“It was Second Madam Zhang. You might not have met her, but her maternal family is distantly related to Second Aunt,” Duan Huirou explained.
Mingxi felt a headache coming on. It took her a while to recall the connection. That’s just how it was in the capital—intermarried kin were everywhere. No matter which family it was, if you traced the connections carefully, most had some kind of tie.
“Second Aunt’s kin—that’s not exactly close family.”
“True. But with that layer of relation, it does make the proposal seem more trustworthy,” Duan Huirou said gently.
Mingxi looked up at her, and hearing her say such things… felt strange.
She used to be the most selfish and willful among the sisters—someone who would betray her siblings for her own gain.
But after hitting enough walls in life and marrying, she had mellowed.
Back when Mingxi had just been reborn, she’d never have believed she’d one day sit calmly with Duan Huirou, discussing Qingyin’s marriage.
If someone had told her that a few years ago, she’d have beaten them out the door with a stick.
“Then why didn’t Second Madam Zhang ask Second Aunt to make the match?” Mingxi asked again.
Duan Huirou replied, “Madam Zhang said if she went through Second Aunt, she feared we’d think the Zhang family lacked sincerity. Better to come in person.”
Mingxi gave a small laugh and said, “Zhang Zhiyuan is the clan nephew of Zhang Gelao. That’s not exactly close kin. And because of illness, his appointment was delayed. Honestly, if not for Zhang Gelao, a family like theirs wouldn’t even make it past our gate.”
Duan Huirou looked a bit surprised. “Elder Sister, you don’t approve of the match? If not, then forget it. I’ll just turn the Zhangs down.”
“You’re not going to ask why?”
Duan Huirou gave Duan Mingxi a look that was hard to describe. “Anyway, anything you say no to always ends up being a no in the end.”
Duan Mingxi: …
She really didn’t know what to say to that.
“This marriage isn’t completely out of the question,” Mingxi looked at Huirou. “But you have to understand—the key to this whole matter lies with you.”
“With me? What does it have to do with me?” Duan Huirou hadn’t expected that at all. If there was any connection, it was just that she served as the matchmaker.
Mingxi sighed and had no choice but to explain it piece by piece. “The Zhang family is the maternal family of Jin Wang. After what happened last time, Jin Wang lost face, and Zhang Gelao was scolded by the Emperor. But Duan Wang’s household came out unscathed—in fact, the Emperor even started to favor Duan Wang.”
Duan Huirou nodded, silently scoffing. Just one Duan Mingxi already had eight hundred schemes in her head. Duan Wang was even more unfathomable. With those two teaming up, Jin Wang getting off with just a scolding felt like a light punishment in her eyes.
She had suffered enough under Duan Mingxi’s hand. They were all up to shady dealings—so why was it that Jin Wang remained unscathed, while she had nearly been skinned alive?
Seeing she was listening seriously, Mingxi continued, “This proposal from the Zhang family came out of nowhere. They say it’s because Qingyin helped Madam Zhang once, but I can’t shake the feeling that something’s off. Zhang Gelao may be trying to play both sides. If Jin Wang finds out one day, who do you think he’ll blame?”
Duan Huirou followed Mingxi’s line of thought and nearly jumped up in alarm. “Big Sister, are you saying… Zhang Gelao wants to abandon Jin Wang and push the blame onto me?”
How could someone be this shameless?!
And here she had thought the Zhang family were decent people!
“Maybe I’m overthinking it,” Mingxi said, “but we can’t afford not to be cautious. Either way, I won’t let that blame fall on your shoulders.”
Duan Huirou’s eyes reddened with anger. “What kind of people are these? Jin Wang doesn’t even want me to get pregnant. He only visits my room a few times a month. I know he’s wary of me, and I don’t blame him. But since marrying into that family, I haven’t done anything against the Zhangs, and they still want to scheme against me?”
Mingxi frowned. “He doesn’t want you to get pregnant? Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
Duan Huirou had let it slip in her anger. Her face paled, and after a moment she said, “What’s there to say? It’s humiliating.”
Mingxi’s face darkened. “You told me before that Jin Wang treated you well. I thought—”
“Big Sister, this marriage was never something he truly wanted. And I didn’t marry him willingly either. We both know that. Besides, all those incidents in Jin Wang’s household—he hasn’t fathered a single child. He doesn’t want me to bear him a legitimate heir. But it’s not like I’m the one desperate for a child.”
Mingxi looked at her. “Is it because of Duan Wang’s household?”
Duan Huirou: …
With Mingxi being this sharp, how was she supposed to keep pretending?
Forget it—might as well lay it all out.
“I don’t know for sure. But back when we first got married, he still stayed in my room fairly often. After that whole Yuxiang City mess, he’s been distant.”
Mingxi looked at her and asked, “So what do you think?”
Duan Huirou replied, “What is there to think? You told me yourself—this marriage is a pit. No matter how I live in it, it’s not something I ever wanted in the first place.
You gave me money, gave me people to rely on. Now I’ve got control of the household finances in Jin Wang’s manor, and life is going smoothly. Whether he likes me or not doesn’t matter. He doesn’t dare divorce me, and he doesn’t dare mistreat me openly. I’m the rightful Jin Wangfei—that’s enough for me.
As for children—if I have one, fine. If I don’t, then whatever. Once he takes concubines and they have children, I’ll just raise one myself. If he doesn’t want to, I won’t push it. I still have nephews from my own family.
That Ming Ger may still be young, but I think he’s even more clever than Big Brother. He’ll turn out well. If I treat him well, I’m sure he’ll look after me in the future.”
At this point, Duan Huirou seemed a little dazed. Back then, she had thought Mingxi was foolish for helping out Big Brother, Second Brother, the second and third branches—spending money and effort like a fool.
She hadn’t understood why. Helping Big Brother, sure—he was legitimate. But Duan Ning was just a concubine’s son. The second and third branches didn’t even get along with the main family. Why bother helping them? She thought Mingxi was just going against their parents.
Now, looking back at the state of the Marquis household, she finally realized she’d been the foolish one.
She had only come to understand the benefits of a strong natal family once she walked this path herself. The reason she could stand tall in Jin Wang’s manor wasn’t just because she had Duan Mingxi as an elder sister—but also because she had competent brothers, uncles, and kin backing her.
“Big Sister, I know what I’m doing now. I’m not that foolish girl anymore. Don’t worry about me—I’ll be fine.”
Mingxi nodded slightly. As long as she understood. What she feared most was someone being foolish to the end, never turning back.
“So, about this marriage with the Zhangs—can it proceed?”
“Go back and mention the matter to Jin Wang. Ask him if this match is acceptable.”
“Mention it to him?” Duan Huirou’s eyes lit up. “That’s right! If he agrees to it himself, then if anything happens later, he can’t blame me. And if he disapproves, I can go explain things to the Zhangs.”
Why hadn’t she thought of that?
