"Whoa—" Xinyi Zigu suddenly reined in his horse. Jiang Yuyao fell into his arms without warning, her clothes untied, revealing the red mark on her neck. Yu Chuwei lifted the curtain at the right time and exclaimed, "How could my sister's toad blood be damaged?"
"Shut up!" Xinyi Zigu shouted, the python-patterned jade belt around his waist clanging. He recalled the cinnabar mole under Jiang Yuyao's collarbone on Chinese Valentine's Day last year, now a hideous scar. The woman in his arms suddenly sobbed, "That day, Your Highness said he would cherish Yu'er."
Yu Chuwei suddenly handed over a handkerchief: "Sister, wipe it." The white silk handkerchief was embroidered with twin lotus flowers, the same one that Xinyi Zigu had lost in his study. The Fourth Prince's pupils suddenly shrank, and he suddenly pushed Jiang Yuyao to the guards: "Send the concubine back home!"
The palace gates slammed shut in the twilight. Through the charred hole in her veil, Yu Chuwei spotted Jiang Songyi standing in the shadow of the corner tower. Her moon-white skirt fluttered in the wind, like a snowy blade suspended above the imperial city.
Three days later, the most popular storybook at the Jindu Teahouse was called "The Robbery of Two Beauties." The storyteller spitted and gestured, "I saw Concubine Jiang tear open her clothes, revealing the wound on her snowy skin from the prince's arrow! The Fourth Prince's wife fainted on the spot, and her thirty loads of dowry were smashed to pieces."
In the private room, Xu sipped her tea while listening to the maid's report: "Jiang Yuyao is threatening to hang herself in the mansion."
"Take this lady's invitation." She knocked her gilded armor against a celadon cup. "Tell the Fourth Prince's wife that the thirty loads of dowry that the Yongding Marquis's Mansion has prepared for Yuyao are just the right amount to add to the broken ornaments."
Jiang Songyi leaned against the window lattice, chuckling softly, when she suddenly saw a black iron carriage approach from the end of the long street. As Qi Rui dismounted, the jade pendant at his waist jingled. He looked up, his gaze meeting the painting of fish and lotus flowers on the round fan in her hand.
"The county lady's bait is really well cast." Xu suddenly spoke.
Jiang Songyi closed her round fan, watching the shadow of its ribs cut through the noise downstairs. "Look, mother, the fish has taken the bait."
…
As the sun set, Xu clutched Jiang Songyi's wrist and nearly ran. The vermilion gate of the Yongchang Marquis's residence slowly closed behind them, yet they could still hear the chuckles echoing from within.
"Hurry! Hurry back home!" Xu climbed onto the carriage in her blue satin embroidered shoes, her pomegranate-red horse-faced skirt sweeping across the shaft. "If you stay any longer, that little bitch will bring disgrace to the Marquisate!"
Jiang Songyi steadied her mother and couldn't help but lift the carriage curtain to look back. The bronze bells on the eaves of the Yongchang Marquis's mansion swung wildly in the wind. She seemed to see Jiang Yuyao, yanking her crimson wedding gown, as she frantically lunged at the groom. This cousin had always been known for her unconventional ways, and today, she'd even pushed Concubine Yu into the lotus pond in public, forcing the principal wife's ceremonial procession into the palace.
"My Lady, be careful not to bump into anything." The maid Chuntao handed over the iced sour plum soup. Water droplets condensed on the outside of the glass cup, reflecting Xu's ashen face.
"Mother, calm down." Jiang Songyi pushed the cup over. "Cousin, by acting this way, we don't have to bother distancing ourselves from the matter."
Xu took the cup and put it down again: "She is so straightforward! I am afraid that the imperial desk will be piled high with memorials from the Censorate tomorrow!" The gilded armor passed across the small table, "If your grandmother protects it again..."
Before she could finish her words, the carriage suddenly stopped. Aunt Liu from Rongxi Garden stopped in front of the carriage and said, "Old Madam, please ask Madam and the County Lady to come over immediately."
Xu's fingertips dug into her palm. She straightened her cloud-patterned silk shawl, turned to her daughter, and said, "Go back to Langhua Garden and rest. Mother is leaving."
"Your daughter will accompany you." Jiang Songyi had already lifted the curtain and stepped out of the car. In the twilight, her lilac skirt swept past the stone steps, and the pearl hairpin in her hair shone with tiny golden glints.
A three-legged ice jar stood in the main hall of Rongxi Garden, and a cool breeze wrapped in sandalwood incense filled the air. Old Madam Jiang sat at the head of the table, clutching her jade prayer beads, while Jiang Shu fiddled with her newly acquired mutton-fat jade bracelet.
"Greetings to mother." Just as Mrs. Xu was about to kneel down, she suddenly saw her daughter sitting directly on the armchair next to the ice mirror. She was so startled that she grabbed her sleeve.
Jiang Songyi supported her mother with her backhand and took her pulse. "Hmm, it's beating louder than a drum," she said. "She's in good health indeed—just last month she was chasing Jiang Bochuan over the wall for skipping school with a military stick."
"Let's all sit down and talk." Old Madam Jiang raised her eyelids.
Xu's knees froze mid-bend, and Jiang Songyi had already swiftly helped her to a seat. The golden python pattern on the rosewood chair made Xu uneasy. She stared at the Buddhist beads spinning in the old lady's hands and spoke first, "What happened today?"
"I know everything." Buddha beads slammed on the table. "Yuyao, that child, has inherited her biological mother's temperament after all."
Xu's prepared words got stuck in her throat. She caught a glimpse of Jiang Shu winking at her, the jade bracelet on her wrist gleaming brightly in the candlelight—it was a tribute taken from the storehouse the day before.
Jiang Songyi picked up a piece of iced grape and said, "Grandmother is wise. My cousin stole Concubine Yu's sedan chair today, and the Prince of Yongchang was so angry that he wanted to cancel the engagement on the spot." She deliberately pronounced the word "cancel the engagement" clearly.
"Well done for retreating!" Jiang Shu suddenly clapped her hands, "Such shameless behavior deserves to be taken back by the Hao family!" The jade bracelets on her wrists jingled, and it was obvious that she was very happy.
Madam Jiang glared at her, then turned to Xu and said, "Weiyang Garden is empty anyway. Tomorrow, have someone send Yuyao's box to Chansibo's residence."
Xu suddenly stood up, her gold-studded jade hairpins swaying in the wind, "I'll do it right away!" As if afraid that the old lady would change her mind, she called out to the housekeeper, "Take the servants and go to Weiyang Garden and clear them out, including the people and their belongings!"
Jiang Songyi nearly laughed out loud. Last month, when her mother had suggested returning Jiang Yuyao, the old lady had said, "A daughter must marry respectably," but now she was acting with swift resolution.
"Wait." The old lady suddenly spoke.
Xu's fingertips dug into her palm, and she heard the old man slowly say, "Now that Yuyao has married, the pair of jade screens in her courtyard were originally left by the old marquis. Let's carry them to Songyi Courtyard."
Jiang Songyi paused as she picked up the grapes. Those ancient relics from the previous dynasty were priceless. Grandmother wanted them.
"Thank you, Grandmother, for the gift." She stood up and saluted, then caught sight of Jiang Shu raising an eyebrow at her. Sure enough, the old lady continued, "Take that box of Dongzhu that Shu'er mentioned the other day and make some jewelry with it."
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