Chapter 30: A Sudden Change
Sang Ji, who had just returned from an outing, finally had some free time.
They should have had a few moments to catch their breath—
But tonight, after receiving an urgent report from his confidant, he left the courtyard where he and Liu Jiao lived with a cold face in just a few quick steps.
The night was as still as water, and the pomegranate tree leaves cast swaying shadows.
Liu Jiao had intended to give Sang Ji a newly embroidered dress, but she saw him hurriedly pass by her without even glancing at her.
The cold wind that swept past the boy ruffled Liu Jiao's disheveled hair.
She stared blankly at the boy's departing figure.
It was rare to see him in such a hurry, no longer as composed as usual.
Liu Jiao's eyes, which had initially held expectation, now held worry.
Why are you so anxious? Has something urgent happened? Why is Sang Ji so unsettled?
After that, she couldn't concentrate on looking at picture books all afternoon, and she couldn't eat anything when it was time to eat.
I had no choice but to focus all my attention on embroidery.
Even though he's a seasoned pro, and his cell phone has never broken a needle and thread in years, he pricked his hand today.
The blood droplets grew larger and larger from the fingertips.
She stopped her thread-flying motion and suddenly realized that her hand holding the lotus needle had become sore, and even her fingertips had gone numb.
The sunlight and shadows outside the window are dappled, and the sun sets in the west.
Dusk has fallen; it's time to light the lamps.
No wonder it got punctured.
But Sang Ji has not returned yet.
What have you been up to? Why aren't you home this late?
Liu Jiao finally understood why her mother was always worried about her father coming home late.
She didn't know how to ask Sang Ji.
After all, she knew nothing about his affairs, and he certainly wouldn't tell her.
Concern leads to confusion.
Finally, it was Wangyoujun who brought her news of Sangji.
"I knew you'd get anxious." Upon hearing that Wangyoujun was paying his respects, Liu Jiao immediately went to greet him.
Wangyoujun patted her on the shoulder, "Let's go inside and talk."
In the dead of night, the firelight flickered dimly.
Liu Jiao and Wangyoujun sat facing each other, and even the usually unreliable Wangyoujun looked serious.
Only after Wangyoujun told her did Liu Jiao understand why Sang Ji was in such a hurry.
Li Du has betrayed us.
The Li family has turned against us.
They had originally agreed to go with the Crown Prince to send troops, but he turned back halfway through.
This dealt a heavy blow to the Crown Prince's forces, trapping the main force in Yanzhou, where they were unable to escape.
Even though Li Du married Princess Xinyuehu, and even though Xinyuehu was Li Du's wife.
However, the Li family of Li Du showed no pity for the Crescent Moon Fox.
Disregarding Crescent Fox's reputation and situation, she agreed to join the Crown Prince's Li family, but instead switched allegiance to the Second Prince.
This left Crescent Fox feeling like she was caught between a rock and a hard place.
Or rather, the Li family's original plan was to seek refuge with the Second Prince.
The so-called alliance with the Crown Prince is merely a tactic employed by the Li family to sabotage him.
That's why Sang Ji was in such a hurry.
"Is there any hope? Sang Ji won't die, will he?" Liu Jiao asked anxiously, feeling increasingly frightened and breaking out in a cold sweat.
Seeing how worried she was about her husband, a far cry from her former carefree self, Wangyoujun chuckled, "It hasn't gotten to that point yet, has it?"
He relaxed and shrugged: "It just means you'll be living like a widow for the next few days."
"Whether it's a month or half a year, Sang Ji will be extremely busy, just like a little bee, only concerned with collecting the sweetest honey, but he just can't collect your little flower."
"From now on, you'll have to deal with all the problems the Sang family faces on your own."
...
It's possible that all the unfortunate things just happened to happen at the same time.
That night, things also became unsettled for Liu Jiao.
"Greetings, young mistress. My name is Chunliu, and I am a servant of the mistress of the Sang family."
"The mistress has asked me to inform the young mistress that she should return to the Sang residence tomorrow."
Even if you don't stay here, you should still pay your respects to your parents-in-law.
