Once the Dowager Marchioness collected her senses, she nearly fainted straight away from sheer anger. Others might not know, but Lady Xie knew very well that the imperial family had always operated on double standards.
Since Chu Mochen had publicly promised back then never to take a concubine, and Lin Yanran already had two sons under her name—meaning there was no excuse of lacking an heir—what kind of image would Chu Mochen have in the eyes of the imperial family when this came to light?
Lin Yanran saying this infuriated Lady Xie even more than her emptying Chu Mochen’s private treasury. “Lin Yanran, what nonsense are you spouting? Mochen dotes on you so much, how dare you? How can you be so heartless as to throw dirty water on Mochen? Lin Yanran, do you even have a conscience?”
Looking at the Dowager Marchioness’s theatrical display, the smile on Lin Yanran’s face grew even more brilliant:
“Yes, this County Princess has no conscience. Chu Mochen does. The mistress Chu Mochen found has borne you a grandson and a granddaughter. Congratulations, Mother, on becoming a grandmother again. Mother must be absolutely delighted! If you cannot wait, this daughter-in-law will send people right now to fetch those two children into the estate. Mother, I must say, those two brats actually look quite a bit like the Marquis.”
At this moment, Lady Zhou and Lady Wu wished they could vanish into thin air. Grand Princess Changning was by no means a gentle character; if this news reached her ears, their Marquis’s estate would likely be finished.
Seeing that Lin Yanran spoke with such vivid detail, Dowager Marchioness Xie did not dare gamble on the truth of the matter. She instantly switched to a benevolent countenance. “Eldest Daughter-in-law, Mochen was merely confused for a moment. He was willing to give you his entire private treasury, which shows that you are the most important one in his heart. Mother still has many good things in her private treasury; I will have someone deliver them to you shortly.”
Hearing that her mother-in-law was willing to give her good things, Lin Yanran was perfectly willing to soften her demeanor slightly:
“Then this daughter-in-law gives many thanks to Mother. A few days ago, Xuan’er and Heng’er were just telling me that they wanted two manors to practice managing affairs. This daughter-in-law calculated my dowry but couldn’t find any suitable ones. I shall go down and look for them now. Lately, this daughter-in-law’s heart has been aching from the Marquis’s anger, so I won’t stay to disturb Mother.”
Lin Yanran thanked the Dowager Marchioness with utmost sincerity, performed a slight curtsy, and led her people away.
Only after Lin Yanran left did Lady Zhou and Lady Wu dare to take a deep breath.
Looking at the cowardly display of Lady Zhou and Lady Wu, the Dowager Marchioness felt even more exhausted. She waved her hand at the two of them. “Both of you take your leave as well.”
Lady Zhou carefully raised a request, “Mother, our Yu’er has also been wanting to find a manor to practice managing affairs lately. This daughter-in-law…”
The Dowager Marchioness slammed another teacup down by her side. “Get out!”
Seeing that her mother-in-law was truly enraged, Lady Wu hurriedly pulled the still-dazed Lady Zhou down with her.
Watching the retreating figures of her two daughters-in-law as they walked away quickly, the Dowager Marchioness felt that she would sooner or later be angered to death by these debts of karma. “Go and call the Marquis back.”
Ruyue quickly rubbed the Dowager Marchioness’s back to ease her breathing, soothing her: “Old Madame, please do not be angry. If you ruin your health, the Marquis will be heartbroken. This maid will send someone to wait at the main gate right now. Once the Marquis finishes his shift, I will have him come pay his respects to you.”
Although Dowager Marchioness Xie desperately wanted to thrash her eldest son right this instant, she remembered that he should be at court right now, so she could only force herself to swallow her anger:
“Help me into the inner chamber to lie down.”
At this moment, the Dowager Marchioness’s face was entirely filled with the weariness of someone who did not want to clean up a messy situation.
Even after lying down, the Dowager Marchioness did not forget to placate her daughter-in-law. “Ruyue, have someone open my private treasury, select some things that the Marchioness likes, and have them delivered to her. As for the manors outside Cangming City, select two large ones and send them over together.”
