Chapter 029
Chapter 29: Why Does This Plot Always Surprise Me?
Back in her courtyard, Su Qian Xue looked around on purpose, though she did not know what she sought. She stopped a guard at the gate and asked with a frown: “Other than Duke Ning, has anyone come to the manor today?”
“Replying to Young Miss, no,” the servant said.
Her brows drew tighter. An empty space opened in her chest.
[Something is off. In transmigration novels, when the heroine is publicly cast off, her fated man always appears. He sees her calm pride in shame, grows curious, and later falls in love.]
[Even if I am not the female lead, I should have my own destiny.]
[Why is the script failing this time.]
Perplexed, she returned to her rooms. From yesterday to now, she felt she had missed something vital, a moment or a person.
Mo Yuan Hao felt the same.
Prince Qi Manor.
The man who had worn black robes and a silver mask now lay in clean brocade. Fresh salves glimmered across his chest. His aide dabbed medicine as Mo Yuan Hao rested against the frame couch, eyes half closed.
A vague loss gnawed at him, as if something precious had slipped his fingers.
“Were there unusual happenings near the Temple of Fated Marriages last night,” he asked, eyes opening to a dark gleam.
Ting Feng blinked, then bowed and answered: “Your Highness, aside from the Xie clan sweeping their grounds to hunt a trespasser, the other matter concerned the eldest miss of Grand Commandant Manor.”
At that name, Mo Yuan Hao’s brows knit. Disgust flashed. Seeing he did not stop him, Ting Feng continued: “Yesterday, that Su miss dressed as a man and went to Emerald Leaning House. She drank the house’s ‘entertainment’ wine by mistake. Realizing it was wrong, she fled and passed the temple, where Duke Ning’s men intercepted her and carried her to a medical hall.”
“Duke Ning’s men,” Mo Yuan Hao repeated.
“Yes,” Ting Feng said. The line had been careful and hidden, but he had found a trace in their wake.
Mo Yuan Hao lowered his eyes and thought.
[Why were Duke Ning’s people there.]
[Was it chance, or something deeper.]
[And that Su Qian Xue…]
“Send word. Have Chi Yun investigate Su Qian Xue and Duke Ning Manor. He must be discreet and not alarm Uncle Yun,” he ordered softly.
“Yes,” Ting Feng said. He hesitated, then added, “There is another matter. I do not know if I should speak.”
“Speak,” Mo Yuan Hao said, eyes closing again.
“News of Miss Su being drugged and sent to a clinic by an unknown man has spread across the city. This morning, Duke Ning personally went to Grand Commandant Manor and annulled the engagement between Heir Yun and Miss Su,” Ting Feng reported.
“Hmph,” Mo Yuan Hao sneered. “That Su girl is reckless and shameless, lacking the dignity of a noble daughter. She never suited Yun Wan Chen. Uncle Yun did well to end it.”
Cold disdain faded into a restless unease.
[With Yun Wan Chen’s marriage troubled, what will happen between me and Yao’er.]
[Sigh.]
It was already Yun Wan Ning’s countless sigh today. Other than drink milk and sleep, she sighed and furrowed her tiny brow.
Madam Yun had planned to wait for Yun Zheng to return before saying a word. But seeing her daughter’s worry, she could no longer hold back.
“Why has your father not returned. Could something have happened while breaking the engagement,” Madam Yun asked softly, feigning concern. The little bun’s eyes rounded.
[What did Mother say. Father went to break the engagement.]
[What is happening.]
[This was not in the original plot.]
[From the heroine’s view, Su Qian Xue was a vicious supporting role. No matter how she schemed, the Yun never broke the match. They even hurried to marry her to Big Brother to keep her from stirring trouble.]
[Knowing it was unavoidable, the original Su Qian Xue, who loved Prince Qi, pushed her mother to send her half sister, Su Qian Yue, into the marriage instead.]
[On the wedding night, after the veil, Big Brother learned he had married the wrong sister, but the rites were done before all. Our house could only swallow it.]
[When the heroine arrived, the plot shifted. Instead of a swap, she first ruined Big Brother’s name, then came to break the match in person.]
[So why is Father breaking it now.]
[Why is the plot collapsing again and again.]
[I am numb.]
[This story keeps surprising me. It strips me of all the edge I should have as a reader. Thankfully each change is for the good, or I would go mad.]
Madam Yun hid a smile.
[Little Fourth is too cute. She suspects a fake book, wonders why the plot falls apart, but never suspects us.]
[What face will she make when she learns the whole family hears.]
Madam Yun was looking forward to it.
“My lady, your husband has returned,” a voice called, footsteps drawing near.
Mother and daughter turned toward the door.
[Ah, Father is back. I want to hear the result.]
[Mother, ask well. I am dying to know.]
Madam Yun smiled faintly.
Yun Zheng strode in and came straight to them. He bent and gathered the little bun, who reached out and blew milk bubbles at him.
“Little Fourth, did you miss Father. Let me hold you,” he said.
“Ya ya,” she cooed.
[Father, Mother said you went to break the engagement with the Su family. Hurry and tell us. I am dying here.]
Madam Yun: “…”
[We know you are anxious, sweetheart. Be patient for a breath.]
