“Is it true?” Liu Yunhua’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “Duke Gao household has plenty of ancestral estates. How could they possibly be short on silver?”
Exactly—who would believe that the Duke Gao household was in financial trouble?
If Mingxi herself hadn’t spent ten years patching up holes in their accounts while living there, she wouldn’t have believed it either.
“I don’t know if it’s true,” Duan Mingxi said slowly, her gaze calm but sharp. “But I’ve seen something—a mortgage deed for Duke Gao household’s farmland.”
In this life, she had hoped to keep her distance from the Gao family, like water flowing separate from wells. But sometimes, fate has a way of binding people together no matter how hard they try to avoid it.
If that’s how it was going to be, then so be it. She’d fight—let’s see who comes out on top!
The Duke Gao household prized their reputation above all else.
Fine. She’d peel off their façade for everyone to see.
“Duke Gao household’s farmland?” Yao Yunyi frowned slightly. “It’s not Duchess Gao’s personal property?”
Mingxi shook her head. “Of course not.”
She had indeed seen such a deed before, but in her previous life. It wasn’t until years after she began managing Duke Gao household’s finances that she learned the truth: even before she married into the family, they had been pawning off ancestral estates to cover their deficits.
Duchess Gao, a selfish woman, would never touch her own dowry. Instead, she arranged for Gao Zhan to marry Mingxi, using her dowry to fill the family’s financial holes.
And Mingxi had been foolish. She believed that marrying into the family meant becoming one of them, sharing their burdens. Thinking back to the years she exhausted herself for the Duke Gao household, she felt nothing but hatred.
Was she angry that the Duke Gao household coveted her dowry?
No. What she hated was their deceitful hypocrisy—sweet words masking ulterior motives, treating her like a fool. Looking back now, was she truly naive, believing everything they said?
Not entirely. Even then, she had her doubts. But her circumstances left her no choice. Her future was unclear, and retreat was impossible. All she could do was grit her teeth and move forward.
In this second chance at life, she had resolved to let bygones be bygones. She had already taken her revenge. The chapter was closed. All she wanted now was to live happily with her family.
But if the Duke Gao household insisted on making trouble for her, they couldn’t blame her for being ruthless.
The room fell silent in an instant. Everyone exchanged stunned glances, their faces full of disbelief.
“But what could the Duke Gao household have done to end up in such dire straits? Selling off ancestral estates is no small matter,” Liu Yunhua asked, puzzled.
After all, their own family was also a duke’s household. Ancestral estates were sacred. Touching them was a serious offense, punishable under family law.
Liu Yunhua, despite being a grown woman, didn’t even know the full extent or details of her family’s ancestral properties. That’s how untouchable they were.
Xu Nanxi thought for a moment before speaking slowly. “Could it be that they encountered some great misfortune? But I haven’t heard of any major scandals involving the Duke Gao household in recent years.”
Yao Yunyi looked at Mingxi. “Mingxi, do you know?”
Mingxi shook her head. “I can only speculate. First, when I had just returned to the capital, Duchess Gao was eager to arrange a marriage with my family, bringing me into their household. Why do you think that was?”
When it came to what had happened at Jinrui Garden, the group of friends had pieced together the truth and found Mingxi’s explanation entirely reasonable.
“Second, I accidentally came across the contract, and when I connected the dots, I realized something wasn’t right.”
Mingxi hadn’t been back in the capital for long, so she couldn’t state the reasons outright. Instead, she carefully guided her friends to deduce the situation themselves.
“So back then, when your families discussed the marriage alliance, the Madam of Duke Gao only valued your generous dowry. How shameless!” Liu Yunhua exclaimed, her eyes blazing with anger.
“But when you returned to the capital, did you have any money of your own? How could anyone know the extent of your dowry? It must have been Madam Dingyuan who…” Yao Yunyi trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
She recalled her former friendship with Huirou and how she had once taken Huirou’s complaints at face value, even considering taking it out on Mingxi for her.
“If it wasn’t revealed by someone within your own household, how could outsiders know such a private matter?” Xu Nanxi said, trembling with fury. She turned to Mingxi and declared, “Mingxi, you did the right thing back then. You couldn’t go through with such a marriage—it would have been a disaster.”
The capital had been abuzz with talk of Mingxi’s rift with Madam Jiang. People criticized Mingxi, calling her disrespectful for opposing an elder. Now that they understood the truth, they knew they’d have reacted even more forcefully in Mingxi’s position.
Xu Nanxi thought back to the incident involving her own mother. Grasping Mingxi’s hand, her eyes reddened with emotion. “Mingxi, I had no idea you endured so much. If I had known… about that day at the banquet…”
Mingxi gently squeezed Xu Nanxi’s hand in return. “It’s all in the past; let’s not bring it up again.”
Yao Yunyi and Liu Yunhua exchanged uneasy glances. They hadn’t known the details of what had occurred during Duke Wei’s banquet, but they were well aware of the aftermath—Duchess Wei’s niece had been sent back to her family.
Now it was clear that this had something to do with Mingxi. None of them were fools, and they quickly pieced things together.
Liu Yunhua’s expression darkened, and she huffed, “I knew something was off when that Miss Feng was abruptly sent home.”
What else could it have been?
Back when Jingchuan Marquis’s household was implicated in a corruption scandal, their title was stripped, and they were reduced to commoners. Duke Wei had played a significant role in ensuring their lives were spared.
Out of pity for her niece, Duchess Wei had taken Feng Wenxuan into her household. The group had been acquainted with Feng Wenxuan, a proper young lady whose family’s downfall had evoked sympathy.
Yet, even though the Marquis’s house had fallen, it didn’t justify Feng Wenxuan’s subsequent actions…
But then again, as an unmarried young woman, what could she have done on her own? It was likely Duchess Wei’s doing.
Xu Nanxi: …..
Feeling the weight of her friends’ gazes, what more could she say?
“By doing this, Duchess Wei has likely ruined Wenxuan’s future prospects for marriage. What was the point?” Yao Yunyi shook her head.
“She brought it on herself,” Liu Yunhua said coldly. “If she truly objected, could the Duke’s wife have forced her? In the end, she must have had her own motives.”
Mingxi poured tea for her friends and said in a soothing tone, “It’s all in the past. Nanxi stood by me back then, but I avoided her out of misplaced anger. I’ve vented my frustrations already, so let’s leave it at that.”
Yao Yunyi glanced at Xu Nanxi. “Serves you right!”
“Yes, it’s all my fault. If I’d known sooner, I would’ve stopped it,” Xu Nanxi said sincerely. Then, with a sly smile, she added, “Not that Mingxi needed me to stick up for her. My cousin handled that himself—why else do you think my mother sent someone back to their family?”
“Oh…”
“Ah…”
Yao Yunyi and Liu Yunhua turned teasing eyes toward Mingxi.
Mingxi: …
Even with her thick skin, she couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.
Yao Yunyi teased, “Everyone knows His Highness Duan Wang isn’t interested in women. Back then, Consort Shu nearly worried herself sick trying to get him to marry. Who would’ve thought he’d turn out like this—so passionate, fighting for his beloved.”
“His Highness Duan Wang is a true man! Standing up for his love—what a noble act.”
You all just stop already.
Mingxi kept her face impassive, but inside she was distressed.
Duan Wang’s reputation was already this stellar before their marriage. If she ever wanted a divorce in the future, how could she maintain her dignity?
