Bamboo Garden
When the Old Madam said those words, her face grew slightly warm with shame.
“Only today did I find out that you’ve been living like this in this household…”
Her voice choked with emotion.
“I always thought you were sick. How could Wang Qingwan treat you like this?”
“There isn’t even enough charcoal here to keep warm. Sister-in-law has gone too far.”
As long as the topic was not about execution, Lin Zhengnan quickly regained his spirit.
“Fourth Girl, I asked about you before. But your mother said that you were born weak.”
“She said she had consulted a fortune teller, who told her that before you turned eighteen, you couldn’t have contact with other people; otherwise, they would drain your life force.”
“She told me the same thing.”
Lin Zhengbei clenched his fists.
He wanted to hit someone.
“Everyone in the mansion knows that story.”
The Old Madam sighed.
“We were afraid something would happen if we got close to you. That’s why, until today, I didn’t even know your name.”
“Her name is Huan’er. Lin Huan’er.”
Lin Zhengbei answered without thinking.
“I gave her that name myself. I hoped she would live a happy and carefree life.”
She was still his daughter.
No matter how much he disliked her birth mother, he had carefully chosen a name for his child.
“But I’ve grown up without ever knowing I had a name.”
Lin Suisui looked confused.
In her previous life, she had never known she was once called Lin Huan’er.
Even the name Lin Suisui had been given to her by that person.
“From now on, you’ll be called Suisui. I hope your whole life will be smooth and peaceful and safe every year.”
She still remembered how brightly his eyes had shone when he said those words, as if they were filled with stars.
“How could you not have a name? Your name should have been entered into the family genealogy.”
Lin Zhengnan’s question brought her back to reality.
“My name isn’t in the Lin family genealogy.”
Lin Suisui shook her head.
“It’s not even on the household register of this mansion.”
The four of them stared at one another in disbelief.
This was unbelievable.
A daughter of the Duke’s Mansion wasn’t even listed as a member of the household.
Who would believe such a thing?
“What about your monthly allowance?”
After seeing that there wasn’t a single decent piece of furniture in the room, the Old Madam felt a lump in her throat.
“Every month, someone from Mother’s courtyard brought me one tael of silver.”
Lin Suisui answered calmly.
“Even an illegitimate daughter of the Duke’s Mansion should receive ten taels every month.”
The Old Madam was furious.
On the surface, Wang Qingwan looked like a kind and virtuous woman.
Who would have thought she had secretly mistreated an innocent child like this?
Just then, Qing’er returned.
The guard beside Lin Zhengbei stopped her from entering.
“Let her come in. She’s bringing back my dinner.”
Lin Suisui called out loudly.
Only then did everyone realize that she still hadn’t eaten.
“Why do you eat so late?”
Lin Zhengnan asked curiously.
“Second Master, today’s guests left early, so I actually came back earlier than usual.”
Qing’er took the food basket to the small stove in the corner, planning to heat the food.
“Take everything out. Let us all see what kind of food the main kitchen prepares for the Fourth Miss of this family.”
The Old Madam’s face was tense.
“There were guests today, so we were lucky. We even got a bowl of meat soup.”
Qing’er smiled happily as she spoke.
She had walked very carefully on the way back because she was afraid of spilling it.
When she placed the food on the table, the four people fell silent.
The bowl of meat soup was dark and greasy. No one could even tell what kind of meat it was. Thick white fat floated on top.
Besides that, there was only a small plate of pickled vegetables and a bowl of cold flour dumplings.
“This… this is your dinner?”
Ignoring the dark expressions on everyone’s faces, Lin Zhengnan simply wanted to know if it was true.
“Tonight we have meat soup. Once it’s heated together with the dumplings, it’ll taste very good.”
Lin Suisui didn’t want to dwell on this matter.
Right now, what mattered was what they should do over the next few days to change the tragic ending of their previous lives.
“Qing’er, wait outside for a while. I’ll eat later.”
After Qing’er left, Lin Suisui returned to the main topic.
“Father, tomorrow you should visit Chancellor Li. But don’t go during the day. Go at night, when no one is around.”
Lin Zhengbei was surprised.
He was a military general and had always disliked scholars.
Besides, he and Chancellor Li didn’t get along.
Even if they met face to face, they wouldn’t greet each other.
“Chancellor Li is trusted by the Emperor. We don’t need him to speak in our favor. We only need him not to make things worse.”
In her previous life, when the Duke’s Mansion fell, almost everyone took the opportunity to criticize them.
Chancellor Li was one of the very few people who never joined in.
“Father, do you have any white rhinoceros horn from the Western Regions in your private collection? If you do, tomorrow don’t bring anything else. Just bring a small piece of it.”
In her previous life, around this time, Chancellor Li’s youngest son had fallen seriously ill.
The imperial physicians had said that only medicine made with white rhinoceros horn from the western regions could save him.
Unfortunately…
No one was able to find any.
The child remained bedridden for years before eventually passing away.
The loss devastated Chancellor Li.
Almost overnight, all his hair turned white.
“I happen to have some.”
Lin Zhengbei nodded.
“Don’t worry. I know what to do.”
“Second Uncle, tomorrow you should visit your friend Ye Cheng.”
Lin Suisui turned to Lin Zhengnan.
“Ye Cheng is only an editor at the Hanlin Academy. How can he help us?”
Lin Zhengnan asked.
Ye Cheng’s father was only a minor sixth-rank official in the capital.
But Ye Cheng himself was hardworking and talented.
After passing the imperial examination, he had stayed at the Hanlin Academy.
Lin Zhengnan had many flaws. He wasn’t good at studying, and he was afraid of the hardships of military training.
So, relying on the Duke’s family’s influence, he had obtained an easy position in the Ministry of Rites.
The Ministry of Rites was next to the Hanlin Academy.
Over time, he and Ye Cheng had become good friends.
“Ye Cheng is a capable man.”
Lin Suisui knew from her previous life that Ye Cheng would later become one of the new emperor’s most trusted ministers.
“Ye Cheng has already pledged his loyalty to the Crown Prince. If the Crown Prince is willing to help us…”
The current Crown Prince, Song Jingmu, was the Emperor’s favorite son.
If he spoke up for them, his words would be worth more than thousands of others.
“I’ll visit him tomorrow.”
Lin Zhengnan agreed confidently.
“When you go, just bring Father’s fifty thousand taels in banknotes.”
Lin Suisui spoke with hidden meaning.
“The Ye family needs money right now.”
As long as the Ye family accepted the money, her plan would already be more than halfway successful.
Because the one who truly needed money was never the Ye family.
It was the Crown Prince, who stood behind them.