Chapter 163: Qierliu Sows Discord

Page 1 of 3

“I came to have a little chat with Scholar Lin,” Wang Qiongshi said with a beaming smile.

One of the maids glanced at Lin Yanbei and whispered, “If Master and Madam find out about this, they’ll scold you to death.”

“Then don’t tell them!” Wang Qiongshi warned. “If either of you lets it slip, I won’t share tomorrow’s hibiscus cakes with you!”

The two maids exchanged a glance and sighed helplessly.

Lin Yanbei seized the opportunity and tried to leave as quickly as possible. Who would have thought that Wang Qiongshi would immediately turn her attention back to him?

“Scholar Lin, where are you going?”

“I… I’m going to the bookshop…”

“Then I’m going too.”

Lin Yanbei fell silent.

Never mind. It wasn’t his bookshop. What right did he have to stop her from going?

So Lin Yanbei said nothing more. Doing his best to ignore Wang Qiongshi’s presence, he set off.

Wang Qiongshi followed cheerfully behind him, and the two maids hurried after her.

None of them noticed the carriage stopped not far away.

The curtain lifted, revealing Qi Erliu’s face.

“I never imagined that simply coming here to buy a few things would let me witness such an entertaining scene.”

“Madam, what does Scholar Lin’s business have to do with us?” her personal maid, Ye Mei, asked in confusion.

“Judging from what we just saw, that young lady clearly likes Lin Yanbei, while Lin Yanbei has no desire to marry her…” Qi Erliu’s eyes turned, and a devious idea immediately sprang to mind. “Follow them. Just tell the coachman, and don’t get too close. Make sure they don’t notice us.”

“Yes, Madam.”

Lin Yanbei bought a book at the shop and then returned to the academy on his own.

Though Wang Qiongshi was reluctant to part with him, she could not follow him into the academy and could only sigh in silence.

“Miss, there are so many young gentlemen in Pingci Commandery who like you. Why do you keep clinging to this dull scholar?” The two maids asked in puzzlement as they ate the pastries Wang Qiongshi had just bought.

“Ah, just looking at the two of you, I can tell you’ve never been in love,” Wang Qiongshi said helplessly. “You would never understand how I feel.”

“We don’t understand, that’s true. We only think Scholar Lin has terrible taste. How could he not like a girl as wonderful as you, Miss?”

“That’s exactly what I think.”

A strange voice suddenly rang out.

Wang Qiongshi turned around and saw a young woman she did not recognize walking toward her.

Page 2 of 3

“Who are you?” Wang Qiongshi asked, sizing her up.

Qi Erliu walked up to her and gave a slight curtsy. “I am Yu Jingxiao’s wife, of the Yu household.”

“Oh! So you’re Young Master Yu’s wife.” Wang Qiongshi returned the courtesy with exaggerated propriety. “I am the younger daughter of the wealthy magistrate of Pingci Commandery.”

Qi Erliu smiled, and Wang Qiongshi asked, “What did you mean by what you just said? Do you know Scholar Lin?”

“Of course I do. The Yu family and the Lin family have always been on good terms. A few days ago, when the eldest son of the Lin family became engaged, my husband and I even attended the banquet.”

“I see.”

Qi Erliu sighed and took Wang Qiongshi’s hand. “A girl as beautiful as you, yet Scholar Lin doesn’t know how to cherish you. That is truly outrageous…”

Wang Qiongshi said nothing.

“But one cannot blame Scholar Lin entirely. If there is anyone to blame, it is those who have been sowing discord before him.”

“What do you mean?” Wang Qiongshi asked with a frown.

Qi Erliu glanced around before lowering her voice. “A few days ago, when I visited the Lin household, I happened to overhear several of the Lin girls speaking ill of you to Scholar Lin.”

“Girls? What girls?”

“You don’t know? Scholar Lin has a younger sister named Lin Sangqian. Besides her, the Lin family has also adopted two other girls.” Qi Erliu continued, “That day, I heard them telling Scholar Lin how terrible the daughter of the Wang family supposedly was—ugly, shrewish, and vicious—and urging him not to marry you. At the time, I had never met you, so I actually believed what they said. But after seeing you today, I realize they were simply making things up.”

“That is outrageous!” Wang Qiongshi said furiously. “They’ve never even met me. What right did they have to slander me? No wonder Lin Yanbei has been so cold toward me. It turns out they were the ones behind it!”

“Exactly.” Qi Erliu sighed. “Who knows why they would do such a thing? Perhaps one of those two adopted girls has feelings for Scholar Lin.”

“Hmph. Just wait. I’ll teach them a proper lesson!”

Seeing that her scheme had succeeded, Qi Erliu could not help mocking Wang Qiongshi inwardly for being such a fool who believed everything she was told.

She was about to ingratiate herself with Wang Qiongshi a little further when Wang Qiongshi suddenly asked in an indifferent tone, “Do you have anything else to say?”

Qi Erliu froze. “N-no… Nothing else. I only wanted to tell you about this.”

“Oh. Now that you’ve finished, you can leave.”

Qi Erliu felt a little angry. So what if she was the daughter of a wealthy magistrate? What was so impressive about that?

Still, she maintained a faint smile. “Then I shall take my leave.”

After Qi Erliu departed, Wang Qiongshi’s maid asked, “Miss, shall we go home?”

Page 3 of 3

“No,” Wang Qiongshi said. “I’m going to the Lin household.”

“Ah? You really are going to confront those girls from the Lin family? But I don’t think everything that Madam Yu said just now can be trusted…”

“Oh, do you take your young mistress for a fool?” Wang Qiongshi said helplessly. “Still, since Madam Yu mentioned those girls, I’ll go and have a look. If there really is some misunderstanding, I’ll clear it up. And if Madam Yu lied to me, then she was trying to use me as her weapon. Hmph! I’ll make sure she regrets it!”

Only then did the two maids breathe a sigh of relief.

“Besides, since they’re Scholar Lin’s family, there’s certainly no harm in getting on good terms with them as soon as possible!”

The two maids fell silent.

So in the end, it was still all for Scholar Lin!

The Lin family’s address was easy enough to find. Before long, Wang Qiongshi arrived at their home.

Lin Sangqian was building a snowman in the courtyard when she suddenly heard someone knocking at the gate. Raising her voice, she asked, “Who is it?”

Her question left Wang Qiongshi at a loss. All she could do was shout back, “Me!”

Lin Sangqian stared blankly.

She stuck a carrot into the snowman’s face as its nose, then went over to open the gate.

When it opened, she saw a completely unfamiliar young girl standing outside.

She looked at the girl’s clothes and appearance, then glanced at the two maids behind her. A realization seemed to dawn on her.

This must be the one who had fallen in love with her second brother at first sight…

“H-hello. I’m Wang Qiongshi,” Wang Qiongshi said nervously.

Could the girl standing before her be Lin Sangqian?

She had heard of Lin Sangqian before.

But she had never expected the girl to be so beautiful!

Wang Qiongshi suddenly found herself almost too timid to look directly at her.