Returning to one's parents' home
As soon as the two stepped out of the mansion gate, they saw a large crowd gathered on the street. "Abei, what happened?"
After Jiang Jin was helped into the carriage by Wei Shu, she lifted the curtain and asked A Bei in a low voice.
"Wife, this..." Abei glanced somewhat timidly at Zhou Cong standing beside him.
"This morning, Vice Minister Zhou was imprisoned. I will personally interrogate him this afternoon. They must have come here to protest."
Wei Shu lowered the curtain for Jiang Jin and said to the coachman, "Let's set off!"
“Zhou Lu, the Vice Minister of Rites?” Jiang Jin frowned. “He’s a good official. What was the charge against him that led to his imprisonment?”
“Forming cliques for personal gain, if my wife continues to question me, I will begin to suspect that you have ulterior motives.” Wei Shu glanced at Jiang Jin, whose expression had changed.
“If your Jiang family were truly only loyal to His Majesty, then you would not have suffered this undeserved calamity.”
"Am I not the best proof of whether our Jiang family is loyal to His Majesty?" Jiang Jin straightened his back and looked at Wei Shu.
"You're so quick-witted, you should save that energy for tonight's errands." Wei Shu sipped his tea, glancing at the book in his hands.
Jiang Jin didn't say anything more, but simply closed her eyes and pretended that Wei Shu wasn't there. In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the carriage had already stopped in front of the Jiang residence.
The butler had been waiting for a long time and quickly unloaded the return gifts.
"Second Madam, the young master and his wife are waiting for the general and you in the main hall." The steward, bowing, led Wei Shu and the other woman into the main hall.
"General Wei!"
"Imperial Censor Jiang." The two bowed to each other, while Jiang Jin's stepmother stood to the side, looking at him with concern.
"Second Aunt and your mother should go back first. Your sisters are already waiting in the room."
"Yes, I'll take my leave now." Jiang Jin was just about to turn around when Wei Shu grabbed her wrist.
His eyes were full of concern. "My lady, don't linger too long and forget your husband."
"I understand," Jiang Jin said with a feigned shy smile, following her mother into the courtyard.
"Second Aunt, is Wei Shu really that good to you? Everyone outside says you two are very much in love. He even left the backyard empty for you. Isn't that putting you in a very difficult position?" Mother Jiang said, unable to bear it any longer, as she took Jiang Jin's hand.
"Mother, the General treats me very well, and I'm doing well at the Wei residence, so please don't worry. I brought a lot of brightly colored fabrics; I'll make many clothes for Third Sister and Fourth Sister later." Jiang Jin comforted her mother, helping her into the room.
"Second Sister, you are now considered a model of elegance among the noble ladies of the capital. It's said that General Wei is utterly devoted to his wife, and even a celestial being wouldn't give him a second glance." Jiang Su covered her mouth and laughed.
"Fourth Sister, it seems you haven't copied enough of the 'Instructions for Women.' If it weren't for Second Sister's homecoming today, do you think you would have been released?" Jiang's mother's face darkened, and Jiang Jin quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Mother, please sit down and have some tea. Third Sister is here today too. Is she feeling better?" Jiang Jin sat down next to her mother and served her tea.
"Thank you for your concern, Second Sister. I still had a bit of a cough this morning, but I think I'm much better now." Jiang Ru didn't look well; she must have forced herself to come today.
“Mother, there are some medicinal herbs for nourishing the body among the gifts for the return visit. Let’s send them to Third Sister then.”
"We'll do it your way." Mother Jiang patted Jiang Jin's hand with satisfaction.
Just then, Jiang Jin suddenly smelled a pleasant scent. Turning her head, she saw Jiang Su looking at her with a handkerchief, showing it off.
"Fourth sister, is it because you've applied fragrant dew that it's so refreshing?" Jiang Jin naturally knew that Jiang Su was eager to show off, but it was just a little girl's thought, so she just went along with it.
