At noon, people from the estate gradually carried the boxes back. Two fine yellow pear wood boxes—most of the clothes had worn old, the jewelry was mostly complete, but the silver could not be recovered. The maids looked at Jiang Ruan with some lingering fear: “Miss, everything that could be found has been found back…”

“It’s fine, go down.” Jiang Ruan shook her head. Zhang Lan’s family loved ease and hated work. When the banknotes fell into their hands, they were either taken by Chen Zhao to please women or by Chen Fu for gambling. The jewelry and clothes taken by Chen Fang had escaped disaster, but they could no longer be used.

“Bai Zhi,” Jiang Ruan nodded toward those two boxes: “Except for what Mother left behind, take everything else to the pawn shop and pawn it all, preferably convert it all to banknotes.”

“Miss,” Bai Zhi was somewhat surprised: “Everything? Those are all yours…”

“Things that have been used—what use are they.” Jiang Ruan sat down at the table and slowly poured herself a cup of tea. Since Zhang Lan’s incident, the maids on the estate all feared Jiang Ruan greatly. The tea leaves they brought were this year’s new tea.

“You should at least keep a few pieces of clothing,” Bai Zhi said: “In a few days we’ll return to the capital. It wouldn’t look good to dress like this.”

“If I don’t dress like this, how will Father feel sorry for me.” Jiang Ruan said indifferently. Her expression remained unchanged, but her eyes held some coldness.

Bai Zhi was momentarily speechless, not knowing how to respond. Just as she hesitated, Lian Qiao came in carrying a basket of washed vegetables and fruits, catching their entire conversation. She chimed in: “Exactly. If you wore the original clothes, wouldn’t that be caring only for face and not substance? Why should Miss endure discomfort? Besides, Bai Zhi, don’t forget that Miss can’t wear those clothes anymore—didn’t you see that even Chen Fang stopped wearing them?”

Bai Zhi thought this made sense and no longer hesitated. She crouched down to carefully pick out Zhao Mei’s belongings, then had several people carry out the remaining items to exchange for silver at the pawn shop.

After Bai Zhi left, Lian Qiao packed the previous books into boxes while hesitating: “Miss, this servant heard about something outside today.”

Before she could finish speaking, the door was kicked open from outside with a loud bang. Chen Fang stormed in angrily, immediately demanding: “Miss, why did you treat my mother this way!”

“Insolent!” Lian Qiao stood up, angrily saying: “Who gave you the courage to shout and yell in front of Miss!”

Chen Fang was not to be outdone, saying loudly: “Miss, I respect you as Miss. In these years you’ve been on the estate, didn’t my mother serve you well? Without my mother, how would you have today! My brother also treated you well. Why did you frame him and land him in prison? Miss, what a cruel heart you have!”

“What nonsense are you spouting!” Lian Qiao was furious: “What framing? It was clearly Chen Zhao who brought it upon himself, trying to frame our Miss!”

“Lian Qiao,” Jiang Ruan stopped her words, looked at Chen Fang, and suddenly smiled: “Miss Chen, are you mistaken? The one who harmed Chen Zhao and landed him in prison—wasn’t that you?”

“What do you mean?” Chen Fang frowned.

“Miss Chen, have you forgotten? More than ten days ago, you invited me to see that pot of Moonlit Beauty.” Jiang Ruan lifted her teacup, blew away the tea foam floating on top, and took a light sip: “Speaking of it, your brother’s liaison with Chun Ying began with that pot of Moonlit Beauty.”

Chen Fang initially didn’t understand what Jiang Ruan was saying, but upon hearing the last sentence, she was shocked and said incredulously: “You did it on purpose? Chun Ying going there—you orchestrated it?”

“You tell me,” Jiang Ruan replied with a faint smile.

“Impossible… That’s impossible…” Chen Fang stared at her in growing fear. “Even if you *did* lure Chun Ying over, how could you have known what happened next? There’s no way you could have predicted all this… Are you even human, or are you some kind of demon?”

