114. Each one is more outrageous than the last.

Lin Fuman immediately grabbed the little girl's arm and called out to Lin Lingrong's retreating figure, "Sister, how could you do this! Yue'er, don't mind her, she's just weird. Come on, I'll take you to play in the garden!"

Seeing this, Jiang Xiyue was about to step forward, but was stopped by her aunt: "Madam, don't worry, let the children play by themselves. My Fufu is the best at taking care of people, I guarantee your young lady will have a good time."

Jin Qi stepped forward: "Mother, I'll go and see."

Jiang Xiyue nodded and said, "Go ahead, remember to take good care of your sister."

Lin Fuman pulled the little girl towards the garden, constantly badmouthing Lin Lingrong along the way: "Big sister has always been pretentious, looking down on people just because she's the legitimate daughter. Don't take it to heart, Yue'er, she treats me and my friends like that..."

The little dumpling couldn't help but turn around and saw Lin Lingrong standing alone under the corridor, the sunlight casting her shadow very long.

For some reason, she felt that the older sister's back looked very lonely.

"Sister Fufu," the little dumpling asked softly, "why doesn't that sister like Moon Duck?"

Lin Fuman curled his lips: "She doesn't like anyone. Father said that she took after her mother but is even worse. Her mother was just stupid, but as a result, she has a bad temper and is stubborn."

Jin Qizhi frowned as he listened, but since she was a little girl, someone he had just met, he couldn't very well scold her. So he silently stepped forward, took the little girl's hand, and prepared to take her away at any moment.

Little Tuanzi also sensed something was wrong. It seemed like her older sister Fufu was talking badly about someone. Her mother and tutor had both told her that this was wrong.

She felt even more confused.

Is Sister Fufu really a good person?

However, Lin Fuman didn't say anything more after that. She pointed ahead and said excitedly, "Look! That's my pet myna bird! It's so smart, it can even recite poems!"

The little dumpling was led to an exquisite pavilion, where it indeed saw a black bird standing in a cage.

"Huh? It can talk too?" the little dumpling asked curiously. "Big Brother Yue'er also has a talking bird named Yi Wu. Is Sister Fu Fu's bird named Ba Ba?"

"Yi Wu?" Lin Fuman asked, a little puzzled. "Mine is called Myna, it doesn't have a name. Is your Myna called Yi Wu? That's strange... no, it's a very interesting name."

Jin Qizhi couldn't help but correct him: "That bird is a parrot, and Yue'er named it Yiwu."

It's not really about naming, but the little dumpling couldn't pronounce "parrot" correctly.

"Oh, is that so?" Lin Fuman didn't really care. "Come on, let me show you my myna bird. It's very smart."

She opened the cage door triumphantly, and the myna bird flew out and landed on her shoulder under the tense gazes of Xiao Tuanzi and Jin Qizhi.

"Wow!" the little dumpling exclaimed in surprise, "It didn't fly away! Big Brother's 15 flew away... Luckily it was caught and brought back..."

The little dumpling still felt a little guilty when she thought about what happened back then.

Jin Qizhi was also somewhat surprised; once his parrot opened its cage, it was no different from a wild horse.

This Lin Fuman is surprisingly well-behaved.

"Because I had all its feathers cut off at the root, but that's not important," Lin Fu said nonchalantly, ordering the myna bird, "Quick, recite a poem for Sister Yue'er."

The myna bird tilted its head and sized up Lin Fuman for a while, then suddenly shrieked, "You slut! You slut! Make room for me in your seat!"

Lin Fuman's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly stuffed the myna bird back into its cage.

Jin Qizhi's expression, which had softened somewhat, instantly darkened. He strode forward, pulled his younger sister behind him, and spoke without any restraint: "Miss Lin, it seems that your family's upbringing is quite unique. My sister is too young, and it may not be suitable for her to continue her tour with you."

Lin Fuman stamped his feet anxiously: "Brother Jin, you've misunderstood! This bird must have learned to behave like that from those ignorant servants..."

Jin Qizhi said no more, took the little dumpling's hand and was about to leave.

Lin Fuman chased after her unwillingly: "Sister Yue'er, don't go! I'll take you to see something even more fun..."

"No need," Jin Qizhi said without turning her head, bending down to pick up the bewildered little dumpling.

The little dumpling felt like the black bird was cursing at someone.

But she wasn't sure who she was cursing.

This was the first time she had ever seen her older brother with such an ugly expression, just like when her second brother had ruined her homework, or even uglier.

She didn't dare to speak and obediently let herself be carried away.

Jin Qizhi, carrying the little dumpling, strode away, while Lin Fuman hurriedly chased after him.

As soon as the three of them turned the corner of the corridor, they saw Lin Lingrong leaning against the railing reading a book.

Jin Qizhi hesitated for a moment, then stopped and said, "Miss Lin."

Lin Lingrong looked up and immediately guessed the answer: "You guys were angered by Lin Fuman?"

"Big sister..." The little dumpling was a bit nervous, sensing that everyone seemed unhappy. "Are you angry too?"

“I’m not angry, I’m used to it,” Lin Lingrong closed the book. She turned to leave, but then stopped and added, “I’ll give you one last piece of advice: stay away from Lin Fuman. Her tricks are not something a little kid like you can handle.”

