Chapter One

  The son's college entrance exam has ended, and the results will be announced in two months. Chen's wife, who likes to nag, was taken to the Chen residence for "re-education". Her husband hasn't been visiting his concubine lately, and even the old lady he dislikes hasn't been giving her any trouble since their second son is likely to attend high school. The madam has been living a carefree life, with Zeng's wife and Yun Shuang flattering her on the side, making her worry-free every day. However, just as she was enjoying her good days, something happened in the mansion. It's said that the young master was seen hiding in the backyard with Meng Hui Lan, the granddaughter of the old lady. If they hadn't been discovered, who knows what other shameful things they would have done. The madam almost fainted when she heard the news. Previously, the young master had secretly bullied Jin Fenghua and flirted with Xiuzhu in her courtyard, but at least they were all decent people. But now, he has extended his claws to the declining family of the old lady's household. If this matter doesn't get out, it's fine, but if it does, who knows what waves will arise from the eldest son's marriage?

  The lady endured again and again, but ultimately could not bear it. Her son was wrong, to be sure, but that cheap thing from the Guo family's household couldn't possibly be innocent. Moreover, her son was her own flesh and blood; even if he wasn't good, he must have been seduced by someone else. How could she swallow this insult? Even with the old lady putting pressure on her from above, she absolutely would not allow that sly vixen to enter the Jin family's gates.

  At this time, Mrs. Gou was also furious, her granddaughter didn't understand that she had a selfish and jealous personality, although her nature wasn't bad, but the bad habit of loving vanity hadn't changed for a day. She originally brought her granddaughter to seek refuge with her older sister in order to find a family that wasn't much different from theirs, after all this was the capital city, and their nephew was an official, not to mention marrying a scholar, a merchant would be fine too. But she never thought that her own granddaughter would have the audacity to go and become someone's concubine on her own, let alone with the eldest young master's legitimate wife about to enter the household, who in any family would take a concubine before the legitimate wife entered? It was obvious that her granddaughter had been blinded by wealth and status, still expecting that because of their familial relationship, the eldest young master would treat her differently? It was simply laughable.

  But even if she hated her, she was still the old lady's own granddaughter. Now that things had gone this far, she couldn't not stand up for her granddaughter. After all, no matter how bad her granddaughter was, she was the one who had been wronged in this matter. Even if the young master hadn't gained anything from it, he had still taken advantage of the situation. If the truth were to come out, her granddaughter would be ruined.

  The old lady looked at the aunt's hypocritical appearance, wiping away tears, and was so angry that she almost burst her lungs. She grabbed her son's ear and pushed him to the ground, saying: "Kneel down in front of your grandmother and aunt, and explain things clearly!"

  The young master knew he was in trouble, but he felt wronged. He knew that even if he was promiscuous, there were some women he couldn't touch, like Chen's daughter or the maid his father had taken a liking to. If he had made a move on them, at most he would have gotten a scolding from his mother and sister, or a punishment from his father. But this was different. The young lady from Auntie's house was not just any ordinary woman. She was a respectable girl from a good family, and might even become his concubine one day. If that happened, what would happen to his future wife? What would her family think? He couldn't ignore these consequences. This whole thing wasn't even his doing - it was all because that maid had come onto him shamelessly and clung to him tightly.

  At this, the young master loudly protested his innocence, his face flushing red as he hung his head and said: "I don't know if my cousin has suffered some kind of shock or not. I was just passing by the garden when she suddenly hugged me tightly. It's also my fault for not pushing her away at the time."

  The lady listened, and her heart felt a bit more at ease. Even if her eldest son was usually talkative and unreliable, he absolutely wasn't lying this time. In other words, this matter had nothing to do with her son.

  "Oh dear, it seems like a misunderstanding." The madam said with disgust, glancing at Meng Hui Lan who was crying.

  The lady heard this and also put her heart at ease, no matter what the young master's psychology was, at least he gave everyone a step down. If they made a big deal out of it and used the excuse that the servant girl was being overly surprised and frightened, then both families would save face. She took her granddaughter back to their old home, and this matter could be considered settled. Even if she couldn't arrange a good marriage for her granddaughter, it was still better than leaving her here to become the concubine of the young master.

  It's a pity that Mrs. Meng wanted to follow this path, but Meng Huilan was unwilling. As soon as she arrived in the capital, she was fascinated by the colorful world of the capital. When she arrived at the Jin Mansion, she was even more dazzled by the luxurious attire and decorations of the people above and below. She couldn't imagine that there was such a luxurious world in the official residence in Beijing. Not to mention the madam and several young masters, just look at the maids in the main room of the madam's quarters, their every move, their brocade clothes and jade food, even the appearance of the maids is more delicate than hers. This made her even more unbearable to stay in the old lady's courtyard, and she saw more clearly the difference between a village woman and a wealthy family's daughter.

