Chapter 1194: I Spoke Too Rudely
Yan Menglu had never been in an unfavorable position, how could she apologize! She glared daggers at Wen Xinya. “Wen Xinya, you…” Dream on!
She was the Missus of Yan Family, recognized as the little princess of the Yan Family. She had only received apologies from others but never had to apologize to others. Wen Xinya was just a n.o.body, could she even accept her apology? Could she handle the consequences? Was she not afraid? Who was this Xia Ruya, who also dared to ask her to apologize? She saw how scheming Xia Ruya was and her old grudge with Wen Xinya and decided to keep her by her side only as a tool to deal with Wen Xinya.
Xia Ruya saw Yan Menglu’s eyes which seemed to be spitting out fire and quietly pulled on her arm, shaking her head as a secret sign.
If Yan Menglu backed down or exposed her vulnerability just because of a sign from Xia Ruya, she would not be Yan Menglu. She shot a warning look at Xia Ruya.
These two exchanged looks and glances right in front of Wen Xinya, going back and forth. Of course, Wen Xinya figured out their silent conversation. She was not blind, how could she not see it. She smiled smugly and a little arrogantly. “Miss Yan, you don’t seem to have figured out the situation! Why don’t you ask Miss Xia beside you?”
Some things could be said, some things when said would create enemies. Her mother was already dead. The dead were already gone, yet Yan Menglu blatantly dared to use a deceased person’s name and speak so arrogantly and maliciously. She was clearly in the wrong. Furthermore, to her, her mother’s name was taboo.
Xia Ruya rushed in front of Yan Menglu and spoke first, “Miss Wen, what happened today was due to a miscommunication between Lulu and me. I will definitely ask the elders to apologize to Old Mr. Mo another day.”
A mere Wen Xinya was not someone of concern. Even when she schemed against Wen Xinya, she had no fear.
However, Yan Menglu just had to humiliate a deceased person. The name Mo Yunyao was not just a taboo for the Wen Family, but even more for the Mo Family. The dragon’s scales would only hurt those who touched it. Now that Yan Menglu was unwilling to lower her head, Wen Xinya had the intention to blow this matter up. As a member of the literati, Old Mr. Mo was extremely concerned about etiquette and manners and would definitely not let this go easily.
If this issue got out of hand, it would not bring good to the Yan Family nor the Li Family.
Wen Xinya smiled and looked at Yan Menglu, puzzled. “What has this got to do with my Grampy? Moreover, Miss Yan was the one who insulted my mother, what has this got anything to do with you, Miss Xia?”
Wen Xinya knew that Xia Ruya was afraid of her Grampy, thus she puts up a pretense.
Xia Ruya’s face revealed her embarra.s.sment. She gently whispered to Yan Menglu, “Lulu, Aunt Mo has already pa.s.sed away, the dead are already gone. We have to show respect to the dead. As juniors, even if there are contentions, we should never involve the elders. Furthermore, you are studying jewelry design and Aunt Mo is one of the founding pioneers in that field. What you just said was really inappropriate.”
Yan Menglu was not a fool. She had only lived in Harbor City since young and was not very clear about Old Mr. Mo’s reputation. She even forgot that Wen Xinya had a grandfather who was a respected literary master. At this moment when Xia Ruya mentioned Old Mr. Mo’s name, she suddenly reacted.
When she arrived in Capital City, the elders in her family had told her there were three people not to offend, and one of them was Old Mr. Mo. Although she did not understand why, she knew better than to go against the words of the elders.
Her face turned pale, and she finally smoothed out the frown on her face. Reluctantly, she apologized. “I spoke too rudely just now.”
Wen Xinya held her face in place and stroked her cheek gently. “Sorry about that. In the heat of the moment I let my anger get the better of me.”
Yan Menglu was so angry she could spit out blood, yet she only dared to feel and not express her anger. People were like that. Once their dignity had been squashed by someone else, it was impossible for them to regain that momentum in such a short time.
Wen Xinya patted her cheek gently, took two steps backward and turned to leave.
Yan Menglu exhaled.
However, just as Wen Xinya was about to leave, she suddenly turned back and pointed at her cheek. “So sorry, but I was careless just now and smudged your makeup.”
Yan Menglu’s anger was suffocating and she visibly shook from trying to contain it.
Watching Wen Xinya’s shadow as she left, her blood boiled in anger.
Xia Ruya comforted her immediately. “Lulu, don’t be angry.”
Yan Menglu pushed Xia Ruya’s hand aside and yelled, “That so-called Old Mr. Mo, what exactly is so special about him?”
Xia Ruya knew that she suffered a loss to Wen Xinya today and felt unhappy, so she explained, “Old Mr. Mo is nothing special, but he has high morals and is very respected. Who would want to go against him? He is full of talents and the students he has taught went into all kinds of industry, military, political, cultural, even entertainment. Who will dare to offend him? Wen Xinya, the mere missus of the Wen Family, why would she be famous all throughout the Capital City? Of course, it is because of her reputation as Old Mr. Mo’s granddaughter.”
“He… Is he really that great?” Yan Menglu found it unbelievable. In Harbor City, they wors.h.i.+ped the strong. In such an economically developed city, money and power meant nothing. The influential literati were the truly respected.
Xia Ruya laughed. “Yes! He is very great. In the upper social cla.s.s of Harbor City, at least 90% will be familiar with Old Mr. Mo and they will definitely give him face. You can go back and ask your own grandfather about this.”
Yan Menglu finally understood the situation. The families in Harbor City maintained a peaceful façade with each other, hiding the fierce compet.i.tion behind the scenes, sometimes even resorting to underhanded means. If Old Mr. Mo was that influential amongst the upper social cla.s.s of Harbor City, would that not prove that if the Yan Family offended Old Mr. Mo, he would suppress the Yan Family and 90% of the powerful families in Harbor City would give him face?
The Yan Family may be powerful, but they would not be able to withstand such suppression.
Yan Menglu finally understood why, upon her arrival, her grandfather specifically warned her against provoking these three people in the Capital City.
Yan Menglu’s heart raced. “That Wen Xinya, we…”
Wen Xinya was the granddaughter of Old Mr. Mo. If they offended Wen Xinya, would that not mean that they had offended Old Mr. Mo!
Xia Ruya understood her concern and smiled comfortingly. “Don’t worry, Old Mr. Mo is a great Confucianist. He has good manners and principles. As an elder, he would not intervene in matters between the young. You insulted his daughter today, which was rather rude, that’s why I was afraid that Wen Xinya might hold onto this matter. It would be bad if Old Mr. Mo misunderstands the situation.”
The more prestigious and educated the person, the more one cared about reputation and conduct. That was why she dared to deal with Wen Xinya head-on, without giving regards to Old Mr. Mo. However, Mo Yunyao was another matter. A dead person required even more care and surface protection to the reputation.
Yan Menglu let out a breath of relief. “Ruya, thanks for handling this issue.”
If her insults towards Mo Yunyao today offended Old Mr. Mo, causing trouble to the Yan Family, she would be a sinner to the Yan Family, and they would definitely not let her off so easily.
What a close call!
Looks like Capital City was not a kind place, either. In the future, she would be more cautious about her actions and words.