Chapter 16
Song Shiyan smiled at her and said, "I heard that the carriage here got out of control, so I came to see what was going on."
Jiang Zhaoli: “…”
This Song Shiyan, he is really not afraid of being beaten.
The moment he turned to leave, Jiang Zhaoli called him. Song Shiyan paused, her eyebrows suddenly raised, she turned to look at the woman on the top, staring at her expectantly. Jiang Zhaoli raised the Yao Huang in her hand towards him and said with a smile: "Song Shiyan, thank you."
Oh, you smiled at him?
Song Shiyan's heart leaped with joy, and he glanced at Yin Su provocatively. Yin Su's amber eyes stared at him calmly, and he smiled at him.
Song Shiyan shuddered inexplicably. Why did he feel a chill on his back for a moment? Could it be his illusion? He looked around and saw the leaves hanging still on the treetops, motionless.
At this time, Chuntao ran upstairs holding the hem of her skirt, her forehead covered with sweat. She anxiously stepped forward and grabbed Jiang Zhaoli's arms, looking her up and down: "Miss, are you okay?"
Jiang Zhaoli took out a handkerchief to wipe away her sweat, glanced at Yin Su, and said with a smile: "I'm fine, it was my son-in-law who saved me."
Chun Tao breathed a sigh of relief, patted her chest, and muttered, "Fortunately, fortunately nothing happened."
"Good girl, it's getting late, let's go back home quickly."
Chuntao's tone was a little anxious, she was really scared just now, and she still remembered clearly the scene of the carriage rushing towards the girl. Now she didn't want to think about anything else, she just wanted to take the girl back home as soon as possible and away from this place of trouble.
Jiang Zhaoli nodded, and she turned to look at Yin Su. Seeing that he didn't make any move to leave, she still asked, "Do you want to go back with us?"
Yin Su smiled lightly and cupped his hands: "Madam Jiang, please go ahead. I will be back soon."
Jiang Zhaoli nodded, then went downstairs with Chuntao.
As she left, a man walked out of the box. It was Zou Yuan, his good friend from Min Kingdom who had already left Luo City.
He crossed his arms, walked to Yin Su's side with a look of surprise on his face, nudged him with his elbow, and said in a sad tone: "The plan failed."
"Why would you save Miss Jiang if you have nothing to do? You two are not related at all, why would you destroy it for her..."
He stopped talking halfway, Yin Su's cold and gloomy eyes swept over. Seeing this, Zou Yuan felt a chill down his spine, and immediately laughed and patted his own mouth: "Look at my mouth, it really deserves a beating, you two are not related, you are her husband, it's your duty to save her, I'm shortsighted."
But he secretly rolled his eyes behind his back.
Yin Su said coldly: "She is still useful to us now, nothing can happen to her. If you dare to say another word, I will cut off your tongue."
He is completely different from his gentle and elegant appearance in the past.
Now he was like the frost in December, freezing cold. His gloomy eyes stared at the people and officials passing by below, with contempt and disdain as if he were looking at an ant.
Zou Yuan quickly hid aside and didn't dare to say another word.
He believed that this was something Yin Su could do.
In the past, when someone spread rumors about his affair with a woman, he did not say a word but simply twisted the person's arm, cut off his tongue, stepped on it and chased her away. The scene was truly eerie and terrifying.
And the master liked his ruthlessness, that's why he kept him by his side.
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw a man being carried out of the sedan chair. It was City Lord Luo. He was pale, his arms seemed to be broken, and he could not move.
"The carriage actually belongs to City Lord Luo."
"Who is so bold? Is Master Luocheng okay?"
"It doesn't look serious."
"It may not be someone else's frame-up. Changming Street is crowded with people. Maybe the horse got frightened."
The people were talking at once, not noticing the figure standing on the second floor, quietly observing everything.
A few days later, regarding the incident in Changming Street where a horse lost control and hit several civilians, the Luocheng Special Lord ordered that all civilians injured by the horse could be compensated with silver taels according to the severity of their injuries, up to a maximum of thirty taels.
When this happened, everyone was happy.
——
The morning light bloomed quietly, and the soft light climbed along the tall and straight tree trunks to the ground, casting circles of halos.
