As Charles spoke, he directly attacked Lincoln. But Lincoln was a renowned warrior. Even Nathan Ross, the undefeated general of Beau, couldn't fend off his attacks. Let alone a noble prince.

With just one move, Lincoln pinned Charles down on the table. "I advise you to think carefully. You are not my match. If you act rashly again, it won't be good if you get hurt."

Lincoln released Charles, then sat back in his original seat. He dusted off his clothes and said, "Your Highness, you can think about it slowly. Starting tomorrow, I will take a concubine every other day. I've heard that many women in Gonzales are jealous of my wife's talents. As a man, I don't know how to torment women. So, I'll just bring all those jealous women into the Marquis Manor. My manor is big enough. There's plenty of time for you to think."

"Lincoln, you bastard!" Charles clenched his fists tightly. He hated that he didn't have the strength to kill the bastard in front of him.

"Bastard? I never said I wasn't. Your Highness, we'll be taking our leave," Lincoln said as he stood up.

He walked up to Bella and said, "Ms. Jenkins, you should advise His Highness. Otherwise, your future days won't be easy!"

Bella looked up at the man in front of her. No matter how she looked at him, he didn't seem like such a shameless scoundrel. But he was!

Bella then turned her gaze to Charles. "Your Highness, I know you've always stayed out of worldly affairs. So just follow your heart. I will take care of myself."

After speaking, Bella didn't care about Lincoln's expression and turned to leave.

Bella now understood Charles' feelings for her. But she was already Lincoln's wife. She couldn't give him anything and didn't want him to lose anything because of her.

Lincoln watched Bella's stubborn figure and then looked at Charles. "Your Highness, how about we make a bet? Let's see how long she can hold out."

Charles was so furious at the man in front of him that he couldn't speak. He glared at him, wishing he could take him down with him.

"Your Highness, getting angry is bad for your health. Hahaha..." Lincoln left with those words, laughing loudly as he went.

When Adrian entered, he saw his master trembling with anger. He quickly helped him to a chair. "Your Highness, Marquis Miller is just a scoundrel. Please don't harm your health by getting too upset."

Adrian had been standing outside and heard everything that had happened inside. He had been with Charles since childhood and naturally understood his feelings. He knew Charles must be furious. But how could the famous Marquis Miller be such a rogue?

"You can go. I'm fine," Charles didn't want to hear anything or see anyone right now.

"Yes," Adrian responded and retreated to stand guard outside the door.

Charles slammed his fist on the table in frustration. Bella had said he always stayed out of worldly affairs, but she was wrong. His indifference was because of her. He wasn't really indifferent. He had fought against the world for Bella, but he lost.

When Lincoln came out, Bella had already left. He quickly mounted his horse and chased after her. When he reached her, he grabbed her and swiftly rode back to the Marquis Manor.

Bella didn't want to ride the same horse with him. But after witnessing his skills firsthand, she knew any struggle would be useless, so she let him do as he wished.

When they arrived at the manor, Lincoln dismounted. He casually tossed the reins to the guard and walked straight through the gate without a glance at Bella, who was still on the horse.

Bella had never ridden a horse before and didn't know how to dismount. Finally, with the help of the guard, she managed to get down from the horse.

Bella went straight back to the Melody Courtyard. Even though she didn't care about others, her mood was still affected. She wasn't a fool. She clearly understood Lincoln's intentions.

She could accept that Lincoln did not treat her well. She could accept that Lincoln did not love her. But she found it really hard to accept the fact that Lincoln married her just so her sister could marry the man she loved.

But things had already come to this. Even if she didn't accept it, she couldn't change anything. She was a woman, after all. Her fate was destined to be in someone else's.

She didn't have the energy to think about anything else. Lincoln had said that he would start taking concubines tomorrow. She believed he would act on it. Life would surely become more tumultuous.

The next day, Lincoln made a grand show of marrying Eva Flores into the household. Although it was taking a concubine, the ceremony was no less grand than a wedding. Moreover, she even entered through the main gate with great pomp.

Bella knew this was meant to put her in her place. She had already prepared herself mentally, so she just let him do as he wished.

"Madam, are you just going to endure this?" Clara said, clearly upset.

Bella played with the thread in her hands. She said calmly, "What else can I do? Can I beat him? Can the Jenkins family do anything to him?"

Clara shook her head. It was clear that neither of them could beat him or do anything about it.

"So what if I don't endure it? Should I go and fight him to the death? Why waste my energy on that?" she said.

Clara stomped her foot in frustration. "Then what should we do? Just let him openly marry a concubine and humiliate you?"

She thought, "Marquis Miller didn't enter Madam's room last night. Madam had already become the laughingstock. Now, with the concubine openly entering through the main gate with such a grand ceremony, it was like she was being treated as the official wife. Isn't this making Madam a joke to the entire Gonzales?"

Bella smiled and shook her head. She said, "Clara, you're wrong. It's not just one. From now on, it's one every other day."

"One every other day?" Clara could hardly believe her ears. But seeing how Bella was handling it, it was clear she already knew. What on earth was going on?

