“Wen Xueling!” This girl was far too crude!
His clothes were wet, so Wen Jinli was forced to reluctantly change into the outfit Mu Qingyu had made for him.
Once he had brought the mother and daughter to the Fragrant Blossom Courtyard, he immediately changed into clothes brought by a guard who had arrived on a fast horse.
Wen Xueling watched his every move with cold eyes. She knew he wouldn’t stay long, which was for the best, as it gave her a chance to gauge her mother’s attitude.
Wen Jinli was eager to return to the mansion to visit his stepmother. Before leaving, he warned her, “Xueling, as your brother, I am giving you a piece of kind advice. Do not talk back to Father in the future. That only destroys harmony. We are a prominent family now!”
“Without his protection, you wouldn’t survive three days in Jingcheng!”
Wen Jinli felt he had fulfilled his duty as an older brother and hurried away after leaving those words.
She stared coldly at his retreating figure, then turned and pushed open the door to the room where he had just changed. The clothes her mother had sewn with her own hands were discarded on the floor.
Wen Xueling picked them up, her heart aching as she gripped them tightly.
The high and mighty Prime Minister’s Mansion?
She would certainly… make them regret everything they did today.
Wen Xueling hid the clothes away, afraid of breaking her mother’s heart if she saw them.
Inside the Fragrant Blossom Courtyard, there was only one old wet nurse and two delicate-looking maidservants.
Naturally, she did not trust them. She brewed the medicine herself and pushed open the door to her mother’s room, saying softly, “Mother, it’s time for your medicine.”
So angry that her old illness had flared up again, Mu Qingyu could only lie in bed to recover. Seeing her daughter, she struggled to sit up and asked, “Cough, cough… Xueling, has your fourth brother left?”
Wen Jinli had left in such a hurry that he hadn’t even bid her goodbye.
He worried about his sick stepmother in the Prime Minister’s Mansion but forgot about his own biological mother who was currently ill…
Wen Xueling did not repeat the threatening words he had said before leaving, fearing it would worsen her mother’s condition. She said softly and gently, “Yes, Fourth Brother said his studies are heavy and he had to return to the mansion. He asked me to bid Mother farewell.”
Mu Qingyu took her hand, her eyes reddening. “Xueling, Mother has something to say to you. You’ve suffered during this time. This Prime Minister’s Mansion… it’s fine if we don’t enter.”
Her mother felt sorry for her; Wen Xueling knew this well. But how could she let that mother and daughter off so easily?
If her mother hadn’t tirelessly nursed that scumbag father back to health, would he have even lived long enough for the new Emperor to summon him back to the capital?
She spoke firmly, “No, we are going into that mansion!”
Why should those two women benefit from the wedding clothes her mother had made?
Only by entering the Prime Minister’s Mansion could she execute her plans and ensure the villains were punished.
Furthermore, if they were to enter the mansion, they would enter with dignity and honor; they would never allow themselves to be carried in through a side door in a small sedan chair in the middle of the night.
“Mother, we’ll enter the mansion first. Even if we part ways in the future, it should be you divorcing your husband. That heartless and ungrateful Wen Jingshu shouldn’t be allowed to benefit while maintaining a reputation for being ‘devoted’ in front of others.”
“Di… Divorce the husband?” Shock flashed in Mu Qingyu’s eyes.
Wen Xueling nodded and squeezed her hand back, saying, “Yes. If a man is unfaithful, we divorce him.”
She had already lived one life. Conventional morality and principles weren’t as important as having the confidence to live for herself.
The pain of her past life clung to her heart like a shadow. She knew all too well that blind submission would not earn pity or compassion; it would only make the other party more aggressive.
If she wanted absolute control over her destiny, she had to be stronger than them.
Hearing her daughter’s shocking words, Mu Qingyu’s eyes trembled. She understood that her daughter wanted to vent this grievance for her sake.
She gripped her daughter’s hand, resolving not to hold her child back.
Mu Qingyu said solemnly, “Alright, I’ll listen to my daughter.”
Wen Xueling’s tense nerves relaxed. After finishing the medicine, she left the room to let her mother rest.
Guards were stationed at both the front and back gates of the Fragrant Blossom Courtyard. As soon as she reached the entrance, she was blocked.
“The Fourth Young Master has ordered that it is dangerous outside. You are not permitted to leave the courtyard.”
“I need to go out to buy daily necessities.”
“Young Miss may instruct the maids or the wet nurse to make the purchases. Please do not make things difficult for us.”
Wen Xueling’s gaze swept over the guards. These ten or so men weren’t there to protect them; they were clearly there to keep them under house arrest.
She returned to the courtyard.
Putting on a full performance, she found brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Just as she was about to write, she suddenly remembered something and switched the brush from her left hand to her right, writing down a long list of requirements.
Granny Xu and the two maids, Qingfeng and Mingyue, were servants from Wen Jinli’s courtyard.
She handed the slip of paper to Qingfeng and ordered, “Go buy these things.”
“I’ll go tomorrow morning.” Qingfeng secretly mocked her crooked handwriting and had no intention of complying immediately.
Wen Xueling glanced sideways at her face. The girl didn’t refer to herself as “this servant” nor did she bow; she was acting as if she were the future mistress of the house.
She looked at her with bright eyes and asked, “What? Can I not order you around now?”
Qingfeng lowered her head perfunctorily. “I wouldn’t dare.”
Wen Xueling looked at her with interest and signaled for her to come closer.
The maid was confused but stepped forward nonetheless.
“Ah!”
Granny Xu and Mingyue, who were eavesdropping in the courtyard, heard the scream from inside. They hurried to push open the door, only to see Qingfeng’s body covered in festering sores.
Wen Xueling sat calmly at the desk, a smile on her lips. “Can you… also only go tomorrow morning?”
For as long as she could remember, she had followed her mother up the mountains to pick herbs. She was well-versed in pharmacology, and with her experiences from her previous life, she had various poison recipes memorized.
“This servant wouldn’t dare!”
She glanced at their knees, and they immediately knelt. “This servant will go right away!”
After finding the medicinal herbs she needed among the purchased daily necessities, Wen Xueling returned to her room and forbade anyone from disturbing her.
Granny Xu gritted her teeth in the courtyard. “This little brat has foul methods. Mingyue, sneak back to the mansion and report this to… the Madam.”
Mingyue’s body trembled, and she said timidly, “But the Fourth Young Master said…”
Granny Xu glared coldly. “Have you served these bastards for so long that you’ve forgotten whose person you are?”
Mingyue’s shoulders slumped. She lowered her head and hurried away.
At this moment, it was less than half a month before the Natural Disaster.