Chapter 225: Chapter 225: She Can’t Even Tolerate Me
"I’m going home tomorrow, I probably won’t be coming to the Pei Mansion again," Fang Yuan said, sitting in front of the railing, looking at the lotus leaves in the water.
Qu Fulan was initially surprised and then realized that while this explanation was reasonable, it also seemed unreasonable.
It’s reasonable because they were all grown up. Though Fang Yuan was a few months younger than her, she was now also fifteen, which was the age for discussing marriage in ancient times.
Fang Yuan was the daughter of a wealthy family, so if her family had found a suitable match, she would get married directly, and certainly there wouldn’t be any opportunity to come to the Pei Mansion in the future.
This was a reasonable situation.
But the unreasonable part, which surprised Qu Fulan, was Fang Yuan’s tone and demeanor, no longer the carefree girl she used to be, as if she had gone through something that made her become sorrowful and melancholic.
"Has your family arranged a marriage, are you going to get married soon?" Qu Fulan asked.
Fang Yuan shook her head and then nodded, "Indeed, there are preparations for arranging a marriage, but my family wants to keep me for two more years, I am not immediately getting married."
This is quite similar to Third Miss’s situation, even if a marriage is arranged, one has to stay at home for a year or two before marrying, which shows family favoritism, and after marrying, the husband’s family should also value the new wife.
But since she’s not getting married immediately, Fang Yuan said she won’t be coming to the Pei Mansion anymore, which certainly has some reason behind it.
Judging from Fang Yuan’s demeanor, this reason is related to her.
Fang Yuan was not in the mood to sell a mystery, and directly said, "You’ve been away for more than a year, you probably don’t know, both the Marquis and the Marchioness are very satisfied with Cheng Ru, and plan to arrange a marriage once Second Brother returns. Now Cheng Ru has already become the prospective Young Lady of the Pei Mansion, as Second Madam is unwell, she has fully taken over the internal affairs of the Pei Mansion. Even Ren Hua cannot intervene in the slightest. To this day, I still cannot accept that the once friendly Cheng Ru could have such a domineering side. I truly am unfit to stay in the Pei Mansion and be an eyesore."
Qu Fulan felt that being out of touch with information was like this. Even after hearing all this, she was still a bit confused, as to whether Heir Pei would become engaged to Cheng Ru, this was not yet certain. Even if they do get engaged, why can’t Fang Yuan come to the Pei Mansion? How is this related to Cheng Ru’s domineering nature? Could she be so domineering that she even controls the interactions of relatives of the Pei Mansion? Such authority wasn’t likely.
Fang Yuan looked at Qu Fulan’s perplexed expression and patiently continued to explain, "Actually, whoever Second Brother marries has nothing to do with me, but Cheng Ru is different. I once regarded her as a very good friend, but now she is unwilling for me to continue staying at the Pei Mansion. How could I continue to thick-skinnedly stay here?"
Qu Fulan frowned, she understood what Fang Yuan wanted to convey.
Cheng Ru doesn’t have the ability to rule everything single-handedly, but because they were once very good friends, at least Fang Yuan believed so unilaterally. Now whatever this so-called friend says is most hurtful.
"Why doesn’t she want you to stay? Did she say something to you?" Qu Fulan asked.
Although close relatives could marry each other in ancient times, the matriarch had never thought of letting Fang Yuan marry Heir Pei, and Fang Yuan herself merely regarded Heir Pei as a brother. So why would she obstruct Cheng Ru?
If Fang Yuan were a girl from a small household who could become a concubine to Heir Pei, it would impact things. But she was the daughter of a wealthy family, so there would definitely be no such hazard.
Cheng Ru’s rejection seemed baffling.
Fang Yuan chuckled lightly, "What she said is not important, the result is the same anyway."
Actually, it’s not about overtly saying I don’t like you, and hope you don’t stay here, rather, it’s those insinuated words that most chill the heart.
Fang Yuan still remembers Cheng Ru’s expression at the time. She specifically invited her for a chat, something that had happened countless times before, but only that time, Cheng Ru wore a light, distant smile and said to her, "Fang Yuan, you’re not young anymore, are you going to live in the Pei Mansion for life? If word gets out, people who don’t know might think you want to stay and become the Young Lady."
At that time, Cheng Ru had already been recognized as the prospective daughter-in-law by the first branch of the family.
"Before, she was merely a guest in the Pei Mansion, but now she has become the prospective Young Lady, her status has changed, and her conduct has naturally changed accordingly. She became someone exalted, and I became, in her eyes, a relative clinging to the mansion and not leaving. Maybe she never liked me, just disguised it well, endured without speaking. Now she has enough qualification and confidence as the prospective ’Lady’ to exclude anything and anyone she doesn’t like."
Personal growth sometimes happens in an instant, and it was at that moment Fang Yuan realized women’s hearts are very small, small enough to not accommodate even former friends.
"If she can’t accommodate me, she certainly won’t tolerate you," this was Fang Yuan’s real purpose in coming to Qu Fulan today.
"Even I have been jealous of you once; the bond between Second Brother and me was just sibling affection. His kindness towards you made me jealous, let alone Cheng Ru. I think her rejection of you would be much stronger than her rejection of me. She doesn’t dare act against me because I have a family’s backing, at most she would say some insinuated things to me. But you’re different, you have nothing, the only person you could rely on is Second Brother. Now that Second Brother isn’t here, to consolidate her status and favoritism, she will certainly present a united front on the surface. But what she will do behind the scenes is unknown. So I advise you to find a place to hide for a while and wait until Second Brother comes back."
Fang Yuan’s words were completely heartfelt.
Clearly, she was a kindhearted girl. Even when hurt by a former friend, she wanted to help others.
Towards Qu Fulan, she was both jealous and admiring; she admired Qu Fulan’s abilities more than her jealousy.
She couldn’t bear to see someone excellent being destroyed.
A girl growing up in a prominent family witnessing the insidiousness of inner chambers wouldn’t be truly naive about anything. Previously, it just hadn’t happened to herself, so she could be indifferent.
"Thank you, Fang Yuan, thank you for coming to tell me this," Qu Fulan expressed heartfelt gratitude.
Actually, she and Cheng Ru had no interactions from the beginning, so there was nothing to talk about in terms of friendship.
Similarly, due to class reasons, she scarcely interacted with Third Miss and Fang Yuan either because she always felt she wasn’t strong enough and had many things to do, hence, did not have much energy to maintain such ambiguous friendships. Her connections with them weren’t even as close as those later established with Ren Hua, who was someone of comparable status.
But even so, she considered the two of them friends, friends kept at a certain distance.
Therefore, she found Fang Yuan’s words precious, clearly, the other person regarded her as a friend.
"Would you want to stay at my place? My family is also very hospitable," suggested Fang Yuan.
Otherwise, it wasn’t far from the Pei Mansion, who knows when Cheng Ru would ’come’?
Fang Yuan never thought of going before the matriarch, or before the Marquis and Marchioness, to complain or anything. What could she say? Cheng Ru’s performance before them was impeccable, flawlessly perfect, and would she go to speak badly about her? Fang Yuan was not a fool; such an action would be graceless and would frame herself as a petty person.
Besides, Cheng Ru hasn’t done anything wrong, she merely distanced herself, such matters aren’t worth talking about everywhere.