Pingjia Marquis Manor.

Upon hearing these four words, a chill crept up Lin Hao’s spine.

Everything was supposed to be different now, so why would the Pingjia Marquis Manor still come to propose marriage!

In the eyes of the world, the Pingjia Marquis Manor was a picture of prosperity and splendor. As the only son, the Heir of Pingjia Marquis was undoubtedly considered an excellent son-in-law prospect.

Back when her elder sister married out, she had heard many people praise Chang Shi for being virtuous and arranging such a good match for her stepdaughter.

But knowing her elder sister’s ultimate fate, she understood all too clearly that this was a den of wolves and tigers no less dangerous than the Wen family.

She didn’t believe this was simply her elder sister’s bad luck. Given Chang Shi’s viciousness, she must have known there were problems with the Pingjia Marquis Manor, which was why she had been so pleased to see this marriage arrangement come to fruition.

Lin Hao bit her lip to suppress the tumult in her heart, her hand gripping the beauty’s massage stick unconsciously tightening.

“Ah Hao, what’s wrong?” Noticing her granddaughter’s unusual reaction, the Old Madam asked.

Lin Hao quietly drew in a breath, trying her best to calm down.

No, this was not the time to stay calm.

“I do not agree!”

Lin Hao’s intense reaction left the Old Madam and Madam Lin exchanging bewildered glances.

After a brief silence, Madam Lin asked in puzzlement, “Why does Ah Hao not agree?”

Lin Hao pressed her lips tightly together, saying nothing.

“What’s the matter?” The Old Madam put aside her relaxed mood. “Ah Hao, if there’s anything troubling you, tell Grandmother. Don’t keep it bottled up inside.”

“Grandmother—” Lin Hao called out once, then covered her face and wept. “That Heir of Pingjia Marquis… he’s not a good person!”

These words caused both the Old Madam and Madam Lin’s expressions to change dramatically.

“Don’t cry, Ah Hao. Tell Grandmother what happened with this Heir of Pingjia Marquis.”

Lin Hao wiped away her tears, unable to hide her shame and indignation. “I’ve encountered the Heir of Pingjia Marquis before. That day on the street, my veiled hat was knocked off in the crowd. When he picked it up to return it to me, his eyes practically glued themselves to my face. He was extremely frivolous…”

Listening to Lin Hao’s tearful accusation, both the Old Madam and Madam Lin were shocked and furious.

“The Heir of Pingjia Marquis is actually this kind of person?” Madam Lin’s face turned iron-blue with anger, yet she also seemed somewhat incredulous.

Lin Hao turned her head and pointed at Baozhu. “If Grandmother and Mother don’t believe me, you can ask Baozhu.”

The two women simultaneously looked toward Baozhu.

Baozhu nodded vigorously. “The young miss spoke correctly. That man was extremely frivolous. This servant had already told him it was the young miss’s veiled hat and that I would retrieve it, but he insisted on picking it up himself as an excuse to strike up a conversation with the young miss!”

She had thought at the time that he was a complete lecher, and as it turned out, her instinct wasn’t wrong—the young miss felt the same way.

Madam Lin slapped the table and stood up, her face covered in frost. “I’m going to settle accounts with his family!”

“Mother, please don’t go.” Lin Hao held her back, looking both embarrassed and flustered. “This was just something that made your daughter uncomfortable. If you go, won’t everyone know about it?”

Madam Lin sat back down, still unwilling to let it go. “I’ll find an opportunity to teach that scoundrel a lesson anyway!”

Ambushing someone with a club was something she excelled at.

“That Heir of Pingjia Marquis and Elder Sister’s matter—”

Before Lin Hao could finish, Madam Lin was already pounding the table. “Tell his family to get as far away as possible!”

Being frivolous in word and deed toward the younger daughter, yet still coming to seek marriage with the elder daughter—what shameless people this family must be!

Madam Lin’s stomach felt as if it had been stuffed with a chunk of fatty pork. She was utterly disgusted.

The Old Madam made the final decision. “Tomorrow we’ll go decline this matter. There’s no need to mention anything else.”

She was also angered by the Heir of Pingjia Marquis’s frivolous behavior, but to make a big fuss just because he had looked at Ah Hao a few extra times—Ah Hao would be the one to suffer for it.