Chunliu, the maidservant of Sang Ji's mother, Song Shi, came to report.
After speaking, Chunliu glanced at Liu Jiao, who stood up to greet her as a servant without any regard for her status, and a hint of contempt flashed in her eyes.
His eyes darted around, and he suddenly blurted out:
"This servant recalls that the young mistress doesn't seem to have anyone around her whom she knows well."
“The mistress has considered everything and sent your personal maid, Song Mama’s daughter Qingrong, to you. Why don’t you accept her?”
“You were born in the countryside, so I’d like to teach you the rules of the capital city…” Chunliu was young and couldn’t help but compare her background with others.
Even if she is a slave, she is still a slave of Huajing.
The so-called first noble family, the Sang family's heir apparent, whom she could never even dream of marrying, turned out to be a country girl from a humble village.
How could we not say something about it?
Before they even met, they were already planting spies for Liu Jiao.
Even from the very beginning, Madam Song put on airs, wanting the daughter of this highly respected nanny to teach Liu Jiao manners.
Liu Jiao subconsciously sensed something was wrong, but didn't know how to deal with it—
"No need, I'm here with you, young mistress."
"Being from the countryside doesn't mean you're unruly. What kind of nonsense is that? Are you implying that my young mistress is unruly?"
"If you want to send someone in, just say so. We're all from the same industry, everyone knows what these kinds of people are thinking."
"How ridiculous! You came here today just to provoke us, didn't you?"
"I know better than you whether my young mistress has any manners or not, so there's no need to force anyone to help her."
Who has such a sharp tongue?
Liu Jiao was taken aback, full of admiration, and looked in the direction of the rebuttal, which was delivered with great force—
A young girl, dressed in brocade, with a maid's hairstyle, a round face, and about seventeen years old, with a very cheerful appearance, gracefully entered the room.
She spit out her mouth with the cool flair of a firecracker, making a crackling sound that filled the room.
It's so intimidating that you can only hear the sound.
This prevented Chunliu from getting a word in edgewise.
"Do you believe I'll tell on you?" Chunliu was young after all. She was usually quite composed, but when she encountered someone powerful, she couldn't hold back her temper after being scolded a few times.
“Alright, go ahead. It was you who spoke rudely first, with veiled sarcasm and barbs in your words. It was your fault, and any reasonable nanny would punish you. I’m just being loyal to my master.”
The round-faced little girl pouted, tilted her head back, and patted her own face at Chunliu, defiantly saying:
"Hey... you should really learn how to be a good servant. There's a lot to learn about being a maid. I'm ashamed to have a lazy colleague like you. There's really no one left in Huajing City."
With sound reasoning and evidence, Chunliu was left speechless.
He was so angry that he ran out.
She was also afraid that if her words of trying to suppress the young mistress from the countryside were found out by the mistress, Madam Song, she would be punished, called a fool, and have her monthly wages deducted, so she dared not expose it.
Liu Jiao was dumbfounded as she watched the scene unfold.
She tentatively asked, "Young lady, who are you...?"
"Aren't you afraid of being retaliated against and held a grudge if you speak to the personal maid of a powerful family like that?"
Liu Jiao expressed her sincere concern.
"Jiaojiao! I'm Suisui, when I was little I..." Suisui almost let slip the secret.
He forcibly suppressed the words, "I used to hold you when you were little."
When she was alone with Liu Jiao, she did not address her as "Young Madam".
"Hmm? We met when we were kids?"
"Haha, it's nothing."
"In short, I was sent by your father and mother to be your personal maid, and I will definitely stand on your side!"
As she spoke, Sui Sui took out a letter from her bosom.
Liu Jiao opened the envelopes and saw that there were two letters in total, and they were indeed written in her parents' handwriting.
Liu Jiao believed it.
But I didn't feel at ease.
Instead, they panicked even more.
She knew perfectly well how unreliable her own parents were.
This year...
Liu Jiao looked solemn.
Seemingly sensing Liu Jiao's concerns, Sui Sui took the initiative to reassure her: "So what if you argued? So what if you made enemies? It's nothing... Don't worry, nothing will happen."
