[GL] I'm Just A Side Character... So Why Is The Heroine Chasing Me?!-Chapter 22: Family meeting

Lan Yue woke to the sound of arguing. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

She sat up quickly, blinking away the fog of sleep. Pale morning light filtered through the paper windows of the small servant’s room she shared with Liu Ruyan and Chen Mei.

The voices were coming from outside.

"...absolutely unacceptable! The Master has summoned her!"

"The Young Miss is still recovering. She cannot..."

"Does she think she can ignore the Master’s orders?!"

Lan Yue threw on her outer robe and rushed outside.

In the courtyard stood a group of servants from the main household. At the front was a middle-aged woman with a sharp face and cold eyes. She wore the uniform of a senior servant, and the jade token at her waist marked her as someone with authority.

Liu Ruyan stood between her and the main house, arms spread wide, her face pale but determined.

"Steward Fang, please!" Liu Ruyan pleaded. "The Young Miss was poisoned just last night. Her meridians are still unstable. If she’s forced to move now..."

"Enough excuses!" Steward Fang snapped. "The Master has called a family meeting. All members of the Zhao household must attend. Does the First Miss think she’s above the family rules?"

"She’s not refusing! She just needs more time to..."

"What’s going on here?"

The cold voice silenced everyone.

Zhao Lingxi emerged from her room, fully dressed in simple gray robes. Her face was pale, and there were faint shadows under her eyes, but her expression was as calm as still water.

Steward Fang’s lips curled. "The Master has summoned all family members to the main hall. You will come. Now."

Zhao Lingxi didn’t argue. She simply nodded and stepped forward.

"Young Miss!" Liu Ruyan gasped. "You shouldn’t..."

"It’s fine." Zhao Lingxi’s voice was quiet but firm. "If Father has summoned me, I will go."

She walked past the servants without another word. Lan Yue quickly fell into step behind her, ignoring the dirty looks from the main household’s people.

A family meeting, huh? Lan Yue thought grimly. Right after what happened at the palace. This can’t be good.

---

The main hall of the Zhao Residence was grand and imposing.

Tall pillars of polished wood supported a ceiling painted with scenes of ancient battles. Banners bearing the Zhao family crest hung on the walls. At the far end of the hall, on an elevated platform, sat General Zhao himself.

He was a large man with broad shoulders and a stern face carved from stone. His cultivation aura pressed down on everyone in the room like an invisible weight. Even without trying, he radiated power and authority.

So this is the great General Zhao, Lan Yue thought, studying him from her position near the door. The man who abandoned his own daughter without a second thought.

She felt no respect for him. Only disgust.

The hall was already filled with people. The various wives and concubines sat on one side, their children arranged behind them. Madam Hua was there, her face smug. Zhao Ruoqing sat beside her birth mother, the main wife, looking every bit the perfect noble daughter.

And in the corner, almost hidden from view, was a thin boy with pale skin and sunken cheeks.

Zhao Han.

Lan Yue’s heart clenched. The boy looked even more fragile than she had imagined from the novel. His eyes were fixed on the door, and when Zhao Lingxi entered, his whole face lit up with joy.

But he didn’t dare move from his spot.

"Zhao Lingxi." General Zhao’s voice boomed through the hall. "Step forward."

Zhao Lingxi walked to the center of the room and knelt gracefully. "This daughter greets Father."

"Do you know why I’ve called this meeting?"

"This daughter does not presume to know Father’s thoughts."

General Zhao’s eyes narrowed. "Last night, you brought shame upon our family at the Empress Dowager’s banquet. The entire capital is talking about how the Zhao family’s First Miss was found in a compromising position with a servant girl."

Whispers erupted around the hall. Some of the concubines covered their mouths in mock horror. Others smirked openly.

Zhao Ruoqing lowered her head, as if she couldn’t bear to look at her sister’s humiliation.

"Father." Zhao Lingxi’s voice remained steady. "This daughter was poisoned. The Crown Prince himself confirmed it. The culprit, Shen Yiming, has already been punished by the Empress Dowager."

"Shen Yiming." General Zhao’s jaw tightened at the name. "Your betrothed."

The word hung in the air like poison.

Betrothed. Lan Yue’s stomach turned. She was engaged to that pig? The same man who tried to drug and assault her?

"The Shen family has already sent word," General Zhao continued coldly. "They are calling off the engagement. They claim their son was ’seduced’ by you and is the true victim."

"That’s a lie!" The words burst from Lan Yue’s mouth before she could stop herself.

Every head in the hall turned toward her.

Oh no.

General Zhao’s eyes locked onto her like a predator spotting prey. "Who dares speak out of turn?"

Lan Yue’s knees went weak, but she forced herself to stand straight. "This servant was there, Master. Young Master Shen dragged the First Miss into that room. He locked the door with a sealing talisman. The palace maid confessed that he paid her to poison the incense!"

