"The imperial physician said that only by draining ten bowls of blood from a young woman can Zhu'er's illness be cured."
"If Jiang Xiancao hadn't pushed her into the icy lake on such a cold day, how could Zhu'er have become so seriously ill?"
"Use her blood. She owes it to Zhu'er!"
In the snow and ice, Jiang Xiancao struggled to open her eyes and looked at the men in brocade clothes and crane cloaks.
The man in the lead is the most favored prince of the current emperor, the Ninth Prince Shen Tingsi, who is famous for his extravagant and indulgent behavior in the court and the country, and is also her nominal fiancé.
Chen Tingsi had a handsome face, but his eyes were cold and ruthless when he looked at her.
Jiang Xiancao bit her lips tightly, refusing to show any weakness in front of him.
Half a year ago, she returned home due to an accidental recognition of her relatives. The empress dowager, who valued bloodline, learned that she was the real eldest daughter of the Wen Ning Marquis's mansion, and that the eldest daughter Jiang Huaizhu, who was originally going to marry into the royal family, was just an adopted daughter who was mistakenly taken away by her wet nurse. She immediately granted an imperial decree, ordering her to replace Jiang Huaizhu and get engaged to Chen Tingsi.
Chen Tingsi had said in front of everyone more than once that she had taken away the title of his sweetheart by relying on her background, and that sooner or later he would ask the Queen Mother to marry Jiang Huaizhu instead.
Jiang Huaizhu coveted the position of princess and could not tolerate her as a legitimate daughter. He framed her again and again. She tried her best to prove herself, but Shen Tingsi always believed in Jiang Huaizhu.
Three days ago, Jiang Huaizhu fell into the water. Shen Tingsi, who rushed over after hearing the news, was furious. He ordered the guards to kick her into the water without paying any attention to her explanation.
She had been living outside the Marquis' Mansion for more than ten years. She had been enslaved and abused by her adoptive parents since she was a child, which left her with a chronic illness. She was already weak and nearly drowned in the icy water that day. After she got ashore, she was so ill that she had to stay in bed to recuperate.
Now, Shen Tingsi had the servants of the Marquis Mansion drag her, who was only wearing a single layer of clothes, off the bed, forcing her to kneel in the snow, and cruelly let her bleed to Jiang Huaizhu——
She no longer had any hope for Shen Tingsi.
Jiang Xiancao turned to look at his brother:
"This is what I owe Jiang Huaizhu—do you really think so?"
The eldest brother Jiang Jinyan frowned and said:
"Your Highness is doing this to give you a chance to atone for your sins. Don't make the same mistake over and over again."
Jiang Xiancao sneered:
"Atonement? What crime have I committed?"
Jiang Xiancao's body was extremely cold and her hands and feet had lost feeling, but she held on and refused to beg for mercy from them.
She just stared at Shen Tingsi and her five brothers. Her stubborn self-affirmation was resounding, and there was no trembling in her firm voice:
"That day, Jiang Huaizhu asked me to go to the lakeside of the Orchid Garden to discuss preparing a birthday gift for her mother. The maids who followed her clearly saw it. It was Jiang Huaizhu who jumped into the lake by herself, but afterward they all said that I pushed her—"
Before she could finish her words, her second brother Jiang Jinxing couldn't help but interrupt:
"Zhu'er has a kind heart. Since you returned home, she has always given in to you. However, you relied on your status as a legitimate daughter to repeatedly humiliate her as an adopted daughter and used all kinds of despicable means to harm her.
Now you've done something so cruel as to take her life, and then you're trying to turn the tables on me, saying Zhu'er used her life as a pretext to frame you. Do you really think we'd be stupid enough to believe your lies?"
Jiang Xiancao turned his head away.
She was clearly looking up at Jiang Jinxing, but there wasn't a trace of humility or weakness on her pale little face.
"Second brother is a martial arts expert, but not so much intellect. I'm not surprised that you couldn't tell the difference between truth and falsehood and believed Jiang Huaizhu's one-sided story.
The Ninth Prince does whatever he wants. He doesn't even care about the marriage contract given by the Queen Mother, and he doesn't need any reason to help his sweetheart.
But I was surprised that the other four brothers also believed it so blindly."
Jiang Xiancao's sharp eyes swept across the faces of Jiang Jinyan and others, accusing them word by word:
"My eldest brother is the current top scholar in the imperial examination, appointed by the emperor as a tutor to the Eastern Palace. Even several cabinet ministers praise your talent and intelligence, and you understand the ways of the court very well. Why is it that when it comes to my sister, she can't even tell the simplest right from wrong?
My third brother works at the Ministry of Justice. He hates evil and is determined to redress all injustices and redress all injustices. But why is he so eager to convict me without even arresting and interrogating the maids around Jiang Huaizhu?
Fourth brother has been studying medicine since he was young and claims to be a master of medicine. Why couldn't he diagnose that Jiang Huaizhu's life was hanging by a thread after falling into the water. It was not just the result of catching a cold, but that she had intentionally taken poison to aggravate her condition?
"Fifth Brother was born with a Buddha's heart, and is universally recognized as a compassionate person. He wouldn't even kill a blood-sucking mosquito, so why would he be willing to let your own sister bleed?"
There was no grievance in her tone, only confusion and anger.
The five young masters had different expressions, and finally, Jiang Jinyan stood up.
He leaned over and extended his hand towards Jiang Xiancao.
For a moment, Jiang Xiancao thought he was going to help her up.
The next moment, a cold slap landed on her face.
Jiang Jinyan did not hold back his strength, and this palm strike made Jiang Xiancao, who was already swaying in the cold wind, collapse on the snow, with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.
She raised her eyelids and looked at Jiang Jinyan, and saw that his face was cold.
"You've only been back in the Jiang Mansion for half a year, but Zhu'er is our sister, the one we've watched grow up and been with day and night for over ten years." Jiang Jinyan said coldly, "Although she's not related to us by blood, we know her character better than anyone else."
After hearing this, Jiang Xiancao laughed softly:
"So in your eyes, I'm just an outsider."
Her dark eyes, the red and swollen slap mark on her right cheek, and the bloodstains at the corners of her mouth made Shen Tingsi, who was watching from the side, feel a slight sting.
Knowing that this woman was just lying and quibbling, Shen Tingsi felt a strange emotion in his heart.
He was inexplicably irritated and urged Jiang Jinyan in a cold voice:
"Why would you bother with her just to bleed? If you Jiang family members can't bear to do it, then let my people do it for you."
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