You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

As soon as Chu Nianci left, Wei Ruixuan fell into a deathly silence.

The Lin family members looked at each other, their faces turning ashen.

No one expected that Chu Nianci, who was always gentle, polite, and easy to manipulate, would be so tough.

Madam Xie helped Lin Jingjue sit down, her kind and gentle face now cold and gloomy. She glanced at the several burly old women behind her and said, "Keep a close eye on Wei Ruixuan. Don't let her leave the manor. Once she and Jingrui have their wedding ceremony and enter the bridal chamber tomorrow, she'll naturally behave herself."

Ultimately, this girl has no powerful backers in the capital.

Having an uncle is just a businessman; he can't cause any big trouble.

Even if her family from Jiangnan came looking for them later and the deed was done, they would have no choice but to accept it.

Besides, the Earl's family gave her the position of principal wife, so who can find fault with that?

The old women bowed their heads in agreement.

"She seems to be defiant," Lin Beichen said, rising with a dark expression and pacing back and forth. "I'll go to the palace right now and ask Her Majesty the Empress for a decree to confirm that Jingrui married in place of his brother. Once the decree is issued, I'll see how arrogant this disobedient daughter can be!"

As she spoke, Madam Xie stood up and led everyone away. This place was considered unlucky, and she didn't want to stay there any longer.

Half an hour later, when Chu Nianci returned to Weiruixuan with Tuanyuan, the courtyard was filled with chests and boxes, containing treasures collected from various rooms, as well as her personal belongings, crowding the corridor. A group of servants were tidying up and binding them.

Everyone bowed to her, and Chu Nianci said a lot of words to comfort them before returning to her room to rest.

She took a relaxing bath, lit some calming incense, and slept soundly until midnight, only to be woken up by an argument outside the door.

It was Doukou's voice, urgent and sharp.

Chu Nianci opened her eyes groggily, and Tuanyuan quickly tucked the blanket around her.

"What's all the commotion outside?"

"Don't worry about it, girl, it's none of your business." Tuanyuan handed over a cup of warm milk, which smelled delicious.

This girl always tries to fatten her up, but she doesn't know that she is naturally thin and weak, and no matter how much she is fattened up, she will never be plump.

Chu Nianci had just taken a small sip of milk when she heard Hongying's clear voice coming from outside the courtyard gate: "You heartless wretch! The young lady is unwell and is resting after taking her medicine. If you dare to make another sound, I'll smash your mouth open!"

Doukou was sweating profusely with anxiety: "But...but Madam is in so much pain, let her go and serve her..."

"Pah!" Hongying spat in her face. "Isn't there a female doctor in the manor? What does she want with my young lady?"

"Her medicine...it's not working."

"Oh? Even the female physician can't cure it, what can our young lady do?" Hongying sneered and slammed the courtyard gate shut.

Chu Nianci leaned against the headboard, sipping the warm milk tea in her cup, and felt that the tea tasted especially sweet tonight.

After Hongying's scolding, no one bothered them that night.

Just as Lin Jingrui had comforted Chu Shunqing to sleep, Granny Tian, ​​who was by his mother's side, rushed in in a panic: "Young Master, something terrible has happened! The Old Madam has fainted from the pain caused by the Madam's anger, and she has run out of medicine. Young Master, quickly go and ask her for some wind-dispelling pills."

Lin Jingrui's teacup wobbled.

Chu Nianci!

Although I knew something was off about tonight's events.

But he always believed that his daughter-in-law should not disobey her mother and make her so angry. She was not acting like a proper daughter-in-law at all.

He suddenly stood up and strode towards Wei Ruixuan.

When Lin Jingrui stormed into the inner room in a fit of rage, Chu Nianci was putting on her makeup in front of the mirror.

"Chu Nianci, are you ever going to stop?" He flung open the beaded curtain. "You dare to use my mother's illness to blackmail me!"

Upon hearing this angry roar, Tuanyuan and Hongying were so frightened that they immediately stood in front of their master.

Hongying grabbed her long hairpin and pointed it at him, saying, "Stop! Take another step forward and don't blame me for being impolite!"

