“Sedatives?” Concubine Rumei cried out, “How did the wound on her forehead come about?”

“This…” The physician pondered for a moment: “She probably hit something after being drugged, or perhaps someone deliberately struck her with a hard object. Fortunately, the force wasn’t great. She’ll be fine after taking a few doses of medicine and resting for several days.”

“When will my daughter wake up?” Rumei asked.

“It’s nothing serious,” the physician glanced at Guo Meng on the couch. “Your precious daughter will naturally wake up once the drug’s effects wear off.”

The prefect’s wife nodded gratefully and had a maid take the physician to prepare the medicine. The atmosphere became somewhat tense for a moment. Jiang Ruan chuckled softly: “This… Third Young Master Zhao is a strapping seven-foot man—he surely wouldn’t carry a handkerchief around to harm people. This handkerchief is embroidered with flowers, which clearly makes it… a woman’s item.”

Everyone thought this made sense. Not to mention that Zhao Feizhou was a perfectly good young man—why would he carry a handkerchief on his person for no reason? Looking at the flowers and grass embroidered on the handkerchief, it was even more impossible for it to be a man’s item.

Rumei had sharp eyes and immediately recognized the handkerchief’s appearance—she naturally knew it was originally Guo Meng’s handkerchief. Although she didn’t know why Guo Meng would put sedatives on the handkerchief, now that something had happened, if she could blame others, she naturally would. The Marquis Xia manor was also a noble family—perhaps she could gain some advantage from this. Otherwise, would Guo Meng just suffer in silence? Therefore, Rumei immediately said: “Exactly! I never thought Madam Xia could be so vicious. This handkerchief must have been dropped by your maid. Hmph, your maid used the handkerchief to drug Meng’er unconscious and wanted to kill her to silence her, throwing dirty water on Third Young Master Zhao! What a fine scheme indeed.”

Both Shen Rou and Yu Ya’s expressions changed, and Yu Ya became even more furious. She had barely processed the news about Shen Rou when Rumei entangled her as well. She glared viciously at Jiang Ruan—if today’s events had nothing to do with Jiang Ruan, she’d never believe it! It must be her causing trouble from within, this little wretch!

Jiang Ruan smiled slightly, meeting her gaze with the corners of her eyes slightly upturned, creating a mocking and provocative atmosphere.

Yu Ya felt blood rushing to her head, and her voice became shrill: “Why would I send someone to silence your daughter? I’m not the one who committed adultery! I haven’t done anything shameful!” In her anger, she blurted out her inner thoughts, and the resentment in her tone shocked all the madams and young ladies present. They immediately looked at her and Shen Rou with different expressions.

Shen Rou swayed as if about to collapse. If today’s events spread, the Xia family’s reputation would be ruined, and she didn’t know what awaited her. In the Great Jin Dynasty, if uncle and sister-in-law had an affair in an official’s family, the man would never be able to hold his head up again, and the woman would be drowned in a pig cage. Just this one incident would ruin Xia Jiaojiao’s entire future.

But Rumei wasn’t someone easy to deal with. She immediately laughed and displayed the fierce spirit she’d had when she was the lead performer on stage: “Of course you’d want to protect them. You didn’t do those things, but it would disgrace your husband. If that scandal spreads, you as the wife would also be ruined. You wanted to harm my Meng’er to cover up the Xia manor’s scandal, but I insist on talking about it, insist on letting everyone know!” With that, Rumei began shouting loudly: “Someone come! Second Madam Xia wants to cover up the Xia manor’s scandal and silence my daughter! Second Madam Xia is a murderer! The eldest daughter of the Xia family was born to First Madam Xia and Second Master Xia!”

Rumei was originally a singer, so she had excellent lung capacity. She shouted this all in one breath without even panting, and her voice was loud and clear, echoing with countless variations—the entire prefect’s manor could hear it.

Everyone around was dumbfounded. This Rumei really didn’t care about status or etiquette at all—she’d shout whenever she wanted to. Though Yu Ya had been acting for years, she’d never encountered such an unreasonable woman and momentarily forgot to stop her.

Everyone was both shocked and amused. Zhao Jin was already laughing so hard she nearly fainted, whispering to Jiang Ruan: “What a lead performer! That voice truly dazzled the entire audience!”

