The Eleventh Chapter

"Young Master Xue, Madam Xue, what a coincidence, meeting you here." Zhao Wenyue saw Xue Mingtang and immediately forgot about her mother.

Madam Xue smiled faintly at Zhao Wenyue, "Miss Zhao, are you here with your sisters? Why are you dressed so plainly when you're out having fun?"

The sisters she mentioned naturally referred to A Chan beside her.

Hearing this, Zhao Wenyue's gaze towards A Chan was as if poisoned. She also inwardly blamed her mother, resenting that she only cared for Ji Chan and wouldn't plan anything for her own daughter, causing her to lose face in front of Xue Mingtang's older sister.

A Chan finally understood why Ji Chan had ended up in this state. Madam Xue's opening remark was clearly meant to sow discord, and she did it so subtly. It seemed she had dealt with Ji Chan the same way back then.

First, she would slowly erode the Marquis of Jinyang's affection for Ji Chan, then drive her out of the house, and finally make her disappear.

Human hearts are unfathomable; A Chan had understood this long ago.

Zhao Wenyue couldn't see through Madam Xue's true face, but Lady Xiao Lin could.

She snorted coldly, "Not like Madam Xue. The Marquis of Jinyang isn't here, yet you're dressed so flamboyantly. Who are you meeting, the father of your child?"

A Chan chuckled. Seeing people looking over, she raised her sleeve to cover her mouth, but she didn't hide her schadenfreude.

Even Madam Xue, who was usually very patient, was so angered by Lady Xiao Lin's words that her face turned pale.

Madam Xue's son and daughter stared intently at Lady Xiao Lin and Ji Chan, seeming to want to say something, but she stopped them with a gesture.

Madam Xue glanced at Lady Xiao Lin's belly and said coldly, "Madam Zhao, you should save some kind words for your unborn child."

"I don't do things that weigh on my conscience, so I don't need to accumulate virtue. I suppose Madam Xue prays to the gods every day at home?"

After speaking, Lady Xiao Lin glared at her daughter, "Wenyue, A Chan, hurry up and follow."

"Mother~" Zhao Wenyue was in a difficult position. Seeing that besides their two families, others were pointing and watching the commotion, she felt her face burning. She quickly followed her mother up the mountain.

A Chan, however, didn't feel embarrassed at all. Lady Xiao Lin's sharp tongue was truly refreshing when directed at people she disliked.

Madam Xue watched A Chan and the others walk away, but she had no intention of following. She just looked coldly at A Chan's graceful retreating figure.

She had noticed earlier that many young gentlemen around were looking at Ji Chan.

She hadn't noticed this when Ji Chan was at the Marquis's manor; this Ji Chan was actually quite attractive. And Lady Xiao Lin, who hadn't seemed to interact with Lady Lin when she was alive, was now showing concern for Lady Lin's daughter after her death.

"Mother, they've gone too far. When we get home, I'll tell Father." Xue Ying looked at the silent Madam Xue and said with concern.

"That's enough, don't bother your father with such a small matter." Her husband was already uneasy about driving Ji Chan away, so she certainly wouldn't let anyone mention Ji Chan to him.

After being told by her mother, Xue Ying turned to tug at Xue Mingtang's sleeve, "Uncle, then you help Mother teach them a lesson."

Xue Zhao, standing nearby, reprimanded, "Alright Yingying, don't bother Uncle."

Xue Mingtang patted Xue Ying's head, "Okay, Uncle will help our Yingying teach them a lesson."

"Mingtang." Madam Xue looked at her younger brother. Didn't he say that Ji Chan seemed to have people from the Mingjing Division behind her? How could she still dare to act?

"Sister, don't worry, I have a plan."

Soon, A Chan and her group arrived in front of the Flower Goddess Temple. It was a small temple, and many young ladies were lining up to offer incense.

Outside the temple gate, there were also stalls selling plum blossoms. A branch cost two wen. When offering incense, people would throw the branch into a pair of jade vases in front of the Flower Goddess statue. Whoever succeeded would receive the Flower Goddess's blessing for the year.

