face stern and said nothing, but inwardly she was savoring Chu Yao’s words again and again.

Cheng Wenyuan frowned at Chu Yao, unable to understand how this woman had changed so much in just a few days.

Today, she was unexpectedly aggressive.

More than that, her eyes were so lucid they seemed able to pierce the human heart.

He even felt somewhat afraid to meet that gaze directly.

Could it be that she knew Yue'er’s identity?

Impossible.

They had always been very careful.

"Old Madam, Heir, when you have decided on who shall be taken as a concubine, just let me know. I still have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave."

Seeing Chu Yao about to leave, Cheng Jinxi panicked. She feared that if Chu Yao walked out now, there would be no room left to turn this matter around.

In her panic, she caught sight of Yue'er nearby. Cheng Jinxi hurriedly gave the child a look.

Yue'er understood at once, quickly grabbed a pastry from the table, and ran after Chu Yao.

"Madam, Yue'er has a pastry for Madam."

Chu Yao turned around just in time to see Yue'er running toward her with the pastry held high.

Perhaps because she was running too fast, she had not noticed her footing.

Just as she was about to reach Chu Yao, she suddenly tripped over the hem of her own dress and fell forward all at once.

At this moment, Chu Yao was actually the closest to Yue'er, only a single step away.

If she had simply reached out, she could have caught the child and protected her.

And yet, she did nothing.

She merely watched as Yue'er fell heavily to the ground with a thud.

Chu Yao clenched her hand beneath her sleeve into a fist, barely restraining the urge to rush forward and shield the child.

Was she cruel?

No.