Chapter 4 Kneeling in the Ancestral Hall
Gui'er was waiting by a small door for Jiang Lan to come back. When she heard the knock on the door, she cautiously opened the door a crack and looked out. Seeing that it was Jiang Lan, she immediately opened the door, and then closed the door again after Jiang Lan came in.
On the way, Jiang Lan explained something to Gui'er, and Gui'er left first. She went straight to the ancestral hall, knelt down properly inside, and waited for her father to come and question her.
The moment she decided to go to Pei Mansion, she had already thought of the consequences. The worst outcome would be to be kicked out by her father and left to fend for herself. Even if she stayed, her father would think of her as a selfish, ungrateful person who disregarded the family's honor and disgrace, turning the Shangshu Mansion into a laughing stock in the entire capital, leaving the Shangshu Lord with no face. She would never receive any love from her father in the future, and Zhang would find ways to retaliate against her and leave her dead without a burial place.
If she wanted to die together with the other party just to vent her anger, then she would be a fool and a foolish person.
Besides, what right did Pei Qian, that hypocritical and sanctimonious man, have to ask her to sacrifice herself to die with him? She even felt it was dirty to look at him for one more second, but she was not a soft persimmon that could be bullied. If she could only swallow her anger and endure it silently when others threw dirty water on her, not even daring to fight back, then her life would be lived in vain.
Since she had decided to take this risky move, she had naturally thought of a countermeasure long ago and was waiting for her father to come.
Jiang Cheng and Zhang were receiving guests and had no idea what a mess the Duke's Mansion was in. When the people from there rushed over and told them what had happened, Zhang was so angry that she fainted. Jiang Cheng was so shocked at first that he couldn't close his mouth. When he came to his senses, he was so angry that he was shaking all over and couldn't even stand. He asked the housekeeper to find Jiang Lan so that he could interrogate her personally.
The housekeeper immediately went to Jiang Lan's residence without delaying for a moment. On the way, he was stopped by Gui'er. The housekeeper hurriedly asked her, "Have you seen the second young lady?" Gui'er pointed in the direction of the ancestral hall and said, "The young lady is kneeling in the ancestral hall." The housekeeper immediately hurried back to reply. When Jiang Cheng learned that Jiang Lan was kneeling in the ancestral hall, he snorted coldly and went to the ancestral hall with a sullen face.
Gui'er ran over first to tell Jiang Lan that the master was coming. Jiang Lan asked Gui'er to go back first to avoid being blamed.
The ancestral hall was filled with a strong scent of sandalwood, and in the front were tablets of the Jiang family's ancestors.
When Jiang Cheng walked in with a gloomy face, Jiang Lan was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to the ancestors.
"Did you go to the Duke's Mansion?" Jiang Cheng asked, suppressing the anger in his heart, his face frighteningly gloomy.
Jiang Lan turned around and kowtowed to Jiang Cheng. "My daughter knows she's wrong. If you want a beating or punishment, I'll leave it to you, Dad."
Jiang Cheng snorted coldly, but the anger in his heart had been somewhat dissipated by Jiang Lan's positive attitude of admitting her fault. However, his face remained gloomy. "I heard that you caused a big scene at the Duke's Mansion, which was a good show for everyone. Now this wedding has become a laughing stock in the whole capital. Are you happy and satisfied?"
Jiang Lan choked with tears in her eyes and said, "I know I was wrong, but I am not an orphan without any support. I can only be looked down upon and humiliated by others. It was he who was unfaithful first and then slandered my reputation. I am an unmarried girl, but he was said to be shameless and to have an affair with someone. He was determined to force me into a dead end!" Her eyes turned red after she said that, and tears fell down like pearls with a broken string.
Even if Jiang Cheng had a heart of stone, he couldn't bear to be overly harsh when seeing this scene. His tone softened a bit, but he still advised sternly: "Even so, you shouldn't ruin your sister. She and you are blood sisters, flesh and blood relatives. If you make such a fuss now, how will outsiders view your sister in the future? How will they view our Shangshu Mansion and the Duke's Mansion? How will you let your sister gain a foothold in the mansion in the future?" At this point, his face turned cold again, "A good marriage has been ruined like this. We will be enemies with the Duke's Mansion in the future."
