Lin Anbang was so infuriated by Yu Ning that he resorted to hurling insults and tried to throw her out.

Yu Ning looked at him for a few moments, then shook her head and sighed.

“Find a way to wake up President Lin quickly.”

“You think my son waking up will make him your protector?” Lin Anbang sneered.

Yu Ning spoke in a calm tone, her eyes steady, delivering her words like a knife to the heart.

“If he doesn’t wake up, the Lin family business will collapse under your watch. You can’t manage such a large enterprise.”

She had observed the Lin family’s development over several generations, especially in recent years, and guessed that President Lin was responsible for their success. The person in front of her clearly wasn’t capable of filling those shoes.

Lin Anbang’s face turned beet red.

“If my husband didn’t have real talent, how could he have dominated the business world for so many years?” Mrs. Lin stepped forward to defend her husband.

“He has an exceptionally good marriage palace, probably thanks to a virtuous wife—but it’s not you, it’s his first wife.”

Lin Anbang was furious. This girl was implying he was relying on a woman for support!

Housekeeper Wu Ma, feeling excited, couldn’t help but chime in.

“Young madam, you can even tell that our madam brings prosperity to her husband?”

“Not only does she bring prosperity to her husband, but also benefits her children. Just look at the children’s palace under her eyes. The children she bore are all outstanding. It’s a pity such a good flower is stuck in… well, let’s not go there.”

Wu Ma wiped away her tears. She had worked in the Lin family for over twenty years, watching the five young masters grow up, and knew the lady’s virtues better than anyone. Just based on Yu Ning’s words, Wu Ma had decided she was her true mistress!

“Guards! Throw her out!” Lin Anbang, humiliated, continued his impotent rage.

Several guards rushed in to surround Yu Ning, but a voice full of authority came from the door.

“What are you doing?”

An elder with snow-white hair walked in.

“Grandmother, why did you come alone?” Lin Anbang was shocked to see the old lady arriving early.

“I heard you shouting from outside.” Lin Tai-nai looked like she was just over sixty, but in reality, she was nearing a hundred years old.

Her legs were agile, and her eyes were sharp. Her piercing gaze swept over the guards and fell on Yu Ning.

“I invited this girl! How dare you touch her?” As soon as Lin Tai-nai spoke, the guards exited one by one.

Lin Anbang was restless. The old lady had just arrived and was already undermining him.

“Girl, sit down.” Lin Tai-nai ignored Lin Anbang, pulling Yu Ning to sit on the sofa.

“Grandmother, she hit me, and she also—” Jia Qingqing tried to whine.

“Did I ask you?” Lin Tai-nai didn’t even glance at her, keeping her eyes on Yu Ning.

Jia Qingqing bit her lip, her eyes filled with intense jealousy. This old hag! If it weren’t for her dislike, Lin Da-ge would have married her!

Mrs. Lin tried to mediate.

“Grandmother, why did you come early?”

“If I didn’t come early, how could I see you bullying the girl?”

Mrs. Lin smiled awkwardly.

“We weren’t bullying her.”

“Girl, are you getting used to it here? Has anyone bullied you?” Lin Tai-nai glanced at Lin Anbang, her tone full of warning.

“No one can bully me,” Yu Ning replied politely.

Lin Tai-nai saw her composed demeanor and was increasingly satisfied. No wonder she was Wu Ge’s beloved disciple; the child was well-educated.

After a few pleasantries, Lin Tai-nai got to the point:

“Did Wu Ge— I mean, your master, leave any message for me?”

“You know my master?”

“We were neighbors in our youth. We lost contact during the war, and it’s been nearly seventy years since we last saw each other. Half a year ago, he called me, and we reconnected.”

“Master ascended two months ago.”

Hearing that Yu Ning’s master was an old acquaintance, she stood up, clasped her hands together, and bowed. It was her first and only bow since entering the Lin family.

“Before he left, Master left a message: ‘Fate comes and goes, it is predetermined.'”

Lin Tai-nai was momentarily stunned, her eyes reddening, and she muttered,

“Predetermined fate. Such predetermined fate.”

“Madam, the young madam’s family is here. They’re outside,” Wu Ma reported.

“I don’t want to see them,” Lin Tai-nai, immersed in the sorrow of her old friend’s passing, didn’t want to see these irrelevant people.

“The in-laws have come all this way; we might as well meet them,” Mrs. Lin said, standing up and smiling at Wu Ma.

“Bring them in.”

Jia Qingqing’s face lit up with glee. The informers had arrived! That bumpkin master’s lifestyle was questionable; she couldn’t be any better!

Lin Tai-nai despised improper lifestyles the most. Let’s see how that bumpkin handles it!

Wu Yan entered, sitting in a wheelchair, pushed by Yu Zihan, who had one arm in a sling.

Yu Ning was shocked to see their faces. Their fortunes had worsened! Previously, they were already in for bad luck. Now, with the black aura around their foreheads, it looked like they were about to offend some powerful figure.

Yu Ning scanned everyone’s faces in the room. Apart from Mrs. Lin, whose face she couldn’t read, everyone else seemed normal.

That meant these two weren’t offending anyone here. Who could the nearby big shot be?

Silently, Yu Ning moved to the corner of the sofa. She didn’t want to get involved with this ill-fated mother and daughter.

Seeing this, Jia Qingqing thought Yu Ning was scared and grinned, eager to see her make a fool of herself!

Yu Zihan, excited to see so many important people, tried to show her best side, imitating a dancer’s curtsey as she approached Lin Tai-nai.

“I’m Yu Zihan. I apologize for any trouble my sister has caused.”

Grown up in the countryside, Yu Zihan had worked hard on her manners to appear like a high-born lady. Little did she know, Lin Tai-nai saw it as an awkward imitation.

“You’re Chinese, yet you don’t practice your own culture’s etiquette and instead learn from foreigners?” Lin Tai-nai looked at Yu Ning, who had moved to the edge.

Yu Ning was still composed. When they first met, she had shown basic courtesy, not knowing Lin Tai-nai was her master’s old friend. Even knowing her high status now, she remained calm, not fawning over her.

When she found out Lin Tai-nai was an old acquaintance of her master, she respectfully performed a Taoist greeting, demonstrating good manners.

Every movement had the grace of her master in his youth. Looking at the so-called legitimate daughter in front of her, Lin Tai-nai was filled with disdain.

Seeing her daughter being rebuked to tears, Wu Yan quickly spoke up.

“Madam, Yu Ning has caused you a lot of trouble. She’s not my biological daughter. She’s rebellious and learned a bunch of bad habits from that disgraceful Taoist.”

“Disgraceful Taoist?” Lin Tai-nai’s mouth twitched, her eyes flashing coldly.

On the windowsill, a black cat that had been watching the show raised a non-animal-like smile. These clueless women had already displeased Tai-nai. The black cat waited for Tai-nai to explode, but before she could act, a figure leapt up.

It was Yu Ning.

“Take back what you just said,” Yu Ning demanded, her face filled with murderous intent, gripping Wu Yan’s collar with one hand.

She wouldn’t allow anyone to insult her master. No one!