Chapter Eighty-Nine: Malice

Two empty seats had already been left at this table.

Xu Ruojin and Jiang Mingshuang made a show of refusing one another before sitting there in the end.

It was not that they were especially willing; there simply were no seats left at the other tables.

Zhao Cuiling and Mo Rong stayed close to Yuan Huiling, and although Yuan Huiling had already washed her face and changed her clothes, the flush from the strong liquor had not faded, leaving two bright patches of red on her cheeks.

For all her sharp and difficult temperament, she was a lovely girl to look at.

At that moment, however, she was waiting for Xu Ruojin. Seeing that Xu had slipped past the ladies’ scolding just now, she sneered, “You really can weave lies into flowers, can’t you? Not only did you make up a story yourself, you even had someone else back you up. Truly, a bean sprout and a turtle finding each other—you two are quite the pair.”

Jiang Mingshuang was about to snap back, but Xu Ruojin held her down. “I’m afraid I don’t understand what you mean. What lie did I tell?”

Yuan Huiling gave a cold snort. “What do you mean, ‘go to the side and rest’? What did you do, you know perfectly well.”

“All I know is that I’ve always been with Miss Yuan and the other ladies, and we were only apart for a little while.”

Xu Ruojin’s answer left Yuan Huiling glaring, speechless.

Zhao Cuiling quickly chimed in from the side, “Exactly. We just went to the privy a moment ago. Who knows what Miss Xu went off to do.”

“Oh?”

Xu Ruojin glanced toward the tables in the distance. “There are so many eyes here. If one looks closely, no one can wash their hands of it. In the end, I am already betrothed… though it seems you still are not?”

She smiled. “Those young masters look rather fine, though...”

“Don’t you dare make trouble!”

Yuan Huiling immediately widened her eyes.

Although men and women were not separated quite so strictly here, the adults merely turned a blind eye and asked no questions.

But if something truly came of it, their reputations and chastity would be tarnished.

If the matter got out of hand, their families would quickly arrange a suitable match and set the engagement at once.

Yuan Huiling did not want to be stuck in Zhonglin County.

She had originally been somewhat inclined toward the Zhang family, but ever since Zhang Zhongheng became engaged to Xu Ruojin, she had been furious, and it had soured her for a long while.

Afterward, her aunt deliberately sent word that she wanted her to go stay in the capital for a time.

In truth, she had set her sights on Yuan Huiling and wanted to join their families by marriage.

Xu Ruojin was smiling, but her words carried a sharp threat.

Though Yuan Huiling had been spoiled and indulged since childhood, she was not stupid. On a matter like this, she would absolutely not joke about her own marriage.

“Someone as timid and careful as I am, how could I dare make trouble?” Xu Ruojin said with a smile. “If the elders frighten me, at most I’ll tell the truth. I’ve never dared to deceive anyone with falsehoods.”

“Oh, so you’re not deceiving anyone? Then just look at the rotten brew you made. Miss Yuan is still dizzy because of it!”

Zhao Cuiling very much wanted to curry favor with Yuan Huiling, and, emboldened, she said mockingly, “Who knows whether those young masters drank any of it and suffered for it? They ought to be the ones settling accounts with you.”

“Did I make the wine? The wine was taken from the county magistrate’s wife. Didn’t the few of us only drink the bottom of one cup?”

Xu Ruojin did not even look at Zhao Cuiling. Instead, she stared straight at Yuan Huiling.

Yuan Huiling ground her teeth, yet had no choice but to agree with Xu Ruojin. “Yes, only five of us drank a tiny bit!”

“Miss Yuan…”

“Shut up!” Yuan Huiling lowered her voice in warning. “No one is to speak of what happened today. Anyone who does will have a rotten tongue!”

Zhao Cuiling and Mo Rong shrank back their necks and dared not make another sound.

Jiang Mingshuang spoke up at the right moment. “What are you all shouting about? We drank so much tea just now, I’m hungry too. Why aren’t we eating yet?”

Xu Ruojin added, “The host hasn’t lifted her chopsticks yet. How could we start first?”

“Eat!”

Yuan Huiling spat out the word through clenched teeth. “These are all fine delicacies—you’ve certainly lucked into a feast!”

