After Wang Shi entered the side chamber, although the quarreling ceased, resentment still simmered in their hearts—especially in Su Meiru. Watching Li Miaozhi and Lin Dongqi deliberately steer the conversation elsewhere—now discussing which lady had given birth to a son, now praising harmonious mother-in-law relationships, now celebrating someone’s youngest son passing the imperial exams—all to gloss over the earlier conflict, Jiang Xiyun sat in an official’s armchair against the wall, smiling faintly and occasionally chiming in with light remarks, appearing completely unruffled.
Su Meiru couldn’t help but sneer inwardly, thinking, "That little wretch is daydreaming if she thinks she can bully me like she did Chen Xianglan—scheming behind my back and humiliating me. If I don’t vent this anger today, I’ll reverse my name ‘Su Meiru’! At worst, I’ll throw all decency to the wind. If she truly provokes me, I’ll slap her across the face a few times. After all, I’m pregnant—what can the Lin Family do to me?" With this thought, she lowered her head briefly before looking up again, her eyes glistening with tears. Dabbing them with a handkerchief, she choked out to Wang Shi, "—Taitai, this servant has kept something bottled up inside and can no longer hold it in. I beg for your punishment!"
Her words instantly silenced the room.
Wang Shi loathed Su Meiru intensely, but being soft-natured and needing to maintain a virtuous appearance before everyone, she had no choice but to patiently ask, "What is it?"
With tear-filled eyes, Su Meiru sobbed, "Before Taitai arrived, I was discussing the matter of the Old Lady’s missing bracelet with the young mistresses and misses. Perhaps I was too foolish and blunt—my careless words offended Miss Xi. She glared at me and demanded an apology. I—I did apologize and asked her not to take it to heart, but who would have thought—who would have thought—" Su Meiru suddenly thudded to her knees, crawling forward a few steps on them, her cheeks streaked with tears, weeping as pitifully as a drenched pear blossom. "Who would have thought Miss Xi would bring up how the son of Minister Jia from the Ministry of War took his father’s concubine, and then said the Lin Family’s men are fortunate to have taken me as a concubine!" She clung to Wang Shi’s legs, shaking them desperately while crying hysterically, "Taitai! Taitai! You are a sensible person—you understand what she meant by the Lin Family’s ‘men’! What vile intentions! I was born with a lowly fate—I can endure being spat on and cursed. But because of me, you have been shamed, the Master has been shamed, the entire Lin Family has been shamed! I—I—I beg you to grant me death!"
This speech left everyone in the room stunned. Lin Dongqi glanced at Li Miaozhi, finally understanding why Li Miaozhi had said Wang Shi was constantly bullied by a concubine—one so skilled at twisting facts, eloquent, and shameless. Lin Dongxiu pretended to cover her mouth with a handkerchief but was actually hiding a smirk at the corner of her lips, thinking, "This Su Meiru is no simple character. Since she’s already lost her reputation, while Jiang Xiyun still vaguely cares about face as an unmarried girl, it’s a case of ‘the barefoot are not afraid of the shoed’—she’s laying it all out just to vent her own anger. Let’s see how these two tear into each other." Jiang Xiyun’s face turned pale instantly. She had thought it was merely a trivial war of words and never expected Su Meiru to be so aggressive, seizing the opportunity to expose everything.
Wang Shi stood frozen on the spot. Seeing the situation turning sour, Li Miaozhi hurried over to pull Su Meiru up, saying urgently, "Concubine Su, please rise! Someone with child shouldn’t be on the cold floor. That earlier dispute was just words spoken in the heat of the moment."Su Meiru broke free from Li Miaozhi's grasp and threw herself at Wang Shi's legs, wailing loudly, "I was properly married into this household with a banquet hosted by the master, matchmakers overseeing the ceremony, and a bridal sedan carrying me in. Yet people everywhere speak such venomous words, forcing a weak woman like me into desperation! Those unaware might think it's you, Taitai, who lacks virtue, allowing outsiders to bully me! This brings shame to our branch and disgrace to the entire Lin Family!"
Wang Shi had been silent upon hearing this, but suddenly she swayed backward, her eyes closing as she lost consciousness. The room erupted into chaos—some rushed to support her, others pinched her philtrum and rubbed her chest. Su Meiru cried even more hysterically, rising to pull Jiang Xiyun along, threatening to end their lives together. Maids and old women hurried over to dissuade her. Amid the turmoil, Lin Dongxiu felt a secret thrill; pretending to restrain Su Meiru while barely using any force, she covered a smile with one hand and exclaimed, "Oh dear, everyone stop! Can't you see Second Aunt has fallen ill?"
Lin Dongqi struggled to manage the situation, unable to calm anyone. She sent someone to fetch Qin Shi and hurried to the Old Master's quarters.
There, Lin Zhaoxiang remained seated like a steady bell, unmoved by the commotion, and asked Lin Dongqi, "What happened?"
With no choice, Lin Dongqi recounted the entire incident. Lin Zhaoxiang's face darkened briefly before returning to calm. Leaning on his cane, he stood and ordered Lin Jinyuan, "Kneel! Do not get up!" Then he said to Xianglan, "Come with me." Supported by Ruizhu, he moved to the side room's window, concealing himself as he peered through the gap. Inside, Wang Shi had regained consciousness, her face pale, while Hupo fed her spoonfuls of ginger soup. Su Meiru still clung to Jiang Xiyun, surrounded by pleading maids and old women.
Seeing Wang Shi awake, Li Miaozhi sighed in relief but frowned at the ongoing disorder. She shouted authoritatively, "Stop! All of you, stop!" Everyone turned to her. Before she could speak further, Su Meiru ignored her, sobbing and crashing into Jiang Xiyun. Enraged, Li Miaozhi told the nearby maids and old women, "The new concubine is tired. Escort her back to rest!" They stepped forward to forcibly pull Su Meiru away.
