At the Lin Residence by Jade Bridge, Mother Sun had already returned after fetching Lin Qianqian from the estate.
However, she didn’t dare say much about Lin Qianqian.
She merely gave Wang Shi a few vague reassurances.
“Madam, don’t worry. The Second Miss is just a little girl with no one to rely on. Once she returns to the manor, won’t everything be under your control?”
Wang Shi nodded.
She had already made arrangements.
The moment Lin Qianqian returned, she would be given a harsh welcome.
Wang Shi was dressed in bright red—a color reserved for principal wives.
She had narrow eyes and thin lips.
The thick powder on her face could not conceal her exhausted appearance.
These past few days, she had been troubled by Lin Qianqian’s return.
She wanted Lin Qianqian to marry in Lin Baozhu’s place.
Yet she also didn’t want Lin Qianqian back in the Lin family.
Unfortunately, she couldn’t have both.
Not long afterward, a servant came to report:
“Madam, the Second Miss has arrived.”
Wang Shi had been amusing herself by teasing a green-feathered parrot.
The smile on her face disappeared the moment she heard the name Lin Qianqian.
“Someone come here.”
“Send a few servant women to the front gate and teach that girl a lesson.”
“She must understand her lowly status.”
She emphasized the words “lowly status” particularly heavily.
Helping Madam bully someone usually came with rewards.
The servants were normally eager to volunteer.
Very soon, two servant women stepped forward, cracking their knuckles in anticipation.
They even invited Mother Sun along.
“Mother Sun, how can a good opportunity like this not include you?”
Mother Sun hurriedly declined.
“I was exhausted by that donkey-cart ride. The two of you should be enough.”
What she was really thinking was:
A good opportunity?
You can keep this opportunity for yourselves.
I already suffered enough misfortune when I went to fetch that young lady. Now it’s your turn.
That Miss Qianqian is downright strange. I wouldn’t dare provoke her again.
Not only would I gain nothing, I’d end up covered in trouble.
The gates of the Lin Residence opened.
Two servant women, Granny Chen and Granny Fang, walked outside and immediately began speaking over each other.
“Second Miss, please enter through the side gate.”
“And step over a brazier to remove bad luck.”
“Eat a piece of tofu to dispel evil influences.”
“Then bathe with pomelo leaves to wash away your misfortune.”
Hongdou planted her hands on her hips.
“You’re the unlucky ones!”
“Your entire household is unlucky!”
Inside the carriage, Zhang Hanyan found a pitch-black stick and prepared to use it as a weapon.
However, the hand holding it suddenly felt numb and refused to obey her.
Lin Qianqian took the stick from her.
“This is a thousand-year-old lightning-struck wood. It shouldn’t be touched casually.”
Zhang Hanyan blinked.
I was worried it would dirty my hands, so I even wrapped it in a handkerchief before picking it up.
Yet my hand still went numb.
But Sister Lin touched it directly and nothing happened.
Amazing!
Zhang Hanyan jumped out of the carriage and charged to the front.
“You servants have some nerve!”
“How dare you make the legitimate eldest daughter of the family enter through the side gate?”
“If you dare bully Sister Lin, I’ll skin every one of you alive!”
The two servant women mistook Zhang Hanyan for Lin Qianqian.
They loudly replied,
“Second Miss needs to understand her place.”
“If you want to enter the manor, turn left and use the side gate.”
One of them even tried to grab Zhang Hanyan.
Before she could touch her, Lin Qianqian swung the black stick.
Crack!
The blow landed squarely on Granny Chen’s arm.
“You dared touch one of my people.”
“You brought this upon yourself.”
The moment she was struck, Granny Chen seemed as though she’d been hit by lightning.
Her limbs went numb and began convulsing.
Foam bubbled from her mouth.
The words “my people” filled Zhang Hanyan’s heart with sweetness.
I’m Sister Lin’s person now.
Sister Lin is incredible!
Granny Chen struggled desperately to get up.
Yet to everyone watching, she looked as though she were crawling across the ground like some twisted, possessed creature.
Granny Fang was terrified.
It’s over!
It’s over!
Granny Chen has been cursed!
She immediately fled back into the manor and rushed into Wang Shi’s courtyard.
“Madam! Madam!”
“That Second Miss truly is a wild country girl!”