Xu Ruojin did not stand on ceremony either. She lifted her chopsticks and began to eat.

She was not one to deny herself food. At the Xu household, she could only occasionally see a bit of meat. Now that a spread of exquisite dishes lay before her, how could she possibly let them go?

The polite conversation vanished at once, and she kept piling food into her mouth.

“A shabby poor family, eating as if you’ve never seen a meal before,” Yuan Huiling muttered, unable to bring up the earlier incident again but also unable to resist mocking her.

“Indeed, I haven’t. My father’s stipend is too small; I can’t afford it,” Xu Ruojin said with a smile, and stuffed a chopstickful of sea cucumber into her mouth. “Delicious. Truly delicious!”

“I can’t take another bite of this meal!”

Yuan Huiling flung her chopsticks onto the table. “I’m going to my mother’s side to pay respects and offer wine to the ladies.”

Zhao Cuiling immediately stood up. “Sister, I’ll go with you.”

“No need. Stay here.”

Yuan Huiling could not be bothered with her. She rose and left with her maids.

The table fell into awkward silence.

Setting aside the sparring and pleasantries, Zhao Cuiling and Mo Rong could only keep glancing toward Yuan Huiling’s side.

Without Yuan Huiling as their shield, they still feared Jiang Mingshuang…

Who told her to have a father with a higher rank?

Jiang Mingshuang did not wish to engage either. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xu Ruojin still eating with her head down, thoroughly enjoying herself.

Where was the clever, capable air she had shown while making wine just now?

That confidence, rising from the bones, was what Jiang Mingshuang envied most.

Alas, she could never be that way.

Xu Ruojin, a woman whom people had slandered as weak, useless, and mistreated by Madam Xu, actually possessed such a steadfast temperament.

So what right did someone like her, who had been cherished from birth, have to complain?

In Xu Ruojin, she saw an expectation, a longing for the life ahead.

With a faint smile, Jiang Mingshuang simply lifted her chopsticks as well and shoved a large piece of meat into her mouth.

This kind of unrestrained eating was the first of its kind for her.

The two of them laughed and ate heartily, while Zhao Cuiling and Mo Rong stared in astonishment.

And there was another person watching this table at the same time.

That person was Zhang Zhongheng.

Though they were separated by some distance, he still could not tear Xu Ruojin from his sight.

Her words in their earlier argument kept echoing in his ears.

It was as though he had fallen into a nightmare, unable to rid himself of her shadow or her voice.

Seeing her eat so unladylike a manner, Zhang Zhongheng ground his teeth.

A woman who had already been betrothed to someone else should have rules in her conduct; even her table manners were so disgraceful. She was simply bringing shame upon the Zhang family.

Though Zhang Zhongheng had long since forgotten that he had once harbored murderous intent toward her, he still could not abide a woman who met him head-on like this becoming his legitimate wife.

He wanted her to be his woman.

She had to be obedient.

Zhang Zhongheng drew a deep breath and raised the wine beside him to his lips.

“What kind of rubbish wine is this? So tasteless?”

His criticism drew a chuckle from Yuan Yang beside him. “What’s this? If it wasn’t personally brewed by a beauty, does it no longer go down?”

He had only heard from others that Xu Ruojin had made the wine.

“Stop spouting nonsense!” Zhang Zhongheng drained the cup in one go, then looked up toward Xu Ruojin again, only to find that seat empty.

At this moment, Xu Ruojin was especially glad she had not cared about face and simply eaten her fill.

Because she had now been called over to the ladies’ table.

Yuan Huiling naturally could not bear to see her eating so contentedly, so she mentioned how exceptionally delicious the wine Xu Ruojin had just mixed for them was.

Madam Yang then took the initiative to call Xu Ruojin over.

Xu Ruojin once again blended jasmine, bamboo leaves, and the other ingredients from before, and poured wine for the ladies.

Though they praised her one after another, they would not let her leave.

Seeing Yuan Huiling’s self-satisfied, provocative expression, it was obvious she was declaring victory.

Madam Zhang took a sip of Xu Ruojin’s wine and examined her for a moment.

Seeing the faint red still lingering on Xu Ruojin’s arm where it had been accidentally exposed, she frowned and asked, “What happened to your arm?”