A time-travel story where I forcefully marry the leading lady in a film/TV series!

Zhuang Hanyan was taken aback, then quickly stood up.

Since Wei Tingyu left her courtyard with Dou Zhao yesterday, apart from people bringing her dinner and breakfast, no one else has come to visit her!

Zhuang Hanyan was quite surprised that Zhou Ruyin was the first to arrive.

"How are you taking care of the servants? It's freezing cold... Ah!" Zhou Ruyin completely ignored the surprised expression on Zhuang Hanyan's face and muttered as she hurried over.

But before he could finish speaking, his foot slipped and he fell flat on his backside in the snow.

Seeing this, Zhuang Hanyan quickly ran down the steps to help her.

"Madam, be careful!" Zhuang Hanyan and her maid quickly helped Zhou Ruyin up, their faces also showing great concern.

She was well aware that there were quite a few people in the Zhuang family compound who harbored resentment towards her, and she still couldn't quite grasp the true attitude of Zhou Ruyin, her father's concubine, towards her.

Moreover, the identity of the person who murdered him and his mother back then is still unknown.

It could also be this Zhou Ruyin!

However, Zhuang Hanyan knew that she hadn't made any plans yet, and it was too early to talk about revenge. Besides, there were still many mysteries to be solved, so she could only suppress and dormant her desire for revenge for the time being.

Of course, Zhuang Hanyan couldn't possibly be cold to Zhou Ruyin's smiling face! After all, it's just acting, so let's have a direct competition to see who acts better!

"With my clumsy and awkward appearance, I'll make you laugh the moment I meet you, Miss!" Zhou Ruyin said with a smile. "I'm not a madam, but just the master's concubine!"

"From now on, Miss Zhou can be replaced by me!"

Upon hearing Zhou Ruyin's words, Zhuang Hanyan smiled gently and nodded.

She had already paid her respects to Zhou Ruyin in the front hall when she entered the mansion yesterday, so she naturally knew her identity. However, at that time, she only exchanged greetings briefly.

At first glance, Zhou Ruyin does seem to be a kind person!

Of course, Zhuang Hanyan was not a naive girl who would easily believe what others looked like, so she still maintained a sense of vigilance.

After all, Zhou Ruyin's attitude at this moment was a bit too enthusiastic, even excessive.

Therefore, Zhuang Hanyan had a certain judgment about Zhou Ruyin in front of her. If this woman was not really so innocent and kind, then she must be a ruthless, scheming woman who was also very good at acting!

Just as Zhuang Hanyan was thinking this, she saw Zhou Ruyin nimbly take off her own cloak and then drape it over her shoulders without saying a word.

"I heard you caught a cold, you can't let yourself get chilled again!" Zhou Ruyin said with a worried expression as she tied the belt of her cloak. "You can't catch a cold again, this will keep you warm!"

In this scene, Zhou Ruyin's loving demeanor shows that she treats Zhuang Hanyan just like her own daughter.

Putting everything else aside, even the maids following Zhou Ruyin and Shu Hong in Zhuang Hanyan's courtyard all showed expressions of gratitude on their faces.

While Zhuang Hanyan was completely bewildered, her mind quickly pieced together the behavior of the woman in front of her.

At this moment, she was certain in her heart that Zhou Ruyin was by no means a kind and naive woman, but rather a very scheming and deep-thinking opponent!

If she was worried about catching a cold, she could have simply told her servants to bring a cloak or some clothing when she arrived, or even immediately instructed them to turn around and get it.

There was absolutely no need for her to take off her own cloak and drape it over Zhuang Hanyan. This move was clearly intended to win people's hearts and even lower her guard!

"Let's go inside and talk!" Zhou Ruyin, unaware that Zhuang Hanyan had already seen through her true thoughts, still smiled and tried to lead her inside.

However, Zhuang Hanyan was unwilling to go inside with Zhou Ruyin at this moment. After all, she knew she was new to the Zhuang family compound and hadn't yet established herself. If she were to fight Zhou Ruyin directly now, she probably wouldn't stand a chance!

"Auntie!" Thinking of this, Zhuang Hanyan quickly grabbed Zhou Ruyin and then said with a smile, "Just now, Hanyan was thinking that since I have just entered the family, I should go and kowtow to the elders in the family to pay my respects. I wonder if you could take me there?"

"Of course, of course! Miss is so thoughtful!" Zhou Ruyin was taken aback for a moment, then her eyes lit up and she quickly understood. She nodded with a smile and said, "No wonder even the Duke of Wei was so concerned about your condition after seeing you, Miss. Now I understand!"

"Who wouldn't like a girl as well-mannered and knowledgeable as the Third Miss?"

As Zhou Ruyin spoke, her eyes were secretly fixed on Zhuang Hanyan, trying to see what expression the other woman would have.

"That's because the Duke of Wei is of noble character! Although we met by chance, he still remembers me a little!" Zhuang Hanyan didn't expect the other party to suddenly ask about the Duke of Wei at this time, but she understood in a flash, so she immediately replied with a smile.

When Zhou Ruyin faces herself now, besides being the third young lady of the Zhuang family, she is probably more wary of what kind of feelings the Duke of Wei truly has for her.

After all, if the Duke of Wei really had feelings for her, Zhou Ruyin probably wouldn't dare to use them openly on her, no matter how cunning she was!

Of course, you never know what those underhanded methods might be!

Thinking of this, Zhuang Hanyan naturally gave the other party an ambiguous answer. As for what relationship she had with the Duke of Wei, he could guess for himself!

……

In the pavilion in the backyard of the Zhuang residence, Zhou Ruyin and Zhuang Hanyan walked slowly, arm in arm, enjoying the snow.