Whether Jiang Yao loses face or not and whether she lives well in the Duke's Mansion in the future is not her father's most concerned issue at the moment. The most important thing is how to restore the reputation of the two families?
Jiang Lan stopped crying and said with tears in her eyes, her voice still choking slightly, "Although I went to give a gift, it is not necessarily a bad thing for father, our Shangshu Mansion, and the Duke's Mansion."
Jiang Cheng was almost laughing out of anger. Isn't it a bad thing or a good thing? "Then tell me, why is it not a bad thing?"
Jiang Lan replied, "My daughter knows that daddy is devoted to the public and is highly regarded by His Majesty." Hearing this, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but feel a little proud. He had been at home in officialdom since he entered it, and had risen steadily all the way to his current position as a minister. In addition to his own talents, he also relied on the grace of His Majesty. Thinking that His Majesty appreciated and valued him so much, Jiang Cheng showed a happy smile on his face, but hearing Jiang Lan's next words was like pouring a bucket of cold water on him, and alarm bells rang in his heart.
"The emperor's great grace is naturally a good thing, but as the moon waxes and wanes, so too will the water overflow. Daddy is at the highest position in the government, and now he's married to the Duke's Mansion. If some people get jealous and spread gossip to His Majesty, even though the truth is always clear, if gossip spreads too much, and His Majesty believes a word or two, then Daddy and our Shangshu Mansion..."
She didn't continue talking, but Jiang Cheng was shocked when he heard it, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He almost forgot the simple truth that the moon will wane when it is full and the water will overflow when it is full. He had been very careful all the way to his current position without any danger. In the past two years, he had been praised and flattered so much that he couldn't help but feel proud and almost forgot his original intention.
Hearing these words now was like an epiphany, and the anger I had before disappeared.
After pondering it carefully for a while, Jiang Cheng looked at Jiang Lan again, his eyes filled with a little admiration but more of confusion. How could a young girl come up with such a theory? Was this still his frail and sickly daughter?!
Jiang Lan knew that her words would surely arouse her father's suspicion, wondering if she was really his daughter. After all, she had always looked sickly and weak before, and she would never say such a thing. She lowered her head quietly, waiting for her father to accept this fact:
His daughter was different.
After a while, Jiang Chengcai withdrew his inquiring gaze, as if accepting the above fact. He sighed with relief and said, "You have grown up, but you must not be so reckless in the future. One wrong step may lead to the annihilation of the clan."
Jiang Lan nodded and admitted her mistake again, "I dare not lie to you, Dad. I did it to vent my anger. I am wrong, and I beg you to punish me."
Jiang Cheng had calmed down by now, so naturally he wouldn't punish her severely. But he also wouldn't ignore her as if nothing had happened. After thinking about it, he punished her by making her kneel in the ancestral hall for one night, reflect on her mistakes, and then confine herself to the house for a month to reflect on her mistakes.
This punishment was lighter than Jiang Lan had originally expected. Her stepmother would probably have a big cry with her father, and she would stay in the ancestral hall to get some peace and quiet. Her stepmother would not dare to rush into the hall with a knife and kill her in front of the ancestral tablets.
Later, Guier secretly came to tell Jiang Lan what happened next.
After waking up, Zhang threatened to kill Jiang Lan to avenge Jiang Yao's life, and even went to the kitchen to get a kitchen knife to fight. After being stopped by Jiang Cheng, she cried, made a fuss, and even threatened to hang herself. After Jiang Cheng finally persuaded her, she learned that Jiang Lan's punishment was only one night of kneeling in the ancestral hall and a month of closed-door reflection, and she started making a fuss again. She refused to give in and forced Jiang Cheng to use family rules and beat her with a stick. She made a fuss for most of the night and only calmed down exhausted at dawn.
But it was impossible for her to swallow this anger. The next day, Zhang asked her maid Tan Xiang to call Qing'er over. She had originally planned to let Jiang Lan live a few more days, but now she could not get rid of the hatred in her heart unless she got rid of her!
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