Chapter 26 - The same old formula.
I still remember the first time I met Princess Rongyang at the Princess's residence. From the original owner's memories, I knew that she didn't play by the rules and liked to use her status as a royal princess to intimidate people.
Because of Jiang Liangxu in between, the original owner of this body repeatedly avoided Princess Rongyang, not wanting to clash with her and become a laughing stock.
Now it seems the truth is far more complex than this.
Princess Rongyang has absolutely no shame, naming her daughter so unabashedly.
Or did she misunderstand? Or was it just a coincidence?
Thinking back to when she saw Lin Nianzang at the Princess's residence, the original owner felt a mixture of pity and disgust.
Perhaps she didn't misunderstand.
He closed the letter and glanced at the returned box.
Of the items Jiang Liangxu sent back, those that were usable, such as the mother-of-pearl inlaid box (which could be used as a dressing case) and hairpins (which could be worn on a daily basis), were all selected.
The rest were placed in the original owner's private warehouse.
Zhao Xian suddenly had a whim and went to take a look at the private storeroom. She found that there were quite a few things like this, all neatly stored in boxes.
Granny He dug out some old family letters, which Zhao Xian read as travelogues.
I must say, as expected of someone who came from the second-highest rank in the imperial examinations, his writing is impeccable. Moreover, Jiang Liangxu is not the type to use flowery language, so Zhao Xian doesn't find it tiring to read.
The Jiang family has been quite peaceful lately, with no need to deal with household affairs, giving Zhao Xian plenty of time to prepare items for her marriage proposal to the Lu family.
Besides the engagement letter, you need to prepare betrothal gifts, betrothal cakes, sacrificial animals, wine, fruit, tea, sugar, etc.
None of them can be missing.
Five days passed in the blink of an eye. Zhao Xian, carrying the betrothal letter and with servants carrying or lifting the prepared engagement items, headed to the Lu family.
Because both parties had made prior arrangements, the engagement was discussed very smoothly.
The next step is to give a gift certificate, and before the wedding, there is also a welcoming and sending-off certificate.
--
In the Lu family garden, maids brought out fruit, tea, and snacks.
Three unmarried girls were playing a game of grass fighting, their laughter as clear, crisp, and cheerful as the wind chimes hanging under the eaves.
Lin Nianzang, the sixth daughter of the Lin family, fiddled with the flowers and plants in her hands and said seemingly casually, "When I was picking flowers just now, I heard a servant say that there are distinguished guests at the Lu residence today. Are we disturbing them?"
Another woman dressed in warm yellow looked up: "Distinguished guests? Besides us, who else is coming?"
Lu Zhaoying was already somewhat absent-minded, because today was the day Madam Jiang was coming to deliver the betrothal letter. Hearing this, she became a little nervous and shook her head, saying, "They are guests from my mother's side. It has nothing to do with us. Next, shouldn't it be my cousin's turn?"
"Yes, yes, it's my turn." The girl in the warm yellow dress was instantly drawn to the flowers and plants in her hands and became serious.
In the afternoon, after seeing off her cousin and Lin's sixth wife, Lu Zhaoying hurriedly went to her mother's courtyard to inquire about the matter with the Jiang family.
Lu Zhaoying entered the room and curtsied, saying, "Mother."
"Have you seen your cousin and Miss Lin off?"
Lu Zhaoying nodded.
She lifted her skirt and sat down beside her mother. "Mother, what did Madam Jiang say?"
"The marriage is settled, here is the betrothal letter." Madam Lu didn't try to tease her daughter, but smiled and took out the betrothal letter. Suddenly, she changed the subject: "Yingying, you should have less contact with the sixth daughter of the Lin family in the future."
Lu Zhaoying paused, her hand about to flip through the employment contract. "Why?"
After struggling for a moment, Madam Lu lowered her eyes and finally spoke: "Princess Rongyang has quite a grudge against the Jiang family. It goes back to before you were born. Even now, they still dislike each other. The reason why the Eldest Princess dragged Madam Jiang to compensate for the peony flowers last time was because Princess Rongyang was there. They don't get along."