"Outrageous!" Lin Jingrui trembled with rage.

At this moment, he truly regretted that he had studied the path of literature and medicine. If he had been a military general like his father, he would have slapped this wicked maid away long ago.

"Step down," Chu Nianci said calmly.

The two maids cautiously stepped aside, their eyes still fixed on him.

Only then did Lin Jingrui get a clear look at her.

She had just finished applying her makeup, the floral yellow reflecting off her phoenix eyes. The golden hairpin swayed as the vermilion between her brows shone brightly. The curve of her phoenix eyes, which should have been sharp, was softened by her thick, long eyelashes. When her gaze moved, it made the whole room sparkle.

A moment of distraction, a moment of heartbeat.

But the thought of his mother's miserable condition on her sickbed instantly extinguished that feeling of attraction.

"Last night, Mother fell ill, and you didn't care at all," he questioned coldly. "Is this your filial piety? Do you know that Shunqing stayed by her side all night!"

Chu Nianci's lips curled into a sneer: "I've served her for half a year, and she only stayed up for one night, yet you come to reprimand me. How fair of you."

"This..." Lin Jingrui's porcelain-white face froze slightly. "It's truly laughable that you would compare yourself to her in something like this? Is this the kind of unfilial daughter the Qiao family of Jiangnan has raised?"

Looking at the face that had once captivated her, Chu Nianci felt utterly ironic.

What kind of person did she love in her past life?

Every word is so biased.

Perhaps, in a past life, I never truly saw him clearly.

"Since I am so unfilial," she raised her eyes, her gaze sharp and piercing, "why don't you divorce me?"

Lin Jingrui stared at her in disbelief, his eyes gradually turning sinister.

Is this really his gentle, tender, and deeply affectionate fiancée?

Six months ago, when she saw me off, she seemed reluctant to part with me.

Her features remain as beautiful as ever, but it's as if she has been transformed.

Is he really going to divorce her?

Lin Jingrui felt as if a fire was burning in his chest, blazing in his eyes.

But the thought of divorcing her...

For some reason, the mere thought of her leaving caused a sudden pang of pain in my heart.

Lin Jingrui originally wanted to have a proper discussion, but when he saw her resting her chin on her hand, looking nonchalant and unyielding, his anger flared up. He took a step forward and approached Chu Nianci, his voice low and full of anger, "We have a marriage certificate, you are my woman, and in this life, you will never leave the Lin family."

"Whether you can keep me here or not is your skill; whether you can leave or not is my method," Chu Nianci said without even lifting her eyelids, still resting her chin on her hand, looking like she was watching a show. "Instead of wasting time showing off to me here, you should hurry up and serve your mother. That's true filial piety."

Lin Jingrui was so angry that he felt dizzy.

He couldn't understand how his former fiancée, who was as gentle as a begonia, had suddenly become a rose covered in thorns.

Thinking of his mother's illness, Lin Jingrui suppressed his anger and tried to reason with her: "Serving your mother-in-law is a daughter-in-law's duty. If you stop giving her the medicine, what kind of talk will it be? As long as you send over the wind-dispelling pills, I'll stay here with you tonight. If you're lucky enough to give birth to the eldest son..."

They have already made huge concessions.

She should be content.

Chu Nianci finally looked up at him, a slight sneer on her lips, "I already told you, the medicine is long gone."

Her tone was neither warm nor cold; as she spoke, she fiddled with the jade ring on her fingernails.

"Chu Nianci!" Lin Jingrui's patience ran out...

Just then, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.

Butler Hu stood at the door, sweating profusely. Lin Jingrui, in a fit of rage, snapped, "You ill-mannered wretch! Come in and say what you have to say!"

Steward Hu had no choice but to enter, wiping his sweat as he said, "The manager of Yuehuang Restaurant is here to collect payment. Fifty-six tables of top-class food, totaling five thousand six hundred taels of silver, and the account... the account doesn't have enough cash to cover it!"

Lin Jingrui stood inside Weiruixuan, his face turning pale and then red.

He forced himself to speak, "The household is currently experiencing a cash shortage; please provide six thousand taels of silver as an emergency measure."

