She was buried alive at the start, but she's determined to smash her ex-husband's head in

To prove it, the man stayed in this place for half a month.

At first, she was able to comfort herself and make excuses for Ayu, thinking that she must have gotten lost or gone to find her sister first.

Hope was slowly eroded; she never came back, and instead swindled him out of all his money...

Chunxi woke up suddenly, gasping for breath, tears streaming down her face. She huddled at the foot of the bed, hugging herself tightly, feeling as if a rain of whips would come crashing down on her at any moment.

But Chunxi was stunned when she touched the soft, dry clothes on her body. The candlelight was warm and bright, and there were clean dishes on the table, without the unpleasant, stale smell that usually emanated from her, which had numbed her.

It turns out that everything just now was a dream.

Chunqi walked in carrying freshly baked steamed buns, smiling as she said, "You must be starving, come here."

She ran quickly to the table and wolfed down her food, as if afraid someone would snatch it from her. She held all the steamed buns that Chunqi had just brought her close to her chest, crying as she ate.

Chunqi felt sorry for her and gently stroked her back: "Eat slowly, don't be afraid, everything will be alright in the future. With your sister here, no one will bully you anymore."

The next morning, the carriages that were to take the three young ladies from the Lin family to the palace arrived again.

Lin Qingwei and Lin Xiuyao were no different from usual, but Lin Shuhui changed her usual obsequious manner, put on a beautiful new dress and wore a veil to cover the scars on her face, but always held her head high.

Lin Xiuyao rolled her eyes. She'd been beaten up like this and wasn't even hiding in the manor; what was she trying to do by going out like this? Riding in the same carriage as her was disgusting!

Lin Qingwei didn't care and walked straight ahead, but Lin Xiuyao grabbed her arm: "She looks so smug, don't you find it disgusting?"

"So what if it's disgusting? Can you not ride in this carriage to the palace?"

At this point, Lin Xiuyao proudly raised her chin: "Of course!"

Such a big thing happened at the Lin residence yesterday, and the reason she wasn't there was because she listened to Madam Ye and went to meet that young general. She's alright, I guess!

Lin Qingwei nodded: "Congratulations."

It was truly rare to hear a kind word from Lin Qingwei, and Lin Xiuyao felt flattered.

During this time, she did not provoke Lin Qingwei, and her days were indeed much better. She tugged at her sleeve and said, "Why don't you wait a while and come with me to the palace in the General's Mansion's carriage?"

Lin Shuhui's reputation is absolutely terrible. Rumors are circulating that she seduced Scholar Xu, forcing the princess to grant her a marriage. They say she's cunning and even framed her elder sister. You shouldn't be with her, lest you get implicated.

She blinked and looked at Lin Qingwei, feeling a little nervous for some reason, her heart pounding.

"no need."

As expected, it was a rejection.

Lin Shuhui lifted the car curtain, making no attempt to hide her sarcasm: "What, has Second Sister forgotten how she plotted to frame Eldest Sister? How much better are you than me? What's with this act of sisterly affection?"

Lin Xiuyao, with her fiery temper, couldn't stand it any longer. She lifted her skirt and was about to walk up to Lin Shuhui and smash her mouth open.

Lin Qingwei stopped her, looking coldly at Lin Shuhui: "I didn't expect my sister to become so cheerful after becoming someone's concubine. If you had just said you liked it, Mother wouldn't have bothered to make you the principal wife."

When it comes to sharp tongues, no one in the manor can compare to Lin Qingwei. Her words enraged Lin Shuhui so much that she flung the curtain and ordered the coachman to drive the carriage away.

While happy, Lin Xiuyao also felt a little awkward, unsure how to interact with Lin Qingwei.

She had genuinely hated this older sister for many years, but suddenly wanted to coexist peacefully with her and didn't know what to do.

"No, there are no carriages left anyway, why don't you come with me?" Her voice trailed off.

Lin Qingwei shook her head: "No need."

Lin Xiuyao pouted, "Okay..."

Not long after, the Duke's carriage arrived. Qi Yanzhi peeked out from afar and waved to Lin Qingwei. Anyone who saw such a scene would be infected by his enthusiasm and their lips would curl up in a smile.

Qi Yanzhi jumped down from the carriage and strode up to Lin Qingwei: "You didn't have to wait too long, did you?"

Lin Qingwei smiled and shook her head.

Lin Xiuyao tactfully moved to the side. Qi Yanzhi glanced at her, as he had a very bad impression of her because of past events.

"I heard that the Second Miss and General Xiao had a very pleasant conversation."

"What's it to you?" she smiled, but her displeasure was palpable. Lin Xiuyao equally disliked every man who failed to recognize her charm and harshly rejected her.

Qi Yanzhi's tone carried a hint of warning: "Second Miss seems to have some entanglement with Prince Duan. Xiao Huai is a good man. If you dare to deceive him, don't blame me for settling old scores with you."

"Ha!" Lin Xiuyao laughed in exasperation.

"Old grudges? What old grudges? There was nothing between me and the young master before, right? I admit that I had thoughts about the wealth and glory of the Duke's mansion before, but you, you are entirely thanks to the Duke and his wife, okay?"

Don't bring up anything about Lin Qingwei with me. This is a personal matter between the two of us, not your fiancé! Do you even know what "fiancé" means? She and I are family!

He then pulled Lin Qingwei over and drew a line on the ground between them and Qi Yan with his toe: "You're still an outsider! Whether you can become my brother-in-law is another matter, so mind your own business!"

The two of them suddenly started arguing, leaving Lin Qingwei both amused and exasperated. They were indeed two children who had been pampered since childhood.

Qi Yanzhi was so angry that he couldn't speak. His head was buzzing. He was determined to find an opportunity to make Xiao Huai see Lin Xiuyao's true colors!

Just then, Xiao Huai arrived, but Lin Xiuyao showed no sign of restraint, still holding her chin up arrogantly: "Why are you so late?"

"I'm sorry, I went to buy your favorite pastries, which took a while. You must have been waiting a long time."

He opened the still-warm pastries and handed them to Lin Xiuyao, even thoughtfully blowing on the top one to cool it down.

Qi Yanzhi couldn't stand it anymore: "No, how could you be like this? You're completely different from the person I remember!"

Lin Qingwei looked at Xiao Huai. He was tall, half a head taller than Qi Yanzhi, and about the same height as Pei Zhaoan. He had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. Apart from his slightly dark skin, he was a handsome and robust man.

Xiao Huai, whose plan had been foiled, smiled with a hint of threat: "Then you must have remembered it wrong."

Qi Yanzhi, targeted by both sides, was heartbroken...

After the two couples boarded their respective carriages, Qi Yanzhi was still saying that Xiao Huai must really like Lin Xiuyao.

Lin Qingwei nodded: "Yes, I remember Mother mentioned it to my second sister many times. My second sister only agreed to meet General Xiao yesterday. Judging from General Xiao's appearance, it seems that he already knows my second sister very well."