As she spoke, Madam Lu sighed and said, "Your father and Lord Lin are colleagues, and they see each other all the time. Although it is unavoidable, you younger generation should try to avoid contact with each other as much as possible in the future."
Madam Lu had never given her daughter such instructions before, mainly because Princess Rongyang, being of high status, looked down on the families of fifth-rank officials like them.
Madam Lu was rather clumsy with words. She had tried to flatter the princess before, but she couldn't get close enough or outdo others, so she gave up on the idea.
It wasn't until the invitation to the flower-viewing banquet from the Princess's residence was delivered to the Lu family that she learned her daughter had become acquainted with the daughter of Princess Rongyang.
“We used to barely exchange a few words with Princess Rongyang. I didn’t even know you had become so familiar with the sixth daughter of the Lin family. Now that you’re engaged to Jiang Erlang, you should be more careful in the future.”
After listening, Lu Zhaoying said, "My daughter and Sixth Sister are not very close. It is my cousin who knows Sixth Sister."
Speaking of which, today was also when her cousin brought Lin Liuniang to visit her. Lu Zhaoying didn't know why they chose today of all days, but luckily she managed to brush it off.
Hearing her mother say this, Lu Zhaoying felt that Lin Liuniang's arrival today was somewhat coincidental. Lu Zhaoying was wary and asked, "Mother, can you tell me about the Princess and Madam Jiang?"
After thinking for a moment, Madam Lu began to recount what happened seventeen years ago.
After listening, the mother and daughter looked at each other and remained silent for a long time.
Madam Lu glanced around and whispered, "It couldn't have been her at the Princess's residence that day... and there's also the matter of changing the birth chart..."
Madam Lu now suspects everyone.
Lu Zhaoying was also unclear: "But she left in the pavilion by the water that day. As for the imperial edict, if they were to change it, they should have sent it to our house instead."
She really didn't find anything strange about the sunset that day.
As for the commentary, could it have been mistakenly changed?
Madam Lu has been suspicious of many people these days, but she still has no clue.
But then she thought that what her daughter said made sense. If it was Princess Rongyang who did it, she should have sent the Lu family's birth chart instead.
The smear campaign is against the Jiang family.
"That was probably an accident. After all, Princess Rongyang dislikes Madam Jiang, what does it have to do with us? We didn't spread the news of your engagement with Jiang Erlang at first. Apart from those close to us, they probably didn't know."
-Jiang Family-
Having sent out the betrothal letter and arranged a marriage between the two families' children, Zhao Xian felt as if she had accomplished a major task.
The next time I'll deliver the gift to the Lu family, I'll wait until Jiang Heng returns in April, and I'll also schedule it for his days off.
But Zhao Xian couldn't rest yet; she still had to prepare betrothal gifts for Jiang Heng to send to the Lu family.
After seeing that there were many things to choose from, Zhao Xian set her sights on Li Lianniang and said to Granny He, "Go and get the list of betrothal gifts that the eldest brother gave to the Li family. The two brothers don't need to be biased towards one another. Prepare according to that list."
In this way, she wouldn't need to handle anything herself; she could just leave it to Li Lianniang. As the eldest sister-in-law, she was like a mother to her, and she also managed the household, which was perfect for her.
Just as Granny He was about to go and do it, Zhao Xian said again, "By the way, if the second son wants to give the third daughter of the Lu family a separate betrothal gift, write it down and remind the eldest son to prepare a supplement for Lian Niang afterward."
Jiang Wei wasn't good at pleasing his wife, but he could at least copy her homework, and she even handed him the answers.
If he can't even do this, then he's truly hopeless.
--
Time flies, and in mid-April, it was time for Jiang Heng to take a break again.
Since Li Lianniang and Cui Tingyue took over the household affairs, Zhao Xian has been extremely idle.
Aside from some unavoidable social interactions that require going out, life is pretty good, since there's no one above to supervise us and the kids below are all obedient.
In her spare time, she would tease Xiu-jie and read Jiang Liangxu's travelogues (letters home), and she found that she was living a rather pleasant life.