Being shouted at like this, Shen Rou’s eyes rolled back. Having lost all face inside and out today, she simply fell backward as if fainting. The maid beside her quickly helped her up, saying: “Madam, my mistress is feeling unwell and seems about to faint. Please allow my mistress to rest in a room.”

The prefect’s wife agreed, leaving only Yu Ya from the Xia family. Yu Ya secretly cursed Shen Rou’s cunning, but she also felt a hidden satisfaction from Rumei’s shouting. Shen Rou had done such disgraceful things, and with this shouting, the entire capital would know by tomorrow—where would Shen Rou have any face left to live? Seeing Shen Rou retreat to the inner room, she wanted to do the same. But Rumei was sharp-eyed—while shouting, she kept a close eye on Yu Ya’s movements. Seeing her about to faint, she immediately stepped forward and grabbed Yu Ya’s shoulders, shaking her: “Second Madam Xia, you’ve turned my Meng’er into this state—you can’t turn your face and refuse to acknowledge it! Why don’t you come with me to see the magistrate? Even in court, you’d be in the wrong!”

Yu Ya was shaken violently by Rumei and couldn’t faint even if she wanted to. She was annoyed about how Guo Meng could have such a troublesome mother. Being entangled like this looked bad, and just as Yu Ya was about to lose her temper, she heard more footsteps outside and a voice calling from afar: “Mother, are you alright?”

A group of young masters filed in, apparently having hurried over after hearing the commotion. The leading young man wore jade-white robes, had a face like jade, naturally clever features, carried a folding fan at his waist, and looked both wise and spirited—it was Second Young Master Zhao, Zhao Yulong.

Zhao Feizhou followed closely behind Zhao Yulong. Upon entering, he immediately looked toward Jiang Ruan. Seeing her calm expression with a smile on her lips, then looking at Yu Ya and Concubine Rumei’s disheveled state, he finally relaxed.

Seeing both her son and nephew had arrived and that neither seemed to have any problems, Madam Yao also relaxed, saying: “What are you doing here?” But in her heart, she didn’t want her two young masters to see these sordid affairs. Thinking about how these people had tried to throw dirty water on Zhao Feizhou earlier, she felt angry again.

Noticing Madam Yao’s anger, Zhao Yulong said: “Hearing the commotion here, we rushed over in our anxiety. Please forgive us, honored madams.”

His attitude was polite and courteous, and he was handsome—the madams and young ladies present were all pleased to see him and had no intention of blaming him. Seeing Zhao Yulong like this, Yu Ya couldn’t help thinking of Xia Jun, her heart aching as she looked at Zhao Yulong with undeniably vicious eyes.

Behind the group of young masters was another petite figure in flowing white robes—who else could it be but Jiang Susu?

Earlier, all the young ladies had been here, and everyone had been focused on Guo Meng’s matter, so they hadn’t noticed Jiang Susu’s absence. Now seeing Jiang Susu entering with the male guests, they understood and looked at her with contempt. Looking at this Second Miss Jiang’s pure and untainted appearance, who would have thought she was also restless—sneaking off to look at the young men was one thing, but actually appearing face-to-face with them was another.

Jiang Susu paid no attention to those gazes. Speaking of today, she hadn’t gained nothing—several young masters had already set their hearts on her, which naturally satisfied Jiang Susu. However, though these people included quite a few noble sons, they were still far from the position she hoped for. Thinking of Eighth Prince Xuan Li, Jiang Susu felt somewhat melancholy—it had been a long time since she’d seen him.

But the Xia family was connected to her after all, so Jiang Susu still frowned and asked softly: “Second Aunt, has something happened?”

Concubine Rumei glanced at Jiang Susu with disdain in her heart. This Jiang Susu was born so beautiful that she overshadowed her Guo Meng, so her tone wasn’t very good: “Naturally it’s the good deeds of your second aunt. If my Meng’er hadn’t been lucky today, she would have been killed by this vicious woman!”

Zhao Feizhou’s eyes twitched, and he unconsciously looked toward Jiang Ruan. Earlier, after Jiang Ruan had Tianzhu knock Guo Meng unconscious, she told him to hurry back. Zhao Feizhou hadn’t wanted to, but Jiang Ruan’s cold demeanor made him uncomfortable, so he agreed. After Jiang Ruan had him return, she told him to tell Zhao Yulong everything exactly as it happened. After hearing Zhao Feizhou’s account, Zhao Yulong thought for a moment, then told Zhao Feizhou not to make a fuss. When they heard commotion from the west garden later, Zhao Yulong casually suggested that all the brothers go take a look together.

