I Became The Stepmother of My Ex-husband

“This Xi lass and I have been brought together by fate.” Princess Royal Shou Kang was gloomy when she first came out, but now her eyes were filled with light again. The unconscious draw between relatives was beyond expression. Lin Wei Xi didn’t dare tell her grandmother the truth, but Princess Royal Shou Kang still followed her instinctive closeness to Lin Wei Xi. She stubbornly felt that this was her granddaughter, that her Xi’er had returned.

Princess Royal Shou Kang couldn’t help but weep. She wiped away her tears and smiled at everyone, “please don’t laugh, it’s easy to be emotional when you’re old, and everything you see makes you sentimental.”

Everyone in the room whispered words of comfort, and Gu Hui Yan also said, “Aunt, what are you saying? Lin Wei Xi doesn’t have any blood relatives. If seeing her can make you happy and talking to her can relieve your sorrow, then all the better.”

After crying, Princess Royal Shou Kang’s heart obviously felt much lighter. She looked at Lin Wei Xi, and the girl looked pleasing to her eyes no matter how much she looked at her, “You were born during the Lantern Festival at 5-7 am. It’s a good time. I’ve always felt that Gao Xi’s birthday was too noisy and was afraid the noise couldn’t be contained. She was born on the 15th day of the first lunar month at 5-7 pm, when it’s time to light the lanterns and the whole city is filled with the sound of fireworks. Although it was festive, it was too noisy and I was afraid it would bring bad luck. Your hour is just right, when the sky is starting to brighten, and every living creature is just waking up, just like your name, Xi [t/n: dawn], a brilliant dawn light!”

“Thank you Princess Royal.”

“Why do you sound so distant? You also don’t have any relatives. You lost your parents at a young age and don’t even have uncles and cousins. Although I was born into the imperial family, all my brothers and sisters each have their own family, even the half of them who are already gone. I only had one daughter, but she passed away at a young age. Even my only granddaughter… I have the fate of a parent seeing their child leave before them.”

Princess Royal Shou Kang had watched these two people pass before her, and it made her extremely broken-hearted. An old granny from the Princess Royal Residence saw this and said, “Miss Lin lost her parents at a young age, and our Princess doesn’t have descendants. Why don’t we let Miss Lin call the Princess ‘grandmother’! Then Miss Lin will have a relative who can protect her, and our Princess’s wish can also be fulfilled after so many years.”

The most regrettable thing in Princess Royal Shou Kang’s life was her lack of children. Lin Wei Xi had been educated by Princess Royal Shou Kang for many years, and to her, Shou Kang was much closer to her, and much more qualified, than her nominal grandmother, the Duke Ying Lady. It was just that the disguishment between close and distant relatives was determined with the word ‘external’^◇. Lin Wei Xi looked at Princess Royal Shou Kang’s expectant expression, smiled softly, and said crisply, “Grandmother.”

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Shou Kang’s eyes grew hot and she heaved a heavy “hey”. After this, she looked like she wanted to cry again. The old servants who were standing at the side also turned their faces away to wipe their tears one after another.

Princess Royal Shou Kang and Lin Wei Xi were overflowing with joy, as if they truly recognized each other as grandparent and grandchild. The few people standing at the back had stiff expressions on their faces, all kinds of thoughts flashing through their minds.

Gu Cheng Yao felt even more dazed, and his gaze on Lin Wei Xi grew clouded. Gao Ran silently stared at him, and after seeing his expression, she bit her lip, her hatred for Gao Xi becoming stronger.

It was Gao Xi who had stolen her position, relying on her status as a di daughter and colluding with her grandmother to twist the facts, deceiving Prince Yan and Gu Cheng Yao into agreeing to the marriage. God knows how shocked Gao Ran was when she saw Gu Cheng Yao at the wedding. At the time, he was injured and didn’t see her face, but she remembered how he looked. Combined with the vague rumours being spread from Gao Xi’s side about her fish jade pendant, of course Gao Ran understood the situation. Gao Xi was just like the vicious princesses in those fairy tales, who impersonated the saviour and shamelessly stole credit that didn’t belong to her, even snatching away the prince.

Don’t even mention the despair and hatred Gao Ran felt at that time, but fortunately, the Shizi Fei who had taken her place as the saviour led an unfortunate life afterwards. This was the thing that made Gao Ran the happiest.