Early in the morning, while Zhao Xian was still having breakfast, Jiang Hengren had already returned. "Mother, your son is back."
Zhao Xian was eating when she frowned slightly. "What's that smell? It's stinky."
Jiang Heng grinned, showing his big teeth, and said proudly, "I caught a pair of geese."
Seeing his silly grin, Zhao Xian swallowed the words of disgust that were about to come out. "Have you had breakfast?"
"I've eaten, Mother. What are the betrothal gifts you prepared for Yingying?"
Zhao Xian glanced at Granny He and said, "Bring the betrothal letter for the second young master to review."
Granny He hurriedly went into the inner room to fetch it.
"This was prepared according to the dowry list when your brother married your sister-in-law. If you think it's not enough, you can pay for it yourself."
Jiang Heng took the betrothal gift list and went to add more items.
He increased the originally planned 66-bearer betrothal gift to 80.
With everything prepared, the mother and son went to the Lu family the next day.
Similar to sending a betrothal letter, but the gifts sent to the bride's family were much more numerous. The items listed in the gift book alone amounted to eighty loads, enough to fill an entire long street, and one couldn't see them all at a glance.
The servants carried the lacquered red boxes, forming a long procession that attracted the attention of passersby.
Because it was a joyous occasion, maids along the way distributed coins, candy, pastries, and other items.
This attracted adults and children alike, who chased after the Lu family in a lively and bustling manner.
Before they even reached the Lu family's gate, they saw that the gate was also crowded with people, even more lively than their own.
Noticing the carriage had stopped, Zhao Xian asked in confusion, "Why did it stop?"
Jiang Heng rode his horse beside the carriage and glanced at his attendant: "Liu Feng, go ahead and see what's going on."
Liu Feng quickly squeezed into the crowd and soon returned, reporting, "Madam, young master, a man and a woman are kneeling in front of the Lu family's gate, claiming that the woman is pregnant with our second young master's child."
“Then they should kneel at the Jiang family’s door, what are they doing here?” Zhao Xian blurted out.
She'd seen similar tactics in novels before, but this was clearly a case of trying to scam someone in the wrong place.
Peony blinked; her mistress was truly composed.
"Nonsense, how could she possibly be pregnant with my child? Isn't this just smearing my reputation in front of Yingying?" Jiang Heng jumped off his horse and led Liu Feng into the crowd.
The road ahead was blocked by people, and the carriage couldn't get through. Zhao Xian said, "Let's go down and take a look."
Peony hurriedly took the veil and put it on Zhao Xian.
Because the road was completely blocked by the people, the carriage could not pass. Shaoyao reached out to help Zhao Xian down from the carriage: "Madam, please slow down."
Guards and maids stood guard around to prevent the people from rushing over.
"Please, Miss Lu, give me a way to live. I beg you, Miss Lu."
With the guards clearing the way, they arrived at the front of the crowd and just in time to hear the woman's aggrieved and tearful voice.
Only Madam Lu and her daughter-in-law were at the entrance of the Lu family residence.
Madam Lu's face turned pale, and she looked quite angry.
Jiang Heng stepped forward and pointed at the two men: "Who are you? What are you trying to do kneeling in front of the Lu family's gate?"
Upon seeing Jiang Heng, the woman flinched in fear and hid behind her brother.
Jiang Heng still held the riding whip in his hand. He had come to the Lu family happily to propose marriage, but this was the last thing he had encountered. Someone was deliberately trying to make things difficult for him. "A way out? What did the Lu family girl do to you that you're asking her to give you a way out?"
The woman lowered her brows, but the burly man kneeling beside her looked up at Jiang Heng and asked, "Are you the second son of the Jiang family?"
"I am."
The man jumped up and made a move to grab Jiang Heng's collar, but was kicked away by the servant Liu Feng.
The man was kicked to the ground, but he didn't get up. He immediately started howling on the ground, "Look everyone, the Jiang family is bullying us! This Jiang Erlang forcibly took my sister and won't take responsibility. Now that my sister is pregnant, he actually hit me! How are we supposed to live?"
