He handed her an orange and said, "Aqing, don’t take all the blame upon yourself. It’s not your fault. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s me for being useless, for not securing for you the position of a principal wife, always letting others ridicule you as a concubine. But in my heart, there’s only one principal wife, and that has always been you."
Concubine Du broke into a smile through her tears, wiping them away and handing half of the orange to Second Young Master Xie, saying, "I knew Master cares about Aqing the most. Master, have some orange."
Xie Qinyun felt so disgusted by Concubine Du’s pretentious act that she couldn’t stand them flaunting their affection in front of her by sharing oranges, and indignantly said, "Second Brother, what should I do? Is it possible that I, a legitimate daughter, would really end up as a concubine in someone else’s house?"
Only she knew that the Emperor was selecting consorts for his sons, as Father Xie had only told her. Therefore, in Second Young Master Xie’s mind, it was impossible for his sister to become someone else’s concubine, unless it was to be a concubine of the Imperial Family.
But given his sister’s temperament, she certainly wouldn’t enter the Imperial Family.
He angrily said, "Nonsense! You are the only daughter of our family, which family would dare to make you a concubine?"
Become a concubine? Of course, he would never let Xie Qinyun become a concubine in someone else’s house. The concubine of his own house had already broken his heart. His beloved woman was a concubine, and even with his constant protection, she had ended up leading such a life. If his sister became a concubine in someone else’s household without a husband’s protection, wouldn’t she be bullied to death?
Xie Qinyun, clutching her handkerchief, said, "Then you must think of a solution for me. I’ve already reached the age of marriage, and if a matchmaker comes knocking one day, you surely can’t..." She looked at Concubine Du and said with grievance, "You surely can’t let her arrange a marriage for me, can you? That would be utterly humiliating."
It all still came down to the issue of Concubine Du’s status. Second Young Master Xie looked at his sister, then at Concubine Du, and felt utterly exasperated.
"Maybe we could..." he began to say, perhaps suggesting that woman should take the lead. But recalling how that woman was even more petty than Aqing, he felt even less assured entrusting his sister’s marriage matters to her.
Without a capable woman in the household to take charge, it truly was troublesome.
The two women were both waiting for him to finish his ’maybe we could,’ but he seemed to stall, unable to complete the sentence.
Faced with two pairs of expectant eyes, he could only mumble, "Perhaps in a couple of days, I’ll talk to Big Brother and ask him to marry a principal wife and bring her home quickly."
"Big Brother?" Xie Qinyun wilted in her chair as if deflated, "By the time Big Brother marries a new sister-in-law, I’ll have become an old maid. I might as well wait for you to torment the Second Sister-in-law to death and let Concubine Du take her place."
Xie Qinyun’s seemingly casual remark instantly chilled the atmosphere in the room.
Concubine Du, sitting awkwardly to the side, looked at Xie Qinyun with eyes that now harbored a few more traces of resentment.
Second Young Master Xie’s face darkened, his anger apparent, as he said coldly, "Who taught you to speak ? Was it that woman?"
Xie Qinyun quickly replied, "If she were capable of teaching someone to talk , she wouldn’t have ended up in such a plight."
Second Young Master Xie looked at Xie Qinyun, his eyes growing increasingly intense. Xie Qinyun knew this was a sign of his growing anger, but, having come this far, she was unwilling to back down so she decided to stand her ground.
Well, she might as well speak up for that woman one last time. If Second Brother really didn’t want to keep her, then she could only blame her own bad luck.
"Today, I heard from Miss Lin that she was gravely ill, so I went to visit her at her courtyard. But I didn’t expect Second Brother to be so heartless. Knowing she was seriously ill, you even feared that her maid might go out to get medicines, so you simply locked up her courtyard gate. Second Brother, I understand what you mean—you resent the eldest daughter of the Du Family for occupying the principal wife’s position. Our family can’t divorce a wife, and with Father pressing down, you can’t divorce her, so the only option is to shorten her life."