Chapter 376 Times Were Different

“Are you thinking of hitting my maid? Aren’t you too quick to lose your temper, Little Sister?”

A small, cold hand caught hold of Lin Mengwu’s wrist at that moment.

Baizhi was totally unafraid of the Second Miss, who used to abuse her. Her teary eyes were a thing of the past. Now, she was able to look straight into Lin Mengwu’s eyes with calm and composure. There was neither an attitude of inferiority nor superiority. She merely bowed as she offered Lin Mengwu an apology.

“Your servant, I have overstepped my bounds. I’m ready for your punishment, Second Miss.”

However, there was no way Lin Mengwu could break free from Lin Mengya’s grip. Compared to Lin Mengwu’s hand, that barely lifted a needle to sew, Lin Mengya’s arm that had been toned from practicing acupuncture every day was like a pair of pliers, holding tightly to Lin Mengwu.

“Let go of me!”

Lin Mengya’s expression was that of shock and anger. On the other hand, Lin Mengya’s expression was that of indifference.

“Even my maid knows that it was wrong to be rude to you. Compared to her, you are the daughter of a reputable family. Why are you so lacking in manners?”

Lin Mengya waited for the right moment to let go of her grip.

Instantly, Lin Mengwu, who was struggling to break free, lost her balance and fell back.

Lin Nansheng ‘coincidentally’ stepped back at this moment and Lin Mengwu, who displayed a lofty stance just a moment ago fell to the ground immediately.

Surely this time Lin Mengwu did not miss the chance for her butt to kiss the floor.

Lin Mengya ignored Lin Mengwu’s tears welling up in her eyes. Serve her right, she had asked for it.

“Don’t you be rude, Wu’er. Look at what has become of you! How would you win the favor of your husband in the future if this is the way treat your elder brother and sister?”

Shangguan Qing’s face was almost turning purple from rage. It was just too bad that the young masters, as well as their servants in the house, were all so quick-witted. It made her want to gnash her teeth in rage.

Nevertheless, she was not as short-sighted as Wu’er.

She would not take to heart those mere pieces of jewelry.

“Mother…

One look from Shangguan Qing and Lin Mengwu shut her gap immediately.

Lin Mengwu’s vigor was greatly diminished by her miscarriage. She would still have been bedridden if not for the queen’s miracle-working medicine which she secretly sent over to her.

As a result, Lin Mengwu had no choice but to be obedient to her mother. At least for now, she should never be involved in a conflict with anyone.

This was so that their secret would not be given away.

“Dear sister, this fall must be painful. Come, let me help you up.”

Lin Mengya immediately pretended to be helpful as she stretched out her hand to help Lin Mengwu to her feet.

Even though Lin Mengwu did not wish to accept help from Lin Mengya, her mother’s gaze at her forced her to hold on to Lin Mengya’s hand reluctantly and to make up with her temporarily.

“That’s the right thing to do. You are sisters after all. In future, when your father and I are no longer around, you have to help and support each other. Sisters should not be angry with each other for longer than one night, right? Oh yes, I hear that you will be bringing Ms. Tian with you to the prince’s mansion. You are indeed one who knew how to be grateful. However, Ms. Tian is getting old and her son is suffering from tuberculosis. It will invite gossip if they follow you back to the prince’s mansion, claiming that I am a mean mother. Why don’t you choose other capable servants from here as your dowry? Anyway, you only brought Ruyue with you the last time, and it seemed too inadequate. As for Ms. Tian and her son, rest assured that I will take good care of them here if they remain behind.”

Shangguan Qing’s forced sincerity was not going to fool Lin Mengya. Even if Lin Mengya was half as intelligent as herself, she would know that this woman ought to have some ill intentions.

If she were to wait until later, Lin Mengya knew very well that she would have to seek Shangguan Qing’s permission if she wanted to bring Ms. Tian away.

However, the circumstances were different now given that her elder brother was home. He, being an adult now, would be the one making decisions in the mansion now.

For this reason, Lin Nansheng smiled at his younger sister. Without waiting for Lin Mengya’s reply, he said, “Ms. Tian was like a nursemaid to my sister and me. She was the one who took care of us when we were young and she had never been inattentive in her work. Please do not worry about this matter, Mother.”

.

This pair of children left behind by that slut was what Shangguan Qing hated most in her life.

She was so happy when the younger one went mad and was dying. Unfortunately, somehow luck was on her side and she survived.

Worse still, she had become such a clever woman now.

Lin Nansheng, on the other hand, was a hindrance to her and her daughter in getting what they set out to achieve.

Her husband also refused intimacy with her. All in all, she could only count on Wu’er eventually. Even so, she would only be able to lay hold of a big sum of the dowry when Wu’er would one day marry.

If Lin Nansheng was non-existent, she would have used tricks to lay hold of everything in the Lin family so she could inherit all that belonged to the family.

However, even Lin Nansheng was turning against her now.

Sooner or later, she had to get her inheritance back!

