Transmigration; Married to My Ex-Fiancé's Uncle-Chapter 375; Reclaiming

She gestured broadly at the estate around them, at the mansion and grounds, and everything visible. "This entire property, the house, the land, every garden and tree and stone, belonged to my mother. It was her family’s estate, passed down through generations. My grandfather planted the original gardens here for her. My family built this house."

The servants exchanged uncertain glances, clearly uncomfortable with this claim that contradicted everything they’d been told and known for years.

"But Miss...."

They wanted to say the woman was dead and now the present madam was Madam Chen. It was her living in this said compound.

"This is my mother’s home," Shuyin repeated, but this time her voice had transformed from loud declaration to something quieter yet infinitely more powerful. The words carried a weight that settled over the courtyard heavier than any shouting could achieve. Mud streaked her cheeks in abstract patterns and clung to her sleeves in thick clumps, her hair hung in disheveled tangles, and her expensive clothes were utterly ruined. Yet standing there in the destroyed garden, covered in earth and water and rebellion, she looked more like the true mistress of the estate than she ever had dressed in silk and jewelry for formal occasions. "And I will take care of it for her. The way it should have been cared for all along."

She can’t tell what the original Shuyin thought of allowing things like this to happen! She probably didn’t have many thoughts, if she had, her mother wouldn’t have been locked up for the last fifteen years.

The courtyard fell into stunned silence, broken only by the distant sounds of birds and the slight rustle of wind through remaining foliage. No one moved. No one spoke. The gathered servants simply stood frozen, processing what they were hearing.

They hesitated collectively, caught in the uncomfortable space between years of ingrained habit and the undeniable reality standing before them. This was the young woman they had watched grow up within these walls, the daughter of the house who’d disappeared into imprisonment while they’d been told to forget she existed. Now she stood before them speaking not with emotion alone but with certainty that couldn’t be dismissed. No hysteria in her voice. No impulsive rage driving her actions. Just ownership, pure and undeniable.

The head gardener swallowed hard, his weathered throat working visibly. "Miss, we... we only followed instructions. We did what we were told to do."

"I know." Shuyin’s tone softened slightly, enough to ease the fear that had tightened his shoulders and made his hands tremble. "None of this is your fault. You were given orders to replace the garden, so you replaced it. You maintained what you were told to maintain. I’m not angry at any of you for that." She paused, letting that absolution sink in before continuing. "But now I am telling you to restore it. To bring back what should never have been taken away."

She turned slowly, deliberately, letting her gaze sweep across every face gathered in the courtyard. Making eye contact. Seeing each person individually. Making sure they saw her seeing them. "From this moment onward, all changes to this estate come through me. Not through Madam Chen when she returns. Not through Lin Feng. Through me. This is my authority, and this is my home to begin with."

A murmur rippled through the assembled servants, whispered conversations breaking out in small clusters. Some nodded slowly, accepting this power shift. Others exchanged uncertain glances, clearly worried about the consequences when the current residents returned.

Yuyan stood straighter beside Shuyin, her muddy chin lifted with obvious pride, completely unbothered by the dirt covering her from head to toe. She looked like a young warrior who’d just won her first battle. Chen Xiao instinctively shifted closer to Shuyin’s other side, his small hand reaching out to grip the edge of her ruined sleeve, anchoring himself to her certainty in a world that had offered him so little stability.

The head maid, a woman who’d served the household since before Shuyin was born, hesitated before speaking. "Miss, please understand our concern. Master Lin, when he returns from... wherever he currently is..." she clearly had no knowledge of the jail cell, "...he will have strong opinions about these changes. And the expense involved, the disruption to established routines....."

"Lin Feng is not the owner of this estate," Shuyin finished calmly, her voice cutting through the woman’s worried explanation with surgical precision. "Not legally. Not historically. Not in any way that actually matters." Her eyes sharpened slightly, jade catching the morning light. "And if anyone doubts that truth, if anyone needs proof before they’re willing to follow my instructions, they are welcome to review the inheritance documents and property deeds currently being processed through the family lawyers." 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Lu Yuze, still standing at the edge of the ruined garden with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow faintly at that pronouncement. The inheritance documents were news even to him, though he quickly masked his surprise. Judging from Shuyin’s composed delivery and absolute confidence, she either already had concrete proof of ownership or was certain enough of her legal position to make such claims a reality very soon through whatever means necessary.

Either way, no one in the courtyard challenged her assertion. The head maid’s mouth opened as if to protest further, then closed again without sound. The gardener simply nodded acceptance. One by one, the servants began to relax their defensive postures, shoulders dropping, hands unclenching.

Shuyin bent again, driving her shovel into the soil with renewed purpose, the blade cutting deep into the earth. "Head gardener," she said without looking up from her work, her tone shifting from authority to practical instruction, "organize the staff into work crews. Every imported plant currently in this garden is to be carefully removed and transplanted elsewhere on the grounds or to other properties if necessary. None is to be destroyed unnecessarily or treated carelessly. The plants themselves aren’t at fault for being misplaced. They’re living things that deserve proper care, even as we relocate them."