When the group arrived at the Orchid Garden, Jiang Jinyan invited Shen Yubai to the pavilion for a cup of tea and a short rest. Shen Yubai coldly refused him and took two of his men for a walk around the lake.
Jiang Xiancao watched from afar with no expression on his face.
Jiang Jinyan took advantage of this opportunity to walk over to her and said in a deep voice, "Ninth Prince, the Wen Ning Marquisate has always respected and treated you with great kindness, but you are repaying kindness with hatred and forcing Zhu'er into a desperate situation. This shows that you are determined to make things difficult for our Wen Ning Marquisate."
Hearing his ridiculous words, Jiang Xiancao felt nothing in her heart.
She was too lazy to point out his absurdity and just sneered and asked him, "So, Master Jiang is planning to represent the Jiang family and become my enemy?"
Jiang Jinyan lowered his head to avoid her cold and sharp gaze.
"Your Highness knows that the Crown Prince has always wanted to win over the Jiang family, but the Jiang family, out of consideration for their friendship with Your Highness, has never responded to Your Highness. If Your Highness withdraws now and lets Zhu'er go, no matter who your future princess consort is, the Jiang family will continue to fully support you as always."
Upon hearing this, the coldness on Jiang Xiancao's lips deepened.
Jiang Jinyan really dotes on his sister Zhu'er.
For Jiang Huaizhu, he could actually represent the Wen Ning Marquis's Mansion to seek refuge with the prince when the Marquis left Beijing, and gamble the future of his entire family in exchange for the protection of one person.
And the person he wanted to protect was a liar who had no blood relationship with him and was full of lies.
The Jiang family was once a family of outstanding people, but they raised such ignorant descendants, which really brought shame to their ancestors.
She was silent for a moment, and when Jiang Jinyan thought she was about to agree, she suddenly asked:
"Is this your idea alone, or the idea of everyone in the Jiang family?"
Jiang Jinyan was stunned for a moment, then said firmly:
"How dare I, a humble minister, make such an important decision alone? This is of course the opinion of the entire Jiang family!"
In fact, the two people who can really make the decision, Marquis Wen Ning and the old lady, don't know about this matter yet. He said this just to increase his bargaining chips.
After all, the weight of one person is very different from the weight of the entire Jiang family.
I thought that after he said that, the Ninth Prince would be somewhat shaken.
But the Ninth Prince in his eyes remained expressionless. He just nodded slightly and said:
"I understand."
This tone, which was slightly contemptuous and seemed to contain infinite coldness, made Jiang Jinyan feel cold in his heart.
The Ninth Prince said he knew, what did he know?
Could it be that he really wanted to regard the entire Wen Ning Marquis Mansion as an enemy just for Jiang Xiancao, who should have been ignored by everyone?
Even though he is the emperor's most beloved youngest son, isn't he too arrogant?
Jiang Jinyan still didn't believe that Jiang Xiancao was so important to him.
At this time, Shen Yubai had already returned from a circle, but the two young ladies of the Jiang family had not arrived yet.
Seeing Shen Yubai's impatience, Jiang Jinyan immediately bowed and said, "I will personally bring them here."
Jiang Jinyan hurried out of the Orchid Garden and saw Li Ma supporting Jiang Huaizhu, walking towards them almost step by step.
"Why are you so slow? How long do you want His Royal Highness Prince Zhan to wait?"
He went to meet her, originally with a questioning tone, but after seeing Jiang Huaizhu's pale sick face, his voice softened instantly, "Zhu'er, what happened? You were fine yesterday, why are you so sick today?"
Jiang Huaizhu raised his eyes and looked at him weakly. He coughed several times and couldn't speak.
It was Li Ma who spoke for her:
"Yesterday, the Ninth Prince's men took Bi Cha away. After the other young masters left, the eldest young lady burst into tears and asked the servants why someone she loved so sincerely would treat her like this. It was like this with the Second Young Lady, Bi Cha, and the Ninth Prince!
The more the young lady thought about it, the more distressed she became. Perhaps because she was too anxious, she suddenly fell ill. She had a high fever all night long. She finally felt better in the morning, but was taken to the orchid garden to get some fresh air. She had endured so much pain the whole way there that she was late.
When Jiang Jinyan heard this, he felt extremely distressed:
"Zhu'er had a fever last night. Why didn't you send someone to tell me? She was so sick, and why was she walking outside in the cold wind?"
Jiang Huaizhu coughed violently again, stretched out his hand to grab Jiang Jinyan's sleeve, looked at him with tears in his eyes, and said with difficulty in his hoarse voice:
"Brother, don't blame Madam Li. It was Zhu'er who told her not to disturb the brothers."
"Why are you..."
"Zhu'er thought at the time that the people from the Imperial City Bureau would be arriving tomorrow, and that the brothers must be discussing countermeasures overnight. You've already worked so hard to protect Zhu'er, how could Zhu'er let you get so upset over a minor illness?"
As Jiang Huaizhu spoke, tears flowed like pearls from a broken string. "Zhu'er, I still say the same thing. If His Royal Highness Prince Zhan really wants to take Zhu'er away, then the brothers should let Zhu'er go. You all must not be implicated because of Zhu'er, otherwise Zhu'er would rather die!"
Jiang Jinyan was moved and heartbroken after hearing this. He quickly comforted her and swore to her that things would not come to this. Only then did he stop her crying.
Servants came to Lanyuan again to urge them, saying that His Royal Highness Prince Zhan had ordered them to have another cup of tea. If no one showed up, they would ask the sword-bearing guards of the Imperial City Bureau to go and fetch someone.
Jiang Jinyan looked around and said coldly:
"Where's Jiang Xiancao? Hasn't she come from the ancestral hall yet?"
Nanny Li said, "Just now on the road, I saw the Second Young Lady. She was dawdling with a maid towards her own courtyard, saying she wanted to change into clothes for meeting guests. I asked her why she didn't go to the Orchid Garden right away, and she rolled her eyes at me and told me not to meddle in other people's business."
Jiang Jinyan was furious when he heard this, and at this moment Shen Tingsi and Tang Yuan appeared together.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!
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