Inside the Green Bamboo Hall.
Zhou had been ill for several days and was weak; her heavy breathing could be heard even through the curtain.
On the long corridor outside, Biluo fanned the charcoal fire under the small stove and said in a muffled voice.
"The plague is spreading so fiercely, yet the general has ordered you to guard the Green Bamboo Hall and is using filial piety to pressure you!"
“He was born to Zhou, not you! If he were so filial, why didn’t he take leave to serve you in person?”
Jiang Wan's face showed a faint sneer.
Previously, Zhou had forced Song Ziyu to rescue Song Shuling, which had already made him resentful.
Later, Zhou's act of setting up a stage in the backyard angered the emperor, which indirectly led to his loss of the patrol battalion.
Song Ziyu resented Zhou for ruining things, and he came to Cuizhu Hall to vent his anger, no longer showing her the respect and affection he used to have.
It is said that a loving mother leads to a filial son.
The mother, Zhou, was selfish and ruthless, and her son naturally inherited her character.
"Pretending to be filial in public, but acting arrogantly at home; all incompetent men in the world are like this."
Jiang Wan gently stirred the medicine in the bowl and said meaningfully.
“She’s trying to use her seniority to pressure people, but I’m afraid she won’t be able to drink the medicine I personally feed her.”
As she spoke, she put on a mask and went into Zhou's bedroom.
“Mother, I’m here to serve you your medicine.”
Zhou lay with her back to her, motionless.
She was furious when she heard that Jiang Wan had returned home safely, but she was powerless to stop her.
Taking advantage of the excuse of caring for her in her illness, it would be good to dampen Jiang Wan's arrogance and let her know that no matter how successful she is, she is still overshadowed by her mother-in-law.
If you make her obedient, she will obediently bow down.
Jiang Wan was left standing aside, but she wasn't annoyed. She put the bowl on the table and casually uttered a sentence.
“Mother, I know that my second sister has deceived the Emperor and committed a capital offense, and you are heartbroken, but you still need to take your medicine…”
"What?"
Zhou could no longer pretend; she suddenly turned over, accompanied by a fit of coughing.
"Ling-jie, cough cough, what's wrong with her!"
Jiang Wan chuckled softly.
It seems she guessed right; Song Ziyu was keeping it from Zhou Shi.
Rather than saying he couldn't bear to see Zhou Shi heartbroken, it would be more accurate to say that, in order to protect himself, he had completely abandoned Song Shuling, his older sister.
"My second sister committed a serious crime, and even her husband was imprisoned. Don't you know that?"
Jiang Wan stared at Zhou's trembling lips, which were trembling with fear, and sighed.
"Take your medicine, get better soon, and you'll be able to see her off on her final journey."
Zhou gasped for breath and roared hoarsely, "...Get out! Get out of here!"
Jiang Wan nodded slightly: "Since Mother has spoken, forbidding her daughter-in-law from serving, I have no choice but to take my leave."
She turned and walked out.
Madam Zhou was extremely anxious and beckoned to her maid, asking, "Has something happened to Ling'er?"
The maid replied in a low voice.
As Zhou listened, she became more and more excited. In the end, her body stiffened and she almost fainted.
The maid was terrified and patted her back hard several times until she caught her breath.
Then they brought over the medicine, intending to feed it to her.
Zhou slammed the medicine bowl down, yelling, "Take it away! What good could that little bitch possibly want?"
The maid whispered, "The medicine the madam concocts is very effective; many servants in the manor have taken it..."
Zhou slapped the maid across the face.
Her eyes were red from illness, and she was panting heavily, yet she stubbornly insisted, "What do you know! She's definitely going to poison me! She harmed my Ling'er, and now she wants to harm me too. I'll make her, make her die..."
Before he could finish speaking, he fainted again.
Cuizhu Hall was in chaos due to war.
Jiang Wan went back to her courtyard to change her clothes and then took a carriage to a teahouse.
Pushing open the door to the private room, a man wearing a blue veiled hat was drinking tea.
Upon seeing her enter, the man leaned back, his narrow eyes shining like golden crows: "The Pavilion Master has quite the airs, making us wait quite a while."
He removed his veil, revealing a handsome face.
It turned out to be Master Jinghui.
Jiang Wan smiled, her eyes filled with the joy of reuniting with an old friend.
"There is an urgent matter in the capital, so I hurriedly called you back, which has delayed your trip to Sichuan."
She took out a small jar of sake from her sleeve: "Shiyin, consider this compensation for you."
Shi Yin lifted the lid and sniffed it before a smile appeared on his face: "Tai Xi Bai, you have a conscience, you didn't make me come all this way for nothing."
If people were to see that the world-renowned Master Jinghui was a heavy drinker, they would probably be shocked.
"You're still as dashing as ever," Jiang Wan said with a slight smile.
Shi Yin is an extraordinary person. He has profound cultivation, yet he is not bound by Buddhist rules and is free and unrestrained.
It was precisely because he had traveled the martial arts world for many years that he had learned many techniques.
For example, on that day in the palace, he used an illusion technique to make Emperor Jingyuan hallucinate, and then used ventriloquism to imitate the sound of a rabbit, thus successfully performing the play.
"Carefree? That was all in the past."
In the blink of an eye, half a jar of fine wine had been consumed, and Shi Yin squinted his eyes with satisfaction.
"Ever since I believed your sweet talk two years ago and became this cheap young master, I've been used by you to become a charlatan, even risking my life to deceive the emperor. The more I think about it, the more I regret it."
Jiang Wan covered her lips and chuckled, then asked again.
"How are the preparations for going to Donglai going?"
"It just so happens that Donglai has invited me to a Dharma assembly. I plan to take this opportunity to place my brothers in the pavilion there. We will set off tomorrow."
Shi Yin tilted his head.
"However, is it necessary to be so wary of Song Tingyue? She has been married to Donglai for four years. Although she has the title of princess, she is just a widowed woman."
Song Tingyue is the eldest daughter of the Song family, and the elder sister of Song Ziyu and Song Shuling.
Five years ago, she was granted the title of Princess and married into the Donglai tribe as part of a political alliance.
In her previous life, Jiang Wan didn't have much contact with her.
All I remember is that in the second year of her imprisonment, Song Tingyue returned to her parents' home with great fanfare, and even several princes came to visit her.
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