Wen Lingrao said, “You have all served well during these past days. This is your reward.”
The servants only then snapped out of their daze, quickly kneeling down and kowtowing.
“Thank you, Madam!”
“Madam is truly kind and generous!”
Wen Lingrao waved her hand.
“Get up, no need to kneel. Go back to your duties.”
The servants scrambled up, clutching their silver, beaming with joy as they withdrew.
Wen Lingrao turned and walked toward her own courtyard.
She hadn’t gone far when she heard the servants behind her lowering their voices to gossip.
“The Young Madam is truly generous; she just handed out silver like that.”
“Well, of course, she just received a hundred taels of gold; this bit of loose silver is nothing.”
“You can’t say it like that. If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t necessarily share their rewards with us. The Young Madam keeps us in her heart.”
“Tell me, what did the Young Madam actually do in the palace today? Did she really slap the Noble Consort?”
“Shh, keep your voice down, don’t let anyone hear.”
“What’s the worry? The Young Madam is far away.”
Wen Lingrao did not stop; she continued walking, though the corners of her mouth twitched slightly.
The voices behind her drifted over intermittently.
“I heard the Young Madam used to be so attached to the Heir. Wherever the Heir went, she followed; whatever the Heir said, she obeyed.”
“Indeed. Back then, the Heir found her incredibly annoying, but she didn’t care—she stuck to him regardless.”
“And now?”
“Now? Didn’t you see? The Young Madam hasn’t tried to cozy up to the Heir at all these past few days.”
“Why is that?”
“Why? How would I know? But to me, the Young Madam seems different than before.”
“How is she different?”
“I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s just a different feeling. Before, the way she looked at the Heir was like she was looking at a precious treasure. Now…”
“Now what?”
“Now, I get the sense that she doesn’t really care about the Heir at all.”
Upon hearing this, Wen Lingrao’s footsteps faltered.
She stood there, back turned to the servants, her expression unreadable.
The people behind her continued.
“That can’t be, right? The Young Madam liked the Heir so much, could she really stop caring?”
“Who knows. In any case, I see that she has changed.”
“Change is good. Given how the Heir treats her, if it were me, I wouldn’t cherish him either.”
“Shh, don’t talk nonsense, someone might hear.”
“What’s there to fear? There’s no one around.”
Wen Lingrao didn’t listen any further and continued walking forward.
Her expression remained calm, revealing neither anger nor joy.
But inwardly, she let out a cold laugh.
Like Chu Qirui?
In her past life, Wen Lingrao was an award-winning actress; what kind of men hadn’t she seen? What kind of roles hadn’t she played? After transmigrating into this body, she inherited the original owner’s memories, including her feelings for Chu Qirui.
But those were the original owner’s emotions, not hers.
In the first few days after she arrived, the original owner’s memories would swirl in her mind—the heartache, the grievances, the longing for what couldn’t be obtained—often surfacing and making her feel stifled.
However, after these few days, those feelings had gradually faded.
The original owner was the original owner, and she was herself.
If the original owner loved Chu Qirui to death, that was her business.
Why on earth should she, Wen Lingrao, continue to love that scumbag?
What kind of person is Chu Qirui, anyway?
Does such a man deserve to be loved?
…
In Rongxi Garden.
Old Madam Chu sat on the kang, her face livid, her chest heaving violently.
The maid beside her, Ruyi, was holding a handkerchief to wipe her hands, but the Old Madam pushed her away with a shove.
“What a Wen Lingrao, what a sharp-tongued little slut!” Old Madam Chu gritted her teeth. “I truly underestimated her!”
A group of elderly maids and servants stood in the room, all with their heads bowed, not daring to let out a breath.
Old Madam Chu panted a few times, gradually calming down.
She had lived in a great mansion for decades; what storms hadn’t she seen? She had been blinded by rage today, but now that she had cooled down, her mind began to work quickly again.
A head-on collision would not work.
