97 Very Grateful

Xu Ji An felt like he had been losing face ever since he arrived at the Prime Minister's residence. Whenever XuanRong opened her mouth, she would always have something to point out against him. It made Xu Ji An want to squeeze her neck and snuff out her breath. She even dared to lecture him in front of the guests who were present, making him lose too much face in this evening.

Feeling humiliated, Xu Ji An slammed his hand on the table. Those guests that were far were not able to hear their conversation but when he made too much noise due to his sudden action, it attracted quite the attention. The entire hall went silent and if one would throw a penny on the floor, one would be able to hear it clearly. The entire situation was very awkward but Xu Ji An saw that XuanRong was not moved. She appeared unconcerned and showed that she did not care and continued acting insensitive. She smiled at Xu Fei Yi while treating Xu Ji An like he was invisible, making him more angry and frustrated.

"You---!!"

"Your Highness, please forgive my daughter for saying those things. She is still immature in some other way. She only wanted to show off and make others think that she is already an adult. This lowly official is asking forgiveness for allowing His Highness see my daughter's arrogance. May His Highness the Crown Prince be magnanimous and forgive my daughter if she had offended you in any ways."

XuanLi knew that he had to do something to lessen Xu Ji An's anger. No matter what, the celebration was held inside the Prime Minister's residence and XuanRong, the one who was the culprit for Xu Ji An's sudden outburst, no matter how much he despised her, she was still a child carrying the surname Xuan. Whether he like it or not, the one who would carry the burnt would be their family. Thus, before it escalates, he had to appease Xu Ji An at all cost.

"Humpf! Since it is Prime Minister Xuan who was asking for forgiveness, This Prince will give you face and will not dwell on it. This Prince was only thinking of the Imperial family's standing thus, tried to persuade Imperial Uncle. Who would have thought that Lady XuanRong would view This Prince as a shallow and narrow-minded person."

"That is not true, that is not true! The Crown Prince's words were correct. One must always think properly and should always consider the face of the family before doing something. Come, Your Highness, this lowly official wants to talk to you regarding to the matter related to Jing country."

XuanLi secretly glared at XuanRong before ushering Xu Ji An away from them. Hearing the Jing country's matter, Xu Ji An nodded and followed XuanLi. Chen Zi Tao sighed in relief while Xu Fei Yi bit his lower lip, forcing himself not to cry in front of his Wife Jiejie.

Few minutes later, the entire hall once again turned lively as if Xu Ji An's sudden outburst had been forgotten.. The male guests were drinking nonstop while watching some performance. The female guests and Furens were talking while sipping tea. Since XuanRong was the celebrant, she had to mingle with different people especially with the female guests. Without any other choice, she could only leave her maternal grandfather and Eldest JiuMu's side in order to interact with the other guests. Xu Fei Yi wanted to follow XuanRong like a small little puppy, but Mu Qing forcefully made him sat on a chair and did not allow him to pester XuanRong unceasingly.

While talking with some other Furens, XuanRong saw Xiao Lou and XuanFei walking towards them. Since XuanLi, Xu Ji An and the other male guests were discussing some things related to the relationship of Qian Zou and Jing, XuanFei and Xiao Lou could not meddle in the conversation. It was never allowed to let women enter any discussion that were related to the nation.

"JieJie…"

XuanFei smiled and stretched her hands to grab XuanRong's arm, trying to show how close they were with each other. Unfortunately, XuanRong pretended that she did not see XuanFei's action and walked away to grab a glass of drink. XuanFei immediately pulled back her outstretched hand, acting like nothing happened. Xiao Lou noticed the little interaction. Her eyes glistened with hatred, but she did not allow it to show on her face. She smiled and sweetly called XuanRong's name.

"Rong'er…"

Without any other choice, XuanRong could not pretend anymore. She turned her head and smiled at XuanFei and Xiao Lou. She greeted the two politely like a filial daughter and a loving older sister.

"Greetings Er Niang, Meimei…"

"Greetings Third Young Miss Xuan, Second Xuan Furen."

"This humble daughter greets Second Xuan Furen and XuanFei XiaoJie."

The rest of the Furens and young maidens also greeted XuanFei and Xiao Lou when they saw them approaching.

"No need with those formalities. You are here because wanted to celebrate my eldest child's coming of age ceremony. This Madam is very glad that you were able to attend this celebration. This Madam sincerely gives her thanks."

"What are you saying ah, Second Xuan Furen? We are happy that we are able to attend Eldest Young Miss' coming of age ceremony. You are very lucky to have two daughters who were equally talented. Although Third Young Miss Xuan is still young, one could see that she will grow up magnificently in the future. Ai. Such blessings!"

"That's right! Second Xuan Furen is very lucky. Although Eldest Young Miss Xuan is not your real daughter and does not come from your own womb, she is very filial towards you. One is very envious."

"That's right! That's right!"

All the Furens were highly praising XuanRong but Xiao Lou did not show any irritation on her face, rather, she was smiling happily while looking at XuanRong affectionately. If one did not know that she harbors ill intentions towards XuanRong, one would think that Xiao Lou truly and deeply cared for her. Xiao Lou laughed happily and covered her mouth with a fan.

