Lin's heart felt as if it had sunk into an ice cave, chilling her to the bone, while her face was burning red.

The old lady was concerned about her reputation, and in the past, even if she made a mistake, she never called her whole family to come and laugh at her.

"Mother..." Lin's voice was barely audible, and she didn't even dare to lift her eyes.

She could imagine the expressions on her own mother's and her sisters-in-law's faces. In that instant, all she wanted to do was find a hole to crawl into!

"Fortunately, we have two virtuous daughters-in-law, Zhao and Gu, who are very good at maintaining family discipline. From now on, the third daughter-in-law should learn more from your two sisters-in-law."

Madam Lin's face turned pale and then purple.

She knew her daughter was disliked by this old hag, but to be so ridiculed and humiliated, could it be that the silver notes she received from the Lin family were all fake? Her daughter was indeed not of a good social standing to match the Shen family, but she did not owe the Shen family anything!

“My dear mother-in-law, ever since your father-in-law passed away, you’ve been cooped up at home all these years. I’m afraid you haven’t been out and about for so long that you’re out of touch with the world.”

Does this mean she's deaf, blind, and senile? The old lady's smile faded slightly, and her hand holding the tea trembled slightly.

Madam Lin looked at her daughter and said, "Miaoxin, you haven't forgotten what I used to tell you at home about how a legitimate wife should manage the household and how to control concubines, have you?" Her tone turned serious as she spoke, "Sometimes you have to be ruthless when dealing with those unruly concubines, to make an example of them. You can't let a woman's kindness give these vixens a chance to run rampant!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone in the room was astonished.

Those who don't even know the concubines are just ignorant merchants. This Madam Lin is truly audacious, daring to speak so arrogantly in front of the ladies of the Shen family.

Clearly, she was resentful because the old lady had scolded Lin for the matter of a concubine, which is why she challenged the old lady in public.

Shen Mingzhuang could only laugh as he listened. No wonder she was the wife of Lin, the future largest imperial merchant in Tianzhong. She was the one who dared to confront Zhang Hanlin's wife, who owed them money for cosmetics, in front of the emperor. Her fierce and protective attitude was truly something that no one dared to mess with!

However, this old lady Shen is no good person either. She wants to have her cake and eat it too, hoping to have both wealth and fame. Now that she's been put on the spot by Madam Lin, she's probably not going to be able to back down.

The old lady hadn't expected Madam Lin to be so sharp-tongued and arrogant. She took two big gulps of tea to calm her anger down a little.

The room was silent as the Lin mother and daughter exchanged cryptic glances, and no one dared to breathe loudly.

Lin only wanted her mother to give her some money and gifts to quickly quell the old woman's anger, but now things are getting worse and worse.

Her mother could leave in a bit, but she had to stay with the Shen family. If she offended them for the sake of a moment's pleasure, how would she live in the future?

Madam Lin disagreed. Although her family had a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet with a promising future, they couldn't be bullied like this. If she didn't stand up for her daughter today, she didn't know how the Shen family would bully her daughter again!

After a long silence, the old lady slowly broke the silence: "Now that Lin is our Shen family's daughter-in-law, she really needs to change some of the habits she brought from her maiden home."

She put on a smiling face again, and with her kind and gentle appearance, people who didn't know her would really think she was an easy person to talk to.

Madam Lin's lips twitched, and she was about to say something more when Lin Shi hurriedly said, "Mother, didn't you say you wanted to talk to Mother-in-law privately? It's getting late..."

The old lady raised an eyebrow, gave Lin a meaningful look, and did not continue the standoff with Lin.

She never intended to fall out with the Lin family; she was just trying to intimidate them and get Madam Lin to talk to the Lin family. Little did she expect that she was wasting her breath talking to a brick wall!

Upon hearing this, Zhao and the others also got up and left the flower hall, leaving only Madam Lin and the old lady in the hall.

"Bring the things over here," Madam Lin called to the maid beside her in a stiff voice.

Soon two old women carried in a red lacquered box.

"Miaoxin's actions this time were indeed a bit extreme, but it takes two to tango. That Aunt Liu is no better either. She comes from a fisherman's family and is always competing with the legal wife. Alright, consider this my apology to the Shen family. I hope my mother-in-law can give her some guidance in the future!"

She really didn't think her daughter had done anything wrong, so she made up a couple of excuses but couldn't continue. She simply put the things down and took her leave.

Granny Tian glanced at the booklet that had been delivered and reported, "It contains two thousand taels of silver notes and twenty-six pieces of gold and silver utensils."

The old lady's expression softened slightly, and she instructed someone to register her information.

Seeing Madam Lin storm off from Meishou Hall, Shen Ming'e almost had a stomachache from holding back her laughter.

Anyone with eyes can see what happened today, and Shen Ming'e is no fool either; she naturally figured it out as well.

“In the past, whenever my grandmother asked me to bow to Madam Lin and call her maternal grandmother, I felt I couldn’t bring myself to do it. But now it’s great, I don’t have to!”

Shen Mingzhuang smiled and pursed her lips. Shen Ming'e was happy too soon. Today, the old lady just wanted to vent her anger. In the future, when she needs the Lin family's help, she will still have to call her "grandmother"!

Madam Lin sat in her courtyard with her younger sister, Miaoqiu, while she sent Granny Jiang to inquire about the situation over there. Lin Miaoqiu looked enviously at the carved wainscoting of Yuehua Courtyard, saying, "Sister's place is so elegant. There's gold and silver everywhere. The sun is so bright it's dazzling..."

Just then, Granny Jiang hurried back. Seeing that there were no outsiders around, she reported, "Third Madam, Madam Lin is about to leave and wants Miss Miaoqiu to go back with her!"

Mrs. Lin was stunned. How could it be so fast? Had they not reached an agreement?

Lin Miaoqiu frowned unhappily and said, "I'm not going back!" Then she tugged at her sister's arm and shook it, "Sister, please let me stay here with you for a few days!"

Upon hearing this, Granny Jiang hesitated, wondering what would people think if word got out that an unmarried younger sister was living at her older sister's husband's house.

However, Madam Lin doted on her younger sister. Thinking that she was being neglected in the Shen family, she thought it would be good to have her sister keep her company and talk to her to relieve her boredom. So she took Lin Miaoqiu to talk to Madam Lin.

Mrs. Lin said nothing and nodded in agreement.

Shen Mingshu was furious when she thought about how her mother had been humiliated in front of the hall today. As soon as her brother Shen Anzhang returned, she ran over and poured out her grievances, telling him how Lin Shi had been humiliated by her grandmother that day.

Shen Anzhang was older than his younger sister, and upon hearing this, he frowned and told her not to go around saying it. "When you have time, go and keep your mother company. She's probably feeling unwell. Don't worry about anything else."

"My aunt is with Mother, so there's no need for me." But she still pouted and went to Yuehua Courtyard.