Chapter 2: That Auntie is Nothing But Trouble!

There were many in-laws visiting the manor today. The young servants and maids left in the front courtyard to listen for orders gathered in small groups, whispering and craning their necks as they heard that a "Cheng Yaojin" had suddenly burst onto the scene.

Lu Nian didn't care about the gazes of others in the slightest, leading A-Wei inside with the familiarity of someone who had walked these paths many times before.

As they walked, she began to introduce the surroundings.

"The couplet on that gate you just passed was written by your grandmother. It once received praise from the Empress Dowager, which is why it was preserved."

"As for the flowers and trees in this courtyard—the ones she loved most—they weren't so fortunate. They never caught the eye of the nobility, so they were dug up and replaced when I was still a child, all because your step-grandmother couldn't stand the sight of them!"

"I was only five or six then, usually staying in my own garden. One day, I came to the front and saw the place dug up into a mess. I begged them to stop, but I was shoved to the ground. My hands and feet were scraped raw, covered in blood, and I cried until your grandfather returned to the manor."

"In the end, he just glared at me and scolded me, asking what kind of spectacle I was making, acting like my life depended on a few plants! That was when I suddenly realized: this house was no longer the home my mother had lived in."

"A-Wei, tell me, were those just a few plants?"

The steward leading the way felt his head throbbing.

The Lady was pouring out her heart with such genuine, tearful emotion. She spoke of a motherless young girl, accusing a father who had forgotten his old love for the new and no longer cherished his own daughter. After just a few words, couldn't he see the maids and matrons watching from a distance already sighing in sympathy?

If he, Old Liu, hadn't served in the Dingxi Marquis Manor for half a lifetime, he would have been tearing up himself.

But in reality, it was the Lady who had refused to let anyone tend to her wounds when she fell. It was the Lady who had exhausted the step-marchioness and the servants, while she herself remained full of vigor, screeching louder than a string of firecrackers. And it was the Lady who, even after the Marquis rushed back and exhausted every kind word to soothe her, still refused to be placated.

In the end, the Marquis had been mentally drained and had spoken harsh words.

That was only because his heart ached for his daughter, who had ignored her wounds to keep up the fight. But now, decades later, as told by the Lady, the entire context had changed.

Steward Liu felt a tightness in his chest. He couldn't explain it to the others in the manor, so he could only quicken his pace.

Of course, he didn't need to guess—once they reached the mourning hall, this powder keg would surely explode again.

Truly, those who come with ill intent are never kind, and those who are kind never come with such intent!

He just wondered if the niece who had returned with her would be able to keep the Lady in check.

Thinking this, Steward Liu glanced quietly at the niece from the Yu family.

Good heavens!

The niece’s almond eyes were filled with tears, looking utterly pitiful: "Mother, you truly suffered in your youth. How could those have been just a few plants? They were your longing for Grandmother, your emotional anchor! Grandfather is truly..."

Steward Liu:...

Like father, like daughter; the Lady could never give birth to a dim-witted child!

Lu Nian told the story, and A-Wei provided the responses, keeping the conversation flowing until they reached the courtyard, never letting a single word fall flat.

Their voices grew louder. The Dingxi Marquis still had decent hearing; before he even saw his daughter, he heard three or four accusations. He felt quite humiliated, and a flicker of displeasure rose in his heart.

But when Lu Nian rounded the people in the courtyard and walked before him, holding Yu Ruwei by the hand, the Marquis's irritation vanished in an instant.

She was his own flesh and blood; could there really be enmity between them?

She had been only sixteen or seventeen when she married out, and now she was well into her thirties. After all these years, what did it matter if his daughter had a few complaints?

"A-Nian!" The Marquis stood up, his heart full of words he didn't know how to begin, so he turned to his granddaughter instead. "This is A-Wei, right? She’s grown so much."

A-Wei respectfully called out, "Grandfather."

"Yes! Yes! Good child!" The Marquis responded joyfully. He was about to say more when he heard Lu Nian remark, "Father, you have grown old," and he was suddenly struck by a mix of sorrow and joy.

The children had grown up, and the parents had aged—it was truly a moment of deep reflection!

Lu Nian didn't give him a chance to continue his sentimentality. Her lips curled in a sneer: "Unlike my mother, who didn't even get the chance to grow old. She was a beauty with a tragic fate, dying with hatred in her heart!"

The Marquis’s expression stiffened: "A-Nian..."

Lu Nian ignored him entirely and turned toward the offering table.

A-Wei followed Lu Nian’s gaze and swept a look over the mourning hall.

The furnishings, the placement of the staff, the number of offerings—everything was in accordance with the regulations. Not a single fault could be found.

Yet, it had fallen into Lu Nian’s hands.

A-Wei had no doubt that Lu Nian, who was determined to find fault, would not leave empty-handed.

Sure enough, Lu Nian tilted her head and asked coldly: "Who organized this? Where are the osmanthus cakes? Why are there no osmanthus cakes offered, which were Mother’s favorite?!"

The Heir’s wife, Lady Sang, groaned inwardly.

Her husband, Lu Jun, and Lu Nian were born of the same mother—the Dingxi Marquis’s first wife.

Lady Sang was born into a prominent Huainan family. By the time she married into the capital, Lu Nian had already married out. The two had never met, but she had heard of her sister-in-law’s "fame"—she was notoriously difficult to please.

She had assumed she would never have to deal with her, but she hadn't expected the sister-in-law to suddenly return.

Lady Sang said sheepishly: "Sister-in-law, I organized today’s ancestral rites. I didn't know Mother loved osmanthus cakes; it was my oversight."

Lu Nian didn't make things difficult for Lady Sang, instead turning her focus to Lu Jun: "It’s understandable that your wife didn't know, but what about you? Did you not know either? Is this how you act as a filial son?!"

"What about me?" Lu Jun, being scolded, reflexively retorted, "I was only three when Mother passed away! How could I possibly remember?"

Lu Nian raised her hand and struck her brother: "You still have the nerve to argue?! When it was the tenth anniversary of Mother’s death, didn't I remind you about the osmanthus cakes? You were thirteen then, weren't you? You still couldn't remember?! You simply never kept Mother in your heart!"

Lu Jun was furious, anxious, and embarrassed.

He was the dignified Heir of the Marquis Manor, over thirty years old, and carried himself with poise in public, yet here he was being beaten and scolded by his older sister in front of so many people. Where was he supposed to put his face?

It was a good thing there wasn't a feather duster within reach, or his mad sister would have picked it up to lash him!

"Are you here to pay your respects or to cause trouble?" Lu Jun dodged and shouted at A-Wei, "Niece, niece, hurry and stop your mother!"

How could A-Wei undermine Lu Nian?

"If Uncle doesn't remember, does Grandfather not remember either?"

After asking, A-Wei didn't wait for an answer, her gaze falling on the elderly woman in the courtyard who hadn't spoken but whose status was clear: "You must be Grandfather’s second wife, right? I heard you were friends with my biological grandmother when you were young. Did you not remember what she loved to eat either? Even if everyone forgot, are there no old servants left in this manor who served my grandmother? Where have they all gone? Were they dismissed?"

Lu Nian stopped hitting Lu Jun, her mockery overflowing: "Otherwise, why call it a dove occupying a magpie's nest? People, you see, really must live a long life!"

The Marquis’s second wife, Lady Cen, turned ashen.

She knew it!

All of Lu Nian’s theatrics were aimed at her in the end.

Not only was she a thorn in the side, but the daughter she brought back was also sharp-tongued!

Starting the new book with two chapters.

See you all tomorrow~~

(End of chapter)