However, she didn’t get the good marriage she expected! She was old enough to get married but hadn’t even got engaged. Because Shao Yanru hadn’t got engaged as the eldest Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion, she couldn’t get engaged either.

The reason made sense, unless Qi Rongzhi’s biological parents found a match for her. However, Magistrate Qi was far away in Jiangzhou. Besides, even if he came to the capital city, there wouldn’t be many people willing to marry her, who was only the daughter of the magistrate of a remote place!

She closed her eyes tightly. When she opened them again, they became indifferent and gentle with the sadness fading away, which made her look just like Shao Yanru.

After spending a long time with Shao Yanru, she made some progress in manners.

“Miss, the Young Madam of Duke Yong’s Mansion is here!” Chunyi came in and reported.

“Please come in, Sister Yuru!” Qi Rongzhi said with a smile, stood up, and went out to greet her.

When the door of the private room was opened, Qin Yuru was standing outside the room. When she saw Qin Yuru in front of her, Qi Rongzhi was shocked by the lady in front of her although she had been prepared.

Was it Qin Yuru?

In the past, Qin Yuru had been lively and charming. She and Qi Rongzhi used to be known as two beauties when they were in Jiangzhou, and she was beloved by Qi Tianyu at that time. Thus, she had been an exceptional beauty and lived well in Jiangzhou. However, if Qi Rongzhi passed the lady in front of her on the street, she didn’t think she could recognize that the lady was Qin Yuru, who had grown up with her.

Qin Yuru was so thin that she was almost out of shape. Even her hair was dry and gray. Although her dark hair was done in a very gorgeous bun, it was just like a wooden framework without the vitality and freshness she used to have. Her eyes looked gray and gloomy and made Qi Rongzhi feel inexplicably cold when she looked at Qi Rongzhi.

She seemed to be ten years older than her actual age and looked like a woman lady in her thirties.

“Sister Yuru… you…” Qi Rongzhi said without feigning the astonishment on her face. In the past three years, she had never met Qin Yuru and didn’t expect that Qin Yuru had become like this.

“What’s wrong? You can’t recognize me?” Qin Yuru asked coldly with a sarcastic smile.

“No… it’s impossible. I just didn’t expect that…” Qi Rongzhi said, reached out to hold Qin Yuru’s hand intimately, led her into the private room, and sat down.

She picked up the teapot beside her, poured a cup of water, pushed it to Qin Yuru, and said, “Sister Yuru, since you married into your maternal grandma’s mansion, why do you become so thin? Are you sick?”

Both her appearance and mental state seemed to be completely different. She had changed so much that Qi Rongzhi was still astonished and even involuntarily asked the question in her mind.

“I’m fine. Tell me, what do you want from me?” Qin Yuru looked at her coldly and asked bluntly.

“Sister Yuru, I’m here to see you today!” With a gentle sigh, Qi Rongzhi said and became gloomy, “Think of our lives when we were in Jiangzhou and look at our lives now. If I had known that I would end up like this, I wouldn’t have come to the capital with your Qin’s Mansion. Although Jiangzhou is a small place, I can marry a handsome and promising man!”

After that, she picked up the teacup beside her and took a sip with a bitter smile on her face.

“Haven’t you got engaged?” Qin Yuru asked with a sarcastic smile.

“No, and I don’t know when I can get engaged. Since the First Miss hasn’t got engaged, it’s impossible for us to get engaged as younger sisters!” Qi Rongzhi said and then gave an order to Chunyi beside her, “Go to the opposite restaurant to buy two pots of wine. It’s a rare opportunity to meet sister Yuru again today. Since we have the same misfortune, let’s have a drink and get drunk in secret as we did before!”

Chunyi replied and left.

Moved by Qi Rongzhi’s expression and words, Qin Yuru looked a little better, didn’t refuse, just glanced at her and said, “It’s reasonable that you are not allowed to get married. But are you not allowed to get engaged either? Well, the rules of Duke Xing’s Mansion are quite harsh!”

“It’s not true. It’s just that no one cares about this kind of thing. The First Miss has been occupied with her own business, so no one cares about this kind of thing!” As Qi Rongzhi said, she substituted tea for wine and raised her cup to take a big sip, “They won’t have the time to arrange a marriage for me, an adopted Miss, before their biological daughter’s marriage is settled!”

“Weren’t you very complacent about being a member of Duke Xing’s Mansion at that time?” Seeing Qi Rongzhi’s frustrated look, Qin Yuru felt her anger worked off and said.

“At that time, I was ignorant and thought that I could get a good marriage after entering Duke Xing’s Mansion. But now I wish I had never gone there. In this case, at least I could maintain a clean reputation.” As Qi Rongzhi said, she became increasingly sad with her eyes turning red, stood up, and bowed to Qin Yuru.

“If there were any rumors outside tarnishing your reputation, I would like to apologize to you here.”

Qin Yuru reached out and slapped Qi Rongzhi hard, making Qi Rongzhi take two steps back and bump into a chair beside her.

“Bitch, it’s the first time that I’ve met you during such a long time. Why did you claim that I told you about the evil Taoist priest of the Baiyun Taoist Temple?”

