I BECAME THE FEMALE LEAD'S STEPMOTHER

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Chapter 27: Swindled!

Clutching the gold bracelet, Xiangwu plummeted into a deep, agonizing void of indecision. She fretted and overthought for a long while before she finally managed to clear her head.

If she did not cling to the Young Mistress with all her might, she would only have two possible outcomes: one was to serve the Marquis day and night, being toyed with by him in every imaginable way—which she naturally could not endure; the other was to be dumped into Wanxiu Pavilion to live with those strange women,which was something she would never dare to do.

Wringing out extra time to stay by the Young Mistress's side was always a good thing. Even if she would eventually be forced into the Marquis's bed-chamber sooner or later, stalling was infinitely better than not stalling!

Having cleared her mind, she began brainstorming how to plead with the Marquis to get his consent.

After all, judging by the Marquis's tone at the time, he hadn't explicitly forced her into a corner, right?

She rehearsed dozens of speeches in her heart, planning how to bring it up to him, and what to say if he refused. She even recalled the stories she had read back when she accompanied the Young Mistress in her studies, remembering how diplomats from various kingdoms persuaded kings. She knew she had to unleash an eloquent torrent of grand logic to win him over.

After preparing like this for several days, however, the Marquis never showed up. Xiangwu began to feel thoroughly bewildered. ‘Why hasn't the Marquis come?. Did I say something wrong and anger him, or what happened?’

Xiangwu could not help but feel increasingly restless. In her profound frustration, even her daily bird's nest soup lost its heavenly flavor, and the fine brocades no longer seemed to sparkle. Finally, on this day, Miss Bai Jian visited again. Xiangwu rushed over and frantically asked what was going on, even adding with an expression of pure, unadulterated sincerity, "This servant has been practically pining for the Marquis to drop by!"

Bai Jian, however, merely stared at her with her signature stone face. "Does Miss Xiangwu really not know?"

Xiangwu: "Know what?"

Bai Jian: "The Marquis left for the capital the day before yesterday."

Xiangwu: "Huh?!"

Bai Jian: "That day, right after leaving this courtyard, the Marquis set off for Yanjing City. He has long since arrived by now."

Xiangwu's eyes lit up instantly. She realized her golden opportunity had arrived!

With the Marquis away, she might actually still be saved! She could still fight for her freedom!

Xiangwu immediately locked her eyes onto Bai Jian, her face a picture of desperate pleading. "Miss Bai Jian, may I ask a favor of you?"

Bai Jian looked at Xiangwu without a single ripple of emotion. "Please speak, Miss Xiangwu."

Hearing this, an excited Xiangwu took a step forward and clasped Bai Jian's hand tightly.

Bai Jian had zero reaction, standing as stiff as a block of wood.

Holding Bai Jian's hand, Xiangwu pleaded with utmost sincerity, "Miss Bai Jian, staying here alone is so deeply suffocating. Being locked up like this makes me feel as if I'm serving a prison sentence! I've been kept here for so long... Do you think I would be allowed to leave?"

As she spoke, her eyes brimmed with tears as she looked up at Bai Jian imploringly. "Miss Bai Jian, judging by what the Marquis said back then, he seemed to leave the choice entirely to me. He asked me if I still wanted to go back. Since he asked me that, it means it's my own choice to go back to the Young Mistress's side and continue serving her! He might not have mentioned it to you, but Miss Bai Jian, you must believe me—I am not lying to you! He really did ask me that! I beg you, please let me go!"

Bai Jian stared back at her with cool indifference, opening her mouth to speak.

Xiangwu squeezed her hand even harder. "Miss Bai Jian, please let me out first, or I feel like I won't survive another day! If all else fails, when the Marquis returns, I can just come back here! It'll be completely hush-hush, so the Marquis won't get angry with you either!"

Bai Jian said, "Miss Xiangwu, you may leave."

Hearing this, Xiangwu was overjoyed. "Miss Bai Jian, thank you so much!"

She suddenly felt that even though this Miss Bai Jian was rumored to be terrifying and fierce, she was actually quite a decent person,at the very least, much easier to talk to than that Marquis!

Bai Jian added, "Miss, you do not need to thank me."

Pause. She then slowly completed her sentence: "The Marquis ordered beforehand that if you wished to leave, no one was to stop you."

Xiangwu: "?"

