Chapter 65. Call the police! There's a madman here. ...
"It seems she has suffered a great injustice. Who bullied our Lianniang? They deserve to be punished."
As Zhao Xian spoke, she reached out to wipe away the tears on Li Lianniang's face.
They led the person onto a sedan chair.
It's best for Jiang Liangxu, who is recuperating in his study, to stay out of the public eye if possible, since the fewer people who know some secrets, the better.
Once inside the sedan chair, perhaps with some shelter, Li Lianniang threw herself into Zhao Xian's arms and began to sob loudly.
Zhao Xian raised her hand and patted her back skillfully. After the woman had stopped crying, the sedan chair was carried to Haitang Residence.
Li Lianniang wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and followed Zhao Xian out of the sedan chair.
After entering the room, Zhao Xian dismissed the servants before asking, "Are you feeling calmer now? Tell me what happened that made you so sad?"
Zhao Xian's first suspect was Jiang Wei. In tragic novels, the male lead is always the one who causes the most harm to the female lead.
That's what word-of-mouth is.
Li Lianniang shook her head, looking like she didn't want to say anything more.
Seeing this, Zhao Xian didn't press her. She thought that it was called sharing, and that forcing her to ask would only make people feel disgusted and resistant.
"Have some dried fruit to sweeten your mouth."
Looking at the dried fruit being pushed towards her, Li Lianniang felt as if her mother-in-law was coaxing her like a child.
In truth, she was only thinking about her mother-in-law. Her husband was never home during the day, and even if he were, she wouldn't throw herself into his arms and cry, for fear of being lectured and told she was unreliable.
Almost instinctively, I went to find my mother-in-law.
Li Lianniang took a piece of candied fruit and took a small bite. After crying, the tightness and discomfort in her chest that she had just felt were no longer there.
But when I think about it, some traces of it inevitably remain in my heart.
"I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Mother."
Zhao Xian ate a small piece of candied fruit. It was so sweet that she quickly drank some tea to suppress the cloying sweetness. "I've told you before that if you're unhappy, you should express it. Don't keep it inside. You did a good job. Why should I laugh at you? We're family, so we don't need to be so formal."
When reading, the most unpleasant parts are the angst-inducing ones, especially when reading from the perspective of the female protagonist. It's so frustrating that it drives you crazy.
Unfortunately, the female lead in this angst-filled novel is like a ninja turtle; she endures everything. But I wonder what Jiang Wei did this time to offend her and make her cry. This is probably no small matter.
"Sometimes, don't be too weak. The more you give in without any limits, the less grateful the other party will be. Instead, they will take advantage of you. Let the other party know your strength appropriately, and they will respect you and think more highly of you."
Since Jiang Wei learned to respect people later in the book when he was pursuing his wife, why can't he learn it now? It's only a matter of time, so it's better to do it sooner rather than later.
Li Lianniang listened attentively to Zhao Xian's words, nodding as she listened. "Mother is right. Now that I think about it, all my hopes used to be placed on my brother, but he wasn't. He had too many things on his mind: his studies, his mentors, his classmates, his wife... and I was just one of his sisters."
Although they were born of the same mother, they were different as men and women, and even when the elder brother returned home, they didn't see each other very often.
At most, he would give her some trinkets he brought back from outside when he had time, and then he would leave in a hurry, without even having time to listen to her say a few words.
And those little trinkets, my maternal cousin and my sisters all have them.
He kept saying that what he gave her was different, but his brother never realized that she couldn't keep what he gave her.
Actually, after Li Linsu arrived at the Jiang family, Li Lianniang discovered that he had already blamed her, but his blame was not obvious.
Li Lianniang knew the reason in her heart. It was probably because her mother-in-law had helped her get back the dowry left to her by her mother, which broke the surface peace of the Li family. He was blaming her for making such a big deal out of nothing.
He studied away from home, and every time he returned, his home was peaceful and tranquil. His father was strict and his mother was kind. They respected and loved him, and he was also admired by his younger siblings. He was content with this kind of life.
However, the matter of the dowry led him to discover the sordid aspects of it.
It was only at this moment that Li Lianniang realized that she was the only one trapped under Zhou's tyranny from beginning to end.
As I thought about it, tears involuntarily fell again.
Zhao Xian's teeth were once again tingled by the sweetness of the candied fruit. She paused while drinking her tea, "...Brother?"
I thought to myself, Jiang Wei has such a good reputation, I'm sorry.
Seeing that she was starting to cry again, but quickly wiped it away herself and smiled through her tears, she said, "Mother, thank you."
"Huh?" Thank her? Thank her for what?
She didn't say anything, and she misunderstood the person from the beginning. Those words don't apply to the siblings either.
Zhao Xian remained silent because she realized that Li Lianniang had figured things out on her own.
I don't even know how she came to this conclusion.
Regardless, Zhao Xian couldn't say anything more, lest she disturb her.
The next day.
Li Lianniang, accompanied by her maid and servants, went to escort Li Linsu to the examination hall.
"May your ten years of honing your skills be put to the test today, and may your name spread far and wide with a single letter."
Li Linsu looked at his younger sister in front of him. She was still the same person, but she gave him a different feeling.
In the past, when Li Lianniang looked at him, her eyes were filled with childlike innocence and admiration, and her tone was mostly cautious.
At this moment, Li Linsu felt as if he were looking at his classmates, or those around him who were about to enter the examination hall like him.
Li Linsu shook his head: This shouldn't be the case.
But Li Lianniang's gaze was calm, and her eyes held a gentle smile, which made Li Linsu frown repeatedly.
Seeing him like this, Li Lianniang quickly asked, "What's wrong? Brother, have you forgotten something?"
