Chapter 5: Swallowing Her Pride
Two days later, a small, nondescript carriage rolled to a stop at the side of a large and bustling teahouse, the most prominent in the capital.
Two maids in silken clothes first descended; one strode forward to knock on the stone wall while the other helped a veiled lady step down. Soon, a section of the wall opened from the inside and a young man stepped out, sweeping a careless glare over them.
"Speak! What are your intentions?!"
At the insolent tone, Rong Lian simply smiled beneath her veil. By her side, Yiyue threw a white jade token at the young man's face with considerable force.
"Take a look at that token and see if you dare speak to my young miss like that again!"
The young man scoffed as he easily caught the token before it smacked his forehead. But once his eyes took in the insignia on it, all color left his face in a flash.
In the next instant, he was bowing deeply. "This servant has blind eyes and didn't recognize Miss Rong, please have mercy!"
Pushing her sleeves back, Yiyue took a step forward before being pulled back by a much calmer Huixin. In a poor attempt at a whisper, she admonished, "Not now, Yiyue, you'll have time to beat him up later."
While she spoke, Huixin snatched the token back with surprising speed.
The young man stiffened, sweat dripping down his back. Was that Yiyue the tigress of a maid his superiors had warned him about?
If so...he was done for!
"Miss Rong, this lowly servant has only been recently hired, please forgive this lowly servant's negligence." He dropped to his knees, head bowed, and waited with bated breath.
A few moments later, Rong Lian let out a tinkling laugh. "Rise, but remember to use this as a learning experience. If this young miss were one of your mistress's clients..."
Her words hung in the air, unfinished, but there was no need to complete them. The meaning was more than clear. If he had offended one of Miss Su's clients, he would've really been done for!
The young man jumped to his feet and ushered them inside, thanking her repeatedly. One of Yiyue's fierce glares soon shut him up, however.
As he led them through the back of the teahouse, the muted conversations of patrons and the constant clink of ceramic washed over them. Any servants they passed darted to the side and greeted Rong Lian with utmost respect. She nodded to a few she was more familiar with.
When they reached a staircase, the young man turned to her. In a nervous and slightly high-pitched voice, he informed, "Miss Rong, forgive this servant, but from this point onward only the young miss may pass."
Yiyue rolled her eyes. "My young miss has visited Miss Su countless times, she knows the rules."
"Yes," Huixin agreed, her voice deadly calm, "there's no need to treat our young miss like an outsider."
The young man's face blanched once more as he realized he'd offended Miss Rong again. But before he could stammer out another apology, Rong Lian intervened.
"Stop, he already apologized," she scolded, but there was no real heat in her words. She knew the reason why they were being so protective. "Now, wait patiently. This might take a while."
With that, Rong Lian started to go up the stairs, every step harder than the next. Her chest felt tight. Would her cousin, who was even pettier than her, really have forgiven her?
From below came Yiyue's bright voice: "Good luck, young miss!"
She smiled then, the tension in her body fading away. How could she forget? If her cousin didn't want to meet her, the teahouse's manager would've opened the hidden door. In fact, that new recruit was probably placed there to make her worry in the first place.
After two flights of stairs, Rong Lian arrived at the third floor. This was a private section, only accessible by the stairs she'd taken. She passed a small seating area and went inside her cousin's study without bothering to knock.
It was a spacious room, filled to the brim with the owner's taste for opulence.
Rong Lian padded across soft, luxurious carpets to a large desk with its four legs carved into roaring lions. There was a young woman sprawled on top of it, her fiery red robes pooled all around her. With no care in the world, she plucked a grape from the plate offered to her by one maid while a second fanned her.
Like her name implied, her cousin Su Yan was dazzling and ostentatious, just like the eldest miss of Xiyue's richest merchant family should be.
"How long are you going to keep ignoring me, Yanyan?" Rong Lian teased after her cousin had popped a few more grapes into her mouth.
Looking at one of her maids, Su Yan acted like she was made of air. "Tell me, what does this young miss hate the most?"
"The eldest miss hates people who dare to be shameless in front of her."
Su Yan turned to the other one. "And what is my dear little biaomei¹ doing right now?"
"After not contacting the eldest miss for months, Miss Rong has reached the height of shamelessness by asking the eldest miss for not just one but multiple favors."
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¹biaomei (表妹): Younger female cousin via female line. Su Yan is the older one.
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When the silence had stretched on long enough, Rong Lian clapped loudly, causing her cousin's maids to wince. Her eyes sparkled at them from over her veil.
"What a performance, Yanyan! How long did you practice it?"
