After Wang Shi entered the side chamber, although the quarreling ceased, resentment still simmered in their hearts—especially in Su Meiru. Seeing Li Miaozhi and Lin Dongqi deliberately steering conversations elsewhere—now discussing a certain lady’s joy over bearing a son, then praising harmonious mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships elsewhere, or mentioning another family’s youngest son passing the imperial exams—all to gloss over the earlier dispute, Su Meiru couldn’t help but sneer inwardly. Jiang Xiyun sat on an official’s hat armchair against the wall, smiling faintly and occasionally chiming in with light remarks, appearing utterly unperturbed.
Su Meiru thought coldly, "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 the three characters of my name! At worst, I’ll throw caution to the wind and drag everyone down with me. If she truly provokes me, I’ll slap her hard across the face! After all, I’m pregnant—what can the Lin family do to me?" With this resolve, 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, "...Madam, this servant has kept something bottled up inside and can no longer hide it. 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 others, she forced patience and asked, "What is it?"
Through tear-filled eyes, Su Meiru wept, "Before Madam arrived, I was discussing Old Madam’s lost bracelet with the ladies and young misses. Perhaps I was too foolish and blunt—my careless words offended Miss Xi. She glared and accused me outright... I apologized and asked her not to take it to heart, but who knew... who knew..." Su Meiru suddenly fell to her knees with a thud, crawling forward on her knees with tears streaming down her face like rain-soaked pear blossoms, "Who knew Miss Xi would bring up how the son of the Minister of War, Lord Jia, took his father’s concubine, and then said the Lin family’s men were ‘fortunate’ to have me as a concubine!" She clung to Wang Shi’s legs, shaking them desperately while sobbing hoarsely, "Madam! Madam! You are wise—you understand what she meant by the Lin family’s ‘men’! What vile intentions! I was born lowly and deserve scorn, but because of me, you are shamed, the master is shamed, the entire Lin family is shamed! I... I beg you to grant me death!"
This speech left the room stunned. Lin Dongqi glanced at Li Miaozhi, finally understanding why Li Miaozhi had said Wang Shi was constantly oppressed by a concubine—one so skilled at distorting truth with sharp words and shameless theatrics. Lin Dongxiu pretended to cover her mouth with a handkerchief, secretly smirking behind it. She thought, "This Su Meiru is formidable. Since she’s already lost her reputation, while Jiang Xiyun still vaguely clings to hers for marriage prospects, it’s ‘the barefoot fearing no shoes.’ By laying it all out for her own satisfaction, let’s see how these two tear into each other." Jiang Xiyun’s face paled instantly. She had assumed it was a trivial spat, never expecting Su Meiru to press so aggressively and expose everything.
Wang Shi stood frozen. Seeing the situation deteriorating, Li Miaozhi hurried to pull Su Meiru up, urging, "Concubine Su, rise quickly! The floor is cold, and you’re with child. That earlier dispute was just heated words spoken in the moment."Su Meiru broke free from Li Miaozhi's grasp and threw herself at Wang Shi's feet, wailing loudly, "I was properly married into this household with the master hosting a banquet, following the three matchmakers and six rites, carried in by a bridal sedan chair. Yet the tongues of the world are so vicious, forcing a weak woman like me into a corner with no way out! Those who don't know the truth would think it's Madam's lack of virtue that allows random outsiders to mistreat me! This brings shame to our branch of the family, shame to the entire Lin family!"
Wang Shi had remained unmoved until she heard these words, but then she froze for a long moment without speaking. Suddenly, she fell backward, her eyes closed, having fainted away. Everyone in the room was greatly alarmed, rushing forward to support her—some holding her up, others helping her sit, while still others pinched her philtrum and rubbed her chest. Su Meiru only cried louder, getting up to pull Jiang Xiyun along, threatening to die with her. This frightened the maids and matrons, who hurried over to intervene. The room descended into chaos, with only Lin Dongxiu feeling secretly pleased. Pretending to hold Su Meiru back, she didn't actually exert any force, covering a laugh with one hand and saying, "Oh dear, everyone stop! Can't you see Second Aunt has fallen ill?"
Lin Dongqi was busy trying to calm everyone but could neither persuade one nor restrain another. She sent someone to fetch Qin Shi while heading to the Old Master's quarters.
When Lin Zhaoxiang heard about the trouble, he remained seated as steady as a bell, utterly unshaken, and asked Lin Dongqi, "What happened?"
Lin Dongqi had no choice but to recount the entire sequence of events. Lin Zhaoxiang's face darkened briefly before returning to calm composure. Leaning on his cane, he stood up and said to Lin Jinyuan, "Kneel there! You're not allowed to get up!" Then he told Xianglan, "You come with me." With Ruizhu supporting him, he walked to the window of the side room, concealing himself as he peered through the open crack. Inside, he saw that Wang Shi had regained consciousness, her face pale, while Hu Po was feeding her spoonfuls of ginger soup. Meanwhile, Su Meiru still clung to Jiang Xiyun, with maids and matrons trying to mediate.
