She didn’t know how long had passed before she was awakened by a noisy commotion.
After listening carefully for a while, it seemed that the original owner’s scumbag father had arrived with the stepmother and her daughter—probably here to demand an explanation.
Sigh.
Reluctantly, she got dressed, left the space, and opened the door.
“Unfilial daughter! Is this how you treat your mother?” a middle-aged man shouted angrily.
Searching through the original owner’s memories, Lin Yiyi realized this man was her so-called father.
“My mother is Fan Shuhua.”
“Absurd!”
He immediately slapped her.
As usual, she ducked, stepped back, and stood straight again, looking directly at him.
“I raised you like this? Is this your upbringing?” he said, though his voice was already a bit shaken by her gaze.
“Raised me? Since I was born, have you ever taught me anything? I have no mother, so no one raised me!” Lin Yiyi shot back using the original host’s memories.
The father was instantly speechless.
Behind him, the mother-daughter pair watched the drama unfold.
The stepmother quickly stepped forward.
“Yiyi, how can you speak to your father like this?”
“Get lost. You don’t have the right to educate me.”
The stepmother’s face turned livid with anger.
Lin Qinglian then stepped forward.
“Father, you see? Sister is lawless. Not only did she whip Mother and me, she even speaks to you like this!”
For a moment, the man looked at Lin Yiyi in a daze.
She looked… too much like his late wife.
Too similar—stubborn, unyielding, never compromising.
“Ha,” Lin Yiyi sneered. “Lin Qinglian, keep talking. Might as well keep distorting the truth while you’re at it.”
“Father, look at her—” Lin Qinglian pleaded.
The father closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again.
“No matter what, you hit your elders. That is wrong. As the mistress of the household, disciplining servants is normal.”
Lin Yiyi let out a cold laugh.
“Elder? She doesn’t deserve it. You know exactly how my mother died. Today, this mother and daughter pushed me into the water trying to kill me. If Madam Zhou hadn’t saved me, you’d be looking at a corpse right now.”
The stepmother quickly retorted.
“Lin Yiyi! Stop slandering me! You fell in yourself! We even called for help!”
Lin Yiyi walked closer step by step.
“Murder attempts always come with consequences. You’d better watch out—bad deeds invite ghosts.”
Her cold smile made the stepmother shiver, though she still insisted.
“I didn’t do it, so I’m not afraid of your nonsense!”
Then she turned to the father.
“I admit I beat them with a whip, but I ask Lord Lin not to be blinded by lies!”
“Lord Lin?!” the father’s expression changed slightly.
The title made him feel distant.
Sixteen years ago, when his late wife discovered his affair, she had called him the same way.
And now… it came from his daughter.
A bitter feeling spread in his chest.
He finally spoke weakly.
“Madam Zhou is your mother’s dowry servant. She should be properly treated. Take one hundred taels from the accounts and hire a doctor. Use medicine from the estate.”
“No need for your concern,” Lin Yiyi interrupted coldly. “Madam Zhou belongs to the Fan family. Her care is not the Lin family’s responsibility. I don’t want your household to find another excuse to whip her again.”
“Lin Yiyi, don’t go too far!”
The father glanced at her deeply, then suddenly turned and left, no longer willing to deal with the chaos.
The stepmother panicked.
After more than ten years, this was the first time her husband looked at her like that.
All because of a few words from this girl.
She glared at Lin Yiyi viciously and stormed off.
Lin Qinglian followed, shooting her a hateful look before leaving.
Exhausted after the confrontation, Lin Yiyi collapsed onto the bed.
“Miss! Miss!” Xiao Tao called from outside.
“Come in.”
Xiao Tao brought in freshly reheated food.
“Miss, please eat. You must be starving!”
After eating, Lin Yiyi immediately lay back down.
“I want to sleep. Don’t disturb me.”
Soon, she fell into a deep sleep.
Night fell.
A faint sound came from outside the courtyard.
“Don’t disturb the young miss. She’s already exhausted.”
“Madam, she’s been asleep for hours…”
Just then, the door creaked open.
The maid and Madam Zhou turned around in surprise.
“Miss, you’re awake!”
“Hungry? I’ll bring food right away!”
Xiao Tao ran off like the wind.
Madam Zhou looked at her worriedly.
“Young Miss…”
“You don’t need to keep calling yourself servant,” Lin Yiyi interrupted. “Rest and recover first.”
Madam Zhou’s eyes reddened.
She knew the young miss had truly changed.
That night, under the moonlight, the three of them sat in the courtyard eating sunflower seeds and chatting.
On the courtyard wall, a shadow silently observed them before disappearing into the night.
Meanwhile, Xiangxia Courtyard was anything but peaceful.
Madam Zhang sat at the table, grinding her teeth in anger.
“Bitch…”
It was unclear whether she meant Lin Yiyi or another concubine.
That night, the Marquis had eaten dinner in Concubine Liu’s courtyard and even stayed there.
Normally she wouldn’t care, but today was their wedding anniversary.
Instead, after leaving Lin Yiyi’s courtyard, he went straight to his study, forbidding anyone from disturbing him. Then he went to Concubine Liu.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She smashed everything in sight.
“Mother!”
Lin Qinglian rushed in, injured, and stopped her.
“Calm down…”
She comforted her, but her eyes were full of resentment too.
“We can’t let this go. We just need to endure for now…”
Madam Zhang wiped her tears.
“Today… your father didn’t even stay with me…”
Lin Qinglian’s eyes turned cold.
“Don’t worry, Mother. This won’t end like this. We’ll deal with Lin Yiyi later.”
“Yes… first we must ensure you marry the First Prince.”
The mother and daughter plotted under the moonlight.
A while later, Lin Qinglian left.
Madam Zhang watched her go and whispered:
“The First Prince’s wife must be my daughter.”
In the dark corner of the roof, a shadow flickered—and vanished into the night.