Wang Shi hurriedly explained,
“Miss Zhang, please don’t be angry. I wasn’t trying to hit you just now. My arm was a little sore, so I was merely stretching it.”
Zhang Hanyan looked at Lin Qianqian sympathetically.
“Madam Lin is truly remarkable. To tell such blatant lies with a straight face—there isn’t a second person like you in the entire capital.”
Then she turned to Lin Qianqian.
“Sister, you’ll need to be extra careful in the future.”
Lin Qianqian thought:
Indeed. Wang Shi’s skin is thicker than a city wall.
But the ones who should be careful aren’t me.
It’s Wang Shi and that scumbag father of mine.
Wang Shi still had enough sense to know that there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with Lin Qianqian after she entered the manor.
For now, calming Miss Zhang was the priority.
“Miss Zhang, please forgive me. I simply mistook you for someone else.”
Zhang Hanyan became even more displeased.
“Mistook me for someone else?”
“So the person you intended to hit was my good sister Lin Qianqian?”
“What kind of mother behaves like that?”
Lin Qianqian answered coolly,
“She isn’t my mother. She’s merely the equal-ranking wife that Minister Lin married.”
Since she had returned to the Lin Residence, she intended to add some color to the otherwise peaceful lives of Wang Shi and her scumbag father.
The wicked should receive the punishment they deserved.
To strike a snake, one had to strike its vital point.
Wasn’t Wang Shi obsessed with being treated like a legitimate wife?
Then let’s talk about her less-than-respectable status.
The moment Zhang Hanyan heard the words “equal-ranking wife,” her expression became even more disdainful.
“An equal-ranking wife?”
“Our Great Yan doesn’t really recognize such a thing.”
“No matter how nice it sounds, an equal-ranking wife is still just a concubine.”
“Of course, you can call yourself a noble concubine if you’d like.”
“But a noble concubine is still a concubine!”
“You… you…”
Wang Shi hated that word more than anything.
That was why she dressed in the bright red clothing reserved for principal wives every day.
Yet no matter what she did, people still called her a concubine.
Her face alternated between green and white with anger.
Unfortunately, she could do nothing to Zhang Hanyan.
Had an ordinary person dared insult her like this, she would have had them beaten to death.
But this was the beloved daughter of the Minister of Personnel.
She couldn’t touch her.
Although she couldn’t deal with Miss Zhang, she could certainly deal with Lin Qianqian later.
Once the girl entered the residence, there would be plenty of opportunities.
“Miss Zhang, you’re still young and easily misled.”
“I won’t hold it against you.”
At that moment, Lin Qingping arrived carrying gifts, accompanied by his wife.
Today, the emperor’s assignment had finally been completed.
Tonight he could finally sleep peacefully.
And for that, he had Lin Qianqian to thank.
As they walked, he told his wife,
“Wife, let me tell you, although Qianqian was raised in the countryside, her bearing is extraordinary.”
“And she’s our lucky star.”
“If not for her today, I’d have been dismissed from office.”
His wife, Madam Liu, smiled gratefully.
“Then we must properly thank her.”
“Back then, it was the Jiang family that helped you enter the Military and Police Command. We mustn’t forget their kindness.”
Lin Qingping nodded repeatedly.
“That’s right.”
“When I entered the Five-City Command, it was thanks to the Jiang family.”
“Elder Brother’s actions were disgraceful.”
“He married Jiang Shi, received tremendous benefits from her family, yet secretly carried on with Wang Shi.”
“He even nearly got Qianqian killed.”
Madam Liu was a gentle woman.
She moved like a willow branch swaying in the wind.
The moment she stepped outside the gates, she recognized Lin Qianqian.
The resemblance to the missing Jiang Shi was simply too great.
Qianqian… poor child…
Thinking of both Jiang Shi’s and Lin Qianqian’s tragic experiences, Madam Liu’s eyes immediately reddened.
Back when Jiang Shi had still been in the residence, she had treated this younger sister-in-law very kindly.
Lin Qingping also felt sorry for his fortunate niece.
Seeing the sun beginning to set, he urged,
“The sun’s almost down.”
“Qianqian has traveled a long way and must be exhausted.”
“Let’s get her inside to rest.”
Just then, servants from the Zhang Residence arrived to fetch Zhang Hanyan.
The Zhang and Lin residences were close to each other.
They had probably already heard about the commotion outside.
Lin Qianqian said,
“Sister Zhang, your family has come for you. You should go back before they worry.”
She was more than capable of handling the Lin family herself.
Reluctantly, Zhang Hanyan said goodbye.
“Sister Lin, I’ll come visit you another day.”
A large group of maids and servants escorted her away.
