Xu was still in a daze even after leaving Rongxi Garden. The lanterns in the corridor reflected the sweat on her temples. "Is your grandmother possessed by an evil spirit? She was still thinking about that concubine last month."
"Mother is confused." Jiang Songyi took her arm. "Cousin, if you make such a fuss today, will our mansion be omitted from the impeachment memorial against the Hao family tomorrow? Grandmother is being ruthless."
In the distance, the sound of boxes and crates falling to the ground could be heard. The lights in the direction of Weiyang Garden were brightly lit. Jiang Songyi looked at the gilded dressing box carried out by the maids and suddenly chuckled. "My cousin should be at the Hao Mansion by now. Guess how many banknotes she has stored under her pillow?"
Xu was startled, then poked her forehead: "What a clever girl! You saw that she was going to blackmail the Hao family, didn't you?"
"My daughter didn't say anything." Jiang Songyi smiled evasively. Many people were destined to have trouble sleeping tonight, but fortunately, the roof of the Marquis' Mansion was finally clean.
…
The bronze crane incense burner in Rongxi Garden belched out wisps of green smoke. Xu's fingertips traced the intricate winding branches on the brocade quilt and hesitantly said, "Those dozen Shu brocade quilts."
"The Marquis' Mansion has done its utmost to support her for fifteen years." Jiang Shu crushed the walnuts in her hand, and the shells fell to the blue brick floor. "Her dowry has already been prepared by her biological father, Chan Sibo. Do you think they want us to pay for it?"
Old Madam Jiang held a blue-glazed teacup, ripples forming in the Biluochun teacup. She gazed out the window at the last remaining leaf on a withered branch and suddenly said, "Madam Xu, return the key to the warehouse."
Jiang Songyi was peeling a kumquat, her fingertips resting on the edge of the glass cup. Since her rebirth, this was the first time she'd seen her grandmother so resolute towards Jiang Yuyao, refusing even a dowry to furnish her with enough space for a house.
[Could it be that they discovered something about the horse farm? ]
Mrs. Xu asked on behalf of her daughter: "Mother was not like that before."
"Do you remember the day Baichuan fell off his horse?" The old lady banged her teacup against the rosewood table, startling the gilded heater and sending a few sparks flying. "The horse's fodder was laced with nightshade powder."
Xu counted on her fingers blankly, "Chuan'er has broken his leg at least seven or eight times. I really can't remember."
"It's Jiang Yuyao." The old lady's withered fingers suddenly clenched her Buddhist beads. "Madame Xu found half a packet of medicine powder in the secret compartment of her dressing table."
The kumquat in Jiang Songyi's hands tumbled to the ground. The secret she had learned only before her death in her previous life was revealed early in this life. She stole a glance, and saw a frost in the wrinkles at the corners of her grandmother's eyes, no longer the tenderness she once had for her adopted daughter.
"This vicious woman!" Xu slammed the table and stood up, the jade bracelet on her wrist jingling. "Chuan'er treats her like a sister, but she..."
"I have asked Madam Xu to take the evidence to Jingzhao Prefecture." The old lady twirled her Buddhist beads and sneered, "From now on, she will have nothing to do with the Marquis's Mansion."
Suddenly, snow fell from the corridor, hitting the bluestone slabs with a dull thud. Jiang Songyi looked at the newly white hair on her grandmother's temples and suddenly remembered that in her previous life, when Jiang Yuyao poisoned her, the old lady had held her adopted daughter's hand and called her "darling."
[She's willing to report it to the authorities? Jindu's aristocratic families are most afraid of going to court. Grandmother is trying to cut off her escape route.]
Jiang Dinglian, treading through the dusty snow, caught his daughter in these thoughts. He untied his black fox cloak and handed it to the maid. Suddenly, a spark burst from the charcoal basin, casting a dark shadow in his eyes.
"Father, are you well?" Jiang Songyi knelt in greeting, glancing at the hem of her father's official robes, stained with ambergris from the imperial study. With the Second Prince, Xin Yiwei, about to return to the throne, the Ministry of War must have been incredibly busy these past few days.
The old lady motioned her son to sit down and said, "You've come just in time. It's about Yuyao."
"Mother handled it properly." Jiang Dinglian stroked the fish talisman on his waist. "The Fourth Prince asked about the engagement yesterday, and I explained that since Yuyao is not of the Marquis's bloodline, the engagement is naturally invalid."
The tea lid in Xu's hand clanged against the edge of the cup. Although she disliked Jiang Yuyao, she knew that marrying the Fourth Prince would affect the future of the Marquisate. "But what about Yang Guifei?"
"The Second Prince will return to court soon." Jiang Dinglian suddenly interrupted his wife, "The report on the great victory in the northern border was presented to the emperor this morning."
Jiang Songyi lowered her eyes to stare at the trembling pearls on her skirt, remembering the day in her previous life when Xin Yiwei returned to the capital, and Suzaku Street was covered in gold leaf for ten miles. The prince, renowned for his military exploits, rode upon the lingering snow, his black armor still stained with the blood of the barbarians.
[Is my father planning to change his family? ]
Amid the crackling of the charcoal fire, Jiang Dinglian gazed at the oriental pearl hairpin swaying in his daughter's hair. This hairpin had been given to him by Concubine Xi on the Emperor's birthday last year. At the time, he had thought it was just a simple reward, but now he realized it must have held a deeper meaning.
"Report—" the servant rushed in, panting. "The Jingzhao Yin has led his officers and soldiers to the Chansibo residence!"
The old lady's Buddhist beads suddenly broke, sending the sandalwood beads tumbling across the floor. Jiang Songyi leaned over to pick them up and heard her father whisper to her mother, "Take inventory of everything in Yuyao Courtyard. Leave nothing behind."
Jiang Songyi was watching the maids carrying the Shu brocade quilt out of the storeroom when the wind and snow, carrying cries and screams, drifted in through the window. Suddenly, Madam Xu grabbed her daughter's hand and said, "These quilts."
"Mother, keep it for now." Jiang Songyi looked at the vivid picture of hundreds of children and grandchildren on the brocade quilt. "After the spring, it's time for my third brother to arrange a marriage."
The copper clock in Rongxi Garden ticked to 3:00 PM. Nanny Xu, her hair covered in snow, returned with a report: "Jiang Yuyao has fainted in the courtroom, hugging the Fourth Prince. The Jingzhao Yin dared not torture her, and the situation is currently at a stalemate."
The old lady fiddled with her newly replaced agarwood Buddhist beads and said, "Go and tell the Yang family that the engagement letter for the young lady from the Marquis's Mansion has been gnawed by rats."
Jiang Songyi leaned against the carved window of the warm room, watching the maids sweep the snow from the courtyard. In her previous life, it was on a snowy day like this that Jiang Yuyao had handed her almond tea laced with arsenic. And in this life, that tea had finally been poured back on the person who deserved to drink it.
Suddenly, there was a sound of porcelain breaking in the west wing. Jiang Baichuan rushed out with a cane: "Grandma! Yuyao must have been wrongly accused!"
The old lady put down the teacup heavily and said: "If you want to plead for her, then follow her to Chansibo's mansion!"
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