Chapter 56: Su Jincheng Wants to Call Off the Engagement

Patriarch Lu and the others never expected that Lin Wanqing would directly toss this problem back to them, leaving them all dumbfounded.

It took him a good while to react, and he hurriedly said, "Nieces-in-law—ah, nephew's wife, Qinian's schooling concerns the foundation of the Lu family for a century to come. We cannot be so hasty..."

Lin Wanqing nodded with a straight face, "Uncle Patriarch is entirely right, which is why I thought of entrusting this matter to all of you, esteemed uncles. I am of humble birth, young in years, and have never seen much of the world. I am not well-versed in the affairs of Yuzhou City either. You, esteemed uncles, are older than I am and have seen the great world; whatever you do will be much more proper than anything I can manage."

"Qinian's schooling is of the utmost importance, so I must really trouble all of you esteemed uncles to put your hearts into it."

Patriarch Lu grew anxious, "Niece-in-law, how can this matter be handled so casually? Qinian is the eldest legitimate grandson of the General's Mansion, and you are his legal stepmother. This is something that ought to be handled by you."

Lin Wanqing sighed and said, "That may be so, but am I not young and inexperienced? Qinian represents the hope of the General's Mansion, and also the hope of the Lu clan. Now my husband is away on campaign, leaving only the old, the weak, the women, and the children in the mansion. If it weren't for you esteemed uncles coming to the door today, I wouldn't even have known what to do."

In other words, had they not come to make trouble, she wouldn't even have known the Lu family had so many relatives.

For more than a month, not a single member of the Lu clan had bothered to visit.

Patriarch Lu wore a slightly embarrassed expression. "Niece-in-law need not worry overly much. This matter can be taken slowly..."

Lin Wanqing interrupted him, "This matter cannot be delayed! Uncle, Qinian is the hope of our Lu clan. If he misses a day of schooling, I shall be restless day and night, yet my capabilities are truly limited."

"Uncle, although our main branch and collateral branches do not usually frequent each other's homes on ordinary days, the same character for Lu is written with the same strokes. Therefore, finding a school for Qinian is completely entrusted to all of you. When the General returns, I will certainly tell him the truth about this so that he knows how united our Lu family is. Then, when he goes back to the battlefield in the future, he will be able to fight with peace of mind."

With one high-sounding rhetoric piled upon another, Patriarch Lu could simply find no words to refuse.

After the group was escorted out of the General's Mansion, it dawned on them belatedly: they had made this trip originally to hold her accountable, so how did they end up taking on such a massive burden?

That Lu Qinian was a little demon king.

Where on earth in Yuzhou City would still be willing to take him in?

The men looked at each other in dismay. What was to be done now?

Lin Wanqing cared not what they planned to do; anyway, she had successfully tossed this hot potato away.

***

Finding a school for Lu Qinian—regardless of whether it was found well or not—would never bring any reward in the end.

If it was found well, it was merely her duty, not worth praising. But if there was even the slightest flaw, it would mean she, the stepmother, did not care and intentionally delayed the future of the Lu family's eldest legitimate grandson.

Judging by the posture of these old fellows rushing over to hold her accountable without even offering a greeting, she simply could not meddle too much in this affair.

As for whether they would earnestly find a good school for Lu Qinian, she couldn't be bothered to worry. With Lu Qinian's temper, could he ever mend his ways just by being placed in a good school?

Presently, she had no intention whatsoever of straightening out Lu Qinian.

Meddle less in idle matters, and one will live a long and healthy life.

Lin Wanqing happily cast the matter behind her and calmly prepared to watch Lin Xianyun make a fool of herself.

Lin Xianyun's wedding day had arrived, and there were only a few days left before the great celebration. Yet Su Jinche chose this exact moment to kick up a fuss about calling off the marriage.

Thanks to Lin Wanqing's blessing, Su Jinche and his concubine-servant already knew the truth about the miscarriage.

When Madam Su learned that the Lin family had bribed her own trusted mammy to administer abortion medicine to the servant girl—causing not only the loss of the child but also injuring her very foundation so that future offspring would be difficult—she flew into a rage, cursing furiously at home for days.

"God-damning, heartless harlot! She couldn't even tolerate an unborn child! What harm could a concubine-born child possibly do to her? Just a mere merchant's daughter, and she really thinks she's somebody! My poor, pitiful little grandson, why was your fate so cruel..."

As for the mammy who betrayed her master and administered the medicine, Madam Su had her chased out and sold off.

Su Jinche's courtyard was equally turbulent.

The bond between the servant girl and Su Jinche went back to their childhood, and she was also his very first woman; naturally, her position in Su Jinche's heart was extraordinary. Having had her child destroyed by Lin Xianyun and losing the ability to ever conceive again, she harbored a bitter hatred for Lin Xianyun.

Knowing she could never compete with Lin Xianyun, she made no scene. Day after day, she clutched the tiny garments she had sewn for the child and wept in silence.

Su Jinche felt heartache beyond measure and went personally to comfort her, saying, "Lanxiang, do not be like this; your health is what matters most. Once you nurse your health back to strength, we will have children again in the future."

Tears streaming down her face, Lanxiang replied, "Young Master, this humble maid dares not harbor any further extravagant hopes. Since the young lady of the Lin family cannot tolerate this maid, I shall not make things difficult for the Young Master. Once my health improves somewhat, I will request permission to leave the mansion for the countryside estate. From then on, I will pray for the Young Master daily at the estate, begging the heavens to bless the Young Master so that he may soon place high in the imperial examinations. Once the Young Master achieves high rank, you will no longer have to suffer such grievances."

These words struck precisely at Su Jinche's pride.

Su Jinche was a man both intensely conceited and profoundly insecure.

In his past life, Lin Wanqing had spared no effort to pave the way for him, yet the very first blade he wielded after coming to power was slashed at Lin Wanqing, because he could never accept others saying he had climbed up by relying on a woman.

In this lifetime, for the Lin family to treat him thus—was it not precisely because he required the Lin family's assistance that they dared to act so presumptuously?

The mere thought of being forever ridden over by such parents-in-law made Su Jinche feel suffocated.

Thus, he sought out Madam Su and dropped a remark that scared her out of her wits: "I want to call off the marriage! I will absolutely not marry such a vicious and narrow-minded woman as my wife!"

Madam Su grew so dizzy with anxiety that darkness swam before her eyes. "What madness are you uttering?! The auspicious day is almost upon us, and you say you want to call off the marriage! Your marriage with her has long been nailed down; if you refuse to marry her, your spine will be snapped by the pointing fingers of the public!"

When Lin Xianyun had seduced Su Jinche in the study house, so many people had witnessed it that their reputations were already ruined long ago. If Su Jinche were to break the engagement at this juncture, the entire Su family would be cursed to death. Su Jinche himself would likely be barred from the imperial examinations due to a flawed character.

Knowing Madam Su spoke the truth, Su Jinche felt all the more wretched.

Why had he been so foolish back then, losing all reason the moment Lin Xianyun seduced him?

The realization that his upright and honorable image had been tarnished because of Lin Xianyun filled Su Jinche with even greater fury.

Previously, he had been stirred into a flurry of romantic distraction by Lin Xianyun and had never given matters deep thought. Now that those romantic stirs had vanished, he began to recall his past entanglements with Lin Xianyun.

The more he thought about it, the darker Su Jinche's complexion became.

For a young maiden like Lin Xianyun to behave with such loose abandon, daring to flirt with him right there in the study house—what must she be like behind closed doors...

Good heavens, what sort of creature was the woman he was about to welcome into his household as a bride?