"Silence!" General Zhao’s aura flared. "A servant has no right to speak in this hall!"

The pressure slammed into Lan Yue like a wall of stone. She gasped, struggling to stay on her feet.

"Father." Zhao Lingxi’s calm voice cut through the tension. "She speaks the truth. But if her words offend you, please punish me instead. She was only trying to defend her mistress."

General Zhao stared at his daughter for a long moment. Then he waved his hand dismissively. "Remove the servant."

Two guards grabbed Lan Yue’s arms and dragged her toward the door.

"Wait outside," Zhao Lingxi said quietly, not looking at her. "I’ll handle this."

Lan Yue wanted to argue, but the guards were already pulling her away. The last thing she saw before the doors closed was Zhao Lingxi kneeling alone in the center of that cold, hostile hall.

---

The meeting lasted for over an hour.

Lan Yue paced outside the doors, her mind racing with worry. Liu Ruyan and Chen Mei stood nearby, their faces pale.

Finally, the doors opened.

Family members streamed out, many of them smirking or whispering behind their sleeves. Madam Hua walked past with her nose in the air. Zhao Ruoqing paused briefly, her gentle mask firmly in place.

"Poor Sister," she said softly. "I hope she can recover from this disgrace."

Then she was gone.

Zhao Lingxi emerged last. Her face was blank, but Lan Yue could see the tension in her shoulders, the tightness around her eyes.

"Young Miss?" Lan Yue hurried to her side. "What happened?"

Zhao Lingxi didn’t answer. She simply walked toward the Clear Frost Garden, her steps mechanical.

It was Liu Ruyan who finally spoke, her voice trembling. "The engagement with the Shen family is broken. The Master... the Master said the First Miss has brought shame to the family. She’s to be confined to the Clear Frost Garden indefinitely."

"That’s not fair!" Lan Yue protested. "She was the victim!"

"There’s more." Liu Ruyan’s face crumpled. "The Master said... if no other family will take her, he’ll send her to the Temple of Eternal Peace."

Lan Yue froze.

She knew that name from the novel. The Temple of Eternal Peace wasn’t a place of worship... it was where noble families sent their ’disgraced’ daughters to become nuns. Women who entered never left. They spent the rest of their lives in isolation, forbidden from cultivation, forgotten by the world.

It was a living death.

Back at the Clear Frost Garden, a small figure was waiting for them.

"Elder Sister!"

Zhao Han rushed forward, nearly tripping over his own feet. His thin face was streaked with tears.

"I heard what Father said. It’s not fair! You didn’t do anything wrong!"

Zhao Lingxi’s icy mask finally cracked. She knelt down and pulled her brother into her arms.

"It’s alright, Xiao Han."

"It’s not alright!" The boy sobbed into her shoulder. "They’re all lying! That fat pig Shen Yiming... I always hated him! I told Father you shouldn’t marry him, but he never listened!"

Lan Yue watched the siblings, her heart aching.

So Zhao Han knew. He tried to protect his sister, even back then.

"Xiao Han." Zhao Lingxi’s voice was gentle but firm. "You need to be careful. Don’t speak against Father or the Shen family where others can hear. If they think you’re a threat..."

"I don’t care!" Zhao Han pulled back, his pale face fierce despite the tears. "I’m not afraid of them! You’re the only family I have, Elder Sister. I won’t let them hurt you again!"

The boy’s words triggered a violent coughing fit. He doubled over, gasping for air.

"Xiao Han!" Zhao Lingxi caught him as he collapsed. "Someone get the physician!"

---

That night, after Zhao Han had finally fallen asleep, Lan Yue found Zhao Lingxi standing alone in the courtyard.

"Young Miss."

"You shouldn’t have spoken up today." Zhao Lingxi’s voice was quiet. "You could have been killed."

"I couldn’t just stay silent."

Zhao Lingxi turned to look at her. In the moonlight, her face seemed almost fragile.

"Why do you care so much? You’re just a servant. My fate has nothing to do with you."

Lan Yue hesitated.

Because I know your story. Because I know what happens if no one helps you. Because your brother dies, and you spend years drowning in blood and vengeance.

But she couldn’t say any of that.

"Because..." she said slowly, "I know what it’s like to be betrayed by people you trusted. To have everyone turn against you. To feel completely alone."

Something flickered in Zhao Lingxi’s dark eyes.

"You’re strange, Lan Yue."

"So I’ve been told."

A pause. Then, unexpectedly, Zhao Lingxi’s lips curved into the faintest smile.

"Thank you. For speaking up today. Even if it was foolish."

Before Lan Yue could respond, Zhao Lingxi turned and walked back to her room.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow will be harder."

Lan Yue stood alone in the moonlight, her resolve hardening.

The Temple of Eternal Peace. A broken engagement. A family that treats her like garbage.

I won’t let this be her ending.

I’ll find a way to change it. No matter what it takes.