The next day, the cicadas chirped crisply.
The morning sunlight scattered like shattered gold, draping over the bluestone path like a layer of floating light.
Chu Chu had been in a bad mood lately. Although Xiao Cheng Ce still doted on her as before and spent every night in her room,
for some reason, even after they enjoyed intimate relations and he kissed her sweat-dampened forehead while pulling her into his arms, she still seemed unable to feel his intensely pounding heart.
Women were sensitive creatures, so even the slightest difference was something she could detect.
Even more so, it was only after blowing out the candles each time, when he pinned her down on the bed and they entwined passionately, that his movements beneath her became more intense and his breathing more obvious, as if he was vaguely treating her as another woman.
But who exactly was he treating her as? She didn’t dare think too deeply.
After breakfast that day, Chu Chu sat quietly for a moment.
Unlike usual, she didn’t go to the study to find Xiao Cheng Ce. Instead, accompanied by the maid Yun Zhi, she stepped into Xie Shuo’s courtyard for the first time.
She wasn’t close to this half-brother of hers from a different mother.
In fact, because he was from the Snake Clan, she even felt a natural aversion and disgust toward him. But lately, she had been truly troubled, and there was no one in the residence she could confide in, so she thought of that gloomy, reclusive little mute.
Who would have thought that as soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Bai Xinyi, the woman she hated to the bone.
The woman in green robes stood gracefully beside A Shuo, her eyes shimmering with allure and her lips curved in a smile—it was dazzling to behold.
Yun Zhi, not understanding, followed Chu Chu to a stop. Then, following her gaze to the enchanting woman in green in the pavilion, she understood a bit.
Others might not know, but as her personal maid, she could see clearly: the Madam despised Bai Xinyi and had already regarded her as a thorn in her side.
Since it was a thorn, it couldn’t be left lingering—it had to be removed once and for all.
Thus, following her mistress’s intent, she angrily cursed, “This Bai Xinyi is truly shameless. The general has already divorced her, yet she still has the nerve to linger in the residence without leaving! Madam, you’re too kind-hearted to ignore her, but now even your younger brother, Young Master Xie, has been entangled by her shamelessly.”
“In this servant’s view, Madam need not worry too much. The general is merely momentarily soft-hearted. In a few days, he’ll see her true colors and drive her out, baggage and all, to avoid the embarrassment!”
Unfortunately, after hearing this, Chu Chu felt no comfort at all. On the contrary, as she kept recalling the events of this period, the more she thought, the colder her heart grew.
—See Bai Xinyi’s true colors? Drive her out?
If he truly intended to drive her away, he wouldn’t have let her continue causing trouble, lingering awkwardly in the residence to this day.
In the end, Xiao Cheng Ce was still bewitched by that beautiful facade; he just refused to admit it.
Moreover, Chu Chu hadn’t expected that this supposed daughter of a minor official would be far more tenacious and difficult to deal with than she had imagined.
She had originally thought that Central Plains women were all mediocre and dull, tamed by poetry, rites, and family rules into meek and forbearing types.
Even as a concubine following Xiao Cheng Ce back, she would eventually monopolize her husband’s affections and be elevated to the main wife of the general’s residence.
Who knew that man proposes but heaven disposes—this game of chess, she had been outmaneuvered by one move.
Not to mention, Bai Xinyi was no obedient sort at all. Not only was she adept at flaunting her charms, but she had also hooked Xiao Cheng Ce’s heart, leaving it hanging in suspense.
If this continued, those two would inevitably end up rolling in the same bed sooner or later.
Here, Chu Chu bit her red lips, her eyes full of unwillingness and resentment.
On the other side, Xin Yi sat leisurely in the pavilion, sipping tea and admiring the scenery, in a wonderfully good mood.
A silver bell hung from the red cord in her dark hair, engraved with distinct foreign patterns—it was something she had snatched from Xie Shuo. At first, Xie Shuo had been unwilling and grabbed her arm, insisting on untying the braid she had made.
Xin Yi naturally didn’t miss the opportunity for physical contact. She leaned into his arms, her pink lips brushing his neck.
Then, in a feigned tone of surprise, she asked, “What is A Shuo doing? In broad daylight, trying to strip a girl’s clothes?”
The youth stiffened all over, wanting to push her away.
But she giggled and planted a kiss on his face. “A reward for the little snake in its mating period. If you want more, you have to beg me.”
Of course, Xie Shuo didn’t beg her.
His handsome face turned ashen, as if he wanted to devour her alive. Yet despite that, he made no further attempt to push her away. Instead, he resignedly let her hold him, his collar stained with the faint fragrance from her sleeve.
In the end, Xin Yi still wore the Miao Frontier youth’s red cord and silver bell in her hair as she sat in the pavilion.
Occasionally teasing him while teaching him to write characters.
Xie Shuo was very smart. No matter how obscure or complex the characters, he could remember them perfectly after one lesson, without a single mistake.
Even if tested again days later, he wouldn’t err.