"Second sister has good taste. This is a coming-of-age gift from Father—fragrant dew newly produced by Xiangningfang in April. I sent someone to buy it as early as the sixth day of the month, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to buy it. I heard that the remaining fragrant dew was bought up by the Dou family. I am one of only three families besides the Dou family and the Minister's family to have this fragrant dew."
Jiang Su waved the handkerchief in front of Jiang Jin, but unexpectedly it caused Jiang Ru to cough a few times.
"Third sister, I suppose you're not fit to use such fine products." Jiang Su quickly put away her handkerchief, afraid of catching Jiang Ru's sickly aura.
"Fourth Sister, you will be confined to your quarters starting tomorrow. Your disrespectful behavior and boastful displays towards your elder sister will not be tolerated until you have learned proper manners." Mother Jiang made her decision in the blink of an eye.
"Mother, I..." Jiang Su hurriedly knelt down, but her mother no longer looked at her, turning to ask Jiang Ru with concern.
"Third Sister, have the family physician take another look this afternoon. Second Sister is already married, so your marriage should also be put on the agenda."
"Thank you, Mother. I will do as you arrange." Jiang Ru bowed slightly to her mother to show her respect.
"Madam, General Wei has arrived!" the steward announced from the doorway. "He said he has official business to attend to this afternoon and is unable to have lunch, so he has come to take his leave."
"Quickly let General Wei in!" Madam Jiang glanced at the crowd below, whose expressions varied, and coughed a few times.
"General Wei." Everyone rose and bowed. Jiang Ru, due to her physical condition, had never seen Wei Shu before. Suddenly seeing the cold-faced man, she felt boundless fear and glanced at Jiang Jin with some sympathy.
"Madam, I will come to fetch you at dusk to take you back to the manor. Spend the day with your family." Wei Shu's cold expression softened upon seeing Jiang Jin. He took her hand, offered a few words of advice, and then turned to leave.
"Second sister, you're amazing." Jiang Su muttered a few words, but Aunt He covered her mouth.
"Alright, you're never quiet again." Mother Jiang stopped looking at Fourth Sister and instead looked at Jiang Jin with approval.
"Second Madam, it seems that General Wei truly cares for you. You should make the most of this opportunity."
"I understand, daughter." Jiang Jin nodded slightly, feigning shyness, inwardly giving Wei Shu a thumbs-up for his acting skills.
"Alright, let's go to the front hall for dinner. It's rare for your father and brothers to all be here, let's have a good family meal." Jiang Jinyi helped her mother up, and the group arrived at the front hall, where a screen had already been set up to separate them.
"Please remove the screen; there's no need for formalities when dining as a family." The maid stepped forward and removed the screen. No one at the table mentioned Wei Shu, presumably because they were afraid he wouldn't be able to eat.
"Mother, I'll head back to my room now." Seeing that her mother looked somewhat tired, Jiang Jin tactfully took her leave.
"Go ahead." Mother Jiang nodded slightly, her eyes filled with undisguised satisfaction.
"My lady, would you like to rest?" Ah Bei spread out the blankets and tidied the bed.
"Okay, you go and keep watch outside." Jiang Jin lay wearily on the couch, her posture becoming more relaxed without anyone else around, and she unconsciously dozed off for a while.
"Wife, it's late afternoon." Abei gently nudged Jiang Jin's shoulder.
"Okay, help me up and do my makeup." Jiang Jin looked at Abei behind the bronze mirror, who seemed hesitant to speak, and asked, "Why do you look so gloomy after just a little while?"
"My lady, the Liang family has been in close contact with our family lately. The servants are saying that the Liang family's young master wants to marry the Jiang family's daughter. If they had come a few days earlier, would you have been spared the marriage..."
Jiang Jin put down her hairpin and said to Abei, "Abei, be careful what you say. There's nothing between Liang Langjun and me, but if others hear this, who knows what will happen? If Wei Shu hears it, who knows what trouble it will cause!"
