39

Thinking this, her tone grew all the more sorrowful as she earnestly tried to persuade the two Qiao brothers, "I know the child Changle very well; she has always been deeply devoted to Xian'er. Now that this matter has happened, she must be heartbroken. Who knows how hard she is crying right now—she loves Xian'er so dearly, how could Xian'er fail her?"

......

Qiao Xian sneered.
Qiao Yu sneered.
Meng Changle heartbroken?
Thinking back to just moments ago when the Lantern Festival had ended, Meng Changle had intercepted him in an alley, gritting her teeth as she demanded, "Qiao Yu, are you out of your mind? I won't say anything about you matchmaking Qiao Xian and Meng Qingyue, but why on earth are you trying to pair me up with Meng Xingzhou?!"

Faced with the lady's intense fury, Qiao Yu had touched the back of his head in utter bewilderment, asking, "Why shouldn't I matchmake you and Meng Xingzhou..."
Meng Changle had furrowed her brows tightly, blurting out, "I am a daughter of the Qiao family! Once I return to the manor and acknowledge my true kin, I am naturally destined to be the primary consort of Prince Zhao!"
His Highness Prince Zhao and the Grand Duke's daughter had been betrothed since childhood, and the engagement still stood.
Only then did Qiao Yu belatedly remember this crucial detail.
Yet, recalling the eager and wistful expression Meng Changle had worn just moments earlier when mentioning her upcoming marriage to Prince Zhao, was there even a shred of heartache to be found?
The young lady was clearly ecstatic! She was overjoyed!
Madam Qiao was truly overthinking things...

Qiao Yu could not help feeling rather conflicted as he watched Madam Qiao continue to shove Qiao Xian, urging him to rush to the Meng manor to beg for forgiveness, while the latter looked entirely unwilling, his face wrinkled up like a walnut.
In the end, Qiao Yu could no longer hold it in.
After all, if he didn't speak up now, he feared this farce would only snowball, making it impossible to clean up the mess later on.
Seeing Qiao Xian's feet practically dragging toward the doorway, Qiao Yu let out a heavy sigh, hesitating, halting, and hesitating once more, until finally, under Madam Qiao's suspicious and inquiring gaze, he slowly opened his mouth.
"Actually, Second Miss Meng is gentle, virtuous, and well-suited to be a fine match for Ah Xian."

......

Seeing that Madam Qiao completely ignored him and merely pressed Qiao Xian with even greater urgency, Qiao Yu closed his eyes, hardened his heart, and shouted out as if making a last stand, "Aunt! Meng Changle cannot marry Ah Xian!"
"She is Ah Xian's biological sister, and your own flesh and blood!"

Silence.
A stillness akin to death.
Not a pin could be heard dropping in the full room. A cold gust of wind swept fiercely through the curtains, making the screen rattle noisily, yet all sound seemed to gradually recede and fade away.
In the vast main hall, only the ragged and slightly hurried breathing of the few occupants could be heard.
Qiao Xian's lifted right foot froze mid-air, his mouth slightly parted as if he had yet to process what those words meant.
Madam Qiao, however, had already let out a wail, lunging straight toward Qiao Yu, her eyes instantly brimming with tears.
As if terrified that she had misheard, she didn't even dare to show a shred of joy, only crying frantically as she sought confirmation from Qiao Yu, begging him to verify that what he said was no falsehood.
Under the crushing weight of utter shock, her voice turned raspy the moment she opened her mouth. "You say... you say Changle... is my own biological daughter?"
Her voice was exceedingly soft and slow, as if she feared that speaking even a fraction too loudly would startle this hard-won daughter of hers!

Qiao Yu spoke gently, supporting his aunt's arm as he helped her sit down. "Father and I were initially unsure of this matter, which is why he sent me back to the capital first. Only after verifying cousin's identity and ensuring nothing could go wrong were we going to inform you, Aunt."
"I simply hadn't expected this absurd situation to arise, leaving me with no choice but to break the news early. Please forgive me, Aunt..."

Madam Qiao sat dazed in her seat, struggling to digest Qiao Yu's words.
That meant everything she had just been told was not false.
Changle was indeed the biological daughter she had searched bitterly for over a decade!
The refined and courteous child, the child who would sweetly call out "Aunt Qiao" the moment she laid eyes on her, the child who had almost become her daughter-in-law.
Was actually the piece of flesh she had carried in her womb for ten months!
The middle-aged woman, her temples lightly frosted with gray, finally broke down completely in tears.
She buried her face in Qiao Yu's arms, abandoning herself to inconsolable weeping. The entire room was filled with her mournful and frantic sobs—a sight to break any observer's heart and draw tears from any listener.

Only Qiao Xian stood frozen in place, stiff from head to toe, utterly incapable of gathering his thoughts for a long, long time.
Having soothed Madam Qiao, Qiao Yu walked over to pat Qiao Xian on the shoulder, wearing an expression of profound sympathy. "Brother, please accept my condolences."
Having your wife turn into your sister is something no one could accept on short notice.
Thus, it was entirely understandable that Qiao Xian currently wore an expression even more shell-shocked than Madam Qiao's.
Qiao Yu and Madam Qiao exchanged a tacit glance, both silently agreeing to say no more and leave Qiao Xian time to process it himself.

Watching Qiao Xian's complexion shift from pale to purple, and purple to cyan, standing utterly vacant for the longest time while the biting draft of the late-winter wind swept through the hall to nip at their cheeks with seasonal chill.
Qiao Xian finally managed to reel his wits back in. "Meng Changle is my sister?"
Qiao Yu licked his lips and remained silent, but Madam Qiao cautiously stood up, pulled Qiao Xian into her embrace, and hesitated before speaking, "My son... Mother knows you're hurting... but the ways of fate are fickle... no matter how hard it is for you to accept..."
She spoke earnestly and with profound concern, urging her son to accept reality sooner rather than later.
Yet what Qiao Xian cared about right now was not some bizarre twist where a wife turns into a sister at all!
"Are you certain? Is Meng Changle really my sister? You didn't make a mistake?"
Qiao Xian suddenly whipped his head around, staring intently at Qiao Yu as he blurted out the question without warning.

Qiao Yu blinked, then instinctively nodded. "Absolute truth..."

Qiao Xian let out a long breath. It seemed that only at this exact moment did he finally regain clarity of thought, asking, "Then what about the marriage between Meng Changle and me?"
All five wedding rites were complete, awaiting only the bride-welcoming procession.
The invitation cards had long since been sent out to various households one by one. At this critical juncture, are they just going to call off the wedding?
"Naturally, it cannot proceed. How could true brother and sister marry?" Madam Qiao said with resolute finality.
Yet, the moment she thought of all the preparations and arrangements made over the past few days, a throbbing headache inevitably returned.

Qiao Yu pondered for a moment and offered a "brilliant" solution: "Since they are both daughters of the Meng family, does it matter which one is married?"
"Since Ah Xian cannot marry Meng Changle, let him marry Meng Qingyue instead!"
"That way, when we explain it to the outside world, the in-laws remain unchanged. We can simply claim we got the order of the two young ladies mixed up, and the matter can be smoothly smoothed over."

Madam Qiao could not help feeling somewhat tempted.
Heard in that light, it indeed... seemed like a good idea.
Might as well just do that, then?