Later, the fake Princess died, and Gao Ran finally fulfilled her wish to marry her knight in shining armour. Furthermore, she won the love of the entire residence as soon as she entered the household. She thought that her story would happily continue like those in a fairy tale. It didn’t even matter if Gu Cheng Yao had a personal maid or a concubine^◇. Sooner or later, she would capture his heart. But now that Gao Ran had seen his gaze linger on another woman, that woman being an unparalleled beauty, Gao Ran suddenly couldn’t suppress her jealousy.

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It hadn’t been easy for Gao Ran to take back her marriage, and she wouldn’t allow anyone to destroy it. Lin Wei Xi’s appearance was too clichéd. She arrived after Gao Ran had gotten married, and just as she arrived, she won the favour of the villainess, Princess Royal Shou Kang. Her personality was virtuous while her body was delicate. She ticked every box that proved she was Gao Ran’s female rival, and was even a little white lotus.

Gao Ran looked at Lin Wei Xi from behind with intense hostility in her eyes. From her previous life until this one, she had never lost a fight with another woman. Even Gao Xi, with such a high family background, couldn’t beat her, so how could an orphan with only a beautiful face be her opponent?

Gao Ran only took a glance before looking away to contemplate her next move. Lin Wei Xi was emotional and didn’t notice the movement behind her. She’d finally seen her grandmother despite their separation after her death. Lin Wei Xi couldn’t tell Princess Shou Kang the truth without talking about the supernatural phenomena that happened to her, she couldn’t afford to take that risk. But it didn’t affect her filial piety for her grandmother. Anyway, she didn’t plan to marry in the future, so she would spend all her time fulfilling her filial piety to Princess Royal Shou Kang, even if they were no longer real grandparent and grandchild.

Gu Hui Yan watched as Lin Wei Xi and Princess Shou Kang hit it off on their first meeting. He sat and watched quietly for a while, and then said to Lin Wei Xi, “It’s a good thing that you and aunt get along well. It’s a wonderful day, no need to cry. Why don’t you go wash your face first, it’s a mess.”

Lin Wei Xi was startled when she heard this. Her face was a mess? Oh God, she had shown her ugly side in front of Prince Yan again.

Her cheeks were flushed. She really thought that her appearance was a mess and, disregarding everything else, hurried out to fix her make-up. After Lin Wei Xi left, Gu Hui Yan found an excuse to send Gu Cheng Yao and Gao Ran out as well. Princess Royal Shou Kang had expected this when Gu Yan Hui told Lin Wei Xi her face was a mess, so she leaned against the pillow while smiling, and asked, “You deliberately sent everyone out, so what do you wish to say to this old woman?”

“Aunt should have already guessed that I want to talk about Lin Wei Xi.” Gu Hui Yan said, “Her father died in order to save me. After Lin Yong passed away, she had no relatives even in her hometown. It was I who let her down, that’s why I have to take care of her in place of Lin Yong no matter what. The least I can do is to find a reliable husband for her.”

Princess Royal Shou Kang nodded, “Prince Yan has thought it through. She is a young lady with no support, so it’s inevitable that she will be bullied. Let’s find her a good partner, so that she has someone to rely on in the future.”

“That’s exactly what I was going to say.” Gu Hui Yan sighed helplessly. “But she is very resistant to getting married for some reason. I mentioned it twice before and she refused to, even getting angry at me.”

“Oh?” Princess Shou Kang was very surprised. A little girl like Lin Wei Xi dared to lose her temper at Gu Hui Yan? When did his temper improve?

Gu Hui Yan didn’t want to talk more about it, so he dropped the topic and said to Princess Shou Kang, “It was I who personally wrote to you to ask for the eldest daughter of the Duke Ying Residence to marry my son. It’s a pity that that stupid son was stubborn. Not only did he let Gao Xi down, but he also failed to live up to your expectations. I know that I have no face to say this to you, but Lin Wei Xi is still unmarried after all. Even if her father and I have this life-saving bond, she’ll eventually not have a valid reason to live in the Prince Yan Residence after a long period of time, and over time it will damage her reputation. So I can only shamelessly request this of you.”

Princess Royal Shou Kang already understood, “You want me to find a good marriage for her.”

