Chapter 4: Volume One, Chapter 4 – Have They Pushed Someone Too Hard?

Since the Duchess Who Guards the State married the Protector Duke, these many years have been smooth; no one dares to give her no face, and she trembles with anger, looking at the Protector Duke, "Protector Duke, listen to this: Luoge is holding a grudge against us. Back then when I married in I was just a little girl, how could I know how to take care of people? Besides, going to the manor wasn't my intention."

The Protector Duke slammed the table and shouted, "You still haven't apologized to your mother."

Rong Luoge sneered, "It is said that there are no imperfect parents in the world, but when parents are like you, I'd rather be an orphan."

"Protector Duke, she's cursing us to death; only a heart that cruel could say that," the Duchess Who Guards the State clutched her handkerchief, crying bitterly.

"You scoundrel, it seems Prince Qi was right; you ought to be taught proper manners…"

Rong Luoge's expression hardened, "Now I am Princess Consort Qi, of the Rong Han clan, a royal daughter‑in‑law. Who does the Protector Duke intend to punish? Are you planning to rebel against your superior?"

The Protector Duke was startled, staring dumbfounded at his daughter, feeling how alien she seemed; she had previously been mute before him, yet today she was so sharp‑tongued.

Could it be that she was all an act before?

The Protector Duke could not believe he had been deceived; a chill spread through his chest.

Remembering Rong Dai's tearful lament, he had not dared to believe before, but now he did.

If it weren't an act, how could her temperament change overnight? After years of enduring humiliation at the manor, returning to the residence with a wooden, stiff demeanor—perhaps all was to secure the marriage with Prince Qi.

He had thought his daughter's nature was so soft, that marrying her off would bring a name; making Rong Dai a secondary consort would be a perfect compromise.

Rong Luoge looked at this hypocritical and selfish couple, slowly rose, and said with a half‑smile, "I suppose the Protector Duke and his wife do not want the high‑born families of the capital to learn how you have mistreated me, the daughter of a former wife. Otherwise, what will become of Rong Ling Shan's marriage? I know that my mother's dowry has been in your hands all these years; after all, when I married, the Duchess had not handed over a single copper coin to me."

The Duchess Who Guards the State's brow twitched; a vague bad premonition rose.

"Now I am already married; you may safely return my mother's dowry to me. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind going to the authorities and telling everyone; after all I'm already married and not ashamed, I wonder whether the Guo Gong Fu would be afraid?" At this point Rong Luoge paused slightly, "Oh, by the way, let me remind you, my mother left me the dowry list before she passed."

"How dare you!" the Protector Duke was about to lose his mind; had he known she would be so brazen, he should have strangled her at birth.

"If you don't believe it, try it," Rong Luoge said coldly, looking at them. "The barefoot fear not the shod; you plot against me as if I were a lifelong stepping stone for Rong Dai. If you dare act, I dare speak. At worst I may refuse to be a royal daughter‑in‑law, but what good will you get?"

Rong Luoge knew well that this couple would not gamble with her; at most she would be dismissed by the royal family, which she actually welcomed.

But the Zhen Guo Gong Fu would be accused of coveting the former wife's dowry, abusing the legitimate eldest daughter, the concubine's daughter illicitly consorting with Prince Qi without a matchmaker; the Protector Duke not only failed to stop it, but deliberately married off the legitimate eldest daughter to deceive others…

If each of these spreads, the Zhen Guo Gong Fu will truly be ruined.

Striking a snake at the seventh inch— is it to lecture the other on ethics, morality, and kinship?

No, no, no; for such shameless people, only a clean throat‑cut will make them honest.

What the original owner was owed, she will gradually help retrieve.

"If there is nothing else, I'll be leaving now," the original owner said. In this mansion there was only a shabby little courtyard, originally used for garden storage; living so miserably, no wonder these people dared to bully her. "By the way, a word of reminder: in three days I will see my mother's dowry. Otherwise, we'll meet at the authorities."

"You dare," the Duchess Who Guards the State retorted, "since your mother married the Protector Duke, her belongings naturally belong to the Protector Duke." How could the Duchess be willing to spit out what she swallowed? Isn't that digging at her heart?

"Is that so," Rong Luoge raised an eyebrow slightly, "If you refuse, that's fine. Once I step out of this gate, I will properly inform the other ladies that the Zhen Guo Gong Fu's dowry given when marrying off a daughter is always given to the groom, especially generous. By the way, later I'll ask the Duchess's natal family about the bride price they gave; I wonder if it has now been entered into the Guo Gong Fu's accounts."

"You…" The Duchess Who Guards the State could not have imagined that Rong Luoge had become so difficult now; her daughter had not yet secured a husband, and if this spread, what good match could she find later?

"Madam need not praise me; promoting the Zhen Guo Gong Fu's good family values is what I, as a daughter, ought to do."

The Duchess Who Guards the State hated to tear her apart; why is it that after just one day apart, Rong Luoge seems like a different person?

Could it truly be that Prince Qi and Rong Dai went too far, pushing someone too hard? Or is it, as Rong Dai says, that Rong Luoge has been pretending all these years?

If it was an act, she performed it so convincingly that no suspicion arose.

Just thinking makes her feel breathless, darkness flashing before her eyes.

"Protector Duke, could you say something?" the Duchess Who Guards the State looked at her husband, about to cry.

The Protector Duke's emotions now swung as wildly as anyone's, perhaps even more; looking at his own daughter, who wielded threats, sharp words, and especially cruelty, he could not believe she had once been so meek and indecisive.

She must resent him, so all these years she pretended to deceive him, all for today's advantageous marriage to suppress her own father.

And yet he himself had orchestrated all this; it feels like spitting out his own old blood.

Rong Luoge raised an eyebrow, smiled, and said, "Protector Duke, what else do you wish to say? Shall we talk about your concubine's son Rong Lang, who is two years older than me? Or mention Rong Dai, who, still unmarried, crawled into Prince Qi's bed and willingly became a concubine? Or discuss the concubine Di Yue Nu, whom you have cherished for years? After all, for Di Yue Nu's daughter, you even dared to trample me, your legitimate eldest daughter, to pave the way for her child. I wonder, for the illegitimate son Rong Lang, how should Rong Yan, the son born to the Duchess, serve as a compliant stepping stone? Madame, what do you think?"

The Duchess Who Guards the State's face stiffened; she certainly knew Di Yue Nu, but her husband had sworn that he had long had no dealings with her—could it all be a lie to herself?

Although she disliked Rong Luoge, her words pierced her heart like a needle.

Indeed, Di Yue Nu has an illegitimate son, several years older than her own son. Her own son is still too young to inherit the connections her husband holds, but what about Di Yue Nu's son?

Considering his age, he is just at the age to go out and mingle.

Seeing the Duchess's wavering expression, Rong Luoge let out a soft laugh in her mind; when it comes to sowing discord, she is a professional.