Chapter 409: Things Have Changed

Qin Wan listened to this and felt even angrier.

Mrs. Lin hugged Lady Yu with a look of heartache.

"Good child, your aunt knows you’ve been wronged."

Lady Yu glanced disdainfully at Qin Wan from the corner of her eyes.

Qin Wan’s eyebrows furrowed, about to lose her temper, when Lin Ziqi suddenly spoke from the study, "Wan’er, I have something to tell you."

Qin Wan glared at Lady Yu, then entered the study with a sullen face.

Mrs. Lin stomped her foot angrily and said, "Look at her, she doesn’t show any respect to her mother-in-law or husband. She’s really a daughter from a high-ranking family that we can’t afford. It’s all just over a bowl of medicine — anyone can serve it, but she insists on making a fuss. I’ve lived this long and never seen anything like it."

Lady Yu whispered, "Cousin-in-law probably resents me for eating free meals here and has dragged aunt into it too. I don’t mind, but it’s hard on aunt. My mother always said that in the battle between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, either the east wind prevails over the west, or the west wind prevails over the east. It seems true."

Mrs. Lin said viciously, "Just wait until your cousin finishes his exams and watch how I deal with her."

Lady Yu hurriedly said, "Aunt, there’s no need. Harmony within the family leads to prosperity. I’d feel guilty if discord is caused by an outsider like me."

The two were deep in conversation, while Yanhong listened from behind the door, fuming. She spat under her breath, "So considerate and tactful, why don’t you hurry up and leave? Stirring up trouble every day as if no one knows, only the two idiots from the Lin Family think you’re a good person."

Qin Wan saw Lin Ziqi leaning on his pillow with an unhappy face, so she forced a smile, curtseyed, and said, "Husband, are you feeling better?"

As soon as she spoke, Lin Ziqi scolded, "As the elder sister-in-law, why don’t you be more accommodating to her? Besides, she hasn’t done anything wrong. You never nitpicked like this before—it must be that my illness has made you disdainful, isn’t it?"

Qin Wan opened her mouth to argue, but then closed it again.

She hadn’t taken it seriously before, but now she felt these two were using the opportunity to get closer.

Yet she still didn’t dare to mention what she had seen at the Marquis Mansion.

If Lin Ziqi decided to let her go, wouldn’t she just be giving these two a clear path?

Qin Wan would never allow anyone with the surname Yu to reap the rewards.

She suppressed her anger, pursed her lips, and said, "What are you saying? Didn’t I bring her to the Marquis Mansion, and noticed her behavior wasn’t like that of a daughter from the Capital City—so I said something. You always said you wanted to marry her to a classmate of yours so you could have an extra support. How would your classmate see you, and how would he see her if he found out how close she is to you? Would life be better then?"

Lin Ziqi paused, then coldly sneered, "So you really mean well."

Qin Wan braced herself and said, "Of course, how could I, as the elder sister-in-law, harm her? If she marries well, it would be beneficial for me too, wouldn’t it?"

She knew these words would displease Lin Ziqi, but Lin Ziqi had no choice but to agree.

Sure enough, Lin Ziqi let out a long breath, his expression relaxing, and gently said, "Then you should treat her kindly, speak softly to her. A young maiden yet to be married is a guest at home. If you’re not kind to her, she might hold a grudge and fill her husband’s ear with complaints after getting married. Right?"

Qin Wan sneered inwardly, but on the surface, she said, "I’ll try to be kinder to her in the future, but if she can’t distinguish between good and bad, I fear she won’t be reliable in the future. It might be better to let her fulfill her duty and marry a country man, and not dream of becoming the wife of an official."

Seeing her unyielding, Lin Ziqi felt a headache coming on.

But this wasn’t the time to tear his face apart for Yu Xiaolian, so he said, "Fetch some paper, I’m not in the mood to read while I’m sick. I might as well compose a few Firefly Poems to enter the contest."

Qin Wan immediately went to get the paper, and personally ground the ink while Lin Ziqi lay back with his eyes half-closed to rest.

After the ink was ground, she spread Xuan paper on the table and placed paperweights on it before speaking up, "Husband, the brush and ink are ready. Will you get up to write, or would you like to dictate from the bed, and I’ll transcribe?"

Lin Ziqi languidly lifted his eyelids, looked at her, and silently lamented her lack of literary charm and docile femininity. Yet, his face showed a warm and gentle demeanor.

"You haven’t kept me company much these past few days. Why not stay a while and help me write it down? If you have any good lines, we can refine them together."

These words truly resonated with Qin Wan.

Qin Wan’s face lit up with a smile.

"That’s naturally best."

In her past life, she had read Lin Ziqi’s poetry and had imagined countless times the scene of accompanying him with warmth and charm, so how could she refuse?

But as she wrote line by line, Qin Wan’s heart sank inch by inch.

Though Lin Ziqi’s poems were indeed good, they were just good.

Compared to the world-renowned works of her past life, they lacked a certain liveliness and brilliance—a charm that compelled readers to exclaim over and over and share with others.

Lin Ziqi asked, "Wan’er, what do you think?"

Qin Wan thought for a moment and said, "These are quite good, but if you refine them further, they could be even better."

Perhaps Lin Ziqi was limited by his illness; once he recovered, he might produce better work.

Qin Wan set down the Hu Bi brush.

Lin Ziqi said, "I’ve pondered these poems for a long time, but they still feel incomplete; I’m not sure what’s missing. Can you refine them? That poem you dreamed of last time was especially good."

Qin Wan didn’t know what to say.

Lin Ziqi continued, "These days, Sixth Master Gu’s poetry collection is selling like hotcakes, and Qin Siyuan and I have gained fame alongside it, but..." He paused, looked at Qin Wan, and said, "When the Firefly Poems collection is released, if none of my good works are included, I’m afraid I’ll be forgotten."

Qin Wan was a bit flustered and asked, "Does Husband feel you can’t make it in?"

Lin Ziqi shook his head, dispirited, and said, "The poems defending the contest this time are all excellent; Sixth Master’s poems are nothing special, yet he hosted the event and provided illustrations for the poetry collection. The poetry walls at the Imperial College are full, and I’ve seen them all. There’s no shortage of works that make you sit up and take notice. The Book Sea Pavilion has invited many to challenge the contest, and I fear my poems won’t be selected."

Qin Wan hurriedly asked, "What about Cousin Siyuan?"

Lin Ziqi replied with a peculiar expression, "Ever since he became famous for his poetry at Yu Yuantang, it’s as if he opened a spiritual door in composing verses. His work has only improved, and he’s been defending the contest all along. Regardless, his work will certainly be in the first volume of the Firefly Poems collection."

Qin Wan lowered her head, speechless.

She did want to help Lin Ziqi.

But in her previous life, Lin Ziqi didn’t have any known poems about fireflies.

In fact, in her past life, the poetry contest didn’t even exist.

Qin Wan shivered with realization.

Many things in this life had changed since she and Qin Yuan switched husbands.