allonlinenovel Chapter 499 Breaking the Cage
Chapter 499 Breaking the Cage
When Yu Wan saw that she had woken up, the tension in her eyes completely disappeared.
"If I didn't come, how would I know you were on a hunger strike at home?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Huanyan seemed to recall what had happened before she fainted from hunger, and her eyes gradually welled up with tears.
Her pale lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a word for a moment.
After a long pause, he finally uttered a few words, "I'm sorry, I broke my promise."
Yu Wan wasn't arguing with her about these things; she was genuinely curious about how Xiao Huanyan had managed to get herself into this state.
"Why did you put yourself in this state?" she asked.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Huanyan subconsciously turned her gaze to look behind Yu Wan.
Since she woke up, for some reason, neither Xiao Tengtian nor Madam You spoke immediately. It wasn't until they met Xiao Huanyan's gaze that Xiao Tengtian opened his mouth.
But he didn't say anything.
Xiao Huanyan withdrew her gaze, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Why did you have to put yourself in this state?
After all these years, she finally realized that the kind father she thought supported and respected her in everything was the real villain.
Madam You was merely acting as a shield for Xiao Tengtian.
Xiao Tengtian readily agreed to her wish to go into business, but then turned around and had Madam You object and lecture her.
She wouldn't listen, of course.
But when she went to find the craftsman, she realized how naive she had been.
She originally thought that her status as a young lady of the Xiao family would make it much easier for her to find craftsmen, but unexpectedly, this status became a hindrance. As soon as the craftsmen heard that she was a young lady of the Xiao family, they all refused her invitation.
Xiao Huanyan didn't realize anything was wrong until ten or twenty people rejected her. Only then did she understand that something must have gone wrong.
Most of the craftsmen were unwilling to speak, but one craftsman who had once received her help told her the truth.
It was Xiao Tengtian who instructed these people not to take her business.
At that moment, Xiao Huanyan felt as if she had fallen into an ice cave.
She always believed that her father supported her, so even though Madam You objected, she was able to persist.
But now she realizes that her father was the one who truly opposed her.
She didn't understand why Xiao Tengtian, if he was against it, didn't just say so directly, and why he pretended to understand and support her.
He could have directly objected.
Xiao Huanyan suppressed the tears welling up in her eyes and looked up to meet Yu Wan's gaze.
There was worry in Yu Wan's eyes.
She paused slightly, then said to Yu Wan, "I couldn't figure some things out for the moment, and I made a mistake."
"Don't worry, I remember everything I promised you and I won't go back on my word."
Yu Wan saw a fleeting glimpse of determination in Xiao Huanyan's eyes, as if she had made some kind of decision.
Staring at her, Yu Wan keenly sensed the hidden meaning in her words.
But with so many people and eyes around in the room, it was clearly not the right time for a deep conversation.
"Have some more porridge," Yu Wan gestured to Qingxing to bring the porridge forward. "Your health is important."
Xiao Huanyan nodded. "Thank you."
This thank you came from Xie Yuwan, who personally came to see her today, and it was also from Xie Yuwan who finally made her understand her own feelings.
Xiao Huanyan drank the porridge that Qingxing fed her. Only after the hot porridge went down her throat did she realize that her stomach was already cramping unbearably.
Suppressing her discomfort, she swallowed mouthfuls of the porridge that Qingxing fed her.
Seeing this, Xiao Tengtian finally spoke: "Yan'er, your father..."
“Father,” Xiao Huanyan interrupted him, her voice weak but firm, “I would like to speak with you alone.”
Xiao Tengtian's expression changed slightly, but seeing his daughter's haggard appearance, he finally nodded and waved for Madam You and the other servants to leave.
Yu Wan noticed that Xiao Huanyan and Xiao Tengtian had something to say, so she pulled Xizhu along and left without hesitation.
Soon, only the father and daughter remained in the room. Xiao Huanyan slowly propped herself up, her gaze fixed on Xiao Tengtian, her voice low and clear:
"Father, why did you lie to me?"
