As the carriage rolled over the bluestone pavement, Jiang Shu adjusted the tassel of the jade pendant at her waist for the third time. Jiang Songyi rested her chin on her hand, gazing out over the eaves of the curtains, when she suddenly heard her aunt softly ask, "What did you say about Qing Mo's marriage?"
"Aunt, are you worried about the Qi family?" Jiang Songyi turned and saw Jiang Shu pinching the lotus flowers on her handkerchief with her fingertips. The light filtering through the carriage curtains shone on the kingfisher hairpin on her temples, casting a faint blue hue.
Jiang Shu sighed, "Although the Qi family is a royal merchant, they are still merchants after all." She suddenly grabbed her niece's wrist and said, "Back then, Hao Ren said Qi Rui's room was clean, and I actually believed it!"
Jiang Songyi's wrist was pinched so hard that it hurt, but she smiled obediently: "Doesn't Master Qi have a favored sister, the Concubine?" The wheel suddenly hit a stone, and she pulled her hand back to hold the window frame.
"Hao Ren said at that time." Jiang Shu suddenly choked up, her ears red. Hao Ren had coaxed her that Qi Rui was a rough diamond, but now it seemed that he had other thoughts in mind. A corner of the carriage curtain was blown up by the wind, revealing the gold-painted door nails of the Princess's Mansion.
Jiang Songyi suddenly leaned closer: "Aunt, have you checked the people around Master Qi?" She drew circles on her aunt's palm with her fingertips, "For example. The wet nurse?"
Jiang Shu flinched as if on fire. Nanny Jia's face suddenly flashed before her eyes—last month, when she'd gone to the Qi family for the appointment, the woman in the dark red bodice had brought Qi Rui medicine, her fingers brushing against his lips. At the time, she'd only felt a deep affection between master and servant, but now, thinking about it...
"Songyi!" Jiang Shu suddenly grabbed her shoulders, "You were talking about the wet nurse." Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by the jolt of the road. The carriage stopped in front of the gilded bronze animal-head door knocker. The driver shouted "We're here", startling the sparrows hanging on the bronze bells on the eaves.
Jiang Shu missed a step as she stepped out of the sedan chair, but Linglong caught her. The screen wall of the Princess's residence was carved with a picture of hundreds of children and grandchildren. She stared at the plump child holding a carp and suddenly remembered Nanny Jia's slightly bulging belly—last month, Madam Qi had jokingly said that Nanny had given birth to a pearl from an old clam.
"Aunt?" Jiang Songyi tugged at her sleeve. "Jade pendant."
Jiang Shu took off the jade pendant in a daze, her mind full of Hao Ren's words from the past: "The boy from the Qi family is the most filial, treating his wet nurse like his own mother." "My own mother?" She suddenly shuddered.
As they passed through the winding corridor, Jiang Songyi deliberately fell half a step behind. A maid emerged from behind the rockery, carrying a fruit tray. Lychees still stained with water. She suddenly recalled the stormy night in her past life when Madam Qi rushed into the Jiang residence, soaking wet, a lychee leaf still stuck in her hair.
"Jia is pregnant!" The scream in the memory pierced the eardrums, "That bastard is Qi Rui's!" The teacup that Jiang Shu knocked over at that time seemed to shatter in front of her eyes again.
"Song Yi!" Jiang Shu turned back to urge her, her nails digging into her palms. The sun shone on the swastika-patterned railings of the corridor, casting shadows into a dense net.
Jiang Songyi took two quick steps and pretended to be curious: "Since Master Qi doesn't have a concubine, how could this happen?" She deliberately dragged out the last word, and sure enough, she saw her aunt staggering and holding onto the corridor pillar.
"Stop talking nonsense!" Jiang Shu shouted weakly. The nanny leading the way turned back in surprise. She forced a smile and said, "The sun is too strong. I feel dizzy."
After passing through the moon-shaped gate, Jiang Songyi lowered her voice and said, "Last month, I went to Guangji Temple to burn incense and heard the novice monk say that Aunt Jia had asked for a talisman to protect her pregnancy." She paused deliberately and said, "She said she asked for it for her daughter-in-law, but she has been a widow for twenty years."
Jiang Shu suddenly grabbed her wrist, scratching the gilded armor with a red mark. Memories flooded back like a tide—last December, at the Qi residence's plum blossom viewing banquet, Nanny Jia wore a newly tailored crimson coat, and Qi Rui personally tied the cloak belt for her. At the time, they had only felt the deep affection between master and servant, but now, thinking about it, the lust in the corner of the woman's eyes was almost overflowing.
"Auntie, look!" Jiang Songyi suddenly pointed toward the lotus pond. A pair of mandarin ducks swam by the lotus flowers, the male pecking the female's feathers. Jiang Shu jerked her hand away, and the jade bracelet clattered against the railing with a clang.
The leading nanny finally couldn't help but ask, "Would Madam Jiang like to rest for a moment?" Before she finished speaking, the sound of rings and pendants jingled in the distance. The eldest princess, holding her maid's hand, turned around the flower barrier, her pomegranate skirt sweeping off a few crabapple petals.
Jiang Shu hurriedly greeted him, the tassel of her jade pendant getting tangled in her skirt. As Jiang Songyi bent down to help her untie it, she heard rapid breathing overhead—her aunt's hands were shaking, just like the day in her past life when she lifted the white cloth and saw Qing Mo's body.
"Mrs. Jiang doesn't look well." The eldest princess frowned, "Is it because the heat is too severe?" The eighteen-bead bracelet on her wrist rustled, startling the dragonflies by the lotus pond.
Jiang Songyi suddenly looked up. "Your Highness, please give me a bowl of iced sour plum soup." She smiled innocently. "My aunt stayed up until three o'clock last night embroidering a wedding dress for my cousin."
The eldest princess raised her eyebrows and said, "Miss Jiang is quite filial." As she turned around and gave instructions to the maid, the gilded armor flashed before Jiang Shu's eyes like a sharp knife.
Jiang Shu stared at her shattered reflection in the pond, and suddenly saw her own distorted face clearly. It turned out she was the clown on the stage, fooled by Hao Ren for half her life. Digging her nails deep into her palms, she heard herself say, "I have come here today to break off the engagement."
…
The flower hall was filled with the sweet aroma of milk, and wisps of green smoke rose from the incense burner. As the eldest princess, clutching a silver fork, passed the cake to Jiang Shu's lips, a pair of kingfishers flew past the window. Their chirping startled her fingertips, and the frosting on the cake fell onto the hem of her red dress.
"Have a try, Ah Shu! This molten milk is made with fresh milk." The princess's jade bracelet jingled against the edge of the agate plate. Jiang Shu mechanically bit through the icy crust, and the warm milk poured into her mouth. Suddenly, her throat felt like it was clogged with wet cotton—Grandma Jia always used milk and honey to coax her into taking the medicine.
Jiang Songyi stirred the almond tea with a silver spoon and suddenly said with a smile, "This pastry actually oozes milk. I wonder what it's called?" Her words trailed off softly, startling Jiang Shu so much that she almost choked. Looking up, she saw the woman dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, her slender fingertips stained with milk, looking like a young lady who had never experienced the world.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
