“These are gifts from Prince Jing. After the mourning period, use them for Danniang’s clothes and accessories,” Pan Rong said, carefully placing a pair of jade discs, a pair of golden hairpins, and four pieces of exquisite tribute silk before Jiang Changyang. He felt immense sympathy for Jiang Changyang. Being burdened by someone close was one thing, but to be weighed down by a so-called relative who harbored only hatred and schemes was truly frustrating enough to make one cough blood.
Jiang Changyang smiled faintly. “Thank the Prince for me.” Noticing Pan Rong’s deliberate attempt to please him, he chuckled, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not as troubled as you think.”
Pan Rong stared at him for a moment before laughing, “Well, well! I thought you’d be miserable and wanted to comfort you, but you seem to be enjoying yourself. Are you treating this as a vacation, relishing the time spent with your wife and children?” He sprawled unceremoniously on the couch, sighing, “You’re basking in happiness while I’m exhausted. The Prince asked me to relay a message to you. He shouldn’t disturb you with mundane matters, but he desperately needs your help behind the scenes.”
Jiang Changyang had anticipated that Prince Jing wouldn’t let him off easily. He said, “I need you to help me find someone.” Jiang Changyi’s inexplicable disappearance was concerning; whether dead or alive, they needed to know the outcome.
Pan Rong stroked his chin thoughtfully. “It’s strange. Old Jiang’s personality was such that he usually associated with scholars, rarely mixing with outgoing types. Yet he’s managed to disappear without a trace, eluding even the most thorough search.” It was normal for Pan Rong to be unable to find him, but Jiang Changyang had been secretly deploying people to search since Jiang Changyi’s disappearance, and they too had failed to locate him. It was perplexing.
Jiang Changyang said, “That’s precisely why we must find him.” If Pan Rong couldn’t do it, there was still Prince Jing. Surely the Prince wouldn’t refuse such a small request.
“Alright, I’ll redeploy people tomorrow. We’ll find him for you,” Pan Rong whispered in Jiang Changyang’s ear, “Xiao is making moves again.”
The two whispered for a long while before Pan Rong finally said with a smile, “I don’t think you’ll have much peace here. More visitors are likely to come. I won’t keep you any longer. I should be going now. With elders and children at home, it’s not good to be away for too long.”
Jiang Changyang called for someone to invite Madam Bai inside, then teased Pan Rong, “You’ve changed quite a bit. People say you’ve turned over a new leaf.”
Pan Rong chuckled, “Didn’t you tell me to cherish my blessings? Even if not for myself, I have to think of the two elders, Axin, and the children. I’d hate for people to say that Ajing and Ayao’s father is inferior to Azheng and Axian’s. It would be embarrassing.” Ayao was his younger daughter, and he worried about her even more than Pan Jing. He often said that while he could be a scoundrel and Pan Jing could rely on his abilities, it was different for his daughter. If people mentioned that the beautiful young lady had a scoundrel for a father, it could affect her marriage prospects. So he was determined not to make any mistakes.
Reflecting on this, Pan Rong sighed, “I never imagined Uncle Jiang would end up like this. Back then…” Back then, who wasn’t afraid of the stern-faced, strict Jiang Zhong, who emphasized rules and tradition? In the end, he was the one who broke the rules the most. If Pan Rong were Jiang Zhong, he’d rather drown himself in a toilet than face the shame. Yet the old man dared to move in here with Jiang Yunqing. The attendant nearby coughed heavily. Pan Rong’s face reddened, and he swallowed the rest of his words. It wasn’t right to speak ill of someone’s father in front of them, no matter how despicable that father might be.
Jiang Changyang said calmly, “Let’s not dwell on the past. I just want to ensure I don’t become that kind of person. Come, I’ll see you out.” The father he remembered wasn’t like this either. Everyone was changing. Over the years, perhaps only Madam Wang and Fang Bohui remained unchanged? It seemed that maintaining one’s true nature and continually improving oneself was an extremely difficult task.
Pan Rong felt somewhat regretful and left sheepishly. He and his wife, Madam Bai, bid farewell together.
Jiang Changyang watched their carriage disappear into the distance before heading inside to check on his mother. It was noon, and Madam Cen and the others had gone to rest. He thought Mudan would be sleeping too, but as soon as he entered, he saw Mama Lin leading Kuan’er and Shu’er in tidying up. Various exquisite items like pearls, jade, brocade, gold-painted lacquer balls, and silver gourds — all children’s playthings — were neatly arranged on a table. Intrigued, he asked, “Who sent these? Did Axin bring them?”
Mudan didn’t answer him. Mama Lin’s expression changed slightly, and she stammered an “Mm” while hurrying to clean up with Kuan’er and Shu’er. Jiang Changyang grew suspicious but didn’t want to inquire further in front of the servants. He turned to look at Mudan.