Grabbing another grape, Su Yan drawled, "Get out."
Rong Lian remained where she was, blinking innocently. No one else moved either. The maids only realized who the order was really for when Su Yan asked, in a voice dripping with honey, "Does this young miss need to escort you out myself?"
She watched the maids scurry out of the room with a laugh. "Yanyan is as domineering as always."
Su Yan rolled her eyes as she stood up and went to sit behind her desk. The numerous priceless hairpins in her hair swayed, tinkling in her wake. Propping her feet up on the wooden surface, uncaring if a flash of skin was exposed, her cousin raised an elegant eyebrow at her.
"Why have you really come, Rong Lian?"
Rong Lian sighed. It seemed her troublesome cousin was going to drag this out until one of them cracked.
Well, it was high time she swallowed her pride and apologized.
She untied her veil and looked directly into her cousin's eyes.
"I need your help, Yanyan. That's why I'm here."
Unsurprisingly, Su Yan scoffed. "Haven't I been offering my help all these years? And each time, what was it you said? 'I'm sorry, Yanyan, I don't want to burden you'. If I didn't know better, I'd say you looked down on me." Her eyes narrowed. "Why change now?"
Each icy word drilled into her heart, but Rong Lian didn't allow herself to flinch. "Have you heard about Eldest Miss Mu?"
Su Yan threw her an incredulous look. "Of course, who do you think I am? It's all anyone can talk about nowadays." A smirk curled her ruby red lips. "Is it her who is causing my little biaomei trouble?"
Tamping down the urge to reply with something just as sarcastic, Rong Lian only nodded.
Su Yan blinked, caught by surprise. Something Rong Lian knew didn't happen often to the all-knowing Miss Su. "That...I can't believe you admitted that, Lianlian."
Rong Lian smiled at the familiar nickname. "Is it really that surprising?"
Her cousin snorted, somehow making even that sound elegant.
"Lianlian, you've been refusing this powerful biaojie's² help all these years exactly because of that damn pride of yours. I had to go through so much trouble to even convince you to place some of my people near Xiao³ Xuan!"
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²biaojie (表姐): Older female cousin via female line. Rong Lian is the younger one.
³Xiao [Name]: Xiao (小) means 'little, small; young'. A form of nickname used to express closeness and intimacy. Frequently used with loved ones, family and children/younger people, especially with girls.
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Rong Lian gripped her veil until her fingers bled white, her eyes lowered. Her cousin's words stung but she couldn't deny them.
Because of her damn pride, her absolute need to seem strong, she hadn't wanted to rely on anyone else but herself.
She'd refused to use her aunt's influence to pressure Long Yitian. Rejected her cousin's help in dealing with her stepmother.
She'd blamed Long Yitian, but wasn't it also her fault she had gotten to this desperate point?
If she continued hanging to her pride, her little brother's death would be on her hands. Not anyone else's.
Taking a deep breath, Rong Lian took the plunge.
"You're right, Yanyan, it's because of my pride that I haven't accepted your help all these years. I apologize for that. But...there's more."
Her eyes locked with Su Yan's once more. "I've always felt envious of you. Unlike me, you're free to do whatever you want, the Su family will always be there to support the sky for you. I wanted --- I want to be as free and unrestrained as you. But I can't. So I selfishly hung onto my pride, convincing myself what I was already doing was enough to protect Xiao Xuan. There was no need to trouble you."
"Lianlian..." Her cousin's voice was unusually soft.
Rong Lian shook her head and continued, despite the almost overpowering need to stop.
"But now, with His Highness publicly favoring Eldest Miss Mu, it's only a matter of time before he breaks the engagement. Destroying my reputation for the rest of my life and leaving Xiao Xuan vulnerable to that horrid woman's claws. That's why....," she swallowed, "please help me, Yanyan."
Su Yan didn't reply as she leaned back into her chair and examined her. With her feet still on the desk and her arms crossed, her cousin looked like a glamorous rogue --- if that were possible.
Rong Lian couldn't help shifting under such intense scrutiny, her heartbeat loud yet slow in her ears.
Each beat was like a clap of thunder, to the point where she could hear nothing else.
After what felt like an eternity, Su Yan finally gave her answer.
"For someone so smart, you can be so stupid, little biaomei. You're lucky I find you cute. Here."
Eyes wide, Rong Lian watched as Su Yan fished a scroll from her long sleeve and flung it at her. Instinctively, she let go of her veil and caught it with both hands.
Her brows knitted. "What is this?"
