Chapter 9: The First Confrontation

Chapter 9: The First Confrontation

"Presumptuous!" Shuang Hong shouted from behind.

Lu Lingyun gave a faint smile and waved her hand at Shuang Hong, signaling that it was fine.

The woman in the pink robe scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You people are so old-fashioned. Always shouting about being bold or not, it's boring."

Hearing this, Lu Lingyun felt relieved that she had sent Zhiran out of the manor yesterday; otherwise, Zhiran would have acted by now.

She still smiled faintly as she looked at Xing Dairong, "So what do you think is not old-fashioned?"

"Of course, everyone should be equal. People are inherently equal. I'm no worse than you, why should I listen to you?"

Lu Lingyun looked at the arrogant and confident woman before her, "Your ideas are quite novel."

"That's right. I'm different from you old-fashioned types." Xing Dairong pulled the maid beside her, "I treat my subordinates like sisters, unlike you who treat them like slaves, like dogs!"

Lu Lingyun remained calm and walked to the main seat, sitting down composedly.

As she sat down, Xing Dairong also sat down with her maid, "Why don't you sit? Why stand there all the time? Aren't you tired?"

The little maid was originally the personal attendant of the Prince. After Xing Dairong entered the manor, she started serving her. But ultimately, she was still part of the manor. Upon meeting Lu Lingyun's gaze, she immediately became uneasy and dared not sit down.

"Miss, I'll stand."

Xing Dairong tried to pull her a few times, but to no avail, "Ugh, you feudal women are hopeless. You can never learn!"

Lu Lingyun listened to the new words occasionally slipping out of her mouth and scraped the teacup, "What do you mean by feudal?"

"Feudal means being bound by rules, unable to resist, and having no freedom—pitiful creatures."

"Is having rules bad? As the saying goes, without rules, there can be no order." Lu Lingyun scraped the teacup calmly.

"That's oppression! That's backwardness! Forget it, you wouldn't understand anyway."

Chunxing rolled her eyes, "Only you understand. No rules, no manners—that's just being uncivilized. Anyway, you came from a brothel, who would teach you manners?"

Upon hearing the word "brothel," Xing Dairong immediately got angry, "I had no choice when I was in the brothel! But your madam, a proper lady, rushed to be someone's mistress!"

"Mistress?" Lu Lingyun repeated the word.

"A third party who interferes with others' relationships! And knowingly so!"

"You're talking nonsense! Our young miss was married properly, carried into the marquisate in an eight-man sedan chair!" Shuang Hong said angrily.

Xing Dairong sneered, "Your madam knew I was already with Yunshuo, yet she still married him. What else could that be if not knowingly being a mistress?"

Lu Lingyun couldn't help but want to laugh, "According to you, what should I have done?"

"You could have refused the marriage and pursued true love!"

"Marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers. How could I refuse?"

"Then you could have run away! Who tied your feet? There's a whole world out there. You women poisoned by feudal morals aren't just bound by small feet but by small minds, lacking any spirit of resistance."

Lu Lingyun held the teacup and watched the talkative Xing Dairong without showing any anger. However, Shuang Hong, Chunxing, and Chunhe were all visibly upset.

Refuse the marriage? Run away? Flee?

Aside from whether they could escape, why would these women leave their family's protection in this era?

Families might not be perfect, but the outside world was far more dangerous.

Those with money risked having it stolen or taken outright. How could a woman protect her wealth?

Those without money would struggle even more, becoming easy prey for others to exploit, sell, or harm.

In this era, everyone needed to band together in families, clans, and factions to survive in a harsh environment. Living alone as a woman was a pipe dream.

How could she make fleeing the family sound so easy and enjoyable?

Lu Lingyun patiently listened to her and then put down the teacup, "So you came here today just to tell me this?"

"Sort of," Xing Dairong looked at Lu Lingyun with a pitying expression, "Actually, you're also a victim of feudal morals. I don't blame you. But Yunshuo has promised to be with me forever, and I absolutely won't accept polygamy. Just behave in the manor, and we can coexist peacefully."

"You're... presumptuous!" Shuang Hong shouted angrily, her face flushed red.

Lu Lingyun suddenly regretted sending Zhiran away last night.

Shuang Hong, stop just getting angry! Go tear her apart!

Just then, a voice came from outside.

"Dairong!"

A young man in brocade robes rushed in impatiently.

"Cheng Yunshuo, I'm here."

Xing Dairong waved at him with a smile.

"Are you alright?"

"What could happen to me?"

Seeing her lively and energetic, Cheng Yunshuo clearly relaxed.

