The Old Madame cast a displeased glare at the Marchioness. "If you have this much idle time, you would do better to have an empty courtyard cleaned up for Jingyue to live in."
The Marchioness nodded repeatedly. "Mother is right to chide me; it was a lack of foresight on my part. Someone, hurry and have the Ximing Courtyard to the east cleaned. That was prepared by my late sister before she passed, so it is only fitting to welcome you home with it."
She was willing to let the matter rest, but the Chengyuan Marquis let out a cold snort, glaring at Lin Jingyue with dissatisfaction. "Mother, are you still trying to cover up her faults? Steward Wang just told us—if she hadn't suddenly rushed out, why would you have been bumped into, and why would the horses have been spooked?!"
Lin Jingyue realized then that Steward Wang must have returned ahead of time to poison their minds against her. No wonder the Chengyuan Marquis had seemed vaguely dissatisfied the moment they met.
The Old Madame blinked. "What nonsense are you spouting? It was clearly—"
Lin Jingyue patted the Old Madame’s hand and smilingly took over the conversation. "Since the Marquis is pressing for an answer, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer."
Under the cold gaze of the Chengyuan Marquis and the smug, hidden satisfaction in the Marchioness’s eyes, Lin Jingyue said calmly:
"I do not know how this household disciplines its servants, but when they saw their mistress fall from the carriage, they did not even think to help. If I hadn't been passing by, the Marquis might have lost his mother today. And... I owe a debt to Steward Wang, whom the Marchioness herself trained. His timing in jumping out to stir up trouble was impeccable; otherwise, it wouldn't have angered the noble, and the Old Madame might not have nearly been subjected to a whipping."
Bochun, who was following silently behind, had not expected her usually reserved young mistress to be so sharp-tongued today. She could not help but gasp in shock.
This was tantamount to ripping the skin off the faces of the Chengyuan Marquis and his wife and trampling it into the dirt.
In her previous life, when Lin Jingyue was first acknowledged by the manor, she certainly would not have caused such a scene the moment she stepped through the gates. But having been reborn, she had learned from Lin Jingyan of the ugly, hypocritical faces of the Marquis and his wife.
Since bowing her head and swallowing her grievances would only lead to further bullying and cold treatment, she might as well establish herself as someone not to be trifled with from the very beginning. That would at least make them harbor some caution!
It was the same in business. If you encountered a thug or a ruffian and did not resist, instead offering money respectfully, it would only make the villain greedy and insatiable, coming back again and again to demand more. But if you stood your ground, armed with men and tools, and taught them a lesson they would never forget, they would become afraid and not dare to overstep their bounds so easily!
Of course, she had just arrived at the manor; with no reliable backers and no trusted confidants of her own, she had to tread carefully and keep her wits about her.
Before the Marquis and his wife could recover from her words, she posed another question, her voice gentle, yet every word striking straight to the heart:
"Does the Marquis know who truly bumped into the Old Madame this time? You think the Old Madame is trying to protect me? She is simply trying not to strip you of your face in public, so people don’t find out that you, the Chengyuan Marquis, are nothing but mediocre in the presence of true nobility."
The Marquis’s face flushed red, and he opened his mouth to rebuke her for being unfilial.
The Old Madame sighed heavily and shook her head. "Do not blame Jingyue for speaking bluntly. You... if only you had a bit of ambition, the Chengyuan Marquis Manor wouldn't be in such a sorry state, to the point where even I, your mother, was nearly sent to the Ministry of Justice prison!"
The reason County Princess Yunhua was so arrogant was precisely because the current Chengyuan Marquis and his brothers were incompetent fools. If this were any other noble house, would the County Princess have dared to openly threaten to haul them off to the Ministry of Justice?
The more she thought about it, the more disappointed the Old Madame felt. She closed her eyes wearily and led Lin Jingyue away.
The Chengyuan Marquis, having been fiercely scolded in front of so many servants, stood there crestfallen, unable to recover for a long while.