Wang Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But before she could fully relax, Madam Liu approached Lin Qianqian with tears in her eyes and slipped a bracelet of South Sea pearls onto her wrist.
Wang Shi immediately became angry again.
This Liu woman…
Always crying!
What is there to cry about all day?
The pearls were of exceptional quality.
The second branch of the family had given such an expensive gift upon their first meeting.
They had never given Lin Baozhu anything so valuable.
Spending money to curry favor with a little girl who has no backing whatsoever.
What a pair of fools.
Madam Liu spoke gently,
“Qianqian, this is our first meeting.”
“I didn’t know what you might like, so I bought these South Sea pearls for you.”
“If you ever encounter difficulties, come find your aunt.”
Lin Qingping was nothing like Lin Qingyun.
He knew how to repay kindness.
The position he held in the Military and Police Command had been obtained through the Jiang family’s support.
That debt had to be repaid.
“Qianqian, regarding your maternal family’s affairs, I’ll do my best to help.”
“Thank you, Second Uncle. Thank you, Second Aunt.”
Lin Qianqian had her own principles.
If someone treated her well, she would repay them with kindness.
If someone treated her badly, she would repay them twice over.
Worried that she was tired from traveling, the couple didn’t linger.
After giving their gifts, they took their leave.
Soon only two sides remained:
Lin Qianqian’s group and Wang Shi’s.
Wang Shi had originally planned to have Mother Sun deal with Lin Qianqian.
After looking around and failing to find her, she pointed at the maid Xiaotao instead.
“Take the Second Miss to her quarters.”
Lin Qianqian paid no attention to the title Second Miss.
They could call her whatever they liked.
She had never acknowledged herself as a member of the Lin family.
Her adoptive parents had named her Ouyang Qianqian.
She could bear the surname Ouyang.
Or she could take her mother’s surname and become Jiang Qianqian.
Either way, she did not need the Lin surname.
Mother Sun was a clever person.
The moment she saw Lin Qianqian arrive, she hid herself in a corner and shrank into the background like a quail.
Especially after seeing Granny Chen writhing on the ground earlier.
She felt immensely fortunate that she had not volunteered.
Terrifying.
Miss Qianqian is simply terrifying.
Only after Lin Qianqian had gone far away did she emerge and pledge her loyalty to Wang Shi.
“Madam, why did you let that girl off so easily?”
Wang Shi smiled.
“No hurry.”
“Now that she’s entered the residence, she’s like a bird trapped inside a cage.”
“From now on, I can knead and shape her however I please.”
Mother Sun immediately flattered her.
“Madam is absolutely right.”
“You are the sky over this residence.”
“No one can escape your grasp.”
Outwardly she spoke praise.
Inwardly she thought:
Based on my experience at the estate—and judging by what happened to Granny Chen—I’m afraid kneading Miss Qianqian however you please won’t be nearly as easy as you think.
As Wang Shi walked back toward her courtyard, she issued orders.
“The master will be returning soon.”
“Tell the kitchen to be diligent.”
“He loves fish.”
“Prepare steamed perch and fish fillets with pickled vegetables tonight.”
Then her expression turned cold.
“And remember—”
“No one is allowed to deliver food to that girl.”
After starving her for several days, even the most stubborn person would submit.
Soon enough, she would be kneeling and begging for mercy.
After a moment’s thought, Wang Shi added,
“Also, go to Qingfeng Temple and invite a Daoist priest.”
“Seeing Granny Chen’s condition, I suspect that girl may know some kind of evil sorcery.”
“Yes, Madam.”
Mother Sun had already made up her mind.
She would be a fence-sitter.
Whoever gained the upper hand would receive her loyalty.
Meanwhile, Lin Qianqian followed Xiaotao through a maze of twisting paths.
She had already expected Wang Shi would not assign her a proper courtyard.
What she hadn’t expected was that the maid would lead her all the way to a house beside the stables.
There were only two stone rooms there.
One of them even had a collapsed wall and looked as though it might fall down at any moment.
It was clearly uninhabitable.
Standing in the courtyard, one could smell the stench drifting over from the stables.
It wasn’t difficult to guess.
These stone rooms had probably once housed the servants responsible for cleaning the stables.
Xiaotao looked embarrassed.
“This… is the residence Madam assigned to Second Miss.”
By now, the story of the Second Miss’s tragic circumstances had spread throughout the household.
Xiaotao genuinely sympathized with her.
She also felt that Madam’s arrangements were unfair.
But she was only a servant.
She didn’t dare criticize Wang Shi.
Nor did she dare disobey her orders.
Otherwise, she might not even know how she died.
Fortunately, the Second Miss did not take out her frustrations on a mere maid.