Su Yan flashed her a feral grin. "All the information you shamelessly asked me to find after not speaking to me for months."
Rong Lian blushed. The reason why they'd been estranged this past couple of months had been her fault, too. She had snapped at her cousin when Su Yan offered her help once again, too stressed by her stepmother's sudden pregnancy to reject her kindly.
She turned the scroll over in her hands, her eyes burning.
"I'm sorry, Yanyan. I really don't deserve you."
Su Yan shivered, waving a dismissive hand. "That's enough, that's enough. You're starting to scare me with all this emotion. Please go back to being my shameless little Lianlian, she's more fun to talk with."
Rong Lian laughed as she wiped away the few tears that had formed.
"Right."
"Anyhow, open that scroll and tell me what you have planned." Su Yan tried to sound bored, but the devilish glint in her eyes gave her away.
Like usual, her cousin thrived on chaos and the thrill of the unexpected.
Smiling, Rong Lian did so. The scroll's contents detailed the movements of three young misses, one of them being Lin Wanyue.
With her as the ringleader, the trio was going to make trouble for the female lead at the tea party the Empress was hosting in her honor in three days.
Her goal was to step in and act as the savior at the most opportune moment.
"Why would you do that?" Su Yan frowned after she'd finished explaining her plan. "Why help the woman that's essentially stealing your fiancé? Wouldn't that be digging a deeper hole for youself?"
Rong Lian placed the scroll down. In her most nonchalant voice, she said, "I'm not aiming to get rid of Eldest Miss Mu, but this cursed engagement."
"What!"
Her cousin was now sitting properly, staring at her like she'd never seen her before. Rong Lian smirked. It seemed she'd caught the unflappable Miss Su off guard again.
"Explain yourself, Lianlian! Are you truly willing to discard that frigid bastard?"
"'Frigid bastard'? That's even better than Xiao Xuan's 'Giant Iceberg'!"
At Su Yan's withering glare, Rong Lian used a sleeve to cover her widening smile. Her cousin could be so impatient.
"Yes, Yanyan, I finally want to break my engagement with His Highness."
A chilling light flashed in her eyes.
"On my own terms, however."
Sinking back into her seat, Su Yan laughed, the sound low and husky. "It's about damn time." But as if coming back to reality, her face hardened. "How are you planning to do that? Even with the Su family's resources at our disposal, it won't be easy to deal with Prince Jing."
Rong Lian gave a slow nod. "Yes, attacking him straight on will be difficult. That's why I'm thinking of using his favor for Eldest Miss Mu against him."
A single, exasperated command: "Explain."
Rong Lian laughed once before taking pity on her cousin.
"The truth is I've already started my act at His Highness's return banquet," she explained, "by painting myself as the virtuous, loving fiancée who will do anything to make him happy. I need to do it step by step, however, or it will seem fake otherwise."
Su Yan grimaced. "That sounds like it will take a lot of time and effort."
"I know slow and steady isn't Miss Su's style, but mine is." A gentle smile bloomed on her lips. "Every time His Highness favors Eldest Miss Mu to make her seem like the superior candidate, I will only act even more pitiful. More fragile. More accommodating. Until I can no longer take it and ask His Majesty to break our engagement, allowing the two lovebirds to be together.
"In the eyes of the public, and most importantly, His Majesty, I will be a pure, gracious flower. Even if by breaking the engagement, my reputation is supposedly 'damaged', no one will dare to speak ill of me. This allows me to continue stirring everyone's pity, and eventually convince the scion of a powerful or noble family to rescue me from my 'damaged' status."
Rong Lian gave her cousin an expectant glance. "What do you think?"
"It's not a bad plan, especially since it's you." Su Yan wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Honestly, it's scary how you can speak of manipulating people with such a soft smile on your face."
Rather than be offended, Rong Lian's smile only became sweeter. "If we're talking about manipulating people, I would say the great Miss Su is even better. Who doesn't know biaojie never suffers a loss in business deals?" She swept a slow, assessing glance down her cousin's bewitching appearance. "With such looks, no man or even woman could resist a temptation such as you."
At Su Yan's ferocious glare, her heart felt full.
How long had it been since she had allowed herself to relax like this? Only in front of Su Yan was she free to be as snarky and petty and shameless as she wanted. Even with her dearest Rong Xuan, there was the need to put on a mask of sorts --- the teasing and mature older sister, always strong, always confident.
Shaking her head, she decided to change the subject: "Did you also finish the other thing I asked of you?"
Her cousin's glare became fiercer. "I take it back. The shameless Lianlian is insufferable to deal with!"
