Jiang Yushan was filled with anger, extremely irritable, and in a trance. She felt like she was stepping on cotton as she stumbled into the inner room and looked intently:
The baby, more than five months old, was wearing a snow-blue jacket over a red bellyband. He was fair and clean, and chubby. He was lying flat on his back, playing with a rattle. His two chubby legs were bent, and he kicked them from time to time, enjoying himself.
Hearing the footsteps, the baby turned his head curiously, his big black and white eyes were bright and lively as he looked at the strange aunt and babbled.
"What are you talking about, you nasty little thing?"
Jiang Yushan approached, stopped, and looked at her nephew with disgust. She had cried so much since yesterday evening that her eyes were red, swollen, and painful. Her voice was hoarse as she asked sarcastically, "What else do you do besides playing around and drooling? You're just like your mother—utterly annoying, yet everyone loves you and your mother. Especially father, who praises my sister to the skies and demeans me. Even mother, even Mingcheng, even my younger brother... The whole family is growing increasingly dissatisfied with me."
"My mother is so stupid. She just picked a man at random and forced me to marry him. She's hoping that I'll marry a man named Xia tomorrow and get out of my family."
Jiang Yushan was extremely unwilling to accept this, her anger and jealousy burning in her as she muttered to herself, "Hmph, what qualifications does my sister have? If I hadn't given her the upper hand back then, she wouldn't have been able to marry into the Marquis of Jingyang's mansion. She'd only be fit to marry that sour scholar Pei Wenfeng."
The strange aunt was talking to herself, but the baby didn't understand and continued to play with the rattle. He held the drum handle with both hands and shook it a few times. The drum made a "dong dong dong~" sound, which successfully amused himself. He laughed in a baby voice.
"It's so noisy!"
"Little thing, what are you laughing at? Huh? Who are you laughing at?"
Jiang Yushan's face suddenly changed and she scolded loudly: "Damn it! How dare you laugh at me? You're looking for death!" She pulled the rattle away fiercely.
The baby was originally holding the drum handle with both hands, but it was suddenly snatched away. He didn't know how to let go in time, and the force caused his upper body to half sit up. His arms and palms hurt, and he fell back to his original position. Fortunately, there were cushions and mattresses on the couch, so he didn't hurt his head.
The doted-on little prince had never been treated so roughly since he was born. The baby was stunned at first, then his mouth flattened when he fell, and he cried in pain.
"Wuwuwu...wawa..." The baby spread his arms, kicked his legs, cried loudly, and his face quickly turned red.
"It's so noisy!"
"Shut up! Shut up!" Jiang Yushan was furious. She raised the rattle high and smashed it hard on the ground with a "bang".
Meanwhile, the veranda
"Ah, little girl, you're so clumsy." Nanny Pan hurried back. "Tell the housekeeper tomorrow to send her to clean the house and not to mess up the kitchen."
Nanny Qiu, holding a small food box, said helplessly, "The egg custard was placed next to it, and she was serving the dishes. I turned around to grab the food box, and in the blink of an eye, her chopsticks shook, and a sauced meatball fell into the egg custard! There was nothing we could do but steam a new bowl."
"Hurry up, the young master is hungry."
"Know."
The next moment, a baby's desperate cry suddenly came from the room in front!
Pan Mama was startled and ran away at the sound, "What, what's going on?"
The nurse ran after him, feeling anxious and wondering, "He's crying so hard, could he have rolled over and fallen to the ground?"
"Oh no, this is bad!" Nanny Pan was suddenly frightened. The two of them rushed back to the room in a hurry. As soon as they entered the room, they kept saying:
"Here it comes, don't cry, don't cry!"
"Little Master, don't cry, eat dinner right away—"
For a moment, they paused in shock, dumbfounded, and looked around helplessly:
Jiang Yushan sat upright, holding the baby with her left hand and a pair of scissors in her right. "Crack, crack, crack," she said with a strange smile, "and joyfully said, 'Oh, you came just in time. I don't know why Ye'er suddenly burst into tears and I can't stop crying no matter how hard I try to comfort him.'"