“We tried reasoning with her, but she attacked someone right away!”
“Granny Chen is almost beaten to death!”
Mother Sun secretly rejoiced.
Good thing I was clever enough to find an excuse not to go.
Otherwise I’d be the one lying on the ground now.
Wang Shi smiled.
A wild country girl?
The wilder, the better.
If the girl killed a servant on her first day home, even better.
Her bad reputation would spread throughout the entire capital.
That was exactly what Wang Shi wanted.
“As the mistress of this household, I should personally go welcome her.”
“And teach that girl how to conduct herself.”
Before she even stepped through the gate, the word—
“Impudent!”
—had already reached everyone’s ears outside.
The person had not appeared yet, but her voice had arrived first.
Zhang Hanyan thought:
That doesn’t sound like a good person.
When Wang Shi finally stepped outside, Zhang Hanyan’s opinion was confirmed.
Not only does she not sound like a good person, she doesn’t look like one either.
The first person Wang Shi noticed was the furious Zhang Hanyan.
Just like the two servant women before her, she mistook Zhang Hanyan for Lin Qianqian.
Where did this girl get the money for such fine clothes?
The pink outfit she wore was even more luxurious than what Wang Shi’s own daughter, Lin Baozhu, usually wore.
The person Wang Shi hated most in this world was Jiang Shi—the woman who had disappeared during a pilgrimage to a mountain temple.
The second was Jiang Shi’s daughter.
Wang Shi had met the scholar Lin Qingyun only one year later than Jiang Shi had.
For his sake, she had nearly fallen out with her father, the Chancellor.
Yet she had still ended up nothing more than a hidden mistress who bore a child before marriage.
Despite all her efforts, the highest status she managed to obtain afterward was that of an equal-ranking secondary wife.
She had endured ridicule from society for years.
In her mind, every misfortune in her life stemmed from Jiang Shi and Jiang Shi’s daughter.
Unable to suppress her hatred, she raised her hand and slapped toward Zhang Hanyan.
But her hand never landed.
Someone caught her wrist.
The person who stopped her was Lin Qianqian.
The main reason Lin Qianqian had agreed to return to the Lin Residence was to search for clues about her biological mother’s disappearance.
Her adoptive parents had also supported her in that goal.
The moment their hands touched, Lin Qianqian read Wang Shi’s memories.
She discovered that Wang Shi did not know where Jiang Shi had gone.
However, she learned something else.
The decision to throw her into a snowy mass grave as a newborn had been made jointly by Wang Shi and Lin Qingyun.
The two truly were a perfect match.
Equally vicious.
Heaven may not have punished you.
But now I’m here.
Your good days are coming to an end.
Wang Shi winced as her wrist was squeezed painfully.
She stared at the girl holding her.
Only then did she realize she had mistaken the wrong person.
The girl before her looked exactly like Jiang Shi had in the past.
A moon-white robe.
Simple clothing.
No excessive adornments.
Yet her beauty could not be concealed.
Even her cold and detached demeanor resembled Jiang Shi’s.
This was undoubtedly Lin Qianqian.
The girl who had returned today.
Then who was the one she had almost slapped?
The answer came quickly.
Qingju, Zhang Hanyan’s maid, was nearly crying from anger.
“How dare you try to hit my young lady!”
“My master is the Minister of Personnel!”
“This is Minister Lin’s residence, isn’t it?”
“Just wait to be impeached by my master!”
Zhang Hanyan immediately echoed:
“That’s right! Just wait for my father to impeach you!”
Wang Shi’s face turned pale.
Her right hand trembled slightly.
The person she had almost slapped was actually the daughter of the Minister of Personnel.
Fortunately, the slap had never landed.
Although the Minister of Personnel ranked only slightly below her father, Chancellor Wang, he happened to be Lin Qingyun’s direct superior.
She had heard that Minister Zhang had four sons and only one daughter.
He adored that daughter beyond measure.
Had she truly struck Miss Zhang, Minister Zhang might spend years making Lin Qingyun’s life miserable behind the scenes.
That cursed girl, Lin Qianqian, really is a disaster star.
She just returned and has already brought trouble to me, the mistress of the household.
And she managed to befriend the daughter of a minister before even entering the residence.
She’s clever.
Capable.
Scheming.
It seems I can’t afford to underestimate this girl in the future.