Chapter 475: Weighing Options

Chapter 475: Chapter 475: Weighing Options

The butler weighed the pros and cons for merely a second before making his choice. He hurried out, not even daring to meet Mr. Lin’s incredulous gaze. He had no choice—his indentured servitude contract was currently in Mrs. Lin’s hands. If he didn’t cooperate, he figured he’d be sold off to a grueling, backbreaking illegal coal kiln. At his advanced age, his old bones wouldn’t survive it.

"Madam, let’s talk this over reasonably," Lin Dali pleaded, his voice tinged with desperation. "I’ll agree to whatever you want. Just leave me a little dignity, at least."

"Respect is earned, not given. Do you really have no idea how you treated me just days ago?

"Back then, my mind was clouded, which is why I swallowed so much humiliation.

"But now, I see things clearly. I’ve been married into the Lin Family for so many years. I managed the household, served your parents until their passing, and bore children for the Lin Family. Even if we went to the magistrate, you would have no legal right to divorce me. Your past actions were nothing less than an attempt on my life. Why should I save any face for you?"

At these blunt words, Lin Dali’s expression drastically changed. He panicked, looking frantically at the gathered ladies. "Ladies, please don’t listen to my wife’s nonsense! She’s having a hysterical fit. She is my wife; I wouldn’t dare harbor such thoughts!"

The ladies present merely stared at him with cold, cynical eyes. Whether he had such thoughts or not was perfectly clear to everyone.

Someone immediately sneered, "If you truly didn’t have such thoughts, how could you let a lowly concubine... oh wait, she wasn’t even that yet. She was just a pretty widow acting like a cuckoo in the nest, moving right into the main wife’s courtyard. Your ulterior motives are as plain as day."

"You’re wrong; they just hadn’t reached that step yet," another chimed in. "Mrs. Lin fell gravely ill, and we all knew to come visit. Yet as her husband, he was already indulging a widow moving into her home. No wonder she refused to be a mere concubine. She was probably just waiting—waiting for Mrs. Lin to breathe her last so she could step right up as the new legal wife."

"That’s simply too vicious. They’ve been husband and wife, sharing a bed for years. Does he not care about their past affections at all?"

"Why would he need past affections? Men have been fickle since ancient times, but Mr. Lin is certainly a prime example.

"Today has been quite an eye-opener for us. Consider it a wake-up call. Who knows if the men sharing our beds harbor similar thoughts?"

Now, Lin Dali was genuinely terrified. He no longer dared to glare at Hu Waner as he had before. His eyes brimmed with desperate pleading. If not for the ladies blocking his path, he would have rushed forward to rub her back and placate her, begging her to let the matter drop.

Meanwhile, Ma Mingli had been forced into a side room by several maids and older servant women. She let them manhandle her like a wooden puppet, knowing full well she couldn’t fight back. If she resisted, she’d only suffer for it.

She had no idea how things had gone so wrong. Her previous calculations had been perfect. Hu Waner was sickly and getting on in years. As long as Ma Mingli used the right tricks and kept Mr. Lin on her side, the position of Mrs. Lin would belong to her sooner or later.

Everything had been going smoothly. She even heard from an informant in the county town that ever since Hu Waner returned there, she had been deathly ill and had made a fool of herself at a banquet. Mr. Lin had long been deeply dissatisfied with his wife. This time, he hadn’t even sent anyone to check on her, let alone made the trip himself.

Thinking she was inches away from her goal, Ma Mingli had spent two or three nights coaxing him until he finally agreed to let her move into the master courtyard. But she had only enjoyed it for a single night before that old woman suddenly returned.

Upon receiving the news earlier today, she hired some thugs to intercept Hu Waner on the road. The best-case scenario would have been to aggravate the old woman to death mid-journey, or at least drive her back to the county town. Who knew those thugs would be so useless? They hadn’t even bothered to notify her of their failure, leaving her to be caught red-handed.

If today’s incident spread, she would undoubtedly be in the wrong, and it might even drag her maiden family’s reputation through the mud. However, this was a remote area, and the Lin Family was a powerful clan here. As long as the locals kept their mouths shut—since spreading rumors did them no favors—she’d had plenty of room to maneuver.

But for whatever reason, that old woman had suddenly grown a spine. What was worse, she had brought so many people with her today. This matter wouldn’t end peacefully.

Though she was a widow, she knew all too well the lowly status of a concubine before a main wife. She would have to sign a deed of servitude and hand it over to the mistress of the house. Her very life and death would be held in the other woman’s hands.

Most importantly, she could forget about ever becoming the legal wife in this lifetime. How had things reached this point? Given everything she had done, her future days would be a living hell.

"That old fart Lin Dali doesn’t even look at his own behavior," she thought bitterly. "If I wasn’t after his family’s wealth, there are plenty of better men out there! But now, it’s too late to change anything."

Unless she fled this place... but where could a weak woman like her go?

While lost in these thoughts, she suddenly felt a chill over her body. These women were actually stripping her clothes off! She hurriedly wrapped her arms around herself. "What are you trying to do?"

"What are we doing? Changing your clothes, of course. You didn’t think you could still wear this formal red, did you?" An older servant woman looked at her with malicious intent. "I heard you’ve just been widowed, which means you can’t even wear pink. I think green suits you quite nicely. It’s just that one set over there. Are you going to change yourself, or should we help you?"

The old woman pulled out a dark green tunic from who knows where. It was so hideous that even the local village women probably wouldn’t be caught dead in it.

"Is this Mrs. Lin’s decision?" Ma Mingli demanded.

"Mrs. Lin doesn’t care what you wear," the servant replied, malice flashing in her eyes. She despised seductive women like this the most. Her own husband had been just like Mr. Lin—selling her off for some moderately pretty wench just because she hadn’t borne him a son. She pitied her own poor daughters, whose whereabouts were still unknown. "If you have any suitable clothes, you can point them out, and we’ll help you review them. After all, we still have to help you dress up properly to complete today’s concubine-taking ceremony."

Where was Ma Mingli supposed to find suitable clothes at a time like this? Aside from the red dress they had just stripped off her, the only other garment in the room was the one in the old woman’s hands. Did she even have a choice?

"My clothes are all in the backyard. I’ll have to trouble you to fetch them for me," she said. She knew these women wouldn’t let her off easily, but even so, she wanted to put up a fight. Ever since she got involved with Mr. Lin, she had purchased many things. She could certainly find a pretty dress among them.

"We aren’t your servants. We were just ordered to help you dress and do your makeup. This is it. If you don’t like it, you can walk out naked."

Ma Mingli swallowed the humiliation. She was completely surrounded. This old hag made it sound nice, but she hadn’t given her any real choice.

She was roughly shoved into that ugly, old green dress. The moment it slipped on, she felt something was wrong. It was as baggy as a burlap sack and reeked of a foul odor. Upon closer inspection, it had several holes, and the hem was crusted with a layer of grime. She could only imagine that it had been freshly stripped off some beggar at the last minute just for this occasion.