Jiang Yuyao forced a smile and said, "Third cousin, you got it wrong. I was not here at 5 pm."
"It's the afternoon of the 5th hour, and you're still feeding the koi!" Jiang Qinghe held up a gilded fish food jar. "The bottom of the jar is engraved with a sign for the third quarter of the afternoon." She turned to the housekeeper and said, "According to the rules of the Princess's Mansion, fish food is distributed every half hour, right?"
The nanny bowed and said, "The jars you received at 3:30 pm must be returned at 3:30 pm."
Jiang Yuyao's forehead was covered in cold sweat. She had just given the jar to the maid for safekeeping. How could this happen?
"Found it!" Jiang Songyi's maid ran in holding a can of fish food. "Found it in the fake cave in the southeast corner!"
Peng Yuyan suddenly screamed, "It was Jiang Yuyao who pushed me! She said she would make it impossible for Jiang Qinghe to become the Crown Prince's wife!" With trembling hands, she pulled out a pair of gold filigree earrings from her sleeves. "I pulled them off when I was struggling!"
Jiang Shu leisurely picked up the earrings and said, "Oh, isn't this the token of love given by the Fourth Prince?" She deliberately raised her voice and said, "Isn't this the pair Yuyao wore at her coming-of-age ceremony last month?"
Princess Linchuan suddenly stood up and said, "Go and invite the Fourth Prince to come to the mansion!"
"No need to ask." A cold male voice came from the corridor, and the dark python-patterned boots shattered the setting sun on the ground. The Fourth Prince tossed a purse to Jiang Yuyao and said, "You sent someone to deliver it at 2:30 PM."
The purse opened, and out rolled a fish food stick with "3:15 PM" engraved on it.
Jiang Songyi looked at the smug look in Jiang Yuyao's eyes and brows, and she knew everything in her heart. She smacked her lips and said, "Now, only Miss Peng doesn't mind your illegitimate birth. Aren't you afraid that she will hate you in the future?"
Jiang Yuyao slowly fiddled with her gilded armor, her newly dyed nail polish blazing in the sunlight. Although she was now the legitimate daughter of the Yongding Marquisate, who didn't know her mother was a second wife? Yet, Peng Yuyan, so straightforward, treated her like she was a legitimate daughter of a marquisate.
"No matter how high the threshold of a noble family is, it's still better than a poor family." She picked up a piece of lotus cake and pinched a crescent mark on the pastry with her fingernails. "Although Prince Mei is a idiot, he is at least the only child of the Iron Hat Earl's Mansion. Rather than letting Jiang Qinghe marry him and enjoy a good life, it's better to let Yuyan suffer this pain for me."
In the flower hall, a gilded copper incense burner belched out wisps of green smoke. Mrs. Peng clutched her handkerchief, wiping away tears. The golden hairpins in her hair trembled with the sound. "I was just strolling in the garden, and how did I end up in the lotus pond?"
"Auntie, have you cried enough?" Peng Yuyan tugged at her wet skirt, leaving a puddle on the bluestone floor. She hated this sobbing behavior the most, just like her mother who died young, wiping away tears and saying she couldn't bear to leave her before giving birth.
Mrs. Peng choked and hiccuped. Before her elder sister died, she had clutched her hand, begging her to look after the infant. Now, fifteen years later, the child still looked at her as if she were a stranger.
"Do you think Prince Mei is a street pancake seller?" She lowered her voice and said anxiously, "The marriage contract with the Yongding Marquisate was made in the womb. What can we use to compete with them?"
Peng Yuyan straightened her neck, and water droplets from the ends of her hair dripped onto the Persian carpet. "My father is a third-rank minister of the Ministry of Works. How can I not be worthy of the Marquis of Jingkang? Besides—" She suddenly laughed, revealing two fangs, "How can Jiang Qinghe be considered a daughter of a marquis? Her mother is a divorced woman!"
Two gray sparrows fluttered past the window lattice. Peng Xuanyue, carrying ginger soup, entered. Her hand trembled at the sound, and the celadon bowl clanged against the rosewood table. Her elder sister, who always spoke without thinking, still had a penchant for wading into the muddy waters of the Yongding Marquis's mansion.
"Yuyan!" Mrs. Peng slammed the table in frustration. "How can you say that? Even if Miss Jiang San is not good enough, she is still the Marquis's own flesh and blood!"
