Chapter 16

They finally reached the main courtyard.

Lin Jin immediately perked up, and even the smile on her face became noticeably warmer.

Chu Fengruo glanced at her and thought that this woman certainly changed expressions quickly now. Yet when they had asked her to show more emotion while acting on set, she had behaved as though they were demanding her life.

As a well-known and accomplished actress, Chu Fengruo had been deeply impressed by the painfully terrible acting Lin Jin displayed last time. Even now, she still found it difficult to forget.

Lin Jin had no idea Chu Fengruo was watching her or thinking about such things.

At that moment, she was admiring the small courtyard.

Several wicker chairs had been placed beneath a flower trellis and pavilion. Chu Xunlan, whom Lin Jin had met before, was sitting there in the shade, escaping the heat. A plate of sliced fruit sat on the table beside her, along with a pot of steaming flower tea.

She was staring intently at her phone and had not noticed anyone approaching.

“Aunt.”

Holding Chu Ning, Chu Fengruo walked over quickly. Her face was filled with smiles, and her tone was relaxed, with a trace of surprise.

“You came back this early today?”

“Great-Aunt!”

Chu Ning called out enthusiastically as well.

The moment Chu Fengruo set her down, she ran happily toward Chu Xunlan before she had even fully steadied herself. She pressed close to Chu Xunlan’s side and affectionately called her Great-Aunt over and over.

Chu Xunlan looked up, casually turned her phone facedown on the table, then picked up little Chu Ning with a smile and settled her on her lap.

“It’s rare for me to have time off, so I came back early to relax.”

Chu Xunlan then complained, “I actually returned early yesterday morning. The old madam kept nagging because she was afraid I’d hide at the hospital and refuse to come home. She started pestering me half a month ago, saying things like, ‘I’m already seventy. Who knows how many years I have left? My second child is dead, my third has grown distant, so you, my eldest, can’t abandon your mother too.’”

“I was so annoyed. She made it sound as though I were unfilial. The third child spends every day hoping she’ll show him a little favor, but she refuses to do that. Instead, she spends all day nagging me until my ears have calluses.”

Despite her complaints, Chu Xunlan looked relaxed and perfectly at ease in the small courtyard.

She was a Beta, and the old madam genuinely doted on her. She was neither required to inherit the family business nor expected to strengthen the family through marriage.

Moreover, Chu Xunlan had been born when the old madam was most deeply in love with her first love. After that beloved woman tragically died young, the old madam treated Chu Xunlan like the most precious part of her heart.

Although she had never given Chu Xunlan any actual authority, she had arranged real estate holdings for her both domestically and overseas, along with private museums, exclusive clubs, vineyards and wine cellars, gardens and residences, private islands, and private resorts.

She had also established a personal trust fund for Chu Xunlan. A team of investment professionals whom the old madam had personally trained in her youth managed Chu Xunlan’s assets.

It was said that the old madam had even selected bailiantales.coma fiancée for her many years ago. But Chu Xunlan had been unwilling, so the old madam had immediately canceled the engagement without another word.

She merely continued to nag from time to time, worried that Alan would be lonely and unhappy by herself.

Chu Xunlan was now forty-eight years old, yet she remained unmarried and childless, living an exceptionally relaxed and carefree life.

The old madam never criticized her. As long as Chu Xunlan was happy, nothing else mattered.

“Hello, Aunt,” Lin Jin greeted Chu Xunlan with a smile.

Chu Xunlan glanced at her and responded neither warmly nor coldly before returning her attention to Chu Ning.

“How many days are you staying this time, Ruoruo?” Chu Xunlan asked Chu Fengruo while entertaining the child.

Chu Fengruo sat down beside her.

“We’ll see. They’re still filming on set, so I can’t stay away for too long.”

“Don’t work yourself too hard. The family isn’t short of money. You can take your time filming.”

Chu Xunlan casually offered a few words of advice. She had never worried about money once in her life. Although the old madam had not given her any actual power, she had never lacked real wealth.

Chu Fengruo smiled without answering.

Lin Jin was still standing there holding the gifts.

Chu Xunlan looked at her again, then said, “Take those inside. The housekeeper is arranging the venue, so just give them to him. These people are becoming increasingly ill-mannered.”

Lin Jin breathed a sigh of relief and left with the gifts, smiling.

As long as she had Chu Xunlan’s approval, she should be safe at today’s banquet.

After entering the main house, Lin Jin saw that many green plants had been placed throughout the old-fashioned building, adding life and vitality. It no longer seemed quite so oppressive.

Lin Jin greeted everyone with a smile, but no one responded.

She composed her expression and spoke to the housekeeper about the birthday gifts.

