Chapter 14: Why Are You Looking at Me?

“Qingfei’s reputation has only gradually grown over the past year or so, but even before that, Madam Meng often invited her to perform at their residence.”

“Yes... it was around the time the top scholar passed the imperial exam that Madam Meng began frequently supporting her.”

With a loud bang, Nanyan slammed her fist on the table, startling the dance supervisors into silence.

Having said almost everything, Jiang Li waved his hand. The chief steward understood and, along with two masters, took their leave.

Once they were gone, Nanyan pushed the teacup off the table and onto the floor, trembling violently as she gasped for breath, her face frighteningly pale.

Madam Su and Bie Zhi were terrified and hurried to comfort her.

“Madam, don’t let this anger ruin your health! It’s the Meng family scheming against you; you mustn’t sacrifice yourself!”

“Yes, madam, calm down first. After all, Xia Qingfei is still living with the Meng family!”

Hearing this, Nanyan slowly raised her head. “Our Meng family? Is there still a place for me in the Meng family?”

“Well...” Madam Su and Bie Zhi were at a loss for words.

Jiang Li looked at the broken tea on the floor, his face still composed and serene.

Nanyan suddenly stood up and confronted him. “Who exactly are you? How do you know so much?”

“And why did you go to so much trouble, putting in so much effort just to tell me?”

Jiang Li remained silent, his slow manner driving Madam Su and Bie Zhi nearly mad with impatience.

“Am I not Jiang Li?”

Nanyan nearly choked on his nonsense with fury.

“As for all this effort... if you don’t see it with your own eyes and hear it with your own ears, you wouldn’t believe it without proof.”

Very well, it seemed Jiang Li was unwilling to reveal the truth easily.

His identity could be uncovered eventually, but nothing was more important than the matter of the Meng family and Xia Qingfei.

Xia Qingfei entered Yanzi Pavilion three years ago and soon reconnected with Meng Boji; the two clearly shared deep affection.

It wasn’t until Nanyan met Meng Boji by chance at Baohua Temple that he became infatuated with her and began pursuing her.

But at that time, he was still intimately involved with Xia Qingfei! Could that sudden infatuation have been nothing but a calculated lie?

Even if it were true, he was nothing more than a fickle scoundrel!

What kind of scum had she been touched by? No matter how talented, it couldn’t change the fact that Meng Boji was a faithless man.

Considering this, his kneeling before the Duke’s mansion to propose after passing the imperial exam was probably not solely for her.

If she were not the Duke’s legitimate daughter but just an ordinary village girl, that glance at Baohua Temple would likely have led nowhere.

Jiang Li was right: she should never have married him, never have married Meng Boji.

Nanyan closed her eyes tightly, afraid tears would fall.

Three years wasted on such a man were already too much; how could she waste tears on him too?

Taking a deep breath, she swallowed her tears and looked Jiang Li squarely in the eye, staring at him intently.

Jiang Li, unusually shy, finally asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Nanyan smiled slightly. “With such a handsome and elegant gentleman as you, Mr. Jiang, how could I not look closely?”

Everyone in the room was stunned, their eyes wide.

Only Jiang Li understood the implication behind her words.

Nanyan still did not fully trust him and remained suspicious of his identity.

Even so, Jiang Li felt awkward under her gaze.

A faint blush rose on his pale, somewhat sickly cheek.

He began coughing, increasingly violently, making it unclear whether his reddened face was from embarrassment or the coughing fit.

Dan Zhu quickly brought out a small porcelain bottle and fed him some medicine, patting his back until he finally eased.

Seeing him struggle, Nanyan didn’t want to press him further.

“All right, I know the truth you wanted me to learn. You may leave now.”

Jiang Li gasped for breath, unable to speak further. Dan Zhu excused herself and supported him out.

Once they left, the room fell silent. Madam Su and Bie Zhi exchanged worried looks but didn’t know what to say.

Nanyan took another deep breath, clenched her fists tighter, and her gaze sharpened.

She did not follow Jiang Li out of Yanzi Pavilion but instead went to ask the chief steward if she could visit Xia Qingfei’s room.

“She’s redeemed her indenture and is no longer part of Yanzi Pavilion. Of course you may. I was just about to order someone to clear out her room.”

“She’s already redeemed her indenture? When?”

“Just last night. She came late, and I was too busy to remember until today when I asked someone to clean her room.”

Upon hearing this, Nanyan nearly bit her lip to pieces.

Yesterday, the four young ladies had failed in their attempts, yet Xia Qingfei had redeemed her indenture. Clearly, she was determined to enter the Meng family’s household.

But as long as she remained with the Meng family, still Meng Boji’s legitimate wife, Xia Qingfei’s foot could never cross the threshold!

Xia Qingfei’s room in Yanzi Pavilion hadn’t been touched; she hadn’t packed much before leaving for the Meng household.

Her dressing table still held many cosmetics, though all the valuable jewelry had been taken.

Nanyan didn’t expect to find much but glanced around before she noticed something behind the bookshelf.

She asked Madam Su and Bie Zhi to help move it slightly, and reaching in, Nanyan pulled out a letter.

It was clearly left behind by accident. Nanyan immediately recognized the handwriting on the envelope as Meng Boji’s own.

In the letter, Meng Boji asked Xia Qingfei to be patient and wait for him to marry Nanyan, using the Duke’s family connections to rise rapidly in status.

Once he had power, wealth, and glory, he would bring her into the family.

For Xia Qingfei, hadn’t she finally waited for this moment?

But Nanyan would never let them achieve their wish so easily!

The envelope and paper were yellowed—surely written three years ago.

Three years, and only now did she realize that Meng Boji had never truly loved her. He married her only because she was the Duke’s legitimate daughter.

All those declarations of love at first sight, promises sworn to heaven and earth, years unchanging, unwavering devotion unto death—were all lies!

Meng Boji had deceived her for three whole years—from the moment they met by chance, it was all part of his scheme.

Anger flared fiercely in her heart, and without a word, Nanyan hurried straight to the Meng residence.

Madam Su and Bie Zhi didn’t know what the letter contained, only that Nanyan had never been so furious before.

Just as she entered the Meng family gate, three sisters spotted her and rushed over in a swarm.

“Ah! We finally found you, sister-in-law!”

“We’ve been looking for you everywhere!”

“Where on earth did you go early this morning? We prepared a whole table of good wine and dishes waiting for you!”

Nanyan squinted at the three sisters approaching and a playful smile curved her lips.

“You three?”

After some thought, she actually agreed.

“With such fine wine and dishes from my three younger sisters, how could I possibly spoil the fun?”

The three sisters were overjoyed and took her along as Nanyan quietly tucked the letter into her sleeve.