Mudan was playing with the two children, who remained unresponsive with a somewhat vacant look in their eyes. It wasn’t particularly fun to interact with them, but she found them endearing and beautiful simply because she was their mother. There was no helping it.
Jiang Changyang sighed softly. The day she had given birth to the children, he had thought she was wonderful for not forgetting about him. But in just a few days, she had shown her true colors, with eyes only for the children and not even hearing his question. In the past, she would have greeted him immediately. He suddenly felt a bit dejected.
As he was feeling downcast, he heard a cautious voice from outside the window, “Is that Uncle Jiang?” It was Shaishai, the long-neglected bird, stretching its wings and peeking in with an obvious attempt to please. Jiang Changyang’s mood lifted. He wasn’t the only one being neglected; someone still remembered him (well, it was just a bird). He called out to Kuan’er, “It’s hot outside. Don’t forget to bath Shaishai. The poor thing has probably been ignored these past few days. I haven’t seen it. Make sure it’s well-fed and not thirsty. Check if there’s water in its little bottle.”
Kuan’er, being slow, reflexively agreed before belatedly adding, “No need, sir. I just checked, and there’s water. We bathed it yesterday but kept it away from here to avoid disturbing Zhenglang and Xinjiang with its strange cries.”
Hearing this, Jiang Changyang found it reasonable. Things were different now with the children around. When Shaishai got excited, it would screech and squawk, which could frighten the babies. He changed his tone, “Then why is it brought to the front today?”
Mudan finally noticed him and smiled, “It’s been quite well-behaved, like a little spirit. It seems to sense something different these days. When it first came, it cautiously called out ‘Mudan is so cute.’ After I responded, it’s been peeking in and out sneakily, watching. For a long time, it only made a few sounds, all calling for me. I was afraid of exciting it and disturbing the children, so I didn’t pay much attention. It quieted down on its own and only greeted you when you arrived. Let’s leave it be. It would be pitiful to keep it isolated in the back. After a few days like this, it will learn to behave.”
She had so much to say about this. Jiang Changyang let out a dull “Oh” and moved closer to look at the two children. They were dozing off again, which frustrated him. “Why are they sleeping again? It feels like they’re always sleeping.”
Mudan smiled, “They’re growing, of course, they need to sleep. More sleep is good for them.”
She seemed to know everything. Jiang Changyang watched for a while and was about to reach out to hold Axian and help her sleep when Mudan stopped him. “Let her lie down to sleep. Don’t hold her too much. Although we have plenty of people to hold her in our household, we shouldn’t encourage that habit.”
Jiang Changyang withdrew his hand dejectedly and sat with his wife, making small talk about whether the children ate and slept well today and how Mudan was feeling. He occasionally glanced at Mama Lin, wondering why they hadn’t left yet.
Poor Mama Lin, feeling guilty, broke out in a cold sweat under his gaze. She hurriedly finished tidying up and was about to leave with the box when Jiang Changyang suddenly stood up and said, “Wait, this lacquer ball is nicely made. Let’s keep it to play with.”
Mama Lin’s face scrunched up like a bitter melon. She stole a glance at Mudan, who nodded, “You’ve all worked hard. Go and rest. I’ll call you if I need anything.”
Mama Lin quickly said, “This old servant will ask the wet nurse to come and take the children.”
Mudan smiled, “No need. Let them sleep here. The wet nurses worked hard last night. It’s good to let them rest too.”
Mama Lin was still uneasy, “Then if the children wake up, please call this old servant.” She kept stealing glances at Jiang Changyang as she spoke, taking one step back at a time.
“I understand,” Mudan sighed. This Mama Lin had enjoyed too many good days in recent years and lost the sharp wit she had in the Liu family. What should have been an innocuous situation was now suspicious due to her constant glancing and attempts at concealment. Even Jiang Changyang, who might not have noticed otherwise, was bound to become suspicious.
“Who sent these?” Jiang Changyang turned the lacquer ball over in his hands, examining it. This ball was probably of the same quality as those used by the imperial family. It was polished to perfection and painted with gold lacquer, both lightweight and beautiful in hand. Given that, Madam Bai and Pan Rong had brought these gifts together, and Mama Lin and the others acted as if they had done something wrong, he could guess a few things without asking.
Mudan smiled, “You should be able to guess.”
Jiang Changyang raised an eyebrow, “Miss Qin?”
“She’s not close to Axin,” Mudan took the lacquer ball from his hand and tossed it a few times. “It is well-made.”
Jiang Changyang snatched it back, “Then it must be Concubine Wu Seventeen. I remember she’s close to Axin.”
Mudan glanced at him sideways, “You really can’t guess who it is?”
Jiang Changyang tossed the lacquer ball to the furthest corner of the bed and said sullenly, “How am I supposed to guess who it is?”
Mudan burst into laughter.