Lady Xiao Lin felt a bit tired and sat on a stone stool nearby to rest. She asked Mama Sun to buy two plum branches for her daughter and niece, and then had them line up to offer incense to the Flower Goddess.

A Chan took the flower and joined the back of the crowd. Zhao Wenyue, however, directly threw the branch on the ground and stomped on it fiercely.

Mother and daughter started arguing again because of the Xue family incident.

Zhao Wenyue accused Lady Xiao Lin of being unreasonable towards the Xue family. Lady Xiao Lin called Zhao Wenyue stupid. In the end, Zhao Wenyue angrily flung her sleeves and ran off.

Mama Sun quickly sent a maidservant to chase after her, while she stayed to comfort Lady Xiao Lin.

A Chan followed the crowd into the Flower Goddess Temple. She first offered incense, then threw the plum branch. Unfortunately, her strength wasn't enough, and the branch hit the rim of the vase and didn't go in.

The girl behind A Chan in line let out a sigh of pity.

When A Chan came out, she was surprised to find that Zhao Wenyue hadn't returned yet.

She walked over to Mama Sun and asked in a low voice, "Mama Sun, hasn't Wenyue returned yet?"

Mama Sun replied, "One of Second Young Lady's maids just came back and said she's picking out jade hairpins at a stall over there. She probably wants to apologize to you, Madam."

As they were talking about Zhao Wenyue, she returned.

Perhaps her mood had improved after buying something, or she had come to her senses. Zhao Wenyue was smiling now, holding a white jade hairpin in her hand.

To A Chan's surprise, the jade hairpin was of good quality.

To be able to buy good jade in such a place, A Chan suspected she had been tricked.

Lady Xiao Lin was probably worried about this too. When she asked, she found out that the stall owner had only charged her five taels of silver.

Seeing Lady Xiao Lin still asking questions, Zhao Wenyue became a little impatient. "Oh, Mother, stop asking. The shopkeeper said he sold me this hairpin because we had a connection. I'll put it in for you."

The jade hairpin was carved with flowing cloud patterns. It didn't really match Lady Xiao Lin's ornate gold hairpin studded with gems, but Lady Xiao Lin kept touching the jade hairpin with her hand, clearly liking her daughter's gift.

Perhaps she felt her daughter had become sensible, knowing to buy her a gift to appease her, and she would be happy no matter what she received.

Zhao Wenyue's mood improved, and Lady Xiao Lin's face broke into a smile. She specifically picked a flower for her daughter and had her offer incense to the Flower Goddess. This time, Zhao Wenyue finally obeyed.

Seeing A Chan looking on wistfully, Lady Xiao Lin beckoned her over. When she approached, she pressed two ingots of silver into A Chan's hand. "Don't just stand here. Go wander around and see if there's anything you like and buy it."

Her main purpose in bringing A Chan today was to show her face. Those who were interested would naturally inquire about people later.

A Chan took Lady Xiao Lin's silver and obediently left.

She was quite interested in the jade hairpin Zhao Wenyue bought. Following the location the maid described, she found that there was no jade hairpin being sold there at all.

Puzzled, she asked the nearby shopkeeper selling silk flowers for information.

"Shopkeeper, where is the person who was selling jade hairpins here just now?"

The shopkeeper replied without looking up, "Oh, him? He's already packed up. He only set up stall here for a little while."

"Were the jade hairpins on that stall selling well?"

"Not really. He only sold one. That old man kept muttering to the young lady who bought the hairpin for a long time. I don't know what he said, but he coaxed the young lady into smiling broadly, and she directly paid five taels of silver. I suspect she was swindled."

A Chan pondered, feeling that something was strange about this matter. It was as if that person was targeting Zhao Wenyue.

When she asked again about the stall owner's whereabouts, the other party didn't know either, so she had to give up.

She wandered around the various stalls again. Seeing someone selling Hundred Flower Cakes, she bought some. On her way back, she saw someone selling sugar-coated chestnuts and bought a pocketful.

