Chapter 82 Suffered Utter Humiliation

Chapter 82: Suffering Utmost Humiliation

"Miss Bai, please return to your courtyard first."

Yang Xingxian gave the word, and Bai Zhining used it as an excuse to leave and head back to her courtyard.

"My son, what are you thinking? This is a critical moment for you. You've repeatedly said that once you pass the imperial examination, His Majesty will notice our household and see you as a person, and the succession to the title will be within reach. Aren't you being perfectly clear-headed? Why then do you keep making foolish mistakes over women?"

Lady Wu was heartsick, genuinely worried about him.

Just look at what her son had turned into after severing ties with Xi Qianyue! He'd taken a beating and been forced to write an IOU!

If that fox spirit wreaked havoc again, how could he ever get ahead?

Yang Xingxian badgered Lady Wu for a good while before she finally gave in: "You have to promise me you won't go near her before the exam. And during this time, I'll be watching her. If she's a troublemaker, I'll send her packing, no questions asked. If she's sensible and puts your future first, she should know how to conduct herself."

Left with no choice, Yang Xingxian agreed.

When the grounded Xi Jiaojiao found out Bai Zhining had gotten off scot-free and the whole thing had been swept under the rug, she was livid.

But she'd also finally realized she was just a concubine—she had no leverage over anyone.

Lv Zhi had talked her down, again and again telling her to hold tight to her silver.

She'd also figured out that if she handed over her money too easily, she'd lose both the silver and her standing.

Yang Xingxian, nursing his injuries, juggled both women—sweet-talking one here, buttering up the other there. Both women were soft and delicate in their own ways.

But Xi Jiaojiao wasn't as easy to pacify as she'd been the last two times. No matter how sweet and gentle he was, the moment he brought up money, she'd say "I don't have any" or "Make me the main wife first."

He grew more and more fed up with Xi Jiaojiao. If there were any other way to get silver, he wouldn't have to "sell himself" like this.

But he was stuck—he'd tapped every source for loans, and there was nothing left to pawn.

From his vague, roundabout explanations, Bai Zhining slowly pieced together the real situation.

She was stunned. Had the Marquis's household really sunk this low?

In her last life, after she'd entered this household, she'd never known poverty. With Xi Qianyue's deep pockets propping them up, the Marquis's household had looked grand and thriving.

Now Xi Qianyue had walked out, taking her entire dowry, and had even forced Yang Xingxian to pay back the dowry silver!

Xi Qianyue's half-sister had come in as a concubine, and sure enough, she'd brought a hefty sum—close to ten thousand taels! But it had all gone to pay off debts!

Bai Zhining was rattled. Should she even stick around under these circumstances?

There was no way she could get her hands on Xi Jiaojiao's silver. Xi Jiaojiao was tough as nails, didn't pull her punches, and had a vicious streak.

But she also knew Yang Xingxian was bound to pass the imperial exam, because that's how it had gone in her last life.

Once he passed, His Majesty would be overjoyed. Seeing that the Marquis of Changping's household knew how to move forward and when to hold back, he'd name Yang Xingxian the heir and eventually let him inherit the title.

Right now, did she have a better option?

If she left, where could she run? What powerful patron could she latch onto?

With no money and no connections, she was only fit to be a concubine or a maid.

Even Yang Xingxian had let something slip without thinking: "If only you were like Xi Jiaojiao..."

Like her in what way? Rolling in money?

Bai Zhining was seething. She felt she'd been dealt the ultimate insult.

But she couldn't argue with it either. If she had money, wouldn't she just become the main wife outright, sitting pretty and waiting for Yang Xingxian to inherit the title?

Yang Xingxian had started out worried sick, but little by little, he'd grown sure of himself.

He'd already picked up on the fact that Bai Zhining had nowhere else to turn. If she did, she wouldn't have put up with this kind of humiliation.

So he pulled out all the stops to sweet-talk her: "Zhining, you know you're the only one in my heart. But right now, I'm in a bind... Bear with me, and I'll make it up to you later. The main wife's seat will be yours, I swear."

Slowly, Bai Zhining's anger cooled. Worst case, she'd do what she'd done in her last life—start as the favored concubine, then take out the main wife and climb her way up.

"There's something I need to tell you... The reason I vanished before is that Sixth Young Master Qi bought me. I needed silver to treat my mother, and I didn't have a cent... I figured he bought me to play the pipa. But he never even called for me—just left me to rot on his estate. So I ran."

Bai Zhining dropped this confession while his guilt was at its highest.

This would come out sooner or later, so better to spill it herself first.

Yang Xingxian's eyes went wide. So Bai Zhining really had been bought? What did that make her now? A runaway slave?

"Then what? If Sixth Young Master Qi won't let you go, he still holds your deed!"

Hearing that, Bai Zhining panicked too.

She'd been a fool. How could she have thought a cold fish like Sixth Young Master Qi bought her because he fancied her?

"His men could be out there hunting for me right now. I can't even go home. What am I supposed to do?"

Yang Xingxian soothed her: "When I have time, I'll go check on your mother. Everything else, we'll take one step at a time."

What Bai Zhining didn't know was that Yang Xingxian actually breathed a sigh of relief hearing all this.

A runaway slave could never be his main wife. Even if he kept her as a concubine, he could just plead ignorance.

What set his mind even more at ease was that now, where else could Bai Zhining go but to cling to him?

"Stay put and keep your head down. Don't leave the house. After I pass the exam, I'll ask Sixth Young Master Qi for a favor and get your deed back."

Bai Zhining nodded. For now, there was nothing else she could do.

Yang Xingxian then lowered his voice and told Lady Wu about buying the exam questions and squeezing silver out of Xi Jiaojiao.

Lady Wu knew how high the stakes were and kept asking if it was solid.

"Mother, I got this tip through back channels. How could some ordinary student get their hands on this? This isn't the kind of deal you can make out in the open. Apparently, some distant kin of the chief examiner is helping him line his pockets. The chief examiner's daughter is set to marry a certain someone as his future consort."

As he spoke, Yang Xingxian held up five fingers. Lady Wu caught on and whispered, "The Fifth Prince?"

"Mother, watch your tongue. What I've told you stays between us. Don't breathe a word of this to anyone."

"Of course I know that. If that's the case, it does sound pretty reliable."

Yang Xingxian said smugly: "Of course it's solid! That relative knows every noble house in the capital like the back of his hand. Why would he waste his time on poor scholars? Only families like ours would even be on his radar. Besides, we're all in this together—who'd be dumb enough to go shooting their mouth off?

Those poor scholars are different. They don't get a cut, and they'd go blabbering to anyone who'd listen. And they're so full of moral backbone, tsk tsk."

Yang Xingxian hit those words "moral backbone" hard, his tone dripping with amusement and disdain.

Sure, what good did moral backbone do those poor scholars? Could it help them beat him on the exam?