The old master’s household had been peaceful for many years, but ever since his wayward son returned with his despicable gang, he hadn’t had a single day of peace:
“Stop crying! Crying won’t change anything. What’s meant for someone is theirs. Let me be clear—Xiwei’s things, Xiwei herself, no one is getting their hands on them.”
His blatant favoritism toward his granddaughter naturally enraged the mother and daughter.
Fu Cuilian reacted the strongest, jumping up to wipe her tears aggressively, her voice sharp as she complained:
“This isn’t fair! She’s your granddaughter, so why does she get all the good things, all the opportunities, and all the good men? Yulan and Juying are your granddaughters too!”
The old master got angry at even hearing this and stomped his cane on the ground:
“Hmph! How dare you bring that up? Whether your three children are even Lin family heirs, we’ll settle that at the First People’s Hospital. The truth will come out.”
Just thinking about Lin Yulan and Lin Juying’s petty, spoiled ways, and Lin Haojie’s ruthless demeanor, he felt waves of disgust.
The old master even felt a bit relieved that none of them were his true descendants. What a blessing!
Fu Cuilian froze for a moment, her anger faltering:
“Hospital… test what?”
She looked to Lin Yulan for guidance, and her daughter’s face had turned ashen. She whispered:
“Mom, in big cities the technology is more advanced. They say there’s an imported technique that can test parent-child relationships, and also the blood relation between us, Xiwei, or grandpa.”
Now it was Fu Cuilian’s turn to go pale—absolutely terrified.
Lin Xiwei watched their reactions closely. It was clear: they were collectively guilty.
“Aunt Fu, if my father knew… that none of the three kids are actually his, can you guess what would happen to you?”
Fu Cuilian visibly trembled, her eyes darting fearfully toward Lin Xiwei. Their eyes met briefly before she quickly looked down, stubbornly speaking:
“I won’t go! It’s an insult to my virtue! For twenty years, I’ve dutifully followed Chengyou, taking care of his every need, giving him children, continuing the Lin family line. Why should I be humiliated like this?”
Fu Cuilian had always been skilled at turning the tables. Even when she argued nonsense, she could make it theatrical:
“Oh heavens, why is my fate so cruel? The only male of the Lin family came out of me! Why treat me this way? I won’t live, I just won’t live!”
She rolled on the ground, screamed, threw a tantrum—almost needing rat poison to complete her performance.
…
Lin Xiwei remained calm, sitting on the sofa, watching coldly:
“You claim the children are all Lin’s heirs? Then go test it. If they really are, I’ll apologize.”
Fu Cuilian agreeing to this would be the miracle of the century!
“I won’t go!”
She scrambled to her feet, stomping and pointing at Lin Xiwei, cursing:
“Who do you think you are? A highborn lady? Your heart is black as coal! You’re slandering us mother and child just to secure your place as the Lin family’s only daughter. You just want to hoard the inheritance for yourself!”
The Lin family had indeed been illustrious in the past, though most of the businesses had been nationalized, leaving only a few struggling enterprises under Lin control.
Many other businesses were now state-controlled with Lin family shares.
The overseas foundation was bound to Lin Xiwei, left by her mother as a fallback.
In this lifetime, Lin Xiwei would absolutely not allow the foundation to be manipulated by them again.
Nor would she let them grow stronger and gradually take over the rest of the Lin family enterprises.
“Grandpa, look, she’s guilty,” Lin Xiwei deliberately provoked them:
“If they really are Lin family heirs, a DNA test isn’t a problem. I never said the family assets all belong to me.”
Lin Weixin was utterly disappointed with Fu Cuilian and her children.
“That’s enough,” the old master, exhausted, had already formed his own judgment. These children were very likely not his heirs.
But he couldn’t afford to humiliate them openly, so he wouldn’t force them to undergo parentage or kinship tests.
“Your six-month home visit is almost over. Pack up and return to the countryside as soon as possible.”
The old master pulled out his trump card—he was kicking them out!
