By noon, the entire morning had slipped by.
Grace felt a sense of relief, having rid herself of the treacherous Xu Chong. Aunt Ning hadn't lied—Xu Chong indeed had no intention of marrying her. However, Aunt Ning did lie about the Marquis of Qingyun, saying he was planning to marry her off to the Xu family and didn't care for her. This turned out to be false.
Earlier, in front of Xu An, the Marquis had unequivocally stood up for Grace, chastising the Xu family without hesitation based solely on what the guards reported. This contradicted the impression Aunt Ning had given. Grace, having grown up cared for by her grandparents, understood what familial love was. It seemed a deliberate wall had been built between the naive original Grace and her father, the steadfast Marquis.
After sending Grace away, the Marquis summoned the matchmaker who had arranged the marriage between the two families. The matchmaker, having likely heard about the incident, entered the mansion with trepidation, barely daring to set her heels on the ground. After meeting with the Marquis in the main hall, she and Grace's fourth uncle, Zhao Ying, set off for the Xu family.
Meanwhile, Aunt Ning was still reeling from the morning's events. She had spent the entire morning pacing her room, unable to fathom why Grace had suddenly decided to humiliate her by sending Caiyun, her servant, to Meiying Pavilion. Grace had always been compliant, so this drastic change was baffling. Just as Aunt Ning resolved to confront Grace, she heard that Grace had fought with Xu Chong in the street and that the Marquis had canceled the engagement.
The engagement had initially been used by Aunt Ning to manipulate Grace, with some embellishments for effect. She never expected Grace to disrupt it completely. How did the girl manage it? Grace's actions were becoming increasingly inscrutable.
Deciding it wasn't the right time to confront Grace, Aunt Ning resolved to wait until the matter with the Xu family was settled. She then heard that Madam Xing and others had gone to Qiyu Courtyard, prompting her to follow suit.
The various branches of the family, unaware of the details, crowded around Grace at Qiyu Courtyard, bombarding her with questions about the incident. Each of them cursed Xu Chong and claimed the Xu family deserved their misfortune.
"Xu An seems competent in leading troops, but how did he raise such a son?"
After recounting the incident involving Xu Chong four or five times, down to which hand she used to point at him, it was time to express their attitudes. Third Aunt, Madam Huang, spoke first. "I had misgivings from the start. The marriage proposal came from Xu An, not Xu Chong. That boy isn't stupid. His public declaration of sincere intentions was suspicious!"
"Who says he isn't stupid? This backfired spectacularly," Fourth Aunt, Madam Du, a refined woman, put down her tea and looked approvingly at Grace. "Su Jie'er handled this well, ending the engagement decisively and saving us the trouble of confronting the Xu family ourselves."
"Don't encourage her too much. We don't want her causing real trouble next time!" Madam Xing glanced at them before smiling at Grace.
If Grace wasn't mistaken, there was a hint of pride in Madam Xing's eyes. This woman, entrusted by her dying mother to care for her, had once been the strictest with her and likely the most disappointed in her.
As the maids served lunch, everyone got up to leave. Madam Xing saw that Aunt Ning hadn't moved and smiled, pulling her up. "I have fresh mandarin fish today. Come eat with me."
Aunt Ning, reluctantly getting up, looked back at Grace before following.
Hua Xiangrong, lingering at the doorway, turned back and secretly handed Grace something.
"Keep this for self-defense, Miss."
Grace saw it was a small, three-inch dagger. Having never handled a weapon, but accustomed to kitchen knives, she didn't find it too intimidating. She gave it a twirl and asked, "Why give this to me?"
"You offended Xu today. He might seek revenge. Keep it with you for safety. Don't let the Marquis know; he forbids such things."
Grace nodded. Better safe than sorry. Given Xu Chong's character, who knew what he might do?
She tucked the dagger into her sleeve and said, "I'll give you something in return."
Just then, she felt a sharp pain in her lower back, where she had been sore since the morning. Upon touching the area, she discovered a hard, sizable bump.
"Lunch is ready."
As the maids set the table, Grace went to wash her hands. Not one to fuss over a minor ailment, she dismissed it as a simple boil that would heal in a few days.
After a few bites of lunch, she noticed her throat felt dry and sore. She drank a cup of cooling tea and lay down for a nap. When she woke, the pain in her left hip was excruciating. Sitting up, she felt a stabbing pain where the boil was, causing her to cry out.
"What's wrong, Miss?"
Little Ju rushed over.
Grace waved her aside, quickly pulling down her skirt and trousers. She saw a large, hard, fiery red boil the size of her thumb on her left lower back.
"How did this happen?" Little Ju exclaimed. "It's not even summer yet, and you've developed a boil?"
Boils can appear at any time. Grace recalled the recent stress from being threatened by Empress Dowager Lu, the constant anxiety, and the spicy hotpot. Add to that the anger from dealing with Xu Chong—it was no wonder she had developed this.
"Do we have any medicine?" she asked.
Little Ju fetched several ointments and applied them to the boil.
The ointment was soothing, but the heat under her skin suggested it might not be very effective. Moreover, its location made it awkward to show a doctor.
Even if a doctor were to come, would he dare to examine her?
Grace decided to wait and see how it progressed the next day.