Zhao Yulong’s eyes curved slightly as he looked at Jiang Ruan, who noticed his gaze and returned a faint smile. Being Zhao Yuanping’s son, Zhao Yulong had inherited some of Zhao Yuanping’s cunning and was very satisfied with this cousin’s actions. After the two exchanged a mutually understanding look, they each looked away.

A young lady among those admiring Zhao Yulong gently told him what had happened. After hearing the full story, Zhao Yulong frowned and asked: “Then, have that maid who met with trouble and the maid beside Second Madam Xia been found?”

“We did search for them,” the prefect’s wife said. “But both are missing.”

One of the young masters said carelessly: “What’s there to guess about? It must be that the maid who killed to silence witnesses also killed the informant maid, and knowing the matter was exposed, simply fled, which is why they can’t be found!”

At these words, everyone fell silent again. This explanation was quite possible and very logical. They looked at Yu Ya with even stranger expressions. Yu Ya was furious—originally, finding those two maids would prove her innocence, or at least prove she hadn’t sent someone to harm Fifth Miss Guo. But these two had suddenly vanished without a trace. She couldn’t help looking at Jiang Ruan—could this also be Jiang Ruan’s doing?

Jiang Ruan’s smile hadn’t faded since the beginning. That informant maid could never be found even if they turned the entire prefect’s manor upside down, because she wasn’t a maid at all. Jin San, though a killer, was quite good at disguising herself—even these young ladies hadn’t suspected anything. As for the maid beside Yu Ya, she would never be able to return.

Yu Ya was truly in an impossible situation now. Rumei was pressing aggressively, while Guo Meng was unconscious from the drug and didn’t know when she’d wake up. Today was truly a case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead. She was both anxious and angry, and could only stiffly repeat: “I didn’t order anyone to harm Guo Meng.” Unfortunately, no one believed her words.

During the standoff, someone hurried over with a report, saying that the Marquis Xia had ordered Yu Ya and Shen Rou to return to the manor immediately. The Marquis must have already received news to send such a message. Thinking of Shen Rou’s fate, Yu Ya felt satisfaction in her heart, but Xia Cheng’s anger was always terrible, so she also worried about what she would face.

Though Rumei acted like a shrew, she was also shrewd, knowing that Xia Cheng was still the one in charge of the Xia family. Offending Xia Cheng wouldn’t benefit her own master either. Yu Ya had almost no room to deny anything in front of all these madams today, and the Xia manor wouldn’t disappear—you could run from the monk but not from the temple. The Xia family would eventually give her an explanation. Since Xia Cheng knew about it, there was no need to be urgent. For the sake of his manor’s reputation and to avoid criticism from outsiders, the Marquis would naturally find ways to compensate.

So Concubine Rumei put on a sorrowful act: “Fine, I suppose the Marquis must know about this matter and wants the Xia family madams to return and discuss it. I’m not an unreasonable person either. Since Meng’er hasn’t woken up yet, we’ll wait until she does, then discuss this matter slowly. At that time, I hope the Marquis Xia manor can give Meng’er a clear explanation.”

Yu Ya was furious again and agreed harshly, telling the maid to go to the inner room and fetch Shen Rou. A moment later, Shen Rou emerged with a pale face following the maid. The two hurriedly took their leave from the prefect’s wife and fled with their maids in embarrassment. This wretched appearance was nothing like their high spirits when they arrived—they even forgot about Jiang Susu and Jiang Ruan.

However, Jiang Susu and Jiang Ruan weren’t suitable to go to the Xia manor now either.

Having such an incident occur, but with the hour still early, the prefect’s wife didn’t want a perfectly good gathering to be ruined by this inexplicable affair, so she apologized again, asking everyone not to take this accident to heart and to continue enjoying the flowers.

Everyone couldn’t disappoint the prefect’s wife and agreed, but having had such an incident, how could they have the same mood as before? When they resumed, the topic of discussion was no longer flowers, nor even the “she” or “he” they had their eyes on, but rather the Xia manor’s secret affair, which would certainly become excellent gossip material.

