Kapitel 4: No More Divorce As Of Now.

Tang Yu let out a subtle sigh, focusing on her step mother. The woman twisted her neck to look down at her, and began stroking her head. She could already conjure up images of Tang Yu running amok, for the latter was known for feeling a strong disinclination to her voice let alone her touch. And, the imbecile, wearing her emotions on her sleeve, would always make it very plain.

"Your eyes don't look puffy at all." Tang Yu pointed out innocently; her eyes twinkling with mirth.

Having been put on the spot, Feng Xuan's heart did a flip. But, being a seasoned liar she was, the interval lasted only a second, before she unleashed her talent, and commenced improvising. "My maid said, the lady of an honorable house should never appear disheveled. It will set bad examples for other members. She insisted on concealing it with a puff of powder."

Just then, Zhu Taotao rushed inside the room, warm water inside the copper pitcher sloshed, producing a melody for the thirsty girl's ears. A few fat drops even slopped over the edge. She poured down the water in an intricately designed goblet, and propelled it to her master.

Tang Yu swigged a large gulp. She wanted to quench her thirst with cold water, then thought better of it. Emptying the goblet, she placed it on the bedside table.

"Where did we leave the discourse again? Oh, yeah, your make-up. The maid did an excellent job, I must say! Perfectly drawn eyebrows, blue kohl under the eyes, pink lipstick, cake-y face! Like, nobody can tell that a member of your family was battling with King Yama for an entire day! It, the make-up, must have taken hours, no?"

Tang Yanrang's eyes narrowed, observing the exquisitely done make-up on his wife.

Feng Xuan's eyelashes trembled, her ears got hot, as if they were letting off steam. Nervous fright blasted through her. Under everyone's watchful observation, her quick and sharp brain rusted away. "N-no! F-ive minutes…it took no more than five minutes."

The product of her effort was mild stuttering.

The subtle shift in Tang Yu's eyes and lips denoted her faint amusement, after putting her stepmother's carefully created image to flake itself off. This evil mommy was really smitten with her father, and this was where the shock wave intensified!

'You would set fire on my bushy tail, and what am I expected to do, tug it under my ass and let it burn me red? Jokes on you! This good bitch here doesn't have any relationship with masochism, not even the distant one.'

The beautiful smile spread over Tang Yu's full pink lips and fully reached into the eyes.

"What are you talking about?! She styled your hair in such an intricate coiffure similar to that of palace women! Not a single strand out of place, denoting it's very recently made. You are looking gorgeous with two long-fringed hair accessories dangling from the bun, and delicate pearl pins scattered throughout your front." She sweetly complimented, binding a heavy boulder with the woman's drowning heart. "However, the process... no, no. It can never be done within five minutes; your naive daughter knows this little at least."

Tang Yangran's face blackened like the bottom of an old pot. The shimmers of disappointment crawled into his heart.

Feng Xuan swallowed hard, it didn't help, her mouth was already dry from fear. Although she knew he wouldn't divorce her for they had two sons together, losing his affection was her worst nightmare. She had to engage herself in a lot of plots to achieve it.

"Ah... I-i—" she went ghostly pale in the face, as she scrambled for some logical words.

Usually experience would pave an easy way for the smart ways to handle such scenarios; but, she never had to undergo any such bitter situations before!

Feng Xuan had to swallow the irresistible urge to glare venom at Tang Yu. Wasn't she an ill-tempered, irascible lassie, who would lose her cool and go berserk within a second into seeing her? How in the devil was she appearing so calm, collected and poised now?! Not a single ripple of hostility was passing across her face! Who did she borrow this equanimity from?! What caused this sudden change in her?

Many questions laced with irritation and puzzles jumbled up inside Feng Xuan's head. But, not a single answer peeked out from the cloudy haze of confusion.

The girl's very existence was the bane of her life! It was a slap on her face, and a reminder of those dark days, she used to wet her pillow from heartache!

"Look at what you are donning! A gorgeous hanfu made of fine silk! Seems very expensive! Did you make plans to go outside? I mean, who wears such expensive clothes in the house?"

Tang Yu stroked her stepmother's silk hanfu with her long jade fingers. The embroidery that decorated the wide sleeves touched her heart.

Nostalgia floated up her eyes, birthing tears.

Her brand…! She choked back her emotions, letting the air dry her eyes. Hopefully, the ancient Tang Yu hadn't transmigrated to her body! The lazybones would bring her company to financial ruin!

Tang Yanrang pushed down lodge in his throat with the saliva that gathered behind his tightly sealed lips. "You had the heart to doll up when my daughter was in a critical condition…"

He knew Feng Xuan was the female version of a dapper. She loved to keep herself chic and elegant always. However, today it layered up by three times. He had been so distressed over Tang Yu since yesterday, it went unnoticed by him totally, to say the least.

Did it mean, all these years what his Yu'er had been claiming actually held the water? His second wife never loved his daughter, instead, pulled up a facade all along?

Tang Yangran felt a stirring of anger, crawling in the chest. He forbade his wife and sons from showing up in Tang Yu's room yesterday, fearing she would wreak havoc, if she saw them there.

However, she was unconscious the whole day, and hadn't regained her senses up until a while back. He went to see off the physician, when he bumped into Feng Xuan in the hall. She started crying, wanting to visit Yu'er, so he let her in.

Their sons silently followed. Who knew all this was nothing but a drama?!

"Husband, it's not what it seems!" Feng Xuan pulled Tang Yangran's sleeve, trying to divert the situation to another direction.

Unfortunately, she already lost ground against Tang Yu. "You don't want me to go hard on you in front of our sons, do you?" Tang Yangran bit out, flinging away the hand clutching onto his sleeve.

Feng Xuan's eyes watered, this time real. She stood up from the bed, and took her previous place.

Tang Yangran held his peace for about three seconds. A stepmother would be a stepmother at the end of the day; it was wrong on his part to place expectations on Feng Xuan. He let out a heavy exhale, then said, "Yu'er, since you resent having this marriage forced on you, and badly want to rid yourself of it, you can set yourself free from it. I'll will talk to Mu Yunsheng about it, once he comes to take you back to his village."

Tang Yu: "...."

At Tang Yu's silence, Tang Yangran grew more anxious. "From now on, father will do how you want it. I will get this marriage canceled, and send a proposal to merchant Xiao for his eldest son's hand in marriage!"

Tang Yu blinked, her long eyelashes fluttering like butterflies. This father really loved the host, her instincts never failed her. She sat up, and leaned on the headboard. Zhu Wan stuffed a pillow behind her back. The slight discomfort from the movement, pulled her eyebrows down to crouch over the eyes.

Taking it as his daughter's skepticism, Tang Yangran hurriedly jumped down to assuage her supposed fear, and went ahead with the line, "You don't need to worry about anything! Your beauty paired with the dowry I have prepared to offer, they will definitely agree!"

A short laugh flowed out of Tang Yu's lips. "You are getting antsy for no reason." She placed a hand over Tang Yangran's in order to dispel his doubts and fear. "In all honesty, I should be the one saying sorry to you, father. I was a bit impetuous—have always been, and I put you in tight spots many times." She confessed. "But, now, I have a change of mind, and I want to give this marriage a try. I don't want to get divorced as of now."

According to the deluge of memories, rippling in her head, this in-laws of hers was a real deal. A full-fledged farmer household which was radically invested in crops, and cattles.

It might seem to be at odds with her line of work, but she knew a surprising amount about agriculture and horses. She used to nerd out heavily on these topics in her pastime or while on flights. This eccentricity had to stem from her main hobbies—gardening and horseback riding.