"Even you know they are bullying my mother."
His voice was chillingly deep.
"Ever since you were imprisoned, the princess fell gravely ill, and she still has to take care of your young third brother. Yet that good father of yours immediately had the Count of Yongcheng's estate send a maternal niece over, under the pretext of helping run the household."
"I know that." Xiao Yu nodded.
"But do you know that cousin of yours is highly ambitious? She wants to replace her and take complete control of the household."
Xiao Yu's gaze was as cold as ice. "What do you mean?"
"It will be soon enough anyway. That Aunt Mei is already preparing to make her move, and your father is also acting all cozy and intimate with her. A decent girl out of the palace, staying at her cousin's house for two whole years without leaving. What is she after? Isn't she after that very position?"
These words struck Xiao Yu's heart like a heavy hammer. His eyes were filled with suppressed rage.
"And now, do you see what kind of situation your mother and younger brother are in?"
As a son, he wanted more than anything to protect his family, yet his home had turned into a dragon's pool and a tiger's den. Hearing this, he raised his head and looked at me with suspicion.
"Do you actually have a way?"
My gaze swept over him shamelessly, full of confidence. "As long as you're willing to cooperate, I guarantee I can bring the princess's manor back to life."
Being stared at by me like this, Xiao Yu inexplicably felt a shiver run down his spine. In the next second, he hurriedly raised his hands to cover his chest, his face instantly turning red.
"What are you looking at? How can you be so shameless?"
"Don't worry. Once I get pregnant, I won't come looking for you anymore."
The moment the words left my mouth, I directly reached out to take off my bridal phoenix crown and walked toward the bed.
This tossing and turning lasted for most of the night. By the time we finally stopped, that poor bed was already a complete mess. Xiao Yu, a gentleman who usually preached benevolence and morality, looked at the messy bed, his face turning red and white with embarrassment.
"Go back. Otherwise, the sun will rise."
Suppressing the anger that was about to flare up in his eyes again, he put my clothes back on me, piece by piece. As his fingertips brushed against my skin, both of our hearts skipped a beat. I was so tired, my eyelids were heavy, but when I looked up, I met his phoenix eyes, which were clearly full of desire, yet trying hard to play it cool.
I felt a secret sense of triumph in my heart. Just you wait. Next time I come, you'll be the one throwing yourself at me.
The heavy cell door finally opened. My two maids quickly helped me into the sedan chair. Before I could even find my footing, Xiao Yu's incredibly raspy voice drifted over.
"Send her back safely."
He cleared his throat, his tone suddenly becoming extremely serious. "In the manor, be smart and assist the second young mistress well. Don't let anyone bully her."
"Yes, please rest assured, second young master."
The two maids grinned so wide their smiles almost reached their ears.
Xiao Yu took one last look at the bridal sedan, as if trying to sever some lingering attachment, and pulled the cell door shut with a loud clang. He locked himself back into that isolated cage, but I knew this man was completely mine now.
As the sedan swayed gently, I drifted off to sleep. I slept all the way until we arrived at Princess Yunyang's manor.
As soon as I stepped out of the sedan chair, I saw the main hall brightly lit. Princess Yunyang had actually stayed up all night just waiting there for me. Seeing me step out of the sedan, the high and mighty princess instantly showed a look of surprise and joy in her eyes. Seeing how exhausted I looked, Princess Yunyang felt so sorry for me that she was on the verge of tears.
"Quickly, support your mistress and get her back to rest."
I didn't stand on ceremony with her. So sleepy that I could only nod like a bowing chicken.
"She will stay in Xiao Yu's courtyard. It has always been kept ready, and was specially decorated again today."
Princess Yunyang personally led the way, behaving as if I were some fragile, rare treasure.
"All right, go fetch hot water and attend to your mistress carefully."
Only after I was fully settled did Princess Yunyang reluctantly leave. Before leaving, she lovingly urged me to rest well.
"We will talk about other matters tomorrow, and you don't need to wake up early tomorrow."
As if afraid I might back out, Princess Yunyang added it twice over.
"Thank you for your consideration, Your Highness."
The moment the princess stepped out the door, several wet nurses gathered around me, their tears falling like water from a broken dam.
"Eldest Miss, you have truly been wronged, getting married in a prison cell. This is simply a slap in the face to our marquis's mansion."
The two maidservants I had dealt with before also had their eyelids twitching, looking utterly dejected.
I coldly watched this group of self-righteous loyal servants, directly interrupting their sob story.
"Wipe your tears, nurses. The outside world is not the cozy nest of our home. It is a dog-eat-dog battleground. Do not self-pity or feel wronged, and do not pity me either. I am not pitiful. I know exactly what I want. I will only say this once. Those who feel pitiful will forever be waiting for someone else to redeem them. If you want to be strong, the first step is to rid yourselves of that cheap sense of grievance. Pies do not fall from the sky. Who are you crying for?"
The wet nurses were stunned. They could not understand how the prestigious eldest miss of the marquis's mansion marrying into a prison could not count as being wronged.
Looking at their dull expressions, I only asked in return, "Is self-pity of any use?"
The entire hall fell dead silent. Fortunately, one quick-witted nurse finally came to her senses. As she attended to my back, she translated my words for the others.
"What the eldest miss means is, since we have chosen the second young master, we must live our lives with our backs straight. If we wear a victim's bitter face all day long, it will only make us a laughingstock to others, pleasing no one."
Though she had not fully grasped my core message, she had at least scratched the surface. The truth was actually very simple. Princess Yunyang was grateful for my choice. That was a matter of affection. But if we used that affection to act spoiled and demanding, that would be foolish.
Sitting in the bathtub, I let out a comfortable sigh. "From now on, address me as the second young mistress. You are all trusted veterans trained by my mother. How to behave in the princess's manor, I shouldn't need to teach you, right?"
Everyone's heart skipped a beat, and they quickly complied.