Chapter 38: Suspicion

Chapter 38: Suspicion

Lin Zhijin followed Granny Qian to a teahouse not far from the street office, headed upstairs to a private room, where a dignified, elegant lady sat there brewing tea with refined poise.

"Madam, Miss Lin is here." Granny Qian sidled up to Madam Sheng and said meekly.

Lin Zhijin nodded at Madam Sheng, and noticing Madam Sheng staring at her, she didn't take offense and just sat down across from her.

Madam Sheng frowned, her expression sour. "Miss Lin, I know you're a country girl with no schooling, but you were a concubine in the Chen household. You should have learned basic etiquette. Sitting down before your elder says a word is plain bad manners."

From that little speech alone, it was obvious Madam Sheng was no pushover. Any daughter-in-law of hers would have a miserable life. Whatever—it wasn't her problem.

"Madam Sheng, my surname is Lin, my mother's side is Li, and I've got aunts and uncles named Ye, Wu, and Wang. But I have no relatives surnamed Sheng. So which elder of mine are you supposed to be?" Lin Zhijin wasn't about to put up with that.

Madam Sheng looked at Lin Zhijin in surprise. This didn't seem like someone who wanted to marry into the Sheng family at all. Could Huai Zhen have gotten it wrong?

Still, she was quite displeased with Lin Zhijin's attitude. It had been ages since any young person had dared talk back to her like that. A real backwoods girl with zero manners.

"Even if I'm not your relative, I'm still your elder. Didn't your folks teach you to respect your elders?" Madam Sheng said sternly.

"That depends on whether the elder deserves any respect. You had someone drag me over here, and before I even sit down, you're already giving me the stink eye. What, do I owe you money?" Lin Zhijin raised a hand to stop Madam Sheng from speaking, then continued with a faint smile. "I'm a country girl with no schooling, so don't talk in circles—I won't get it anyway. Just say what you want, Madam Sheng."

Madam Sheng was so mad her chest hurt. All the lines she'd rehearsed were useless now, so she cut to the chase. "What's your deal with Huai Min?"

"Sheng Huaimin? A stranger I've said a few words to. Madam Sheng came to see me about him?" Lin Zhijin looked at her with feigned surprise, then asked with amusement, "What did you think we were to each other?"

Madam Sheng pounded the table. "Miss Lin, you should understand that you, a concubine bought to ward off bad luck, will never set foot in the Sheng family. Be smart and stay away from Huai Min."

Lin Zhijin scoffed. "Madam Sheng, the only reason I came today was to hear what you'd say, and to tell you to keep Sheng Huaimin on a leash. I've already turned him down flat from day one and told him not to come near me again."

Like the Sheng family is some kind of prize. She was the one running the other way.

Hearing this, Madam Sheng only grew angrier. "What do you mean by that? You think you're too good for Huai Min?"

Lin Zhijin stood up, looking down at her from above. "I, Lin Zhijin, come from a decent family, I'm young and good-looking, I work for the government, and I'm a proud Party member. So what if I do?"

Seeing Madam Sheng was too furious to speak, Lin Zhijin couldn't be bothered to stay any longer. She said her goodbyes and walked out.

When she got home, Li Yue and Wang Chunhua were already there washing and chopping vegetables. They looked at Lin Zhijin with confusion. "Why are you back so late?"

Lin Zhijin took off her gloves and scarf, saying as she did, "Don't even get me started. Sheng Huaimin's mother came to find me, all high and mighty, telling me to know my place and not dream of entering the Sheng family's doors. Ha, how ridiculous. Who'd want to marry into that family anyway?"

"Is she nuts?" Wang Chunhua was instantly furious.

"And you just let her talk to you that way?" Li Yue was angry about something else.

"Of course not." Lin Zhijin recounted what had happened and said with a laugh, "You should've seen it—her face went white as a sheet. And she still tried to pull the elder card. I wasn't having it."

Li Yue burst out laughing and patted Lin Zhijin on the shoulder. "That's right, that's how it should be. If you don't act like an elder, why should anyone respect you? Pfft, dream on."

Meanwhile, when Sheng Huaimin learned that Madam Sheng had gone to see Lin Zhijin, he rushed over right away, but he was too late—not only had Lin Zhijin already left, but Madam Sheng had also returned to the Sheng residence.

"Young Master." Liu Yuan saw Sheng Huaimin kick over a chair in a rage and cautiously reminded him, "There are people watching outside."

Sheng Huaimin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he had calmed down.

"Pay the teahouse two silver dollars for the damage. Let's go home."

The next day, Lin Zhijin got off work on time. As she turned the corner outside the South City Street Office, she was stopped by someone again.

"Cadre Lin, it's me." Liu Yuan was carrying a food box and smiled apologetically. "Cadre Lin, the Young Master doesn't know where Madam got wind of some rumors, and she went and said a bunch of nonsense to you. Knowing you were wronged, the Young Master felt too ashamed to face you, but he also felt he owed you an apology, so he sent me to bring you this gift of apology. Oh, it's nothing valuable—just some food. Cadre Lin, the Young Master asked me to apologize on his behalf. And don't worry, the Young Master won't come looking for you for a while."

Afraid that Lin Zhijin wouldn't accept it, Liu Yuan set down the food box and ran off after speaking.

Lin Zhijin looked at the food box in front of her and sighed softly. Setting aside his family background, Sheng Huaimin was actually a decent man—handsome, refined, and gentle. Unfortunately, that background couldn't be set aside.

Three grandmothers-in-law above, three sisters-in-law who were as bad as mothers-in-law, and a feudal, rigid father-in-law. Tsk, whoever married him would be in for a rough time.

