Read Novel Full CHAPTER 28 PART1
CHAPTER 28 PART1
Madam Cui’s throat tightened, not a single word could escape her lips. Her heart pounded like a war drum, as if it might leap right out of her chest.
Her pupils shrank to pinpricks, and cold sweat began to bead at her temples.
Xiao Yanfei took in every subtle change in Madam Cui’s expression, clearly catching the flicker of an emotion that flashed across her face—one that could only be described as fear.
Yes—fear.
Not anger, not shock, but a kind of fear that came from the deepest part of the soul.
Like someone secretly carrying a treasure map, suddenly stripped bare in front of a crowd, completely exposed, with nowhere left to run or hide.
Xiao Yanfei’s hand clenched into a tight fist, her mind sharp and clear.
The other woman’s reaction confirmed a terrifying truth—
She was right.
Xiao Luanfei was Madam Cui’s daughter!
A cold wave swept through Xiao Yanfei’s chest, leaving her half-frozen, the chill spreading rapidly through her body until even her fingertips felt icy.
Though she had long suspected it—suspected it enough to confront Madam Cui today—hearing it confirmed still left her shaken to the core.
Xiao Yanfei took a deep breath. But as the shock settled, another thought came over her—
Somehow, it all made perfect sense.
In her memories, Madam Cui had always belittled the original Xiao Yanfei, constantly reminding her that she was just a concubine’s daughter—barely better than a servant.
She wasn’t allowed to stand out, always forced to lag behind in everything she tried to learn.
She was told never to outshine her elder sister, never to draw attention in front of the Madam of the house.
She was even sent away to a rural estate in Jizhou, left there without a word of concern for over two years…
—
Now, in light of this truth, all of Madam Cui’s cruelty suddenly made sense.
It wasn’t arbitrary. It was calculated.
The original Xiao Yanfei, poor thing, had known nothing. She’d looked up to Madam Cui as if she were her entire world.
From the very start, she’d been brainwashed, exiled, humiliated, and used—
All under the careful manipulation of the very woman she trusted most.
The original Xiao Yanfei… was truly pitiful.
Madam Cui’s moment of panic lasted only a heartbeat before she quickly regained her composure.
“Yan’er, how could you say such a thing?” she gasped, her voice low and filled with disbelief.
Shi momo’s heart nearly stopped. She instinctively raised her voice, scolding, “Yes, Second Miss, how could you say something like that? Don’t you know how much that hurts your mother’s feelings?!”
“Madam Cui cares about no one more than you! You’re the one she carried in her womb for ten long months!”
“Is that so?” Xiao Yanfei replied calmly. “If Mother truly cared for me, if she truly cherished me—then tell me, would she be willing to stop my elder sister from marrying the Crown Prince, just for my sake?”
Has this girl lost her mind?!
Madam Cui’s expression darkened further, the reprimand already on her lips—but she bit it back.
Xiao Yanfei smiled.
She didn’t spare Madam Cui another glance and rose to her feet. “Madam Cui, I’ll be leaving now.”
“Second Miss! Second Miss, you’ve really misunderstood your mother…”
“Second Miss—Madam Cui has fainted!”
At those words, the felt curtain at the front was suddenly flung open. A tall, broad-shouldered figure in blue, straight as a winter cypress, burst in like a gust of wind from outside and slammed into Xiao Yanfei’s shoulder.
Xiao Yanfei: “…”
The impact made her stagger, but she quickly regained her balance and kept walking without looking back.
“Ru’er!”
Marquis of Wu’an, Xiao Yan, cried out Madam Cui’s childhood name as he rushed to her bedside in long, urgent strides.
Madam Cui lay limp on the couch, eyes tightly shut and face as pale as paper, as if she had lost consciousness.
“Ru’er, are you all right?” Xiao Yan asked softly, his voice full of concern. He gently gathered the fainted Madam Cui into his broad chest, one arm wrapped protectively around her delicate shoulders.
She remained motionless, her neck limp, a few messy strands of hair falling across her porcelain-white cheek—so delicate, so fragile.
Looking at his beloved concubine, Xiao Yan was filled with worry and heartache. At the same time, a furious fire surged in his chest.
“Xiao Yanfei, stop right there!” he bellowed at her retreating figure, his face dark with rage.