Bai Jian: "It was simply that Miss Xiangwu never expressed any desire to leave, so this servant did not bring it up."

Xiangwu: "..."

' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

Long after Bai Jian had departed, Xiangwu stood frozen on the spot for a good long while. Finally, she gritted her teeth in fury. Miss Bai Jian did that on purpose!

Thinking back to Bai Jian's forever-frozen, expressionless face, she felt more and more convinced it was an intentional prank.

However, she had no right to blame others,she could only blame herself for being a complete fool!

When the Marquis didn't come, she should have just walked straight out! If nobody stopped her, wouldn't she have succeeded days ago?!

Ah, whatever! Leaving now wasn't too late either!

Xiangwu immediately began packing her belongings. She quickly stripped off her gorgeous, fine silk clothes, packed them along with the remaining bolts of fabric into a large bundle, and changed back into her old maidservant uniform from the Young Mistress's quarters. She hid the gold bracelet given by the Marquis into a custom pouch she had stitched close to her body, and then marched out the door lugging her heavy bundle.

Sure enough, as she walked out, not a single guard stepped forward to block her. Overjoyed, she hauled her load and hurried back toward the Young Mistress's courtyard.

Unexpectedly, after only taking a few steps, she ran headfirst into a man. She peered closely at his face, he looked familiar. After racking her brain for a long moment, she finally remembered: this was that guard named Cheng Rui!

Xiangwu flinched in surprise, while Cheng Rui pursed his lips.

Cheng Rui looked at her silently for a long while before finally offering, "Miss Xiangwu, let me carry that for you."

He had only heard from his fellow guards this morning that Miss Bai Jian had released the little maid from the Young Mistress's quarters out of that rear courtyard.

Although he had been deeply confused at the time as to why a mere maidservant required Miss Bai Jian's personal involvement, he had still snuck away to steal a moment, hoping to come over and check on her.

To this day, he still could not fathom why she had handed him her handkerchief one moment, only to act like ‘that’ the very next.

What on earth had she actually meant back then?

Yet who could have guessed that the moment he stepped closer, he would see her lugging a massive bundle?

The little maid was quite small, her frame frail and delicate, yet she was hoisting a bundle completely out of proportion with her size. It was enough to make anyone's heart ache.

Xiangwu, however, wanted nothing to do with it.

This guy was the Marquis's subordinate—he probably obeyed the Marquis in everything! Now that she had nearly been defiled by the Marquis, how could he possibly betray the Marquis and elope with her? Impossible!

And a man who couldn't take her and run was a completely useless man!

Xiangwu hoisted her heavy load, shooting a cool, distant look at Cheng Rui. "Guard Cheng, please step aside."

Being rejected on the spot, Cheng Rui's entire face flushed bright red. "Miss Xiangwu, at least make things clear to me—why? Otherwise, leaving things so murky... I just can't get over this hurdle in my heart."

Listening to this, Xiangwu was genuinely in disbelief! How could he be so utterly shameless?!

He had already handed her handkerchief over to the Marquis, yet he could still say something like this?!

Xiangwu stared at him in utter shock. For a split second, she had a wild urge to scream in his face that she had already been thoroughly handled by the Marquis inside and out who knows how many times!

Even though her virginity was intact, there was practically nowhere the Marquis hadn't touched!

She also wanted to lay all the blame on Cheng Rui, it was all his fault! If he hadn't given that handkerchief away, the Marquis would never have set his eyes on her, and she would never have run into this horrible catastrophe!

In the end, however, she held her tongue.

What was the point of saying it out loud anyway?

So she merely darted a glare at Cheng Rui. "Guard Cheng, do you take everyone else for a fool?"

Cheng Rui's face turned even redder, almost purple. "Miss Xiangwu, I beg you to make things clear today, no matter what! When I heard something happened to you, I searched everywhere for news, desperate to know how you were doing! I even went to beg Miss Bai Jian for help several times! Now that you're out, give me an explanation no matter what, or I'll never be able to rest easy!"

Xiangwu really couldn't take it anymore. She dropped her heavy bundle onto the ground and wiped the sweat off her forehead. "Guard Cheng, I only have one question for you: that handkerchief I gave you,who did you give it to?"

Cheng Rui said, "I kept that handkerchief safely stored away, of course! How could I possibly give a handkerchief you gave me to someone else?! What kind of person do you take me, Cheng Rui, for?!"