Because Guo Meng still hadn’t awakened, the prefect’s wife kept servants watching over her. Concubine Rumei acted as if she’d suffered great injustice, constantly crying to the prefect’s wife. The prefect’s wife was becoming annoyed with comforting her, until she promised that the prefect’s manor would definitely compensate Fifth Miss Guo properly, and only then did Rumei put away her crying act.

Time flew by quickly, and soon it was nearly dark and time to take leave. When Zhao Jin discussed this matter with Jiang Ruan, she shook her head: “That Concubine Rumei is really lowly. Even for a concubine, she went too far. Looking at what she said to the prefect’s wife, she acted just like a poor relative coming to freeload, wanting to take whatever she saw. Such shallow thinking is truly unheard of.”

Jiang Ruan smiled and shook her head. Just then, she encountered the two brothers Zhao Yulong and Zhao Feizhou walking over. Seeing Jiang Ruan, Zhao Feizhou said: “Cousin, grandmother said to have you ride in our carriage later and we’ll take you back to the Jiang manor.”

With Yu Ya and Shen Rou having fled, she and Jiang Susu still needed to return to the manor. Jiang Ruan nodded. Zhao Yulong looked at her with interest, not avoiding suspicion as he said: “Cousin is truly ice-snow clever. Today’s methods were truly admirable.”

“Cousin understands the principle of adding flowers to brocade very well,” Jiang Ruan replied indifferently.

These riddle-like exchanges between the two fell on Zhao Feizhou’s ears as confusion, and he scratched his head: “What are you two talking about? I don’t understand.”

Zhao Yulong looked deeply at Jiang Ruan: “Regardless, I thank you on behalf of the Zhao family.” Though Zhao Yulong was about the same age as Zhao Feizhou, his temperament was more mature. He had always felt that Jiang Ruan was too cold-hearted and had more calculating thoughts toward the General’s manor than genuine affection. If speaking of feelings, he really couldn’t see any. But today she had acted to help—without Jiang Ruan, by the end of this Golden Chrysanthemum Banquet, it would have been Zhao Feizhou who suffered. If Guo Meng had really entered the Zhao family’s doors, who knows what other storms she might have stirred up. Jiang Ruan’s willingness to help showed she still had some feelings for the Zhao family.

“No need to thank me. The Xia family was targeting me to begin with,” Jiang Ruan answered. Why else would Yu Ya target someone from the General’s manor for no reason? She was just venting her anger toward Jiang Ruan on the Zhao family. Now Jiang Xinzhi was far away and beyond reach, and her princess status made Yu Ya somewhat wary. But Zhao Feizhou was a simple fool who seemed easy to bully, so naturally she came up with such a vicious scheme.

Zhao Yulong was about to say something when he heard another shrill female voice: “Jiang Ruan! Zhao Feizhou!”

The one approaching aggressively with a questioning attitude was none other than Guo Meng. Guo Meng was truly suffering—inexplicably disfigured, and when she woke up, she heard about other matters. Now she had formed a grudge with Yu Ya, and it was too late to say anything else. Seeing Jiang Ruan upon coming out, how could she not be furious?

Jiang Ruan raised an eyebrow. Now that two hours had passed, Guo Meng had naturally awakened, but putting on such an attitude—it could be said that Fifth Miss Guo was just like her mother, not particularly intelligent.

Guo Meng rushed to Jiang Ruan’s front and angrily said: “You actually schemed against me, you…”

“Shut up,” came another stern female voice. Looking back, it was Miss Guo Xiang, the eldest daughter of the Guo family.

“It’s you! Did you scheme against me together with them?” Seeing Guo Xiang, Guo Meng became even more arrogant, raising her voice to question her, bearing some resemblance to Jiang Li from the Jiang manor.

“Slap!” Guo Xiang cleanly and decisively gave Guo Meng a slap, stunning everyone. Guo Xiang’s expression was cold, her tone carrying slight coldness: “This slap is to teach you what should be said and what shouldn’t be said.”

She then looked at Jiang Ruan. This eldest daughter of the Guo family acted properly and appropriately, with a kind of decisive efficiency. She calmly bowed to Jiang Ruan: “My concubine sister has been improper. I hope the Princess will be magnanimous.”

“No harm done,” Jiang Ruan smiled gently.