Lin Jingyue and Eldest Cousin exchanged a glance, realizing that County Princess Yunhua was upset, and the two hurried forward.
Drawing closer, they saw a magnificent small sedan chair parked at the entrance of the manor, flanked by two guards. One of them was Jingfeng, the head guard who served County Princess Yunhua.
Opposite the sedan chair, the Marquis, Lady He, and Tang Yingliu wore expressions of mottled rage and humiliation.
Catching sight of Lin Jingyue approaching, a flash of shared disgust crossed the three faces.
It was all Lin Jingyue's fault.
If she hadn't insisted on inviting County Princess Yunhua to the banquet, how could they have suffered such a massive loss of face right at the front door?!
Even ordinary citizens passing by dared to watch the Chengyuan Marquis Manor make a fool of themselves from afar!
Noticing their hostile gazes, Eldest Cousin stepped forward to shield Lin Jingyue, her face stern as she glared right back at them.
They had no competence of their own, yet wanted to blame Jingyue—what kind of shamelessness was that!
The Marquis hesitated for a moment, then withdrew his gaze with a bitter grimace.
Tang Yingliu felt a mix of frustration and grievance. The moment she thought of how County Princess Yunhua had scolded her in front of a crowd, she lost all appetite for hosting guests, turned around angrily, and stormed back into the manor.
Lin Jingyue couldn't be bothered with the petty scheming of the people in the Chengyuan Marquis Manor.
From the moment she chose to return to the manor in Lin Jingyan's place, she had resolved to renounce romantic love and pursue only wealth and prestige.
She certainly wouldn't lower herself to beg the manor's residents for their approval or hand out crumbs of family affection.
Family affection? Could you eat that stuff? Could you spend it like gold and silver?
No.
Therefore, Lin Jingyue bowed to the Marquis from a distance, gave Eldest Cousin a reassuring look, and then walked with a smile over to County Princess Yunhua's small sedan chair:
"What is the meaning of this? Did someone blunder and offend the County Princess? Who was it? Tell me, County Princess, and I will make sure Father gives them a thorough thrashing."
Lady He was eager for her to smooth things over with the offended County Princess, delighted to watch her lose face in public.
Especially since both she and Yingliu had just been chewed out.
Far from stopping her, she even pressed the Marquis back half a step, just waiting to see Lin Jingyue get whipped.
Jingfeng, however, glanced at Lin Jingyue, thinking inwardly that it was no wonder she had managed to draw the Crown Prince himself to the manor's gates to make inquiries.
At first hearing, these words seemed like an attempt to coax the County Princess, but in reality, they urged her to speak the truth, preventing her from acquiring a reputation for haughtiness due to someone else's mistake.
"The Chengyuan Marquis Manor puts on quite an arrogant display. A visit from the County Princess is a stroke of good fortune others can only pray for, yet your manor's Second Young Miss actually ordered the County Princess to dismount from her sedan on the grounds that she is an elder."
Jingfeng curved his lips into a cold sneer:
"According to your Second Young Miss, if the Crown Prince himself were to arrive in person, would he also have to respectfully dismount from his horse, sedan, or wheelchair, and pay junior respects to the Marquis before he could even set foot in your manor?"
The crowd of onlookers, including Eldest Cousin, simultaneously drew a sharp breath.
Had Tang Yingliu lost her mind?
Daring to order County Princess Yunhua to step down, and then putting on such a wronged expression... Either her fever had burned her brain, or the people in the Chengyuan Marquis Manor had spoiled her rotten, raising her into a lawless creature!
At first, the Marquis didn't think much of it; the manor's lane was narrow and cramped, making it difficult for a small sedan to pass, so Yingliu asking the County Princess to step down was well-intentioned.
Yet after hearing Jingfeng's tirade, he realized belatedly that the tone Tang Yingliu had used carried indeed a high risk of misunderstanding!
Eldest Cousin was the first to snap back to her senses, letting out a merciless, mocking scoff:
"My father has always said: when choosing a wife, choose virtue. It is hardly surprising that a Marquis who marries such a stepwife should raise a litter of addle-brained juniors."
In the dead silence, her voice sounded exceptionally abrupt.
The onlookers secretly cast glances over, and realizing they belonged to the Zheng family, they found it unsurprising.
Who in the Capital didn't know that just as the first wife's traditional seven-day mourning period ended, the Marquis had impatiently welcomed the three-months-pregnant stepwife, Lady He, across his threshold?
Old Madame had risked her old face and fought desperately to stop it, to no avail.
The Zheng family had stipulated that the Marquis could take a stepwife, provided the children left behind by the first wife took the Zheng family name.