“Maybe I *am* a demon,” Jiang Ruan replied with a soft laugh. “You harmed your brother, your brother harmed your mother—so in the end, you have no one to blame but yourselves.”

She smiled at Chen Fang as she sipped her tea. The steaming liquid gave her lips a brilliant red hue. With snow-pale skin and flowing black hair, her beauty in that moment was nearly bewitching, like a spirit from a tale.

Terrified, Chen Fang stumbled back several steps. “No… I don’t believe it… No…” As if fleeing from something dreadful, she turned and bolted from the room.

Lian Qiao frowned. “She’s completely lost her mind. Everything she ate and wore over the years came from Miss, and now she dares to accuse you like that? Truly a heart blinded by greed—disgusting!”

Jiang Ruan replied calmly, “Hasn’t she already received her retribution? Everything in this world has cause and effect. The downfall of Zhang Lan’s family today is nothing but the fruit of the seeds they sowed in the past.”

Lian Qiao chuckled. “Miss is the clever one. Did you see how frightened she was? Our Miss truly sees through people like reading a book.”

Jiang Ruan gave a faint smile. In her past life, whether facing those who had wronged her, surviving in the palace, or enduring helpless suffering, there was one thing she had learned well—endurance. If there was a goal to achieve, she would wait patiently, use everything available to her, and strike with precision. These lessons, once born of pain, now served her with ease.

She recalled something and asked, “Just now, what was it you were about to tell me?”

Lian Qiao hesitated for a moment, then bit her lip and said, “It’s… about something I heard outside. Rumors are spreading everywhere—saying that Master doesn’t know how to manage his household. That he allowed the eldest legitimate daughter of the Jiang family to be mistreated on a country estate.”

As she spoke, she cautiously glanced at Jiang Ruan’s expression, only to find her smiling lightly.

“Is that so?” Jiang Ruan murmured.

Even here on the estate, news had already stirred up such commotion. In the capital, the matter had naturally become the subject of gossip and idle chatter. Everyone spoke of Jiang Shangshu’s kindly face but cold heart, and sighed over the dignity and cleverness of his daughter. The gates of the Jiang household remained tightly shut. Not even a single servant boy or maid was seen outside for errands.

Inside the Jiang residence, Jiang Quan slammed the memorial in his hand onto the desk with a loud *thud*, his face livid.

“Outrageous!”

“Master,” came a gentle voice from the doorway.

A woman entered the room, dressed in a pale pink brocade robe embroidered with golden butterflies among blooming flowers. Over it, she wore a five-colored carved silk jacket trimmed with silver squirrel fur. Her long skirt was a soft green crepe with delicate floral patterns. Her hair was styled in a falling horse bun, adorned with pearls from the South Sea. She looked delicate yet elegant, her almond-shaped eyes radiating a quiet scholarly charm.

She set down the food basket in her hands, walked forward, and gently grasped Jiang Quan’s hand.

“Please calm yourself, Master,” she said softly. “Don’t damage your health over anger.”

Jiang Quan’s dark expression lightened a bit at the sight of her, but his voice still brimmed with fury.

“Look at these reports!” he growled. “They say I, Jiang Quan, am unfit to rule my household. That I am harsh to my own flesh and blood. That I’ve ignored my daughter for five years and am nothing more than a heartless hypocrite! Even His Majesty has ordered me to reflect on my conduct! Me! The laughingstock of the court! Zhao Mei—what a fine daughter your elder sister raised!”

“This has nothing to do with Elder Sister,” Xia Yan quickly interjected. “Ruan’er surely didn’t mean for things to come to this. But now, Master, why not bring Ruan’er back to the capital? That may at least calm His Majesty’s suspicions. I will go prepare the arrangements right away.”

“No need,” Jiang Quan waved her off, eyes dark and brooding. “Censor Wang has already taken it upon himself to send a carriage to retrieve her.”