This scene did not escape Lu Lingyun's eyes.

Indeed, as the rumors say, he truly loves this concubine deeply.

"Is His Highness worried that I might make things difficult for your sweetheart?" Lu Lingyun, seated above, stood up and smiled gently.

Hearing Lu Lingyun's voice, Cheng Yunshuo turned his head. When he met her calm and indifferent gaze, he instinctively looked away.

It was as if he had been caught with a small-minded suspicion of a noble person.

Yes, he was indeed worried that Lu Lingyun would take advantage of his absence to cause trouble for Xing Dairong.

But he never expected that Lu Lingyun wouldn't show the slightest bit of anger when she encountered Xing Dairong, nor would she overstep any boundaries.

For a moment, he felt completely deflated in front of her.

"Dairong, let's go," Cheng Yunshuo said, avoiding Lu Lingyun's words and directly pulling Xing Dairong away.

As Xing Dairong was being led away, she turned back to remind Lu Lingyun, "Don't forget what I just told you."

Lu Lingyun merely smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying.

"What did you tell her?" Cheng Yunshuo asked once they were outside the flower hall.

"I was reminding her that you belong to me, so don't even think about making a move on you."

Cheng Yunshuo's pleasant expression suddenly changed, and he released Xing Dairong's hand, scolding sternly, "Nonsense!"

"What's wrong with you?" Xing Dairong, seeing the man who had never before raised his voice at her, became angry herself. "Didn't you promise me? Are you going back on your word?"

"That doesn't mean you have to say it in front of her!"

"Hmph, if you won't say it, who knows if you will!" Xing Dairong pouted, clearly unconvinced.

Cheng Yunshuo looked at her deeply, feeling for the first time that the woman he loved most seemed a bit foolish.

Feeling tired, he didn't want to placate her anymore and simply started walking back.

After taking several hundred steps, Xing Dairong, still standing where she was, realized he wasn't coming back to comfort her and sensed that he was genuinely angry. She bit her lower lip and quickly ran up to him, hugging his arm in front of everyone in the courtyard and cooing.

"What's wrong with you? I'm just afraid you don't love me anymore."

Her coquettish voice softened Cheng Yunshuo's anger considerably. "Dairong, I promised you, and I will keep my word. Don't interfere in this matter, and don't come here to cause trouble again."

"Alright, alright, as long as you always love me, I won't cause any more trouble."

Cheng Yunshuo's frown immediately smoothed out, and he said indulgently, "Let's go back."

The two left, laughing and chatting, like a newlywed couple.

In the courtyard, Lu Lingyun led the servants out.

Seeing Xing Dairong's behavior, Chunxing spat, "She's truly a vixen from a brothel!"

"If His Highness likes such women, we can learn from them," Chunhe said.

"Right, otherwise she might end up riding roughshod over us!"

Lu Lingyun smiled faintly and shook her head slightly. "Novel, but limited. No wonder."

With that, she returned to her room, leaving Chunxing and Chunhe staring at each other.

From their two meetings, she had a clear understanding of what kind of person Xing Dairong was.

Indeed fresh and interesting, but also shallow.

Such a person is undoubtedly attractive at first, but over time, one realizes that beneath the novelty lies nothing but shallowness.

Just as she had seen in her previous life, after running away with Cheng Yunshuo, their lives were not filled with romance but rather with chaos.

Indeed, Lu Lingyun first met Xing Dairong in her previous life in Jiangnan.

The two had settled in Jiangnan after running away together. By chance, Lu Lingyun witnessed Xing Dairong publicly arguing with Cheng Yunshuo on the street, demanding money. Cheng Yunshuo, wearing old brocade clothes, looked annoyed and embarrassed as he dragged her back into their house, only for Xing Dairong to start crying and causing a scene.

It was quite a spectacle.

Later, she learned that the two were the scandalous young couple from the Ningyang Marquis's mansion in the capital.

Lu Lingyun thought about it for a long time, wondering why the two, who had defied convention and run away together, ended up like this.

Now she understood: First, Xing Dairong was indeed novel and attractive upon first meeting, but she lacked substance beyond her surface-level uniqueness. Second, her younger sister had pushed the two together during their most passionate days, leading to an impulsive elopement.

Over time, they soon discovered that life is not just about romance and love; it also involves daily necessities and mundane details. A fanciful woman and a sheltered nobleman could hardly sustain a lasting romance.

Understanding this, Lu Lingyun smiled faintly. The challenges in this marquisate were indeed much lower than those she faced in the Li family in her previous life.