Chapter 10: Showdown
Translated by: Ai Hrist
Edited by: WonderWoman
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) didnât take Lin Chujiu seriously. She hadnât even bothered to guard herself. Her thoughts might not have showed on her face, but her eyes couldnât completely disguise them⦠â¦
Scorn, contempt, hatred, intention to kill ⦠â¦
These feelings of her couldnât escape Lin Chujiuâs eyes: Hey stepmother, you really hated the original owner that much. Youâve already poisoned her but it still wasnât enough.
Lin Chujiu secretly sighed and said, âLin Furen (Madam Lin), Iâm sure you know better than me what you have given me all these years and what you have added in the food, right? I think you just donât want others to know about it, right?â
âChujiu, what are you talking about? Mother cannot understand you.â Lin Furen (Madam Lin) hid her thoughts from Lin Chujiuâs puzzled-looking face without mishap. But of course, her eyes could only hide half of it.
Really, her stepmotherâs acting is superb. Too bad Lin Chujiu didnât go along with her acting. She said: âIf Lin Furen (Madam Lin) wants to continue her act, I have no opinions about it. But now, I no longer have an interest to act with you as a loving pair of mother and daughter. I will marry tomorrow, and as for more than ten years of acting, Iâve already have enough of it. As of today, I want you to⦠â¦â
Lin Chujiuâs words hinted that she was only playing along with Lin Furen (Madam Lin) before, and that she hadnât imagined that Lin Furen (Madam Lin) would be so stupid.
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) didnât want to believe her, but she could see Lin Chujiuâs sharp eyes. She didnât know why her heart couldnât help but feel fear. At that moment, her deceased elder sisterâs image emerged in her mind: âJiejie (Elder Sister) have mercy, you have no resentment with your Meimei (Younger Sister), right?â
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) had always felt that her sister had been aware of her evil deeds, and that she only chose not to mention it. That her elder sister looked at her like she was a clown jumping up here and there. And now, Lin Chujiu gave her the same feeling ⦠â¦
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) noticed that she was actually afraid of Lin Chujiu!
No, no, that canât be true.. â¦
Lin Furenâs (Madam Lin) chest tightened, she wanted to justify herself, but Lin Chujiu didnât give her an opportunity, as she said: âLin Furen (Madam Lin), I will get married tomorrow, can I know what dowry you prepared?â
Dowry is a womanâs private property, she may be marrying a crippled husband, but he is still a member of Royal Family. It would be better if she has her own money in hand.
âDowry?â Lin Furen (Madam Lin) was completely stunned. In the end, what does she mean? How much does she know?
âYes, I havenât seen the list for my dowry.â Lin Chujiu said with her innocent looking face. But, her eyes were full of threat.
This time, Lin Furen (Madam Lin) tried to comfort herself. Her eyes turned dark because she couldnât lie to Lin Chujiu⦠â¦
She knew that Lin Chujiu had actually known the truth, which is that she affectionately coaxed her to cheat her!
The h.e.l.l!
Lin Furenâs (Madam Lin) nails embedded in the palm of her hands, but she didnât feel any pain. At this time, she became very angry. Her body kept trembling.
She had been played by her for so many years. And all of these years she thought that she had completely fooled Lin Chujiu, but who would have known that she was the fool.
All these years, Lin Chujiu might have been laughing at her in the dark. Lin Furen (Madam Lin) wanted to tear Lin Chujiuâs body, but⦠â¦
She canât do anything right now, she can only sit and watch Lin Chujiu sitting there proudly, with an att.i.tude of a winner.
How hateful ah!
Lin Furenâs (Madam Lin) eyes turned red, but Lin Chujiu didnât show the slightest care and only smiled. She said: âLin Furen (Madam Lin), donât look at me like that. I will get married tomorrow and if something happened to me today, how will you explain yourself to the emperor? What will you say to Prince Xiao? How will you continue your act as a loving wife and mother ah?â
That victorious appearance, how would you say that sheâs pure and innocent.
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) really wanted to kill her right now, but she could only grit her teeth and say: âWhat do you want?â
Now, she cannot kill Lin Chujiu and can only appease her. But later, she will think of a way!
What do you want?
This is really a big problem ⦠â¦
Lin Chujiu hadnât thought about what she really wanted. She had merely wanted to put things out and give her good stepmother a little warning in order for her to cease her dirty tricks. But⦠â¦
Now she has come and offered a fortune, Lin Chujiu didnât mind having a personal fortune.
Please forgive her humble life. She has always been a simple person. Aside from money, nothing can really give her a sense of security.
Lin Chujiu believed that Lin Furen (Madam Lin) would not make her dowry look bad. But, a dowry is a dowry and a personal fortune is a personal fortune. Lin Chujiu doesnât mind adding more personal fortune for herself.
Looking at Lin Furenâs (Madam Lin) hands on her veil, she saw that Lin Furen had twisted it so bad. Lin Chujiu kindly said: âLin Furen (Madam Lin), for so many years Fuqin (Father) has been working so hard. Iâm sure the familyâs property is quite good, why donât you give me a little bit more for my dowry?â
âHow much do you want?â Lin Furen (Madam Lin) felt relieved that she could solve this problem with money. Because money had never been an issue.
How much?
Lin Chujiu didnât know how much the Lin Familyâs property had acc.u.mulated, so she didnât know how much money would make Lin Furen (Madam Lin) suffer.
Negotiation is a technical skill. Although Lin Chujiu didnât know how exactly she would negotiate with her, she knew a little about modern negotiations.
Lin Chujiu didnât answer her. She looked at Lin Furen (Madam Lin) seriously and faintly smiled: âThis depends on Lin Furenâs (Madam Lin) sincerity. As Lin Furen (Madam Lin) knows, I have always been stupid and have trouble remembering things very often.â
She forgot about money!?
