Chapter 167 Seizing by Cleverness and Force, Taking it for Oneself

“Oh, you mean this?” Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “It’s just a little trinket that someone gave me. I think the meaning is nice and it suits me well, so I carry it with me.”

In fact, Lu Yuan was afraid of damaging the sachet, so he kept it close to his body and hidden it on his chest, never daring to hang it out for others to see.

Now that his job is done and he has nothing else to do, he takes it in his hands and plays with it.

Judging from Shen Ci'an's expression, it seemed that he knew the sachet came from Jiang Zhi.

Shen Ci'an was silent for a moment, then reached out to snatch it back, shouting, "Give it back to me!"

This was clearly a gift from the young lady.

However, who is Lu Yuan? How could he allow someone to take his things away so easily?

With a flick of his wrist, he deftly tucked the sachet into his robe, placing it neatly inside. Then, with a defiant look in his eyes, he said, "Lord Shen, this is hardly gentlemanly conduct."

Although Jiang Zhi gave him the sachet back then, it was probably just to put on an act in front of Yan Wenhong.

But every stitch was made by her own hands, how could he just hand it over to someone else?

Shen Ci'an continued to stare intently at him, saying each word clearly, "Doesn't Lord Lu know? This sachet was originally a gift to me."

"The eight characters embroidered on it, 'A bright future and soaring high,' were originally meant to congratulate me on achieving the highest rank in the imperial examination."

Lu Yuan initially didn't believe his words, but when he pronounced those eight words accurately, he realized that what Shen Ci'an said was true.

His composed expression cracked, and he stood frozen in place for a few moments.

Seeing his expression, Shen Ci'an knew that he didn't know.

A sigh escaped from his pent-up frustration. He curled his lips into a smile and reached out his hand. "I beg you, Lord Lu, to return it to its rightful owner."

When he first discovered the young lady's true nature, he was still angry and didn't accept the sachet.

The young lady never mentioned it again afterward.

He thought she had torn it up in a fit of anger, but he never expected it to be in Lu Yuan's hands.

To everyone's surprise, even after he said that, Lu Yuan simply took a step back and looked at him intently.

Shen Ci'an frowned. "Is Lord Lu planning to seize it by trickery and force, and take it for himself?"

Lu Yuan's thin, taut lips twitched, and a wicked smile forced a smile onto his handsome yet demonic face. "If you want it back, then let the owner of this sachet come and ask for it back in person. Lord Shen doesn't know how to cherish it himself, and he won't allow others to treat it as a treasure either?"

His hand pressed against the sachet on his chest.

Shen Ci'an's face was extremely ugly.

He couldn't bear the thought of Lu Yuan taking what should have been his.

However, Lu Yuan is highly skilled in martial arts, and taking him by force would not be a wise move.

One day, he will get the sachet back.

"Then I hope Lord Lu can keep it safe and try to keep it on you for as long as possible."

He didn't want to see Lu Yuan's face again, so he coldly turned and left.

The tacit understanding the two had built up during their collaboration in Sizhou was shattered into pieces by this sachet.

Upon returning to Kyoto, they will inevitably clash and become irreconcilable enemies.

Lu Yuan stood still, feeling the shape of the sachet protruding from his palm and the inside of his clothes, his eyes sinking into a deep sea.

Miss Jiang, you're really capable.

You give him things that others don't want, yet you cherish them yourself.

He ground down his back molars.

What should we do?

The more this was the case, the less he wanted Jiang Zhi to marry Shen Ci'an smoothly.

*

The ship traveled upstream on the Bian River for nearly ten days before finally arriving in Kyoto.

The moment Jiang Zhi stepped onto solid ground again, she felt as if she were walking on cotton, her body swaying slightly before Shen Ci'an beside her supported her arm.

“Princess Qinghe,” Lu Yuan said as he passed by her, his gaze calm and unwavering, “this humble official awaits your arrival at the Northern Garrison Command. Farewell.”

Jiang Zhi knew he was referring to the case of the Crown Princess's poisoning.

Lu Yuan quickly left with a large group of his men. After Shen Ci'an escorted her back to her residence, he also returned to the Shen residence to prepare for his audience with the emperor.

