Jiang Baichuan stood stunned in the corridor, his cane thumping against the bluestone. Amidst the falling snow, he spotted his sister standing in front of the moonlit gate. Her pomegranate-red cloak made her face appear as white as jade. He suddenly realized he had never seen these two sisters clearly before.
As dusk drifted through the carved window lattices, Jiang Dinglian, sweltering with heat, entered Rongxi Garden. He wiped his face with the cold handkerchief offered by the maid, then sat down on the huanghuali wood chair beside Xu. "Mother, Yihuan has written. He will be returning to the capital with the Second Prince the day after tomorrow."
Madam Jiang paused with her Buddhist beads. "Finally, I'm coming back." Amidst the smoke rising from the gilded incense burner, a kind look shone in the old woman's eyes. "Is the ice cellar at the tiger hunting pavilion fully stocked? That child is most afraid of the heat."
"I've already had the Xiang bamboo curtains replaced, and I've also added three ice mirrors." Mrs. Xu suddenly changed the subject, "Did you mention Miss Bai in the letter?"
Jiang Dinglian tilted his head back and gulped down the entire cup of tea, his Adam's apple rolling and wetting the front of his lapel. "He said he brought back a lifesaver to stay for a while." He wiped the water stains from his beard. "She's a female doctor."
Xu pinched the handle of the round fan with her fingertips: "The martial arts champion wants the girl to save her life? Don't tell me it's the Northern Di again." She suddenly caught a glimpse of the sneer on her daughter's lips, and her heart skipped a beat.
[You dare bring a Miaojiang Gu woman home? Daddy is really getting old and confused.]
"Cough!" Jiang Dinglian choked, his face flushing red. Xu hurriedly patted his back, the corners of her lips curled up behind her handkerchief: "Weiyang Garden has just been vacated, and that female doctor has benefited greatly."
The Fourth Prince's mansion was ablaze with lights. Jiang Yuyao leaned against the vermilion lacquer pillar, watching Xiyu light up the lanterns one by one. In the twilight, the moon-shaped pendant on her earlobe shone coldly—she had found it this morning in Yu Chuwei's dressing box.
"Concubine, His Highness has returned home." Xiyu stood on tiptoe to look, "He's heading towards the main courtyard."
Jiang Yuyao loosened her collar and headed for the Nine-Curve Bridge, carrying the glass lantern. Her lilac-colored gauze skirt swept across the stone steps, and her handkerchief, specially scented with cassia incense, fluttered in the wind, landing right in front of Xinyi Zigu's boots.
"Your Highness." She rubbed her eyes and threw herself into the man's arms, the golden hairpin in her hair hooked on his jade belt. "Yuyao's feet are numb from waiting so long."
Yu Chuwei's loosened hand still hung in mid-air. She stared at the back of Jiang Yuyao's deliberately exposed white neck, and suddenly remembered the wedding wine that had been knocked over on their wedding day—this concubine's daughter used the same trick even to snatch a man away.
"Nonsense!" Xinyi Zigu scolded, but his hands held her slender waist. "Night dew is harmful to your health. Why don't you let a servant accompany you?"
Jiang Yuyao stood on tiptoe and leaned close to his ear: "Yuyao wants to be the first one." Before she finished speaking, she was interrupted by Yu Chuwei's cough.
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