But Xiao Yanfei didn’t even glance back. She kept walking steadily toward the doorway.
Xiao Yan’s anger flared further. “Someone! Stop the Second Miss at once!”
As he spoke, he grabbed the steaming teacup from the bedside table, his hand clenched tightly around it.
A young maid standing by the curtain hurriedly stepped in front of Xiao Yanfei, flustered and unsure. “Second Miss…”
Xiao Yanfei turned her head and looked toward the couch, studying the man who, in this life, was her father.
“You unfilial girl—kneel!” Xiao Yan’s face darkened like an approaching storm. He raised the teacup high in his hand, as if ready to hurl it. “You drove your mother to this state, and you feel no remorse at all?!”
His voice boomed like thunder, echoing through the room.
Every maid and servant inside held their breath, trembling in silence.
But Xiao Yanfei simply smiled—calm and composed. She looked at the tall, striking man before her and asked, “Father… don’t you want to know why mother fainted?”
Xiao Yan’s grip on the teacup faltered ever so slightly. He raised a suspicious brow, clearly thrown off.
From the corner of her eye, Xiao Yanfei caught a subtle flicker—the lashes of the “unconscious” Madam Cui trembled ever so slightly.
She gave a faint, knowing smile. “Father, I discovered something today… It turns out Concubine Cui is very fond of my elder sister. In fact, Big Sister is actually—”
“Marquis…” Madam Cui interrupted at just the right moment, letting out a low, pitiful groan—so pained, so fragile.
Her eyelids fluttered open slowly. She reached up weakly and tugged at Xiao Yan’s robe, her voice hoarse as she said with great effort, “Please… don’t blame Yan’er. This… isn’t her fault.”
Startled by the sudden movement, Xiao Yan’s left hand jerked, and the steaming tea sloshed violently over the rim—splashing with a sharp hiss onto Madam Cui’s left arm, soaking her sleeve in scalding water.
But Xiao Yan didn’t notice at all. His attention remained fixed on the woman in his arms as he leaned closer in concern, gently reassuring her, “Ru’er, don’t strain yourself. Don’t let this unfilial girl make you sick with anger…”
Madam Cui: “…”
The scalding water had already seeped through the fabric, burning into her skin—hot and searing. The pain contorted her once-delicate features in an instant.
But Madam Cui could only grit her teeth and endure it, forcing down the pain as she looked up at Xiao Yan with a face full of emotion. Her voice was soft and trembling:
“Marquis, please… put the cup down. You frightened me…”
Xiao Yanfei stood to the side, watching it all with cold detachment.
She let out a soft chuckle, not even bothering to hide it—like someone applauding a truly spectacular performance.
Then, without another glance, she turned and walked out.
The little maid looked hesitantly at Xiao Yan. Seeing that he said nothing, she stepped aside and let Xiao Yanfei pass.
Outside, the sky had grown darker, far gloomier than before. The sun was now completely swallowed by thick, heavy clouds.
A stifling wind blew against her face, pressing down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. A weighty pressure clogged her lungs like a mouthful of stale air she couldn’t exhale.
Xiao Yanfei walked slowly in the direction of Moonrise Pavilion, the wind at her face. Her legs felt heavy, as if filled with lead. Her delicate features shifted like the sky above—one moment clear, the next shadowed—as turbulent thoughts churned within her.
If Xiao Luanfei was Madam Cui’s daughter… then what about the original owner?
Then who was Xiao Yanfei’s real mother? She couldn’t have just… been picked up off the street, right?
Wait a second!
Xiao Yanfei suddenly stopped in her tracks, as if struck by a bolt of lightning. Her whole body jolted with the realization.
A flood of absurd, melodramatic plots rushed into her mind—baby swaps in the palace, birthmarks shaped like plum blossoms, tragic love stories, long-lost daughters… scenes straight out of Endless Love, Fake Heiress Revealed, and every tearjerking drama she’d ever seen.
Shit.
If her guess was right—if this really was what had happened—then the original Xiao Yanfei’s life had been one of pure tragedy.
She had spent over a decade trapped in a cruel lie.
Her real mother had been right in front of her all along… and she never knew.
All the while, others trampled her with impunity, abusing her, humiliating her—right under her own mother’s nose. The two of them saw each other every day… and yet, fate had never let them truly reunite.