Thus, Xin Yi’s days as a tutor became leisurely: sipping tea, nibbling pastries, reading storybooks, and casually searching her mind for some embarrassingly romantic poems.
She made him recite them from memory and write them out for her to see.
“I adore you, love you; that’s why I call you ‘dear dear.’ If I don’t call you ‘dear dear,’ who will?”
Xin Yi’s brows and eyes curved in a smile as she deliberately read the lines he had written slowly. Then she leaned to his ear and whispered an explanation, “This means… I like you so much, I really want to kiss you, love you to my very bones, dream of you every night, super want you to be my wife~”
The youth’s breathing hitched, and he snapped the wolf-hair brush in his grip.
He felt that if this continued, he would sooner or later be angered to death by this shameless woman, Bai Xinyi.
Little did he know how glaring their intimate, playful demeanor appeared in Chu Chu’s eyes from not far away.
She silently clenched her palms, watching coldly.
Why?
Why had even Xie Shuo, this reclusive, inhuman monster, tacitly allowed her approach?
Not only Xie Shuo, but even that Bamboo Leaf Green he had raised from young with his blood, which wasn’t affectionate toward people—not even she, his sister, could touch it casually—was now coiled around Bai Xinyi’s wrist, being stroked at will.
Chu Chu gritted her teeth.
She couldn’t let Bai Xinyi continue like this. She absolutely wouldn’t allow any woman to steal everything she now possessed!
In the afternoon, Xin Yi was squatting in the courtyard looking at flowers.
An unfamiliar little maid came over and said that Chu Chu wanted to invite her for tea and have a heart-to-heart talk.
Xin Yi found it novel—what was there to talk about between them?
One was a favored enchanting concubine, the other a vicious-minded original wife. From each other’s perspectives, they should both despise one another.
But since the other party had come knocking, even if it was an ambush disguised as hospitality, she had no reason not to go.
Thus, after thinking it over, she had the maid relay that she would come shortly and asked them to prepare her favorite milk custard pastries in advance.
The little maid, upon hearing this, looked at her with an expression hard to describe, as if she had never seen such a shameless person.
But she still put on a proper front and softly agreed.
After about half a shichen, Xin Yi arrived before Chu Chu, accompanied by her maid Xiang Lan.
She flashed the other woman a smile that was three parts aloof and five parts mocking, solidifying her image as petty and jealous, then sat down gracefully without waiting for an invitation. “New Madam summoned me—what do you have to say?”
Chu Chu seemed long accustomed to her attitude. After all, everyone in the residence knew: Bai Xinyi had no tolerance for others, which was why she had brought ruin upon herself.
Thus, she wasn’t too angry and curved her lips slightly. “I invited Miss Bai over today to apologize to you.”
Xin Yi paused in taking a pastry and looked at her with great interest, as if hearing something novel. “Oh?”
Unexpectedly, not here to pick a fight or demand justice, but to apologize.
Chu Chu nodded, her tone seeming sincere. “In the end, things reaching this point isn’t without some fault on my part. After all, when I agreed to be with Shi Bi, I knew he already had an original wife at home. But for a woman, a good match is rare and not to be sought—once encountered, there’s no reason to let it slip easily.”
As she spoke, she looked at her, as if seeking some agreement. “Miss Bai can understand this, right?”
Xin Yi scoffed, then shook her head very seriously. “Not really. If I could, I wouldn’t have pushed you back then.”
Her words were too brazen, causing Xiang Lan beside her to break out in cold sweat. She coughed twice to remind her to restrain herself, but Xin Yi paid no heed.
Chu Chu seemed to have prepared psychologically and showed no great surprise at her words.
She continued smiling, but this time it wasn’t sugar-coated barbs—it was revealing her true intentions. “But no matter what, given Miss Bai’s current status, it really isn’t suitable to remain in the general’s residence any longer. The longer it drags on, the more awkward it will be for everyone. And while Shi Bi tolerates you now, it doesn’t mean he will forever. Miss Bai is a smart person and should understand that clinging on will only wear away the last shred of affection between you.”
Xin Yi remained unmoved and leisurely took a sip of tea. “Then wait until he truly can’t tolerate me anymore before driving me out.”
With a provocative glance, she added thoughtfully, “Who knows, maybe that day never comes. Before then, Xiao Cheng Ce might fall for me again, love me to death. By then, even if I wanted to leave of my own accord, he might not let me.”
The smile on Chu Chu’s lips indeed faded, her expression turning ugly. “You think that’s possible? The general is a serious and devoted man. Back on the frontier, he already vowed to me eternal love till the seas run dry and rocks crumble.”
“And from what I know, on your wedding night, he didn’t even lift your veil.”
This time, Xin Yi truly couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing at her words.
How to put it—women in love were unbelievably naive, always thinking men were eternally faithful creatures, as if proclaiming deep devotion made them utterly trustworthy.
She cupped her face and nodded. “I think it’s possible. Otherwise, that day when I provoked him in front of you, making Xiao Cheng Ce flush red with anger from face to neck, he still didn’t really do anything to me.”
