Chapter 272 271: How About Me?

"Don't be scared. I'm right here," Mu Xianling comforted her again.

For some reason, Tang Shu stopped crying and suddenly asked, "Sister Xianling, do you like Brother Tang Yi?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?" Mu Xianling asked, confused.

"I'm just curious," Tang Shu said.

"I don't know if I like him or not."

Mu Xianling paused, her gaze drifting into the distance. She said softly, "All I know is that when he's around, I feel completely at ease."

"Then that means you like him," Tang Shu declared, settling the matter for her.

Mu Xianling shot Tang Shu a sidelong glance. "You're just a kid. Why are you meddling in grown-up matters?"

Tang Shu ignored her and continued on her own train of thought. "If Sister Xianling likes Brother Tang Yi, then you'll definitely marry him someday, right?"

"Hm?"

Mu Xianling froze for a second, then said defensively, "I would never marry him! Why would I marry him?"

"Oh?"

Tang Shu said doubtfully, "Really?"

"Of course! What, you think I'm lying?" Mu Xianling said, trying to cover her tracks.

"Well, if Sister Xianling won't marry him, then Shu'Er will! When that time comes, I'll be Brother Tang Yi's first wife. If you regret it later, Sister Xianling, you'll just have to be his second wife," Tang Shu giggled.

Seeing the look on Tang Shu's face, it dawned on Mu Xianling.

"Why you little...! Shu'Er, you dare tease me! Just you watch, I'll get you for this!" With that, Mu Xianling made a playful move to strike her, and the two of them quickly started roughhousing.

Meanwhile, Mi Lu watched them tussling, and her own mood lightened considerably.

After roughhousing for a bit, all of their previous negative emotions vanished into thin air.

At this, Mu Xianling said to Tang Shu, "Shu'Er, you can't talk about marriage like that anymore. You're still young and don't understand what love is. Liking someone isn't such a simple thing. Right now, you probably just admire your Brother Tang Yi. When you grow up and find someone more suitable, you might not feel this way about marrying him anymore."

"Sister Xianling, I'm already grown up! No matter how many years pass, my feelings for Brother Tang Yi will never change."

Tang Shu wrinkled her little nose and said, somewhat displeased.

"Alright, alright."

Mu Xianling shook her head helplessly. For some reason, hearing Tang Shu talk about marrying Tang Yi stirred a faint displeasure in her heart. She had the urge to scold Tang Shu, to lecture her and tell her to stop letting her imagination run wild.

But the moment she remembered that she was nothing to Tang Yi, and certainly nothing to Tang Shu, the thought of scolding and lecturing her vanished.

'What right do I have to lecture someone else?'

'What right do I have to meddle in their affairs?'

'I should just mind my own business!'

"Sister Xianling, are you scared I'll marry Brother Tang Yi?"

At that moment, Tang Shu glanced at Mu Xianling and dropped a bombshell. "Don't worry, Sister Xianling. Even if I marry Brother Tang Yi, I won't compete with you for his affection. You can be Brother Tang Yi's first wife, and I'll be his second. Besides, what powerful man doesn't have a few wives? I don't mind."

The moment she started talking about Tang Yi, Tang Shu seemed to forget all her fear. Her mood slowly lifted from its earlier slump. And when she spoke of being a "first wife" or "second wife," her expression was completely serious, as if she weren't joking at all.

"You... you... you little brat, what nonsense are you spouting! I do not like Tang Yi!" Mu Xianling denied instantly.

Despite her immediate denial, Mu Xianling's expression was one of someone who had just been exposed. She looked incredibly flustered, as if Tang Shu's words had voiced certain thoughts hidden in her own heart—thoughts she herself was unwilling to admit.

"What do you mean you don't like him? Hmph! Sister Xianling, you're still trying to hide it from me? Don't think I don't know. Before you even came to the West Mansion, you sent people to my house with a marriage proposal! My Brother Tang Yi just didn't agree to it right away. And you still say you don't want to marry my Brother Tang Yi?"

Tang Shu said with a look that screamed, 'I've already seen right through you.'

"Th-there's a reason for that! I had to propose to Tang Yi because I lost a bet with him. It wasn't my own idea!" Mu Xianling argued.

Hearing Mu Xianling's explanation, Tang Shu just pouted her little cherry-red lips. "Oh, come on, Sister Xianling, you're lying again! If the proposal wasn't your idea, then what about the other day? As soon as you arrived at the West Mansion, you stayed in Brother Tang Yi's room and wouldn't leave. What was that all about? Who would believe you don't like Brother Tang Yi?"

"I didn't! It's absolutely not what you're thinking... I... I... I..."

Mu Xianling stammered for a long time but couldn't come up with a coherent explanation.

'She couldn't possibly tell her that for the past few days in Tang Yi's room, she'd been cooking, doing laundry, giving him back massages, serving tea, and fetching water for him—all things a servant would do, right?'

'Not only would it be humiliating to admit, but who would even believe her?!'

Mu Xianling hadn't expected this. She had been so careful coming and going from Tang Yi's room every day, watching for ages to make sure no one was around before she went in. Yet, this little girl Tang Shu had still found her out. It caught her completely off guard and sent her into a bit of a panic.

"Okay, okay, Sister Xianling, you don't have to explain. I already know everything. And don't be on guard against me out of jealousy. You can be Brother Tang Yi's first wife, and I'll be his second. You're not losing out that way. Anyway, it's decided," Tang Shu declared with a straight face.

Mu Xianling wanted to explain further, but seeing Tang Shu's 'I-don't-believe-a-word-you're-saying' expression, she could only give up and silently acquiesce.

'If she didn't, who knew what other mortifying things would come out of Tang Shu's mouth.'

"Um... is what you're saying for real? What about me? Could I be, like, a third wife? I really admire Tang Yi, too."

Just as Mu Xianling gave in and the atmosphere fell silent, a timid voice piped up from the side.