"Mother, please have some tea."
"Auntie, please have some tea."
"Mother, is there something you need?"
Jiang Shuwan invited them to sit down. During the New Year, even a fifth-rank official's wife like Madam Song had plenty of social obligations.
The fact that Mrs. Song suddenly came to see her must mean something.
"Wanwan, you have to help your sister..."
As soon as Jiang Yao was mentioned, tears welled up in Song's eyes.
As she cried, a maid in green behind her also knelt down and begged Jiang Shuwan to save Jiang Yao.
"Please, Miss, save Miss Er! Miss Er is being tortured to death by Madam..."
The girl in green was crying like a little kitten.
The fact that she knelt down as soon as Song cried shows that it was pre-arranged.
However, her crying didn't seem fake, and she hadn't noticed because she had been following behind Song with her head down.
Now that I look closely, isn't the girl in green Jiang Yao's personal maid?
Her hair was disheveled and her sideburns were loose.
The hem of her clothes also looked like it had been torn by tree branches.
Did you get this by circumventing the Great Firewall?
"In reply to Miss, this servant did indeed climb over the wall to get out."
"Madam has confined the Second Miss to her quarters and forbids her from going out."
"Apart from the Second Miss, even those of us who are part of the dowry are not allowed to leave the manor without the token of the Madam or the Mistress."
"If it weren't for the servants in the house forming a human ladder, I wouldn't have been able to climb over the wall to inform the madam and the young lady."
The girl in green said, her voice filled with sorrow and tears.
“Eldest Miss, ever since the Second Miss started setting rules for the Madam every day…”
"The aunt would find all sorts of ways to torment the second young lady, making her stand in the snow every day to observe the rules."
"In such cold weather, she was made to stand in the snow. My poor second young lady, she must have been freezing to death."
"The aunt also made her recite the 'Admonitions for Women' and 'Inner Teachings' for women, and didn't even let the second young lady eat properly."
"The other day, the two families had their annual reunion dinner, and the Madam did not invite the Second Miss to participate, but the Second Miss tolerated it all."
Jiang Shuwan raised her eyebrows slightly.
No wonder I didn't hear Madam Bo and Jiang Yao arguing during the Lunar New Year.
It turns out Jiang Yao chickened out.
To be fair, Jiang Yao wasn't entirely brainless.
The aunt was superior to her in both status and position, and also held the power to teach her manners.
If Jiang Yao confronts her head-on, she's bound to suffer the consequences.
Previously, she had Pei Lingyu's help, but now Pei Lingyu is disgusted with the conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and hides outside every day.
Jiang Yao was destined to be tormented and exploited.
She learned her lesson and decided to hold her temper and not argue with the aunt, which was the best course of action.
Generally, mothers-in-law will treat their daughters-in-law better if they see that the daughters-in-law are obedient.
Clearly, Mrs. Bo is no ordinary mother-in-law.
Otherwise, we wouldn't be in this mess today.
"The second young lady is gentle and obedient to the aunt, because she thinks that harmony in the family brings prosperity in all things."
"I never expected that the Madam would go even further, not only skimping on the Second Miss's food, but also refusing to provide her with charcoal."
"These past few days have seen heavy snowfalls, and the Second Miss's room is as cold as ice."
"The second young lady has fallen ill. Please, eldest young lady, save her life, or she will truly freeze to death!"
The girl in green was crying with snot and tears streaming down her face.
Jiang Shuwan was familiar with her; she was Jiang Yao's personal maid and had a respectable position in the Jiang family.
The fact that Jiang Yao looks so miserable now shows that not only is she having a bad time in the Earl's mansion, but the maids who accompanied her have also suffered a lot.
Jiang Yao's life has truly been difficult.
But to freeze to death is a bit too much...
The noblewoman died less than a month after marrying into the Earl's household, even though the Earl's wife was very dissatisfied with Jiang Yao.
They wouldn't dare let her freeze to death.
Otherwise, if word got out, the Earl's family would be too ashamed to show their faces in public.
"Young Miss, please, you must save the Second Miss!"
Not missing the darting eyes of the girl in green, Jiang Shuwan composed herself, knowing that the girl was indeed exaggerating.
In order to get her to take action, they deliberately exaggerated the situation.
However, since Madam Song had brought the maid in green to her, she couldn't very well ignore her.
To outsiders, both she and Jiang Yao are, in essence, daughters of the Jiang family.
The younger sister is living such a miserable life, she doesn't even have charcoal to burn when she gets sick in winter, but the older sister doesn't care at all.
Wouldn't that tarnish her reputation?
If the Wen family knew this, they would probably be laughing in their sleep.
Moreover, Madam Song even brought her aunts and relatives from the Jiang family along.
That's precisely because we're afraid she'll pretend to be deaf and dumb. If her aunt goes back and tells us, what will the relatives in the Jiang family think of her?
so.
She definitely has to take charge.
However, there are methods to manage it.
We can't just brazenly go to their door with the maid in green, as Song suggested, to demand an explanation.
She's crazy!
He went against Madam Bo for Jiang Yao's sake.
"Knock knock knock~"
Shao Shou's slender, jade-like fingers tapped rhythmically on the pearwood wooden table.
After a moment's thought, Jiang Shuwan made up her mind.
"Qingxing, go to my storeroom and select a few bolts of fabric, and also prepare a few boxes of pastries and fruits."
"It's the New Year, and the Earl's Mansion and the Marquis's Mansion are so close. It's not good for me to stay at home like this. I should go and pay my respects to the Earl's wife."
Her excuse was truly flawless.
During the Lunar New Year, we're all family and relatives, so we have to visit each other.
Madam Song understood the reasoning behind this, and upon hearing this, she held Jiang Shuwan in even higher regard.
She sees through all these intricacies at such a young age; no wonder she always manages to torment Jiang Shuwan but ends up getting herself into trouble instead.
Jiang Shuwan is truly intelligent.
For the past few years, she has been constantly reminding Jiang Yao not to provoke Jiang Shuwan.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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