Xiazhi had come to a conclusion.
The truth was, if you wanted to live a good life and get what you wanted, all you had to do was abandon your dignity and morals.
Take Sheng Mingzhu, for example. She’d be all lovey-dovey with Lin Zhijing as his “shīmèi,” then turn right around and seduce the Prince of Qi.
Back when it was discovered she wasn’t really a legitimate daughter of the Sheng family, Sheng Mingzhu shamelessly clung to her position in the household…
And then there was her mother. If she hadn’t lost her conscience all those years ago and switched the two babies…
Her mother would probably be working in the fields right now. How could she have lived a life of luxury in the Sheng residence for all these years?
Xiazhi’s own position as a somewhat respectable maid in the Sheng mansion, getting to interact with so many young nobles, was also thanks to her mother.
Growing up, Xiazhi had always been selfish.
She would hurt others for her own benefit, but the people she hurt were usually weaker than herself.
Like Huang Yaning back in the day, and her own two younger sisters…
When she first arrived at the Sheng residence and saw so many young masters and ladies, she still viewed them through a certain lens.
She always assumed they were well-read, morally upright, had plenty of resources, and wielded considerable power.
In their presence, she felt inferior and intimidated.
But in that moment, Xiazhi suddenly had a revelation.
Whether you were from a powerful family or just a commoner, you were still human.
And being human meant having a despicable side, just like her.
As for fear? Well, when you don’t have any leverage over someone, maybe you have to play nice and act humble.
But if you did get some dirt on them, then they should be the ones afraid of her—
Take the situation now, for instance. She had something on Sheng Mingzhu.
Xiazhi’s face remained impassive, but inside, a storm was brewing.
In that instant, the last trace of fear she held for Sheng Mingzhu vanished.
Some people, they either do nothing, or when they finally make a move, it’s a killer blow.
Soon enough, Xiazhi would deliver a very “fatal” blow to Sheng Mingzhu.
But right now, completely unaware of the shift in Xiazhi’s attitude, Sheng Mingzhu was busy gloating to herself.
Sheng Mingzhu marveled inwardly at how simple and easily fooled men really were!
Back at the White Horse Temple, her “shīxiōng” Lin Zhijing had always looked out for her. When Brother Sheng sent her things, her shīxiōng would even get jealous.
She’d been troubled by that at the time. Later, her nanny told her: Men are all stubborn fools! The harder something is to get, the more they want it!
So, her nanny advised her not to completely accept or completely reject any man’s advances before she got married.
Let those men go crazy with longing for her!
She just needed to enjoy their attention and favor, and eventually marry the best among them.
Sheng Mingzhu felt her nanny’s advice was spot on.
For the past few years, she’d managed to maintain ambiguous relationships with both Zhu Qisheng and Lin Zhijing.
But lately, everything had been going wrong. Her brothers in the Sheng family were useless and couldn’t help.
And her master showed no sign of lending a hand either. Her shīxiōng even seemed a bit… tired of it all…
Against this backdrop, Zhu Qisheng’s “aloofness” terrified her. Even though he’d said it was all to protect her, Sheng Mingzhu was still afraid—
She felt like something important, something invisible that had always surrounded her, was rapidly slipping away…
So, she panicked!
She needed to grab onto something, anything, tightly. That’s why she came today—to confirm Zhu Qisheng’s feelings.
Or perhaps, more accurately, she wanted Zhu Qisheng to become her protector, to stand up for her.
Now that she’d confirmed it, her Brother Sheng still loved her, and even promised he’d never let her suffer any grievance or let anyone bully her.
Sheng Mingzhu’s heart finally settled.
She even started thinking, once her shīxiōng saw how Brother Sheng treated her, he’d definitely come back and “fight” Brother Sheng for her.
Then the man who was rightfully hers would return to her side.
Of course, if Zhu Qisheng could secure the position of Princess of Qi for her, she could easily give up her shīxiōng.
But since Zhu Qisheng couldn’t guarantee her the status of principal wife right now, she couldn’t fully “commit” to him either.
Sheng Mingzhu broke free from Zhu Qisheng’s embrace, her face flushed, and spoke.
“Brother Sheng, I was… out of line today…
“My status is humble, and my reputation isn’t good anymore…
“The woman you’ll eventually marry, Brother Sheng, will surely be of noble birth, praised by all…
“I’m not worthy of you in any way… Today was just a dream… From now on, please just forget about me…”
Zhu Qisheng panicked. He instinctively reached for Sheng Mingzhu, but she pulled away.
“Pearl, don’t worry. Someone is spreading rumors to slander your name, and I will help you clear them!
“As for those so-called noble ladies, I have no interest in them whatsoever. I only want to marry you!
“Just give me some time, alright? One day, I will marry you in a grand, splendid ceremony—”
Hearing this filled Sheng Mingzhu’s heart with blazing excitement!
A grand, splendid ceremony!
That meant being the principal wife!
If she became the Princess of Qi, how could those vile mother-daughter pair in the Sheng family compete with her?
They’d have to kneel and kowtow before her!
She wouldn’t just be able to torment her enemies with ease; she’d also bask in the envious, jealous stares of everyone around her.
Sheng Mingzhu felt her own breathing quicken. She barely managed to control herself and softly murmured, “Mm.”
Then she added, “But until then, in my heart, I’ll only ever think of you as my… brother…”
After saying this, she cast one last loving glance at Zhu Qisheng before departing.
Sheng Mingzhu thought she had turned the tables. She thought she had won.
Little did she know, the more desperate you are, the easier it is to make mistakes.
If she hadn’t pulled this stunt today, Zhu Qisheng might have continued his “cold” exterior towards her while privately nurturing their relationship, just like before.
That way, she’d have his heart, be safer in public, and avoid a lot of trouble.
But she was too eager to “win”! Too desperate for others to see her worth, to stop looking down on her and laughing at her…
Her actions today pushed Zhu Qisheng into an early decision to reveal his feelings publicly, which actually did her no favors.
But Sheng Mingzhu, in her immense self-conceit, believed that by publicly claiming she only saw him as a brother, and by invoking her master and shīxiōng’s names…
She could enjoy Zhu Qisheng’s protection while simultaneously dodging attacks from those young ladies coveting the Prince of Qi…
She was treating everyone else like fools!
True, the ladies hoping to marry the Prince of Qi hadn’t targeted her before, partly out of respect for Master Dale and Lin Zhijing.
But another big reason was that the Prince of Qi had recently seemed quite indifferent towards Sheng Mingzhu.
Those ladies figured the Prince had just been too kind-hearted back then, acting on impulse to help Sheng Mingzhu plead for that wretched Feng family…
And the most important factor was that the Princess Dowager of Qi had explicitly shown her dislike for Sheng Mingzhu, making it clear she didn’t want her in the Qi household.
For all these reasons, Sheng Mingzhu had been left alone.
But things were different now.
Now, the Prince of Qi didn’t want to pretend anymore, and the Princess Dowager was putting on quite an act herself out in the open.
