Chapter 7 Enter the Mansion First! Then Divorce the Husband!
“Wen Xueling!” That girl was truly too crude!
With his clothes now wet, Wen Jinli had no choice but to reluctantly change into the garments Mu Qingyu had made.
Upon taking the mother and daughter to Fangfei Courtyard, he immediately changed into the clothes quickly brought by a guard on horseback.
Wen Xueling coldly observed his every action, knowing he wouldn’t linger, which suited her perfectly to gauge her mother’s attitude.
Wen Jinli, eager to return to the mansion to visit his stepmother, warned her before leaving, “Ling’er, Elder Brother kindly advises you, do not talk back to Father in the future. That disrupts harmony. We are a prominent family now!”
“Without his protection, you wouldn’t survive three days in the capital!”
Wen Jinli felt he had been an excellent elder brother, delivering his words before hastily departing.
She watched his retreating back with a cold gaze, then turned to push open the door of the room where he had just changed. The clothes her mother had sewn were tossed carelessly on the floor.
Wen Xueling picked them up, her heart aching, and clutched them tightly.
The lofty Prime Minister’s Estate?
She would……make them regret their actions today.
Wen Xueling carefully hid the clothes, fearing they would hurt her mother’s feelings.
Inside Fangfei Courtyard, there was only an old wet nurse and two delicate-looking maids.
She, naturally, didn’t trust them. She personally brewed medicine, pushed open the door to her mother's room, and gently said, “Mother, time for your medicine.”
Driven to a relapse by anger, Mu Qingyu could only lie in bed to recover. Seeing her weakly try to sit up, she asked, “Cough, cough……Ling’er, has your fourth elder brother left?”
Wen Jinli had left in a hurry, departing without even a word of farewell.
He worried about his ailing stepmother in the Prime Minister’s residence, yet he forgot his own biological mother, who was currently ill……
Wen Xueling chose not to relay his parting threats, fearing it would worsen her mother’s condition. She said softly and gently, “Yes, Fourth Brother said his studies are demanding, so he’s returned to the mansion. He asked me to bid farewell to Mother on his behalf.”
Mu Qingyu held her hand, her eyes red, and said, “Ling’er, Mother has something to tell you. These days have been hard on you. This Prime Minister’s Estate……it’s better not to enter it.”
Her mother cherished her, Wen Xueling knew this well, but how could she let that mother and daughter off so easily?
If it weren’t for her mother tirelessly tending to the ‘scumbag father’s’ health, would he have lived to be summoned back to the capital by the new emperor?
Her tone was firm. “No, we must enter the mansion!”
Why should the wedding dress Mother made benefit that mother and daughter?
Only by entering the Prime Minister’s Estate could her well-laid plans be executed, and only then could the wicked be punished.
Moreover, if they were to enter the Prime Minister’s Estate, they would do so with grandeur, never to be carried in discreetly in a small sedan chair in the dead of night.
“Mother, let us enter the mansion first. Even if we are to separate someday, it should be you who divorces him, not the heartless and unprincipled Wen Jingshu who gains glory and earns a reputation for undying devotion in front of others.”
“Di-divorce him?” Mu Qingyu’s eyes flashed with shock.
Wen Xueling nodded, squeezing her hand in return. “That’s right, if a man is unfaithful, we divorce him.”
She was someone who had lived a lifetime already. No ethical codes, no principles mattered more than living with confidence.
In her previous life, suffering clung to her like a bone-deep malady. She knew deeply that constant retreat would not bring tenderness or pity; it would only make the other party intensify their cruelty.
To wield absolute control over her narrative, she had to be stronger than them.
Hearing her daughter’s shocking words, Mu Qingyu’s eyes trembled, and she understood that her daughter intended to vent her anger for herself.
She tightened her grip on her daughter’s hand, resolving not to hold her child back.
Mu Qingyu said in a deep voice, “Good, I will listen to my daughter.”
Wen Xueling’s taut heartstrings relaxed. After feeding her mother the medicine, she left the room, letting her mother rest well.
Guards stood watch at both the front and back gates of Fangfei Courtyard. The moment she reached the entrance, she was blocked.
“Fourth Young Master has given orders: it’s dangerous outside. You are not permitted to leave the courtyard.”
“I need to go out and purchase daily necessities.”
“The young lady can instruct the maids and old wet nurse to make the purchases. Please do not make things difficult for your subordinates.”
Wen Xueling’s gaze swept over the guards at the gate. These more than ten people were hardly protecting them; they were clearly holding them under house arrest.
Back inside the courtyard.
She made ample preparations, found writing brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone. Just as she was about to write, she suddenly remembered something. She switched the brush from her left hand to her right, and freely and gracefully wrote down the list of daily needs.
Granny Xu and the two maids, Qingfeng and Mingyue, were servants from Wen Jinli’s own courtyard.
She handed the slip of paper to Qingfeng and instructed, “Go and purchase these."
“I’ll go tomorrow morning.” Qingfeng secretly mocked her crooked and shaky handwriting, and had no intention of complying immediately.
Wen Xueling glanced sideways at her face. She neither referred to herself as a servant nor performed a bow—she was clearly treating herself as a future mistress.
She gazed at Qingfeng with bright eyes and asked, “What, you can’t be ordered around now?”
Qingfeng lowered her head and replied perfunctorily, “I wouldn't dare.”
Wen Xueling looked at her with interest, gesturing for her to come closer.
The maid was puzzled but still stepped forward.
“Ah!”
Granny Xu and Mingyue, who were eavesdropping in the courtyard, heard the agonized cry from inside the room. They rushed to push open the door, only to see Qingfeng’s body covered in festering sores.
Wen Xueling sat calmly at her desk, a faint smile gracing her lips. “Will you... also only be able to go tomorrow morning?”
From the time she could remember, she had accompanied her mother up the mountains to gather herbs, becoming well-versed in medicine. With the experiences of her previous life, various poisons and secret formulas were etched into her memory.
“Your servant wouldn't dare!”
She cast a fleeting glance at their knees. They immediately knelt. “Your servants will go right away!”
Finding the medicinal herbs among the purchased daily necessities, Wen Xueling returned to her room, allowing no one else to disturb her.
Granny Xu gnashed her teeth in the courtyard. “This little despicable wretch has such foul methods! Mingyue, secretly return to the mansion and report this……to the Madam.”
Mingyue’s body trembled, and she said timidly, “But Fourth Young Master said……”
Granny Xu’s eyes turned cold and furious. “Serving a wild child for too long, have you forgotten whose person you are?”
Mingyue’s shoulders shrunk, and she bowed her head, hastily departing.
At this time, less than half a month remained until the natural disaster.
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