The people whispered and pointed at each other.
Jiang Heng cracked the whip in his hand. "Stop talking nonsense. I don't even know your sister. How can you say I forcibly took her?"
"Yangma Road, Qianji Tea Stall, you've already forgotten that's where you saved my sister?"
After the man explained, Jiang Heng had some recollection of what had happened; it had been more than a month ago.
The woman happened to look up at that moment, their eyes met, and she pursed her lips: "My benefactor."
Before Jiang Heng could speak, the man got up from the ground and pointed at Jiang Heng: "I thought you were here to save someone, but who knew you would take advantage of my sister because she is pretty and actually forced yourself on her."
Jiang Heng was so angry that his face turned green. He didn't remember ever bullying women and children.
The man kept talking, leaving Jiang Heng no chance to get a word in edgewise. He said again, "We are just ordinary folks. You are the son of a high-ranking official. How dare we ordinary folks go against you? We can only silently swallow this insult."
"But who knew that things would turn out so unexpectedly? My sister got pregnant. An unmarried girl getting pregnant, how is my sister supposed to live?"
The man broke down in tears as he spoke.
Some people were even moved to tears.
Zhao Xian said with some regret, "It's a waste of his talent not to perform crosstalk."
Peony noticed the teasing in her tone and couldn't help but remind her, "Madam, it looks like this is aimed at our Second Young Master."
"No need to look like them, they're coming for us."
They didn't come earlier or later, but they just happened to arrive at the exact time when the Jiang family came to the Lu family to deliver the gift letter. What perfect timing!
And that man, though he kept saying "commoner," spoke with clear logic and organization, unlike an ordinary commoner.
Furthermore, how could ordinary people dare to act so wildly in front of the government offices?
Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted, "This is outrageous! How can they bully people like this?"
"Exactly, do ordinary people with no power or influence deserve to be bullied?"
"Be responsible for that girl."
"Responsible."
Voices rose and fell from the crowd, and unsuspecting people joined in the shouting, which looked quite frightening.
Zhao Xian whispered to Shaoyao, "...Tell the guards to be quick."
Peony nodded and turned to give instructions.
Liu Feng kept an eye on his surroundings to prevent anyone from rioting and rushing forward.
Jiang Heng angrily pointed at the man with the whip in his hand: "Don't make false accusations. I have never touched her."
"Don't hit me, don't hit me! Yes, yes, whatever you say, young master."
The man shrank his neck, looking as if he was being oppressed by power and dared not speak out.
"Pah! Does being the son of a high-ranking official give you the right to do whatever you want?"
"That's right, they're bullying us ordinary people."
"He forcibly took someone else's sister and then refused to admit it; what a coward."
Those voices rang out again, and public anger surged.
The Lu family members at the door were helpless. These two people came and demanded to see their daughter, begging for a way out and forcing Lu Zhaoying to agree to let this woman become her concubine.
It makes no sense. Their family and the Jiang family had just gotten engaged, and the matter was barely settled when a woman appeared who was pregnant with Jiang Erlang's child.
Madam Lu was furious, clutching her chest, unsure how to end this farce.
They thought Jiang Heng's appearance would bring a turning point, but the situation only got worse.
"What do you mean? I said no, and that's it. I, Jiang Heng, mean what I say."
Faced with Jiang Heng's anger.
The man looked terrified, which made Jiang Heng's face turn pale and then red with anger.
The man's show of weakness only made the people pity him more and hate the well-dressed young man.
"Heng'er." Zhao Xian stepped forward and placed her hand on Jiang Heng's wrist, stopping him from raising his hand to take the riding whip.
"We are here today to propose marriage to the Lu family. Don't let these things hold us back."
Zhao Xian did not lower her voice intentionally; anyone nearby could hear what she was saying, including the man who kept claiming to be an ordinary citizen.
The man looked up at Zhao Xian, but because she was wearing a veil, he couldn't see her face clearly. He tentatively asked, "Are you Jiang Erlang's mother?"
Zhao Xian looked at the man kneeling on the ground and nodded: "I am."