Seeing that Wang Shi had revived, Li Miaozhi inwardly sighed in relief. But as she surveyed the scene and found the commotion utterly disgraceful, she frowned and shouted, "Stop! All of you, stop!" Everyone turned to look at her. Li Miaozhi, with an authoritative expression, scanned the room, but before she could speak, Su Meiru completely ignored her, burying her head against Jiang Xiyun and continuing to weep and fuss. Enraged, Li Miaozhi ordered the maids and matrons nearby, "Your Concubine is tired. Escort her back to rest!" The attendants stepped forward to forcibly drag Su Meiru away.
Su Meiru stubbornly held onto Jiang Xiyun without loosening her grip, tears still streaking her cheeks, and declared, "I am with child! Who dares lay a hand on me? If the child is lost, who will take responsibility? Today, whoever touches even a finger of mine, I will remember each one and report it to Second Master, begging him to uphold justice!" This speech was filled with such fierce determination that it surpassed even Li Miaozhi's authority by two degrees. The maids and matrons, all aware of how much Lin Changmin valued Su Meiru, exchanged hesitant glances, shrinking back and not daring to advance, instead looking to Li Miaozhi for direction.Li Miaozhi gritted her teeth in fury. As a newlywed still establishing her footing, she harbored some wariness toward Su Meiru. This cunning and deceitful woman could easily turn the tables, making any misstep cost more than it was worth. While she hesitated, Su Meiru sneered coldly, "Now that Miss Xi has made those remarks without giving any explanation or justification, why should I go rest? I'm not tired—I'm perfectly alert! And Second Mistress, don't be partial. Everyone knows you're close to Miss Xi. This matter concerns the Lin family's reputation—are you going to side with an outsider?" As she spoke, she glanced at Lin Dongwan.
Li Miaozhi's face flushed crimson. The words had struck a nerve—she indeed despised Su Meiru and, being friends with Jiang Xiyun, had intended to help her dear companion out of this predicament.
Lin Dongwan had been attending to Wang Shi all along. Seeing Su Meiru's meaningful look, she felt torn but quickly reasoned, "With Concubine Yin dead, there's no one reliable left in the Lin household. Since we've already offended our sisters, why not cling to Su Meiru's branch? There might be some advantage in it." Aloud, she said, "Second Sister-in-law is right. Concubine Su is still aggrieved—this matter of right and wrong must be clarified." Noticing Lin Dongxiu standing nearby, a surge of irrational anger made her add, "One should know the difference between closeness and distance, between kin and strangers. Don't end up like me, having cherished a sister since childhood only to turn her into an enemy by misstep."
At this, Lin Dongxiu's willow-leaf eyebrows shot up. She slapped the kang table and retorted coldly, "Enemy? Fine! Since it's come to this, let's lay it all out. Under the pretext of procuring maritime goods, how much extra silver did you extort from me and Second Sister? You know perfectly well! And now you have the nerve to play the victim here!"
Lin Dongwan's face turned purple with rage. "What nonsense! How could I do such a thing..." she spluttered in denial.
As the two—Xiu and Wan—argued incessantly, Jiang Xiyun, unwilling to let the situation escalate further and seeing that no one was paying them attention, suppressed her anger and said softly to Su Meiru, "Concubine Su, I've let you pull and scold me as you wished. However many wrongs I've done, they should be repaid. Since you've vented your anger, let me apologize again, and let that be the end of it."
Su Meiru sneered, "The end? Hah! You weren't so meek when you were glaring at me earlier. Stop acting—that act is something I discarded long ago." She leaned in until their noses almost touched and whispered, "You hate me to the core, don't you? Wish you could tear me limb from limb? You little slut hiding in the shadows, putting on an innocent, kind-hearted act when the heart inside you is filthier than anyone's."
Jiang Xiyun's expression remained unchanged, but fire blazed in her eyes. Realizing the situation was beyond repair, she simply smiled faintly and murmured in a soft, gentle tone, "Concubine Su, you're the real slut! A 'skinny horse' from Yangzhou—what else could you be? Not only is your heart filthy, but your body is too, reeking to high heaven!"
The two stood near the window, and every word reached Lin Zhaoxiang's ears.
Lin Zhaoxiang's brow twitched slightly. He said to Xianglan, "Go in and handle this."
Xianglan, who had been standing meekly behind Lin Zhaoxiang with downcast eyes, was taken aback. Pointing at herself, she widened her eyes and stammered, "Me?"Lin Zhaoxiang said, "It's you." Then he 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 called out loudly, "The Old Master has sent Miss Xianglan!" As she spoke, she lifted the curtain.
Xianglan had no choice. She had neither the proper status nor authority to manage this mess, and at this moment, she genuinely missed Lin Jinlou. If that dark-faced tyrant were standing here, the room would surely fall into complete silence.
She stepped inside. Ruizhu moved forward and announced, "The Old Master has instructions for Miss Xianglan!" Having said this, she retreated behind Xianglan.
All eyes immediately fixed on Xianglan.
OpenNovel