IBTSOME Chapter 24 Part 1: Wife

I BECAME THE STEPMOTHER OF MY EX-HUSBAND

 

Chapter 24 Part 1: Wife

 

^^

 

It was raining during the Dragon Boat Festival. Since the rain at the Palace Banquet, the capital had been shrouded with gray downpour for several days.

"Miss Lin." The visitor ran across the courtyard quickly and put away the rain gear that she wore at the side corridor. She patted the water off her body and smiled at Lin Wei Xi, "Miss Lin, Shizi Consort has something to find you."

Wan Xing looked at the rain outside, and looked at the messenger questioningly: "It's still raining, why Shizi Consort call our miss at this time?"

"This slave also doesn’t know, maybe there is something important to say to Miss Lin."

Lin Wei Xi stood up from the narrow couch when she heard this, said, "Since there is something important, let's go." 

 

Wan Xing hurriedly went inside to get Lin Wei Xi's cloak, while she tidied Lin Wei Xi's clothes, on one side mumble to herself: "Our miss has a little bit cold when she came back from the palace, and she has to go out to blow the cold wind today, what if our miss fell miserably ill."

"Wan Xing."

Wan Yue secretly pinched Wan Xing, then hurriedly pulled her away. Lin Wei Xi indifferently glanced, tightened her cloak, and walked out.

The rain slid down from the eaves, from afar looked like continuous strip of silver strings, Lin Wei Xi walked on the side corridor. Even though the eaves above covered her from the rain, the corners of her clothes were still wet.

In the hall, Gao Ran was talking to a well-dressed old servant woman. When she saw Lin Wei Xi coming in, she waved to the inside: "Miss Lin is here, please go inside first and sit down. I still have some things to do. Miss Lin, please wait a moment."

Lin Wei Xi glanced at the woman in the hall, and went straight inside without saying anything.

Seeing Lin Wei Xi walked to the back room without saying a word, she flicked her eyes towards Lin Wei Xi's back, lowered her voice, and said to Gao Ran with a frown, "Shizi Consort, this one really! Wangye remember the old favor gives her face to some degree, yet she push the nose to the face¹! In front of Wangye she can speak well to make a trick, but once passed people’s back, she dared to shake her face to Shizi Consort."

"Sun family mother, don't say it." Gao Ran increased her voice slightly, and said, "She is the only daughter of a hero, and her father died to save Wangye. It is inevitable that she will be a bit withdrawn. These words you can say it to me, but when you are outside, you are not allowed to mention it again." 

 

"Shizi Consort you are too kind." Granny Sun looked at her wrists, muttered something again. Then she rubbed her hands and brought up another matter. "Shizi Consort, the errands to take care kitchen purchasing..."

Lin Wei Xi sat on the soft cushion, separated by the wooden grid, vaguely heard Gao Ran and granny Sun muttering something, soon after they talked about the kitchen purchasing matters. Even if she didn't hear the previous content clearly, Lin Wei Xi could guess that it was definitely not a good thing. Granny Sun played with her tongue to flatter for personal gain, she had already seen it before.

Speaking of business affairs, Gao Ran deliberately didn't lower her voice anymore, as Lin Wei Xi sat inside, intermittently also listened to the general idea. Granny Sun complained, how life was not easy, how exhausting work in the kitchen was, and finally pulled Shen Wangfei’s name. When granny Sun’s opened her mouth she really could speak, from her mouth it seems that she was a really loyal old servant, conscientious and hardworking for the mansion, but unfortunately offended the former Shizi Consort, the former Shizi Consort was eager to place her own person, right away removed granny Sun whole family from the purchasing position. Although granny Sun still stayed in the kitchen, however it was not an important job, she couldn't even attend the stove, their whole family just went through the motions.

