Chapter 60: Being a Step-Mother is the Original Sin

As the chest was flipped open, the smile on Madam Qin’s face instantly froze.

She was far too familiar with these items!

These were old trinkets dug out from her own storage room. The earliest of them dated back to before she was formally brought into the estate. Back then, Master Lin had settled her outside the residence and procured many belongings for her, several of which were right here in this box.

Strictly speaking, these objects were older than Lin Wanqing.

Subconsciously, she rushed forward and slammed the chest shut.

Zhu Xuejia looked at her in confusion: "Aunt Lin, what is the matter?"

Madam Qin forced a smile and said, "It's nothing, Xuejia. Xianyun and I truly don't mind these matters. No matter what Wanqing brings, we love it."

Zhu Xuejia did not believe her; Madam Qin’s tone just moments ago had hardly implied that.

Putting some strength into her hand, Madam Qin pinched Zhu Xuejia’s arm while rapidly shooting her meaningful glances. "It's quite stuffy inside the room with Xianyun putting on her makeup. Hurry up and go inside to keep her company."

Zhu Xuejia was no fool. Although she did not understand what could possibly be wrong with the contents of the chest, she could tell that Madam Qin did not want others to know what was hidden inside.

While slightly disappointed that she could not thoroughly humiliate Lin Wanqing, this was, after all, the mother of her good friend, and she had no wish to make things too difficult for Madam Qin. Therefore, she followed her lead and said, "Alright then. Since Aunt is magnanimous and refuses to quibble with her, it would hardly be fitting for me to press the issue and refuse to let go, lest people take me for an overbearing bully."

Yielding to Madam Qin’s guidance, Zhu Xuejia walked toward Lin Xianyun’s room.

Suddenly, Lin Wanqing spoke up: "Miss Zhu, please stay your steps. Since matters have already reached this point, if we do not clear things up, others might truly mistake me for a petty person. Therefore, while everyone is still present, allow me to display the wedding gift I have prepared."

Banyxia briskly flipped open the chest and began pulling out the items one by one, calling out the name of each piece as she extracted it.

With every item pulled out, the expressions of the guests in the courtyard grew increasingly colorful.

Good heavens, where on earth had such a collection of scrap metal been gathered?

Just look at those hair ornaments; they were so aged they had turned black. They must have been around for quite a good number of years, hadn't they?

Where on earth did the eldest Miss Lin ever manage to dig up such things to gift her own sister as a wedding contribution?

It was truly no wonder that Zhu Xuejia was being prickly and unforgiving. Things of this sort were considered too shabby even for personal use, let alone being presented as gifts to others—and wedding contributions at that.

This was hardly a congratulatory gift; it was clearly a harbinger of bad luck designed to bring frustration and annoyance!

Every single gaze directed at Lin Wanqing in the courtyard turned frosty and unwelcoming. Even those official madams felt that Lin Wanqing’s behavior was utterly unpresentable. As if they had rehearsed it beforehand, they all took a few steps back, widening the distance between themselves and Lin Wanqing.

They really shouldn't have been in such a rush to come over and exchange pleasantries just now.

She was indeed raised in a merchant’s household—utterly lacking in breeding and magnanimity, a complete embarrassment!

Lin Wanqing took note of the madams' reactions, but she felt no anger. Madam Qin’s complexion, however, grew steadily uglier. She finally understood: this little bitch had done it on purpose!

She had intentionally let Zhu Xuejia drag her over, and intentionally brought these items out before such a vast crowd!

What could she possibly do now to preserve as much of her dignity as she could?

Madam Qin’s mind spun at lightning speed, her eyes darting toward her personal mammy.

There were not many items in the chest, and Banyxia finished emptying it shortly after.

Turning a blind eye to the stares of the others, Lin Wanqing picked up the set of blackened gold ornaments herself. Holding them with a sincere expression, she turned and looked at Madam Qin:

"Madam, I have said it before—intentions are not measured by value. While these items may indeed be worthless, the sentiment behind them is priceless. These things accompanied you for so many years, and the fact that you were willing to part with them and bestow them upon me when I left the estate filled my heart with deep emotion. However, I understand the principle that a gentleman does not seize what another holds dear, and so I seized the opportunity of Xianyun’s marriage to return these items to your side, Madam."

As these words left her lips, all those who had previously shown utter disdain for Lin Wanqing froze in place.

These items were given to Lin Wanqing by Madam Qin as a wedding gift?!

Good heavens, how could Madam Qin bring herself to hand over such shabby things?

Even if Lin Wanqing wasn't her biological daughter, she should at least have put up a facade of propriety when marrying her off.

No wonder Madam Qin had been in such a hurry to slam the chest shut just now; she had recognized these items all along.

"They always say a stepmother is ruthless and incapable of treating a predecessor's child as a human being. It turns out to be entirely true. To brazenly offer such wretched trash as a wedding gift to her stepdaughter... The Lin family is so wealthy, how could she possibly have the face to do such a thing?"

Some individuals who fancied themselves champions of justice began to critique the situation once more.

"I used to hear people say that the eldest Miss Lin had a poor temper and was difficult to get along with. But looking at her today, she is composed and graceful. Even when Zhu Xuejia practically bullied her to her face, her expression never wavered. How on earth were all those idle rumors fabricated in the past?"

"Hmph, do you even need to ask? The eldest Miss Lin’s mother was the daughter of a proper scholarly family, and the eldest Miss carries an air of distinction about her. As for that second miss... I suppose someone was afraid the eldest miss would overshadow her own daughter, and deliberately had those rumors spread."

"Not just that. Over the years, the eldest Miss Lin has scarcely ever walked about outside. I imagine it was because they feared her brilliance would eclipse the second miss's light, so they deliberately kept her cooped up at home and refused to let her show her face."

Those who had previously pointed fingers at Lin Wanqing now turned around and pointed them at Madam Qin instead.

When rebuking Lin Wanqing, everyone had still held back out of respect for her new social standing, not daring to go too far. But they harbored no such reservations when it came to Madam Qin—after all, they were all merchants; no one was inherently nobler than anyone else.

Though the Lin family’s business was massive, nothing in the commercial world was certain. You might be the richest man today, but there was no guarantee you wouldn't capsize in the gutter tomorrow and end up worth nothing. In particular, many of the guests present were business rivals of the Lin family, and now that an opportunity had presented itself to trample upon Madam Qin, those madams would certainly not let it slip by.

The murmur of discussion in the courtyard grew louder and louder. Madam Qin’s complexion was beyond unsightly, but she reacted instantly, feigning utter astonishment as she said, "These things... were the wedding gifts I gave you when you were married off?"

Inwardly, Lin Wanqing sneered, but on the surface, she wore an expression of matching bewilderment: "Does Madam not know? These truly were delivered by people from your courtyard on the very night before my wedding, and they specifically instructed that you had personally selected them, telling me I must keep them safe and sound."

"Could it be that they were not?"

Her sole purpose in coming today was to return this junk to Madam Qin. She hadn't originally intended to make a scene, but Zhu Xuejia had insisted on dragging her into a spectacle, and Madam Qin had clearly intended to use the opportunity to step on her. Since things had reached this point, she would simply go along with the chaos.

As for who would be left holding the bag in the end, it was all profit to her.

Besides, after today's commotion, Madam Qin's reputation would suffer yet another severe blow. No matter how Madam Qin tried to shift the blame, everyone present today would firmly believe that she had instigated the whole thing.

After all, the status of a stepmother was an original sin in itself.