It had been just like this in her past life. That unruly Shao Xun, who only knew how to cockfight and hound-race all day long, completely ignored her. How was she supposed to know that the bitch of a Madam Fu was so malicious and had only pretended to be good to her from the very beginning? If Madam Fu hadn’t plotted against her, she wouldn’t have accidentally pushed that crazy old hag, Nanny Zhang, into the lake to drown. Could that really be blamed on her?
Besides, so what if that crazy old hag was his wet nurse? A wet nurse was nothing more than a servant! If she died, she died. She hadn’t done it on purpose; they could just give her a lavish burial.
For a master to accidentally cause the death of an old servant, was that really such a big deal?
Besides, given how crazy the woman had become, what difference was there between her being alive and being dead?
Yet, without any regard for her face, he had slapped her across the cheek in front of all those people, kicked her sprawling to the ground, and cursed her with such viciousness.
Even in this lifetime, she still could not let it go!
He had never regarded her as his wife at all.
Marrying him was stepping straight into hell. Now, it was finally Lin Yulan’s turn to suffer in that hell.
Lin Yulan curtsied to pay her respects to her father and mother, and smiled gently, “Father, the Marquis was originally going to accompany me here, but he was temporarily called away by some urgent business. The Marquis said he would come a bit later.”
Although Lin Daohui was somewhat displeased, when he thought of the Marquis of Wuwei’s notorious reputation and remembered that this marriage was a match where their family had climbed high above their station, even if the man was harboring resentment and deliberately pulled such a stunt, their family had no way to argue about it.
Forget it.
“Very well. Since that’s the case, let’s go inside first.”
“Alright.”
Lin Yuwei sneered, “Why must elder sister deceive herself? Who doesn’t know that the Marquis of Wuwei is a notoriously famous prodigal in the capital? Coupled with the fact that elder sister is a concubine-born daughter, it’s only natural that he isn’t happy and couldn’t possibly accompany elder sister back for her home visit. We are all family here; even if elder sister tells the truth, no one is going to laugh at her.”
The second son-in-law was still present, and upon hearing his second daughter’s increasingly inappropriate remarks, Lin Daohui couldn’t help glaring at her in warning. “Enough, Yuwei! Why do you have so much to say? I know you care about your sister, but you cannot make such random guesses. Truly unruly! Could your sister possibly be lying?”
Lin Yuwei let out a cold snort and glared fiercely at Lin Yulan.
Xiaoqu had already heard enough. At this moment, unable to hold back her courage any longer, she stepped forward and said, “Master, our Marchioness is not lying! Today, the Marquis truly intended to accompany the Marchioness back for her home visit. He really was called away because of an urgent matter, and the Marquis truly said he would come later. The outfit the Marchioness is wearing for her visit today was even brought over by the Marquis yesterday. He said it was a formal gown made by the late Marchioness for her daughter-in-law when she was still alive. And that pair of kingfisher-feather inlaid and gemstone-encrusted golden hairpins were also given to the Marchioness by the Marquis; they were bestowed by the late Empress Dowager during the late Marchioness’s grand wedding years ago!”
Everyone was startled and unconsciously began to look over Lin Yulan’s entire attire.
Lin Yulan had indeed dressed differently than usual today. When she stepped down from the carriage, everyone had found their eyes brightening, but they hadn’t thought much about it or looked too closely. After all, she was now a Marchioness, so wearing luxurious attire was only natural.
Later on, Lin Daohui’s attention had been focused entirely on the Marquis of Wuwei, so he hadn’t paid attention to anything else.
Now, hearing Xiaoqu mention this, their attention was clearly pulled right back.
Looking at her now, their expressions varied: some were filled with envy, others with jealousy, each harboring different feelings.
Lin Yuwei’s expression abruptly changed, and she blurted out, “This dress is made of kesi silk, and the pleated skirt is tailored from yunjin brocade? That pair of hairpins… are they truly bestowed by the Empress Dowager?!”
Both kesi silk and yunjin brocade were extremely precious materials. In her past life, she had stayed in the Marquis’s estate for over three years, and she had only managed to obtain a single bolt of each, which she treasured and stored away like precious gems. She never expected that just three days after marrying over, Lin Yulan would already be wearing clothes tailored from such precious materials!