Jin Qizhi's expression grew increasingly grim, and he tightened his grip on his sister's arm: "Thank you for the reminder, Miss Lin. Yue'er, let's go."

The little girl silently buried her face in her brother's shoulder, but finally couldn't help but whisper, "Brother... why does Big Sister hate Yue'er?"

Jin Qizhi patted her younger sister's back tenderly: "It's not Yue'er's fault."

He couldn't help but mutter a complaint: "What kind of child has the Duke of Anguo raised? It's outrageous."

By this time, Lin Fuman had long since been shaken off.

-

Inside the house, Jiang Xiyue was chatting with several elegant ladies. Seeing her children return so quickly, and noticing her daughter's disappointed expression and her son's serious look, she immediately became worried: "What happened? What's wrong?"

Jin Qizhi briefly explained what had happened. Jiang Xiyue's expression also turned sour upon hearing this. She took the little dumpling and hugged her daughter tightly, saying, "Yue'er, don't be afraid, Mommy is here."

The little dumpling looked a bit dejected: "Mother... Yue'er still doesn't understand... why doesn't Big Sister play with Yue'er? Is Sister Fufu a bad person...?"

Jiang Xiyue sighed: "Miss Lin is too wary. She's used to being bullied by Miss Lin the Second. Seeing that you're close to her, she naturally categorizes you as well."

“But Yue’er didn’t…” the little dumpling pouted, feeling wronged. “Yue’er also prepared a gift for big sister…”

“Mother knows,” Jiang Xiyue said tenderly, wiping away her daughter’s tears, “but the power struggles within the inner quarters are the most hurtful. Miss Lin Lingrong has suffered so much since she was little, how much grievance must she have been holding in…”

Jin Qizhi suddenly spoke up: "The myna bird that Lin Fuman raised was clearly deliberately trained by someone. How could a five-year-old child have such a vicious mind?"

She longed to speak of matters concerning the household, but dared not utter a word before the parrot.

Surely everyone who said those words in front of that bird remembered them.

Jiang Xiyue sighed: "The fact that Lin Fuman was able to drive Lin Lingrong to this point is undoubtedly due to the Duke of Anguo's indulgence and inability to distinguish right from wrong. As a father, he is too incompetent and too biased."

Seeing how adorable the little dumpling was, the ladies nearby also came over to tease and play with it.

When people gather together, they naturally engage in idle chatter. One of the ladies of noble birth started by saying, "Speaking of which, I've heard the story of this concubine from the Duke of Anguo's mansion. I quite like her."

"Yes, this aunt has had a very difficult life. She came from the lowest class of merchants, but fortunately, her parents loved her and she was their only child. They sent her to school, and she made a name for herself. She disguised herself as a man and passed the imperial examinations, becoming a student and then a scholar... Finally, she went to the capital to take the imperial examinations."

Jiang Xiyue had obviously heard the concubine's story as well, and said, "It's a pity that her true identity as a woman was discovered during the imperial examination. If it weren't for the Duke of Anguo's righteous intervention, she would probably have ended up in jail."

“Yes,” the other ladies sighed, “that’s when their relationship began, isn’t it? It’s such a pity about that concubine. She had so much talent and ambition, but because of her status as a woman, she had nowhere to use it. In fact, after her identity was exposed, even her previous academic achievements were revoked.”

"That's not the worst part. The worst part is that after she returned to her hometown, she started a business, and things were going well. But then her parents got sick and both passed away."

"Alas, she is an orphan with a huge fortune. Her parents' bodies are barely cold when a whole bunch of cousins ​​and relatives she's never even met suddenly appear, wanting to eat her up."

"But she was quite shrewd. She stood at the door with a kitchen knife in hand and told those brothers she had never met before that they either had to die at the door or step over her corpse to get the money."

Jiang Xiyue spoke of this with heartache: "They were indeed formidable, but even so, they couldn't stop those treacherous and vicious brothers in the end..."

"Yes, if it weren't for the Duke of Anguo's chance encounter with her again, she would probably have become a corpse."

Another noblewoman revealed the final outcome: "After their two encounters, she used her family fortune as dowry and went with the Duke of Anguo, becoming his concubine. It is said that she is still doing business now, and her shop is doing very well."

Jiang Xiyue shook her head: "People's hearts are fickle. She was such a good girl back then, how could she have raised such a daughter?"

“That can’t be entirely blamed on the concubine,” a noblewoman said. “The Duke of Anguo also has a problem. He spoils his daughter too much. When Lin Fuman cries, she stops studying, stops learning needlework, and stops looking at the account books. The concubine tried to harden her heart and discipline her, but he wouldn’t even let her say a harsh word to her. How can the child not grow up badly like this?”

Jiang Xiyue wanted to say something more, but suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps.

Looking up, I saw the elegantly dressed concubine and the dignified and graceful first wife walking briskly one after the other.

"Oh dear, the little county princess is here!" The aunt squatted down with a big smile and affectionately took the little dumpling's hand. "That girl Fufu is so naughty, I've already scolded her severely. Please be magnanimous and don't take it to heart."

The principal wife also said, "Lingrong is stubborn and doesn't know how to speak properly. Please forgive her, Your Highness."