My Wife is a Frustrating Genius!!! - Chapter 12

Lu Jiahe sat on the stool, stewing in her own frustration, but the moment she heard her grandmother say such words, she was so frightened she didn’t dare move a muscle.

How could she dare speak? If she were to say something Cheng Yi didn’t like, wouldn’t she be cut down right then and there in front of her own grandmother?

Lu Jiahe stared at the two people sitting before her with wide, dark, glistening eyes. Finally, she mustered her courage and said in a voice neither too loud nor too soft, “She’s too violent. I… I-I-I can’t handle it.”

“Why are you stammering? Usually, when you want to sleep over at my place, you’re so smooth-tongued. But in front of your grandmother, you start stumbling over your words.” Cheng Yi shot Lu Jiahe a disdainful glare.

At that moment, she wasn’t angry about having to marry Lu Jiahe. Instead, she was wondering if she held no appeal for Lu Jiahe at all. After all, she was quite satisfied with her own looks.

Old Mrs. Lu sighed as she listened to the two of them bickering back and forth. The reason she wanted Lu Jiahe to marry Cheng Yi, aside from the fact that Cheng Yi knew her granddaughter’s true gender, was because Lu Jiahe’s personality was too soft, while Cheng Yi was impulsive and fierce. Just the right traits to make up for that flaw.

“He’er, tell your grandmother, is it because of the only daughter of the Xue family that you don’t want to marry Miss Cheng?”

Old Mrs. Lu looked at Lu Jiahe with a grave expression. Although marrying Cheng Yi could help Lu Jiahe avoid the marriage proposal Old Master Lu had personally arranged for her, she was also afraid that forcing this match might make her granddaughter resent her for life.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jiahe furrowed her brows and carefully searched her memory for the person Old Mrs. Lu was referring to. “Who is the Xue family’s only daughter? I don’t think I know her.”

“That’s the young lady who tried to invite you to a meal at the city gate.”

Lu Jiahe was taken aback, thinking to herself how quickly her grandmother had acted. It had only been a day, and she had already uncovered the other party’s identity.

“No, I don’t even know her name. I just happened to see her being bullied on my way back that day and helped out a little.” The more Lu Jiahe spoke, the more anxious she became, afraid her grandmother would misunderstand something again. “She was there that day too.” With that, she shifted her gaze to Cheng Yi.

“Alright, since that’s the case, let Miss Cheng stay with us for now. You two should spend some time together and get to know each other.” Old Mrs. Lu didn’t want to listen to any more arguments between them. She waved her hand, signaling the old maid to bring out the dinner.

Lu Jiahe wanted to voice her objection, but when her eyes caught Cheng Yi staring at her like a devil, all the words she had prepared got stuck in her throat.

Seeing Lu Jiahe rendered speechless, Cheng Yi sat smugly in her chair, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat. Meanwhile, Lu Jiahe, flushed bright red with anger, had no appetite for the food on the table.

From that night on, gossip about Lu Jiahe began to circulate among the servants of the Lu residence. Passed from one servant to another among the hundred or so staff, the “rumor” of their young master’s romantic entanglements outside finally reached the ears of Old Master Lu Zhengliang and his concubine.

“Master, have you heard what the servants have been gossiping about lately?” Diao Yuqing lay beside Old Master Lu, hoping to whisper in his ear and make things difficult for Lu Jiahe.

Lying in bed, Lu Zhengliang opened his eyes upon hearing Diao Yuqing’s words. “What’s the matter?”

“I heard that the mistress He’er has been keeping outside was brought back to the mansion by the old lady and placed in her own courtyard. Didn’t the old lady mention this to you?”

Over the past few days, Lu Zhengliang had indeed heard from his eldest and second sons about Lu Jiahe’s flirtatious behavior, but he never expected the old lady to openly bring someone into the household.

“Tell me more.”

Lu Zhengliang’s expression immediately turned serious. Seeing this, Diao Yuqing was certain he was angry because he hadn’t known about the matter.

“I heard that in the days before He’er returned, he spent his nights at that young woman’s house. Instead of studying, he ran off to her place every day. And just the day before yesterday, I overheard the maids saying that the only daughter of the Xue family even blocked He’er at the city gate.”

As Diao Yuqing recounted these events, she couldn’t help but exaggerate, making Lu Zhengliang’s face darker than the night outside.

“Enough! How are you managing this household? So many servants gossiping about their masters, and you do nothing about it?” Lu Zhengliang felt extremely irritated after hearing Diao Yuqing’s words and couldn’t help but vent his anger on her.

Diao Yuqing flared up upon hearing this. “Your son caused this trouble. Why are you taking it out on me?”

Unable to contain his rage, Lu Zhengliang shouted at her, “My son, my son—what? Isn’t he your son too?”

“Lu Zhengliang, don’t forget, my sons are only Hao’er and Zheng’er. He is not my biological child!” Diao Yuqing, unable to hold back her anger, blurted out what was on her mind.

Stunned by her retort, Lu Zhengliang was left speechless and angrily turned his back to her.

