Chapter 20: Watch How She Handles This

Old Madam Wang’s murky yet sharp eyes were fixed on Lin Zhiyi.

Seeing that Lin Zhiyi didn’t kneel, her expression grew colder.

Lin Zhiyi raised her gaze and saw Old Madam Wang’s wrinkled face. It should have appeared kind, but at this moment, it seemed harsh.

She almost wanted to laugh. When her father supported the whole household, Old Madam Wang still had to put on a facade of kindness, but now that the main house had fallen, she no longer needed to pretend.

The second and third branches were somewhat better off, with relatives sending them food, but the main house had received nothing.

Old Madam Wang must be worried that the lack of separation from the main house would drag the second and third branches down with it.

Lin Zhiyi knew clearly that Old Madam Wang had always disliked her, and she didn’t need to maintain any false pleasantries. “Grandmother, I don’t understand. I was unjustly divorced by the Qin family. Why is it that I am the one in the wrong?”

“Presumptuous!” Old Madam Wang struck the ground with her cane again. “Being abandoned by one’s husband is the greatest mistake! How dare you ask why? A young lady of the Lin family should either live with dignity or die with honor, not be discarded and laughed at by everyone in the city!”

After speaking, Old Madam Wang gestured to her two sons, Lin Ershu and Lin Sanshu.

Seeing the signal, they immediately moved forward, planning to use the light shackles to strangle Lin Zhiyi.

They were thinking that for all these years, they had been suppressed by the main house, and now they could finally release their pent-up frustration.

Moreover, since they were also implicated in the exile, their resentment was even greater.

The onlookers watched coldly as this scene unfolded.

They were all once noble heirs of the royal city, who had suddenly fallen from grace and suffered in prison. Their hearts had grown numb over time.

Some people were indifferent to the sight of Old Madam Wang trying to strangle her granddaughter.

However, a few others thought Old Madam Wang’s actions were going too far.

Lin Xiuyan immediately stepped in front of Lin Zhiyi. “I’ll see who dares!”

“Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Zhiyi is your niece!” he said firmly.

Lin Ershu and Lin Sanshu advanced, their faces dark with anger. “Xiuran, our grandmother is right. Our Lin family’s daughters should have integrity, so they don’t bring shame upon us.”

Lin Zhiyi, hearing this, almost burst out laughing. She curled her lips and said, “Integrity? If I remember correctly, a few years ago, Second Uncle, you went to the gambling den and owed five thousand liang. Didn’t Father help pay off your debt when the creditors came to the Lin house?

And Third Uncle, spending your days in brothels is one thing, but didn’t you seduce a respectable woman, only for her husband to come to our door? Wasn’t it Father who helped settle that? How do you still have the face to talk about integrity?”

Upon hearing their secrets exposed, Lin Ershu and Lin Sanshu’s faces turned as purple as liver, and Old Madam Wang’s expression darkened even further.

“This is a different matter!” they spat. “A woman being divorced is a great sin!”

They tried to push Lin Xiuyan aside, but couldn’t move him. “Xiuyan, get out of the way! Otherwise, we’ll deal with you too.”

As they tried to pull Lin Xiuyan away, Lin Xiuran appeared and stood on the other side of Lin Zhiyi, the two of them like guardian gods. “Today, if anyone dares to lay a finger on my sister, don’t blame us for being rude!”

Old Madam Wang trembled with rage. “You’re rebelling! All of you are rebelling! Are you trying to kill me with your actions?”

She pointed at Lin Zhiyi. “This girl was abandoned by her husband, and if word gets out, how can any of the Lin family’s daughters ever get married? You don’t care about the family, and you’re protecting this disgraceful thing!”

Lin Zhiyi sneered inwardly. Even though they had been exiled, Old Madam Wang was still concerned about how the Lin daughters would marry.

She should be more worried about whether they’d even have food on the road.