"Yes, that's right. So, just let him do as he wishes. Otherwise, we'll be driven mad before he fills the manor with concubines." Bella had already finished arranging the threads. She pulled Clara down to sit beside her. "Didn't you want to learn double-sided embroidery from me before? Well, start learning seriously from now on. If you don't focus, I'll be a very strict teacher," she said.

Bella started selecting the satin as she spoke. Clara looked at Bella's expression. There wasn't the slightest trace of displeasure. Clara truly couldn't tell if Bella really didn't care or if she was just too good at hiding her emotions.

Bella had wanted to remain quietly in her corner. But as the official wife, she was soon called to observe the ceremony. She also had to accept the concubine's water offering according to the rules.

Bella put down her embroidery and said helplessly, "The tree wants to remain still, but the wind won't stop."

Then she looked at Clara and said, "You don't need to come with me. Practice the stitching method I just taught you. I'll check it when I get back."

Bella knew Clara's temperament. She also knew Lincoln intended to embarrass her. The scene would definitely not be pleasant. Some things Bella could endure, but Clara might not be able to. If Clara couldn't bear it, the outcome would be even more painful.

Bella followed the servant to the main hall. This ceremony was no different from a proper wedding. Perhaps only Lincoln could pull off such a thing.

When it came time for the water offering, Bella sat calmly in her chair and accepted Eva's drinks. But to her surprise, Eva deliberately pretended her hand shook. The cup tilted, and the hot water spilled onto Bella's hand.

Bella frowned slightly. The water used in the ceremony was usually at a drinkable temperature. But this scalding hot water couldn't have been prepared for her by accident. If she did this right at the start, the days ahead would be even more turbulent.

Bella knew she had no backing. If she didn't want things to get worse, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and endure.

She steadied the cup effortlessly and pulled her sleeve to cover her scalded hand. Then she brought the cup to her lips. But the water was too hot to drink. Bella put the cup back on the tray and said, "I hope you will serve Marquis Miller well in the future and bear many children for him."

Eva didn't expect Bella to be this tolerant. She gritted her teeth and said, "Thank you."

It wasn't that Eva was being reckless, causing trouble for Bella right after entering the house. When Lincoln sought a wife, he only left one message. "I heard that Ms. Flores and Bella don't get along."

That one sentence was enough for her to know why Lincoln wanted to take her as a concubine. The reason couldn't have been more obvious, especially since he married Bella and took a concubine right away.

She knew that she had to make Bella's life difficult to win Lincoln's favor.

Lincoln saw everything. He didn't expect Eva to be so ruthless and Bella to be so tolerant. He saw her burned hand, the redness was clear. If it didn't hurt, it would be unbelievable!

Bella calmly endured this situation. It wasn't until she returned that she noticed blisters had formed on her hand.

Clara looked at Bella's hand and burst into tears. "Madam, they're so cruel."

"Alright, stop crying. Go get some oil to apply to it," Bella said.

Today, she didn't believe Lincoln hadn't seen it, but he said nothing. Eva must have assumed that Lincoln would turn a blind eye. If that was the case, there could be more trouble ahead.

As the saying goes, "Open spears are easy to dodge, hidden arrows are hard to defend against." The days ahead might be more difficult than she had optimistically expected.

Clara quickly brought the oil and applied it to Bella's burn, tears streaming down her face. She had only been at the manor for less than three days, but she had already had enough. This place was worse than a den of tigers and wolves.

The next morning, Bella had just finished breakfast when Eva came over with her maid.

"Bella, I've come to apologize. I accidentally burned you yesterday, and I've been feeling uneasy. So I came early to apologize," Eva said. As she spoke, she took a box from her maid and handed it to Bella. "This hairpin is my apology gift. I hope you can forgive me."

Although she was apologizing, her expression was arrogant. Her tone was condescending.

Clara was so angry that she wanted to step forward, but Bella held her back.

Bella took the box from Eva and said, "We are both women of Marquis Miller, so we are sisters. Since it was unintentional, how could I blame you? I'll accept your gift. I also have a gift for you."

Then she looked at Clara and said, "Clara, go get the gold hairpin from my cabinet."

Clara knew what the gold hairpin was. It was a top-quality hairpin, intricately crafted, with two golden butterflies that swayed with the wearer's movements. It was stunning. Giving it to this woman was simply a waste.

Clara didn't want to go, but Bella urged her with a look. She had no choice but to reluctantly retrieve the hairpin.

Eva didn't expect Bella to give her something so nice. She loved it and immediately had her maid put it on her. Then she looked at Bella and asked, "Bella, does this hairpin look good on me?"

"Of course. Your appearance is delicate. You look beautiful even without these decorations," Bella said.

Eva felt great after hearing that but hadn't achieved her purpose yet. So she said, "Bella, won't you look at the gift I prepared for you? It's not as good as the one you gave me, but I hope you won't dislike it."

Hearing this, Bella had no choice but to open the box. Inside was a plain silver hairpin. Considering Eva's family was wealthy, even the maids in her household wouldn't wear such a hairpin. It must have taken some effort to find something cheap just to disgust Bella.

Bella looked at it and said, "The hairpin's design is simple. It's actually my preferred style. You've put a lot of thought into this."