Chapter 53 Even on Knees, I Must Walk to the End

Chapter 53: The Road You Chose, Even on Your Knees

"Let me give you a piece of advice: the road you choose for yourself, you walk on your knees. Now, you go kneel and walk your path, while I go live my carefree life. A concubine like you can hardly step out of the house. But me? I'm the head wife, heh."

Xi Qianyue was immensely pleased with herself. As the head wife, she had every reason to go out—inspecting shops, checking on estates, going out for purchases, and so on. She could leave whenever she pleased.

She was even freer than when she was an unmarried girl.

Only then did Xi Jiaojiao belatedly feel a pang of jealousy. So she was nothing but a cash cow—one who was unfree and held little hope.

Within just a few days of entering the mansion, Xi Jiaojiao had been struck down many times.

Lv Zhi patiently consoled her: "Madam, if you let yourself sink into despair, you'll be falling right into the Grand Madam's scheme."

Xi Jiaojiao snapped back to her senses: "That's right. I must win my husband's affection, and when the time is ripe, I'll have that wretch divorced. I need to wait, to endure... hold out until I'm the Marchioness."

Xi Jiaojiao barely managed to rekindle her fighting spirit, but soon fell into gloom again.

Yang Xingxian hadn't visited her courtyard for days. Even when she said she had a rash on her face, he offered not a single word of concern.

Then one day, he suddenly showed up.

"Jiaojiao, there's something I need to discuss with you. Look, our grand mansion doesn't even have a carriage—that's just inexcusable, don't you think?"

Xi Jiaojiao stammered, "Doesn't my eldest sister have a carriage?"

"You still harbor hopes for her? Her carriage? Ha, she only uses it for herself. The rest of us can't touch it. A decent carriage costs around two or three hundred taels of silver—you're not gonna be stingy about that, are you?"

Yang Xingxian pecked her on the cheek, all sweet and affectionate.

Xi Jiaojiao blushed. "Of course not. Then let's buy one."

"And since we're going out to buy a carriage, I'd also like a paperweight..."

Xi Jiaojiao quickly interrupted him: "Husband, I have a paperweight among my dowry. Why don't I find it for you?"

"Even better. But if it's not classy enough, I'll have to buy one from the shop. You should know, your husband studies at the academy—aren't all the other students from powerful, influential families? I can't afford to be seen as beneath them in my studies."

With that, Yang Xingxian strode off happily: "I'll go buy the carriage first. You go find the paperweight. And sort through your trunks properly—see what your husband might find useful."

Xi Jiaojiao lowered her eyes and meekly replied, "Yes."

Once Yang Xingxian was out of sight, Lv Zhi grew anxious: "Madam, how can we go on like this? Your dowry money will be frittered away in no time."

Xi Jiaojiao gritted her teeth. "What choice do we have now? We just gotta tough it out for now."

A flicker of regret crossed her mind, but she quickly steeled herself and said to Lv Zhi, "Do you think my dowry would be safe if I'd married into any other household? At least there's still hope for my husband..."

Yang Xingxian, having pocketed three hundred taels of silver, was naturally delighted.

A carriage could have been bought for just over a hundred taels, but of course he wanted something more luxurious! He turned his nose up at the cheaper ones—if he was gonna buy one, it had to be the three-hundred-tael model.

Achang was thrilled too: "Young Master, from now on, I can drive the carriage for you, keeping you comfortable wherever you wish to go."

Soon, they picked out a lavish carriage. Achang happened to spot Xi Qianyue and her party entering an upscale restaurant and quickly reported it to Yang Xingxian.

"Let's go have a look."

With his new carriage, Yang Xingxian had a lot more swagger.

He followed quickly and saw Xi Qianyue enter a private room.

"Well, well, Madam Yang, living it up, huh? You got food at home, but you gotta come to a fancy joint to eat?"

Xi Qianyue was displeased to see Yang Xingxian trailing after her. "Stay away from me, got it? What can I say—I've got money to burn, and I can walk into any restaurant I want. I heard this place has new dishes, so naturally I had to come try them."

Yang Xingxian ignored her snide remarks and sat down anyway.

"Young Master Yang, you'd better leave quickly. You're not welcome here. You're ruining my meal."

Yang Xingxian hadn't expected her to show him no face even in public. He snapped, "You vicious woman, have you lost your mind? I'm your damn husband!"

"I'll tell you one more time: stay away from me. You go be your Young Master Yang, and I'll be my Miss Xi. If you provoke me, I'll have you thrown out even here." Xi Qianyue paused, then smiled. "If you think I'll care what people think out here, you're mistaken. I don't mind making a scene."

With a gesture, Qing Bi and Ye Ling stepped forward and grabbed Yang Xingxian by both arms.

Yang Xingxian couldn't get loose, and he feared they might actually toss him out of the private room—that would be mortifying beyond belief.

He quickly softened his tone: "Alright, alright, let me go. I'm leaving. I won't disturb your meal."

The two maids released him. He straightened his robes, let out a cold snort, and walked out with his head held high.

"What a punk—he won't take the nice route, so he's asking for the hard way." Xi Qianyue sneered.

"The food's here! Time to eat well. Qing Rong, y'all sit down and eat too. It's just us—let's enjoy ourselves."

In the adjacent private room, Qi Chengyun's lips curved upward. This Miss Xi is something else.

The room was in a prime spot, right on the street with big windows.

Qing Bi was leaning by the window, looking down, and said with dissatisfaction, "Grand Madam, I see the Young Master—he's shooting the breeze with some chick."

The other maids hurried over to look. "Indeed! Grand Madam, come see."

"What's so interesting about that? He'd better take another concubine—that just means more cash for me."

Xi Qianyue ate on, in a great mood, cracking jokes.

Qi Chengyun smiled as he too walked to the window. Sure enough, there was Young Master Yang speaking with a woman as delicate as a willow swaying in the breeze.

Yang Xingxian gazed at the woman before him—he was blown away.

He seemed never to have seen such a charming woman—a face like a blossom, a vision of beauty.

She wore simple, plain clothes, with nothing adorning her save a small pouch at her waist.

She had her hair up with just one jade pin, giving her an even more cold and untouchable vibe.

She frowned slightly. "Sir, we accidentally bumped into each other a moment ago. You already said sorry, so just go on your way. I've still got to go sing..."

"How much do you charge for a song? How about you sing for me instead? I was just heading upstairs to eat anyway."

Achang started to panic—the Grand Madam was right upstairs, and the Young Master actually had the nerve to hit on another woman right under her nose.

The woman's expression turned colder. "Sir, please just go on your way. I've got a meeting with someone important."

Yang Xingxian was displeased. "I thought you were above all that, but you'll only sing for the big shots?"

Bai Zhining got a huge shock at the sight of Yang Xingxian.

She never thought that after being reborn, she'd run into her husband from her past life.