Chapter 208: Take Me Away, I Hate Them

Chapter 208: Take Me Away, I Hate Them

At this moment, she wished that Lu Shen would do something to her and then marry her into the Lu family, so she could enter the Xie family.

In your dreams.

As Zheng Jinyu was inwardly scoffing, Zheng Hongxu suddenly spoke up, "Zheng Jinyu, how could you reveal family matters? Do you know what situation this will put Jinxiu in?"

Zheng Jinyu glanced at him coldly. "Does Third Brother mean that I should keep quiet and deserve to be bullied by Lu Shen?"

"I didn't mean that. Are you stupid? He's just scaring you. How dare he?"

"How am I supposed to know if he's just scaring me? What if he dares? Can Third Brother bear the consequences?"

Zheng Hongxu sternly said, "Didn't anything happen to you? Now, it's Jinxiu who's in trouble. You've ruined her."

Zheng Jinxiu pretended to wipe away tears. "Mother, what should I do?" Zheng Jinxiu and Zheng Jinyu sat on either side of Madam Zheng, who instinctively hugged her for comfort.

"Don't be afraid. With Father and Mother here, we won't let you suffer any injustice."

Zheng Hongxu's tone softened as he said, "Jinxiu, don't be afraid. Our Zheng family isn't intimidated by the Lu family. Someone like Lu Shen doesn't deserve you at all. We'll call off the marriage with the Lus and find you someone worthy."

Master Zheng added, "Hmph, that Lu Shen is a despicable character. This marriage shouldn't proceed."

Being so close, Zheng Jinyu saw it all so vividly – how they all rallied to protect Zheng Jinxiu. Unbeknownst to her, tears had welled up in her eyes.

She had been threatened by Lu Shen and scolded by Zheng Hongxu, yet no one had spoken up in her defense.

The moment Zheng Jinxiu began to cry, everyone rushed to comfort her.

Others might let it slide, but Madam Zheng had clearly heard her explanation in the afternoon and knew that she hadn't said anything. She was aware that Lu Shen's suspicion had led him to intercept her carriage outside the city.

Once the seed of suspicion is sown, even if it's not her, he would eventually hear the truth from others.

And why the suspicion? Don't they truly know?

Were it not for your overly conspicuous actions, or your evident aspirations to align yourselves with the more prestigious branches of the Xie family, would suspicions have arisen?

Just as she was lost in thought, she heard Zheng Hongqi speak again.

"Jinyu, how could you be so imprudent? I understand your disdain for Jinxiu, but regardless, you shouldn't have divulged family matters to outsiders.

We've always presented you and Jinxiu as blood sisters. Now that Jinxiu's true identity has been exposed, what will become of her? What face does the Zheng family have left? How will outsiders perceive us? When we all denied Jinxiu's origins last New Year, doesn't that make us a laughingstock?"

Zheng Jinyu stared blankly at him before her gaze swept across everyone present.

Zheng Hongqi and Zheng Hongxu's disdain was as plain as day.

Madam Zheng was consoling the sobbing Zheng Jinxiu, while Master Zheng frowned, seemingly blaming her. It seemed like she had become the culprit in this family drama.

Only Cui Yongnian stepped forward awkwardly.

"It's not fair to blame Cousin Jinyu entirely. She…" Before he could finish, Zheng Jinyu stood up, the bowl in front of her crashing to the ground, interrupting Cui Yongnian and drawing everyone's attention to her.

Looking at them, Zheng Jinyu scoffed, "You all think it's my fault, don't you?"

Silence ensued.

Zheng Jinyu turned to Zheng Hongxu and Zheng Hongqi, "Shall we invite Lu Shen to confront him? Ask him how he came to know about Zheng Jinxiu's background. Did I tell him, or did something else spark his suspicion? Hmm?"

Zheng Hongxu's face was dark. "What do you mean by that? Are you trying to deny it? You're saying it wasn't you who spread the news?"

"Do I need to deny it?" Although she was responding to Zheng Hongxu, Jinxiu directed her gaze at Lady Zheng.

Lady Zheng met Zheng Jinyu's eyes and saw the light in them dim, causing an inexplicable panic to seize her. She pushed Zheng Jinxiu aside and tried to embrace her.

Not wanting to be touched, Zheng Jinyu took two quick steps back.

"Mother is so clever. Why don't you analyze for us all when Lu Shen began to suspect and why he would do so?"

"Jinyu, Mother isn't blaming you. I've never blamed you, nor have I accused you of spreading the information."

"But they say it was me. Don't you plan on clearing my name?"

"I... " Lady Zheng suddenly found herself at a loss for words. She turned to Zheng Hongqi and Zheng Hongxu, "Both of you, shut up. Jinyu didn't leak this information."

"Mother, then how did Lu Shen find out?"

"It was his own speculation."

But they refused to believe her.

"Huh, why would he guess? If not for Zheng Jinyu's linguistic cues, I wouldn't have doubted him. Does it mean he's not wrong as long as he doesn't outright reveal the answer?"

Indeed, she had subtly guided their thoughts. Her fervent denial was, in essence, a confirmation.

What about the underlying reason? What had sparked Lu Shen's suspicion, a notion that Lady Zheng failed to address?

Zheng Jinyu paid no heed to the opinions of those two sycophants; her focus remained on Lady Zheng.

However, Lady Zheng fell silent.

Zheng Jinyu suddenly lifted her head, gazing at the ceiling of the dining hall. Then, she laughed wryly and left the room without a word.

"Ai, Cousin Jinyu..."

Only Cui Yongnian attempted to stop her.

She didn't miss the triumphant smile that flashed across Zheng Jinxiu's face when she turned around.

Zheng Jinyu didn't turn back, nor did she slow her pace.

Upon returning to Yusheng Courtyard, she dismissed the servants and sat in silence for half an hour.

After that, she walked to the window and addressed an unseen spot in the courtyard, "I want to see him."

Yesterday, she had expressed her wish for him not to scale the wall anymore, yet tonight, she was summoning him to do just that.

Xie Peiyu, who had just climbed in through the window, chuckled. "Who was it that said…?"

His sentence was cut short as Zheng Jinyu embraced him tightly.

The smile on Xie Peiyu's face faded. "What's wrong?"

In a muffled voice, Zheng Jinyu replied, "Take me away from here. I detest them."

Without asking any questions, Xie Peiyu simply acknowledged with a soft 'mm-hmm'.

After instructing his covert guards stationed there, he helped her climb over the wall and they left together.

Under the night curfew, the streets were deserted.

Xie Peiyu knew how to evade the patrolling soldiers, and before long, he led her to an inn.

There weren't many tall structures in the capital; most inns consisted of two floors. However, this one had three, with a half-level attic on top.

At that moment, they were in that very attic.

"This place isn't open for business. Usually, apart from the cleaners, no one comes up here. Look, aren't the stars shining particularly bright from here?"

The view was excellent, but the wind was strong as well.

Zheng Jinyu felt a chill, but she endured it.

"Mm, it's quite nice."

"Are you feeling better now?"

Indeed, being in an open space could improve one's mood. Zheng Jinyu nodded.

"Could you kindly enlighten me on what has transpired?"