At that moment, Song Ruolan rushed forward, kneeling in front of Old Madam Wang, and knocked her head three times, loudly. “Mother, Zhiyi is my flesh and blood. If you want her to die, you should let me die first!”

“Mother!” Lin Zhiyi rushed to help her mother, but Song Ruolan pushed her away.

Old Madam Wang’s face darkened even further upon seeing this. “What are you doing? Are you trying to blackmail me?”

“Mother-in-law, what wrong has Zhiyi done? If anyone is at fault, it’s because she misjudged people,” Song Ruolan said.

Old Madam Wang sneered. “Ha! Ha! Ha! The main house truly has rebelled! Do you really think I’m just a figurehead?”

She gestured for the people from the second and third branches to move forward and tried to push Lin Xiuran and Lin Xiuyan aside.

Lin Zhiyi stared at Old Madam Wang. “Old Madam, according to the Lin family’s family rules, if a woman is divorced, she must hang herself. But what if it were your own granddaughter? Would you let her hang herself?”

Lin Zhiyi emphasized the word “own granddaughter,” causing Old Madam Wang’s face to change.

Lin Zhiyi was reminding her that she wasn’t really her granddaughter, wasn’t she?

“It’s the same,” Old Madam Wang replied coldly.

Lin Zhiyi smiled mockingly. “Then, if my cousin Jingzhu is also divorced, I hope you’ll remember what you just said.”

Lin Zhiyi pointed toward the distance.

Everyone looked toward the official road, and sure enough, they saw Lin Jingzhu’s figure approaching.

Upon hearing this, Madam Zou’s face immediately lost its composure. “Jingzhu is just here to see us off! How could she be like you?”

Lin Zhiyi replied, “See you off? Has Jingzhu’s husband become so poor that they can’t even afford a carriage? And it seems she has no servants with her. Isn’t she afraid of being kidnapped on the way?”

Madam Zou hesitated, a sense of dread creeping into her heart.

Could it be that Jingzhu was also divorced?

No, it couldn’t be. Jingzhu was such a good person. How could her husband abandon her?

“If you don’t believe me, just wait for Jingzhu to arrive and ask her yourself.”

Everyone held their breath, waiting for Lin Jingzhu to arrive. If she was also divorced, they wanted to see if Old Madam Wang would be willing to strangle her own granddaughter.

At that moment, Chai Ya came over to find Lin Zhiyi. Upon seeing this scene, she quickly ran off.

She had to report this to her master. Old Madam Wang was too malicious! It was already pitiful enough for the young lady to go through all of this, and now Old Madam Wang wanted to force her to die.

Lin Jingzhu arrived soon after, and when Madam Zou saw that she was only carrying a small bundle and her eyes were swollen from crying, the bad premonition in her heart grew stronger.

“Jingzhu, why did you come on foot? Where’s the carriage? Is it parked far away?” Madam Zou asked, thinking that perhaps Jingzhu was avoiding being seen too close to the Lin family for fear of being implicated.

When Lin Jingzhu saw her mother and grandmother, she broke down and cried, kneeling before them. “Mother, Grandmother, I’ve been abandoned by my husband.”

Madam Zou was shocked. “What? Why did he abandon you?”

Tears streamed down Lin Jingzhu’s face as she replied, “They said I’ve been visiting the prison to bring food to you both, and they were afraid I would bring shame to my husband’s family, so they gave me a divorce letter and sent me away.”

Everyone turned their gaze toward Old Madam Wang.

The main house, in particular, watched closely, waiting to see how she would deal with Lin Jingzhu.

Lin Jingzhu had been Old Madam Wang’s most favored granddaughter. She had grown up under her care and was married into the Yang family in the capital. Old Madam Wang had once been very proud of her, constantly praising her to others.

Lin Zhiyi coldly added, “Jingzhu, Grandmother said that the daughters of the Lin family must either live with dignity or die with honor! If they’re abandoned, they must hang themselves.”