“Yesterday was absolutely not an intentional neglect of the Third Miss!” Zhou Ruyin’s mouth never stopped, and she continued, “There were just too many things to do at the time, it was a complete mess!”

"Not to mention that the Duke of Wei and the son-in-law of the Fu family came yesterday, the engagement ceremony between your fourth brother and the daughter of Minister Han alone has kept us busy to the point of being dizzy!"

"A higher rank can have absolute power, and a marriage arranged by someone of higher rank is even more difficult to handle!"

"Hearing that you've returned, your prospective in-laws are quite unhappy! Right now, your father is at Minister Han's house trying his best to mediate!"

Upon hearing Zhou Ruyin's words, Zhuang Hanyan immediately understood what was going on.

Sure enough, this woman probably came all this way just to say these things. She clearly wanted to tell me that she was an unwelcome person in this family, having ruined her own brother's wedding the moment she returned.

"Is it because of me?" Of course, Zhuang Hanyan's acting skills were still very good. She immediately showed a pitiful and thoughtful expression and spoke in a low voice.

"Which servant is gossiping?" Zhou Ruyin quickly asked, though she was secretly pleased with herself.

“I know…” However, Zhuang Hanyan shook her head, then looked at Zhou Ruyin and said, “The legend in the capital is that I am a barefoot ghost, and that I killed my grandfather at birth!”

"Now that my uncle and aunt have died a violent death, naturally..."

"Please don't say that!" However, Zhou Ruyin interrupted her halfway through her sentence, and quickly shook her head to persuade her.

"The Dali Temple already sent word about the matter in Danzhou some time ago!"

"I thought you had been kidnapped by those thieves too, but I didn't expect that your ancestors would bless you and you would escape this time!"

"I've caused trouble for the family!" Zhuang Hanyan naturally maintained this aggrieved expression. She and Chai Jing had already discussed that when they returned first, they should act weak in all directions to lower the guard of other people with ulterior motives.

"Don't say that!" Zhou Ruyin quickly shook her head, and pointed to a courtyard in front of her with a smile, "This is Yongshou Hall where the old lady lives. Let's go see the old lady first!"

……

After wandering around the Zhuang family's courtyard, Zhuang Hanyan finally returned to her residence.

Today she did gain some understanding of the layout of the mansion, but she did not see the old lady, Madam Wei, or her own biological mother!

Zhuang Hanyan was not surprised at all by this.

Yesterday's events were sudden. When my grandmother, Madam Wei, heard that the Duke of Wei was coming, she naturally disregarded the need to avoid suspicion and rushed out to greet him. They met briefly in the front hall.

But after everything settled down, the old woman must have remembered the rumors about the barefoot ghost again, so she was too afraid to meet him today.

As for Zhuang Hanyan's biological mother, she also had many doubts.

Why is he so cold and heartless to me? He won't even let me see him?

Zhuang Hanyan's intuition told her that this was definitely not her mother's intention, and there must be another reason for this!

Of course, the most important thing is the legend of the barefoot ghost, which is also the culprit behind Zhuang Hanyan's bumpy life in the first half of her life. What exactly is going on?

Logically speaking, if such a family secret was kept hidden, how could it have become such a big fuss that everyone in the capital knew about it?

There must be someone pulling the strings behind this! And the secret to all of this can surely be found in this vast estate!

As Zhuang Hanyan savored the pastries that Shu Hong had brought back, she pondered these matters in her mind.

Looking back now, it seems that my risky return to the capital was the right thing to do. Otherwise, wouldn't this shocking secret never have been revealed? And my life would have been ruined without anyone knowing why!

However, at that moment, Zhou Ruyin's voice suddenly came from the courtyard.

It was already night, and the courtyard was only lit by candlelight. Why was this woman in my yard again?

Zhuang Hanyan was puzzled, so she put down the snacks, turned around, and walked to the window to look outside.

As a result, she immediately saw six maids standing in a row in the courtyard, while Zhou Ruyin was standing opposite them, giving them instructions.

"Although the Third Miss grew up in Danzhou... she is the only legitimate daughter of the Zhuang family!"

"From now on, whatever we eat, wear, or use, we must keep the best for ourselves! We must not treat anyone unfairly or coldly!"

At this moment, Zhou Ruyin had the air of a matriarch, and her words were quite fair, so much so that Zhuang Hanyan frowned slightly upon hearing them.

Wait a minute! Would this woman really be that kind? Could it be that I misjudged her and wronged her before?

However, just as Zhuang Hanyan had this thought in her mind, she saw Zhou Ruyin suddenly change the subject and then start pacing back and forth.

"It's just that our Gongtong Courtyard doesn't have many allowances to begin with! Your allowance for this month's services will be delayed..." She said with a frown, looking very troubled, "Please be understanding!"

... 0 0

Upon hearing these words, Zhuang Hanyan's slightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed.

Just as I suspected, this woman is no pushover! Right now, she's clearly trying to embarrass me.

Just because I'm back, they're going to delay paying these maids' monthly wages? Isn't this clearly trying to shift the blame and make these servants direct their anger at me?

And things did indeed turn out exactly as Zhuang Hanyan had predicted. After hearing Zhou Ruyin's words, the six maids all showed expressions of anger on their faces.

At this moment, they had no idea that all of this was a scheme by Aunt Zhou, including the fact that her monthly allowances had been withheld.

She easily fell into the other party's trap and, following her guidance, shifted her hatred towards Zhuang Hanyan.

“Auntie! This person is disliked by everyone in this courtyard…” One of the maids, who seemed to be the leader, asked with a frown, “Why have you come to provoke us in our own courtyard?”

As soon as the lead maid spoke, the other five maids around her all showed expressions of agreement.

It's clear that this question struck a chord with each of them!