Yue Xiao Wen Lai 44x w . com

Unfortunately, on her way back to find Lady Xiao Lin, she ran into Madam Xue again.

This time, Madam Xue was only accompanied by a maid, with no one else.

As the saying goes, enemies often cross paths. The two saw each other, and neither avoided the other.

It was Madam Xue's maid who stepped forward and said rudely, "Young lady, you're blocking our Madam's path. Hurry up and move aside."

"Madam." If Ji Chan heard this title, she would surely be very sad. A Chan couldn't help but think that Madam Xue truly understood Ji Chan, knowing exactly where to poke to cause pain.

Unfortunately, her soft-hearted young lady was already dead.

"What a coincidence. I have something to say to Madam."

Madam Xue looked at A Chan, who stood before her neither servile nor overbearing, her smile not fading from the corner of her lips. She narrowed her eyes slightly.

She glanced around and, seeing no one under the nearby tree, walked over first. A Chan followed.

"What do you want to say? Speak."

"My mother's dowry is still in the Marquis's Manor. I hope Madam can send it to me when you have time." A Chan was direct, asking Madam Xue for Lady Lin's dowry.

Madam Xue scoffed, "What right do you have to demand this of me? Your mother committed adultery. She was long removed from the Marquis's Manor, and her dowry belongs to the Marquis's Manor."

"Is that so? Then I'll have to beat the Dengwen Drum. Let me think, what should I accuse him of? I'll accuse the Marquis of Jinyang of disregarding the law and attempting to pass off a child born of adultery as the legitimate eldest son to inherit the Marquis's Manor." A Chan said this with a laugh, leaning close to Madam Xue's ear and whispering, "Your son won't only fail to become the heir apparent of the Marquis's Manor, he might not even be able to leave the house in the future. And your daughter, do you think she'll die of shame?"

A Chan knew that in Great Xia, succession to titles followed the order of elder brother dying before younger brother, legitimate son before illegitimate son, and even collateral relatives could inherit. However, a child born of adultery was not included.

"You dare!" Madam Xue was furious.

"Of course, I dare." A Chan's words were like needles piercing Madam Xue's heart. "If you make things difficult for me, then I'll have to make sure no one has a good life. You say my mother committed adultery, but you can't find the lover. I say you were intimate with the Marquis of Jinyang, and your two children are evidence."

Madam Xue pinched her palm, finally regaining her composure.

She snorted coldly, "You think too highly of yourself. Do you think anyone will believe you? Even if they believe you, they won't dare to speak up for you."

A Chan blinked, her thick eyelashes fluttering like fans. Her words almost made the Mingjing Division guard hiding in the tree fall off.

She said, "Others may not dare to help me, but Lord Bai cannot afford not to help me."

Madam Xue's expression changed drastically. She remembered what her younger brother had told her before. Ji Chan didn't know how she got involved with the Mingjing Division. He had mentioned a Battalion Commander Feng Yang from the Mingjing Division before, but in Ji Chan's mouth, it became Commander Bai Xiuming?

Moreover, her words were full of ambiguity.

"Ji Chan, don't rashly implicate someone you can't afford to offend for that bit of dowry."

"It's not comparable to Madam. At most, the Bai adult and I have had intimate contact. Unlike Madam, who bore two children for the Marquis."

A Chan thought to herself, if a woman's skin being touched by a man counts as intimate contact, then she, having been whipped by that man until her skin broke and flesh was exposed, had also been touched. Why wasn't that considered intimate contact?

If he didn't let her use Feng Yang, she would use his reputation. Anyway, Madam Xue wouldn't dare to question him. It was a pity she couldn't find out his name, otherwise, it would have been more convincing.

Seeing A Chan's words becoming more and more outrageous, the Mingjing Division Guard hiding above couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.

During the few days he had been monitoring her, he had thought this Miss Ji was gentle in nature. He never expected her to be so wild and to completely disregard proper channels.

According to regulations, he had to record everything Miss Ji said and did daily and submit it.

He didn't dare to imagine what kind of expression the Commander would have when today's record reached his hands.