"It’s all the fault of that old hag Mother Li."
Lady Jin couldn’t help but turn and give Mother Li a fierce glare.
Mrs. Liu had already knelt down to pay her respects, and even though Lin Siyu was reluctant, she couldn’t afford not to kneel as well. However, kneeling in front of that little wretch Lin Yuan was truly humiliating.
Lin Siyu was so angry she nearly crushed her silver teeth, but there was nothing she could do, Lady Jin was the Family Head’s wife, and she had to respect the propriety.
With great reluctance, Lin Siyu knelt on the ground with a scrape and, feeling unwilling and resentful, huffed before saying, "Siyu pays respects to Madam."
Although she didn’t want to see Lin Siyu, Lady Jin felt delighted at the sight of her being trodden underfoot by others. Lin Yuan happily picked up her teacup, slowly took a sip, and didn’t forget to give Lin Siyu a provocative look.
Lin Siyu grew even angrier. Though kneeling, her spine was rigid as a rod—an obvious contrast to Mrs. Liu, who was submissive beside her. Lin Siyu’s demeanor was a clear display of dissatisfaction and challenge towards the Madam.
However, Lady Jin obviously had no way to deal with her, considering Lin Siyu was now Li Chang’s most beloved Little Concubine.
"You have arrived?" Lady Jin’s attitude was obviously much warmer towards Mrs. Liu than Lin Siyu, "Maternal Aunt Liu, you are unwell, please get up quickly."
Mrs. Liu softly responded, while Ying Tao, kneeling behind her, hurriedly came forward to gently help her up. Mrs. Liu glanced at Lin Yuan and quietly took her seat to Lin Yuan’s junior side.
As for Lin Siyu, who was still kneeling on the ground, she did not rise so easily.
Lady Jin glanced at her. Although she couldn’t punish her by making her kneel, having her kneel a little longer at least gave her some satisfaction.
Lady Jin turned to Lin Yuan and said with a smile, "Yuanyuan, this is Maternal Aunt Lin, also of the Lin family branch."
Lady Jin repeated what she had just said, and Lin Yuan didn’t think it was because she had a poor memory.
Lin Yuan said with a smile, "Aunt, this Maternal Aunt Lin is very familiar to me indeed."
Lin Siyu had been greatly shocked by Lin Yuan’s presence from the start. Hearing her call Lady Jin ’aunt’ startled her even more, causing the corners of her mouth to twitch violently—especially when she heard Lin Yuan claim not to recognize her, the twitching worsened.
"Lin Yuan, you little slut!" Lin Siyu cursed her inwardly.
Lady Jin chuckled and glanced down at Lin Siyu, "Oh my, why is Maternal Aunt Lin still kneeling? Quick, help your aunt up properly and make sure she’s not hurt from the kneeling. Our master is still counting on your aunt to give birth to a third young master."
Panpan sneered inside but hurriedly helped Lin Siyu up.
Lin Siyu was so irritated by Lady Jin’s cheerful use of ’Maternal Aunt’ that she dug her fingernails into her palms.
Not wanting to sit with Lin Yuan, Lin Siyu rolled her eyes at her and took a seat on the opposite thronelike chair. Settling her anger, she smiled at Lin Yuan, "Yuanyuan, it’s been a long time. I didn’t expect to meet you here today."
Lin Yuan placed her teacup on the table, smiling as she spoke to Lin Siyu, "Maternal Aunt Lin is no ordinary person now. Let alone me, even your father and mother haven’t seen you, right? Ah, Maternal Aunt, have you been in touch with your family? I’ve heard that your second brother now..."
Before Lin Yuan could finish, Lin Siyu had already lost her temper and shouted at her. When they were in the Lin family, this was something she often did. So, upon seeing Lin Yuan again, she couldn’t keep her own mouth shut and simply blasted out.
Lin Yuan secretly snickered but feigned a wronged expression, letting her head drop and fiddled with her fingers.