Chapter 245: You Are the Disgrace of the Xie Family
Chapter 245: Chapter 245: You Are the Disgrace of the Xie Family
Shen Ningning cupped her cheeks in her small hands, her eyes filling with worry.
"Is she going to try and bully my godfather?"
"She won’t," Mo Lingwei quickly refuted. "Chancellor Xie is far more shrewd and calculating than you imagine. Consort Rong is no match for him, so don’t you worry."
Hearing this, Shen Ningning quietly nodded.
’She still wasn’t sure what Consort Rong wanted, but it was better to be prepared than to be caught unaware.’
It was getting late, so Mo Lingwei did not stay long, leaving under the cover of the deep night.
The next day, the Emperor’s decree arrived from the Palace Affairs Department.
Xie Yuanjiu had trespassed in the Forbidden Palace and bribed the National Academy with a hefty sum of five thousand taels of silver. She was therefore deemed unfit to bear the great responsibility of a female official.
Therefore, the National Academy returned Xie Yuanjiu’s academic records and informed her that she need not return.
Mr. Guo was also affected, having been demoted to a Second-class Master. The Emperor appointed Mr. Han as the new Manager of the National Academy.
And the one who ultimately became the female official to the Ninth Prince was Ye Shangyi.
Shen Ningning heard the commotion from her room. Ye Shangyi had just returned from receiving her appointment from the Palace Affairs Department, her face alight with triumph.
"Come now, these are the candied green plums Consort Rong just bestowed upon me. I brought them back especially to share with you all. Everyone gets a share."
The crowd swarmed around Ye Shangyi, showering her with flattery. Whenever Xie Yuanjiu was mentioned, they would all click their tongues and remark—
"I never would have guessed Miss Xie Si was hiding such a nature. She’s so calculating."
"Exactly! If not for this incident, I never would have known that her usual magnanimity and gentleness were all just an act."
"She has no real ability, yet she tries to buy her way into the National Academy and then competes with us for the female official position. It’s disgusting!"
The more viciously they badmouthed Xie Yuanjiu, the wider Ye Shangyi’s smile grew.
Just then, Shen Ningning emerged from the room with her small satchel on her back.
Ye Shangyi caught sight of her and spoke up as Shen Ningning was walking past.
"Commandery Princess, won’t you have some as well?" she asked, an eyebrow raised in triumph, her tone clearly meant to gloat.
Shen Ningning shook her head, blinking her large eyes twice. "No, thank you. My godfather is here to pick me up. I have to go now. Goodbye."
With that, the little girl stepped onto the long bridge and saw the tall figure of Xie Mingxu standing at the far end.
Her little feet went PITTER-PATTER as she ran toward him. "Brother!"
The little girl threw herself into his arms, and he caught her, lifting her up and giving her a little bounce.
His handsome features relaxed into a gentle smile. "Running so fast, little one. Be careful you don’t trip."
"I won’t," Shen Ningning said, shaking her little head. "Brother, why did you come yourself?"
At the thought of something, Xie Mingxu’s smile faded slightly. "Father came to the palace as well. He went to handle Yuan Jiu’s matter first. He’ll meet us at the palace gates in a bit. I’ll take you out first."
「Meanwhile.」
Xie Yuanjiu had just been released from the torture room. Before she could even lift her head to see the sky, she was roughly dragged into an adjacent side room by a palace attendant.
The palace attendant shoved her, and she fell to the ground as the door slammed shut behind her.
"COUGH... COUGH..." After a full night, Xie Yuanjiu’s hair was disheveled and dark bruises lay under her eyes. She was a wretched sight.
Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a noble and dignified figure.
Xie Yuanjiu slowly raised her head to see Consort Rong sitting on a chair not far away, leisurely sipping tea.
Two senior attendants stood behind her, their expressions severe.
"Your Highness," Xie Yuanjiu stammered, a sliver of hope igniting in her eyes. "Your Highness, please save me! I was framed."
’Shen Ningning actually set me up.’
’The evidence is irrefutable now. I have no chance to defend myself!’
Consort Rong held her teacup, the rising steam veiling her expression and making her voice sound distant and faint.