That slut had the Wen family and the Eldest Princess standing behind her; if this were to be blown out of proportion, the Marquis estate would be the one to suffer.
But she couldn’t just let it go; she couldn’t swallow this resentment.
Old Madam Chu narrowed her eyes, tapping her fingers lightly on the kang. Suddenly, she remembered something, and a cold sneer appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“Someone, go and bring Chu Huan here.”
Ruyi answered and hurried out to pass the word.
Before long, a middle-aged man in his forties entered Rongxi Garden, bowing his head in salute: “Old Madam.”
This Chu Huan was the steward of the Marquis estate, having served for over twenty years; he was the most adept at reading expressions.
As soon as he saw the Old Madam’s face, he knew there was likely another difficult task to handle today.
Old Madam Chu looked at him and said in a measured tone, “Chu Huan, how many years have you been in this estate?”
Chu Huan quickly replied, “Replying to the Old Madam, I have been serving in the Marquis estate for twenty-three years.”
Old Madam Chu nodded. “Twenty-three years—you count as one of the elders. You should be clear on the rules of the estate, shouldn’t you?”
Chu Huan felt a jolt of anxiety, but answered, “I dare not say I understand them all, but I understand what is expected.”
Old Madam Chu “mm-hmm”ed, picked up her tea and took a sip, then said unhurriedly: “Then tell me, once a wife enters the door, to whom should her property belong?”
Chu Huan was startled and immediately understood what she was driving at.
“Replying to the Old Madam, according to the laws of the current dynasty, when a wife enters the door, her dowry remains her own. However, according to the old rules of the Marquis estate—as the old saying goes, ‘a married daughter is like splashed water’—once a wife enters her husband’s home, her person and her belongings naturally belong to the husband’s family.”
A look of satisfaction appeared on Old Madam Chu’s face: “You do understand the rules.”
Chu Huan kept his head low, not daring to respond.
Old Madam Chu continued: “Since that is the case, shouldn’t the keys to the Heir’s wife’s storeroom be handed over to the estate to manage? That storeroom of hers holds quite a few fine things; keeping it locked up all day—who is she guarding against?”
Chu Huan felt miserable.
Who was the Heir’s wife? How could he not know? She was the only daughter of General Wei, the daughter of the Eldest Princess, and the cousin of the Emperor! If he offended her, could there be any good outcome?
But he dared not disobey the Old Madam’s words.
Just as he was hesitating, Old Madam Chu’s voice rose again, this time with a touch of coldness: “What? Are you unwilling to go?”
Chu Huan hurriedly knelt: “I dare not. I only thought that the Heir’s wife might not agree.”
Old Madam Chu sneered: “What of the Heir’s wife? She is a wife, and she must observe a wife’s rules. Go and tell her that the Marquis estate has heavy expenses, and her dowry should be brought out for use first, to be returned when the estate is more prosperous. If she is sensible, she will hand over the keys herself, and everything will be easy to discuss. If she is not sensible, take a few men and retrieve them. A wife’s property belonging to the husband’s family—even to the ends of the earth, this is the truth.”
Chu Huan knelt on the ground, cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. This sounded simple, but to actually take men to seize the keys from the Heir’s wife? Wasn’t that seeking death?
But he dared not refuse either. If the Old Madam issued an order and he did not go, he would be out on the street by the end of the day.
Chu Huan gritted his teeth, kowtowed, and said: “As you command.”
Old Madam Chu waved her hand: “Go. Take more men; don’t let her think our Marquis estate has no one.”
Chu Huan exited Rongxi Garden and stood in the courtyard, dazed for a long time.
A servant boy nearby approached and asked: “Steward, are we really going?”
Chu Huan glared at him: “What else can we do if we don’t go? Are you going to carry the burden?”
The servant boy shrank his neck, not daring to make a sound.
Chu Huan sighed, gritted his teeth, gathered a group of men, and marched in a grand, imposing manner toward Wen Lingrao’s courtyard.