The courtyard of Jiang Mansion.
Second uncle and second aunt, third uncle and third aunt, eldest brother Jiang Yi Che, eldest sister Jiang Yu Lin, Yin Su, Jiang Zhao Li and several servants and maids were all standing in the yard, staring at the two people who stepped into the Jiang Mansion again.
It was Zhao Xiaoshuang. This time, there were only her and Wen Qiu Shui.
After not seeing her for a few days, Zhao Xiaoshuang had lost a lot of weight, her face skin was sagging, and there was darkness under her eyes, as if she was exhausted from not getting enough rest for a few days. There were purple bruises at the corners of her lips and on her face, and she no longer had the arrogant and domineering demeanor she had last time.
She stared at Jiang Zhaoli and pushed Wen Qiushui forward two steps: "I...I agree to let Qiushui marry into the Jiang Mansion."
What? Everyone heard this and was horrified.
The last time Jiang Zhaoli proposed that, it was just to scare her off. At that time, Zhao Xiaoshuang was filled with resentment when she heard it. She thought it was ridiculous and even got angry on the spot, telling them not to even think about it. Now, only a few days later, she suddenly changed her usual behavior and said that she agreed?
Second Aunt looked at Zhao Xiaoshuang in disbelief and whispered to Second Uncle: "Is Zhao Xiaoshuang mentally normal?"
The law is now lenient towards women, and people like Wen Qiu Shui can still get married. With the current family background of the Wen family, it is not a problem for her to find a family of equal status or slightly lower status. What does Zhao Xiaoshuang want?
It's really unbelievable.
Zhao Xiaoshuang looked at Jiang Zhaoli steadily: "The premise is that you have to give me... one hundred taels of gold."
Jiang Zhaoli frowned and repeated, as if incredulous: "One hundred taels of gold?"
Seeing this, Zhao Xiaoshuang lowered her arrogance a little: "Then... then fifty taels will also be fine."
Jiang Zhaoli: "At most fifty taels of silver."
"If Auntie doesn't want to, you can take my cousin away now."
Zhao Xiaoshuang's face turned pale and blue. After hesitating for a while, she gritted her teeth and said "OK".
Jiang Zhaoli confirmed again: "Auntie, are you sure you don't regret it?"
Zhao Xiaoshuang shook her head: "No regrets."
Jiang Zhaoli's face flashed with a sneer: "Okay, then cousin, you don't have to go back with Auntie today. Since you are marrying a servant, then everything should be simple."
Yes, how could a person like her regret anything? Her mother treated her like her own sister, but she was unwilling to go out to see her mother off after she passed away, and even claimed that her mother was unlucky. If she really regretted anything, she didn't show any regret when she went to her mother's spirit tablet.
Jiang Zhaoli looked at her disdainfully and told Chuntao who was waiting on the side: "Chuntao, call Wang Tiezhu to bring the people over."
When Zhao Xiaoshuang heard this, the flesh on her face trembled. She gritted her teeth and endured it.
Wang Tiezhu insisted that it was Wen Qiu Shui who seduced him, and the last time the officials came to investigate, the result was indeed true, so she did not drive Wang Tiezhu away.
Liu Congying was so anxious that she was running around in circles but she didn't know where to start. Jiang Zhaoli was the head of the Jiang Mansion now, and how much silver she wanted to take was the right of the family heads of all generations. She could only sigh frequently and said to herself, "This girl Li Ke is such a spendthrift. She just gave me fifty taels of silver. Fifty taels of silver could buy four or five maids in the pawnshop."
What did Wen Qiu Shui’s loss of virginity have to do with the Jiang family? And now they were giving her fifty taels of silver.
However, when he thought that he would be able to teach Zhao Xiaoshuang's daughter a lesson if he was unhappy in the future, he felt much better.
Liu Congying squinted his eyes and looked at Wen Qiu Shui. Seeing that she hung her head and said nothing, Liu Congying rolled his eyes. It was strange, really strange. Why was Wen Qiu Shui so quiet and didn't show any intention of resisting?
Wang Tiezhu arrived in a moment. He hurried to the courtyard, knelt down, put his head on the back of his hands, and said in a muffled voice: "I am here to see the second young lady."