Suddenly, the capital city seemed to be bustling with activity. Even Xiao Xuanyou was confined to the East Palace and had no time to go crazy for her.

Jiang Zhi breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that Qingxing was safe and sound.

Having been away for so long, she was genuinely afraid that Xiao Xuanyou might harm Qingxing.

Unfortunately, the little girl was crying and sobbing, and as soon as she saw her, she knelt down and begged for forgiveness.

“Miss, it is my fault for not protecting your courtyard,” Qingxing said, wiping away her tears. “Master said that you are, after all, a daughter of the Jiang family and must marry out of the Jiang family. He sent a group of people to carry away your dowry. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop them.”

Jiang Zhi's gaze turned cold. "Where are the guards?"

"They were taken away by the officials brought by the master and beaten with a board. They were told that they wanted to seize the young lady's dowry while she was away from home, and that they were wicked servants. If their indentures hadn't been in the master's hands, they would probably have been sold off on the spot."

"Those officials are even more despicable! They clearly belong to you, Miss, but they insist that since you are not yet married, you should stay in the Jiang family and follow the traditional virtues of obedience and submission, and cannot live separately. It's infuriating!"

"They hit you too?" Jiang Zhi knew that Jiang Zhengting was ruthless, but she didn't expect him to be so insidious.

Qingxing shook her head. "I'm fine. I even secretly hid the house deeds when they weren't looking. But what will happen to the dowry when Miss is getting married?"

Jiang Zhi originally thought that she would encounter many storms upon returning to Kyoto.

Little did she expect that the first wave of messages sent to her would come from her blood relatives.

"Don't blame yourself, it's good that you're all alright," Jiang Zhi helped Qingxing up from the ground and wiped away her tears. "I'll make them vomit up double the amount of stuff."

Since Jiang Zhengting wants her to marry out of the Jiang family mansion, then she should comply with their wishes and move back to the Jiang family mansion.

Anyway, she won't be staying at the Jiang residence for much longer.

Therefore, Jiang Zhi left empty-handed, taking Qingxing Anyue and Ruying with her, and moved back to Chuntang Garden in the Jiang family mansion.

Jiang Zhengting wanted to force Jiang Zhi to return to the Jiang residence, so he naturally had to put on a good show.

During the period when Jiang Zhi was away from the capital, Chuntang Garden was renovated.

As for the money, it naturally came from her dowry.

Upon learning of this, Jiang Zhi sneered, gaining a new understanding of the shamelessness of her father.

She couldn't help but wonder, how could her mother have fallen for such a person?

Was it because Jiang Zhengting disguised himself too well back then that even his maternal grandfather, who was the head of the Hanlin Academy, was fooled?

Jiang Zhi went to the main hall to pay her respects to Jiang Zhengting.

He felt little affection for his daughter, whom he hadn't seen for many days.

I thought she was a gentle and virtuous woman like her mother, but I never expected her to be so rebellious. Not only did she leave the Jiang family to live alone, but she also shamelessly went south to find her husband.

She has completely disgraced the Jiang family.

"You wretched child, kneel down right now!" Jiang Zhengting roared, his eyes wide with anger. "As a woman of marriageable age, you've been away from the manor for so long, behaving dissolutely. You don't care about your reputation, but how will your sister face people in the future?"

Jiang Zhi knelt at the lower end, her gaze clear. "Father, do you think it was wrong of me to go and bring Lord Shen back?"

"When did it become your place to do such things?" Jiang Zhengting was furious. "You're just a woman confined to the inner quarters. It's enough for you to embroider and practice calligraphy in the backyard. What kind of behavior is it to show your face in public?"

Jiang Zhi tilted her head.

Her father was so angry when he heard that she had gone to see Shen Ci'an, fearing that her reputation would be ruined.

If he knew that he had been kidnapped by bandits, wouldn't he be furious and die of anger on the spot?

Thinking of this, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but smile.

"You still have the nerve to laugh?!" Jiang Zhengting was furious. "Today I'm going to properly discipline this family. Go and fetch the family discipline officer..."

Before he could finish speaking, a long, high-pitched announcement came from outside, "Imperial edict has arrived—"