The more Sun Xinrou heard, the tighter her brow furrowed. This treatment was not just a little worse than what she had experienced outside the estate; it was a vast chasm. Not to mention anything else, she had possessed four personal maids and one nanny while living outside.
However, Sun Xinrou did not say anything to Muqing. She had already figured out that Muqing was merely a servant and could not make any decisions, so talking to him was useless.
If it were the usual Sun Xinrou, she would have maintained her gentle facade. But after a continuous barrage of blows today, she could no longer pretend. She could only respond in a flat, hollow tone, “I understand. Thank you for your trouble, Steward Mu.”
Seeing this, Muqing bowed respectfully and took his leave. He had no intention of currying favor with Concubine Sun. If he were to flatter anyone, it would be the Mistress and the Heir; there was no winning against the Imperial family. The Imperial family was notoriously protective and unreasonable, and furthermore, the logic was firmly on the Mistress’s side.
Once Muqing had departed, Sun Xinrou could no longer maintain even the slightest trace of a smile. Helpless, she crouched down and pulled her two children tightly into her embrace. “Mother only has you two now.”
Three-year-old Chu Ruoyu had been terrified all morning and, upon being embraced by Sun Xinrou, burst into loud wailing. While crying, she tried to pull Sun Xinrou toward the outside of the courtyard. “Mother, let’s go home. I don’t want to be here. Father doesn’t like me and Brother anymore; he doesn’t like us…”
Chu Yunyun, who was five and usually behaved more sensibly than his younger sister, echoed her: “Mother, let’s go back! Can we still go back?”
Hearing the children say this, Sun Xinrou’s tears flowed even more profusely, though it also helped clear her mind. They could not go back; she had to fight for a path for her children. She held their hands and instructed them earnestly, “In the future, you must listen to your two older brothers; do not go against them. If they bully you, you may report it to your father, but you must never come into conflict with them in front of others.”
Although Sun Xinrou spoke with gravity, three-year-old Chu Ruoyu wouldn’t listen. “I don’t want to! I want to go home, I want to go home.”
Only five-year-old Chu Yunyun nodded understandingly. “Mother, don’t worry, I will take care of my sister from now on.”
Sun Xinrou rubbed Chu Yunyun’s head sadly. “Don’t call me ‘Mother’ anymore; call me ‘Concubine’ (Yiniang).”
Although she had considered this possibility when she was a mistress for the Marquis of Wenxuan, hearing her own children call her ‘Concubine’ after years of being called ‘Mother’ made her tears flow uncontrollably. What brought Sun Xinrou the most despair was that the Marquis’s wife had such an illustrious background, and given the Marquis’s attitude today, all her previous plans were useless. The Marquis had shown with his actions that he would not conflict with the Mistress for the sake of the three of them.
They must plan slowly, Sun Xinrou consoled herself. They must not be impatient; they must not be impatient.
Meanwhile, just as Lin Yanran stepped out of Chu Mochen’s residence, she saw Chu Yunxuan rushing toward her. Her lips curled upward involuntarily. Chu Yunxuan hurried forward to bow, taking the opportunity to carefully observe her. Seeing that Lin Yanran appeared unaffected, he relaxed slightly, though he still asked with concern, “Mother, are you alright?”
Seeing that Chu Yunxuan had run so fast that his hair was slightly disheveled, Lin Yanran felt warmed. “Just a mistress, that is all; she cannot threaten me. Your mother used to believe in love, but now that love is shattered, no one can be my opponent.”
As she explained her transformation slightly, she signaled for Chu Yunxuan to follow her. To Chu Yunxuan, this sounded like she was deeply hurt. His face flushed with anger. “Mother, you go back and rest first; I will come to pay my respects later. I will go in there and beat those three for you to vent your anger…” He was about to charge toward the residence.
Fortunately, Wenlan was quick-witted enough to hold him back. Lin Yanran casually took control of her angry eldest son from Wenlan’s grasp. “I have already beaten them myself; there is no need for you to do it.”
Control of Chu Yunxuan’s collar passed from Wenlan to his mother. Fearing that struggling too much might hurt her, Chu Yunxuan eventually looked at the courtyard with resentment before following Lin Yanran. “Then I will beat them next time.”
“You may beat those two little brats if you wish, as long as you don’t seriously injure them, but you must not strike Concubine Sun. After all, she is your father’s woman.” Lin Yanran gave this warning because she had seen the hatred in Chu Yunxuan’s eyes. Perhaps it was because he had only recently been reborn and could not yet mask his resentment, or perhaps children simply did not wish to hide their feelings before their mothers. Regardless, Lin Yanran did not want Chu Yunxuan to act irrationally; it would not be worth ruining his own reputation for such people.
Knowing his mother was concerned for him, Chu Yunxuan remained silent for a moment before obediently agreeing. After all, there were many ways to deal with people; in the future, he would do so more covertly to keep his mother from worrying.
Seeing that he had listened, Lin Yanran dropped the subject.
The next morning, Sun Xinrou brought her two children to pay their respects. As they entered the room, they saw a teenager sitting on the upper seat alongside the Mistress. To the Mistress’s lower left sat a child about the same age as Chu Yunyun. Sun Xinrou took only a cursory glance from afar before bowing her head and bringing the children forward to perform their respects.
“This concubine greets the Mistress, the Heir, and the Second Young Master.”
After completing the formalities, she saw the two children kneeling in silence and had to subtly nudge them. Ultimately, Chu Yunyun, unable to bear his mother’s pleading gaze, was the first to speak: “Your son greets Mother!”
Chu Ruoyu only clung tightly to Sun Xinrou’s side. No matter how much Sun Xinrou signaled her with her eyes or pinched her secretly, the girl was too frightened to speak.
Five-year-old Chu Yunyun spoke up for his sister: “Mother, please do not overthink it; my sister is just a bit timid. She will be fine once she becomes familiar with things.”
No matter what Lin Yanran truly felt, she had to appear kind toward the children on the surface; otherwise, public opinion would shift to sympathize with the weak. Maintaining the demeanor of a legitimate mother, she looked at the two kneeling before her with a bright smile. “Yun’er, Yu’er, you two may rise.”
She pointed to Chu Yunxuan and Chu Yunheng, introducing them to the pair: “These are your Big Brother and Second Brother. Your Big Brother serves as a companion in the palace and is very busy; he is rarely in the estate for more than a few days a month. Your Second Brother studies at the clan school; you have several cousins there as well. You will get to know them over time.”
Chu Yunyun immediately smiled and called out, “Big Brother, Second Brother.”
Chu Yunheng merely gave a cold, aloof grunt and continued fiddling with the slingshot he had just acquired, without even raising his head. Although he was only five, he had started his studies at the clan school at four and had seen his fair share of the family’s messes. He had no desire to play out a drama of “brotherly love” with the son of a mistress. He could barely manage to fake it before outsiders, but within the estate, it was simply not worth the effort.