Chapter 5

Lin Ruhai wrote to say that Jia Lian and his wife had eagerly volunteered to arrange the wedding at his residence.

Their explanation was that Yu’er was cherished in the Jia household, especially by the old matriarch, and Yu’er’s future mother would therefore be an aunt of their family.

They had even sounded him out about having the old matriarch adopt me as a daughter.

His scorn practically came through the letter. “I refused. I doubt they will give up, however. If they dare suggest it to your face, you needn’t spare their feelings. Simply tell them no.”

Since his daughter’s return, Lin Ruhai had written more and more often. Sometimes I received two or three letters in a single day.

Before I could send a reply to one, the next had already arrived.

Most were about his daughter, of course, with some news of the Lin clan and Jia Lian and his wife.

But both his tone and his subject matter were becoming distinctly more informal.

As for me, I had lost all patience with playing the cautious, well-read young lady of good breeding. I had given up and answered in plain speech.

But Lin Ruhai’s letters were starting to feel like WeChat messages sent at every meal, on the way to work, and on the way home…

I rubbed my chin and frowned. “He hasn’t actually started to like me a little, has he?”

Was this really an appropriate amount of screen time for the father in a story about a stepmother and stepdaughter?

I had mixed feelings about the possibility that Lin Ruhai liked me.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pleased. But I worried I wasn’t good enough, stepping into the place of one half of what I had always thought an exemplary marriage.

In the end, though, I decided to respect fate and enjoy the perks of being inside a novel.

After all, if a single, wealthy, elegant, handsome catch took a fancy to me, that was my good fortune.

And if good fortune came my way, I certainly intended to take it.

I had even fewer qualms about becoming Lin Daiyu’s stepmother. I adored the girl.

The day after the Lin household accepted my two maids, she sent me a letter of thanks. I put it reverently into a little box.

Inside, I was beaming. A letter written to me by little Daiyu herself! Just look at that handwriting! Look at it! Look at her prose!

Mother came to see. After struggling with herself for a while, she said, “Miss Lin’s handwriting is very fine, but it’s still far less mature than Lord Lin’s… Why do his letters go in a basket?”

“He sends so many. What else would I put them in?”

Mother smiled at me and stroked my long hair. “You silly girl. Heaven really does look after fools.”

With the combined efforts of the Lins, the Shens, and the Jias, the wedding was a magnificent affair.

My sisters-in-law cried as they saw me off, holding my hands and telling me to visit often. “There are still several ways to play those cards that you haven’t taught us!”

I liked their temperaments. And although the Shen family upheld high standards, its rules weren’t oppressive. It would be an excellent place for little Daiyu to grow up. So I replied with equal solemnity, “Don’t worry. Have plenty of silver ready. I’ll win it off you when I come back for my first visit!”

And I would bring my daughter. Mother and daughter together: we’d wipe them out!

My sisters-in-law dropped my hands in unison. “Ahem. Must we talk about money? How vulgar!”