Chu Nianci raised her clear, phoenix-like eyes, a thin layer of mockery floating in them: "Is the young master asking me for 'money'?"

"It's just a matter of borrowing money," Lin Jingrui said, feeling a little uncomfortable under her gaze, but he maintained his composure. "You'll still get your share of the interest."

"Fine," Chu Nianci glared at him coldly, "Then please have the young master draw up a written agreement, sign and affix his seal, and I will lend it to you immediately."

Once you have a written receipt, you'll have a way to make him acknowledge the debt later.

"Why would a husband and wife need to sign an IOU!" Lin Jingrui's ears burned.

Making him feel humiliated by signing a loan agreement.

Chu Nianci stared intently at him: "I have never heard of a man taking a bride's dowry when he marries, let alone the fact that the young master wants to take my sister as a concubine. Should I bear this responsibility as well? Is there such a rule in the world?"

"It's just a temporary measure!" Lin Jingrui's face turned pale.

"As the saying goes, even close brothers should keep clear accounts," Chu Nianci said calmly. "Without a loan agreement, I don't have a single penny."

"Chu Nianci," Lin Jingrui said, enraged, "how can you be so unreasonable? I thought you were a well-educated and sensible young lady from a respectable family, but it turns out you're no different from a penny-pinching merchant!"

"See him out." Chu Nianci didn't want to waste any more time with him.

Tuanyuan immediately stepped forward, his face stern, and said, "Your Highness, please."

Lin Jingrui's sinister eyes were fixed on Chu Nianci as he gritted his teeth and said, "You'd better wash yourself clean and wait for me in bed tomorrow night!"

After saying that, he stood up with a cold face, turned around and left angrily.

Seeing the man walk away, Hongying stomped her feet in anger, her eyes reddening: "Miss, do you really want to marry this kind of person?"

Tears streamed down her face as she became so anxious.

"Silly girl, don't be afraid," Chu Nianci reached out and gently brushed her tear-streaked cheeks. "Even if I have to marry him in the end, I won't let him get close to me."

Hongying wiped away her tears and nodded vigorously: "Don't worry, Miss, I'll protect you."

"That's my good girl." Chu Nianci nodded with a smile. She then turned to Tuanyuan and said, "Go and take out that large silver note from the bottom of the box and sew it into my undergarments."

That was the money her mother left her to save for her; she absolutely could not lose it.

"Tell the people we brought with us to be quick-witted and act according to the situation tomorrow."

Tomorrow I will leave this cage with my family and dowry.

Lin Jingrui returned to Shou'an Hall, seething with anger.

The old man paced back and forth like a trapped beast, while Madam Xie leaned against the headboard, her face ashen.

"Where's the medicine? Where's the money?" the old man asked anxiously.

Lin Jingrui recounted the matter in a somber and cryptic tone.

Upon hearing this, the old man slammed his fist on the table: "My dignified Earl's mansion is actually controlled by the daughter of a mere merchant!"

Madam Xie struggled to her feet, panting, and said, "Go... pawn Shunqing's gold necklace and jade headdress. They should be worth five or six thousand taels. Let's get through this first."

"But that was Shunqing's dowry..." Lin Jingrui hesitated.

"It's alright," a calculating glint flashed in Madam Xie's eyes. "Shunqing is sensible. After today, we'll just give her double the dowry from Nianci."

The old man nodded with a gloomy face: "We'll bring her in first, and after the wedding ceremony, her dowry will naturally belong to the manor."

Although Lin Jingrui felt ashamed to use the bride's dowry, he suppressed his discomfort when he remembered the humiliation he had just suffered.

Perhaps, she will only return to her docile self once she loses her support.

Madam Xie applied powder in front of the mirror, re-outlining the contours of the mistress of the house, but her eyes remained tired and cloudy.

"Jingrui, go to the front hall to attend to the guests. The wedding will proceed as planned. We'll discuss everything else after tomorrow."

Lin Jingrui nodded emphatically, clenching his fist.

Chu Nianci, let you be smug for a moment.

Wait until tomorrow, then we'll see how you manage to keep your head down.