Chapter 358: Wishful Thinking

Chapter 358: Wishful Thinking

The Zhou family gave her an idea.

"In a few days, it will be the Double Ninth Festival. The two young masters are going to Fragrance Hill outside the city to climb high. We can arrange to bump into them on Fragrance Hill."

"Hmm, we can only do that."

She had no other options now. She firmly believed that the Zheng family still cared for her; it was just that her father was angry with her over the matter with their grandmother. There were some misunderstandings, and the others not seeing her wasn't because they didn't want to, but because they were intimidated by her father and dared not meet her.

If she could find an opportunity to cry and plead in front of her brother and mother again, they would surely soften their hearts and help persuade her father.

They loved her so much; ultimately, they would forgive her.

...

Before long, the Double Ninth Festival arrived.

The palace held a grand banquet for the Double Ninth Festival, where imperial relatives and officials of the third rank and above could bring their families to attend.

Officials below the third rank also celebrated lively within their own homes.

Only the Zheng family was cold and quiet.

Zheng Ji claimed illness and stayed at home, while Lady Zheng wasn't feeling any better. Since returning from the Lu family, the couple had been staying in separate courtyards, avoiding each other and doing nothing.

In the past, Lady Zheng would have arranged such important family events, but with her now being uninvolved, no one else took up the task.

So, were they not going to celebrate the festival?

Zheng Hongqi and Zheng Hongxu went to see Lady Zheng. "Mother, are we really not celebrating the Double Ninth Festival this year?"

Lady Zheng lay in bed, feigning illness. "I'm like this; how can we celebrate? Go ask your father."

The brothers: "..." They thought, if they were truly going to celebrate, they wouldn't need her to do everything herself; they could just ask Concubine Luo to handle it.

"Father never deals with these matters."

"Then let him deal with it this time."

"But he won't even see us."

"That's your problem, not mine." With that, Lady Zheng turned over and ignored them.

With no choice, the brothers had to give up.

After leaving Lady Zheng's room, Zheng Hongxu asked, "Second Brother, what should we do?"

"What can we do? Let's just skip it."

"Then shall we go directly to Fragrance Hill?"

"Yes."

"What about Jinyu? She's alone too. Should we take her along?"

"She definitely won't want to go out with us. Forget it."

Zheng Hongqi thought for a moment and said, "I'll still ask her. Whether she goes or not is her decision, but I think it's better to ask."

Zheng Hongqi nodded. "Alright, let's go together."

When the two brothers went to look for Zheng Jinyu, they found she wasn't there. After asking the maidservants, they learned that she had gone to Fragrance Hill early in the morning with Chunmei.

The brothers looked at each other and could only smile bitterly.

"Let's go ourselves."

"Alright."

After arriving at Fragrance Hill, they kept looking for Zheng Jinyu. Unexpectedly, they didn't find her but instead ran into Fang Jinxiu.

Fang Jinxiu ran towards them, tears streaming down her face.

"Second Brother, Third Brother, I finally see you."

The brothers exchanged glances, both feeling awkward and helpless.

They seemed unable to associate the person before them with the former Zheng Jinxiu anymore.

She was now Fang Jinxiu.

No, she had long become Fang Jinxiu.

"Jinxiu, why did you come to find us?" Despite growing up together, they couldn't bring themselves to say anything harsh.

But their question carried a clear sense of distance.

Fang Jinxiu paused, feeling a strange sensation at their distant gaze.

A moment later, her tears flowed even more.

"She finally did it. Second Brother, Third Brother, you don't want me anymore, right?"

The brothers: "..."

"Ha, she finally did it. She succeeded." Her face was filled with desolation as she looked at them with disappointment and pain. "From the day she first came to the Zheng family, I knew. One day, she would replace my position in your hearts and take everything away from me."

Zheng Hongqi's expression darkened. "Jinxiu, what are you talking about? This has nothing to do with Jinyu."

"How could it not be her fault?" Fang Jinxiu broke down. "If she hadn't come back, how would we have ended up in this situation?"

"This... that's not how you should put it. The Zheng family is her home; she is our dear sister. If she didn’t return to the Zheng family, where else could she go?"

"Yes, she is the daughter of the Zheng family, their biological daughter, and you are her elder brothers. So because of this bloodline, you place her in an invincible position, right?"

Zheng Hongxu sighed. "Jinxiu, you’re going too far with this."

"How is it too far? Am I not speaking the truth? You used to say that I was your only sister, that you would protect me for life. But now? In your hearts, she is your only sister, isn’t she?"

The two remained silent.

Fang Jinxiu gave a bitter smile. "Years of living together day and night ultimately cannot match the power of blood ties."

Seeing her sad expression and hearing her sorrowful words, the two felt a pang of sympathy.

Just as they were about to comfort her, Zheng Jinyu’s voice suddenly came from behind.

"How does it not match? Have you forgotten how they protected you and treated me when I first returned?"

The three of them turned pale and looked at Zheng Jinyu.

Zheng Jinyu handed the picnic basket to the maid Chunmei and walked towards them leisurely.

She glanced at Zheng Hongqi and Zheng Hongxu before finally settling her gaze on Fang Jinxiu.

"Tsk, blaming blood ties for your own downfall is truly laughable."

Fang Jinxiu glared at her resentfully.

Zheng Jinyu turned to look at Zheng Hongqi and Zheng Hongxu. "Second Brother, Third Brother, did you gradually distance yourselves from Fang Jinxiu simply because she is not your biological sister?"

Hearing her words, they suddenly realized.

Zheng Hongqi said, "Jinxiu, don’t talk nonsense. We never treated you poorly because you weren’t born into the Zheng family. On the contrary, we’ve always been good to you, as have Father and Mother. Your current situation is due to your own misdeeds."

"Exactly. You benefited from Jinyu’s presence yet claim she took everything from you. But have you ever thought that what you once had was rightfully Jinyu’s?"

"Jinxiu, Second Brother is right; one must know gratitude. The Zheng family raised you, and everyone loved you. You can’t repay kindness with enmity. Jinyu is our biological sister, and we already feel guilty for losing her. You should help us make amends, not create difficulties for her, or even try to ruin her. How can you face us?"

Fang Jinxiu was stunned, realizing that after she left the Zheng family, their thoughts had changed dramatically.

How could this be?

"Second Brother, Third Brother, didn’t you say that even if she came back, she couldn’t take anything away from me? In your eyes, I was the only sister, and she was just a country bumpkin."

These words made Zheng Hongqi and Zheng Hongxu blush.

They had indeed said such things before and done some foolish deeds.