After giving these instructions, the Dowager Marchioness recalled the expression on Lady Zhou’s face when she left. They were all her grandsons, after all. “Select another deed for a medium-sized manor and send it to Lady Zhou.”
As for Lady Wu, she was the wife of a concubine-born son. The Old Madame would only maintain a superficial balance; when it came to such substantial good things, the Third Household would never have any share.
Ruyue, who attended the Dowager Marchioness, curtsied and accepted the order, then reminded her: “Old Madame, you only have three large manors left outside Cangming City in total. Why not replace them with deeds for medium-sized manors to send to the Marchioness?”
The Dowager Marchioness fell silent for a moment and sighed helplessly, “Forget it, just send the deeds for the two large manors to the Marchioness. At my age, these good things in my hands will belong to them sooner or later anyway. Consider it as me giving them to my two grandsons in advance. Xuan’er and Heng’er are both good children of our Chu family.”
Upon returning to the main courtyard, Lin Yanran had her servants move a reclining chair under the veranda, where she lay down to enjoy the breeze.
When the people sent by the Dowager Marchioness delivered the items, Lin Yanran stood up to take a brief look, then ordered them to be registered, cataloged, and placed into her storehouse.
As for the deeds to the two manors, Lin Yanran kept them herself to give to her two children later.
Lin Yanran’s wet nurse, Nanny Tian, had been kept by her side to serve all morning. To Nanny Tian, this was by no means good news.
At her age, she was already living in semi-retirement within the estate. Occasions where the master kept her by her side to serve for an extended period absolutely never occurred.
Throughout the entire morning, Nanny Tian’s heart had been filled with anxiety, wondering what business her master had with her.
However, observing her master’s attitude toward her all morning, Nanny Tian also had her suspicions; she feared her master already knew about the things she had done.
“Nanny Tian!” Lin Yanran called out just as she lay back on the chair. Guilty and terrified, Nanny Tian instantly fell to her knees with a loud thud.
Lin Yanran sneered. In her view, this Nanny Tian deserved to die the most. If she hadn’t constantly droned on about those matters of love and affection in the original owner’s ear, how could the original owner have grown increasingly foolish? “It seems Nanny Tian is well aware that you have done things to betray this Princess?”
“Begging the County Princess for mercy! This servant only disclosed the County Princess’s itinerary to the Marquis a few times for the sake of my youngest daughter’s wish.”
After Nanny Tian finished speaking, she looked up to find the County Princess staring at her with eyes full of smiling warmth, causing her to feel entirely ice-cold.
Trembling all over, Nanny Tian continued, “This servant also added a bit of sleep-inducing medicine to the County Princess’s tea. But this servant asked a physician beforehand; it was just some medicine to help with sleep and would not cause any damage to the County Princess’s body.”
“Why did you add sleep-inducing medicine to my tea?”
“It was the Marquis who ordered this servant to add it. The Marquis likely hoped that you, Madam, would rest earlier so you wouldn’t have to wait up for him so painstakingly.”
After Nanny Tian finished speaking, she kowtowed incessantly, hoping to soften the County Princess’s heart into sparing her family.
Nanny Tian did not dare to hold anything back; the lives of her entire family were grasped firmly in the County Princess’s hands.
Back then, the reason she agreed to the Marquis’s absurd decision was because she thought that once the Marquis brought his mistress into the estate, her master would surely need to arrange one of her own people to counter-balance her. At that time, her youngest daughter, who was not yet betrothed, would be the best candidate.
Once her youngest daughter became the Marquis’s concubine and bore him offspring, their family could also use the opportunity to gradually rid themselves of their bondservant status.
Yet now, before the mistress had even entered the estate, the things she had done were discovered by her master. Nanny Tian knew very well that this was no time to play tricks.
If she confessed honestly, perhaps the County Princess, out of consideration for her many years of service, might still spare the lives of her entire family.
If they fell into the hands of the brutal Grand Princess Changning, not only would the lives of her immediate family be forfeit, but even their extended nine generations would be in grave danger.