“Yes.” Gu Hui Yan didn’t expect that the day would come where he would worry about this kind of thing, but Lin Wei Xi’s body was weak but her temper was fierce. Gu Hui Yan had no choice but to entrust it to other people, “she will explode the moment I mention this to her, but I see that you and her are close, so it’s better for you to talk to her about it.”

“When will she finish observing  her filial mourning?”

“The fifth month this year.”

It wouldn’t be long then, with only two months left. Shou Kang nodded thoughtfully and agreed. Old people always worried about the younger generation’s marriage. She saw Lin Wei Xi as her own granddaughter, and there was no way she wouldn’t choose a good husband for her granddaughter. Gu Hui Yan felt relieved when he saw Shou Kang’s demeanour. Since Gao Xi’s death, Princess Shou Kang’s condition had deteriorated day by day. She had no attachments to this world and no spirit, so it was natural that her body deteriorated. Since he’d found something for Shou Kang to do and could also settle Lin Wei Xi’s marital affairs, it was like killing two birds with one stone, so why not do it?

Gu Hui Yan had achieved his two purposes today. There were many things waiting for his attention, and he didn’t have much time, so he got up and said goodbye. Lin Wei Xi had just returned from fixing herself up, but was instead taken away by Prince Yan without even being able to sit. She reluctantly bid farewell to Princess Royal Shou Kang and boarded the carriage of the Prince Yan Residence.

This visit was of great significance. Prince Yan used his actions to crush the rumours in the capital regarding the falling out between the Prince Yan Residence and the Princess Royal Shou Kang Residence, making his position clear. Gao Xi, the previous Shizi Fei, was still the daughter-in-law that Prince Yan acknowledged, and all the rumours floating around the capital were complete nonsense.

The atmosphere inside the Prince Yan Residence also quietly changed. Prince Yan’s high-profile visit to the Princess Shou Kang Residence restored Gao Xi’s name, but it was also a slap in the face for Gao Ran. Even if the relationship between Gao Xi and Gu Cheng Yao was a mess, Gao Xi was still the official daughter-in-law that Prince Yan acknowledged and the original consort of the Prince Yan Residence. Gao Ran had to put to rest her sense of superiority.

Gao Ran wasn’t happy, but she told herself then, that one could only know a person after a long time, and with the time she had, Prince Yan would definitely be able to see her good points and acknowledge her. But before that, Gao Ran needed to deal with the other threats first.

The weather was turning warm, and the winter clothes were gradually put away. All the girls who loved pretty things immediately brought out their light spring clothes. Lin Wei Xi had been living in the Prince Yan Residence for close to a month. At first, everyone only treated her as a guest, with Gao Ran fanning the flames. But as time passed, Lin Wei Xi was like a fish in the water in the Prince Yan Residence, and the people in the residence grew more and more used to her presence. Because of how detached she was from the residence, some people even regarded her as a backer, and there was no shortage of people flattering and fawning over her.

Gao Ran was incredibly frustrated during this time. She was clearly the mistress of the residence, but Lin Wei Xi had suddenly appeared, and not only did she annoy her, but she still had to treat this person like a sister-in-law, with care and respect. The more respected Lin Wei Xi became in the residence, the more tormented Gao Ran grew.

One afternoon, Gao Ran invited Lin Wei Xi to the garden to enjoy the flowers and talk. According to her, they were the only two women in the residence and were as affectionate as sisters. Lin Wei Xi got goosebumps all over her body at that analogy. She was bored and passing the time by pulling flower petals, when she suddenly saw Gao Ran letting the servants bring out plates of fruits, and to the side was a chessboard, some embroidery, and all kinds of entertainment. Lin Wei Xi quietly raised her eyebrows, while Gao Ran smiled gently and said to her, “It’s a beautiful spring day today and this weather is best for a hike. It’s just a pity that we can’t leave the residence, so let’s take a walk in the garden and chat for fun. “

Gao Ran pretended to unintentionally pick up a chess piece, and said, “Miss Lin, do you know how to play chess? The sun is out today, how about we play a round amongst the flowers?”

Lin Wei Xi looked at the black chess piece in Gao Ran’s hand and smiled softly, “Alright.”

She gracefully sat down across Gao Ran, who was picking out misplaced chess pieces, her wrist moving elegantly and lazily. With a smile on her lips, she nonchalantly said, “Miss Lin, chess is boring, so why don’t we play a new game.”

“Oh, what game is it?”

“Gomoku.”