Lin Furenâs (Madam Lin) mouth slightly twitched. She took a deep breath: âFive hundred thousand taels.â
If Lin Chujiu actually marries Prince Xiao, then she needed at least ten million taels worth of dowry. And if she were to marry an ordinary person, she needed at least seven or eight hundred thousand taels.
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) intentionally lowered the cost. But Lin Chujiu had already felt that in this kind of situation, the other party would deliberately offer a lower cost and it seems Lin Furen (Madam Lin) is only too eager to do so.
Lin Chujiuâs lips curve into smile. She gently shook her head: âIs Lin Furen (Madam Lin) sending out a beggar? Are you saying that your Di Chang nuâs (Elder Daughter) life is only worth five hundred thousand taels?â
âThen, how much do you want? Chujiu, you clearly know that your Fuqin (Father) doesnât have much money. That five hundred thousand taels are my private money.â
Lin Furenâs (Madam Lin) anger quickly fired up, but she had to endure.
Di Chang nuâs (Elder Daughter) life!?
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) regrets it!
She shouldnât have used chronic poison, she should have killed this b.i.t.c.h so that she wouldnât have ended up in this kind of situation.
âLin Furen (Madam Lin), you shouldnât be trying to cheat me. Do you think I donât know anything? Although Fuqin (Father) doesnât have any ancestral property, he has worked all these years. Of course thereâs money. Are you saying that his deceased wife had only five hundred thousand taels of dowry because she came from a poor family?â
Lin Chujiu didnât care how much Lin Furen (Madam Lin) regretted it, or how much she hated her. Now, she was only thinking about the amount of money she could ask for, enough to torment this good stepmother of hers.
Lin Chujiu doesnât really want that much money even though she loves it. She is not a greedy person. She was only doing this to get revenge on her seemingly pure, but opportunistic and vicious stepmother.
âHow much do you want in the end?âLin Furenâs (Madam Lin) anger fired up. Poor Family?
Who has a poor family? Why would they send out her Jiejie (Elder Sister) with only five hundred thousand taels of dowry?
âWell ⦠â¦â Lin Chujiu pretend to be thinking and looks a little helpless, then said: âFive hundred and fifty thousand taels.â
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) hadnât had the time to rejoice, when she heard another sentence from Lin Chujiuâs mouth: âBut, I want five hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold, not silver!â
âWhat?â
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) directly stood up in shock, âFive hundred thousand taels of gold? Why donât you just rob the entire family? â Lin Furen(Madam Lin) could no longer hold up her anger. Her face turned purple-red and her eyes were sparkling with fire⦠â¦
If only Lin Chujiu wouldnât get married tomorrow, she would have killed her immediately!
She would have killed her secretly in the backyard and crushed her like an ant.
Lin Chujiu might be with her right now, but how could she drag her out from the door?
Lin Chujiu couldnât get out from this room. But⦠â¦
Lin Chujiu had picked the best time to confront her, the day before her wedding. Lin Furenâs (Madam Lin) life would be miserable if Prince Xiao and the emperor found out that Lin Chujiu met sudden misfortune.
Lin Chujiu is sinister enough, she didnât play a simple role just so that she could keep her life and endure it today.
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) kept gasping for breath. She hadnât noticed that she had said something in her anger ⦠â¦
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) might not have noticed, but that did not mean that Lin Chujiu hadnât heard her. She laughed like a sly fox and said: âLin Furen (Madam Lin) is saying that five hundred and fifty thousand taels of gold is too much? Then as the Di Chang nu (Elder Daughter) am I not worth half of Lin Familyâs entire fortune?â
âChujiu, you still have meimei (Younger sister) and didi (Younger brother).â Lin Furen (Madam Lin) almost vomited a mouthful of blood ⦠â¦
Half of Lin Familyâs entire fortune?
What was Lin Chujiuâs qualifications for her to get half of Lin Familyâs entire fortune?
âMy niang (mother) gave birth to me.â In other words, she didnât recognize her meimei (younger sister) and didi (younger brother).
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) took a deep breath and opened her mouth, but in a stiff manner: âChujiu, you wounded your meimei (younger sister) two days ago. Iâm afraid that Crown Prince Xiao Tianrui is not happy because of this matter, and the Empress is also very dissatisfied.â
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) used the Crown Prince and the Empress to settle and stop her negotiations with Lin Chujiu.
But would she heed it?
Lin Chujiu smiled and said: âLin Furen (Madam Lin), I just taught my meimei (younger sister) a lesson in front of the Crown Prince. But youâre saying the empress will what? Iâm sure you know that the Crown Prince and the empress cannot control the imperial court and Prince Xiaoâs courtyard.â
Soon, Lin Chujiu and the empress will become sister-in-law and she will also become the Crown Princeâs aunt. If both of them wanted to teach her a lesson, she wouldnât let them take the initiative⦠â¦
âIf Wanting did something wrong, muqin (mother) will discipline her. Chujiu you shouldnât have gone too far.â The elder sister acting like a mother, as if she is not here, is not right!
âLin Furen (Madam Lin), you have taken good care of me, so teaching her a lesson on behalf of you is not a big deal.â Lin Chujiu rubbed her nails and gently blew them, as if Lin Furen (Madam Lin) was not in front of her.
Lin Chujiu hadnât washed for three days, but her hands didnât get dirty in the slightest. Lin Furen (Madam Lin) suddenly thought of something: Did Lin Chujiu leave the mansion?
If not, how was Lin Chujiu, who should be hungry for three days, still be alive and kicking?
Lin Furen (Madam Lin) squinted her eyes. Her heart couldnât help but think⦠â¦