Chapter 1: An Illusory Relationship

"These banknotes are enough for you to live on for this month."

A man's cold voice came from her ears. Lin Mowan's almost blacked-out brain took a long while to react before she turned around and looked, suppressing the pain all over her body.

A tall man stood by the bed, wearing a dark waisted bamboo-patterned robe, his long black hair tied up with a black crown. His cold temperament made him look distant and ascetic, making it impossible to connect him with the man who almost crushed her and embedded himself into her body last night.

While tidying up his clothes, he casually placed the envelope in his arms on the bedside. He looked like he was in a hurry to leave, and his tone was indifferent: "There is also the recommendation letter you asked for. Someone from the Jiang family will come to pick you up in a while."

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and his eyes fell on Lin Mowan. She was wrapped in messy bedding, with the blush on her face still there. She sat up with some effort wrapped in the bedding, and tried to focus on him with her sleepy eyes. She nodded and said in a hoarse voice: "Thank you, Second Master."

The man's name is Shen Weiyuan. He has made numerous military achievements and is well-known. He is the sworn brother of the current emperor and the Marquis of Beiding of Rong State.

To be honest, their relationship was not a glorious one.

Three years ago, when she was fished out of the river, she could not remember anything in recent years except her childhood. She was sold to Shen Weiyuan, who was plotted against and poisoned by love.

Normally, people with her effects would be killed after using it, but she still remembers that night when after they were done, he sat by the bed with a complex expression that Lin Mowan couldn't understand.

He probably thought she came voluntarily. After all, when she was sent here, the drugs in her body made her unable to speak and she didn't have much strength.

In those days when many common people could hardly get enough food, anything could be bought and sold in order to survive. Besides, Shen Weiyuan gave a lot at the time, enough for an ordinary family to eat for two or three lifetimes.

Unfortunately, in the end, not a penny of the money fell into Lin Mowan's hands, as it was all taken away by someone.

I vaguely remember that morning, he looked solemn, until his personal guard knocked on the door, he seemed to have made up his mind, he said: "I can keep you, but I will never take you into the mansion, you'd better put yourself in the right position."

As he said, she was indeed obedient and dutiful in the days that followed. He had no wives or concubines in his house and was busy on weekdays. He only came two or three times a month. Every time he came, he tortured her half to death, as if he hadn't touched a woman for half a year.

When he was busy, he hardly ever came, but he would ask his confidants to send him money and other things to entertain him. It could be said that he doted on her to the extreme.

Later, she heard that Shen Weiyuan wanted to keep her because her eyes and eyebrows were somewhat similar to the unfortunate beauty who was dear to his heart.

The day she learned the news, she just sighed calmly, lamenting that beauties have always had short lives since ancient times. She did not regret having become the canary he kept outside the marquis's mansion.

Because she needed this man's unparalleled power to help her seek justice for her deceased mother.

Perhaps her gentleness really pleased Shen Weiyuan. When she mentioned meaningfully that the old lady of the Jiang family had been ill for a long time and asked him to find a girl with a suitable horoscope for the head of the Jiang family to adopt as his daughter, Shen Weiyuan agreed immediately.

Since there is no loss on either side, Shen Weiyuan is of course willing to do something that facilitates the situation. After all, at least in the eyes of outsiders, the Jiang and Shen families have a good relationship.

For Shen Weiyuan, instead of looking for someone who is irrelevant and difficult to control, and causing trouble in the future, it is better to hand it over to Lin Mowan. At least she is someone he can completely control, well-behaved and docile...

After putting on his clothes and picking up his sword, Shen Weiyuan was about to leave the villa. However, after struggling for a while, he couldn't help but stop and look back at her.

Seeing him walk out the door, Lin Mowan was about to lie down for a nap when she heard a noise outside. It sounded somewhat familiar, from the maidservants who served her in the courtyard, mixed with a voice she had never heard before. It seemed that someone had broken in.

The place where she lived was called Ziteng Garden. Although it was not visible, there were many secret guards of Shen Weiyuan in the dark. Even sneaking in might not be possible. If someone dared to break in openly, the maids would not dare to stop him. He must be someone powerful. As the noise outside got closer, Lin Mowan got up from the bed slowly. She let down her tube-length gauze dress, pulled the gauze hanging on the side to cover her outside, walked calmly to the dressing table and sat down. Then the door was suddenly pushed open.