"My Lord?" the Marchioness called out to him timidly. The Marquis did not even glance at her; he turned and followed them into the main hall.
If she hadn't kept pestering him with questions and sparking his suspicions, would he have been humiliated for nothing?!
And as for Lin Jingyue, a junior raised outside for more than a decade—to dare mock him in public! She truly had no breeding.
Lin Jingyue did not care at all about the Marquis’s attitude toward her. She had returned to the manor not to suffer, but to leverage its influence, and under the guise of being the daughter of the house, to climb up toward truly powerful nobles and enjoy a life of prosperity and wealth.
Therefore, when the Old Madame whispered a soft rebuke, saying she shouldn't have embarrassed the Marquis in public since he was, after all, her father, Lin Jingyue responded with a smile and offered no argument.
Leaving the Marquis’s entourage far behind, Lin Jingyue supported the Old Madame and led Bochun to the main courtyard.
As soon as she stepped inside, she saw a familiar face waiting beside the seat of honor. The man was startled to see her, but he quickly smiled and stepped forward, bowing to the Old Madame.
"My niece, Xu Wenzhou, pays his respects to Auntie. How have you been lately? My father has been missing you dearly."
The Old Madame patted Xu Wenzhou’s shoulder and sighed. "I am well, only... alas, never mind. Come, meet someone. She is the child Xueqing left behind. Her name is Jingyue. After fifteen years, we have finally found her."
"Jingyue, come here. This is my nephew from my maiden family, Xu Wenzhou. You must call him Cousin-Uncle."
Lin Jingyue looked at the man before her—he was clearly the refined middle-aged man from the Jingya Pavilion. She smiled and bowed. "Cousin-Uncle."
Xu Wenzhou: "...No need for such formality. Had I known we were relatives, I would have accompanied you to the manor myself."
The Old Madame heard the note of genuine closeness in his voice and could not help but be surprised. Since the day she married into the Chengyuan Marquis Manor, no one from her own Xu Family had ever shown a kind expression to anyone in this house except for her.
"Oh?" The Old Madame had them sit down and looked from one to the other. "You two have met?"
Xu Wenzhou gestured to the stack of thick books held by the pageboy behind him. "If not for her, I wouldn't have been able to find all the books my father wanted. I would have been in for a scolding when I returned. At the time, I even asked her which family she belonged to so I could thank her, but this girl’s tongue was tight—she didn't let a single word slip."
The Chengyuan Marquis walked in just in time to hear this. He immediately put on a bright smile and chimed in, "To be of help to her Cousin-Uncle is a blessing this child could only dream of. You needn't be so polite with her."
A flicker of displeasure crossed Xu Wenzhou’s eyes.
Lin Jingyue lowered her gaze and sat to the side, saying nothing.
Steward Wang, who had not followed to welcome the Old Madame back, saw the Marchioness’s dark expression and guessed that she was annoyed by Lin Jingyue stealing the spotlight in front of a noble. He stepped out and boasted, "Indeed, the young mistress is most filial. Even upon returning home, she didn't forget to prepare gifts for the elders, even though it delayed her arrival."
He prodded, "Since all the elders are present, why doesn't Miss Jingyue take out the gifts? Although they may be humble, they are a token of your sincerity, and I’m sure the Master and Mistress will not mind."
Lin Jingyue looked at him, a half-smile on her lips.
Tang Yingliu, who had been entertaining the distinguished guest in the main hall, leaned forward and curiously pointed to the white jade bracelet on Lin Jingyue’s wrist. "Gifts? Is it this one?"
The Marchioness patted her daughter’s head. "Don't you worry about that. The quality of this bracelet is mediocre; even the servants would find it lacking in luster. Your sister was raised by merchants, and her standards are surely high. She would never dare present something like this as a gift to anyone."
She had lowered her voice to say this to Tang Yingliu, but it was loud enough for everyone in the room to hear clearly.