"Get up." Jiang Zhaoli said lightly.
"You can take Wen Qiushui away."
Wang Tiezhu was secretly delighted and kowtowed again: "Yes, thank you very much for the reward, Second Miss."
Reward? This was not a reward from her, so she didn't need to accept this "favor". Jiang Zhaoli said meaningfully: "No need to thank me, I don't have such great ability."
Liu Congying seized the opportunity to add insult to injury: "It was your good mother-in-law who gave it to you. Why don't you thank her quickly?"
"Your humble servant...Your humble servant thanks Madam Zhao." Wang Tiezhu reacted immediately and kowtowed in the direction of Zhao Xiaoshuang.
Zhao Xiaoshuang's cheeks turned pale and she covered her chest tightly with her hands, as if she couldn't breathe. Her face turned purple and her lips trembled, looking uglier than if she had eaten a fly.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhaoli moved closer to Yin Su. She lowered her voice, stared at Zhao Xiaoshuang intently, and said sullenly, "Tell me, am I being too cruel?"
Wang Tiezhu was just a servant and an irresponsible one. Just like that day when he pointed out without hesitation that it was Wen Qiu Shui who seduced him, but she still watched Wen Qiu Shui marry him.
When she was a child, her mother often talked to her about her aunt, saying that although she had some small thoughts, she was not a bad person. In the final analysis, it was because she had never been loved and did not know what love was like. Her mother told her to be nice to her aunt when she grew up, because her aunt was her only relative in the world.
But mother, do you really understand your sister?
Yin Su spoke slowly, his voice lingering in her ears like pure flowing water, gentle and pleasant: "Madam Jiang, you worry too much."
"You are just giving him a taste of his own medicine. There is no need to feel guilty."
Jiang Zhaoli was startled and murmured, "You don't think I'm unkind? She's my cousin."
Yin Su shook his head: "No, it was her mother who sold her into the mansion for fifty taels of silver. You didn't force her, and it has nothing to do with Madam Jiang."
"Madam Jiang, don't worry about this. I will always stand by your side."
A warm current suddenly surged in her heart, and Jiang Zhaoli could not help but be stunned. Will he... stand behind her forever? She could not help but look at the tall man beside her. They had only known each other for a few days. Why did he trust her so much? Was it just because she was his nominal wife?
The Second Aunt and the Third Aunt sent Zhao Xiaoshuang out of the house together. The Second Aunt kept making sarcastic remarks all the way, but Zhao Xiaoshuang seemed not to hear her and did not reply to her at all. She walked out of the Jiang House with a dejected look on her face.
Jiang Zhao narrowed his eyes and said, "Send someone to check what happened to my good aunt. Why did she suddenly change so much?"
"Yes, second lady."
At this time, Jiang Yulin came towards them. She was wearing plain clothes, with her hair tied up lightly. She had a gentle smile on her face. She reached out and held Jiang Zhaoli's hand. She was dignified and gentle, with concern between her eyebrows: "Second sister, I have been busy embroidering wedding clothes in my room these days and rarely leave the courtyard. I heard from Ah Xing that you have had a lot of trouble these days, and I couldn't help you. I feel guilty. If you have any questions, just tell me. Don't be polite."
Jiang Zhaoli patted the back of her hand soothingly: "I'm fine, big sister. This is what I should have to face. How can I ask you for help every time? Big sister, just stay in the mansion and wait for your marriage. If there is anything missing, just tell Fuguan's family. When you get married, Li'er will prepare a generous dowry for you. I will never lose your face."
Jiang Yulin smiled and shook her head, her eyes sparkling with emotion. She gently patted the back of Jiang Zhaoli's hand and said softly, "I am so happy that my second sister cares about me like this."
Jiang Zhaoli: "Big sister, please come back soon. Second Aunt will send someone to look for you later."
Hearing this, Jiang Yulin hesitated to speak: "Second sister, actually mother...she has no complaints against you, she just speaks her mind a little too hastily."
Jiang Zhaoli pursed his lips: "I know."
Jiang Yulin sighed softly, smiled at her, nodded and greeted Yin Su before leaving.
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