Chapter 97 We owe him our gratitude
Jiang Yu walked to the carriage, stepped onto the stool, and got into the carriage. After sitting down, she lifted the curtain and saw Zhang Xiangling squatting on the ground crying, completely unseemly.
In her past life, Jiang Yu had sent many people to prison. Those people, like Zhang Xiangling, had once lived a life of luxury and privilege, but once their deeds were exposed, they were brought down to earth and became worse off than ordinary people.
Back then, she always felt exhilarated, sending those who harmed the people to prison; not a single law enforcement officer was unhappy. But now, Jiang Yu's heart felt slightly heavy, for Jiang Yuan and for Zhang Xiangling.
Zhang Xiangling shouldn't have ended up like this. If she had tried her best to stop Jiangling Marquis from smuggling salt and taken remedial measures when she learned about it, perhaps the Jiangling Marquis's family wouldn't be in this situation now.
Even if she couldn't stop it, if she chose to stay in the Duke of Chu's mansion, she, as a married-out daughter, wouldn't have to be exiled, and Jiang Yuan wouldn't be without her mother by her side. For a four-year-old child, no one is more important than her mother.
But she made two mistakes.
Jiang Yu lowered the carriage curtain. "Let's go."
Hearing his voice, the coachman spurred the carriage away. Zhang Xiangling was helped up by her sister-in-law, but she was crying so hard that she was unsteady on her feet.
The sister-in-law sighed, "You're the most wronged one. Why didn't you stay in the Duke of Chu's mansion? You had to come back."
Zhang Xiangling wiped away her tears without saying a word. Her sister-in-law glanced at the bundle in her hand and asked, "What did the eldest daughter of the Duke of Chu's mansion send you?"
Zhang Xiangling's eyes darkened, but no one could see it as she lowered her head. She wiped her tears with her sleeve and said, "She was worried that I wouldn't have warm clothes on the way because it would be cold, so she brought me two."
She opened the bundle and saw that it was indeed filled with coarse cotton clothes. She took out a padded jacket and the undergarment that Jiang Yu had mentioned, and then said, "You and Mother can divide the rest, sister-in-law."
The sister-in-law quickly took it, saying as she walked, "Oh, how wonderful it would be if you could stay in the Duke of Chu's mansion forever."
Zhang Xiangling pursed her lips tightly. Her sister-in-law realized she had said the wrong thing, gave a stiff smile, and quickly left. Zhang Xiangling clutched the cotton coat in her hand, feeling the hard thing inside her undergarment, which reassured her a bit.
.........
Upon arriving in the city, Jiang Yu first visited her adoptive parents, Cheng Yunxiu and Jiang Mingchang. Their general store was about to open, and Cheng Yunxiu and Jiang Mingchang were very busy, but they were both happy, with smiles constantly on their faces.
Jiang Yu sat in the courtyard watching the two busy themselves, and couldn't help but smile. In truth, a simple and peaceful life is true happiness.
On her way back to the Duke of Chu's mansion from Cheng Yunxiu's place, Jiang Yu encountered Prince An, who was dismounting, and the Duke of Chu, who was there to greet her. Jiang Yu quickly bowed to Prince An, saying, "Greetings, Your Highness Prince An."
Prince An glanced at her for a moment and said, "No need for formalities."
Jiang Yu stood up, and the Duke of Chu, supported by Li Zhong, came over to pay his respects to Prince An, but Prince An stopped him, saying, "The Duke of Chu need not be so polite."
The Duke of Chu did not insist, gesturing for Prince An to enter the residence, then looked at Jiang Yu. Jiang Yu went over and took his arm, and the group walked together into the hall.
When Prince An saw Jiang Yu follow him into the hall, his eyes deepened, but he said nothing. However, he was quite preoccupied with his thoughts and couldn't quite guess what the Duke of Chu meant.
Jiang Yu helped the Duke of Chu walk forward, the two exchanging glances. Jiang Yu asked the Prince of An what he had come for, and the Duke of Chu replied that she didn't know.
Soon they arrived at the hall. After sitting down, Prince An inquired about the Duke of Chu's health, then looked at Jiang Yu and asked, "Miss Jiang, did you go to see your former sister-in-law off?"
Jiang Yu nodded, "Yes, after all, we've spent time together and she's given birth to children for the Duke's family, so I had some clothes made and sent them to her."
“Miss Jiang is kind-hearted.” Prince An’s tone was calm, his meaning unreadable. Jiang Yu gave him a professional smile. “It’s just a normal thing to do.”
“I am quite puzzled,” Prince An said, looking at the Duke of Chu. “How could it be such a coincidence that the daughter of the former Marquis of Jiangling returned home, and then the daughter of the Marquis of Anyuan also returned home after a falling out with her mother-in-law.”
The Duke of Chu sat there leisurely without saying a word, when Jiang Yu said, "There are many coincidences in the world. Just now, when I was returning home, I happened to run into Your Highness at the gate of the mansion."
Prince An was surprised that it was Jiang Yu, not the Duke of Chu, who answered his question. He looked at Jiang Yu with deep eyes, and Jiang Yu returned his gaze with a professional smile.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds, and then Prince An said, "Speaking of which, the incident involving Marquis Jiangling and the Xie family happened because an unknown secret guard slipped a letter to my men."
Upon hearing this, both the Duke of Chu and Jiang Yu wore expressions of surprise, but Prince An couldn't discern anything from their faces.
But Prince An paid even closer attention to Jiang Yu. The Duke of Chu, a cunning old fox in his seventies, was adept at remaining calm in the face of danger and feigning deafness and dumbness. But Jiang Yu was only eighteen or nineteen years old, and still a girl.
At this moment, the Duke of Chu sighed and said, "I heard that the former Marquis of Jiangling's mansion was short of money, but I never imagined that he would go down this path. He was truly foolish!"
“He’s not confused, he’s stupid,” Prince An said. “However, Xie Zihui, the second son of the Xie family, is also stupid…”
He recounted what Xie Yun had told the emperor about Xie Zihui being tricked into buying the boat. Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu were filled with complex emotions after hearing this.
None of them expected that Xie Yun would pin Jiang Chengye's fate on Xie Zihui. This meant that they would no longer have to worry about Jiang Chengye's affair being exposed? After all, Xie Yun himself admitted that the boat was bought by his son.
However, no matter how complicated their inner thoughts were, they both had expressions of surprise on their faces. The Duke of Chu even sighed and said, "Every family has a couple of good-for-nothings, and my family is no exception."
Everyone in the capital knew how useless Jiang Chengye and Jiang Jiarong were.
Prince An, unable to discern anything from their expressions, knew he had gained nothing that day. He exchanged a few more indifferent words with Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu before taking his leave. Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu escorted him to the gate of the mansion.
As Prince An was about to mount his horse, he looked at the Duke of Chu and Jiang Yu and said, "I have some doubts about the matter concerning the Marquis of Jiangling and the Xie family. But without evidence, it is not appropriate to report to the Emperor."
The underlying meaning of these words is that I have already suspected you, but I haven't told the Emperor.
After he finished speaking, he mounted his horse and rode away. Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu exchanged a glance and walked together towards the study. After sitting down, the Duke of Chu said, "Prince An still found out."
Jiang Yu poured him a cup of tea, "but he has no evidence."
When Jiang Yu and the Duke of Chu wanted to use Prince An as a tool, they anticipated that Prince An would one day realize it was them. After all, he wasn't a fool; on the contrary, he was quite clever. Of course, they had also made corresponding preparations.
“However, he did not tell the Emperor about his suspicions, so we are indebted to him,” said the Duke of Chu.
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