After Granny Sun said that she finally burst into tears and cried, and the maids around listened to this also felt distressed. Gao Ran sighed and said: "I understand your loyalty. You have been an old servant for many years. Since grandmother and mother was still alive, you have been a servant that was in charge at Yan Wang Mansion. There is no doubt about your loyalty. Even if you don't talk about your hard work over the years, just by the kindness of grandmother and mother, I will not treat your family badly."

Granny sun listened tearfully clapped her hands: "Able to get this words from Shizi Consort, this old slave is willing to die immediately!"

"Don't talk like that without rhyme or reason, it is unlucky to say about these deaths and lives, for no reason provoking ominous stuffs." Gao Ran rebuked, she flipped through the roster, and said, "Since it was just a misunderstanding before, then when you were sent to the edge by Sister Xi you are really wronged. In my opinion, your whole family had better come back to take care of the kitchen purchasing. You all are familiar with the vendors at the market and I can rest assured handing over the purchasing to you."

Granny Sun was overjoyed, and immediately knelt down and kowtow: "Thanking Shizi Consort."

Lin Wei Xi held the tea and blew slowly. When she heard this, she shook her head and smiled. Granny Sun really had a good mouth. Afraid that Gu Cheng Yao was tricked by such rhetoric before.

Granny Sun was indeed an old servant for many years, but who says that old servants were loyal servants? The more complicated the relationship between the servants, the more likely they were to do some dirty things. Lin Wei Xi checked the accounts last year and found that the kitchen area had a lot of deficiencies, and they were all in the hands of this wicked slave. This woman relied on Lin Wei Xi as a new bride didn't understand the account books, tampered the account books to fool her, when Lin Wei Xi uncovered it she ruthlessly scold her. At that time, granny Sun also used family loyalty and implicated Shen Wangfei. Granny Sun had served on Shen Wangfei’s side before. This was also what gave her confident to go rampant and corrupt in the mansion. Lin Wei Xi didn't look at it at that time, directly throw their family out of the kitchen. If it weren't for the face of her mother-in-law, Shen Wangfei, how could granny Sun still kept an idle job in the kitchen.

In the end not long after Gao Xi died of illness, granny Sun looked at the vacant position and came running as a witch selling tragic story. Gao Ran’s mind was also confused, she actually believed it and restored her to her original post.

Gao Ran actually did not necessarily believe in granny Sun's words, but granny Sun looks simple and honest. Even if a person with such a face had her own selfish intentions, she would not be a very wicked person. Granny Sun was sent off by Gao Xi because of the discrepancy between purchasing stuffs and the money. Gao Ran flipped through the account books, deeply feeling that Gao Xi made a fuss over minor issue.

Being a madam in charge of the household was like being the executives in her previous lives before transmigrating. There will be no fish when the water is clear. Could people in purchasing department really not greedy at all? Impossible, so when Gao Ran saw that there was no major problem in the account book, she revoked Gao Xi's punishment. Gao Ran sighed over Gao Xi in her heart. Gao Xi looked like a noble lady from prestigious family and claimed to be raised by the princess herself, but why didn't she even have this much emotional intelligence? Only knew how to criticized people, and asked her subordinates not to make any mistakes. No wonder Gao Xi later was mixed up like that, to die in the mansion and no one said she was good. Who could blame if she didn't have enough EQ?

Gao Ran was in a good mood, as if all the regrets from her previous life had been made up in this life. She was now also a noble lady from prestigious family, Miss Perfect that stepped on all living beings, as she "graduated" from her maiden family she directly became an "executive". Gao Ran firmly believes with her emotional intelligence she would be like a fish in the water. In this way, she was delayed by her own class before transmigrating, otherwise she was not inferior to the Miss Perfect that have big family enterprises.

Gao Ran walked briskly into the room, she hadn't forgotten that she still had a trouble sitting there. Gao Ran smiled and sat opposite Lin Wei Xi, and repeatedly apologized: "The mansion have endless trivial matters every day, and I will worry if I don’t personally deal with it. It is really rude to keep Miss Lin waiting for a long time."