Madam Yun cleared her throat and asked: “Husband, how did it go?”
At once, Yun Wan Ning’s eyes shone. She looked at Mother with worship.
[Ah, Mother is my voice substitute. I love you even more.]
“…”
[Voice substitute.]
Husband and wife traded a look, quietly learning another new term.
Yun Zheng kissed the baby’s tiny hand and said: “Everything went smoothly. I brought back Chen’er’s birth chart and the betrothal token. The engagement is completely canceled.”
Madam Yun lifted her brows and asked: “Madam Su agreed?”
She knew Madam Su’s scorn for Chen’er. But with yesterday’s mess and that woman’s temper, at such a sensitive hour, why would she nod. Clearly, her husband had moved pieces.
“Agreed or not, what could they do,” Yun Zheng said with a small laugh. He then told how the Su girl, dressed as a man, had gone to a pleasure house, been drugged, and been carried to a medical hall by a ‘mysterious stranger.’ Rumors now blanketed the city. “Her name is already ruined. We hold the ground of reason. They had no choice.”
Hearing this, Madam Yun grasped it at once. The stranger was her husband’s design.
But the little bun knew none of this. Her dark eyes went round.
[What. Su Qian Xue was sent to a medical hall by a mysterious man, and people saw it. Now the whole city says she lost her purity.]
[Where did this man come from.]
[Absurd. She is the female lead, and must be very pretty, the refined sort. If any man saw such a beauty under a drug, would he really take her safely to a clinic. Does such a noble man exist.]
[Ridiculous.]
[The part where she dresses as a man, goes to a pleasure house, and gets drugged matches the story. But she was supposed to meet the male lead then. Who broke the line.]
[I think the stranger is very suspicious. A pity I am small. If I were bigger, I would find this plot wrecker myself.]
[Though I do not know his intent, he helped us in passing. Give him credit for now.]
[……]
Oh no, do not.
Yun Zheng’s brow lifted and a smile tugged at his mouth. Good thing she was small. If she traced the kind plot wrecker, she would find her father.
“When I went to break the match, I met the Su girl,” Yun Zheng added. “I do not know if it was a feeling, but she seemed entirely different. She said she need not marry our house, nor must she marry at all. Since ancient times women take their husbands as heaven. Madam, tell me, can a woman say this.”
He chuckled as if amused.
Madam Yun paused, then said softly: “Then this Su girl is indeed different. She is brave and strong minded.”
This world treated women harshly. For most, marriage was the only path. Unmarried girls bore heavy taxes after fifteen. By seventeen, fathers and brothers faced criminal charges. Noble houses avoided prison, but the taxes remained. Unmarried daughters had no right of inheritance. After their parents died, an elder brother’s wife or younger kin could drive them out. Many died without a proper grave.
In short, the court drove women into marriage with iron laws.
Almost no woman dared dream of staying single.
[Of course she is different. The female lead is from the twenty first century. In our era, women work and live on their own. Being single is common. Many choose not to marry. Her thought is normal.]
[She is the female lead. The author stacked halos and buffs on her. She is even a famous streamer good at ancient style crafts.]
[She knows Tang and Song poetry, understands military strategy, can build all sorts of extraordinary inventions, her skills are all maxed. She will amaze the world.]
[Though the plot slipped this time and she missed the male lead, with such a setting she will attract him and many more.]
[At least we ended her marriage to Eldest Brother. That is a good start.]
[As for later, we will go step by step. I hope our family survives until I can speak. Then I will become my parents’ official plot spoiler.]
They did not fully grasp halo, buffs, streamer, or Tang and Song poetry, but they understood enough. Both smiled.
Little Fourth did not know there was no need to wait. Now already, she was their precious spoiler tool.
At once, husband and wife could not help thinking of that twenty first century.
Could such a time truly exist?
A time when women did not need to depend on men, could refuse marriage, and still hold up half the sky. It sounded wondrous and enviable.
Yun Zheng’s thoughts turned to a sharper edge. Little Fourth had said Su Qian Xue knew strategy and could craft strange things, skilled in everything, and would gather admirers. He could ignore unfamiliar words, but strategy and inventions sounded troublesome.
What sort of strange things.
Weapons?
Half a month passed in a blink.
News of the broken engagement spread through every alley. Even the rats must have heard. The rumor of Su Qian Xue’s ruined chastity settled like iron.
“Duke Ning himself went to annul. Can that be false,” people said.
“Exactly. Would he not check whether she was truly defiled. If she were clean, would he break a match for a son who struggles to walk,” others argued.
“Yes, as I said, Su Qian Xue is pretty. Faced with her under a drug, which man could restrain himself,” someone muttered.
“Now her name is stained and Duke Ning has cast her off. Which respectable house will dare marry her. The Su may keep an old spinster forever. She might be the first noblewoman in Great Wu who cannot marry,” another crowed.
The Su family endured new humiliation each day. In court, Su Jian’s rivals mocked without mercy. He lost so much face he nearly rammed a pillar more than once.
He had known this would come when the match broke, yet the pain cut deeper than he had guessed.
Grinding his teeth, Su Jian carved Yun Zheng’s name on his blacklist.
As for Yun Zheng, his mood soared.
Letters came from Old Seventh and from Chen’er.
They were coming home.