On March 15th, each household was to go to Zhongleyuan to pay their respects to Madam Jiang.

Ye Yunniang carried Jiang Tingjun and followed behind Aunt Jinlan.

After Ziyuan left, Aunt Jinlan became the head aunt in the young master's room.

As the saying goes, "A new broom sweeps clean," and after Aunt Jinlan became the aunt in charge, she established new rules for the small courtyard.

The first rule is that you can't sleep while on night watch; you have to keep your eyes open and watch over the young master.

Fearing that someone might outwardly comply but inwardly defy her, Aunt Jinlan specially arranged for someone to check on them from time to time.

After a few days, even Ye Yunniang's iron body couldn't take it anymore. Holding Jiang Tingjun, she felt weak and wanted to yawn.

Aunt Jinlan watched from the side.

Holding her child in her arms, she could only bite her cheeks in pain, trying to distract herself from her sleepiness.

Lifting the curtain, a rich, overpowering fragrance assaults the nostrils, making one feel dizzy.

After paying their respects to Madam Jiang, Ye Yunniang carried Jiang Tingjun to the next room.

As I stepped out of the room, I was greeted by Zhuang Meixue, who had just finished her postpartum confinement.

The last time I saw her was on the 30th of the twelfth lunar month. At that time, Zhuang Meixue exuded a gentle and warm temperament and radiated happiness. Now, Zhuang Meixue is as thin as a rake, with dark circles under her eyes, and exudes an aura of depression that makes people afraid to look directly at her.

Ye Yunniang took two steps back while holding Jiang Tingjun and bowed.

"It's been a month since I last saw him, and Jun'er has grown quite a bit." Zhuang Meixue looked at the chubby Jiang Tingjun and thought of the child she had miscarried.

"The doctor said you can't cry," Bai Lu, who was beside Zhuang Meixue, stepped forward to comfort her.

"The Second Madam has arrived." The maidservant guarding the door hurriedly lifted the curtain and loudly reminded the masters inside.

Zhuang Meixue was helped into the house by Bailu and Shuangjiang.

Ye Yunniang carried Jiang Tingjun to the next room and placed him on a blanket.

There were many small toys on the blanket.

Jiang Tingjun held a delicate ball in his left hand and a small wooden sword in his right, shaking them up and down, his mouth agape in a wide smile.

There were maids and servants from Zhongle Courtyard nearby, as well as Hongcai and Hongyin from Fanghua Courtyard watching.

Ye Yunniang leaned back to rest, her eyes unconsciously wanting to close and doze off for a while.

Pinch yourself hard; you can't sleep.

I'm so sleepy, my skin keeps sticking together uncontrollably.

"Zhuang Meixue, what nonsense are you spouting? What does your son's death have to do with the Third Branch? The Third Branch is innocent and won't be slandered." Bai Xiuxiu's roar instantly roused Ye Yunniang.

Wow... Jiang Tingjun was so frightened by the roar that he started to cry.

Ye Yunniang picked up Jiang Tingjun and gently coaxed him.

Intermittent noises could be heard coming from the main room.

“Bai Xiuxiu, you have a loud voice, and you’re right.” That was Madam Jiang’s voice.

"Am I loud? You're just bullying me."

"Okay, stop arguing."

"Who's making noise? I'm pregnant."

"We need an explanation today."

"We found out that the person in your house committed murder."

Snap...

The sound of a teacup shattering.

The March greetings ended with Old Madam Jiang smashing a cup.

The news spread throughout the mansion.

Zhuang Meixue's miscarriage and allergic reaction were one aspect, but another was that Bai Xiuxiu secretly instructed people to put musk in Zhuang Meixue's pillow and perfume her clothes.

Fearing discovery, he then killed the maid.

The female corpse in the pond was Xiaoman, a maid in the Second Madam's courtyard.

Zhuang Meixue suffered a miscarriage due to the crime, which severely damaged her health. The doctor said it would be difficult for her to conceive again.

Even after Zhuang Meixue's miserable state, Bai Xiuxiu was still not satisfied and sent people to spread rumors in the mansion that Zhuang Meixue was getting her just desserts.

It is said that Zhuang Meixue practiced nepotism, managed the Jiang family in a chaotic manner, and used cruel methods to kill many innocent lives.

It is said that Jiang Mingzhe arranged for people to renovate and clean up the brothel so that he could select a fertile maidservant from the mansion to be his new concubine, so that he could have an heir.

This aroused the maids in the mansion to become restless and resort to all sorts of tricks.

The two maids got into a fight in public a few days ago because of this.

...

Suddenly, all sorts of bad things happened in the manor, and they all became related to Bai Xiuxiu.

Bai Xiuxiu naturally denied it. But within the manor, she was known for being exceptionally talented and competitive. Many people in the manor believed her and thought it was all quite normal.

Bai Xiuxiu was so angry that she cursed at people three times a day, which affected her pregnancy. The doctor diagnosed her with threatened miscarriage.

Jiang Mingyu forced her to stay in bed to protect the pregnancy and not to move around outside.

All of this happened during Madam Jiang's tenure as head of the household. Old Madam Jiang was dissatisfied with her management. She summoned Madam Jiang, reprimanded her, and demanded that the management be taken back and handed over to Zhuang Meixue.

Zhuang Meixue declined, citing the need to recuperate.

After some speculation, Zhuang Meixue and Madam Jiang Si decided to take charge of the Jiang family mansion.

To prove herself, Madam Jiang launched a full-scale investigation into the female corpse in the pond. The murderer was quickly apprehended: Chun Tao, a third-class maid in Zhenxia Courtyard.

After being interrogated, Chun Tao confessed that she had paid Xiao Man to put musk in Zhuang Meixue's pillow and clothes.

The reason was revenge.

Chun Tao lost her parents at a young age and lived with her uncle and aunt. She had endless chores and hardships from morning till night. In the dead of winter, she had to carry clothes to the river to wash them, her hands so frozen that the cuts reached the bone.

My cousin took pity on Chuntao and tried to get her a job at the Jiang family mansion, assigning her to work in the garden.

Although she still worked from morning till night, Chun Tao had clean clothes to wear, enough to eat, and a bed to sleep in. Chun Tao was very content and grateful to her cousin for saving her from the clutches of her uncle and aunt.

Because of her beauty, my cousin was arranged by Zhuang Meixue to become Master Jiang's concubine.

Later, when her cousin became pregnant, Chuntao was happy for her and secretly visited her a few times.

My cousin became more and more worried each time.

Chun Tao asked her several times before her cousin finally told her that she couldn't keep the pregnancy.

Zhuang Meixue had been unable to conceive for many years, and out of consideration for her reputation, she arranged for Jiang Mingzhe to take her as a concubine. However, she would never allow them to give birth to a child.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!