Lin Wei Xi ignored Gao Ran's insincere apology, Lin Wei Xi knew that Gao Xi is dead, and Yan Wang Mansion had nothing to do with her since then, but Lin Wei Xi felt regret that the hard work of the past were ruined, and couldn’t help but reminded this successor: "Shizi Consort only rely on their side of the story and handed over the important matters of the kitchen purchasing to them, that’s rather biased."

Oh! Even wanted to point fingers at her management’s authority, she looked at Lin Wei Xi with a smile, "This is my Yan Wang Mansion family affair, Miss Lin doesn't need to worry right?"

Lin Wei Xi snorted lightly, her eyes drifting, she was too lazy to look at Gao Ran to warn her again.

Gao Ran thought that she had won, her mood got better, her speech also raised up, "Miss Lin, you already full sixteen years old this year. You were born in big monh, should be regard as seventeen years old² then."

Lin Wei Xi raised his eyebrows: "What do you mean by that?"

"What can I mean, only thinking about it for Miss Lin." Gao Ran smiled and said, "Now that your father's filial piety has been over, you can't justify dragging not to marry. You are seventeen and still not settle the marriage yet. After the six ceremonies³, when you enter your husband’s family you will be eighteen years old. To tell the truth, that age somewhat already old. You need to hurry up, if too old afraid can delay the matter of giving birth." 

 

Lin Wei Xi did not expect this kind of words came from Gao Ran. If she guessed right, wasn’t the world before Gao Ran transmigrated was very tolerant of women's marriage age? Lin Wei Xi really did not expect that a person who had traveled to ancient times would be more enthusiastic about marrying and having children than her an ancient clansmen woman. What’s wrong with being 17-year-old? Even if she did not marry for a lifetime, so what?

Lin Wei Xi was disgusted by these words, her face was impatient, and she said coldly: "You called me over on a rainy day just for this? If there is nothing else, then I will go first." 

 

Gao Ran stopped Lin Wei Xi's action, still smiling, stared at Lin Wei Xi motionlessly, "Miss Lin doesn't want to marry, do you really want to pray for your father, or do you have any thoughts about Yan Wang Mansion?" 

 

Lin Wei Xi's face had completely cooled down, there was no smile on her face. Her black eyes gleaming, for a moment it seems like heated pearls that was immersed in ice water, both icy and blazing: "Shizi Consort, pay attention to your words."

"Is Miss Lin angry?" Gao Ran smiled and took a sip of tea, covered her lips, "It's me who is wrong. I shouldn't say this kind of girl's thoughts. After all, which girl doesn't have spring, Miss Lin's color is just right, and it makes sense to fall in love with a young and handsome man at first sight. It just, Miss Lin, the Shizi already married."

Lin Wei Xi sneered, and looked at Gao Ran with a faint smile: "I know, and it’s a second marriage."

Gao Ran’s speech were halted, and then she quickly adjusted her expression to cover up her loss of composure: "… even if I am a second wife, but nevertheless I am the officially wed consort, also the primary wife. However to have shady relationship with a married man while the legal wife is still alive, this is called matchless adultery⁴ , a Third Party trying to squeeze in."

"You said it like you only met Gu Cheng Yao after your sister died, so leave this talk to yourself.” Lin Wei Xi noticed Gao Ran’s gaze and met it without hiding, even raising her eyebrows lightly, "What? Am I wrong? Then why is it not even a month since the previous Shizi Consort died, you already marry your older sister husband?"

TN: Another cliff! But trust me the next one will be worth the wait.

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1 Given an inch want a mile.^↩
2 In traditional Chinese culture ages start at one not zero when a baby was born. So LWX is 17 but her ‘international’ age is 16. ^↩
3 Six ceremonies of marriage ceremony refers to six etiquettes from negotiation to the completion of the marriage. ^↩
4 Matchless adultery refers to the ‘three teas and six rituals’ of marriage without a matchmaker. In the olden days to get married you need a matchmaker as mediator between two families.^↩

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