"It seems my wife doesn't think highly of me!" Wei Shu's voice from outside the door made Abei extremely nervous.
“My lord is too kind. Even if the world does not think highly of you, I will always stand by your side.”
Although Jiang Jin hadn't expected Wei Shu to appear at the door, she still calmly dealt with the situation.
"Quick-tongued, let's go home." Wei Shu wasn't angry; he simply took Jiang Jin's hand firmly, led her through the garden, and, facing the gazes of the crowd, boarded the carriage.
"How is Vice Minister Zhou?" Jiang Jin had barely uttered this question when Wei Shu glared at him.
"I've said before that there are some things you shouldn't know, so don't ask." Wei Shu didn't say anything more, but simply handed a soft armor to Jiang Jin. "This soft armor can protect your life."
"Thank you." Jiang Jin lifted the curtain and looked at the merchants outside. "Is the curfew about to start?"
“Yes.” Wei Shu looked at the night outside and instructed Zhou Cong, “Take the horses to the back gate. My wife and I will be there shortly.”
Jiang Jin jumped off the carriage, disregarding her manners, and rushed into the courtyard. "Abei, bring me my things."
Jiang Jin quickly took off her dress, changed into Hu clothing, and put on a hood. "Wife, be careful." Jiang Jin took the bundle and jade pendant, nodded to Abei, and said, "Don't worry, I will come back safely. Stay in the capital."
Jiang Jin and Wei Shu mounted their horses together, "To Anhua Gate!"
The sound of horses' hooves reached every doorway, but no one dared to peek out out of curiosity, fearing it would bring disaster upon themselves.
"A curfew has been imposed; you must all cease movement!" They disregarded the warning issued by the Imperial Guards.
"The Imperial Guards are handling a case; how dare you obstruct them? Giddy up!" A trot of hooves thundered past, leaving only the Imperial Guards covered in dust.
"Open the city gates!" The people on the city wall saw the token in Wei Shu's hand and quickly opened the city gates.
"Let's go!" Wei Shu glanced contemptuously at the crowd on the city wall. Seeing this, Jiang Jin couldn't help but follow Wei Shu closely.
A woman on a distant watchtower was watching Jiang Jin riding her horse. "Look," she said, "she's most carefree when she's riding a horse."
"Your Highness, shall our men make their move?" The woman waved her hand in response.
“Withdraw everything. Send the message to the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. I think there are people who are more anxious than us. Oh right, I almost forgot about the Fifth Prince. We can’t show favoritism and send him a copy too.”
"Your Highness, if those two intend to kill, what about Second Madam?" The shopkeeper looked at Jiang Jin's departing figure with some worry.
“Neither of them dares to actually kill Wei Shu. As for A Jin, let Yi Yi and Yi Er follow her as usual.” The woman’s eyes sharpened. “If anything goes wrong, they don’t need to come back.”
"Yes!" The shopkeeper silently withdrew, leaving the woman standing on the high place watching Jiang Jin's departing figure.
"We've been traveling along the official road, why haven't we stopped at any post stations?" Jiang Jin had barely finished speaking when she noticed an unusual sound coming from a tree in the distance.
"Wei Shu has someone!" Jiang Jin exclaimed. Just as the man in the distance was about to leave after giving himself away, Jiang Jin drew his bow and shot an arrow, hitting him in the shoulder and causing him to fall to the ground.
"Zhou Cong Zhou Liao, leave no survivors!" Wei Shu was somewhat surprised by Jiang Jin's keen insight. The two men behind him quickly disappeared into the night and took the lives of several people.
"We just left the capital and someone caught up with us. Is someone specifically watching the General's Mansion?" Jiang Jin dismounted and carefully examined the arrows and night clothes the man was wearing.
"The general is a suicide soldier!" Zhou Cong pried open their teeth and discovered hidden poison inside.
"Send a message to the Imperial Guards and have them handle these matters. Let's continue on our way!" Jiang Jin remounted his horse, concealing a fragment of a assassin's clothing in his sleeve.
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