Volume 1, Chapter 20: Her Sincerity, Not Worth Mentioning

"Grandmother, you should trust in my brother's judgment; it will surely not be misplaced."

Xie Chaoyu skipped nimbly to the other side of Old Madam Xie, interceding for Yun Qianqian. She added playfully, "Sister Qianqian is truly extraordinary. Once you spend some time with her, you will surely grow to love her just as we have..."

Old Madam Xie’s expression darkened. She ignored the girl entirely, not even sparing Yun Qianqian a glance. Instead, she fixed her gaze on Xie Yihe and demanded, "Since when did the rules of our Duke’s estate dictate that outsiders should be included in our reunion dinner? Where is A-Tang?"

Xie Yihe fell silent. He looked back toward Jiang Yutang, who was standing behind the crowd.

"Come here. Grandmother is calling for you," he commanded, his voice cold.

Jiang Yutang had no choice but to emerge from the corner of the dining hall. At the sight of her, Old Madam Xie was immediately overcome with heartache. As the wife of the heir, how had she been pushed to such a remote spot?

Seeing this, Madam Xie hurried to smooth things over. "Old Madam, you have misunderstood. A-Tang saw that there was no seat for Qianqian, so she voluntarily moved to sit with the Second Madam."

"I am not yet so senile as to lose my wits. I have my own conclusions about what is right and wrong," Old Madam Xie retorted with a cold glare. She then turned her gaze back to Xie Yihe, suspecting that this scoundrel was the one behind it all. She felt so incensed she could have struck him with her cane.

Jiang Yutang walked to the front of the room. Xie Chaoyu, eyes full of annoyance, could not help but mutter, "Heh, I see. She’s just jealous that Sister Qianqian has won my brother’s favor, so she hid over there to play the victim and win Grandmother’s sympathy. It’s all such petty, low-class maneuvering. How hypocritical..."

Jiang Yutang caught these words the moment she arrived. She paused, then turned to respond. "Sister Yu, those words are truly chilling. If I lacked the magnanimity to tolerate even this, I would have made a scene the moment I gave up my seat."

If Xie Yihe had agreed to it, she would have even been willing to hand over her position as his legal wife to Yun Qianqian.

Xie Chaoyu was rendered speechless.

Xie Yihe watched Jiang Yutang’s calm profile, his eyes darkening further. "Enough, Grandmother. Let us eat."

Old Madam Xie wished that Jiang Yutang were not so sensible. "A-Tang, come sit by Grandmother’s side."

She took Jiang Yutang’s hand and stood up for her. "Others may forget your virtues, but Grandmother remembers. You are, and always will be, the wife of the heir to our Duke of Anguo estate; no one can replace you."

This was Old Madam Xie’s indirect way of telling everyone present that as long as she was alive, no one should think of shaking Jiang Yutang’s status or showing her disrespect.

The expressions of those present shifted. Only the Second Madam felt genuine happiness for Jiang Yutang, her peripheral vision darting toward Yun Qianqian, whose face was dreadfully pale. She had never been treated with such coldness, and in front of so many people, no less...

Xie Yihe’s brow twitched. Just as he was about to offer comfort, Old Madam Xie spoke again: "And you, come over and sit with A-Tang!"

"Grandmother, Qianqian is shy by nature and a newcomer here; I cannot neglect her," Xie Yihe refused flatly, rarely defying the Old Madam so openly. He then looked toward Jiang Yutang, his narrow eyes deep and unreadable. With a mocking curl of his lips, he added, "Besides, hasn't A-Tang become very magnanimous?"

Jiang Yutang was stunned, but quickly realized that Xie Yihe was using her own words to corner her. She found it laughable. Xie Yihe need not have bothered... She had no intention of using the Old Madam to win him back from Yun Qianqian.

"Grandmother, let me keep you company during the meal," Jiang Yutang said, ignoring the man behind her. She smiled gently, helped the old lady toward the head of the table, and failed to notice the shift in the man's expression.

"You, child..."

As Jiang Yutang took her seat beside the Old Madam, the latter sighed, feeling a sense of frustration that the girl wouldn't stand up for herself. If she wasn't going to stop Xie Yihe, why push him toward Yun Qianqian? But since Jiang Yutang had already spoken, she could say no more.

The reunion dinner began. Jiang Yutang ate in silence, chewing slowly. Throughout the meal, she and Xie Yihe did not exchange a single word—it was the norm for their marriage, one to which even Old Madam Xie had grown accustomed.

At the table, Xie Yihe and Yun Qianqian were not far away. Jiang Yutang saw clearly that Xie Yihe, who always had a fastidious nature, was meticulously peeling shrimp for Yun Qianqian. His slender fingers were stained with oil as he extracted the tender meat and placed it into her bowl—a level of care Jiang Yutang had never dared to hope for.

She glanced away, but her peripheral vision caught Yun Qianqian pulling out a handkerchief. The embroidery of willow leaves and joined hearts made Jiang Yutang freeze. That handkerchief... it was one she had once gifted to Xie Yihe!

No one could misunderstand the meaning of that pattern. Every stitch had been infused with the depth of her love for him. Back then, Xie Yihe had accepted it, and Jiang Yutang had been happy for a long time, believing she was slowly winning his heart and would one day occupy it entirely.

Yet, Xie Yihe had actually given her token of sincerity to Yun Qianqian...

At the table, Yun Qianqian used the handkerchief to wipe Xie Yihe’s hands. Afterward, she tossed it into the porcelain dish filled with discarded shrimp shells, leaving it a stained, chaotic mess. Xie Yihe did not react.

The soiled, crumpled handkerchief looked just like Jiang Yutang’s trampled heart, and the willow leaf pattern, in that moment, seemed utterly ridiculous. Jiang Yutang stared at it for a long time. She couldn't help but wonder how Xie Yihe had mocked her behind her back to this other woman.

Perhaps Xie Yihe thought she was gazing at him with infatuation again, or perhaps glaring at Yun Qianqian. When Jiang Yutang finally came to her senses, she met Xie Yihe’s gaze, which was filled with extreme indifference.

Jiang Yutang tightened her grip on her silver chopsticks and lowered her eyes to her bowl. All her appetite had vanished, but she forced herself to finish the meal with the Old Madam.

Old Madam Xie was advanced in age, and once the meal was over, she needed to return to Jifu Hall. Jiang Yutang, not wishing to remain in the dining hall and be an eyesore, took her leave and departed with Chuntao.

The dining hall remained lively. Xie Yihe and the Duke began discussing court affairs. Yun Qianqian stared at the doorway, feigning a casual tone. "Why did Sister Jiang leave so soon? She barely ate anything. But the Old Madam is truly good to her; it really makes one envious..."

"Filial piety? That was nothing but sycophancy," Xie Chaoyu remarked from across the table, a glint of jealousy in her eyes. She sneered, "Once Grandmother left, Jiang Yutang had no one left to suck up to, so of course she wouldn't stay."

She was the Old Madam's own granddaughter, yet the old woman was so senile that she repeatedly showed favoritism to an outsider like Jiang Yutang.