"Even I cannot save you. The outcome is already decided. And even if Shen Ningning truly did frame you, you deserve this loss. It’s your own fault for not being as skilled as her."
Consort Rong had always been gentle and kind; it was the first time she had ever spoken such cutting words.
Xie Yuanjiu froze, the color draining from her face.
’My life is ruined!’
’After this, everyone in the Capital City will know that I, Xie Yuanjiu, am nothing but a complete fraud!’
Xie Yuanjiu had already cried all her tears the night before.
Now, her face was ashen, and she seemed to have lost all her will to fight. She slowly lowered her head in resignation.
Only when she saw this did Consort Rong put down her teacup. "What do you plan to do next?"
Xie Yuanjiu’s voice was a choked, numb whisper. "Go home... and then... apologize to my eldest uncle..."
Consort Rong let out a soft, mocking laugh. "Silly child. Oh, silly child. How can you still not understand, even at a time like this?"
"The Xie family is promoting Shen Ningning for the sole purpose of pushing you out. After what’s happened, do you really think Chancellor Xie still cares about you?"
Xie Yuanjiu stiffened and looked up. "No, he wouldn’t. My eldest uncle wouldn’t be so heartless."
"He wouldn’t truly abandon me! All my life, the Xie Mansion raised me with the status of a legitimate daughter of the main family!"
Consort Rong tutted, her tone a mixture of pity and heartache.
"It seems you truly don’t know what happened in your family all those years ago. Allow me to enlighten you."
"Your very birth is a disgrace to the Xie family. Your father, Second Master Xie, and the female general, Fang Qingdai, were childhood sweethearts. The entire Capital City knew they were in love."
"But during a palace banquet, someone drugged and locked your mother from the He Family in a room with Second Master Xie. By the time people found them, your mother’s virtue had already been compromised."
Hearing this, Xie Yuanjiu’s eyes widened in utter disbelief.
’So... my mother was framed, and that’s how she ended up marrying my father?’
Consort Rong slowly continued her tale of the past.
The story of how Second Master Xie had ruined a woman’s reputation spread quickly through the Capital City.
Mrs. Xie Sr., a woman who valued propriety above all else, forced Second Master Xie to marry her. Second Master Xie fought against it with all his might.
"But then, news spread that your mother was pregnant. With tears in her eyes, Fang Qingdai gave up on the relationship and voluntarily cut all ties with Second Master Xie."
The weight of societal convention was a mountain that crushed Second Master Xie, leaving him with no choice but to take the woman from the He Family as his wife.
The female general, Fang Qingdai, in turn, married another and left with her new husband’s family, never once returning to the Capital City.
As she listened to this point, Xie Yuanjiu felt only a mix of regret and relief.
’I’m so glad Grandmother, Mrs. Xie Sr., valued propriety and forced Second Master Xie to marry my mother!’
’I’m so glad I was born into the prestigious Xie family, able to live as a noble, legitimate daughter!’
However, Consort Rong continued in a low, haunting voice, "But do you know why your father suddenly had a seizure and became paralyzed?"
"Because just a few years ago, Second Master Xie found proof. The one who had plotted against him... was your mother from the He Family!"
Xie Yuanjiu trembled from head to toe. "How is that possible! My mother... my mother wouldn’t do something like that!"
’But... would she really not?’ Even as she said it, Xie Yuanjiu’s voice lacked conviction.
A cold smile bloomed on Consort Rong’s lips. "It doesn’t matter what you say. The evidence was irrefutable. Second Master Xie confronted your mother from the He Family directly, and she confirmed it."
"He had assumed your mother was a victim as well, but he never imagined that she was the true culprit who tore the lovers apart."
"That night, Second Master Xie was so consumed by rage that he coughed up blood and collapsed, paralyzed."
At this, Consort Rong looked at the utterly horrified Xie Yuanjiu.
She asked softly, "So, Miss Xie Si, tell me... under these circumstances, are you not the shame of the Xie family?"
All the strength drained from Xie Yuanjiu’s body, as if she had been struck over the head with a heavy club.
She collapsed on the floor, tears streaming endlessly. "How can this be... My... my entire existence is an absurdity... a mistake."