Surviving in the General's Mansion - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Housewarming Banquet 4

Under everyone’s stares, Xia Lang could no longer remain seated. It felt as if every single person there was laughing at him.

So he rose to take his leave.

“In that case, leave the crown on your head first. As for the remaining two hundred gold, you can make up for it later.”

Cang Chuli spoke calmly.

Xia Lang was so furious his lips trembled.

Who said he was going to redeem her?! Who exactly said he was going to redeem her?!

Unfortunately, this was a bitter fruit of his own making, and even on his knees, he had to swallow it down.

With one hand, he removed the crown from his hair.

Thud.

He slammed it down in front of Cang Chuli’s table.

But really, no joke.

Before, with the crown on, it hadn’t been obvious.

Now that the crown was off and his hair had fallen loose, it made his hair look even thinner.

Paired with his sinister expression, he looked very much like a madman wandering the roadside.

“Is the general satisfied now?”

Cang Chuli neither confirmed nor denied it.

Xia Lang suddenly lifted his head and shot Xia Heng a dark, venomous look.

“Sister, you truly have grown quite capable. I only wonder whether, when you see Second Uncle, you’ll still be as eloquent as you were today.”

Xia Heng looked back at him just as seriously.

“When the time comes, Father will naturally know.”

The woman who had brought warmth to her memories could no longer be seen again.

And this family was even trying to use someone who had already passed away to threaten and control her?

Thinking about it now, the original owner hadn’t even been able to return home.

In that case, the luggage embroidered with water patterns, the embroidered handkerchief, and the twenty-five taels of broken silver she had found on the day she transmigrated here must have all been prepared by the original owner’s mother before she died of illness. That was probably all she had been able to send.

How could Xia Yun possibly have prepared those things for her?

Since she had taken over someone else’s daughter’s body, then seeking justice for the original owner’s mother was only right and proper.

Xia Heng had always believed one thing.

When a person made a mistake, they had to admit it.

If you were going to take a beating, stand up straight and take it.

“Good, good, good!”

Xia Lang flung his sleeve and stormed off.

Madam Xiao also pretended nothing had happened and smilingly saw her guest out.

What a joke. The Xiao Family had returned to the capital this time, and invitations had been sent to everyone who had business dealings with the Xiao Family over the years.

This Young Master Xia had been invited because one of the restaurants under the Xia family had a partnership with the Xiao Family.

But judging from what had happened today, it was still unclear who that restaurant actually belonged to.

Cang Chuli motioned for Xia Heng to put away the Purple-Gold Crown.

Xia Heng had no choice but to stuff it into the pouch she carried with her.

Luckily, the pouch was big enough. It was just that her previously flat little pouch was now bulging from the Purple-Gold Crown, with one end even sticking out.

Her otherworldly aura was dragged straight back down to earth.

As soon as Chuqing returned, she sidled up to Xia Heng.

“What’s that?”

She pointed at the bulging pouch.

“My redemption money…”

Xia Heng said with dead-fish eyes.

“All right, then hurry up and go eat!”

Chuqing was used to her nonsense by now and didn’t mind at all.

By the time Xia Heng arrived at the servants’ dining area, the people eating there had already changed to a new batch.

Looking at the dishes in the food tubs, Xia Heng truly wanted to kneel down and kowtow to Xiao Yaqing on the spot!

The female lead was mighty and magnanimous!

Just look at what they had here!

Braised pork, fried chicken, and rice! Xia Heng didn’t even spare the vegetables beside them a glance.

There was even milk tea!

The trays used to serve the food were similar to modern divided meal trays, except they were made of wood.

They looked much more refined too!

As expected of you, transmigrated female lead!

Xia Heng didn’t skip a single meat dish.

In the end, she reluctantly took a spoonful of tofu as a token vegetable to balance things out.

She found a place to sit, took off her mask, and started devouring her food.

She was in the middle of gnawing on a piece of fried chicken when a thin, delicate laugh sounded beside her.

No way… Again?

Xia Heng didn’t even turn her head and continued gnawing on her drumstick.

“Um… Miss Xia?”

“Mm-hm.”

Xia Heng kept her eyes forward and answered perfunctorily.

“Didn’t you say the food at the General’s Mansion was very good? Looking at you now… how about… you eat Lüliu’s portion too?”

“No need. The auntie serving food just now said if there wasn’t enough, I could go back for more.”

Xia Heng had just finished putting on an act, and with delicious food right in front of her, she had no time to deal with this girl.

“It’s all right. You should eat more.”

