Chapter 22: The Backstab

“Miss, what’s wrong? Please wake up!” Lu Jinrong’s maids cried out in alarm, their acting overly exaggerated.

Lin Wanqing remained calm and said, “Someone, help the eldest miss back to her room. And send someone to fetch the doctor. Banxia, come with me to the government office.”

Lu Jinrong, who had been feigning unconsciousness, could no longer keep up the act. She scrambled to her feet and blocked Lin Wanqing’s path. “How can you be so cruel? I’ve fainted, and you still won’t let me go?”

Lin Wanqing smiled faintly. “You’re not smart yourself, thinking everyone else is a fool?”

Lu Jinrong’s face twisted with anger. “You dare call me stupid?”

Lin Wanqing replied, “Isn’t that obvious? Do you want to faint again? If you do, do it back in your own courtyard. If not, step aside and don’t block my way to the office.”

Lu Jinrong stamped her foot in frustration. “What do you want? Are you really going to make this matter known to everyone? Don’t forget, you’re part of the Lu family now!”

Lin Wanqing tilted her head and looked at her. “Now you admit I’m family?”

Lu Jinrong was momentarily speechless.

Lin Wanqing said, “If you want me not to make a fuss, then kneel and apologize to me.”

Lu Jinrong gritted her teeth. “Don’t go too far! We’re the same generation. Why should I kneel to you?”

Lin Wanqing sneered, “Oh, so in the General’s mansion, peers don’t kneel to each other, but elders kneel to juniors? Then I’ll have to ask Mother to teach me that proper etiquette.”

Lu Jinrong’s face turned deathly pale. “Of course not! It was Qi Nian who said to kneel. I never said that. Don’t throw dirt on me!”

Lu Qi Nian’s eyes widened in shock. “Young aunt, you…”

“Shut up!”

Now Lu Jinrong finally found an excuse, throwing the blame onto Lu Qi Nian. “You little brat, don’t you hurry and kneel to apologize to your mother?”

Lu Qi Nian was stunned. “Why should I? She hurt me like this, and I still have to kneel to apologize?”

Lu Jinrong didn’t care anymore; she just wanted to get this over with. She kicked Lu Qi Nian in the back of the knee.

Unprepared, Lu Qi Nian collapsed onto the ground with a thud, his knees burning with pain. Tears immediately welled up—not from the pain, but from the sting of betrayal by his aunt and the humiliation of kneeling before Lin Wanqing.

Lu Jinrong, lacking any sense of responsibility, hurriedly said, “Fine, he’s kneeling. That settles it. You’re not allowed to go to the office again, or I’ll write to my brother!”

After saying this, Lu Jinrong abandoned Lu Qi Nian and ran off, followed quickly by her maids and servants.

Banxia and the other accompanying maids were left dumbfounded. So this was the eldest miss of the General’s mansion? Such behavior was utterly disgraceful!

Lu Qi Nian knelt on the ground, tears streaming endlessly. It was his first taste of betrayal.

Lin Wanqing looked at him, his tears mixed with mucus, and couldn’t help but smile wryly. “It’s not such a big deal. Why so upset?”

Lu Qi Nian snorted, turning his head away to continue crying.

Lin Wanqing said to Banxia, “Quick, get a handkerchief to wipe his face. His snot’s running into his mouth. I hear that stuff tastes quite salty.”

Lu Qi Nian, still crying, suddenly tasted the salty mucus and gagged in disgust.

“Pfft…”

The maids in the courtyard couldn’t help but laugh, then quickly covered their mouths.

Banxia brought the handkerchief, but Lu Qi Nian refused to take it.

Lin Wanqing laughed, “What’s the matter? Are you addicted to eating snot? Do you like the taste?”

Lu Qi Nian gagged several times in disgust.

Lin Wanqing handed over the handkerchief again, and this time he didn’t refuse. He roughly wiped his face, turning his head away, unwilling to look at her.

“Heh, quite a bit of pride there,” Lin Wanqing said as she straightened up. “If you have such pride, then stay down there. After all, it was your aunt who made you kneel.”

Mentioning Lu Jinrong again made Lu Qi Nian uneasy. He had trusted his aunt so much, yet she had mercilessly sold him out to save herself.

Lin Wanqing patted his shoulder. “Boy, you’re the hope of the next generation of the Lu family. If you keep acting recklessly like this, the family’s century-old reputation could be ruined by your hands. Kneel down and reflect properly.”

With that, Lin Wanqing stepped forward, ready to leave the courtyard.

Lu Qi Nian panicked. “Where are you going? I’ve knelt for you, and you still want to go to the office? You don’t keep your word!”

Lin Wanqing said, “I always keep my word. I said if you knelt and apologized, I wouldn’t go. But you’ve only knelt because your aunt kicked you down. Where’s your apology?”

Lu Qi Nian’s face flushed bright red. “You tricked me first! If you hadn’t scared me with that snail, I wouldn’t have made a mistake!”

Lin Wanqing smiled. “Have you forgotten? You were the one with ill intentions first. Yesterday, when you offered tea, you scared me with a toad. I returned the favor—that’s even. But you couldn’t handle it and charged into my courtyard with a sword to attack me. Lu Qi Nian, you’re already eight years old, not a three-year-old child. Don’t you have any responsibility?”

Lu Qi Nian was speechless.

Lin Wanqing continued, “If someone of higher status than you had poured snails into your room today, would you dare to act like this? No, you wouldn’t. The only reason you dared to storm into my courtyard and cause trouble is because you think you’re superior to me and can trample on me at will.”

“Lu Qi Nian, the hands of the Lu family men are made to fight wolves, tigers, robbers, and invading enemies of our Liang kingdom—not to bully the weak. Do you think what you did today honors the ancestors of the Lu family?”

Lu Qi Nian hung his head, his face burning with shame.

After a long silence, he whispered, “I… I’m sorry. What I did today was wrong.”

Lin Wanqing generously said, “Good. I forgive you; you may stand up. But you still have to kneel in the ancestral hall for a day to reflect. Do you have any objections?”

Lu Qi Nian shook his head.

Lin Wanqing’s expression softened considerably. This boy wasn’t a complete lost cause. Considering his deeds in his past life, she was willing to give him a few more chances.

She had someone help Lu Qi Nian up. This time, he showed some sense, saluted her, then limped off to the ancestral hall.

No sooner had he left than Lu Mother hurried over, shouting before even entering the courtyard, “Qi Nian, my dear grandson, you’ve suffered so much…”

Lu Jinrong’s voice followed, “Mother, hurry up! Qi Nian is still waiting for you to rescue him.”

Lin Wanqing’s mouth twitched. That Lu Jinrong really was a consummate troublemaker!