Chapter 15: A Grudge
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Wang Yanwan wore an expression of utter disbelief. “Your second brother has always been highly skilled. How could he have suffered such serious injuries? What on earth happened?”
“He often takes part in all kinds of hunting expeditions and has never once failed. He has always been invincible.”
“Last year, he hunted a great tiger all by himself and received widespread praise for it.”
“How could something have gone wrong this time? Hurry and tell me exactly what happened.”
Her voice trembled, and her face was filled with anxiety and concern.
Lin Chuyan did not dare conceal anything. She could only recount everything she knew. “Second Brother was attacked by two ferocious wolves at the same time. He was caught off guard and suffered several bites.”
“I heard that one of his lower legs was bitten by a wolf, and that the injury was extremely serious. He can no longer stand or walk and had to be carried back by someone...”
By the end, her voice had unconsciously dropped several degrees.
The moment Wang Yanwan heard this, she pressed on. “Your brother was injured—why weren’t you there to look after him? And after you returned, why did you say nothing about what happened?”
Lin Chuyan was rendered speechless, her face full of remorse.
Seeing that Lin Chuyan could not answer, Wang Yanwan was deeply disappointed in her, but she had no time to reprimand her now.
At that moment, she was frantic with worry.
She seized her daughter, Lin Chuxi, and rushed outside, not even stopping to offer a word of farewell.
Zhao Yurou glared furiously at Lin Chuyan before quickly following them.
As the mistress of the Lin household, she had to go and see what had happened as well.
In the blink of an eye, more than half the people had left the courtyard.
With the tiger gone from the mountain, the monkeys ruled the roost.
The moment she saw that all the elders had gone, Lin Chuyao once again revealed her vicious, claw-baring nature and began pestering Lin Pianran relentlessly.
“You wretched little harlot, Lin Pianran!”
“I’m going to tear that foul mouth of yours apart! What medicine did you take today? How dare you lodge a complaint!”
“You even forced us to hand over our jewelry. I will never forgive you...”
Before Lin Chuyao had finished her hysterical tirade, another loud slap landed across her face.
She was nearly stunned senseless. She had never imagined that Lin Pianran would strike her again.
It was outrageously audacious!
Absolutely detestable!
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Clutching her cheek, she was beside herself with rage. “Lin Pianran, have you gone mad? How dare you hit me again! I’ll fight you to the death...”
With that, she charged at Lin Pianran with a vicious expression.
Lin Pianran easily caught the arm she had raised to strike, then twisted it forcefully. Lin Chuge let out a shriek like a slaughtered pig.
She dropped to her knees, her face contorted with pain and fury, and cursed, “Lin Pianran, I will never let you off! Sooner or later, I’ll make you crawl beneath me and kneel at my feet, begging for mercy...”
Lin Pianran cast her a scornful glance, then crouched down and slapped her cheek several times, her eyes filled with contempt.
“So what if I hit you?”
“As a noble young lady, you possess not the slightest trace of refinement, and your mouth is full of vile obscenities. You’re polluting my ears. Take a good look at yourself—where is the grace or bearing befitting an official’s daughter?”
Even Lin Chuyan felt a mixture of exasperation and disappointment. She had never expected her elder sister to be so foolish. Despite having no justification whatsoever, she continued making a scene. It was utterly humiliating.
She herself felt almost too ashamed to face anyone.
Thus, she stepped forward, seized Lin Chuyao, and dragged her away with all her strength.
Lin Pianran was exceptionally difficult to provoke today. It was better to avoid her while her temper was at its sharpest.
After they had gone a short distance, Lin Chuyan gently consoled her, “Sister, Lin Pianran used to be timid and submissive, always meek and easy to bully. But today, she seems like an entirely different person.”
“Look at her today. She was aggressive in speech, imposing in manner, and showed not the slightest consideration. You’d better not confront her head-on.”
Those words only made Lin Chuyao even more furious.
“If you hadn’t dragged me away, I would have beaten Lin Pianran until she was begging for mercy on her knees.”
“What does she think she is? How dare she strike me again and again? If I don’t avenge this grudge, I’ll never be able to hold my head high...”
“Why did we have to leave? I haven’t vented my anger yet! I took two slaps to the face for nothing. I can’t swallow this humiliation...”
She shot Lin Chuyan another exasperated glance and said bitterly, “It’s all your fault. You stopped me from taking revenge today! With your timid and cowardly nature, Lin Pianran will bully you to death one day...”
Her expression was twisted and terrifying.
Lin Chuyan cast her sister an irritated look and explained seriously, “She was acting like a madwoman today. Do you really think you could have gained anything by provoking her?”
“If I hadn’t dragged you away, you might have suffered an even greater loss!”
“Don’t underestimate her. Her archery has already reached the point where she never misses.”
“We were fortunate today to have her archery. Otherwise, the consequences would have been disastrous, and many more people would have died in the wolves’ jaws.”
“I heard that of the dozens of wolves killed, one in five was shot by her.”
“Usually, all of us sisters bully her. But even a rabbit will bite when cornered!”
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“Don’t push her too far and drive her into a corner!”
“Besides, Madam Lin is not dead yet. Why are we in such a hurry?”
“Even if we want to deal with her, we don’t have to do it openly. We can work in secret. There are plenty of ways to handle her, so why must you act so impulsively?”
After hearing her sister’s words, Lin Chuyao fell into deep thought.
No wonder Mother was always telling her, “You’re the elder sister! How can you have so little sense? If you had even half your younger sister’s cleverness and quick wit, if you knew how to observe propriety and advance or retreat appropriately, I could finally rest easy!”
Indeed, her younger sister was the more intelligent one. Lin Chuyao decided that she would no longer confront Lin Pianran directly. Instead, she would borrow another’s strength to eliminate her enemy and turn her opponents’ power against them.
She was certain those tactics would prove highly effective.
At that moment, Lin Chuyan spoke again. “Quickly send more people to look for Third Brother and Seventh Sister. They still haven’t returned. I wonder whether something might have happened to them...”
Lin Chuyao raised no objection and readily agreed.
When they returned to their side chamber, Lin Chuyan once again pretended to console her sister, though in truth she was merely fanning the flames.
“Still, Lin Pianran truly went too far today!”
“Not only did she complain about us in front of Mother, she even dared to strike you. We ought to think of a way to teach her a proper lesson. We can’t let her continue acting so arrogantly!”
Lin Chuyan had begun stirring up trouble behind the scenes again, as was her habitual way of doing things.
“That little harlot has provoked me this time. I will never let her off!”
Lin Chuyao spoke through gritted teeth, as though she hated Lin Pianran to the very marrow and wished to tear her apart with her bare hands.
Having easily inflamed her sister’s hatred and fury toward Lin Pianran, Lin Chuyan said nothing more.
She merely left them with the words, “I’m going to pay a visit to Princess Huai’an.”
Then, in the blink of an eye, she disappeared.
Inside the room, Lin Chuyao grew angrier and angrier the more she thought about it.
Consumed by rage, she became filled with malice and decided to teach Lin Pianran a thorough lesson as revenge for the humiliation she had suffered that day.
She summoned her personal maid and whispered, “We’re out in the wilderness, where snakes, insects, rats, and ants are everywhere. Go find two guards and have them catch several venomous snakes. Tonight, quietly send them to Lin Pianran’s quarters. Whether they bite her to death or merely injure her, it will help me vent my anger.”
The maid, Xia Ye, agreed with a smile and hurried out to make the arrangements.
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