The Marquis had struggled for less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense before agreeing without reservation.
The Zheng family had long been dying to sever ties with the Chengyuan Marquis Manor, yet Zheng Jin, as the primary heir to the marquisate, could not be raised within the Zheng family.
The two families had spent these intervening years in an awkward standoff, but everyone in the Capital knew that the day Zheng Jin married would be the day the Zheng family completely cut ties with the Chengyuan Marquis Manor.
Lin Jingyue was stunned. She had anticipated that the Chengyuan Marquis Manor might lack wits and slip up in their speech, and she had expected the County Princess to feel aggrieved after being penalized for galloping through the bustling streets, but she had never imagined the manor's inhabitants could be this stupid.
Where was the tactical brilliance you used to plot against Lin Jingyan in the past life?
...Forget it, handling the situation with County Princess Yunhua came first.
"So that's how it was... It's only right for the County Princess to be angry. If I had gone to a banquet and suffered such an injustice, I'd feel dissatisfied too. I wonder how the County Princess wishes to deal with this? I will certainly give you a proper account."
Jingfeng remained silent.
After a short while, County Princess Yunhua spoke at a leisurely pace: "There's no need. You have just been recognized by the manor, and your position is delicate—how could this County Princess bear to make things difficult for you? Since Tang Yingliu values rules so dearly... Jingfeng, take my token and summon Mammy Liu to tutor her properly for three months. The Mammy's wages will be paid by the Chengyuan Marquis Manor."
Mammy Liu?
Lin Jingyue had heard of her reputation—she was a strict upbringing instructor trained within the imperial palace, highly skilled and utterly merciless.
Yet since Tang Yingliu couldn't keep her mouth shut first, she had no one else to blame.
Lin Jingyue smiled and beckoned to the cowering Marquis and Lady He:
"The County Princess bestowing a personal instructor is a tremendous blessing. Father, Mother, why aren't you hurrying over to express your gratitude?"
The Marquis and Lady He nudged one another back and forth before stepping forward with bitter resignation to express their thanks.
Yet since the gift bestowed by County Princess Yunhua was genuinely an honor rather than a punishment, they couldn't even decline or refuse it!
Having swept away her lingering irritation, County Princess Yunhua lifted the curtain to reveal half her face, passing an exquisite box and a jade thumb ring to Jingfeng.
Jingfeng handed them over to Lin Jingyue.
A trace of lingering anger still colored the voice of County Princess Yunhua:
"What's inside this box is a congratulatory gift from this County Princess to mark your recognition into the family, even though the Chengyuan Marquis Manor is hardly a decent place. If you ever suffer wrongs here in the future, you may bring this jade thumb ring to my residence, and I grant you any single request."
The onlookers wore expressions of astonishment. Setting aside the congratulatory gift, County Princess Yunhua's promise alone was worth more than ten thousand pieces of gold!
Lin Jingyue accepted them, feeling quite flattered.
She had only sent out invitations because she feared the noble County Princess might forget her and wanted to boost her own presence, harboring a faint hope that County Princess Yunhua's gift might help her save face.
She had never expected County Princess Yunhua to come in person, and even after being provoked into anger, to still bestow a congratulatory gift upon her.
Compared to the gift, County Princess Yunhua's promise carried far too much weight—so heavy that she found it hard to accept with a clear conscience.
Lin Jingyue stared fixedly at the small sedan chair, her lips parting.
Without sparing her a glance, Jingfeng raised a hand, and the guards immediately hoisted the sedan chair and departed.
In a forgotten corner, the interior of the Lin family's carriage remained exceptionally quiet.
Lin Jingyan had observed the entire scene from start to finish, and could see Lady Jiang's bizarre expression beside her.
Upon receiving the invitation sent by the Chengyuan Marquis Manor, she had brought Lady Jiang along, harboring the malicious intention of watching Lin Jingyue make a fool of herself.
Right before the carriage stopped, Lin Jingyan had insisted that with Lin Jingyue's grasping nature, only eager for wealth and skilled at currying favor, she could never win the manor's regard—didn't they notice she wasn't even at the gates greeting distinguished guests?
Yet watching the whole spectacle unfold...
A single sentence had been enough to make the lofty Marquis and Marchioness obediently offer a personal apology and expression of gratitude.
Three sentences had smoothed over a crisis with County Princess Yunhua that the Marquis and his wife couldn't handle...
A mere Marquis was already a towering figure the Lin family could never hope to climb up to, let alone County Princess Yunhua, who basked in imperial favor!
Far from being neglected by the Chengyuan Marquis Manor, Lin Jingyue was clearly prized beyond measure!