Chapter 21: Then What's Fair For Our Daughter?

"Wait, is that really necessary? I mean, Yanyan has been by Zhao Yingyue's side for so long. Wouldn't it be unfair to all of her work and contribution to just fire her?"

Everyone at the table's eyes landed on the woman besides Zhao Yingyue. She'd expected her to contest the decision the moment her father said it but not in front of everyone there. Her mother sure knew how to dig her own grave.

The silence was filled with tension and seemed longer than it probably actually was before Hua Mengyao spoke up.

"As a mother, I must say that this makes me extremely angry. Do you not find it wrong that you refer to your niece with such endearment but refer to your actual child worse than a stranger? How is it that you can put anyone above your child? The lengths that you go to for this Gu Yan should be reserved only for Yingyue—the beautiful young lady that you gave birth to!"

"If it were me, no matter who it is, I will never value them over my Haoyu. Even his father understands that rule. Shouldn't it be your motherly instinct to protect your child? I mean listen to yourself! You call this other woman by such an endearing name while you refer to your child by her full name!"

Gu Yanya was angry to the point she couldn't handle it anymore and this time, she didn't take a moment to try to filter her words.

"With all due respect, you have raised a son—not a daughter! Who are you to tell me how to raise my child? In this case, I'm teaching my child to be gracious rather than a spoiled brat who's had everything handed to her. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Hua Mengyao didn't hesitate as she replied, "Yes. There's being gracious and then there's being a pushover. Regardless of gender, we should teach our children to respect themselves and stand against wrongdoers. If this Gu Yan has had multiple issues in the last few days, do you think that she should let her off? Yingyue is not some rug that everyone steps all over."

"In addition to this... As the Madame of the house, should you stand against a decision that your husband made for the sake of his daughter and for the family? Especially when you're sitting in front of all these people who barely know you. You don't even try to save face for anyone, including yourself, but this woman. Is she worth the embarrassment?"

"That being said, will you still sit back and let a member of your extended family, who is also a member of your staff, constantly bully Yingyue? With such blatant favoritism, how is anyone supposed to take you seriously? You're nothing but a joke who only knows to soak up praise and is scared to admit that you are a failure."

"Gu Yanya, your daughter is the most sweet and humble young lady I know. However, it's obvious that you were not the person that she got this from. Giving birth to her is your only saving grace."

Gu Yanya was upset and wanted to argue back but she felt a cold gaze land on her. When she turned to the side, she saw her husband's glare aimed at her—colder than ever before. She had never seen her target such fierceness at her before. Even if he was angry, he had always hidden it and taken her side in the moment.

Zhao Xiang was angry but kept a level voice as he said, "That's enough Gu Yanya. What Madame Liu says it right. I stand by my decision and this niece of yours is on thin ice. Just one more step out of line, and she's gone."

The coldness in Zhao Xiang's voice scared Gu Yanya. He'd never spoken to her like that no matter how upset he was in the past. Even when they were in private and had serious arguments.

"But Xiang, this isn't..."

Zhao Xiang cut her off. He wasn't going to have her continue to make excuses anymore. Especially not in front of the Liu's who have already called out her

"This isn't what? Fair? Then what's fair for our daughter? Showing that we'll support someone who will constantly undermine her position and bully her? Is that what's 'fair' Gu Yanya?"

Gu Yanya was quiet as she said, "Hubby, maybe we should finish this conversation when we go home."

She always called him that when she needed to calm him down or change his mind for something that she wanted. It almost always worked eventually so it was now her last resort.

Zhao Xiang was not having it. He would not have her manipulating him or making him go back on his word. He'd already said what he said and therefore there was no going back. Why was she fighting him so hard on this? Especially in front of everyone.

"Gu Yanya, I don't think you understand me. This conversation is over. Please don't continue to ruin this occasion and further embarrass our Zhao family."

He turned back to the Liu family and bowed his head. He never thought that the night would end with him needing to apologize and truly infuriated with his wife. He had done so much to marry her and keep her happy and this was how she repaid him? How ungrateful.

"I apologize for letting these familial matters interfere with what should be a happy occasion. How about we talk of happier things like the engagement party then? I know that everyone should be looking forward to that."

