“Just happened to be free?”
Jiang Si walked slowly forward, arm-in-arm with Jiang Yi, her gaze flickering slightly. Perhaps she was being too sensitive, but whenever she heard words like “just happened,” she couldn’t help overthinking.
“Today doesn’t seem to be a rest day,” Jiang Si casually remarked.
Officials had fixed days off. Since Second Master Jiang had gone to the office today, there was no reason for Zhu Ziyu, who worked at the Hanlin Academy, to be off.
A hint of undisguised sweetness crept into Jiang Yi’s smile. “Fourth Sister doesn’t know, but the Hanlin Academy is quite relaxed. Your brother-in-law just happened to finish his work, and when he heard I was coming to White Cloud Temple to burn incense, he asked his superior for leave to accompany me.”
“Brother-in-law is so good to you, Elder Sister.”
“Fourth Sister!” Jiang Yi’s face reddened involuntarily.
This time, she had come to burn incense to pray for a son.
Jiang Yi had been married to the Zhu family for over four years and currently had only one daughter. In an era where having a son was crucial to securing one’s position in the in-laws’ family, it was impossible to say there was no pressure.
What made her feel fortunate was that although her mother-in-law had quite a few complaints about this, her husband had always protected her. Today, he had even specially accompanied her to burn incense.
Seeing the natural glow of happiness in Jiang Yi’s eyes, Jiang Si fell silent for a moment.
She could feel her elder sister’s genuine joy, and she would likely become the one to shatter it all.
However, the hesitation in Jiang Si’s eyes was quickly replaced by determination.
If all of this was a facade, then what harm was there in breaking it? It was certainly better than letting her elder sister bear such humiliation and walk towards a dead end.
A breeze blew past, bringing a slight chill and the scent of fresh grass.
Jiang Si raised her eyes to the sky.
The sparse clouds at the horizon had somehow piled up, layer upon layer like cloud mountains, slowly changing shape in the azure sky.
At this time of year, Wuyang no longer had the scorching heat of summer. The streaks of sunlight were clear and refreshing, bringing a hint of warmth to everything.
But Jiang Si knew it was going to rain, probably a sudden downpour.
She didn’t rush to urge Jiang Yi to head back, instead casually steering the conversation towards the people around her elder sister: “I noticed one of the maids accompanying you today looks unfamiliar. Where’s Azhen?”
Jiang Yi had two personal maids who had been part of her dowry, one named Azhen and one named Azhu. Usually, when going out, she would bring both of them, but today Jiang Si only saw Azhu, with Azhen replaced by an unfamiliar maid.
Hearing Jiang Si mentions Azhen, Jiang Yi’s expression became somewhat unnatural. “Azhen is ill, so I didn’t bring her out.”
Jiang Si stopped walking and stared at Jiang Yi without blinking.
Jiang Yi became increasingly uncomfortable. “Why are you looking at me like that, Fourth Sister?”
Jiang Si frowned slightly. “I just feel like Elder Sister is hiding something from me.”
Jiang Yi reached out and gently tapped Jiang Si’s fair forehead, chiding, “You, overthinking at such a young age? Questioning everything just because one maid didn’t come with me.”
The more Jiang Yi spoke this way, the more Jiang Si suspected something was amiss. She lowered her eyelids, adopting a dejected expression. “Elder Sister always says I’m young, but after this year I’ll be sixteen. I remember Elder Sister was already married into the Zhu family at sixteen.”
“Fourth Sister—” Jiang Yi was momentarily at a loss for words.
Jiang Si continued to play up her pitiful state: “I had my engagement broken off at fifteen, so you could say I’ve had even more experiences than Elder Sister did at fifteen. If Elder Sister always treats me like a child, others would just find it laughable if they knew.”
Jiang Yi was suddenly taken aback, followed by a rush of sympathy.
As the elder sister, in her eyes, her younger siblings who had never enjoyed a mother’s care would always be children. But reality wouldn’t allow a person to stay young forever.
Perhaps she could share some things with Fourth Sister, lest she remain ignorant and suffer for it in the future.
Having come to this realization, Jiang Yi no longer concealed the matter of Azhen. She sighed lightly and said, “Azhen developed inappropriate thoughts. Your brother-in-law got angry and sent her to work in the sewing room.”
“Inappropriate thoughts? Elder Sister, do you mean—”
Jiang Yi’s face reddened as she forced herself to explain, “One night, when your brother-in-law was reading in the study, she went to bring him sweet soup…”
“She had designs on Brother-in-law?” Anger flashed across Jiang Si’s face, but her heart remained calm.
Perhaps because she had experienced the nauseating affairs of Jiang Qian and her husband, a maid trying to seduce her brother-in-law didn’t stir up much emotion in her.
“Then what did Brother-in-law do at the time—”
Jiang Yi smiled shyly: “Your brother-in-law became angry right away and brought Azhen before me to deal with as I saw fit. With Azhen having such thoughts, I certainly couldn’t keep her by my side. However, she has grown up with me since childhood, so I couldn’t just send her away. That’s why I assigned her to work in the sewing room. Out of sight, out of mind, I suppose.”
“What’s the name of the maid who came with Elder Sister today? Has she taken Azhen’s position?”
“The maid who came with me today is called Aya. I haven’t promoted her yet.”
Jiang Si put on a curious expression: “Aya is a maid from the Zhu household, right? For her to catch Elder Sister’s eye, she must have some outstanding qualities. Or perhaps Elder Sister has shown her some favor in the past and finds her reliable?”
Jiang Yi gave an expression of amused exasperation: “What are you saying, Fourth Sister? She’s just a little maid. I thought she seemed steady enough and casually picked her to accompany me out. How could there be as much to it as you’re imagining?”
Jiang Si gave an embarrassed smile: “I was just asking. It’s rare for me to chat with Elder Sister; I’d be happy even if we were discussing whether pigs could climb trees.”
She had thought the appearance of a new face on her elder sister’s side might be a breakthrough, but it seemed she had overthought things.
Jiang Si’s words made Jiang Yi feel guilty. She immediately said, “If Fourth Sister misses me, you can come to the Zhu residence anytime.”
“Alright, I miss Yanyan too. I’ll go see her soon.”
Jiang Yi smiled tenderly: “Yanyan wanted to come with me today. The mountain temple is colder than outside, and I was worried she couldn’t handle it, so I didn’t agree. The little one threw quite a tantrum.”
“Elder Sister.”
“Hmm?”
Jiang Si decided to ask directly: “Have you ever saved anyone?”
Jiang Yi was bewildered by the question: “Fourth Sister, what’s wrong with you? Why are you asking such strange questions?”
“Just tell me if you have or not, Elder Sister.”
Jiang Yi truly loved her only sister. Even though she found Jiang Si’s questions bizarre, she still answered: “Elder Sister stays at home all day. How could I go around playing the hero like in those stories? Fourth Sister, what made you ask this?”
Jiang Si offered her prepared explanation: “I had a strange dream not long ago. I dreamt that Elder Sister saved a frozen snake in winter, but after the snake warmed up, it bit Elder Sister viciously. It was venomous too…”
Jiang Si’s expression changed as she spoke, and she gripped Jiang Yi’s hand tightly: “Elder Sister, this dream frightened me.”
Jiang Yi laughed and hugged Jiang Si, comforting her: “You are still a little girl, getting so worked up over a dream.”
Just then, a massive boom shook the sky.
Unexpectedly, there was thunder on this autumn day.