Chapter 4: How Could Her Life Be So Good

Fu Junyao could no longer keep up the pretense. She took a deep breath to steady herself, maintaining a semblance of composure and trying to keep her voice from trembling too much. “Father, it’s true that I was plotted against today. I was knocked unconscious, taken away, and given an extremely potent drug. If it hadn’t been neutralized, the consequences would have been unthinkable.”

“Brother Lang came to save me. I forced him into it. Please, don’t blame him.”

Why should Brother Lang apologize? If anything, she should be the one seeking his forgiveness with a rod on her back.

Fu Xiao felt his old face had nowhere to hide! His daughter was truly bold! Out of all the people she could have chosen as a tool to neutralize the poison, she had to pick that god of calamity!

So, when he heard his daughter’s chastity had been compromised, he flew into a rage, hitting and kicking that god of calamity at the Ministry of Revenue, pointing at his nose and cursing him for half the day—all of it was a misunderstanding?

Would that god of calamity even listen if he went to explain now?

“By the way, Father, since Brother Lang has made this matter public, you should go to the Duke’s residence and call off the engagement. Otherwise, this situation will be impossible to resolve.” Now that the truth was out, Fu Junyao saw no reason to hide anything and spoke openly.

As for the wedding scheduled for the day after tomorrow, she hadn’t been looking forward to it much in the first place. She simply felt that when one reached a certain age, it was time to marry. As for why she hadn’t objected when Fu Qingqing made a big show of helping her pursue Feng Ning back then, it was only because she thought, since she had to marry someone anyway, it didn’t matter who it was. At least that man was exceptionally good-looking.

Now that this had happened and her reputation was ruined, it was better to resolve things sooner rather than later.

When Fu Qingqing heard the words “call off the engagement,” she grew genuinely anxious. She hurriedly grabbed Fu Xiao’s sleeve and spoke urgently, “Father, we mustn’t act rashly in this matter. We should consider it carefully before making a decision.”

Fu Xiao frowned as he looked at Fu Qingqing. Just now, Yao Yao had clearly implied suspicion toward Qingqing, and now Qingqing was reacting this way. He would have to have someone investigate this thoroughly.

However, he kept his expression neutral and spoke earnestly, “The Duke’s residence holds a prestigious position. This matter cannot be taken lightly. Your sister has lost her chastity. If we pretend nothing happened and proceed with the marriage, our two families will likely become enemies. In that case, your sister’s life will be difficult.”

Fu Qingqing shook her head and explained urgently, “Father, I’m not suggesting we pretend nothing happened. The Duke’s residence has been preparing for this wedding for so long. If we rashly call off the engagement, they will definitely not let it go.”

“Moreover, I remember that the marriage contract sent by the Duke’s residence specifies ‘the legitimate daughter of the Fu family.’ It doesn’t directly mention Sister’s name.” Fu Qingqing emphasized the words “legitimate daughter” heavily and sharply, afraid her hint wouldn’t be clear enough.

Fu Junyao couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and look at her.

Fu Xiao shook his head. “What’s the use of nitpicking over words now? In our Fu family, only your sister is the legitimate daughter. Even if I wanted to change it, I couldn’t produce a second one for the Duke’s residence.”

Fu Qingqing’s face darkened.

She knew her father would say that.

The words “legitimate daughter” was the root cause of everything that weighed her down.

What was even more infuriating was that her mother had once had the chance to be elevated to the status of the legitimate wife, and she herself had had the chance to become a legitimate daughter!

When she was nine years old, her father, moved by her Mother’s Day-after-day devotion, had been prepared to elevate her mother to the status of the legitimate wife!

All because of that despicable Fu Junyao, who couldn’t stand to see others happy, went to the ancestral hall and sat for hours before the memorial tablet of her long-dead mother.

As a result, Father not only canceled the plan to legitimize the concubine but also promised Fu Junyao that no one could ever replace her short-lived mother!

Why?
That short-lived woman is already dead—what’s the point of clinging to that position?

It prevented her from becoming a legitimate daughter. Without the proper status, she couldn’t reach the threshold of the Duke’s mansion and couldn’t marry Brother Ning as his wife. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been forced to come up with a scheme to pursue love on Fu Junyao’s behalf. Using Fu Junyao’s name, she interacted with Brother Ning, firmly capturing his heart.

Brother Ning also promised her that he would help ruin Fu Junyao, trample her into the mud completely, never to rise again, so that she could become the only legitimate daughter of the Fu family and marry into the Duke’s mansion with glory and honor.

Just when her plan was about to succeed! Now, out of nowhere, Cheng Honglang appeared!

Where did Fu Junyao get such damn luck? How is her fate so good?

Fu Qingqing felt so frustrated she could almost vomit blood!

Fu Junyao saw Fu Qingqing’s expression clearly. She couldn’t help but sneer inwardly.

It seemed that Fu Qingqing must have been involved in her misfortune. She just didn’t know what had happened after she was taken away.

From what Fu Qingqing had just said, it sounded like she was planning to replace her and marry into the Duke’s mansion.

Hah!

To scheme against her like this, steal her marriage, and even try to trample her into the mud—Fu Qingqing, you really are something. So ruthless. So cruel!

Sure enough, the next moment, Fu Qingqing couldn’t resist showing her true colors. She grabbed Fu Xiao’s sleeve, swaying it coquettishly, putting on an act as if she had made a great sacrifice: “Father, let me offer a suggestion. See if it works.”

Fu Xiao frowned at Fu Qingqing. He had a feeling that whatever she was about to say, Yao Yao wouldn’t like it.

Sure enough, Fu Qingqing, thinking herself very clever, said, “Father, as long as you legitimize the concubine before the day after tomorrow, she will become the official wife. Then I will be a legitimate daughter in name and right. At that point, I can take Sister’s place and marry into the Duke’s mansion. Even if they’re dissatisfied, they won’t be able to find fault with it.”
“At worst, they might take their anger out on me—just bully me a bit. They wouldn’t dare to actually kill anyone.”

“As long as I endure it and get through it, once I bear the heir’s child, it’ll be a done deal. No matter how unhappy they are, they’ll have to accept it.”

Fu Junyao glanced at Fu Qingqing, suppressing the cold laughter in her heart.

What a scheme—she really wanted to take all the benefits for herself! And she had the nerve to act so aggrieved, as if she were making some huge sacrifice. Truly, playing both sides—disgusting to the extreme.

Fu Xiao was swayed. He turned to Fu Junyao and asked cautiously, “Yao Yao, what do you think? Is this acceptable?”

Fu Junyao merely reminded him calmly, “The concubine came from a servant background. As the official wife, her status is still somewhat lacking. Father, you might be ridiculed. And Sister might not be respected in the Duke’s mansion either.”

“Then we’ll register Qingqing under your mother’s name,” Fu Xiao declared decisively.

Although Qingqing’s idea was selfish, it was the most feasible solution now. To resolve the most urgent problem right now, they had to proceed this way.

After all, they are both his daughters, and he cherishes them equally. Now that Yaoyao has gotten into trouble, he has no choice but to push Qingqing forward. Even if there are hidden circumstances behind this matter, he probably thinks that Madam won’t blame him once she finds out.

“What a clever scheme, sister,” Fu Junyao said coldly.

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