When Lin Shi led her by the hand into the room, Lin Hao glanced back and gave Lin Chan a meaningful look.

Lin Chan snapped back to her senses and quickly instructed Fangfei, “Bring a fresh serving of food for Madam.”

Fangfei soon brought over hot dishes.

It was the season for bamboo shoots, so among the dishes was spring bamboo shoots braised with pork ribs. The spring shoots were tender, the ribs soft and falling off the bone—when the lid was lifted, a rich fragrance wafted out.

Lin Shi drank two mouthfuls of the spring bamboo shoot and pork rib soup, awakening her appetite.

For a moment, there was only the sound of cups, bowls, and chopsticks clinking.

Watching her mother eat with such gusto, Lin Chan didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, and quietly gave Lin Hao a thumbs up.

She hadn’t expected her younger sister’s tears to be so effective.

No—her younger sister’s words were even more effective.

Just imagining it made her feel like swallowing the plate whole, let alone their mother.

After Lin Shi had eaten her fill, she immediately felt energized.

“Chan’er, Ah Hao, come with me to visit your grandmother.”

Lin Chan and Lin Hao exchanged glances, with Lin Chan saying, “Mother, Second Sister and I have changed our surname to Lin.”

Lin Shi pressed her hand to her forehead. “I forgot for a moment. Come, let’s go see your grandmother.”

The Old Madam was taking a short nap when a maid reported that Lin Shi had come with the two young misses.

The Old Madam was greatly surprised.

Her stubborn daughter had actually left her room? And brought her two daughters to see this old mother of hers?

Before she could fully process her shock, Lin Shi had already strode in.

“Did I disturb Mother’s rest?”

Seeing her daughter so spirited, the Old Madam secretly pinched her thigh, and only after feeling the pain confirmed she wasn’t seeing things.

“I was just dozing.” The Old Madam showed a gratified smile. “Wanqing, you’ve finally come to your senses.”

Lin Shi sat down beside the Old Madam and gave a bitter laugh. “I understood yesterday, but my heart couldn’t accept it.”

Seeing that man willing to put her to death just to protect the interests of his mistress and their children—what was there left to misunderstand?

Understanding didn’t mean she didn’t resent or hate.

She hated Wen Rugui, and she hated herself.

This anger festered in her heart, burning her insides and leaving her disheartened.

Fortunately, Ah Hao’s words had awakened her.

Even if only for her two daughters, she had to live well.

Spend her money? Bully her daughters?

Just watch her take a cleaver and chop those bastards to pieces!

“Mother, I came to tell you—I plan to return to the Wen residence.”

The Old Madam’s eyes tightened. “What are you going back to the Wen residence for?”

Could she still harbor feelings for that heartless beast?

Lin Shi’s face showed fierce determination. “I’m going to smash the ‘Wen Residence’ plaque and replace it with our Lin Family’s signboard.”

The Old Madam smiled. “There’s no need for you to make the trip—Shu’er has already taken people there.”

Lin Shi froze for a moment, then quickly recovered her composure. “Since Shu’er went, I’ll save myself a trip. Mother, when I returned yesterday I just lay down without even washing my face. I’ll go back to my room now and take a bath.”

Lin Chan and Lin Hao prepared to leave with Lin Shi, but the Old Madam kept Lin Chan back.

“Chan’er, how did you persuade your mother?”

How did she suddenly become so enlightened?

Lin Chan smiled. “This was all Second Sister’s achievement.”

“Ah Hao?”

Lin Chan recounted Lin Hao’s words, and the Old Madam clapped her hands. “Ah Hao really knows how to speak.”

Seeing the Old Madam happy, Lin Chan’s mood also improved considerably.

Lin Hao escorted Lin Shi back to her quarters, but didn’t return to her own room. Instead, she took Baozhu out through the side gate and headed straight for the Wen residence.

In front of the Wen residence, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered.

“Miss, should we go in?” In the crowd, Baozhu asked quietly.

Lin Hao stared at the wide-open mansion gates and shook her head. “No, today we’re only here to watch the excitement.”

She no longer had any connection with the people inside.

Inside the residence, Cheng Shu faced the haggard-looking Wen Rugui with a cold, hard expression. “Master Wen, please hand over the property deed.”

“Property deed?” Wen Rugui’s dejected expression was replaced by wariness. “What property deed?”

Cheng Shu sneered. “Master Wen, why pretend ignorance? Naturally, the property deed for this residence. This residence was given to his daughter by the Old General twenty years ago. Now that you and my aunt have severed ties, surely you can’t still occupy my aunt’s house?”

Wen Rugui’s face turned ugly. “This residence—back then, my father-in-law personally said he was giving it to me.”

“Giving it to you?” Cheng Shu shook his head. “I don’t believe it. Master Wen, take out the property deed and show me.”

Wen Rugui made no move.

Cheng Shu warned coldly, “If Master Wen finds it troublesome, I can retrieve it myself.”

Wen Rugui’s face grew even more ashen as he gestured for the steward to fetch the property deed.

Shortly after, the steward brought over a small box with a copper lock.

Unlocking it and opening the lid, Wen Rugui reached for the property deed with trembling hands.

A hand intercepted him and seized the property deed first.

Wen Rugui glared furiously at Cheng Shu.

Cheng Shu unfolded the property deed, his gaze falling on the fine print where it said “negotiated price and transfer, managed by…”

As expected, where it should state the buyer’s name after “managed by,” it was left blank.

This was also the custom for buying and selling houses in Great Zhou. The property deed would clearly state the seller’s name, the intermediary’s name, the property’s address, condition, and sale price—but the buyer’s section would either only show the surname or be left completely blank. The same applied to signatures: the seller and intermediary would sign, but the buyer need not.

In a sense, whoever held the property deed was the master of the residence.

This type of deed was called a white contract.

To address this loophole, the authorities had actually implemented a solution—taking the white contract to the government office for registration and filing, stamping it with the official seal to transform it into a red contract.

In reality, however, very few actually went to the government office for registration. For no other reason than the deed tax was too high to bear.

The Lin family could certainly afford it, but perhaps Old General Lin hadn’t taken a single residence seriously enough to bother with the hassle, so he’d directly handed it over to his prospective son-in-law.

Wen Rugui hadn’t lied about this point—the residence wasn’t part of Lin Shi’s dowry, but was given directly to him.

The reason was simply to protect his son-in-law’s proud yet awkward self-esteem.

If the son-in-law felt less uncomfortable, he would naturally treat their daughter better.

“There’s no mention of Master Wen’s name here.” Cheng Shu methodically folded the property deed and tucked it into his robe.

“You!” Wen Rugui’s expression changed drastically.

Cheng Shu shook his head in disbelief. “Even now, does Master Wen still not recognize reality? Forget that the house was originally purchased with Lin family money—even if the Wen family had bought it, what right do you have to keep it?”

Obtaining the property deed directly simply saved some trouble. If Wen Rugui insisted on not handing over the deed, the General’s Manor would take the matter to the authorities, and he would have to obediently surrender it anyway.

A gift from the Old General to him?

Words mean nothing, while the property deed clearly stated the seller and intermediary, who could be summoned to testify that the Lin family purchased the house.

“The Old Madam is kindhearted and gives Master Wen two days to pack your belongings.” After speaking, Cheng Shu instructed the men he’d brought, “You will stay here from today. Keep a close watch—don’t let outsiders take away even a needle or thread belonging to the General’s Manor.”

“Yes!” The General Manor’s servants responded in unison.

Their voices rang out loudly, like heavy hammers striking Wen Rugui’s heart.