“As for those so-called vows, are they worth anything? If I really wanted to hear them, I could coax a whole bunch out of him eloquently.”
With that, the atmosphere fell completely silent, the surroundings unusually quiet.
But the gazes falling on Xin Yi were filled with great dissatisfaction and accusation, as if her words were terribly harsh and excessive.
Xin Yi looked at the woman’s face before her, which had gradually paled with a lost, uneasy expression, knowing she had taken it to heart.
Actually, the other’s words were rather piercing, but fortunately, she wasn’t the original owner and had no real feelings for Xiao Cheng Ce, so they didn’t touch her.
With things said, staying longer would be pointless.
Thus, she finished the tea on the table and stood to leave. Who knew that as soon as she rose, someone suddenly grabbed her wrist fiercely.
Chu Chu dropped all pretense, her red lips hooked in a cold smile as she threatened icily, “I advise Miss Bai to know better and leave the general’s residence yourself.”
Xin Yi frowned. “Let go.”
Naturally, the other didn’t listen and gripped even tighter, as if determined to force her to yield.
Xin Yi coldly laughed in anger and directly shook off her grasp.
Unexpectedly, the next second, the woman who had been standing steadily seemed to lose her balance as if pushed by her.
With a short, sharp cry of alarm, she tumbled onto the nearby gravel path.
Almost instantly, her knee was cut by the sharp stones, blood immediately seeping out crimson.
Xin Yi: “…”
This familiar scene, this melodramatic flair—wasn’t it straight out of some clichéd TV drama?
Xin Yi mockingly tugged at her lips, waiting for Xiao Cheng Ce to burst out from some corner the next second, thunderously berating her, accusing her of being incorrigibly vicious and ruthless.
Anyway, her impression in Xiao Cheng Ce’s heart was already terrible.
A bit worse hardly mattered. Besides, Xin Yi felt she had plenty of skill in arguing back—even if he tried to pin the blame on her, she had more than enough retorts to leave them speechless.
She hadn’t expected it to be Xie Shuo who rushed over.
She didn’t know when he had appeared—whether he had seen from start to finish or just caught the moment of their dispute.
Chu Chu lay fallen on the ground, the hem of her skirt at her knee deeply stained with blood.
The eyes that were usually roguish and lively now brimmed with forbearant tears, and even her little face had gradually turned pale.
The youth passed by her side, emotionlessly pushing her away. The smoke-purple hem of his clothes stirred up a breeze, and silver bells like hers still dangled between his black locks of hair.
Then he parted the maids’ support and scooped Chu Chu up into his arms sideways, his movements careful and gentle, revealing an unconscious pity and heartache.
When his gaze fell on her, it suddenly froze.
It then turned into deep disgust, the kind of look reserved for a villainess in those old melodramas, devoid of any warmth, as if he had already determined her vicious nature.
Chu Chu lay pale and frowning in his arms, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks, the perfect picture of an innocent victim.
She clutched his sleeve tightly and softly called out, “A Shuo…”
Upon hearing this, the youth no longer hesitated. He held her silently and strode away quickly.
When he passed by Xin Yi’s side again, he still did not pause for her, just as before.
The other maids all followed and left cleanly. Only Xiang Lan remained at her side, unable to hold back her worried muttering.
She sounded terribly anxious. “It’s over, it’s over. If the general finds out you pushed Madam Chu Chu again, he’ll definitely be furious! She’s the beloved concubine he cherishes in the palm of his heart. This time, will we really be thrown out of the general’s mansion?”
Her worry was not unfounded. After all, even Xiang Lan, who had been standing so close, could not clearly tell whether Chu Chu had deliberately fallen moments ago or if her young miss had shoved her with force.
But she suspected it was most likely the latter.
If they were truly chased out, the fate awaiting her mistress and servant would probably be to end up homeless on the streets. The Bai family had never liked the young miss to begin with, believing she had caused her elder brother’s death at birth and was a born jinx.
If they learned the young miss had been divorced, how could they possibly tolerate it?
Yet Xin Yi stood quietly, her face showing no extra expression.
As if she felt nothing at all about what had just happened.
In truth, it was not that she felt nothing.
She found it somewhat amusing.
Only now did she realize how ridiculously mistaken she had been.
She had thought that the companionship from her strategy efforts over this period, along with the steadily rising favorability, proved they were gradually growing closer.
But in reality, that favorability was so negligible, like fragile bubbles that burst at the slightest touch.
It could not compare to Chu Chu’s minor schemes.
Xie Shuo had witnessed that scene earlier and had not even bothered to learn the full context.
Because between her and Chu Chu, the choice required no effort. His absolute trust favored Chu Chu, so he unhesitatingly placed her in the enemy camp.
After a moment—perhaps a long while—the voice of the Melodramatic Transmigration System rang in her ear, uncertainly asking, “Host, are you crying?”
Only then did Xin Yi belatedly touch her face. It was indeed a little wet.
She indifferently wiped it away with the back of her hand. “It’s nothing. I just feel a bit embarrassed. I’ve been playing the vicious female side character for so long, and this is my first Waterloo.”