Chapter 37: Is It Because They Have So Many “Sisters”?
This novel is translated and hosted only on Bcatranslation
Yu Zhi Yi had no idea she was the cause of someone losing his fiancée. She also didn’t know that Shen Yun Jing, after failing to explain himself to his fiancée, had gone off to stir trouble for Du Zi Heng.
Right now, Yu Zhi Yi was sitting comfortably in an embroidered chair at the Splendid Embroidery Workshop, sipping tea and nibbling on snacks.
Splendid Embroidery Workshop was the most prestigious dressmaker’s shop in the city, often serving high-ranking nobles. Naturally, the tea, snacks, and even the fruit they served were of the finest quality.
Yu Jiao Jiao sat not far from Yu Zhi Yi, keeping her distance after losing face outside recently. Though she dearly wished to scratch Yu Zhi Yi’s face, she pretended not to see her. Even when others came over to compliment her, she had to put on a show of sisterly affection.
She really didn’t want to hear Yu Zhi Yi going on again about her hundreds of concubine-sisters.
But even if she chose not to bring it up, someone else always would.
The story of the true and false daughter had caused a stir back then. In noble circles, everyone knew Yu Zhi Yi was just a common hen who had somehow perched on a high branch.
Some people couldn’t help but feel sullied for having been friends with a fake noble for ten years.
And what’s more, despite being just a common hen, Yu Zhi Yi had ended up in the Yu household by sheer luck. Lord Yu and his wife were decent people, and she even managed to marry into the Chancellor’s family—one of the highest-ranking households.
For noble ladies who had been eyeing Du Zi Heng, or simply coveted the Du household’s standing, it was enough to make them lose their composure.
Unfortunately for them, Yu Zhi Yi rarely attended social gatherings. Even when noble ladies hosted banquets or gatherings, it was always Madam Yao who showed up in her stead.
Now that they’d caught sight of her here, these noblewomen weren’t going to miss this chance.
One of them, dressed in a bright red gown, took a delicate sip of her tea before setting her cup down gracefully, every move dripping with noble arrogance.
“Young Master Zi Heng is off being whisked away by another man, and yet the young Mrs. Du is here, leisurely browsing fabrics?” she said, her voice dripping with mockery.
Word had spread through the noble circles yesterday about Du Zi Heng bursting into a clinic holding a young man in his arms. The affairs of the Du family had become a topic that couldn’t be hushed.
Because of this, the way these noblewomen looked at Yu Zhi Yi was full of derision.
What if she’d managed to perch on a high branch? A common hen was still a common hen. Even if placed in a phoenix’s nest, she would never become a phoenix.
Couldn’t they all see how Young Master Zi Heng wasn’t even taking her seriously?
Yu Jiao Jiao glanced at her sister, her expression amused.
She hadn’t said it, so no one could blame her for it.
She was delighted to watch the fake lady get mocked.
Yu Zhi Yi shot her a cold look. “Wipe that smug grin off your face. Whatever happens, I am still the eldest daughter of the Yu family in name. If I’m mocked in public, it’s the Yu household that loses face—including you, as the second miss. So I have no idea what you find so amusing.”
Yu Jiao Jiao opened her mouth to protest, “I… I wasn’t laughing! Sister, you misunderstand me. I’m just worried for you. Brother-in-law…”
Though she wished nothing more than for this imposter to drop dead, she couldn’t let it show. She had, after all, cultivated the image of a gentle flower bullied by the fake miss—all to earn public sympathy.
Yu Zhi Yi didn’t give her a chance to continue. “Since when has helping someone in need become disgraceful? Would you walk past an injured person in the street and just let them bleed out and die?”
They were all noblewomen, and therefore concerned with appearances. Though few present truly cared about the lives of ordinary people, they certainly couldn’t admit it.
The noblewoman in red hesitated, her expression uneasy. “Of course not… but—”
“My husband follows His Majesty’s call to practice thrift. He doesn’t travel with a large entourage like all of you,” Yu Zhi Yi said calmly, though her words cut like a knife. “Without attendants to assist him, he had no choice but to carry the injured person himself. Is that so difficult to understand?”
That was the scene Du Zi Heng walked into when he stepped onto the third floor.
He froze.
After his fiancée had broken off the engagement, Shen Yun Jing had rushed to her residence to beg for forgiveness, despite not having done anything wrong. But she’d left orders with the doorman to keep him out. No matter how much he pleaded, he wasn’t allowed in. Frustrated, he’d ended up coming to pick a fight with Du Zi Heng.
After a round of cursing, Shen Yun Jing found out where Yu Zhi Yi was and heard that she’d been ridiculed by Yu Jiao Jiao. That’s why he was here.
After a day of gossip, news had spread throughout the capital about Du Zi Heng carrying a small, pretty young man into a clinic. He had quickly become the subject of scorn and mockery.
Shen Yun Jing, one of his closest friends, had blamed Du Zi Heng for causing him to lose his fiancée, but he also understood that Du Zi Heng was somewhat innocent. Still, he urged Du Zi Heng to hurry over to the Splendid Embroidery Workshop.
“That Yu girl’s no pushover. She’ll probably use this chance to bring Miss You into the light, and then you’ll both be branded adulterers for all to see.
“It might not matter to you, being the chancellor’s son, but Miss You is just a girl. She might not survive the whispers and the scorn.”
Du Zi Heng had never imagined that Yu Zhi Yi, far from slandering them, would actually cover for them.
Before he could gather his thoughts, another noblewoman tried to pierce Yu Zhi Yi’s “strong front.”
“Well, that’s not what I heard,” she said, raising an eyebrow. “I heard the man Young Master Zi Heng was holding wasn’t just some injured stranger—he was actually his mistress.”
Yu Jiao Jiao immediately feigned shock. “No way! Sister, you’ve only been married for… what, a few months? And Brother-in-law’s already keeping a mistress?”
She put on a face of righteous indignation. “Sister, you don’t need to be afraid. When we get home, I’ll tell Father and Mother. They’ll stand up for you!”
Yu Zhi Yi took a calm sip of tea. “I have no objection to my husband taking concubines. Why would he need to hide a mistress outside the household?”
“The chancellor’s family lacks heirs. If someone could add a few more branches to our family tree, I would be overjoyed, not opposed.” She looked at the noblewomen gathered before her with a puzzled expression. “Wouldn’t you all welcome children from your concubines?”
The noblewomen froze. “Of course we would…”
They would—but who would admit that openly?
Ever since Princess Jia Luo had taken power a century ago, the status of women in the Dasheng Empire had improved greatly. However, men still retained the privilege of having multiple wives and concubines.
The only real power women held in marriage was the right to divorce.
Yet, though divorce had been legalized, few had the courage to take that step.
And as long as a woman didn’t leave her husband’s family, she had to accept the reality that her husband might have other women, and even children, with those women.
You could be upset in private, perhaps plot to get rid of these nuisances with the help of your closest confidantes, but you could never openly voice such discontent.
Yu Jiao Jiao ground her teeth in frustration as she watched the other noblewomen go silent, cursing them in her heart. “Useless!”
Yu Zhi Yi found the whole scene amusing.
They were all the mistresses of their own households, and yet, with countless concubine-sisters waiting to compete with them for their husbands, where did their sense of superiority come from to mock her?
Was it simply because they had more “sisters”?