“One who is beholden to another is at their mercy.” The next morning, after finishing her meal, Cheng Yi began helping the servants tidy up the old lady’s courtyard. She worked inside and out with everyone and even took the initiative to clean up Lu Jiahe’s courtyard as well.

“Why is she even coming to our young master’s courtyard?”

“Tsk, haven’t you heard? She’s going to marry our young master in the future. The old lady herself arranged the match.”

“Just a few days ago, I saw her selling things on the street. And now, in just a few days, she’s like a crow ‘flying onto a branch and turning into a phoenix.'”

“Who says otherwise? She’s really lucky.”

Guo’er, who had just finished cleaning the rooms, walked over and immediately scolded them upon hearing their conversation. “What nonsense are you two spouting?”

The two servants, who had been gossiping about their masters, immediately fell silent upon hearing Guo’er’s voice.

“Nothing, nothing. Hello, Sister Guo’er.”

The fiercely loyal and hot-tempered Guo’er stormed up to them. “If I hear you gossiping about the young master again, get out of the Lu family! Understood?”

The two immediately bowed their heads and knelt on the ground, not daring to make a sound. Guo’er shot them a sharp glare before striding off to find Lu An and have him re-educate the people in the courtyard.

“Old lady, old lady, it’s terrible! The master is going to punish the young master with family discipline!”

The old lady, who had been enjoying the lunch prepared by Cheng Yi, immediately put down her chopsticks upon hearing the servant’s report and hurried to the main hall of the Lu residence with her old maidservant.

Though Cheng Yi didn’t know what had happened, it was clear that the “young master” the servant referred to was Lu Jiahe.

She thought to herself that since she was now tied to Lu Jiahe in the old lady’s eyes, there was no reason for her not to help when something happened to him. So, she stood up and followed Old Lady Lu toward the front hall.

“Zhengliang! What are you doing?” As soon as Old Lady Lu entered the front hall, she saw her son holding a whip, about to strike Lu Jiahe.

“Mother?” Lu Zhengliang lowered the whip as he watched his mother approach. “Mother, why are you here?”

Cheng Yi, who followed behind, frowned at the sight of Lu Jiahe kneeling and the whip in the old man’s hand. “She’s a girl! How could she endure a whipping?”

Old Lady Lu walked up to Lu Zhengliang, snatched the whip from his hand, and threw it to the ground. “If I hadn’t come, who knows how badly you would’ve beaten He’er!”

Diao Yuqing, standing nearby, stepped forward to mediate when she saw the old lady had arrived. “Mother, please don’t be angry. Zhengliang only hit He’er because he made a mistake.”

“A mistake? What mistake?” Old Lady Lu grew even more irritated upon hearing Diao Yuqing’s voice. “Are you implying that I didn’t teach him well?”

For years, Old Lady Lu had known exactly what kind of person Diao Yuqing was, but out of respect for her being her son’s wife and managing the Lu household, she had never confronted her so directly like this before.

Diao Yuqing was taken aback by the old lady’s words. She glanced at Lu Zhengliang, and when he remained silent, she added, “Mother, perhaps you don’t know yet? He’er and this girl have known each other for a long time. She even seduced our He’er into intimate relations, trying to use a child to threaten him into letting her into this family.”

“I suspect even your bringing her into the mansion was part of her plan.” Diao Yuqing didn’t know why Old Lady Lu had brought this girl into the household, but she knew everything the old lady did was to protect Lu Jiahe.

Hearing this, Old Lady Lu staggered back two steps in fury. She never imagined Diao Yuqing could stoop to such despicable behavior.

Seeing the old lady sway, Cheng Yi immediately stepped forward to support her. Though she didn’t fully understand the Lu family’s affairs, she could tell from the conversation that the Lu family’s madam had no intention of letting Lu Jiahe live peacefully.

“Madam, please show some respect when you speak. As the head of the Lu household, do you think it’s appropriate to slander someone’s innocence without knowing the facts?” Cheng Yi helped Old Lady Lu to the side, and once she was steady, she walked up to the woman and confronted her directly.

Since entering the Lu household, Diao Yuqing had never been treated with such disrespect. She immediately pointed at Cheng Yi and scolded angrily, “Who do you think you are? How dare you lecture me!”

“I am not a servant of the Lu family, nor do I have any contract of servitude with you. Madam Lu, after managing the household for so long, have you still not learned how to show respect?” With that, Cheng Yi shot the woman a disdainful look, turned around, and helped the kneeling Lu Jiahe to his feet.

She noticed several footprints on the hem of his pristine long gown and thought to herself that he must have been forced to kneel by someone kicking him.

Seeing his wife being publicly slighted, Lu Zhengliang felt his own dignity was at stake and spoke up, “This is a family matter of the Lu household. It’s not your place as an outsider to interfere.”

“Hurry up and get up. You’re the man I, Cheng Yi, am going to marry. I haven’t even agreed to it, so how can you kneel on the ground?” Cheng Yi had no desire to speak with someone like Lu Zhengliang, so she simply began lecturing Lu Jiahe instead, though the true meaning of her words was actually meant for Lu Zhengliang to hear.