Yueyao lowered her head and said after a long while, "Alright, I’ll listen to you."
An Zhichen knew Yueyao was upset and held her in his arms: "I won’t pursue the past anymore, if Tingzheng listens to you and divorces Madam Lin this ti, you can find him a capable and virtuous wife. If he doesn’t listen to you and refuses to leave Madam Lin, then keep your distance. Even from a distance, you can find peace! Yueyao, you’ve done everything you should as a sister, and even things you shouldn’t have. Even after a hundred years, when you’re beneath the earth, father-in-law and mother-in-law won’t bla you." Since Tingzheng wouldn’t give up Madam Lin, An Zhichen decided all future matters should be handled by Tingzheng himself. He wouldn’t allow Yueyao to clean up after Tingzheng anymore, nor would he permit Madam Lin to act arrogantly in his ho.
An Zhichen not only despised Madam Lin but was also full of anger towards Tingzheng. Yueyao had put in so much effort to raise him and deliberated extensively for his future, spending money and labor during his marriage. The result was that he married such an inconsiderate wife. It would be one thing if Madam Lin were inconsiderate, but Tingzheng not restraining her and allowing her to bully Yueyao was unacceptable.
Yueyao felt a little sad, wondering how things had co to this. After a while, Yueyao said, "I don’t quite understand. Even if I didn’t agree to that marriage initially, I did nothing later. Why does Madam Lin hate so much?" Her intention for Tingzheng to divorce Madam Lin was only ford after Madam Lin returned from Haikou. She had never thought in ill terms of Madam Lin before, let alone done anything excessive!
An Zhichen laughed and said, "If her mind were clear, she wouldn’t have done such foolish things." An Zhichen implied that Madam Lin was not sensible, so reasoning with her was impossible.
In An Zhichen’s mind, Lin Qinghan was soone without sense. Would a person in their right mind treat their husband’s elder sister, who raised them, as an enemy? If her mind were clear, would she let the Imperial Censor impeach her husband for corruption and almost cause him to lose his position?
An Zhichen was actually puzzled too. He had investigated at the ti, and Madam Lin’s reputation was good, which was why he persuaded Yueyao to agree to the marriage. He never expected Madam Lin would turn out to be so disappointing. From this incident, An Zhichen learned a lesson, believing that Yueyao should be the one to choose their sons’ wives in the future. Relying solely on external opinions was unreliable.
In fact, Yueyao’s temperant was a bit soft, whereas An Zhichen was the strong-willed type. The couple’s personalities complented each other well.
When Old Master Lin sought out An Zhichen, An Zhichen was not as easy to talk to as Yueyao. He directly questioned Old Master Lin: "I won’t pursue the misunderstanding about the red coral tree. But after the incident, not only did your daughter not apologize, she even dared to say she would compensate according to the value? Does she think my family lacks that amount of silver? She took my daughter’s dowry without a hint of remorse and only let the steward’s lady send three thousand taels of silver to my residence. It’s only because my wife is lenient that she allowed your daughter to act wildly in my ho. If I were at ho, I wouldn’t have allowed her to set foot in my residence again."
Old Master Lin hurriedly said, "Earl, it must be a misunderstanding. My wife personally brought our youngest daughter to apologize, there certainly wasn’t..."
An Zhichen sneered, "You can ask Lady Lin whether this happened. My wife raised Tingzheng, and your daughter should respect her at the very least, if not treat her like a mother-in-law! But what did your daughter do? When a maid climbed into bed, she accused my wife of setting it up maliciously, spreading rumors in the Capital City to ruin my wife’s reputation; when she couldn’t conceive, she blad my wife, too. I don’t care to say more. My wife is lenient and won’t argue with her, but I won’t tolerate her being treated this way by you." Madam Lin’s behavior clearly showed she disregarded Yueyao. An Zhichen couldn’t care less what happened in the Lian family, but bullying Yueyao was intolerable. In all these years of marriage, he never let Yueyao suffer any grievances. Yet, being bullied repeatedly by Madam Lin, that he absolutely couldn’t endure.
Old Master Lin’s face turned red after hearing these words. In truth, Old Master Lin did not manage internal affairs and was unaware of Lin Qinghan’s actions.
An Zhichen looked coldly and said, "Madam Lin is Tingzheng’s wife and part of the Lian family, so I cannot interfere. But I absolutely will not allow her to step into the An family household again."
Old Master Lin’s face turned an ugly shade of blue and purple.
An Zhichen no longer wasted words with Old Master Lin and turned to leave the private room to go ho.
Old Master Lin returned ho to question Lady Lin, but Lady Lin denied it all. Old Master Lin angrily asked, "Are these things true or not?"
Lady Lin cried and said, "Old Master, these are all misunderstandings."
Old Master Lin beca furious: "The Earl of Pingyang has already made it clear that Qinghan is not allowed to step into the An family. Yet you’re still here talking about misunderstandings; would you not tell the truth?" Rationally, Old Master Lin believed what An Zhichen said was true because such facts couldn’t be fabricated, especially since the Earl had not been in the Capital City for years. Yet, emotionally, Old Master Lin couldn’t believe it was true. If true, the Lin family would indeed be utterly disgraced if spread.
Lady Lin was shocked and asked, "What? The Earl of Pingyang actually forbade Qinghan to enter the An family residence?" If this spreads, her daughter would have no place in the Capital City.
Old Master Lin stared at Lady Lin and asked, "Will you not tell the truth?"
Lady Lin cried uncontrollably: "Old Master, I don’t know what happened to Qinghan? I’ve been advising her, but no matter how I try, it’s no use, as if she’s bewitched."
Old Master Lin’s face suddenly turned dark: "So, what the Earl of Pingyang said is true then?"
Lady Lin quickly defended: "It’s not that bad. Qinghan has gone to apologize several tis, but Madam Lian has always been cold to her..."
Old Master Lin sternly ordered: "Get that unfilial daughter back here imdiately."
Reviews
All reviews (0)