The man got up again to come forward, but was stopped by the guards. He shouted, "Madam Jiang, your son forced himself on my sister, causing her to become pregnant and be scorned by others. As his mother, are you just going to condone this?"
Zhao Xian glanced at the crowd, where the voices were fading away: "Tolerance? My son didn't do this, so how can you talk about tolerance?"
Zhao Xian spoke at a moderate pace, saying, "Your sister has been humiliated. Go to the yamen and beat the drum to appeal for justice. What are you doing at the Lu family? Lord Lu doesn't handle cases of women being humiliated."
The man retorted, "Who doesn't know that officials protect each other?"
"Then go and beat the drum of petition. If you really want to get justice for your sister, then roll on the iron plate and go to the emperor to complain. As the old saying goes, 'Even a prince is subject to the law.' If my son has really humiliated your sister, then let the emperor cut off his head."
A gasp escaped from the crowd; Zhao Xian's words were so harsh that it was almost unthinkable.
The man paused, speechless for a long time, as if he had lost his voice.
Seeing that he remained silent, Zhao Xian grabbed Jiang Heng's wrist and walked towards the Lu family's gate.
They had only taken two steps when the man suddenly realized what was happening and ran in front of them, blocking their way: "You can't leave! My sister is pregnant with your son's child. Your Jiang family must give us an explanation."
Zhao Xian looked the man up and down: "If you want our Jiang family to give an explanation, you'd better answer me first. How can you prove that the child in your sister's belly is my son's?"
The man was speechless for a moment. "Yes, he's the one who humiliated my sister. Of course it's his."
"You've been talking to yourself about how my son bullied your sister. Show me the evidence, such as the date, time, place, and who witnessed him bullying your sister."
"Can't you produce any evidence? Then what makes you say that my son abused her? I'll also say that you disregarded morality and incest, got pregnant, and are now blackmailing my son."
The man got angry: "You filthy old hag, stop talking nonsense!"
Jiang Heng raised his hand and lashed the man with a whip: "Shut up, you dare to curse my mother."
Zhao Xian raised her hand to stop Jiang Heng and looked at the man: "Why are you in such a hurry? Did I hit the nail on the head?"
The man retorted, "It was your son who forcibly took my sister."
Zhao Xian shrugged: "If you insist on saying it this way, fine. Here's what we'll do: I'll give you a thousand taels of silver. You can feed and care for your sister well during her pregnancy. After the child is born, bring him to the Jiang family for a blood test to see if he's really from our family. If you're worried about the blood test harming the child, you can wait until he's grown up and let everyone judge whether he looks like my son. If he does, our Jiang family will accept him. If not, then you'll return ten times the amount of the thousand taels of silver, and then we can go see the officials and talk things over."
Man: "Are you trying to scare me?"
Zhao Xian chuckled lightly: "Is this a bluff? Aren't we asking for evidence? If you can't produce it yourself, then you can only wait for the child to grow up and prove it himself."
"Is it that you dare not, brave warrior? Or do you know that the child is not my son, yet you insist on forcing him to acknowledge him? Why is that?"
"Are you setting a trap to harm my son? But I don't understand, since this young lady is pregnant, why didn't you go to my Jiang family to interrogate her? Why did you come to the Lu family's doorstep instead?"
At this point, Zhao Xian looked at the onlookers and asked, "Gentlemen, please help me think, is this reasonable?"
The man, who had been so eloquent just moments before, was now finding himself struggling to answer Zhao Xian's questions one after another.
Zhao Xian didn't give him a chance to react and continued, "I overheard a few words when I came. You want the Lu family's daughter to allow your sister to enter the family as a concubine, right? But that's against the rules. The Lu family's daughter is only engaged to my son and hasn't married into the family yet. You come here to interrogate an unmarried girl? Do you want to ruin her reputation? Or do you want to ruin the marriage between the Jiang and Lu families? It's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage. How vicious you are."
The onlookers looked at each other in bewilderment and began to discuss among themselves.
"Madam Jiang is right."
"Well said, they are indeed vicious."
"I think it's a honey trap."