The housekeeper lowered his head to examine a list and ignored her as though she did not exist.

Most people who were treated with cold contempt by a powerful family would either silently swallow the humiliation, lose their temper, or remain standing there in embarrassment.

Lin Jin, however, was no ordinary person.

Not only was she shamelessly thick-skinned, but her mouth was poisonous too.

“I heard that the Chu family is a great and distinguished household with very strict family discipline. Apparently, even the Chu family’s dogs are trained to be obedient and well-behaved. They bark when their master tells them to and stay silent when they aren’t permitted to make noise.”

Lin Jin smiled.

“It seems the rumors are true. I’ve been at the Chu residence for a while now, and I haven’t heard a single dog bark. Such a prominent family truly has strict discipline.”

“…”

The entire room fell silent.

Everyone turned to stare at Lin Jin, while the housekeeper’s face flushed red with anger.

Lin Jin handed him the gifts and said with a smile, “Your family’s eldest young lady instructed me to give these directly to the housekeeper.”

The eldest young lady’s words carried even more weight than the old master’s. The housekeeper did not dare disobey and accepted the gifts with an ingratiating smile.

“You’re quite right, Miss Lin. You may leave the gifts with me. There are many people here, and everything is rather chaotic. Everyone has been so busy that we haven’t had time to attend to anything else. Please make yourself comfortable outside so you don’t accidentally bump into anything here.”

The housekeeper handed the gifts to someone beside him, then ordered two people to bring tea and refreshments outside.

Still smiling apologetically, he coaxed Lin Jin into leaving before she could continue getting in the way.

Lin Jin had borrowed Chu Xunlan’s authority to intimidate them, like a fox borrowing the tiger’s might.

She knew when to stop and did not continue making things difficult for the housekeeper. She left with a smile.

When Lin Jin emerged, people followed behind her carrying tea and refreshments.

Chu Fengruo was somewhat surprised to see this, but she said nothing and continued speaking with Chu Xunlan.

“Where’s Grandmother? Did she go up the mountain again?”

“Mm.”

Chu Xunlan scoffed.

“She went to cry at my mother’s grave, of course. Tsk, she’s already so old, yet she still insists on acting so deeply devoted. She even cried for half the night yesterday.”

“Sometimes I wonder just how beautiful my mother must have been when she was young, and how irresistible she was, for the old madam to still be unable to forget her after all these decades.”

“…”

Chu Fengruo suppressed a laugh, then said, “Isn’t it a good thing that Grandmother still keeps your mother in her heart?”

“She’s been dead for decades, yet the old madam still goes to cry at her grave twice every year. If you call her devoted, she already has a husband and children. But if you call her heartless, she’s spent forty or fifty years pining for a dead woman.”

“Only Mr. Xie could be generous enough to tolerate it. Anyone else would’ve died from anger.”

“Grandfather truly is generous,” Chu Fengruo said with a smile. “But nothing could be done about it. He already knew before marrying into the family. He agreed at the time, so he couldn’t exactly complain afterward.”

Chu Xunlan suddenly sneered.

“Agreed, my ass. Back then—”

Before Chu Xunlan could finish, the housekeeper hurried out from the inner room, still clutching a walkie-talkie.

“Eldest Young Lady, we received a call from the rear mountain. They said everything has been prepared for the ceremony and asked you and the young lady’s family to head there as soon as possible.”

“All right, I understand.”

Chu Xunlan lifted Chu Ning and teased her.

“Little Ningning, shall we go play on the rear mountain together?”

Chu Ning smiled and nodded in her arms.

The housekeeper hurried over, preparing to take the child.

“Eldest Young Lady, let me carry her. The rear mountain is far away, and the path is difficult. You shouldn’t tire yourself.”

“That’s enough. I don’t need you fussing over me. Go back to your work.”

Chu Xunlan avoided him, then turned to Chu Fengruo and Lin Jin.

“You two should come along. Otherwise, the old madam may become displeased.”

Lin Jin looked at Chu Fengruo.

Chu Fengruo smiled.

“Then we’ll go together. I haven’t visited the rear mountain in several years either.”

Naturally, Lin Jin obediently followed Chu Fengruo.

Halfway there, Chu Xunlan truly began running out of strength. Lin Jin perceptively stepped forward and took Chu Ning from her arms.

Chu Xunlan complained, “I’ve said for years that they should repair this path to the rear mountain so cars can use it. Wouldn’t that be much better?”

“But the old madam refuses to listen. She says riding here in a car would show a lack of sincerity and that the noise would disturb Shuyi’s peace.”

“She’s moved my mother’s grave six times over the past forty years. That doesn’t count as disturbing her peace?”

“What a lunatic!”