The saddest thing in life could be nothing more than this.
Xiao Yanfei turned her face slightly, gazing distantly toward the main courtyard. She raised a hand to her chest, clutching the fabric tightly.
A dull ache spread through her chest, a faint pain that made the corners of her eyes dampen.
She couldn’t control her tears, which slipped relentlessly from her eyes, unbidden.
In this moment, it felt as if her body had been split in two—one half was herself, and the other was the original Xiao Yanfei.
The part that belonged to her was coldly rational, while the emotions lingering from the original were heavy with sorrow, tugging at her heart, making it ache with each passing second. A chill seeped deep into her chest.
It was a profound sorrow, one that burrowed deep into her soul.
The original’s life had been turned upside down, completely invalidated. She had lived as nothing more than a joke—a puppet, controlled by fate, strung along by invisible hands.
It was as if the original’s existence had been entirely erased.
Xiao Yanfei gently patted her chest twice, silently soothing herself.
Don’t worry.
These two words were meant both for the original Xiao Yanfei and for herself.
She paused briefly before continuing forward, a sigh of resignation escaping her lips.
In ancient times, without DNA technology, there was no way to accurately determine kinship. Even though she was nearly certain, would others believe her?
One was a daughter raised as a mere concubine’s child, ordinary and unremarkable, with no talents to speak of.
The other was the well-educated, beautiful legitimate daughter, deeply in love with the Crown Prince, with a limitless future ahead of her.
From the perspective of the Marquis’s household, even if they believed Xiao Yanfei’s claim, who would they prefer as the legitimate daughter?
The answer was obvious.
In this vast marquisate, it seemed like only the marquis’s wife would truly care about her…
That’s why, when Xiao Yanfei spoke to Xiao Yan earlier, she hadn’t finished her sentence.
She knew that some things, as long as she kept them unsaid, would make Concubine Cui hesitant, holding back out of caution.
But once the truth was spoken, it would force Concubine Cui into a corner. When someone has nothing to lose, their actions become reckless and unpredictable.
Xiao Yanfei furrowed her brows, distracted, as she made her way back to the Yuechu Pavilion.
Once inside, she casually dismissed Haitang and Dingxiang, planning to spend some time alone in the small study.
She needed solitude.
To think. Quietly.
Just as she rounded a screen embroidered with plum blossoms, blue bamboo, and chrysanthemums, Xiao Yanfei was taken aback to see someone sitting by the window of the small study—someone who shouldn’t be there.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
The young man in dark robes had ink-black hair, his skin pale as snow, and his demeanor as cold and pure as ice.
He sat upright by the window, his tall frame commanding even while seated, as imposing as a mountain. In his right hand, he held a book, his fingers elegantly gripping the pages, their pale, jade-like beauty stark against the dark cover.
The sunlight streaming through the window bathed him in a golden glow, casting a dreamy, ethereal light that made his handsome features seem almost otherworldly.
Though the young man before her was a stranger with whom she had only a few encounters, in that moment, his presence brought an unexpected sense of relief to Xiao Yanfei, like a ray of light breaking through a sky thick with clouds and mist.
It felt as though there was a sharp blade at her disposal.
And as she glanced outside at the bright, burning sun, Xiao Yanfei suddenly realized with a start that the overcast sky had, without her noticing, shifted back to clear and bright.
The sky was a brilliant blue with white clouds, and a gentle breeze carried through the air.
In her heart, Xiao Yanfei felt a sense of clarity and a plan beginning to form.
Hearing the movement, Gu Feichi put down the book “Treaties on Febrile Diseases” and lifted his eyes to look at her. His dark, fox-like eyes were deep as an ancient well, and when he looked sideways, it was as though a soul-stealing fox spirit was casting a glance at her.
“Miss Xiao, please sit,” Gu Feichi said calmly.
His soft, languid tone struck the ear, clear, cold, and pleasant to listen to.
Has he made himself at home here? Xiao Yanfei couldn’t help but murmur inwardly, though when she met Gu Feichi’s gaze, her smile bloomed like the first light of dawn.
“Is there a reason for Young Master Gu’s unexpected visit?”
She casually asked, offering the polite gesture of preparing a cup of floral tea for him.
As she carried the tea, along with some pastries and preserved fruit, to the writing desk, a look of awkwardness appeared on her face.
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