The people who had just sympathized with the brother and sister were now accusing them of setting a trap.
Suddenly, a gong and drum sounded.
"Make way, make way, everyone make way, the Prefect of Jin'an is here."
The official's voice rang out.
The common people automatically made way for them, and numerous officials filed in, surrounding all the people in front of the Lu family's gate and separating them from the common people.
Zhao Xian glanced at the brother and sister. When they saw the officials arrive, the woman's eyes were filled with fear, and she remained kneeling on the ground without getting up. The man seemed not to have expected the government officials to come, but there was not much fear of the officials in his eyes.
The Prefect of Jin'an was helped out of the sedan chair and quickly stepped forward, "Madam Jiang, Second Young Master Jiang."
Zhao Xian nodded and said to the Prefect of Jin'an, "Your Excellency, I want to sue these brother and sister for defrauding my son. They came prepared. There were troublemakers in the crowd that they arranged, and they have all been arrested. Such an organized and purposeful operation must be orchestrated by someone behind the scenes. I beg Your Excellency to investigate the truth and give my son justice."
As they spoke, the guards brought out the few people who had been hiding in the crowd and causing a disturbance.
The man suddenly turned around and glanced at Zhao Xian, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.
"Madam Jiang, rest assured, I will definitely find out the truth." The Prefect of Jin'an did not expect that this woman would be so thoughtful, having arrested everyone. He waved his hand and said, "Take them all away."
Zhao Xian patted Shaoyao, who understood and told the servants to quickly come up and distribute copper coins, sugar, and pastries.
Having received the benefits, the people offered their congratulations.
With proper guidance, the crowd dispersed in no time.
"Madam Jiang, please come to our residence." As the crowd dispersed, Madam Lu and her daughter-in-law descended the steps to greet Zhao Xian.
His gaze was as if he were looking at a savior.
When the brother and sister knelt in front of the Lu family's gate, they had already considered inviting them into the mansion to discuss the matter.
The two men refused to comply and even incited the people.
In particular, the other party kept insisting on seeing her daughter and begging her daughter to give her a way out.
Madam Lu was so angry that her heart ached. Her daughter was an innocent and virtuous girl who hadn't even married into the family yet, but she was being forced to take a concubine for Jiang Heng.
This also caused resentment towards Jiang Heng. Wasn't the Jiang family supposed to have a clean family tradition? How could they have done something like this?
However, when Madam Jiang arrived and saw her quick wit, Madam Lu immediately became envious, realizing that Madam Lu was simply too clumsy with words.
The group entered the Lu family's house.
Lu Zhaoying broke free from the maid's hand and walked out from behind the door.
Jiang Heng quickly approached the girl and said, "Yingying, I never touched that girl. I just helped her chase away a few troublesome tea drinkers. Believe me, they are framing me."
Lu Zhaoying had many questions to ask, but before she could speak, he had already explained everything. She winked at Jiang Heng and whispered, "I believe you, stop talking, everyone's watching."
Jiang Heng turned his head and found that the Lu family and his mother were all looking in their direction. He moved slightly to block Lu Zhaoying, whose face was flushed red, and said, "Mother, let's get down to business."
The young mistress of the Lu family quickly nodded: "Yes, yes, let's get down to business. Madam Jiang, this way please. Let's go to the flower hall and talk slowly."
The group went to the flower hall and sat down, where servants brought tea and snacks.
Zhao Xian spoke first: "Madam Lu, my guess about what happened at Guluo Temple last time may be wrong. The person behind it may be targeting the marriage between our two families."
They ruined Lu Zhaoying first, then Jiang Heng later; they didn't spare a single one.
After this incident, Madam Lu nodded, "I think so too."
The Lu family's daughter-in-law asked in confusion, "But our two families' marriage hasn't bothered anyone, has it?"
Zhao Xian did think of someone, but she couldn't understand why that person would do this; it made no sense at all.
Knowing the contents of the book, Zhao Xian knew that the male and female protagonists of the sweet romance novel were an officially recognized couple, and no one could separate them.