Lüliu pushed her tray in front of Xia Heng.

Only then did Xia Heng finally look up at her.

“You may not know me. I am Lüliu from Minister Chen’s Mansion. Our madam also came today.”

Seeing that Xia Heng did not respond, Lüliu did not feel awkward either.
“Ah, speaking of which, you’re rather pitiful too. A proper young lady, and now you’ve fallen to the same state as us.”

Lüliu flicked out her handkerchief and pressed it to her mouth, wiping carefully.

“Our young lady came back the very next day. Master didn’t even blink before sending General Cang three hundred taels of gold.”

“Ah, people really do have different fates.”

As she spoke, she looked at Xia Heng with obvious glee at her misfortune.

“Oh. Your young lady was all right after she went home?”

Lüliu froze for a moment.

“Of course she was. When she returned, our master even held a welcoming banquet for her.”

“He really should have.”

Xia Heng spat a chicken bone onto her plate.

“Your young lady fainted all day, then cried the whole night. Scared me half to death…”

“And the next day she still had the strength to sob and scream about going home… I had no idea her throat was that good.”

Xia Heng picked up her bowl, took a sip of milk tea, then added seriously, “It’s best to wash with mugwort. It helps calm the mind. Otherwise it’s easy to get a fever. Remember to drink plenty of hot water.”

Lüliu was so angry her nose nearly went crooked. Their young lady had indeed come down with a fever.

She still had not fully recovered, which was why only Madam had come today.

“You! I was speaking to you nicely, and you dare slander our young lady?”

“Hmph. At the very least, our young lady had someone come for her, unlike you! You’re just unwanted goods nobody wants!”

Lüliu shot to her feet, finally revealing her true colors.

So this was what she had been waiting for.

“Mmm… you’re right. But why are you telling me all this?” Xia Heng asked in confusion.

“What does whether your young lady had someone come for her have to do with me?”

Xia Heng thought about it for a long while.

“It doesn’t have anything to do with you either, does it? You weren’t the one who paid the money. You weren’t the one brought back… So what are you trying to do by telling me so much?”

“If we’re being serious, shouldn’t your young lady be the one saying this to me? But she doesn’t even know me, so there’s no need, right?”

Xia Heng set her bowl back on her tray.

“I’m telling you that you’re nothing but a money-losing wretch even your own family doesn’t want!” Lüliu snarled, her face twisted.

Lüliu could not understand it. This woman had become a laughingstock in front of so many people, so why was she still unmoved?

She should not be like this.

“If I’m not mistaken, you must have had a very unhappy childhood?”

Xia Heng stood as well, meeting Lüliu’s gaze levelly.

“Were you sold by your family to become a servant? Nobody wanted you?”

“What nonsense are you spouting?” Lüliu’s expression turned panicked.

“All right. Maybe everything you said is true.”

Xia Heng suddenly found the whole thing boring.

For an employee like this, someone who had lived badly herself and so hoped everyone else would live badly too, even going so far as to mock others, Xia Heng did not even feel like offering psychological counseling.

It was not as if this was her employee!

“But I don’t care. My life is mine to live. As long as I’m living well, that’s enough.

“What other people think or do, I don’t care.”

With that, she picked up her tray again and went to get a second serving.

She did not care!? How could she not care!? How could she possibly not care???

The shackles that had bound Lüliu for half her life had been lightly picked up by Xia Heng and tossed onto the ground.

Lüliu had envied her own young lady for more than ten years. Today, she had finally seen someone even more miserable than herself.

She was clearly a young lady from an official family, yet her family had given her away to someone else as a concubine.

And before she even managed to become that concubine, she had ended up a maidservant just like Lüliu, standing in the same position, sitting beside her, eating the same meal!

Lüliu had thought this person simply had not seen her own situation clearly, so she could not wait to step forward and remind her.

To tell her: So what if you were born well? So what if you look pretty once you take off the face covering?

Aren’t you just the same as me now? A pitiful creature nobody wants?

But this woman’s expression had not even changed! She had told Lüliu she did not care???

She was pretending. She had to be pretending.

But why could she be so calm!?

She had even gone to get a second serving of braised pork!!

She had started eating again!!!

Hold it in. She had to hold it in! She absolutely could not hold it in! Fine, she would not hold it in!

“Waaah!”

Lüliu turned and ran off crying.

“Hey, clear your own tray! Hey!!”

Xia Heng called after her for a long time, but no one paid her any attention.

Ah, forget it.

If she was going to break down that easily, why had she come over to provoke her in the first place?