Gu Yanya stopped talking then. She knew that she was on thin ice already and speaking more might not only doom Gu Yan, but herself too. She'd never angered her husband to this extreme but she was also upset! Couldn't he see that? Didn't he care about her anymore? It was all Zhao Yingyue's fault! She never should have allowed that blind date. She had thought it would be like all the others where the men were scared away and never wanted to return.

Zhao Yingyue, however, was more than satisfied with this situation. For years, her mother had tormented her and earlier, she'd exposed her true feelings in front of people. She could no longer hide it away or take it back.

Now that she had a chance to cry it out and sort through her feelings for the first time, she found her mother to be terrible and undeserving of such a position in her life. When Liu Haoyu finished what he started, she would be the one to come out on top and her mother would suffer greatly. Would it allow her to finally leave this part of her life in the past?

Gu Yanya seemed to just be great at digging her own grave without Zhao Yingyue's help. It seemed that she'd forgotten what it's like to not feel untouchable but she was sure to remember now. She wasn't the most powerful woman in the room. If anything, she held the least sway out of everyone seated. She was the most vulnerable.

Hua Mengyao also felt much better after Gu Yanya had been shut down. That woman was such a disappointment to mothers all over and needed to be knocked off her high horse and shoved back into her place.

"Yes. We already made our guest list for the night so you can just send us your invitees once you've decided. Remember that since their engagement is a secret, all of these people must be completely trusted."

Everyone in the room doubted that anyone would have the gall to stand up to the Liu family anyway but Zhao Xiang nodded anyway. He'd make sure that his most trusted friends and family would be there and see the boost in status that their family has. They would see that he had more power than before and therefore deserved better opportunities.

"What time does the event start?"

Liu Ting replied, "Doors open at six and our honored guests enter half an hour after. We're hosting with a starry night theme decided on while taking the names of our children into account."

While Zhao Yingyue's name meant the reflection of the moon, Liu Haoyu's name meant vast universe. Having names with such beautiful meanings, Hua Mengyao had jumped at the chance when planning to use this theme. She'd already been brimming with ideas when they allowed her to take charge of planning.

Hua Mengyao had actually been the most excited one when it came to the party and making it perfect since she had been waiting for this day for a long time and had a very romanticized vision of love.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yingyue and Liu Haoyu were more excited for the things to come after marriage. After all, it's what brought them together in the first place. It was almost as if it was fate.

Zhao Yingyue had even already started packing so that she could leave as soon as the time came. Now, with Gu Yan being relieved of her duties, Zhao Yingyue would be able to mange her own schedule for enough time to cancel all future arrangements without her mother knowing right away.

She didn't plan on telling her parents yet. While she no longer feared that they would try to or had the power to stop her, she just wanted to avoid the unnecessary stress and drama.

Earlier, her and Liu Haoyu had talked about going to Shenzhen early. While they weren't supposed to move back into the dorms for another week after their wedding, Liu Haoyu owned an apartment in the area so they'd stay there until the day came.

He had only told her that if she wanted to, she could stay in Beijing to see the aftermath of his attack. She had yet to decide on how badly she wanted to see her mother and cousin's downfall. She had to admit that having a week of freedom to explore the city without any responsibilities sounded fun.

While the two families continued talking about future plans and excitement, Gu Yanya sat in her seat quietly. She was angry and still scheming but had to pretend that she wasn't.

It seemed that this engagement was out of her power to break and that the Liu family wasn't willing to give up on it so she had lost that battle. That being said, the matter of the wedding was no longer her main concern. As much as she didn't want it to go through, it was too much to handle on top of her number one priority.

Her biggest concern now was Gu Yan.

Since she had been taken out of Zhao Yingyue's care, life was sure to be more difficult for her. Where would she end up working now? How would she find a suitable suitor and settle into a class that she deserved?

Gu Yanya was also angry with Hua Mengyao and Zhao Yingyue. She swore that those two must have colluded as to back her into a corner. There was no way that they hadn't already talked about this. How dare they!

While Hua Mengyao was too far out of her reach, Zhao Yingyue still lived in the same home as she did until whenever she decided to marry Liu Haoyu. She'd still have ways of making her life difficult for the foreseeable future to regain her power and cheer herself up.

She also intended to reign her husband back in. She needed him to remain on her side the way he used to be. His cold voice earlier that night had actually scared her so she would appeal to him more later. As long as he didn't give up on her, nothing could keep her down for long.

As the dinner ended, she swore that she would get her husband on her side again and then think about how to tame that wretched daughter of her's.