Why is Qiao Xian here again?

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Cui’er immediately rushed forward to shield Meng Qingyue, then exclaimed, “Isn’t this the porcelain doll the young master gave you on your tenth birthday?”

Meng Xingzhou was momentarily stunned. Only then did he lower his head to look at the shattered fragments of porcelain.

Sure enough... it was the birthday gift he had given her five years ago.

So her earlier panic was because she feared the servant boy might break the doll he had given her?

Meng Xingzhou’s expression grew complicated. Hesitating, he glanced at Meng Qingyue, and when their eyes met, he suddenly froze.

The young woman’s hair was disheveled, her appearance completely undone as she knelt on the ground. Her thin nightgown only accentuated the pallor of her face, and her eyes were filled with lifeless sorrow and despair.

Looking into those eyes, Meng Xingzhou suddenly understood something and panicked. “Qingyue, I... I didn’t mean it...”

“I’ll go to the market tomorrow and buy you a new one, alright? Qingyue... please don’t be angry...”

He cautiously tried to help her up, but Meng Qingyue slowly and firmly pushed him away.

She gave a bitter, hopeless smile. “If it’s broken, then it’s broken. There’s no point in keeping it anyway.”

No point.

None at all.

Nearby, Cui’er shielded Meng Qingyue from the servant boy’s view and draped a coat over her shoulders. “Miss, the wind is strong tonight. You mustn’t catch a cold again, or even the strongest body won’t endure...”

Then she glared at Meng Xingzhou. “Young master, you’ve driven our lady out. Where is she supposed to stay tonight?”

Her tone was neither respectful nor polite.

Meng Xingzhou’s brow twitched slightly. His gaze unintentionally dropped to the slightly open collar of Meng Qingyue’s gown, faintly revealing a sudden glimpse of flesh.

The words he had on the tip of his tongue—“guest room”—were swallowed back.

Then he said, “Qingyue, you can stay in the side chamber tonight.”

Meng Qingyue refused without hesitation. “No need. I’ll stay in the guest room.”

Meng Xingzhou frowned. “The guest room is remote and cold, and your constitution is frail...”

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“Cui’er, let’s go to the guest room,” Meng Qingyue said as she stood, pulling Cui’er along with her uninjured hand.

Meng Xingzhou, annoyed, sneered and stopped paying her any attention.

The servant boy threw the bedding and luggage into the guest room in a heap.

It was bitterly cold, the room had no heated floor, and there was no time to light a fire, so Cui’er stamped her feet to keep warm.

Meng Qingyue was even colder. From the moment she entered, her small face was deathly pale from the chill.

She felt guilty. “Cui’er, I’m sorry to make you suffer because of me...”

Cui’er’s eyes welled with tears. “Miss, please don’t say that. I’ll go fetch some firewood now. You should rest first.”

Though told to rest, the room was freezing. Meng Qingyue lay on the bed, her toes still cold well into midnight.

She didn’t know when she finally drifted off. When she awoke the next morning, her body felt somewhat lighter.

“Fight poison with poison, freeze with freeze?”

She gave a self-mocking laugh. Her nursemaid came to summon her to the main hall for breakfast. After some thought, she went.

But she regretted it as soon as she entered.

At the table, besides the Marquis of Huainan’s family, was Qiao Xian.

Now she truly feared the Qiao family as if they were tigers.

She reluctantly stepped inside and saw a vacant seat beside Meng Xingzhou and another beside Qiao Xian.

Without hesitation, she sat next to Meng Xingzhou.

Her life was at stake; she dared not have any dealings with the Qiao family.

But to Meng Xingzhou, this act held a different meaning.

Just the other day, Meng Qingyue had been dreaming of climbing into the heir’s family, but today she chose to sit beside him.

Did that mean, in her heart, he was more worth choosing than the heir?

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Meanwhile, Meng Changle, encouraged by the presence of her beloved, ate in small, ladylike bites.

“This morning, I went with A Xian to the Duke’s residence. Aunt Qiao gave me a pair of jade bracelets, saying they were specially kept for Qiao family daughters-in-law...”

Meng Changle blushed slightly as she spoke.

Qiao Xian felt nothing in particular but, out of politeness, murmured, “Hmm.”

The Marquis and Marchioness of Huainan smiled broadly, praising Changle’s good fortune.

Meng Changle smiled and turned to see Meng Qingyue quietly eating.

She gently said, “Sister, my jade bracelets are truly beautiful. After the meal, do you want to come to my room and see them?”

“No need.”

Meng Qingyue’s face was expressionless; she just wanted to finish eating quickly and leave. “I’m glad you’re happy, sister.”

Meng Changle smiled generously. “Aunt Qiao has no daughters and treats me, her daughter-in-law, like her own. I’m truly lucky to have such good mothers. Some people don’t even have a mother...”

The Marquis of Huainan cleared his throat slightly, signaling Meng Changle to stop.

When Meng Changle went missing years ago, the Huainan residence adopted Meng Qingyue three months later. Apart from them, no one knew Meng Qingyue’s true origins.

The Marquis was well aware that if they intended to use their daughter to secure a good marriage, then Qingyue had to be their biological child.

After Meng Changle’s return, they claimed she had been recuperating at the estate since childhood. Thus, outwardly, it was believed that the Huainan residence had two biological daughters.

Knowing she had spoken out of turn, Meng Changle sulked into silence.

Meanwhile, Qiao Xian, having nothing much to discuss with the Meng family, broached the oft-repeated topic: “My sister will be back soon; my mother will soon have a daughter...”

Meng Changle replied softly, “When sister returns, we as siblings-in-law must cherish her well to make up for the hardships she has endured all these years. A Xian, don’t you agree?”