Today is a big day. He has studied for many years for the purpose of taking the imperial examination, and he must not make any mistakes.
Li Linsu shook his head. "No, I'm going in."
Li Lianniang nodded, "I will always arrange for people to wait outside the examination hall, brother, don't worry, just focus on the exam."
After talking with her mother-in-law yesterday, Li Lianniang came to a realization.
Did she not realize before that to Li Linsu, she was just an insignificant younger sister? No, she could see it, she just refused to believe it.
If she were lucid, she would have no one to rely on.
She kept reminding herself that Li Linsu was different from others; they were siblings born of the same mother.
Whether they stayed at their maternal grandparents' house or returned to the Li family, a high wall always separated the front yard from the back yard.
My elder brother wants to study, start a family, and build a career; many eyes are on him.
Even though Zhou was so powerful, she didn't dare to touch him at all, because her brother carried their father's expectations.
As for her, even though she had learned from her cousins and sisters since childhood, what she learned was completely different.
Li Lianniang knew very well that Li Linsu did not look down on her as his only sister; he treated his sisters equally, and she was just one of them.
Having withdrawn that expectation, Li Lianniang felt as if she hadn't lost anything. She was still herself, possessing neither less nor more, but she felt as if one of the shackles on her body had been removed.
Her brother was still her brother; they were siblings from the same mother, and that couldn't be changed.
She no longer had to wait for his return like she did when she was a child, so that she could briefly wear beautiful new clothes and eat delicious food, nor did she have to be unjustly and harshly punished.
As Li Linsu turned around, Li Lianniang waved with a smile, her smile generous and poised.
--
The Jin state held its spring imperial examinations every three years on the same fixed date: the 20th of the second month.
The exam lasted nine days, and I emerged on the first day of the third lunar month.
Coincidentally, February 23rd is Cui Tingyue's birthday, while February 24th is Li Lianniang's birthday.
This arrangement in the book is to set up the points of emotional distress in the story.
According to the original plot, Jiang Wei only remembered Cui Tingyue's birthday and only celebrated her birthday, deliberately omitting Li Lianniang, whose birthday was the day after.
There's no way to write something that deliberately adds such plot points just to cause suffering.
Several days earlier, Zhao Xian had repeatedly instructed Jiang Wei to prepare two birthday gifts, one for each person.
Ever since they started giving Jiang Wei a belated birthday gift, the family has never held a grand celebration for anyone's birthday.
After all, it happens every year, except for major occasions like the coming-of-age ceremony and the coming-of-age ceremony, which are held in large quantities.
Looking at the mostly empty street, Qingfan sighed, "Young Master, it's so peaceful."
Since the end of last year, Jin'an has been flooded with students, and it feels noisy and crowded everywhere you go.
As soon as the imperial examinations began, the streets were practically deserted.
The tranquility and serenity are almost unsettling.
Passing by a silver shop, Jiang Wei stopped and went inside as if possessed.
The shopkeeper greeted him with a smile, "What would you like to buy, young master? These hairpins are the latest styles in the shop and are most popular among the young ladies and wives of Jin'an families."
I glanced at the hairpins; there were so many, it was dazzling, and each one was exquisitely crafted.
However, he had given Lian Niang hairpins before, and these hairpins were similar to those in Lian Niang's makeup box, with no significant differences.
Seeing his indifferent and uninterested expression, the shopkeeper continued, "If you don't like these styles, young master, we also have a complete set of face ornaments..."
The shopkeeper was still enthusiastically promoting the product.
Jiang Wei interrupted him, saying, "It's for my unmarried sister at home. Bring me the jade pendants and ornaments from the shop so I can take a look."
The shopkeeper immediately led Jiang Wei to the place where the jade pendants were kept: "Young master, please take a look. These are jade pendants given to female relatives. In the whole of Jin'an, our silver shop has the most and most complete variety of styles."
After looking around, Jiang Wei chose a flower and bird pendant, paid the money, and was about to leave when a girl suddenly appeared and blocked his way.
"I've caught you, Young Master Jiang."
Lang Zhizhi spread her arms wide, as if blocking people's way.
Jiang Wei held the jade pendant in his hand, took a step back, and frowned slightly. "I do not know you, young lady. Please show some respect."
Upon hearing the words "self-respect," Lang Zhizhi's eyes lit up for a moment, but she didn't move aside. "How can you not recognize me? I even saved your life, and you've already forgotten?"
Looking at the other person's eyes as if they were looking at a stranger, Lang Zhizhi was incredulous. But in an instant, she suddenly realized and pointed at Jiang Wei, "I understand, you have amnesia, no wonder."
"That's how it's written in books: the protagonist loses their memory and doesn't remember their lover, then tortures her in various ways until she remembers and regrets it. Wow, how exciting!"
Jiang Wei looked at the girl in front of him who was talking to herself with a puzzled expression.
Feeling uneasy, he didn't want to linger, so he sidestepped the other person and headed towards the entrance of the silver shop.
"Hey, don't go, I haven't finished talking yet."
Upon seeing this, Lang Zhizhi reached out to grab Jiang Wei's clothes, but was stopped by Qing Fan. "Miss, my young master does not know you. Please have some self-respect."
Lang Zhizhi stared at Qingfan: "I know him. I saved him in Changzhou. I almost lost my arm while saving him. How could I not know him?"
Lang Zhizhi stood in front of Jiang Wei again, her expression serious, and said, "You just have amnesia. Once you regain your memory, you will remember who I am. I'm not lying to you."
Jiang Wei frowned as he looked at the inexplicable excitement in the other person's eyes and said, "Qingfan, go and call the people from the Jinzhao Yin's residence. There is a young lady here who has developed hysteria."
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