Chapter 2: Rebirth
“Jiang Ruanxi, are you listening to me or not? I’m telling you, don’t play dumb with me.”
An impatient voice came from beside her ear.
Looking at the familiar yet indifferent face in front of her, Jiang Ruanxi was a bit dazed.
She wasn’t angered to death? Why was she seeing Lin Ningkun’s mother, Madam Zhou.
“He is the orphan left behind by the Marquis’s close friend; we cannot abandon him to die. Anyway, you’ve been married into our Lin Family for over five years and haven’t borne any children. Now there’s a ready-made one; adopting him under your name is also for your own good. You’ll have someone to rely on in the future.”
Hearing the familiar words, Jiang Ruanxi finally came back to her senses.
She had been reborn, back to the fifth year of her marriage to Lin Ningkun.
After the wedding that year, he had gone out to take up his post and never returned.
The moment he came back, he brought five-year-old Lin Xiao with him, asking her to agree to enter the child into the family registry under her name.
At first, no matter how much Jiang Ruanxi liked Lin Ningkun, she wasn’t deceived into raising someone else’s child, so she never gave in.
She remembered that in her previous life, Madam Zhou had come to persuade her.
Later, to win back Lin Ningkun’s heart, she foolishly agreed.
Now thinking about it, Lin Xiao was five years old now.
This meant that this child was conceived when Jiang Xuerou was not yet a widow, when they had already gotten together.
Thinking of these two secretly committing adultery made her feel utterly disgusted.
She had always thought Lin Ningkun was a pure and upright gentleman, but unexpectedly, he was so filthy in secret, even committing adultery with his own nephew’s wife.
Composing herself, she looked at Madam Zhou and said, “Mother is right; I agree.”
Madam Zhou was delighted; she hadn’t expected Jiang Ruanxi to agree so quickly. She had prepared several excuses that she didn’t even get to use.
Her objective achieved, there was no need to stay any longer. Just as she was about to stand, Jiang Ruanxi rubbed the teacup in her hand and said faintly, “However, this is a major matter; I’m afraid we’ll still need the clan leader’s approval. After all, he is not our Jiang Family’s bloodline.”
Madam Zhou was stunned; she hadn’t thought of this and sat back down.
She pondered for a moment.
“You don’t need to worry about that. As long as you agree, I’ll handle the clan leader.”
Madam Zhou took a sip of tea, then seemed to remember something. She set down the teacup and looked at her seriously.
“Now that the Marquis has returned from his post, the courtyards at home are all too small. If he has friends coming, there’s no place to receive them.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ruanxi sneered inwardly, but on her face, she nodded in agreement. “Mother is right. I’ll have the servants prepare a courtyard right away, for the Marquis to host guests and meet friends.”
“We definitely need to prepare it. But preparing it will take time. If the Marquis has friends visiting during this period, we can’t have our Marquis looking so shabby, can we?”
“Then what does Mother mean?” Jiang Ruanxi pretended not to understand.
Madam Zhou stated her objective.
“Before preparing the courtyard, let’s first buy a small courtyard outside. That way, it won’t delay things.”
Jiang Ruanxi picked up her teacup and took a sip, hiding the coldness in her eyes.
In her previous life, she had never suspected Madam Zhou’s words and foolishly agreed to this request.
She really thought that Dingning Marquis Manor was too small to accommodate Lin Ningkun’s friends and directly bought the courtyard next to Dingning Marquis Manor.
But only at death did she realize that the so-called purchase of a courtyard was just to buy one for Jiang Xuerou.
Seeing her silence, Madam Zhou pressed harder.
“You know, the capital is different from other places. You were born in a merchant family and don’t understand many things. If the Marquis maintains his connections well, there will be many more opportunities for promotion in the future, and your status will rise with it.”
Jiang Ruanxi set down her teacup and sneered inwardly.
This family disdained her merchant background on one hand, yet shamelessly coveted her money. The Lin Family was even more disgusting than maggots in a latrine.
“Mother is right; I didn’t consider it thoroughly.” Jiang Ruanxi endured the disgust in her heart and replied.
In her previous life, she had thought the same, always feeling inferior because of her background, so she tried to please Lin Ningkun in every way.
Reborn once more, she saw everything clearly.
Lin Ningkun was good-looking, but otherwise a complete mess.
He was arrogant and self-important, actually unrealistic and not down-to-earth at all.
In her previous life, if not for the silver from her dowry used to bribe officials, whether he could keep his marquis position was uncertain, and his official career certainly wouldn’t have been so smooth.
That sixth-rank official position was his limit; he had no chance of promotion.
“How about this: the courtyard next door is pretty good. Why not just buy it? Then tear down this wall and make it part of the Marquis Manor directly. That way, the Marquis Manor will be bigger.”
In her previous life, Lin Ningkun had used her dowry to build a courtyard for Jiang Xuerou next door; he must have planned the same.
After she died, there was no more that shameful wall between the two courtyards.
What a brilliant scheme.
Madam Zhou remembered the matter Lin Ningkun had arranged and was startled inwardly. She hadn’t expected Jiang Ruanxi to voice exactly what was on her mind.
But this woman was an idiot. Since she said it, she couldn’t show it and feigned hesitation. “As for where to buy, let’s leave it to the Marquis to decide?”
“Mother is right.”
Jiang Ruanxi hid the mockery in her eyes.
Bringing the child back to recognize ancestors, buying the courtyard next door for convenience so Jiang Xuerou could see the child anytime—Lin Ningkun had truly considered everything for Jiang Xuerou.
But since heaven let her reborn this time, she wouldn’t let him have his way as in the previous life.
The humiliations heaped on her in the previous life, she would repay them several times over.
Jiang Ruanxi clenched her hand tightly at her side.
Delight flashed in Madam Zhou’s eyes. “Then about the silver?”
These years, they had always used Jiang Ruanxi’s silver, so she had long handed over household authority to Jiang Ruanxi.
So, for spending money, they always came to Jiang Ruanxi.
Moreover, she wasn’t good at managing affairs. Even if she were in charge, the Marquis Manor couldn’t have spare silver.
A glint flashed in Jiang Ruanxi’s starry eyes, and she smiled. “Mother, don’t worry about the silver. When the time comes, just take whatever amount is needed from the storeroom.”
Madam Zhou was overjoyed but still put on a kindly elder demeanor, instructing Jiang Ruanxi.
“Everything Mother does is for your own good. Sometimes you still need to be magnanimous. After all, you didn’t grow up in Yongyi Marquis Manor and don’t understand the rules of marquis households for merchant families.
You’re a good child, but remember, marrying our Marquis is your great fortune. Cherish it well. When the Marquis rises in the future, you can enjoy blessings too.”
She still remembered that in her previous life, Madam Zhou had said the same, and she had foolishly listened, only to receive humiliation and a miserable half-life.
After Madam Zhou left, Hong Ye, who had been serving at the side, grew anxious.
“Madam, how could you agree to entering that child into the family registry under your name? If he’s recorded under you, won’t he become the legitimate eldest son of the Marquis Manor? What about your future children?”