Su Meiru tightened her grip on Jiang Xiyun, tears streaking her cheeks, and declared, "I am with child! Who dares touch me? If the baby is harmed, who will take responsibility? I will note every person here who lays a finger on me and report it to Second Master, demanding justice!" Her words carried a deadly edge, surpassing even Li Miaozhi's authority. The maids and old women, aware of Lin Changmin's favor toward Su Meiru, exchanged hesitant glances, withdrew their hands, and dared not advance, instead looking to Li Miaozhi for direction.Li Miaozhi gritted her teeth in fury. As a newlywed still establishing her footing, she held some apprehension toward Su Meiru, who was cunning and treacherous. If handled poorly, she might end up falling into Su's trap, which would truly be a loss outweighing any gain. While she was lost in thought, she saw Su Meiru wearing a mocking sneer, who said coldly, "Now that Miss Xi has yet to give an explanation for what she said, why should I go rest? I'm not tired at all—I'm full of energy! Second Mistress, don't be biased. Everyone knows you and Miss Xi are close friends. This matter concerns the Lin Family's reputation—are you going to favor an outsider?" As she spoke, she glanced at Lin Dongwan.
Li Miaozhi's face instantly flushed crimson. These words had struck a nerve, as she indeed harbored a deep dislike for Su Meiru and was close friends with Jiang Xiyun, intending to help her dear friend out of this predicament.
Lin Dongwan had been attending to Wang Shi all along. Seeing Su Meiru's meaningful look, she felt conflicted. After a moment's thought, she reasoned, "Now that Concubine Yin has died, there's no one reliable left in the Lin Family. Since we've already offended our sisters, why not align with Concubine Su? At least we might gain some benefits." So she said, "That's right, Second Sister-in-law. Concubine Su is still feeling wronged. We must clarify what's right and wrong here." Noticing Lin Dongxiu standing there, she felt a surge of irritation and impulsively added, "One must know the difference between closeness and distance, between kin and strangers. Don't end up like me—childhood sisters I cherished have, through some mishap, become enemies."
Upon hearing this, Lin Dongxiu's willow-leaf eyebrows shot up. She slapped the heated brick bed table and sneered, "Enemies? Fine! Since things have come to this, let's lay it all out. Under the pretext of handling maritime goods, how much extra silver did you extort from me and Second Sister? You know exactly how much! And now you have the nerve to play the victim here!"
Lin Dongwan's face turned purple with rage as she retorted vehemently, "What nonsense are you spouting! How could I possibly do such a thing—"
As the two—Xiu and Wan—argued incessantly, Jiang Xiyun, unwilling to let the situation escalate further and seeing that no one was paying attention to them anymore, suppressed her anger and said softly to Su Meiru, "Concubine Su, I've let you pull and scold me as you wished. Surely that should make up for any wrongs? Since you've vented your anger, let me apologize again, and let's consider the matter closed."
Su Meiru sneered, "Closed? Hah! You weren't so meek when you were glaring at me earlier. Stop putting on an act—this routine is something I discarded long ago." She leaned in close to Jiang Xiyun, their noses almost touching, and whispered, "You hate me to the core, don't you? Wish you could tear me to pieces? You shameless little whore, pretending to be innocent and kind-hearted, but the heart inside that pretty shell is filthier than anyone's."
Jiang Xiyun's expression remained unchanged, but fire blazed in her eyes. Knowing the situation was beyond repair, she simply smiled faintly and replied in a soft, gentle whisper, "Concubine Su, you're the real whore! A 'skinny horse' from Yangzhou—what else could you be? Not only is your heart and liver filthy, but your entire body is dirty and reeks of rot!"
The two happened to be standing by the window, and every word of their exchange reached Lin Zhaoxiang's ears.
Lin Zhaoxiang's brow twitched slightly as he said to Xianglan, "Go in and handle this."
Xianglan, who had been standing meekly behind Lin Zhaoxiang all along, was taken aback by his words. Pointing at herself, she widened her eyes in astonishment and said, "Me?"Lin Zhaoxiang said, "It's you." He then turned his head and added, "Ruizhu, you go with her. Xianglan is going on my behalf."
Xianglan still wanted to decline, but Ruizhu had already raised her voice and called out, "The Old Master has sent Miss Xianglan!" As she spoke, she lifted the door curtain.
Xianglan had no choice. She had no proper standing or authority—how could she manage this mess? At this moment, she genuinely missed Lin Jinlou. If that dark-faced Overlord were to plant himself here, the room would surely fall silent.
She stepped inside. Ruizhu took a step forward and announced, "The Old Master has sent Miss Xianglan with instructions!" Having said this, she retreated behind Xianglan.
Immediately, all eyes fixed on Xianglan.
Xianglan glanced around the room, first looking at Wang Shi, who was pale and looked as if she might collapse at any moment. She said, "Second Mistress is unwell. Quickly help her down to rest and call a physician to examine her properly." Hupo and Ying Luo hurried forward and supported Wang Shi as she left.
Lin Dongwan’s face was flushed red, and Lin Dongxiu was panting heavily—both clearly still seething with anger. Seeing that the two were no longer arguing, Xianglan breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Su Meiru was still clutching Jiang Xiyun, her voice hoarse as she pleaded, "Sister, we’re all in the same boat—you must stand up for me—" Before she could finish, tears began to fall.
Xianglan said calmly, "Right and wrong will be judged clearly. I am merely a messenger. Even if Concubine Su has suffered a grave injustice, it is not my place to intervene." Her words left Su Meiru utterly speechless.
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