Xiao Tengtian frowned slightly, feigning ignorance: "Yan'er, what do you mean by that?"
"The artisans refused me at your behest, didn't they?"
As she said these words, Xiao Huanyan's fingertips trembled.
But she still clutched the corner of the blanket tightly, refusing to shed a tear. "You could have just told me directly that you didn't agree with me going into business. Why did you have to do all this behind my back?"
“And confinement…” Her fingers, which were gripping the corner of the blanket so tightly that they turned white, “If you’re going to confine me, Father, you should have Mother step in and make her the villain.”
Xiao Tengtian was silent for a moment, then slowly sighed and looked at her with a complicated expression: "Yan'er, I'm doing this for your own good."
"For my own good?" Xiao Huanyan smiled bitterly. "What Father means by 'for my own good' is to make me think you support me like a fool, while in reality you're setting obstacles for me at every turn. Is that what you call 'for my own good'?"
Xiao Tengtian's expression darkened slightly, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his fatherly demeanor.
He walked slowly to the bedside and reached out to tuck the blanket around Xiao Huanyan, but she turned away to avoid him.
Xiao Tengtian's hand froze in mid-air, and he sighed again, "Yan'er, you are still young and do not understand the dangers of this world."
He withdrew his hand and put it behind his back. "Business is not child's play. It would damage the reputation of the Xiao family and your own reputation if word got out that you, a young lady from a respectable family, were to show your face in public."
"What kind of family is the Xiao family that they need you to show your face in public and do business?"
"If you go out and show your face in public, have you ever thought about what others will say about you? You may not care, but what about your sisters? Won't they be affected by you?"
Xiao Tengtian's tone turned serious, "Yan'er, I'm doing all this for your own good."
Xiao Huanyan might have listened to what Xiao Tengtian said before, but now she couldn't listen to a word of it.
She bit her lip, raised her eyes, her gaze filled with stubbornness: "Since Father knows my feelings, why didn't you say so to my face? Why did you pretend to support me while having people obstruct me behind my back? Why did you lie to me?!"
"Insolence!" Xiao Tengtian suddenly shouted angrily, "Is this how you speak to me?"
The house was silent for a moment.
Xiao Huanyan dug her fingertips deep into her palm, but stubbornly refused to bow her head.
She had never seen her father speak so harshly before, and she was both shocked and pained.
Xiao Tengtian seemed to realize his lapse in composure, took a deep breath, and softened his tone: "Yan'er, everything I've done is for the Xiao family, for you. As the eldest daughter of the Xiao family, you should be content with your lot, choose a good marriage, be a good wife and mother, and bring honor to the family."
"What about your daughter's wish?" Xiao Huanyan's voice choked with emotion. "Did Father ever truly care?"
“It’s all Yu Wan’s fault for corrupting you. If I had known this would happen, I shouldn’t have let you associate with her.” Xiao Tengtian frowned. “Now that you know, I won’t hide it from you anymore.”
"I do not agree with you helping Yu Wan with business, and you should not have any further contact with her in the future."
"You'd better get rid of those unrealistic ideas of yours as soon as possible."
“Impossible.” Xiao Huanyan murmured repeatedly, the light in her eyes gradually dimming. “So this is how Father has seen me all these years.”
After a moment of silence, Xiao Huanyan chuckled softly.
Hearing her laughter, Xiao Tengtian felt inexplicably irritated.
“Father,” Xiao Huanyan took a deep breath and said, word by word, “What if I insist on doing it?”
Xiao Tengtian roared angrily, "Nonsense!"
“I’m not being silly.” Xiao Huanyan raised her eyes, her eyes filled with an unprecedented determination. “Before my mother passed away, she told me that I must do what I want to do. But over the years, I have done what my father wanted me to do, what my mother wanted me to do, and what the Xiao family wanted me to do. The only thing I haven’t done is be myself.”
"Father, I want to live for myself for once."
"What I want to do now is to create a workshop with Yu Wan. If Father thinks that I will bring shame to the Xiao family by showing my face in public in the future, Father can kick me out of the Xiao family."