The Female Lead Decides to Act Wickedly

The Ma Family matriarch dug her nails hard into her palm, forcing herself not to panic just because the plot had changed.

Hearing what the Marchioness said, she hurriedly agreed, ”Mother is absolutely right. As for Ah Dian, there’s no need for you to trouble yourself—better leave her to me!”

She definitely couldn’t let the Marchioness arrange anything for He Dian.

What if, just like in the original plot, He Dian was arranged by the Marchioness to live in the Orange Courtyard.

And the Orange Courtyard was the closest to the second branch; He Dian would then accidentally run into one of the Second Young Madam’s old maids, and then—

The original wife would be forced to voluntarily ask to be put away, all because of this matter.

The Ma Family matriarch had no intention of letting herself fall into an even more passive situation.

Even if the Marchioness hadn’t said anything yet, or had already made arrangements, the Ma Family matriarch would still find a way to ruin them.

As for this He Dian, better keep her confined in the Pagoda Courtyard, right under her own eyelids, and see how she could still stir up trouble!

As for whether He Dian and Gu Jingyuan might benefit from proximity, or fall into suspicious entanglements, the Ma Family matriarch truly did not care!

Hmph, if those two really did cause a scandal, that would actually be perfect.

Although the Ma Family matriarch had failed to expose He Dian in public as planned, thanks to her previous arrangements and momentum-building, everyone in the Capital City already knew her as a virtuous wife deeply devoted to her husband.

Even if He Dian bore the title of ”savior,” if she went too far, she would still draw everyone’s spittle and condemnation.

In this battle of public opinion, the Ma Family matriarch had already seized the initiative.

Suppressing the panic from just now for the moment, the Ma Family matriarch smilingly took He Tiantian’s hand, bid farewell to the Marchioness, the Young Madam, and the others, and headed all the way toward the Pagoda Courtyard where the third branch lived.

Called the Pagoda Courtyard, it was not just a single yard, but a small two‑courtyard compound, with an additional pair of small East and West Cross Courts.

Originally, cross courts like these were used to house the family’s concubines.

Gu Jingyuan and the Ma Family matriarch were on good terms; they had been married for over ten years and he had never taken a concubine, nor kept any bed-servant maids.

In the Capital City, this was considered quite a fine story.

Countless noble ladies in the Capital City envied and resented the Ma Family matriarch.

The Ma Family matriarch had also always believed herself truly blessed, that she had met the right man.

Yet the more blissful and envied her past had been, once the ”truth” came out, the more heartbroken and shattered she felt!

...Perhaps, when the original wife finally chose to ask for a divorce, it wasn’t entirely forced upon her; part of it was that her heart had simply died.

The Ma Family matriarch twisted her handkerchief between her fingers, secretly pondering.

All along the way, Gu Jingyuan didn’t say a word. He looked around from side to side, that sense of familiarity growing stronger and stronger.

A few more fragments of memory in his mind clicked into place, about to form a complete picture.

He was busy sorting through his memories and thus paid no attention to the two women walking ahead of him.

As for He Tiantian, she continued to act like Grandma Liu entering the Grand View Garden for the first time. She was extremely curious about the scenery of the Pagoda Courtyard, the exquisite houses, and the maids passing by in their bright, beautiful clothes.

She forcibly restrained herself from looking all around, doing her utmost to avoid behaving rudely, yet she still couldn’t help sneaking glances.

While the Ma Family matriarch was lost in thought, she caught sight, out of the corner of her eye, of ”He Dian’s” eyes rolling busily about.

Hmph! Sure enough, a lively-minded, not particularly well-behaved woman.

Ignorant, yet full of ambition!

In the Ma Family matriarch’s view, the ”He Dian” before her fit perfectly with her understanding of that character from the script.

So, even though the plot had undergone major changes, the Ma Family matriarch never suspected anything about He Tiantian.

It should be that in her own arrangements, some link went wrong and triggered a chain of butterfly effects!

The Ma Family matriarch settled He Tiantian in the East Cross Court, then led Gu Jingyuan to his study. ”Third Young Master, this is your study. You used to love reading here the most.”

So this was the place Gu Jingyuan was most familiar with, where the most memories were stored.

”All right! Then I’ll stay in the study alone for a while and take a good look around!”

Ever since he’d arrived at the Marquis Mansion, the familiar courtyards, the familiar relatives, kept stirring up new images in his mind.

His head ached a little; his heart was in turmoil. He urgently needed some time to sort things out.

Of course, there was an even more important reason: he and the Ma Family matriarch were basically strangers.

On top of that, he felt guilty and had no idea how to face her!

And then there were the three children—he also felt a strange sense that none of it was quite real.

Sigh, better to stay alone in the study and properly sort out his thoughts.

”This is Mozhu. He’s your servant—cleverest of the lot. Let him stay to attend on you.”

The Ma Family matriarch pointed at the servant standing respectfully to the side and spoke gently.

”All right! You... you’ve arranged everything very well. Thank you!”