After hesitating for a moment, Lin Zhijin picked up the food box and opened it. Four kinds of pastries, they looked quite nice. But accepting gifts meant being indebted, and she didn't want to owe Sheng Huaimin anything.

She scanned the area, placed the box on a stone, and said toward a corner, "Madam Sheng just warned me yesterday. If I accepted your things today, she'd hate me even more. I'm not afraid of her, but I don't want unnecessary trouble either. Take it back yourself. I'm leaving."

Only after Lin Zhijin's figure had disappeared from the street did Sheng Huaimin and Liu Yuan step out from the corner where they had been hiding.

"Young Master, this..." Liu Yuan looked at the food box, then at Sheng Huaimin.

Sheng Huaimin's gaze darkened. "Bring it back."

He took the food box, his fingers gently brushing over the spot where Lin Zhijin had held it. It seemed his plan needed to be moved up. They were getting too much in the way.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhijin had just arrived at Anhe Street when Xiaohong stopped her in her tracks.

"Xiaohong? Why do you look so pale? Did something happen at the Chen residence?" Seeing her nose red from the cold, Lin Zhijin brought her home, poured her a cup of hot water, and let her speak slowly.

Xiaohong looked around Lin Zhijin's room—small but cozy. She drank a few sips of hot water, warmed up a bit, and then quietly told her about what had happened at the Chen residence.

"Concubine Hu died in childbirth, and the baby didn't make it either. Zhijin, thank goodness you never consummated the marriage with the old master, or it would have been you who got pregnant." Xiaohong's face turned pale just mentioning Hu Xiaoyue.

Hu Xiaoyue? If Xiaohong hadn't brought her up, Lin Zhijin would have almost forgotten about her.

Just like the original body—died in childbirth, both mother and child lost. Sure enough, the original body's death was no simple matter.

"Zhijin, childbirth is so scary. I... I'm a bit afraid to get married and have children now." Xiaohong got goosebumps just thinking about the smell of blood in that room.

Lin Zhijin peeled a milk candy and popped it into her mouth. "Scared? Don't be. You're different from her. When the time comes, you'll give birth in a hospital. Doctors are much more capable than midwives."

In this era, not having children wasn't an option, so Lin Zhijin wouldn't say anything like "if you don't want to, don't." She could only offer practical advice.

"I remember you're engaged. What does his family do? How does he treat you?" Lin Zhijin changed the subject.

At the mention of her fiancé, Xiaohong looked shy. "His parents were also stewards at the Chen residence. He's been learning business from the head clerk. After liberation, their family didn't leave the Chen residence either—they still help with the household affairs. He treats me well. He said that after we get married, I can quit my work and stay home to be a good wife and mother."

"That's nice. You must tell me when you get married—I'll come for a cup of wedding wine." Lin Zhijin smiled.

Xiaohong didn't have a night shift today, so Lin Zhijin kept her for dinner and took the opportunity to ask about the Chen family.

"Zhijin, who is this?" Li Yue looked at Xiaohong and asked with a smile.

"This is Xiaohong. She took good care of me when I was at the Chen residence. She wasn't busy today, so she came to visit." Lin Zhijin explained with a smile.

Xiaohong was a bit nervous at first, but when she found that Li Yue and Wang Chunhua were both friendly, she gradually relaxed and became more at ease in her conversation.

"Earlier, Miss Wan'er was going to go to America, but unfortunately, all the masters and uncles disagreed. They said the old lady was getting on in years, and since none of her children were by her side, Wan'er was her only granddaughter, so she should stay and keep the old lady company."

"I heard the eldest madam didn't agree and wanted to take Miss Wan'er away, but in the end, for some reason, it didn't work out."

"The household is looking for a match for Miss Wan'er. The fourth master brought back a man—he's... passably handsome, but something about him just rubs me the wrong way. His accent is a bit strange too."

Something about him rubbed her the wrong way, and his accent was a bit strange?

Lin Zhijin immediately thought of a man from a certain country. "Xiaohong, do you remember what accent that man had?"

Xiaohong thought carefully, then shook her head. "Not really. Miss Wan'er didn't seem too impressed with him. She said she already had someone she liked, from a well-connected family. If that could work out, all of the Chen family's problems would be solved."

"Chen Wan'er said that? When did you hear this?" Lin Zhijin pressed on.

"I heard it clearly outside the study," Xiaohong said with certainty.

Ever since she had helped Lin Zhijin last time, Xiaohong had been paying closer attention to news about Old Lady Chen and Chen Wan'er. Perhaps because she appeared dull in the household, or because she was a family-born servant, the Chens weren't as wary of her, and she really did manage to overhear a lot.

Since she was worried about it being too late to get back safely, Xiaohong left right after dinner. Lin Zhijin didn't push her to stay and gave her a bag of dried jujubes and a small pack of raisins.

"Remember that house with the jujube tree I bought before? It produced a lot of jujubes, and I dried them. It didn't cost me anything, so go ahead and take them." Lin Zhijin also gave her a pack of candy. "Don't eat too many, and make sure you brush your teeth at night, or you'll get cavities, got it?"

"I know, Sister Zhi Jin, I'm off now." Xiaohong nodded obediently and left happily with the things.

Once she got home, Lin Zhijin told Li Yue and the others, then rushed off to find Secretary Zhang. The man that Fourth Master Chen had brought back was definitely suspicious. She needed Secretary Zhang to look into him thoroughly—there might be important clues.

"What's the rush?" Wang Chunhua asked in confusion.

Li Yue, however, sensed something off and tugged at Wang Chunhua's sleeve. "Don't ask what you shouldn't. You've only been out of the army a few days, and you've already forgotten discipline?"

Wang Chunhua opened her mouth but could only mutter, "It's just at home."

Author's note:

None.