And as for that pair of hairpins, she knew such items existed because Madam Fu had told her about them with a mixture of mockery and sarcasm. She knew Madam Fu harbored malicious intentions, but she wanted them very much.
Since it was something left by the birth mother-in-law for her daughter-in-law, wasn’t it only natural and righteous that it should be handed over to her, the daughter-in-law?
Secondly, since they were bestowed by the late Empress Dowager, what immense prestige that represented! Thirdly, once she got her hands on them, she would definitely wear them for Madam Fu to see, just to vent a deep, pent-up grievance!
So, she had asked Shao Xun for them with an air of complete justification.
Yet that jerk of a man simply refused to give them to her! He had even ridiculed her thoroughly, cursing her for being unworthy. The two of them had ended up in another huge fight.
She had cried with such heartbreak and grievance, but he hadn’t even bothered to look at her again, directly ordering people to kick her out of the outer study.
At this very moment, things that she hadn’t even laid eyes on in her past life were actually pinned in the hair of Lin Yulan, who had returned for her home visit!
The gemstone-inlaid kingfisher-feather mandarin ducks and twin lotus flowers radiated dazzling brilliance, and the sparkling, delicate golden hairpins shimmered with changing lights as they trembled lightly. Their craftsmanship was so exquisite and refined that it made one unable to tear their eyes away. Just a single glance was enough to tell that they were undoubtedly objects of thousands of taels of gold in value.
The fire of jealousy in Lin Yuwei’s heart surged to the heavens, and she gritted her teeth, “Elder sister truly has great skill and impressive methods, actually managing to coax the Marquis into giving you all these things!”
The hatred and jealousy in Lin Yuwei’s tone were far too obvious. Everyone was filled with astonishment and turned their gazes toward her in unison.
Meng Mingchi’s gaze flickered. He looked at her deeply, then lowered his eyes, feeling somewhat uncomfortable inside. Was she envious? True, she was originally the legitimate daughter. He had heard that this marriage between the Lin family and the Marquis’s estate was originally meant for her; if not for that accident, the one who married into the Marquis’s estate and enjoyed such wealth should have been her.
On the night of their wedding, she had said with bashful coyness that she had fallen in love with him at first sight and insisted on marrying no one else. He didn’t know how happy and proud he had felt inside at the time.
But looking at it now, that was probably not the case.
Who in this world does not love wealth and status?
If she didn’t value money, she wouldn’t have refused when her mother and younger sister wanted her to spare a bit of silver to subsidize the household expenses. And when she finally managed to pull out a small amount, she had to bring it up in front of him, claiming it was entirely out of deep affection for him and purely for his sake, telling him to remember her kindness and forbidding him from treating her poorly in the future. She said it so often that it made him sick of hearing it.
It was as if she had bestowed some monumental grace upon him, and if he didn’t repay her well in the future, it would defy the laws of heaven!
Lin Daohui frowned, feeling even more displeased. He reprimarded her, “Little Yuwei, what kind of way is that to speak? Your elder sister being valued by the Marquis is a good thing; you should be happy for her!”
Madam Gu smiled to smooth things over, “Little Yuwei and Little Yulan have always had a close relationship, and sisters are used to joking casually with one another. When they speak, they aren’t so particular about formalities! With Yulan doing well in the Marquis’s estate and Yuwei doing well too, we, as parents, can finally rest easy!”
Only then did Lin Daohui wear a smile again, nodding with gratification, “Precisely so!”
Fangshi, the wife of Lin Mohan, hurriedly changed the subject and praised with a smile, “These hairpins turn out to be items bestowed by the late Empress Dowager. No wonder they are so exquisite!”
“Indeed, they look very valuable at a glance. Thanks to my sister-in-law’s blessing, I’ve truly opened my eyes today! Heehee!”
Lin Yulan’s heart gave a jolt, and she couldn’t help looking toward the young girl who had spoken.
She was certainly no stranger to this voice; it was Meng Mingchi’s foster parents’ biological daughter, Meng Zifang.