In a teahouse on Zhuque Street, Jiang Qinghe twisted a rose pastry and listened to Linglong's mimicry. A little maid, dressed as Mei Weixing, hugged Liuli's waist and said, "Don't be afraid, my dear. I love your almond-shaped eyes."
"Enough, enough." Jiang Shu put down the teacup heavily. "The Mei family treats the bride like this. Do you think that the girls from our mansion are easy to bully?" After saying this, she hugged her second daughter and said, "Mother will find you someone who understands your feelings."
Jiang Songyi leaned against the window lattice, eating sunflower seeds and watching a beggar on the street corner imitating the drunken state of Prince Mei. Suddenly, Jiang Qingmo exclaimed, "Look!"
The Peng family's carriage was parked at the corner gate of Marquis Jingkang's residence. Peng Xuanyue helped Madam Peng down. Peng Yuyan's dowry from yesterday was brought out in its original form, the jade screen at the top having a crack.
"I heard that the new wife wants to divorce her husband!" "Dozens of pictures of beauties were found in Prince Mei's study." The tea drinkers' discussions reached Jiang Songyi's ears, and she suddenly used melon seed shells to form the word "窈" on the table.
That night, a torrential downpour poured down. Jiang Songyi, carrying a lantern, crept into the ancestral hall. Jiang Qinghe, kneeling on a mat copying sutras, hurriedly hid the bruise on her wrist when she saw her approach. "What's wrong, big sister?"
"I'll show you a good show." Jiang Songyi put the cloak over her head. "There's a secret compartment in Mei Weixing's study."
Peng Yuyan was searching the study, candlestick in hand, when two dark figures clambered over the high walls of the Marquis of Jingkang's mansion. The moment a secret compartment clicked open, dozens of scrolls tumbled out—one of Jiang Yuyao fanning herself, one playing the zither, even one of her falling into the pool on her coming-of-age day, each one a picture of her with a tender smile.
"Bitch!" Peng Yuyan's hands, tearing the painting, suddenly stopped. A letter fell out of the innermost scroll, sealed with the Fourth Prince's palace emblem. With trembling hands, she unfolded it. The words "Yuyao, my beloved" pierced the page, making her eyes blaze.
Jiang Yuyao was playing the qin in the Fourth Prince's villa when thunder erupted. Suddenly, the window lattice was smashed open, and Yaoyao's indenture bond, mixed with shards of a scroll, clashed onto the qin strings. She looked up to see Peng Yuyan standing in the rain, sword in hand, her phoenix hairpin only half taut.
"You already knew that!" Peng Yuyan pointed the tip of her sword at her throat. "Do you think it's satisfying to use me as a stepping stone?"
Jiang Yuyao brushed aside the sword and chuckled, "Didn't you say that you wanted me to come and go freely in the mansion?" She traced the inscribed mark of the character "yao" on the strings with her fingertips. "I'm actually helping you find your true love."
Torrential rain washed over the bluestone slabs. Jiang Songyi squatted on the beam, finishing her last melon seeds. Looking at the two people grappling with each other below, she suddenly threw the oil-paper bag into the darkness and said, "Guardian Lin, it's your turn to be a hero and save the damsel in distress."
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