The teacup shattered with a sharp, piercing crash. Xiao Baoyue immediately stood, turned her back on Wang Yang, and called, "Someone come clean this up."
Two maids entered, swiftly cleaned the floor, then withdrew without a sound.
Xiao Baoyue quickly composed her expression as well, turning back with a graceful smile:
"I spent half the morning copying Essentials of the Age. I never imagined my wrist would grow so sore and weak that I couldn't even hold a teacup steady."
Wang Yang pressed a hand to his forehead:
"Lady Xiao, your acting is far too clumsy..."
Xiao Baoyue's eyes filled with bewilderment:
"Who is Lady Xiao? Acting? What is acting?"
Wang Yang felt so embarrassed on Xiao Baoyue's behalf that he could hardly bear to look:
"Lady Xiao, are you really going to do this?"
Xiao Baoyue dug her fingers into her palm and forced herself to say:
"I don't understand what you're saying, Young Master. Why do you keep calling me Lady Xiao?"
Speechless, Wang Yang said bluntly:
"Because the Marquis of Xichang's surname is Xiao, so yours is too..."
Xiao Baoyue wore an incredulous expression, as though she were on the verge of laughing aloud:
"What you're saying gets stranger by the moment. What does the Marquis of Xichang's surname have to do with me? Though I have indeed met the Marquis of Xichang, and I know her daughter too..."
At this point, Xiao Baoyue drew a breath and looked at Wang Yang with faint surprise:
"You don't think I'm the Marquis of Xichang's daughter, do you?"
Wang Yang looked at Xiao Baoyue, his eyes brimming with mischievous amusement, and said slowly:
"I never said daughter..."
Xiao Baoyue's expression froze. Then she forced a light laugh, a hint of mockery entering her voice:
"If you're going to-"
Looking