"Dear child?" Peng Yuyan sneered. "Her mother married into the Marquis's mansion with a tablet in her arms. How precious could her daughter be? Yuyao is the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion. Even Lady Jiaqing treats her kindly."
“Bang!”
Madam Peng slammed her palm on the table, causing the teacup to jump. "Jiang Yuyao urged you to jump into the fire pit, and you still think she is a bodhisattva! When Prince Mei rescued you, she just stood on the shore and watched?"
Peng Xuanyue quietly took a half step back. She remembered clearly that Jiang Yuyao's handkerchief had just fallen at Mei Shizi's feet. The cry of "Help!" was so crisp and clear, as if it had been timed precisely.
"Auntie just can't stand seeing me doing well!" Peng Yuyan's eyes suddenly turned red. "Before, when Xuan Yue was hanging out with Yu Chulan, you didn't say a word. When Yu Chulan eloped with the groom, you even helped Xuan Yue take money to the temple." She felt more and more aggrieved as she spoke, her nails digging deep into her palms. "Why do you have to control me even when I make friends?"
Peng Xuanyue's head shot up, her lips moving, but she remained silent. Her hand, hidden in her sleeve, was gripped tightly by Madam Peng, the calloused skin on her stepmother's palm rubbing painfully. That day, when Yu Chulan had knelt in the snow begging for her life, he'd grasped the hem of her skirt in the same way.
"Do you think Miss Yu is willing to do such a thing?" Mrs. Peng's voice trembled. "Her stepmother wants to marry her to a sixty-year-old salt merchant as a second wife. If it were you, would you run away?"
A sudden draft blew through the window, rustling the Xiangfei bamboo curtains. Peng Yuyan stared blankly at the cold ginger soup on the table, the steam already condensing into droplets hanging on the rim of the bowl. She remembered Jiang Yuyao's sneer when she'd said, "Poor candidates are the most calculating," and a sudden chill ran through her.
A wisp of green smoke rose from the beast-shaped furnace in the flower hall. Princess Linchuan sat in the main seat, fingertips fiddling with jade prayer beads. Mei Weixing's earlobes had been twisted red by his mother, and Mrs. Hu's red-painted nails almost dug into his flesh. "Who allowed you to be a hero? Does the Princess's mansion need servants who can swim?"
Mei Weixing's gaze passed over the throng of people and met Jiang Yuyao's charming eyes. The girl's lips parted slightly as if to speak, and he suddenly felt the pain in his earlobe ease a little. He vaguely remembered the way Jiang Yuyao clutched his sleeve and cried as she carried Peng Yuyan ashore.
"Aunt, calm down." Hu Zizhu came forward, holding a teacup with a lotus pattern. "Cousin is also kind-hearted..."
"You do love him!" Mrs. Hu shook off her niece's hand, her gilded armor brushing against Mei Weixing's chin. "If the Peng family forces a marriage later, just play dumb." She glanced at the women of the Yongding Marquisate who were talking to Jiang Shu in the corner. "Jiang Qinghe is the right candidate for a wife."
Mei Weixing suddenly caught sight of Jiang Yuyao supporting Peng Yuyan as they approached, their crimson skirt brushing against the cracks in the brickwork. Hastily adjusting his damp shirt, he didn't notice the sudden darkening of his mother's face.
"Prince Mei is so kind." Madam Peng wiped her tears with a silk handkerchief, "but Yuyan is now..." She deliberately pushed her daughter forward half a step. Peng Yuyan's moon-white skirt was still dripping with water, making her look even more pitiful.
Hu interrupted with a forced smile, "Miss Peng is blessed with good fortune. I'll have Wei Xing go to Baiyun Temple someday to donate three hundred taels of incense money."
Jiang Yuyao suddenly coughed lightly. "How will Sister Yuyan arrange marriage in the future?" She glanced at Mei Weixing. "Just now, the prince carried my sister ashore. At least a dozen pairs of eyes saw it."
Peng Yuyan was so shocked by this that she clutched her handkerchief tightly. She had originally not wanted to get involved in such twists and turns, but now she had no choice but to follow the conversation: "Mother, your daughter will..."
"Nonsense!" Madam Peng suddenly raised her voice. "Prince Mei saved you out of desperation. How can you blackmail him?" She turned to Princess Fuli of Linchuan and said, "I will take Yuyan to the ancestral temple for retreat."
Mei Weixing saw Jiang Yuyao frowning and blurted out, "No!"
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