“I suggest you not burden yourself with these things, Nansheng. After all, it would be too demanding for a man to handle every detail in the house. I would think…”

Lin Nansheng cut Shangguan Qing off without feeling bad. Perhaps he had been keeping it all in in the past because he did not want to hurt anyone’s feelings in the past.

However, he had to let Shangguan Qing know who was the real head of the house now.

“Father had specially instructed me before I returned that I will be the one in charge of the household from now on. Mother, if you feel that I’m too young and inexperienced, please write a letter to Father and seek his opinion. Marquis Zhennan’s mansion is still, after all, Father’s mansion.”

Lin Nansheng’s words had completely taken away Shangguan Qing’s room for maneuver.

At the mention of Father, Shangguan Qing had no other choice but to give in.

In the past, she could make use of her status to seal off the pair of Lin siblings so that their correspondences with their father were blocked. This was the reason she was able to remain in power as the mistress of the house for many years.

However, these two siblings were become much harder to deal with.

At present, Shangguan Qing could only put on a forced smile and swallow the final outcome of the situation.

“Alright, in this case, I shall not remain here to disturb you. Let’s go, Wu’er.”

Once Shangguan Qing finished speaking, she took the lead and stomped out of Lin Mengya’s bedroom with her daughter. However, Lin Mengwu’s mind was still lingering on those pieces of jewelry and clothes in the room, which Lin Mengya was taking away with her.

That gorgeous and splendid jewelry and clothes might look a little worn, but they were without a doubt high-quality stuff and would fetch high prices in the capital city at this time.

If she were to own this many pieces of jewelry and have her clothes decorated with them, she would catch lots of attention the next time she attended a banquet.

“Mother, why did you allow them to take away what was ours? Although those items were left by their dead mother, they were kept in our mansion after all. Why do they have the right to take them away?”

Lin Mengwu said coyly as she tugged at her mother’s sleeves.

Even though her daughter had made a grave mistake, Shangguan Qing could not bear to rebuke her.

Sighing, she said, “Wu’er, rest assured that I will give you even better things. Don’t worry, as long as you adhere to your aunt’s prescription to nurse yourself back to health, I believe you will once again become the most outstanding and elegant lady not just in the capital city but even in the entire Dajin, and by then, I will let you appear before the eyes of all people with pride.”

.

With the assurance from her mother, Lin Mengwu finally stop brooding over Lin Mengya’s possessions.

She leaned onto her mother and smiled sweetly.

Her aunt, the queen had sent out the message that the queen did not allow Shangguan Qing to bring Lin Mengwu to events such as banquets because she was still too young.

Once Lin Mengwu regained her health, her aunt the queen would make arrangements for her to attend all kinds of banquets in the Capital City.

By that time, Lin Mengwu would be a beautiful flower compared to Lin Mengya, a faded older woman by then.

At the thought that she would attract all the noblemen’s attention, even the pain on her backside seemed to be not so important now.

Seeing that Shangguan Qing and Lin Mengwu had exited from the bedroom, Lin Mengya and Lin Nansheng exchanged a smile, as they share a special rapport.

Lin Mengya felt more and more that Lin Mengwu and Shangguan Qing were indeed extremely foolish.

“Ms. Tian, Baizhi, I’ll have to trouble you to pack these things up once again. My brother and I are going out for a walk. Once you’ve finished packing, please load the things directly onto the cart.”

Baizhi and Ms. Tian answered Lin Mengya and sprang into action straight away, and Lin Nansheng could naturally guess that his younger sister had something to tell him.

The two arrived at the pavilion in the courtyard. Compared to the past, when there were eavesdroppers fishing for information everywhere in the mansion, the Lin’s mansion was much quieter nowadays.

“Are you aware that Lin Mengwu was once pregnant out of wedlock?”

Lin Nansheng did not expect such a piece of explosive news would be the first thing that came out of Lin Mengya’s mouth.

Lin Nansheng, who was raised in an environment of strict moral values, opened his eyes wide and clenched his fists. Perhaps to Lin Mengya, who was a modern woman, this piece of news was not considered explosive after all.

However, for this to happen at this place and time, the Lin family’s reputation could be ruined.

“What is she trying to do? Does she intend to forfeit the entire Lin family before she considers this the end? Even if she doesn’t like us, she is, after all, a member of the Lin family! How outrageous of her to have done something so shameful? She deserves to die!”

However, Lin Mengya cast a disapproving look at her elder brother. She almost wanted to give him a lesson on the fact that free courtship was no sin, but now was not the best time to do that.

“She had however miscarried. Moreover, she ingested a tonic which made her look absolutely normal. This tonic is extremely harmful to the body. Coincidentally, I managed to feel her pulse just now. She may not appear abnormal in any now, but she won’t be able to conceive in the future.”

Although Lin Mengya had no idea where this tonic came from, she was certain that Shangguan Qing was not the one who gave the tonic to her. In addition, she had found out the reason why she did not smell any scent of blood from her body.