Sighing year after year.
My own daughter, Jiaojiao, really has no idea how arrogant her father, Gu Su, the head of the Gu family, was in his youth.
When Gu Su was young, when his servants cursed someone's ancestor, Gu Su felt that it was the ancestor who had been buried for eight hundred years who had done something wrong, so he went to the grave and cursed the old man in front of the son.
Extremely protective of their own.
Whoever pokes him, he'll poke them to death.
The youthful vigor eventually wears down as youth fades.
Because he was too young and impetuous, he later got married and had a daughter, Liu Jiao. The infant Jiao Jiao became his target.
A family of three went out to pray to Buddha, but encountered a once-in-a-millennium mudslide in the desert where it never rains. The little girl, Jiaojiao, was almost swept away and cried loudly.
When they went to the riverbank in Jiangnan to collect folk songs, the ground, which was usually so damp that people drank herbal tea to relieve the dampness, was so dry that it had cracked open with a large fissure. If it weren't for Xiao's efforts to hold onto her daughter, the girl Jiaojiao would have definitely fallen in and died instantly.
On the plains, Gu Su thought there should be no danger now.
The next moment, a large, slanted-eyed insect that should have lived deep in the forest gave him a mysterious smile.
Gu Su: "..."
It's obvious even to a fool that enemies are coming to their door, and the worst part is that there's more than one wave; it's a classic case of internal and external troubles.
Externally, there's the old thief she offended because of her arrogance; internally, there's the old woman who, enraged by Gu Su's forced marriage to a woman from an overseas Chinese family, wants to kill the bastard Liu Jiao.
Either way, it's death.
Gu Su completely changed his personality after that.
They became timid and hesitant.
He ran to Caocun to work as a villager and changed his name to Liu Su.
My only thought is to ensure that Liu Jiao lives a peaceful and smooth life.
This contrasts sharply with the previous statement, "I'm the wildest in Jiangnan," creating two extremes.
Liu Jiao's real name is Gu Jiao.
*
Sang Ji waited until the rooster crowed before returning to his residence for a short rest.
Liu Jiao was leaning against the pillar by his door, hugging the pillar as she waited for him.
His eyes were unfocused.
She sneaked out to wait while Sui Sui was asleep.
Otherwise, Sui Sui wouldn't have made her wait at all.
When Sang Ji saw her, she was yawning.
The black boots stopped in front of her, and Liu Jiao, with her head down, squinted as she looked her up and down.
The boy stood under the moonlight and the large cannon lamp, his features were exquisite, his brows were furrowed, and his weariness was not obvious.
It is Sang Ji.
"You're back!" Liu Jiao's smile instantly lit up, her face brightening with a radiant smile.
"I heard that Mother has asked you to return to the Sang residence." Sang Ji, however, showed no intention of reminiscing with her.
His voice was cold and crisp: "If you're in a difficult situation, I can help you resolve it."
Sang Ji: "If you can't handle it, I can let them go."
"No need," Liu Jiao refused. "I can avoid it this time, but I can't avoid it next time. It's bound to happen eventually, so I might as well face it head-on."
Although Liu Jiao is not very bright, she understands some of the principles of interpersonal relationships.
Not only was Sang Ji busy, but Liu Jiao also didn't want to trouble him.
Liu Jiao herself realized that with the situation hanging in the balance, no matter how it was handled, resolving it was the best approach.
If she can't bear it anymore, she will tell Sang Ji on her own initiative.
"Do as you please." Sang Ji didn't try to persuade him, nor did he show any other attitude.
"Okay, Sang Ji, you can go ahead and do your work." Liu Jiao wanted him to stay, but she also had to be sensible. She suppressed her longing and worry, and acted as if nothing was wrong, putting on a virtuous, gentle and understanding demeanor.
Sang Ji maintained a purely businesslike attitude throughout, and after resolving Liu Jiao's matter, he disappeared like the wind.
He is very busy.
There was no time, nor was it necessary, to give her any.
Liu Jiao was left alone, staring blankly at his retreating figure.
He left.
And then only silence remained.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