The Old Madam was not an obstinate person. If the Heir of Pingjia Marquis had done something truly excessive to her granddaughter, she would seek justice for her even at the cost of reputation. As for the situation Ah Hao had encountered, simply staying far away from the Pingjia Marquis Manor would suffice.

Madam Lin was about to say more when the Old Madam glared at her. “And you’re not allowed to ambush him with a club either. Do you still think you’re running wild all over the mountain?”

She clearly hadn’t been a mountain bandit chief’s daughter since she turned ten, so why couldn’t she shed this brigand temperament?

The Old Madam felt a wave of exhaustion.

Hearing her mother bring up her childhood, Madam Lin became defiant. “When I was seven years old and sneaked down the mountain to raid and got a ham, you praised me for it.”

The Old Madam was silent for a moment, then sighed deeply. “Times change.”

Sometimes when she thought about it, life as a noble lady wasn’t as carefree as life as a bandit chief’s wife had been.

Having sabotaged the Pingjia Marquis Manor’s marriage proposal, Lin Hao finally felt relieved. “Grandmother, Mother, I’d like to go out for a walk.”

“Go ahead.” Madam Lin felt sorry for her daughter’s grievance and casually removed her money pouch to stuff it into her hand. “If you see anything you like, buy it.”

Shopping was the best way to relax. Whenever she occasionally quarreled with Wen Rugui, she would go shopping—as these thoughts surfaced unconsciously, Madam Lin’s gaze dimmed.

Lin Hao left the Old Madam’s courtyard and ordered Baozhu to bring Lin Xiaohua.

Lin Xiaohua hadn’t accompanied her mistress to the streets in quite some time and excitedly brayed several times.

The streets were bustling with people coming and going. Actually, there weren’t that many riding in carriages or sedan chairs—after all, it was too expensive. Instead, quite a few people used donkeys as transportation.

Lin Hao rode her little donkey, moving at an unhurried pace in one direction.

She hadn’t gone out to stroll idly, but rather to see someone.

More precisely, to confirm whether that person was there at this moment.

Thinking of the person she was about to meet, Lin Hao couldn’t tell if what she felt was nervousness or anticipation.

“Young miss, be careful!” Not far ahead, a group of scholar-dressed people were laughing and chatting as they crossed the street when two or three of them suddenly showed expressions of alarm and shouted loudly toward Lin Hao.

Even before the scholars’ warning, Lin Hao had already sensed something amiss. She forcefully pulled the reins to one side, and a flower pot crashed down right in front of her.

Startled, Lin Xiaohua bolted quite a distance away with Lin Hao before stopping.

Soon a woman dragging a child rushed out, her tone anxious. “Miss, are you alright?”

Lin Hao frowned but didn’t respond immediately.

A flower pot falling from the second floor probably wouldn’t kill someone, but if it really hit someone’s head, it would certainly cause serious injury.

Seeing Lin Hao’s extraordinary attire, the woman became even more frightened. While apologizing profusely, she beat the child. “It’s all because this wretched girl didn’t know better and insisted on picking the flowers from the pot to wear…”

The little girl was beaten until her eyes filled with tears, but she didn’t dare dodge. “Mother, I’ll never do it again, wuuwuu…”

A man came out and glared at the woman. “Earlier when the flower-selling woman passed by, Er Ya wanted to buy a flower to wear but you were too stingy. Now that something’s happened, what’s the use of beating the child!”

Having said this, the man bowed deeply to Lin Hao. “We’re truly sorry. A small token to help the young miss recover from the shock.”

Lin Hao ignored the money pouch the man offered. She dismounted from her donkey, removed the fresh and brilliantly colored crabapple flower from her hair, and pinned it on the little girl’s small twin buns. “Little sister, in the future you mustn’t go near open windows at high places.”

The little girl stood there dazed, forgetting to react.

Lin Hao paid no attention to the couple’s apologies and led Lin Xiaohua forward.

A child’s ignorance could be understood, but for such an accident to occur was ultimately related to the adults’ usual lack of reminders and guidance.

She didn’t believe that just because someone apologized, she was obligated to accept it.

Lin Hao led her donkey to where the group of scholars had stopped and curtsied slightly. “Thank you all for your warning just now.”

Whether they had called out or not, they all responded in unison: “The young miss is too kind.”

Lin Hao bowed again, then mounted her donkey.

She’s just leaving like that—

The group of scholars entered the teahouse across the street, but their conversation still centered on the young lady riding away on her donkey.