Fu Cuilian immediately turned timid, no longer arguing, competing, or complaining.
She dropped to her knees with a thud, pleading:
“Father, please, don’t make us leave! This big city is unfamiliar to us. Without home… how are we supposed to survive, just the three of us?”
She even subtly pinched Lin Yulan, signaling her daughter to cry along with her.
Lin Yulan, a university student, didn’t care at all whether her grandfather was kicking them out; she wasn’t going back to the countryside anyway.
She got into university thanks to the era’s unique “recommendation system.”
During this special period, there was no national college entrance exam. Instead, students with good family and social “backgrounds” were recommended by the production brigades to attend university.
University admissions focused less on grades and more on social background, daily performance, parental standing, and so on.
No matter how much Fu Cuilian cried or begged, the old master made a final decision and got up to return to his room:
“You should all go back to your rooms, pack up your things, and prepare to return to the countryside.”
…
Lin Xiwei’s goal wasn’t to let them leave unscathed—she wanted them to lose credibility in front of her grandfather.
She was out for revenge!
In her past life, this group had made her suffer so much—how could she let them off easily this time?
Only Fu Xinghan had died so far; why should the others get away unscathed?
“Not interested in going back to the countryside, huh?” Lin Xiwei rose gracefully, walking over to Fu Cuilian:
“Aunt Fu, interested in making a little deal?”
Fu Cuilian and her daughter huddled together, rolling their eyes as they looked at Lin Xiwei, sensing that beneath her sweet smile lurked a devilish heart.
“Y-You… what do you want?” Fu Cuilian couldn’t hide her nervousness.
After several encounters and gaining nothing, she naturally wouldn’t be careless.
“Don’t be so timid, Aunt Fu. I still like to see that slightly concerned expression hidden behind your hypocrisy,” Lin Xiwei mocked, enjoying the sight of Fu Cuilian’s forced composure.
Fu Cuilian couldn’t even come up with a single clever retort—her little tricks had been completely seen through.
“I need to go to the gallery to get a portrait of my mother. You help convince my father and give me the key.”
Fu Cuilian looked suspiciously:
“You’re not tricking me, are you?”
“What fun would there be in lying?” Lin Xiwei crossed her arms, looking down on them:
“As long as you help me, I can also ask Grandpa to temporarily not kick you out.”
“You’re not that kind-hearted, pah!” Lin Juying suddenly spoke, spitting at Lin Xiwei, her eyes filled with a murderous hatred.
“Believe it or not, if you don’t help, I’ll go ask Grandpa myself. I’ll still get the key,” Lin Xiwei said calmly. In reality, even with the old master intervening, getting the key wasn’t guaranteed.
Their scumbag father’s gallery wasn’t ordinary—it contained an astonishing secret.
Since he had openly clashed with the old master, he certainly wouldn’t give him the key easily.
Lin Xiwei had no choice but to start with Fu Cuilian and her daughter, hoping to create a small opening.
Fu Cuilian and her daughter exchanged a glance and then turned to agree:
“Deal!”
Ten minutes later.
The group arrived outside the ancestral hall.
Lin Xiwei waited briefly before Lin Yulan emerged holding the key:
“You’re not going alone. My parents told me to come with you. Let’s go!”
They didn’t trust her alone; they wanted Lin Yulan to keep an eye on her.
“Coincidentally, I don’t want to go alone either. Wang Ma, let’s go,” Lin Xiwei deliberately brought Wang Ma along to keep Lin Yulan in check.
The old “Gis” car carried them toward the gallery.
The Lin family’s “Gis” was a top-tier imported car, known as the “Big Red Flag Small Warsaw, Gis Jim Volga.”
Back then, China imported fewer than twenty of these cars in total.
The Lin family’s car was often borrowed by high-ranking city officials to pick up important foreign guests at the airport.
Lin Xiwei held the steering wheel all the way to the gallery, her heart filled with excitement—the storage space in the Conch Pearl necklace was finally going to come in handy!