Saying this, Cheng Rui actually reached into his robes and pulled out a handkerchief.

Xiangwu was instantly thrown into absolute utter confusion.

She hastily snatched the handkerchief from his hand and inspected it closely. No mistake about it,the butterfly embroidered on it was her own handiwork. This was undeniably the exact same handkerchief she had given Cheng Rui.

Cheng Rui asked, "Miss Xiangwu, what on earth?"

Xiangwu knit her brows, biting her lip tightly. "Guard Cheng, tell me the truth: you really never gave this handkerchief to anyone else?"

Cheng Rui gritted his teeth, veins pulsing. "How could I possibly!"

Looking at Cheng Rui's current state, with the veins on his temples throbbing in sheer desperation,he looked ready to swear an oath to the high heavens,she believed that a person driven to this point was definitely not lying.

In that case... where on earth did the handkerchief in the Marquis's hands come from?!

Seeing Xiangwu like this, Cheng Rui knew she finally believed him. He immediately began pressing, "Miss Xiangwu, who told you I gave your handkerchief to someone else? Who framed me like this?!"

Xiangwu blinked her large eyes, staring at Cheng Rui as she suddenly realized... ‘she’ was the one who should feel guilty.

She had totally framed Cheng Rui! The handkerchief the Marquis showed her must have been a fake all along!

The Marquis was truly... ‘too wretched!’

Cheng Rui: "Miss Xiangwu?"

Xiangwu cleared her throat softly, looking at Cheng Rui with an awkward expression. "Guard Cheng... just pretend I made a mistake and wrongly accuse you. I apologize to you."

However, a future between her and Cheng Rui was strictly out of the question.

Cheng Rui was the Marquis's subordinate, and his future prospects looked quite bright—she couldn't drag him down.

If she were to get involved with Cheng Rui, she didn't even dare imagine how the Marquis would deal with him.

Cheng Rui, however, refused to let it drop. He stared intently at Xiangwu.

Having not seen Xiangwu for days, she seemed to have grown even more supple and radiant—her glowing, crystal-clear fair skin, her tender rose lips, and eyes that seemed to pool with pure water.

Looking at a girl like this made a man's chest tighten and ache with longing.

He stared at her, asking in a deep, heavy voice, "Then Miss Xiangwu, I must ask you: what did you mean by giving me this handkerchief? Since I, Cheng Rui, accepted your handkerchief, I must ask clearly. Since you gave it to me, you owe me at least some kind of explanation."

Otherwise, he would be doing a terrible disservice to all those restless nights he spent tossing and turning on his bed craving her.

Xiangwu bit her lip, caught in an agonizing predicament. She really had no idea how to explain it to him.

After a moment of desperate thought, she finally hardened her heart. "Guard Cheng, when I gave you that handkerchief, I simply saw that you were exhausted from work and didn't mean anything else by it. You misunderstood. I... I have long had someone else in my heart, and that person isn't you. Please refrain from stopping me like this in the future, lest my beloved misunderstands and gets us into unnecessary trouble!"

Without waiting to see how Cheng Rui would react, she covered her face and bolted.

Only after running a considerable distance did she suddenly remember that she had left her big bundle behind!

‘Oh no, this won't do!’ Inside were all the precious treasures she had managed to fleece from the Marquis!

Left with no choice, she had to glumly trudge all the way back, keeping her head low as she hoisted her bundle back up.

From beginning to end, Cheng Rui stood right beside her, his body stiff as a board, not uttering a single word.

As she bent down, Xiangwu could hear Cheng Rui's heavy, slow breathing right beside her.

Xiangwu felt even more helpless, a faint sting reaching the bridge of her nose.

Truth be told, Cheng Rui seemed like a genuinely good guy. If it weren't for that fake handkerchief trick by the Marquis that caused her to misunderstand, she might have actually considered him before.

But... if things were like this, what if the Marquis deliberately targeted Cheng Rui? Though Cheng Rui was a fine guard and looked capable in a fight, he was absolutely nothing in front of the Marquis.

The Marquis could flick a single finger and wipe him off the face of the earth.

Xiangwu thought about it over and over, but she was completely out of ideas. In the end, she pressed her lips together, set her small face into a tense expression, and without giving Cheng Rui a single glance, hoisted her bundle onto her back and headed back.