Under Old Master Xiao’s attempt to smooth things over, the matter of Lin Jiaorui getting struck was brushed aside lightly, as if it never carried much weight.
Qin Mengshuang was so furious that she skipped dinner entirely. She helped her daughter back to their room, her face dark with anger.
Yu Wanzhi also had no appetite. For one thing, she had already eaten outside earlier. For another, Old Master Xiao’s attitude toward her made her feel thoroughly ill at ease—so much so that she nearly wanted to turn and flee.
Xiao Yunting noticed the strained smile she was forcing. He took her hand and guided her to sit at the dining table.
“Comrade Yu, how old are you this year? What do your parents do? And how long do you plan to stay in the capital?” Xiao Shan sized up the somewhat disheveled young woman with a subtle, appraising gaze. He truly could not figure out what exactly his son’s relationship with her was.
Yu Wanzhi swallowed the food in her mouth and replied, “Eighteen. Orphaned. Leaving in a few days.” Her tone was distinctly perfunctory. She held genuine respect for Old Master Xiao—but toward Xiao Shan, she felt nothing but plain, unvarnished disdain.
He knew full well that his late wife had despised children born of concubines. Yet scarcely three months after her passing, he had taken Qin Mengshuang in as his second wife. Whatever his reasons, she despised men of his kind from the bottom of her heart!
Xiao Shan’s brows drew together faintly. The words “orphaned” kept echoing in his mind. No wonder she appeared so unrefined and discourteous!
Elsewhere, behind closed doors, the poised, gracious demeanor Lin Jiaorui had been wearing melted away instantly. Her face twisted into a mask of viciousness and venomous rage.
“How can you be so spineless? Every time it’s ‘bear it, bear it, bear it’! I’ve endured for years—and now even some shameless hussy from outside dares look down on me? I still have to swallow this humiliation!”
“If I’d known it would come to this, I’d have stayed at Father’s house! At least I wouldn’t have to live so stifled! I won’t let this slap go unanswered—that hussy deserves to die!”
At her daughter’s outburst, Qin Mengshuang dropped her usual gentle pretense. Her face darkened terrifyingly. She slapped Lin Jiaorui hard across the cheek, her lips curling into a sneer. “Hah—your father? If your father were still alive, he would have sold you off long ago just to collect a bride price!”
“I don’t hear you thanking me for rescuing you from that pit—instead you dare stand there reproaching me? You truly inherited every last bit of that rotten blood from the Lin family! Fine! If you’re so eager to go back, there’s nothing stopping you from leaving right now!”
Those words struck Lin Jiaorui like a jolt. She instantly forgot the stinging pain on her face and rushed to apologize. “Mom, I don’t want to leave! I grew up by your side—I never want to be apart from you!
She would be a fool to return to the Lin family’s ordinary, humble home. True, the old man of the Xiao family refused to let her take the Xiao surname—but everyone in the compound knew she was Xiao Shan’s stepdaughter.
With that connection, a life of ease and privilege was all but guaranteed! Who could endure going back to being ordinary after getting used to standing above everyone else?
Qin Mengshuang had no patience for her whining. “Take leave from your studies these days. Do whatever it takes to grow close to that girl Xiao Yunting brought back. Shadow them everywhere—and find out exactly what their relationship is.”
“What? I refuse! That low woman humiliated you—why should I grovel at her feet? Mom, what has become of you? Even if we must humble ourselves, surely we need not stoop quite so low?” Lin Jiaorui’s eyes burned with undisguised contempt.
Qin Mengshuang tapped her forehead sharply, exasperated. “You fool! How many times must I say it? Only if you manage to win Xiao Yunting’s heart will we truly secure our place in this family!”
“Given how dearly that old man treasures his only grandson—if you were to become his granddaughter-in-law—wouldn’t every resource and fortune of the Xiao family eventually belong to us?”
