Chapter 118: Discipline

"Lin Zhenzhen, who is the one that disgraced the Lin family's reputation? It seems that until now, it's only you and your mother who have brought shame upon the Lin family! Your mother almost depleted the family's fortune, and you have become a laughingstock. The Lin family doesn't mind and allowed you to come back, hoping you would stay at home and engage in something productive, like learning feminine skills, playing musical instruments, studying literature and art to cultivate your character. Why do you insist on causing trouble and risk burning yourself out? My dear cousin, you haven't been in the Marquis' residence for long, so there are many things you don't understand. We can discuss it another day." Lin Yanyan barged in and immediately started berating Lin Zhenzhen, who had willingly walked into the situation.

Lin Zhenzhen's face turned pale, and tears flowed down her face as if they cost nothing. Trembling, she said, "Lin Yanyan, you're going too far in bullying people."

"If you didn't provoke me, I wouldn't bother with you. We agreed to mind our own business, but you insisted on being a troublemaker. If I don't curse at you, who else would I curse at?"

The old lady's face turned gloomy: "Yannan, who talks to her sister like this? Zhenzhen is already pitiful enough, and you are still rubbing salt in her wounds."

The old lady dislikes Lin Yannan's aggressive attitude.

Lin Zhenzhen saw her grandmother helping her and cried even more sadly.

"Grandmother, there is cause and effect in everything. Whatever seeds you sow, you will reap the corresponding fruit. Back then, when she was deeply in love with Zhu Ziyu, she never once considered whether I would be pitied or not."

"Yan Yan, I've noticed that you have become increasingly harsh lately, your words are like knives and your actions are becoming more unruly."

"Does grandmother prefer that I, like Zhen Zhen, cry and whine in front of you all day? How pitiful do I look when crying, having my fiancé stolen from me? How tragic is it that no one in the family helps me when my fiance is snatched away, everyone seems to be enjoying this."

老夫人被说的脸皮挂不住：“晏晏，你现在是在责怪祖母吗？”

林晏晏笑道：“不，我要感谢祖母，若非当日您赞成我退婚，成全蓁蓁，那今日该哭的人就是我了。”

Lin Jingyuan enjoyed watching his sister argue with their grandmother.

His sister had the ability to remain calm herself while driving the other person crazy, which was the attitude a strong person should have.

The old lady was furious and slammed the table while calling out her name: "Lin Yanyan, is this how you talk to your elders? Do you still consider me your grandmother? Were you only pretending to be magnanimous before?"

林晏晏不温不火：“祖母，我不过是说了几句真话而已，您又何必动怒呢？您再怎样也是我亲祖母，这是无法改变的事实。至于大度，我一向奉行人不犯我我不犯人，人若犯我必不留情。好了，今儿个我来，不是为了吵架，只想告诉祖母，昨晚的事儿祖母不必担心，我都解决好了。”

"You call that resolved? They even came to our doorstep."

"Didn't the Xiong family apologize and compensate?"

The elderly lady choked up, "But you physically attacked someone last night. Is it appropriate for a young girl to resort to violence in public? Is this how you solve problems?"

"That's right, I did it. He falsely accused me and tarnished my reputation, so even hitting him is too light of a punishment."

The old lady couldn't help but chuckle, "So you mean to say that you have even more ruthless means?"

Lin Yannan smiled and said, "Jingyuan, show the imperial edict to my grandmother."

"Okay!" Lin Jingyuan, the servant-boy, held the imperial edict with both hands and presented it to his grandmother.

The old lady saw the bright yellow scroll and quickly stood up and knelt down to receive the edict.

魏月婉第一次见到圣旨，见姑奶奶跪下了，她也赶紧跪下。

Lin Zhenzhen, in astonishment, forgot to cry. What is the imperial edict about?

老夫人颤抖着双手打开圣旨，然后不可置信地看着林晏晏：“康平郡主？”

"That's right, His Majesty bestowed upon me the title of Kangping County Princess because I didn't go to Yangzhou, but instead went to the palace to prepare medicinal meals for the Empress Dowager. Under the care of myself and my master, the Empress Dowager's condition has greatly improved. The Empress Dowager rewarded me with an imperial decree, allowing me to enter and exit the Cining Palace at any time. Today, at the longevity banquet, the Empress Dowager heard about the fight involving Jingyuan. Without questioning right or wrong, the Empress Dowager was concerned about whether Jingyuan suffered any losses. The Empress Dowager stated that from now on, whoever dares to bully Jingyuan or me, she will handle the matter. That's why the Xiong family came to apologize again, because Lady Xiong passed on the message to her family."

The old lady's face turned pale. Lin Yannan was awarded the title of county princess, which should have been a joyful event. However, she couldn't feel any joy at all. Lin Yannan had hidden meanings in her words, mocking the fact that her grandmother understood the situation even less than the Empress Dowager. The two of them have been bullied outside, and she doesn't know how to protect and even scold them.

Can Yan Yan doesn't want to think about it. She is not the Empress Dowager and does not have absolute power to do as she pleases. She only wants to maintain the reputation of the Lin family and do her best to keep the family peaceful. She wants future generations of the Lin family to be able to succeed and thrive. As long as the Lin family can flourish again, it is worth making some compromises and sacrifices in certain aspects. From her perspective, she believes she is not wrong.

Lin Yannan was extremely angry. She went forward to help her grandmother up and sincerely said, "Grandmother, your granddaughter doesn't ask for your love, she only asks for a little more trust. If I hadn't taken action last night and backed down, both Jingyuan and I would have had a hard time holding our heads up high anymore. Just like the last time the Zhu family caused trouble, if we hadn't fought back, no one would ever respect our Lin family again. And Zhenzhen would have to continue suffering in the Zhu family, wouldn't she? Grandmother, sometimes taking a step back doesn't lead to a wider sea and sky, but to...a deep abyss."

老夫人怔怔地看着这个长孙女，还是一样的眉目，但眼神变了，变的透亮、坚定、自信。她总觉得女儿家就得学会忍耐，要温顺。可晏晏这孩子像她爹，从不愿委屈自己，主意又大，如此强势，却偏偏入了太后的眼，皇上的眼……

The old lady let out a deep sigh, perhaps realizing that she had indeed grown old and become fearful of everything, as she couldn't bear any more loss.

"Well, I won't meddle in your affairs anymore from now on. Do whatever you want, I don't have the energy." the old lady weakly said.

“祖母，您可不能不管我们，我们就您这么一个亲祖母，该管的您还得管。”林晏晏笑嗔道。

老夫人悻悻：“我老了，管不动，我也不知道哪些是该管哪些是不该管，管错了还遭人嫌。”

"Who would dare to disobey you? If your granddaughter does anything wrong, please be lenient with her and don't argue with her. Alright, please don't be angry, grandmother. The Empress Dowager asked about you today, inquiring about your health."

The old lady was surprised and flattered: "The empress dowager asked about me?"

"Yes, the empress dowager mentioned that seven years ago you entered the palace once, it seems it was on Mid-Autumn Festival. The palace specially invited the families of distinguished officials to join the feast, but there were too many people at the time, so they didn't get a chance to talk to you."

The old lady was deeply moved, "I never expected the Empress Dowager to still remember me."

She immediately pulled Lin Yannan to sit beside her and eagerly said, "Hurry and tell your grandmother, what did the Empress Dowager say to you."