  She had thought that her aunt's residence would be a grand mansion, with many servants and a life of luxury. However, when she actually moved into her aunt's courtyard, she discovered that her aunt only had one old maid who was past marriageable age and an elderly woman on the verge of death. The luxurious lifestyle she had seen in the mansion of the wealthy lady was nowhere to be found here. All she saw was frugality, simplicity, and listened to her aunt's tedious stories about the past, repeating her struggles in Linqing. However, she had had enough of this kind of life and didn't want to return to the poor and dilapidated place of Linqing. She wanted to live a better life, even if it wasn't as a young mistress, but at least as a respectable lady-in-waiting. She hadn't forgotten the concubines of the old master, especially the favored Cao concubine, whose life was something she had never even dared to dream of before.

  She ignored her grandmother's obstruction and made an effort to get close to the two young masters. Originally, she had approached the second young master who was likely to become an official, but the second young master was focused on his studies and didn't even glance at her. She could only shift her attention to the eldest young master who was known for his flirtatious ways. No matter what, the eldest young master would inherit the Jin Manor, so she could rightfully take the position of a concubine in the Jin Manor.

  Meng Hualan thought that if she didn't succeed today, her grandmother would likely take her back to Linqing. She gritted her teeth and cried out: "Big brother can't disappoint Hualan, you didn't say it like this before."

  The young master was stunned, he wanted to let things go, but this crazy girl actually fell on him, it's really going to harm him. The more he thought about it, the more uncomfortable he felt. Since you are not benevolent, I will not be righteous either. He glared with anger and coldly laughed: "Cousin, let's talk, what did I say before?"

  Meng Hualan was taken aback and hastily twisted her handkerchief, but muttered: "What Brother said, it's not good to say here."

  "What's wrong with saying it? I think it's not my words that are hard to say, but yours!" The young master said stiffly: "You're always used to getting close to me and my second brother, how can you still try to cling to me now?"

  "What's going on here?" Mu Lin asked. She had thought the matter could be easily settled, but unexpectedly that dead girl actually didn't know what was good for her. Madame saw that Auntie's face turned pale and also casually reprimanded her with an ambiguous tone.

  "I didn't, I didn't, Big Brother, I'm really happy..."

  Before Meng Hualan could finish speaking, the aunt rushed over and stuffed a handkerchief into her mouth. Then she had Doumiao pull her towards the inner room, this matter couldn't be mentioned again, if it really got out, there would be no turning back.

  Madam obviously thought of this too, and gave a look to Zeng Yiniang. Zeng Yiniang understood and walked over, pretending to support Meng Xianglan, but actually not letting her break free. In the end, she was sent into the inner room.

  "Hui Lan doesn't understand, she's probably scared too, and let Lin Ge suffer injustice. Come on... hurry up." The auntie forced a smile, stretching out her hand to help the young master up.

  "It's just a misunderstanding, who saw this thing? Dragging it out and getting twenty slaps is really making a big fuss over nothing." Seeing that both the young lady and the madam were intentionally trying to smooth things over, the old lady quickly intervened, using the cost of dismissing a servant to ease the relationship between the two families.

  "It's also my fault for being incompetent... Ah, Chen's wife is not in the mansion, and I'm not good at managing the household either. It's embarrassing to let Lady Meng see this." Although Madame didn't gain anything from this, at least Meng Hualan didn't cling to her son, so this matter can only be brushed aside. But fortunately, after this incident, Lady Meng will probably feel too embarrassed to continue staying here with a guilty conscience.

  The matter in the old lady's room was half settled, but Xian Yi, standing outside, had a cold sweat. Looking at the little girl being dragged away, Xian Yi turned her face away. Fortunately, she hadn't listened to Qiu Jing's words and gone to get something. If she had, it would have been her who was dragged away today. It wasn't that Qiu Jing had ill intentions towards her, but it was hard to say if there was a plot to kill someone with borrowed knives. Xian Yi took a few steps back, looking at the little girl kneeling beside Meng Hualan outside, then turned to look at Yun Shuang's calm face across from her, and felt a chill in her heart. Who had told Meng Hualan that Young Master would be going to the backyard? Who had used Qiu Jing's hands to lead her to discover this matter? And whose favor had the little girl beside Meng Hualan received before? Xian Yi didn't dare let herself think about it anymore. At this moment, she missed her mother terribly.

  However, except for Jin Fenghua and Xian Yi, no one had expected that after Chen's nanny left that day, she would never return to the Jin Mansion again.