Chapter 138
Chapter 138: Mother and Daughter Quarrel
After one stick of incense, the Lin Family elders and the Eldest Master left Xia Meng Yan’s courtyard. News of this spread quickly through every branch of the Lin Family.
The first to lose her calm was Madam Jia. She rushed into her daughter’s courtyard. She did not ask about the fire at Cloud Mountain Temple, but asked whether her daughter had managed to connect with the Zheng Family brother and sister. Lin Qing Wan’s heart felt carved open. The news of the great fire at Cloud Mountain Temple had already reached home. Her mother did not ask if she was hurt. She only worried whether the Zheng siblings had been pleased. [So my safety does not matter, only the Zheng Family.]
“Mother,” Lin Qing Wan yanked open her collar, unable to hold back her tears, “don’t you want to see my injuries?”
Madam Jia froze. Seeing the red marks at her daughter’s neck, she slapped a hand over her mouth: “How did this happen?”
The maid who came back with them had said Qing Wan was unhurt. Madam Jia lifted the hem of her daughter’s robe and saw many small cuts across her back. Her face changed and a bad feeling rose: “Were you…”
“Mother,” Lin Qing Wan pulled her clothes on fast, cutting off her words. She took a deep breath and pressed down her hurt. In that instant she missed Xia Meng Yan’s arms so much, the cousin who had sprinted through danger to save her.
She spoke coldly: “These injuries, in this place, what do they make you think of? Rape?”
Madam Jia’s heart lurched. She heard the bite in her daughter’s voice: “No. You are sitting here safe, and with Xia Meng Yan there, how could anything have happened to you.”
Right. Her daughter was fine. The fire at Cloud Mountain Temple had nothing to do with her. Watching her mother lie to herself, Lin Qing Wan found it laughable. Her mother had run the Lin Family inner court for years. She had seen all kinds of things. How could she have never seen what a raped woman looked like? She did not dare say it out loud, but suspicion and fear still hid in her eyes.
“You are right,” Qing Wan said, “if cousin had not been there, I might have been ruined.”
“What did you say?” Madam Jia jumped to her feet. She glanced at Nanny Sun, who understood and cleared the room, then snapped: “What nonsense is this about being ruined. You are sitting here perfectly fine.”
Lin Qing Wan gave a cold little laugh as a tear slid down: “Don’t you want to know who did it? I will tell you. It was the Zheng Family you are so eager to flatter.”
Madam Jia’s eyes went wide. Then she realized her daughter was taking her anger out on her: “What do you mean by people I want to flatter? Lord Zheng governs Man Lin City. I asked you to get along with the Zheng siblings for your sake and your elder brother’s sake. How can you think of me like this. It hurts me.”
She had not planned to sell her daughter. She only wanted to draw the Lin Family closer to the Zheng Family. She had not thought it would disgust her daughter.
Qing Wan had not wanted to tell her mother at all. But her mother kept asking about the Zheng siblings, and she could not stand it.
“So, if your daughter is bullied by the Zheng Family, will you avenge me?” she asked.
Madam Jia fell silent. All of Man Lin City was under Lord Zheng’s rule. How could she avenge her daughter? Not even the Lin Family could do anything but swallow the loss.
“You silly child, tell me what really happened,” she said, “did Young Master Zheng bully you, or did you clash with Miss Zheng? I need to know the truth.”
If it was truly Young Master Zheng, they might at least bargain with the Zheng Family.
Seeing the calculation in her mother’s eyes, Lin Qing Wan smiled at herself. What had she been hoping for? Her mother treated her well, but only to a point. It was never full love, and never full harshness. Since childhood she had known that girls in big families were the paving stones for men. She had once dreamed she would be the exception. The older she grew, the clearer she saw. Being born into the Lin Family was luck enough. At least she could give an opinion about her marriage. So she went with the flow.
Until Xia Meng Yan divorced with a child. Her uncle and aunt did not blame her. They protected her more. Even her grandfather and grandmother took her side. A little greed grew in Qing Wan’s heart. Maybe she too could be like her cousin, backed by family no matter what. Reality stood in front of her. Women as lucky as her cousin were few. She was not that lucky.
She wiped her eyes and lifted her chin. Her gaze turned cool: “I had not wanted to worry you. Since you have found out, I will not hide it. The Zheng siblings sent men to rape me. Cousin found out in time and pulled me back. Cousin has already gone to Lord Zheng to demand justice for me. If nothing goes wrong, for twenty years the Zheng Family will not dare touch the Lin Family.”
“Twenty years?” Madam Jia stared, stunned. “Did Xia Meng Yan trick you? She is just a woman. How could she make a deal with Lord Zheng?”
Xia Meng Yan was only three years older than Qing Wan. Clever perhaps, but in front of that seasoned Lord Zheng she was nothing. How could there be any deal?
Seeing the disdain in her mother’s eyes, Qing Wan almost laughed. Her mother was also a woman. Looking down on Xia Meng Yan was also looking down on herself. Man Lin City had women heads of households and women shopkeepers. Many were more capable than men and had broader minds. Xia Meng Yan lived in the back courtyard all her life, yet even after divorce she dared to walk straight into the prefect’s office to demand fairness. Qing Wan admired that courage.
“If you do not believe me, ask Father,” she said.
Sensing her daughter was not lying, Madam Jia grew anxious: “All the benefits fall on the Lin Family. What about you? You were bullied by the Zheng siblings. How will they compensate you?”
Qing Wan sprang to her feet and stared in disbelief: “How do you want them to compensate me? By letting the whole city know I was almost raped? Or by marrying me to Young Master Zheng? He likes men. Do you still want me to marry him?”
“What? He likes men?” Madam Jia was struck dumb.
Qing Wan’s cold smile deepened: “Cousin spread the news that Zheng Jingnian was caught with a man to vent my anger. If you had cared a little about outside affairs, you would already know.”
Madam Jia looked awkward. Ever since Concubine Su played the victim and kept clinging to the Eldest Master, Madam Jia had been secretly fighting her day after day, afraid more property would fall into Su’s hands. She truly had not paid attention to outside news.
“How do you know for sure Zheng Jingnian likes men? You cannot spread such talk,” she said.
“We saw it with our own eyes. Is that answer enough?” After her burst of anger, Qing Wan could not even stay angry. In her mother’s eyes and heart there was only Father. Her anger could not change a thing.
“You…” Madam Jia glanced around in fright, then smacked Qing Wan’s shoulder and hissed, “Aren’t you afraid of getting a sty? I knew Xia Meng Yan was not simple. She could have handled this herself. Why did she drag you in?”
The temper Qing Wan had held down for so long finally exploded. She stepped back several paces and stared at Madam Jia: “Cousin went to grab Zheng Jingnian’s shame for my sake. You want me to fold my hands and stand aside. How can you say that?”
“You unfilial girl. I am worrying about your name, and you defend someone else,” Madam Jia snapped.
“That is because cousin defends me,” Qing Wan shot back. “When she heard I was dragged to the back hill of Cloud Mountain Temple, she ran to save me with her big belly and almost fell. She feared I could not get past this in my heart, so she had her maid go with me to beat that beast. You always say cousin schemes too much, but she uses her schemes on outsiders. For her own people, she only protects.”
The more Madam Jia listened, the angrier she felt. It seemed the daughter she had raised for decades would not defend her, and even dared to lecture her for an outsider: “So what. She came to Man Lin City. Without the Lin Family as a backing, the noble houses would have eaten her alive. She owes the Lin Family.”
“What did you say?” A cold voice sounded from the doorway. Mother and daughter turned together.