The old man had never hidden his low opinion of her. Xiao Shan might speak gently to her face, but she knew full well that at heart he cared for nothing but himself and the family’s interests. One day everything would pass to that little bastard Xiao Yunting. Unwilling as she was to accept it, she also knew better than to fight an unwinnable battle.
“Mom, I’ve told you before—I have no interest in a man like Xiao Yunting! Even now, when I am technically his elder sister by marriage, he cast me aside without a second thought. Imagine if I were truly his wife—wouldn’t he beat me to death?”
“Besides, he holds his head so high he barely looks at anyone! I am far beneath his notice. Even if—by some miracle—he took a fancy to me, that old man and Uncle Xiao would never consent! It would be seen as incest! Uncle Xiao cares more about his reputation than anything—how could he permit his son to commit such a scandalous act with his own stepsister?”
Lin Jiaorui knew her place well enough. Xiao Yunting had never cared for her; they might exchange fewer than ten words in an entire year. He paid no mind even to Liu Xinrou, the most beautiful girl in the compound!
A cruel glint flashed deep within Qin Mengshuang’s eyes. “Incest, my foot! Do you think you can live a life of luxury without paying a price? If this works, you will hold the Xiao family’s greatest secret in your hands!”
“And if it does not? You can simply ruin his reputation—accuse him of improper desire toward his stepsister. Given how desperately that old man and your Uncle Xiao value their good names, they will cast him aside sooner or later. And then—this entire family will be ours!”
Lin Jiaorui paled at the ferocity in her mother’s expression. “Mom… you have been married to Uncle Xiao for years. You have wealth, status, everything you could wish for—why must you push me to such extremes?”
“If you simply live in peace with Uncle Xiao, won’t everything here belong to you anyway? All that is yours is mine—what more could you possibly want?”
Qin Mengshuang seemed transformed before her daughter’s eyes. Every trace of softness vanished; her face twisted with greed and bitterness. “You understand nothing! You narrow-minded fool! Do you think three meals and warm clothes are all there is to a good life?”
“Before the revolution, Xiao Yunting’s grandfather Xiao Yuzhang was heir to the estate known as ‘Xiao Half-City’—do you know why they called it that? Because half the buildings in this entire city once belonged to his family! He donated some land later, yes—but it was barely a drop in the bucket! The vast majority of his wealth and treasures remain in his hands!”
“And that says nothing of the Xiao family’s connections, influence, and standing in society—how could an ordinary life ever compare? Mark my words: the moment that old man breathes his last, not a single thing will pass through Xiao Shan’s hands. Every last asset will go straight to that little bastard!”
“Your maternal grandfather left me barely a pittance—but gave that wretched Qin Mengxue a dowry fit for a queen! Why should she and her son have everything? I refuse to accept it!”
Seeing her daughter wavering, Qin Mengshuang pressed on, her voice dropping to a hypnotic, persuasive tone. “Jiaorui—everything we have was granted by Uncle Xiao. In truth, we are little better than pets he keeps in his home.”
“When he is pleased, he tosses us scraps from his table. But when his mood turns? We are nothing more than trinkets he can cast aside at will. But if you marry Xiao Yunting—or better yet, bear a child of this bloodline—you will be bound to this family inextricably!”
“Tell me—would you not want to live in comfort and plenty for the rest of your days? Would you not love to see every girl around you envying your place? Would you not want your own children to be born into the very best life has to offer?”
Those three questions kindled a fire in Lin Jiaorui’s heart. Her eyes gleamed with avarice. “Mom… of course I do. From now on—I shall do exactly as you say!”
Half the city…! Imagine the treasures, the jewels, the wealth that would mean! If such a life could be hers, she could stoop to whatever it took—just as her mother had done. Winning a man’s affection was hardly difficult! Let Xiao Yunting despise her as much as he wished—surely he could never turn his back on his own flesh and blood!
Once she bore him a child—riches, honor, power—all of it would belong to her child. And what was her child’s would be hers!