“Sister Yuru, I’m really sorry about this. It’s really not my fault. I… I found out about it later. Since the rumor has been spread then, I could do nothing about it. At least you’ve got married, while I… I haven’t even got engaged!”

As Qi Rongzhi said, she burst into tears, covered her face with her hands, and struggled to stand still.

“You found out about it later. What happened?” Qin Yuru asked. The reason why Qin Yuru could come out today was that she was invited by Qi Rongzhi. Duke Yong’s Mansion also wanted to find out why Qi Rongzhi got Qin Yuru in the case of the Baiyun Taoist Temple!

Qin Yuru couldn’t get out of the mansion easily in normal times!

Since she married Duke Yong’s Mansion, Qin Yuru had lost all her freedom. Although Old Madam of Duke Yong’s Mansion doted on her, so what? Di Yan was Old Madam’s favorite grandson, and the entire Duke Yong’s Mansion couldn’t afford to lose face. She could marry into Duke Yong’s Mansion because of Old Madam, so how could she ask for more?

“It’s Shao Wanru who did that!” Qi Rongzhi said with hatred. She sat back in the chair and picked up a handkerchief to cover her face with her eyes full of hatred.

This name seemed to be vague in Qin Yuru’s memory, but it suddenly broke the indifference she had maintained for a long time. With a trace of bloodthirsty coldness slowly gathering her eyes, Qin Yuru tightly clenched her hands as skinny as chicken paws and almost said these words through her clenched teeth, “What does the bitch intend to do? Isn’t it enough for her to put me in such a wretched situation?”

As she lived an increasingly miserable life in Duke Yong’s Mansion, she bore increasing grudges against Shao Wanru and almost vented all her hatred of Shao Wanru. If it weren’t for her grudges against Shao Wanru, Qin Yuru felt that she would have gone crazy.

Yes, all of her misfortune was caused by the bitch.

If it weren’t for what Shao Wanru had done in Jiangzhou, she wouldn’t have broken with Qi Tianyu and have such a terrible reputation. After they moved to the capital city, she and her mother’s plans were ruined step by step because of the bitch. All of these were caused by Shao Wanru.

Qin Yuru thought that all her misfortune was caused by Shao Wanru, but she had never thought of what she had done to Shao Wanru. After doing so many evil and outrageous things, she still expected that Shao Wanru should be driven up the wall without resisting.

Seeing the wild hatred in Qin Yuru’s eyes, Qi Rongzhi was satisfied, because she came here today to arouse Qin Yuru’s hatred.

“Although I don’t live well in Duke Xing’s Mansion, my life is not bad. Shao Wanru, who lives in the Yuhui Nunnery now, has nothing to do with me. However, she deliberately said that it was you who told me about the evil Taoist priest. When the case of the Baiyun Taoist Temple was revealed, she said that in front of the servants sent up the mountain by Duke Xing’s Mansion. After that, I got involved in it, and you were the next. Although I argued later, it was impossible for them to be partial to me since all of them are the members of Duke Xing’s Mansion. I had to take the blame even if I didn’t do it!”

Qi Rongzhi wiped her tears and said sadly.

In fact, her lie was flawed. Nevertheless, because Qin Yuru had hated Shao Wanru to the core long before, she didn’t doubt Qi Rongzhi’s words and was convinced of them at once before Qi Rongzhi said anything more.

“Bitch, bitch!” Qin Yuru picked up the teacup beside her furiously and smashed it on the ground.

Qi Rongzhi, who was sitting opposite to her, sneered. Qin Yuru was still so naive, and that should be the reason why she fell into such a wretched situation!

“Sister Yuru, we have been friends for many years. I just intended to get a higher status and have no evil intent. Although I’ve done something to hurt you, it’s Shao Wanru who made me do it. Speaking of which, isn’t it Shao Wanru who put me in this wretched situation?” Qi Rongzhi added another inflammatory detail to make Qin Yuru more furious.

Qi Rongzhi made sense and mentioned their close relationship before. Besides, Qi Rongzhi was also in a wretched situation. So they felt pity for each other now.

In the end, Qi Rongzhi even said with a little envy, “Sister Yuru, you’ve at least married into Duke Yong’s Mansion and become the Young Madam of Duke Yong’s Mansion. Duke Yong’s Mansion will be in your charge in the future. Meanwhile, I have nothing now and uncertain about my future!”

After saying that, she wiped her eyes sadly.

As the door was opened, Chunyi came in with two wine pots and two empty wine cups on the tray in her hands.

After Chunyi put down the tray, Qi Rongzhi picked up the wine pot in front of Qin Yuru, poured a cup for her and another cup for herself, and said, “Sister Yuru, Shao Wanru is now the Fifth Miss of Duke Xing’s Mansion, so we can do nothing about it. Let’s get drunk. Now we are in different situations. She’s a cloud high up in the sky, while we…”

Qi Rongzhi gave hollow laughter and tossed off her cup. With her tears falling down, she said in a choked voice, “We are nothing and destined to be trampled by her for the rest of our lives!”

Qin Yuru also grabbed the wine cup. After tossing it off, she smashed the cup heavily on the ground, gnashed her teeth, and said in hatred, “She is still nothing now. It’s hard to say who will be the final winner!”