kvmb Chapter 356 I Will Die in Peace
Chapter 356 I Will Die in Peace
Madam Lin was shocked and angrily rebuked, "You despicable thing! If you keep spouting nonsense, I'll have your tongue pulled out!"
The maid's face turned pale, and she knelt down with a thud: "The Jiang family has brought back all the betrothal gifts that our mansion gave us."
Madam Lin stared blankly at the maid, unable to come to her senses.
The Lin family was going through a turbulent time, and she thought that as long as they could get through this period, they would prosper again as before.
Unexpectedly, the Jiang family, who should have stood with the Lin family through thick and thin, came to annul the engagement.
This news was like a bolt from the blue for Madam Lin.
She hurriedly went to the front hall, leaning on her cane, wanting to ask the Jiang family the reason for breaking off the engagement and try to salvage the marriage.
They want to overthrow Zhao Yi, or support the virtuous prince as the crown prince; the Jiang family is too important.
As soon as Madam Lin entered the front hall, she saw that the hall was piled with trunks and boxes.
Even though she had already heard the news, she was still shocked when she saw it with her own eyes.
She looked up at Madam Jiang, who was sitting in the armchair, her wrinkled face beaming with smiles: "My dear in-law, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
Then she added, "Nian-ge'er is too naive, raised by his parents. Seeing his father die unjustly, he wanted to avenge him, but it caused a huge misunderstanding. Sigh, in the end, he's still just a child. However, he is a filial son. I scolded him and punished him, and he promised he wouldn't dare to do anything reckless again."
Madam Jiang twitched the corner of her mouth. Lin Qinian was already twenty years old, yet he was still a child. How could Old Madam Lin say that?
She knew perfectly well that the reason why Old Madam Lin said those words was simply to explain to her why Lin Qinian had attracted public attention.
After Lin Yi was beheaded and the Lin family was punished, the Jiang family intended to annul the engagement, but they lacked a reason to do so.
Now that news has spread that Lin Qinian is unable to have children, it has given the Jiang family a reason to annul the engagement.
“Our Qi’er is still a child, and she needs a mature and stable husband who will cherish and love her. Now it seems that the two of them are even less suitable.” Madam Jiang said with a smile, “Your Nian’er needs to find a well-educated, virtuous and dignified wife to complement him, so that the couple can live a more and more harmonious life together in the future.”
Madam Lin's smile froze. Her intention in saying this was to hope that Madam Jiang would not hold a grudge against Lin Qinian.
To everyone's surprise, Madam Jiang went along with her words and proposed to dissolve the engagement.
Madam Lin pretended not to understand the meaning behind Madam Jiang's words: "Nian'er has caused such a trouble, but he has learned his lesson and will become more mature and steady in the future. No one is born mature and steady, so we, as elders, should be more tolerant."
Before Madam Jiang could speak, Old Madam Lin continued, "Our Lin family suffered a calamity, but fortunately you stayed by our side, which helped me recover from the blow. The Lin family will repay this kindness tenfold in the future."
Madam Lin instructed her maid, Sun, "Today, when I came out of the palace, Consort Shu bestowed upon me a box of tea. Brew some tea with this tea and let my in-laws have a taste."
Then she said to Madam Jiang, "I know you have always loved tea. If you like this tea, please take this box of tea with you. I am getting old, and drinking tea makes it hard for me to sleep at night."
Madam Jiang smiled, but her smile was not genuine.
Old Madam Lin's words were a blatant threat; her very first sentence was a veiled implication. She implied that once the Lin family's troubles subsided, she would repay kindness and avenge wrongs.
What's even more interesting is the following sentence, which deliberately uses tea as a pretext to bring up Consort Shu, letting the Jiang family know that the Lin family has not fallen yet, and there is still Consort Shu in the palace.
"Before my husband left, he specifically told me that it was not auspicious to accept gifts today, as it might bring bad luck," Madam Jiang retorted.
Madam Lin's face darkened. Madam Jiang brought up Supervisor Jiang, intentionally telling her that while the Lin family had a Consort Shu, the Jiang family was no less impressive, having a Supervisor in the Imperial Observatory.
In particular, Jiang Jianzheng was highly regarded by the Northern Qi emperor and his position was irreplaceable.
However, Consort Shu was not indispensable.
“Grandma Lin, Nian’er is still young and a child. As an elder, I should be more tolerant of him. But as a mother, I have to think about my daughter.”
Madam Jiang sighed, "I don't expect her to marry into a high-ranking family. I only hope that she will be surrounded by her children and grandchildren and have a husband who loves her."
Madam Lin's expression suddenly changed. She was about to explain that Lin Qinian was able to have children, but this situation was impossible to explain clearly.
Feeling frustrated, she decided to play the emotional card, hoping that Madam Jiang would consider the long-standing friendship between the two families and refrain from mentioning annulment for the time being.
Madam Jiang, however, stopped beating around the bush and said bluntly, "The two families formed this marriage alliance to help and support each other. If the two children are not suitable, they will become a resentful couple in the future, and the two families will become enemies. It would be better to take advantage of the remaining time to dissolve the engagement and let each of them find their own good match."
As soon as she finished speaking, Madam Jiang took out the betrothal letter and birth certificate from her sleeve, placed them on the tea table, and left with her maid.
As Madam Lin watched Madam Jiang's departing figure, her anger surged, and she abruptly knocked over the teacup beside her.
With a crash, the teacup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
The maid was so frightened that she dared not utter a sound.
"These people are riding roughshod over the Lin family. Do they think the Lin family has no one left?" Old Madam Lin's eyes were full of anger. She hated the Jiang family and even more so Zhao Yi.
If it weren't for Zhao Yi's letter, she wouldn't have asked the imperial physician to examine Lin Qinian, and the news that Lin Qinian was infertile wouldn't have spread.
The Jiang family would not back down from this marriage.
Madam Lin suddenly stood up. The Jiang family was a prominent family that had served two dynasties. She had gone to great lengths to climb up to the Jiang family, hoping to use the Jiang family's resources to reach a higher level.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Yi ruined the marriage.
She would not rest in peace until she got this debt back.
Grandma Lin tried to remain calm and walked towards the door with her cane, but after taking only one step, she fell backward.
"Grandma, Grandma—" Mama Sun quickly helped up Madam Lin and shouted anxiously, "Quickly, go and fetch the family doctor."
-
While the Lin family was in complete chaos, Madam Jiang returned to the Jiang family home and went to the study in the front courtyard.
The servant guarding the door saw Madam Jiang return, bowed respectfully, and opened the door to the study to invite her in.
When Madam Jiang entered the study, she saw Supervisor Jiang holding a copy of the "Tui Bei Tu" and making calculations.
She didn't disturb them, but stood quietly to the side.
After an unknown amount of time, Supervisor Jiang put down his book and looked up at Madam Jiang beside him: "Has the matter been settled?"
Madam Jiang nodded slightly: "Sir, what have you deduced?"
Jiang Jianzheng pondered for a moment and said, "I observed the celestial phenomena last night and saw that the Ziwei star, which had been dim for decades, started to shine a few months ago."