The baby lay across her legs, his arms restrained, kicking in vain and crying breathlessly.
Jiang Yushan's words and actions were full of evil, and it was obvious that something was wrong!
"This, this..." The young nanny was so scared that her face turned pale and she couldn't speak. She pushed Nanny Pan anxiously.
"Second Miss," Madam Pan, nearly fifty, her face pale ashes, stretched out her hand tremblingly, and stammered, "Please put down the scissors. Be careful not to cut your hands. Rest, rest. This old servant will take care of the young master."
"Our little master is hungry. It's time for dinner." The nanny mustered up her courage and raised the food box to signal.
"Hahaha, is that so?"
Jiang Yushan smiled and said cheerfully, "But I don't think Ye'er is hungry. Listen, he's crying so loudly and with so much energy. How does that sound like he's hungry?"
Pan Ma Ma panicked and nodded rapidly, "I'm hungry, really hungry!"
The nurse agreed, "Yes! The little boy eats dinner at this time every day. He cries when he's hungry."
"nonsense!"
"If I say I'm not hungry, then he's not hungry!"
Jiang Yushan had been depressed for many years and could no longer suppress her jealousy and resentment. She could not tolerate any rebuttal. Once she was refuted, it was as if a scale had been pulled out of her reverse scale. Her almond-shaped eyes opened wide, her eyeballs bulged out, and she shouted ferociously: "Get out, get out! I don't need you, I can take care of the child myself." As she spoke, she waved the scissors to drive away the baby, who was struggling and kicking his legs. As soon as he lifted his legs, there was a "swish" sound and the trouser leg was cut.
"Ah--" The nanny was so frightened that she dropped the food box by mistake. The egg custard spilled onto the ground and the porcelain bowl broke with a clang.
"Miss Jiang Er!"
“Don’t hurt the child!”
"Young lady," Madam Pan sank to her knees and cried, "Why are you doing this? This young master is your own nephew. Please, no matter what your unhappiness is, don't take it out on him."
"Shut up, old man!"
"Who do you think you are? Are you qualified to discipline me?" Jiang Yushan gritted her teeth.
Seeing the frantic look on her face, Mammy Pan dared not seize the scissors hastily, and kowtowed, begging desperately. Seeing this, the wet nurse turned around with her legs weak, stumbled away, and ran for help.
Fortunately, Jiang Yushan had completely lost her mind and was only concerned with scolding the baby and Nanny Pan, and did not stop the wet nurse.
A Moment Before · Courtyard
Everyone surrounded Jiang Shisen and walked towards the main room.
At nightfall, the Guo residence was lit inside and out. Jiang Shisen, dressed in dark blue casual clothes, stroked his long beard and paced around, observing his surroundings as he walked. He praised, "Well, it's clean and tidy, quiet and livable, and close to the government office. Not bad!"
Jiang Yushu smiled and said, "It's quite comfortable to live here now, but the second courtyard isn't spacious enough. We plan to buy the land to the east and expand it."
"Well, this is a good idea!" Jiang Shisen readily agreed and decided to secretly give his daughter some money.
Xu, half a step behind her husband, casually pointed to the east wing and said with a smile, "Look, my grandson lives in that room! He loves flowers and plants just like Yushu, and he loves to admire them every day."
"Oh?" Jiang Shisen looked towards the east wing as he was told, a loving expression on his face as he reminded her, "When you expand, remember to build a garden and plant some flowers, plants, and trees for the whole family to enjoy."
Jiang Yushu readily agreed, "That's exactly what I meant!"
Jiang Mingcheng was the son, and Guo Honglei was the half-son, trailing behind him, one on each side. Guo Honglei smiled, thinking to himself: "You little rascal, you don't know how to appreciate flowers, you only know how to pick them." He raised his hand and said, "Slow down, be careful with the steps."
After a while, a group of people walked into the main hall, sat down and greeted each other.
Jiang Shisen smiled and explained, "I had originally decided to come and congratulate you tomorrow morning, but after finishing my official duties in the evening, I was alone in the back hall, feeling lonely and desolate. Thinking of the hustle and bustle and joy here, I suddenly couldn't sit still. I hurriedly came to disturb you. I hope my mother-in-law will not mind."