"Indeed, this is a great blessing for me. When older sister Chen Yi died, she asked This Madam to take good care of Rong'er. Even without her birth mother to guide her, Rong'er grew up wonderfully. It made This Madam thank the heavens and kowtow to the earth."

"What are you saying Second Xuan Furen? Eldest Young Miss Xuan grew up in to a fine young lady because of you. Without someone guiding her, how could Eldest Lady Xuan grow up magnificently? You did a good job raising her. Without saying the obvious, Madam Chen Yi only gave birth to Eldest Lady Xuan but it was Second Xuan Furen who basically raised her like a daughter. Isn't that right, Lady XuanRong?"

Hearing those pretentious Furens spout lies and false words, XuanRong wanted to roll her eyes and puke nonstop. Unfortunately, she had to pretend that she like those goosebumps-inducing praises. She decided to go with the flow and allow them to live in their own little world, not bursting their bubbles but when she heard her birth mom being mocked by them, XuanRong could not help but want to retaliate. Her eyes sharpened but in order to hide her distaste towards them, she raised the glass of wine and placed it on her lips, sipping liquid slowly.

"Err.."

XuanRong did not respond to the Furen's words but rather, pretended that she did not hear a single thing. The Furen who said those words was feeling a little flustered for being ignored while Xiao Lou felt embarrassed. By not saying anything, it was as if XuanRong was disagreeing, making Xiao Lou look fake and pretentious. XuanFei bit her lips and saw that her mother was being humiliated by XuanRong. How could she allow XuanRong continue to humiliate her mother?

"Jiejie… Do you not view mother as your mother? Why? Does Jiejie think that mother does not deserve your love?"

XuanFei's voice was full of sadness making the other Furens pity her.

That was right.

XuanRong was raised by Second Xuan Furen but she acted like an ungrateful child.

Even if the Xiao family could not stand against the Chen family, but Xiao Lou basically raised XuanRong. How could she be so cruel?

Hearing XuanFei's hidden words, XuanRong sighed. She did not want to talk but XuanFei's words left a sour taste on her mouth. She placed the glass on the table and spoke.

"What is Meimei saying ah? I did not respond because I am actually very shy because of their praises. I am very much grateful to Er Niang for treating me like a real daughter. When my birth mother died when I was six, Er Niang raised me. She loved me dearly that she never forced me to study the four virtue of a woman nor required me to learn the four arts. She said that it was okay that I cannot read and write since I will still marry someone regardless whether I am literate or not. She could not bear to see me getting pricked, thus, she decided to stop me from learning needle work. When I was ten years old, because she wants me to recuperate and be heathy once again, she sent me to the suburbs and let me live in Lu Shan for five long years together with the servants. She made sure that the servants would properly take good care of me. All the things that she did, how could I not be grateful?"

XuanRong's words were full of gratitude but when those Furen heard everything, they immediately understood the entire meaning. A step mother wanting to suppress the legitimate daughter by raising her stupidly.

'Would that also mean that XuanRong's attitude was due to Second Xuan Furen?' The rest of the Furens could not help but think negatively.

Xiao Lou's face alternately went to blue from red due to humiliation and anger. Because of XuanRong words, Xiao Lou's standing in the noble's inner circle would definitely plummet and it would only be a matter of days before the entire capital knows everything.

But XuanRong was not yet done striking both mother and daughter. "Meimei, be mindful of your words. If others hear you, they would think that you are a narrow-minded person. A simple thing and you are already making it big. You are thirteen this year, you should act properly like a Di daughter. Remember, you are no longer a child of a concubine but a Di daughter of the Prime Minister's residence."

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Xu Ji An and some of the guests were already drunk. When he tried to stand up, he could no longer stand strait and had to be supported. Since, he could not return to the palace immediately due to being drunk, XuanLi suggested that he should rest first before returning. Xu Ji An did not agree at first but later on, he did not have any more strength to stay awake. XuanLi ordered one of the servants to carry Xu Ji An and let him rest inside one of the guest rooms near the residence's hall.

XuanFei, who was secretly paying attention to Xu Ji An, saw that he was being carried away and immediately knew that it was already time to move. She raised her hand that was holding a glass of wine. She 'clumsily' loosened up her grip and 'accidentally' spilled the entire wine on XuanRong's dress.

*gasps*

"Oh no! Jiejie.. I am very sorry.."

XuanFei wiped the wine using her handkerchief but it only made it look more horrible.

"Fei'er! Look what you've done! You destroyed your older sister's dress."

"Mother.. I… Jiejie… I swear… I---"

"Enough. Go and bring your sister to the nearest room and send some servant to bring her a new dress."

"Yes, this daughter understands. Jiejie.. come… Your courtyard is very far from here. Just let your maidservant get the clothes."

The whole time, XuanRong was only looking at both mother and child's dialogue. She knew that Xiao Lou and XuanFei prepared something for her, but she was not sure about it. In her previous lifetime, Xiao Lou did not waste any time scheming against her during her coming of age ceremony since her reputation was already at the bottom. But it was different in this lifetime since her reputation was starting to look good.

"Mmm… okay.. lead the way. Excuse us."

XuanRong was not an idiot like a tiny little insect being drawn in the fire. Although she knew that it was a scheme, she still pretended to be ignorant because she wanted to know the extent of Xiao Lou and XuanFei's scheme.

"Jiejie… come this way.."

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[Unedited Chapter]