Lin Mowan raised her eyes and saw from the bronze mirror a girl walking into the house ostentatiously from the entrance. She was wearing a flamboyant red dress, like a peony blooming in summer. Lin Mowan just signaled the girl who was trying to stop her to go away.

The girl was not polite. She leisurely paced around the room a few times, looking around the room with disdain and contempt, and sneered with disdain, "How shabby."

Looking at her picky look and luxurious dress, Lin Mowan knew without a doubt that this was Jiang Ruixue, the spoiled and domineering eldest daughter of the Jiang family.

Lin Mowan smiled lightly, not annoyed, she just picked up the comb and fixed her messy long hair, saying nonchalantly: "It's not as good as the gold bricks and jade tiles of my sister's house."

Jiang Ruixue stopped walking. The ambiguous smell in the room had not completely dissipated. She glanced at the messy bed. She had never seen anything like it before, so she simply thought that the person in front of her had an ugly sleeping posture. She sneered again, "If you are so unkempt, you will be a disgrace to my Jiang family if you enter our family in the future."

Lin Mowan smiled lightly and said nothing. She paused for a moment before continuing, "What is your relationship with my second brother? Are you that person?"

The second brother she mentioned was Shen Weiyuan. The relationship between the two families was already close, and Jiang Ruixue's heart and eyes were filled with Shen Weiyuan, calling him "second brother" sweetly all the time.

"That person" must be referring to Shen Weiyuan's rumored mistress. Obviously, Jiang Ruixue, like most people, only knew that there was such a mistress, but did not know who she was.

Lin Mowan raised her eyes and looked at her through the bronze mirror, then lowered her eyes and smiled, "Didn't your second brother tell you? In his heart, you are probably not very important."

This sentence seemed to hit the nail on the head. Jiang Ruixue waved her hand fiercely, overturned the tea bowl on the table, and said angrily: "Don't try to sow discord!"

Listening to the crackling sounds, the smile on Lin Mowan's face became even wider. She calmly combed her hair and stood up, saying indifferently: "It's okay to take things out on me, but if you get hurt, don't take the opportunity to blackmail me." But she had already walked behind the screen to change clothes.

Jiang Ruixue gritted her teeth, she was very angry but couldn't get angry. Looking at the graceful figure reflected on the screen, she taunted, "You are so shameless. I am still here, and you are changing clothes in front of me?"

As she was talking, Lin Mowan changed her clothes, came out from behind the screen, and adjusted her hair. She was still smiling, not showing any displeasure. She only said, "It's really strange. My sister came uninvited and didn't say why she came. She kicked my door first, then threw my things, and finally blamed me for not being ashamed. My sister is really well-educated."

Jiang Ruixue was choked up instantly. She had originally been eager to take on the hard task of picking her up so as to give her a warning and tell her not to think that she could act so arrogantly just because she was recommended by Shen Weiyuan. However, she never expected to suffer a setback instead.

She was immediately furious, but before she could vent, the door was knocked again. Jiang Ruixue was startled and quickly suppressed the anger on her face like a thief. She looked at the door that was gently pushed open. Outside was the nanny from the Jiang Mansion who came with her to pick her up.

Lin Mowan turned around, and the nanny greeted her respectfully: "Miss Lin, it's getting late, and the carriage back home has been prepared for a long time."

Lin Mowan understood, smiled gently, and replied: "Thank you for your concern, Madam. My sister and I hit it off right away, so we chatted a little longer. I didn't expect to delay the time. It's really my fault."

The nanny nodded politely and said, "We can talk anytime. The old lady is still waiting at the mansion. It's better to talk sooner rather than later."

"Okay, come on."

Lin Mowan replied with a smile, and when she saw the nanny leave, she turned around and looked at Jiang Ruixue behind her with a dim gaze. Jiang Ruixue's heart sank. She probably didn't understand why this person was so cold to her just a second ago, and then turned so docile the next second.

　The new book is setting sail~~ Thank you for your support and company~~ I love you~ (My dears, please try to follow me in the early stage, because I have to be recommended in various places in the early stage. Other ladies are too good and the competition is very fierce. If you hoard the articles, it will affect the data. If the data is too bad, Yaoyao will have no food to eat~ (choked up.JPG) I love you, but don't worry, my dears, Wenwen will update 4,000 words every day, and will add more from time to time in the later stage.)
　　

(End of this chapter)