"Oh, that's so polite! I was just about to ask Honglei to bring some cakes and fruits to keep us company."
Wang said amiably, "When I heard that my in-laws had come to Heqin, I immediately asked Honglei to invite them. But the children reminded me that it was not appropriate to attend a banquet while the imperial envoy was on tour. I thought that was right, so I didn't dare to invite them, for fear of delaying your mission."
Jiang Shisen sighed, "Alas, I have a life of hard work. I can't compare to my mother-in-law. She taught me well, and all her sons are promising. Not only have they begun to enjoy a peaceful life, they even have two grandchildren. But my son is still unmarried."
Wang was overjoyed and proud to hear this, but she humbly said, "No, I think Mingcheng is quite good. In time, I'm sure you two will enjoy a better life than me!"
Jiang Mingcheng bowed hurriedly, "You are too kind, I don't deserve it."
Xu laughed and said, "He is far less sensible than Honglei."
"Mingcheng is still a bunch of childishness." Jiang Shisen was always very strict with his son. "He's not even half as steady as Honglei."
Guo Honglei couldn't help but be modest. As the elders were in the upper position, Jiang Yushu perked up and chatted with them, occasionally interjecting a few words.
As they chatted, Wang, filled with pride and emotion, revealed, "Alas, our family has suffered a great disaster, but thanks to the blessings of our ancestors, we've barely recovered. Hardships temper a person, forcing Honglei to be steady and sensible. In fact, he was particularly stubborn when he was young and often disobeyed. It made me so angry that I scolded and punished him, and several times I almost beat him with a stick myself!"
Jiang Yushu suppressed her laughter and glanced at Guo Honglei out of the corner of her eye: he looked normal, as if he was not the one being talked about.
"Honglei is pretty good, but Mingcheng is the one that gives the elders a headache!"
As usual, Jiang Shisen immediately said that his son was more naughty, and Xu also joined in, saying one polite remark after another, both of them belittling their own children and praising the other.
The next moment, amidst the laughter and conversation, everyone suddenly heard the loud crying of a baby.
Jiang Yushu was startled and stood up without thinking. She subconsciously looked at her husband, "Yer is crying."
Because they were far away, they couldn't hear clearly. Guo Honglei frowned in surprise, "What's going on?"
"Why are you crying like that all of a sudden?" Wang looked outside worriedly. After a moment's thought, she guessed with regret, "I guess there were so many guests today, and she must have been frightened by seeing some strangers."
Xu nodded in agreement. "Most likely. Children are timid and easily frightened. They cry at night and can't sleep well."
Guo Honglei thought about it and felt that it made sense. He whispered, "I'll accompany the elders. You go and comfort them."
"Yushu, go and comfort him quickly!" Wang was very worried.
Jiang Shisen and Xu also urged, "Go, don't let the child cry until his voice is hoarse."
"Why!"
Jiang Yushu frowned and walked out quickly when her right eyelid twitched inexplicably. Before she could come to her senses, she suddenly saw the child's wet nurse, Qiu, running towards her!
"lady!"
"Madam, hurry up—" The nanny was terrified. She ran into the hall and tripped over the threshold and fell. She was extremely anxious. She rolled and crawled to grab Jiang Yushu's sleeve, trembling and shouting incoherently: "Quick! Go and save the young master!"
"Ma'am, your sister seems to be crazy. She is holding a pair of scissors and torturing the child. Hurry, hurry up and save her. It might be too late!"
Everyone couldn't believe it and stood up hurriedly, "What?"
Torturing a child with scissors? The news was like a bolt from the blue. Jiang Yushu's mind was shocked and she almost lost her soul. She rushed out without saying a word!
She was fast, but Guo Honglei was even faster. He was furious and ran away like a gust of wind to save his son.
"Oh my God, my God..." Wang was supported by a maid. She was terrified and speechless. She rushed to the east wing with everyone else.
The next moment, Xiaoxi, the maid from Jiang Mansion, ran over in tears, knelt down in front of Xu, and reported tearfully:
"Madam, Xiaoli is dead!"
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