But she still took out something from a drawer, a stack of folded papers this time, and shoved it across the desk at her.
"Don't lie, Yanyan. I know I'm your favorite cousin!" Rong Lian beamed as she examined the papers in front of her.
They were files on all the eligible young men in the capital. Complete with thorough background checks and investigations on their current properties, future prospects, and even their inner backyard⁴.
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⁴inner backyard: Meaning a man's multiple wives - from the main wife to the concubines to the servant girls that sleep with him.
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Her eyes burned once more. She could tell by the handwriting that Su Yan had written all of this herself.
A derisive scoff came from the other side of the desk. "Don't get all sentimental again. It was nothing."
Forcing her tears back down, Rong Lian didn't bother thanking her. It would only make Su Yan more uncomfortable. Instead she asked, "Who would you consider to be the best candidate?"
Su Yan leapt to her feet and began to pace, clearly tired of sitting down. Her willow brows were creased in thought. With her every powerful step, the golden butterflies of her buyao⁵ shook and her red robes fluttered around her like dancing flames. She was a firestorm in motion, a formidable woman that could dominate the business world if she wished to.
Not for the last time, Rong Lian felt a painful mixture of love and envy while looking at her cousin.
But this time, she smothered the envy until all that remained was love.
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⁵buyao (步搖): Lit. step-shake; a certain kind of hair ornament that has tassels or other parts that sway with movement. Can be simple or elaborate in design and/or size.
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"There are a lot of candidates," Su Yan was saying, snapping her attention back to their conversation, "but the ones I think best fit your requirements are the Fourth Prince, Long Yihan, Duke Xu's eldest son and heir, Xu Qingze, and Young General Leng Shao."
Rong Lian froze. All of these names were very familiar to her, but not for normal reasons. It was because they were all the lesser male leads of the novel!
Each had a distinctive personality and their own goals, but they all shared one important quality --- their love for the female lead! For her, they would do anything, even sacrifice their own lives.
Her hands curled into tight fists. She had seen her encounters with each one, as they miraculously arrived just in time to save Mu Lingxue from one of her schemes. And each time these lesser male leads would get revenge for their beloved, driving her further to the brink.
It was ridiculous they were now the most eligible candidates for her marriage!
But there was one name...one name that especially stood out to her --- Long Yihan, the least favored prince and the villain of the novel.
"Yanyan, why would you include His Highness the Fourth Prince? He's not..." Rong Lian bit her lip. She couldn't see why her cousin would include him.
Long Yihan currently had very little power, at least on the surface, and it was only until the later stages when he would show his true abilities.
Su Yan had settled back into her chair, reading through a few reports. She answered in a slightly distracted manner, "It's true His Highness is not favored by His Majesty right now, but there's more to him than meets the eye."
Her heart sped up. "What do you mean?"
"The Fourth Prince has approached me on multiple occasions to draw the Su family to his side. And His Highness's offers are very tempting, indicating he has the means to stand side-by-side with his brothers. If Lianlian were to marry him...the two of you might be able to take down Prince Jing."
Rong Lian forced herself to calm down and consider her cousin's words.
It was true Long Yihan was the only one capable of standing up to Long Yitian. But she was trying to get away from the plot, and somehow she didn't think tying herself to the villain would prove to be helpful.
Instead, she might just tangle herself further into the plot's twisted web.
But...that didn't mean she couldn't give a few hints to the villain, right?
"That smile on your face tells me you're interested. Would you like to meet him?"
She tensed, inhaling sharply. "He's here, in the teahouse?"
Su Yan gave her a nefarious smirk, the teardrop ruby dangling over her forehead shining with an almost bloody glow.
"Yes, and we can go visit him right now."
🌸 🌸 🌸
Names:
Su Yan (肃艳): Su (肃) is a surname meaning 'pay respects; reverently', Yan (艳) is 'gorgeous, colorful, bright'.
Long Yihan (龙熠悍): Long (龙) is a surname that means 'dragon', Yi (熠) means 'bright, brilliant', and Han (悍) is 'courageous, brave'.
Xu Qingze (徐清澤): Xu (徐) is a surname that means 'slowly, gently', Qing (清) is 'clear, pure, clean', Ze (澤) can mean 'grace, brilliance'.
Leng Shao (冷劭): Leng (冷) is a surname that means 'cold, chilly', Shao (劭) can mean 'to excel; excellent'.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Rosana777
Rosana777 Just want to state, since ppl got confused on Wattpad... the villian of the original story is not the ML in this story!
And we'll meet another important character soon next chapter ;)