Unfortunately, the book made no mention of whether these things had actually happened, so she could only take it one step at a time. "Madam Lu, this is the betrothal gift book I prepared for my second son to marry the third daughter of your household. All the items are in the marked boxes. Please have someone check them."
Madam Lu reached out and took it, opening it and becoming more and more satisfied. The Jiang family had really given the Lu family face, with a full eighty loads of betrothal gifts, each load completely full, without any patchwork.
The pair of live geese further demonstrated to Madam Lu the Jiang family's thoughtfulness.
The betrothal gifts brought by the Jiang family were placed in the next hall. Madam Lu handed the gift list to her maid and asked her to take people to check them one by one.
When we delivered the engagement letter last time, the matter was almost settled.
Originally, the purpose of delivering the gift was just to go through the motions and announce the engagement between the two families. Who knew that the brother and sister would resort to such a despicable trick as kneeling down and begging for their lives?
Fortunately, neither party wanted to cancel the engagement, so the marriage was officially settled.
To the outside world, Jiang Heng and Lu Zhaoying were engaged.
After having a meal and chatting for a while at the Lu family's house, Zhao Xian got up to say goodbye and go home.
After leaving the Lu family, Zhao Xian stopped Jiang Heng: "Send someone to Jin'an Prefecture to inquire about the brother and sister, and see if they can find out who is behind it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Heng said, "I will personally lead a group there."
He always remembered this, and even if his mother hadn't told him, he would have gone anyway.
After saying this, he spurred his horse and rode away with several guards.
Zhao Xian returned to the Jiang family home and was playing with Jiang Shuxiu, a baby who was almost three months old. His expressions were much richer than before, and he was very endearing.
"Madam, the second young master has returned."
After the maid finished reporting, Jiang Heng entered the room shortly afterward, his face terribly sour. He called out "Mother" and plopped down on a stool.
"Hasn't the investigation results been released yet?"
Jiang Heng's face was full of anger, and he slammed his hand on the table: "Then the Prefect should release the person."
This surprised Zhao Xian. "Who got them out?"
Without protection, it's impossible to get out so quickly.
Jiang Heng shook his head: "The Prefect of Jin'an is avoiding me and sent a messenger to tell me that it was the order from above."
Zhao Xian gently touched the embroidery on Jiang Shuxiu's clothes, thought for a moment and said, "Send a few people to guard outside the Lu family's gate and see if they will cause trouble again."
To Zhao Xian's surprise, the two men knelt down at the Jiang family's door the next day at dawn.
This time, he neither spoke, nor appealed, nor asked for anything; he simply knelt.
This attracted a large crowd to stand in front of the Jiang family's house.
"Madam, there are rumors circulating outside that our second young master bullies men and women and doesn't take responsibility."
"Madam, someone is throwing rotten vegetable leaves at our door."
"Madam, the rumors circulating outside are getting increasingly nasty."
The servants relayed the message one by one.
Jiang Wei also learned of this matter and specially rushed back from the Dali Temple, saying, "I will take the person to the Dali Temple for interrogation."
Zhao Xian pursed her lips, even a little excited. She knew how to play the public opinion game.
"No need. Since they have connections, we probably won't get anything out of them even if we take them to the Dali Temple. Eldest brother, second brother, come closer."
...
"Go and do it. Remember to find as many people as possible and spread the news throughout the streets and alleys of Jin'an. Make a big fuss, the bigger the better, until the other party can't cover it up and the person behind it is scared."
Jiang Heng's eyes lit up, and he was so engrossed in the stool that he could no longer stay still. He gritted his teeth and said, "I promise I'll make this a big deal."
They schemed against him again and again, treating him like he was made of clay.
"Mother, if this matter gets out of hand, it might alarm the Emperor." Jiang Wei looked at his mother with mixed feelings. This move of using someone else's strength against them was a bit too audacious.
Zhao Xian smiled gently: "If I don't alert them, how will I know who is behind the harm to our Jiang family?"
-----------------------
Author's note: If nothing unexpected happens, the male lead should return in the next chapter. If something unexpected happens, then disregard what I said.
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