Seeing that Tong’er and Baixue looked puzzled, Jiang Li told them about what had happened last night.
The two maids had not attended the palace banquet, so they didn’t know about this incident. After hearing Jiang Li’s account of the entire process, they were both extremely shocked. Jiang Li didn’t mention how she had toyed with Jiang Yu’e, only saying that by a twist of fate, the drugged wine meant for herself had been drunk by Jiang Yu’e instead.
Tong’er was terrified, saying fearfully, “Thank goodness Fifth Miss drank that medicine. If Miss had drunk it…” Tong’er simply didn’t dare imagine what would have happened to Jiang Li next. She clasped her hands together toward the sky and murmured, “This must be Madam protecting Miss from heaven, always secretly guarding her from harm. Amitabha…”
“Madam’s heart is too cruel,” Baixue frowned and said. “Doing this, she left Miss no way to survive. She appears gentle and loving, but in reality has the heart of a snake and scorpion. Miss, can’t we tell the master and let him see her true face?”
Jiang Li shook her head.
“I have no evidence for this matter. With just my one-sided account, they can naturally refute it. Moreover, now that Jiang Youyao’s engagement has been ruined for no reason, Father already feels guilty toward her and is biased in her favor. Whatever I say won’t be believed. It’s fine,” Jiang Li said. “Just this one incident of the engagement with Zhou Yanbang being canceled is enough to severely damage this mother and daughter pair. Ultimately, I wasn’t harmed. As for their true faces,” Jiang Li smiled faintly, “as long as I remain in this household for even one more day, I’ll always find an opportunity.”
Tong’er and Baixue exchanged glances.
Since Jiang Li had said so, they could only let the matter rest. Tong’er asked, “Then what will happen with Young Lord Zhou now? Will he marry Fifth Miss? I think the master definitely won’t let Third Miss marry Young Lord Zhou anymore.”
Even Tong’er could see that after this incident, it was impossible for Jiang Youyao to enter Zhou Yanbang’s household. Jiang Yuanbai would absolutely not allow Jiang Youyao to demean herself like this, nor bring shame to the Jiang family’s reputation.
“Fifth Miss also can’t possibly become the principal wife, right?” Baixue continued. “Doesn’t Young Lord Zhou still have entanglements with that Miss Shen? Even Miss Shen’s status is much higher than Fifth Miss’s. If they need to give Fifth Miss an explanation, they’ll need to give Miss Shen an even greater explanation. Between Miss Shen and Fifth Miss, they’ll definitely accommodate Miss Shen first.”
Tong’er nodded vigorously, then looked at Jiang Li and patted her chest, saying with lingering fear, “Young Lord Zhou is entangled with so many women, and he’s not even married yet… Looking at it this way, this person really isn’t a good match. It’s better that Miss severed ties with him early on. Just let him go harm other people.” Tong’er felt extremely fortunate that Jiang Li had already broken off her engagement with Zhou Yanbang. Otherwise, the one feeling sad now wouldn’t be Jiang Youyao, but the Jiang Li standing before her.
“However,” Tong’er suddenly thought of something and asked puzzledly, “I’ve never heard of Young Lord Zhou having any connections with Miss Shen before. How did they get mixed up together? Was it an accident?”
Did the drunken Zhou Yanbang happen to see Shen Ruyun and suddenly have lustful thoughts, which led him to suddenly make improper advances? Was that it?
Jiang Li’s smile turned colder.
The gentleman was heartless, but the lady had intentions—this was no accident, but rather Shen Ruyun’s carefully orchestrated “feat.”
…
The Shen household.
The servants kept their heads down, doing their work earnestly.
Although their current master had returned as Assistant Director of the Secretariat and appeared very tolerant and benevolent, the Assistant Director’s mother and his sister were not as easy to talk to as Shen Yurun. The two women were born with somewhat harsh temperaments. Especially now that Shen Yurun’s official career was increasingly prosperous, the two women’s tempers had gradually grown, as if to make up for past hardships, they wanted to vent all the suffering they had endured before.
And the method of venting was naturally to torment the servants.
The servants of the Shen household all knew that the two mistresses were harsh in their treatment of people, so they didn’t dare let their attention wander even a bit while working, being extremely careful.
Inside the room, Shen Ruyun was confronting Shen Yurun.
“You’ve gone too far!” Shen Yurun said.
Shen Ruyun was unconcerned and replied, “Brother, the one who did wrong wasn’t me, it was Marquis Ningyuan Zhou Yanbang. Why are you blaming me? Are you really my older brother or not?”
Shen Yurun didn’t get angry, but instead laughed. Looking at Shen Ruyun, he asked, “Oh? He really did wrong?”
His gaze was extremely sharp, as if it pierced directly into one’s heart with a “whoosh,” spying out everything one was thinking. Shen Ruyun shrank back, then stubbornly said, “That’s right!”
Shen Yurun stared at her fixedly.
Shen Ruyun felt somewhat guilty.
That night at the palace banquet, everyone saw the result—Young Lord Zhou Yanbang of Marquis Ningyuan and his fiancée’s cousin Jiang Yu’e had a private meeting in the palace, engaging in intimate relations, and he had also attempted to take liberties with the Assistant Director’s sister, Shen Ruyun. Young Lord Zhou of Marquis Ningyuan was not actually the refined gentleman he appeared to be on the surface, but rather was consumed by lust.
Everyone saw the result, but no one knew the specific details of what actually happened that night. Even Zhou Yanbang and Jiang Yu’e might not be entirely clear themselves. The one who knew most clearly was none other than Shen Ruyun.
That night, she had encountered Jiang Li by chance in the garden and learned of Zhou Yanbang’s whereabouts. After struggling internally for some time, she finally couldn’t restrain her infatuation and went to Yuxiu Pavilion herself, planning to “accidentally encounter” Zhou Yanbang. At the very least, she wanted to exchange a few words with him, to let him remember her and know there was such a person, rather than remain a stranger.
Even now, Shen Ruyun still felt fortunate that she had made this decision.
When she pushed open the door of Yuxiu Pavilion and saw Jiang Yu’e and Zhou Yanbang intimately entwined in their disgraceful state, she almost couldn’t help but scream aloud. Anger and jealous rage instantly overwhelmed her. Shen Ruyun had almost no hesitation—she was about to run out and make this scandal public, to ruthlessly take revenge on this man who had hurt her heart and this shameless woman.
Before leaving, Shen Ruyun, driven by some unknown emotion, retreated back. She wanted to question Zhou Yanbang about why he would do such a thing. If previously she had no choice but to give up and could only gaze at this deeply loved man from afar because Zhou Yanbang and Jiang Youyao were already engaged, then why would the already-engaged Zhou Yanbang be with Jiang Yu’e? Did he like Jiang Yu’e?
Shen Ruyun recognized Jiang Yu’e at a glance—Jiang Youyao’s sister, an annoying dog who was always fawning and begging for scraps from Jiang Youyao.
But when Shen Ruyun mustered the courage to question Zhou Yanbang, Zhou Yanbang didn’t answer. He seemed to hear Shen Ruyun speaking and lifted his head toward her direction, but his facial expression was muddled and confused, as if he were drunk, with an abnormal flush.
Shen Ruyun then recalled what Jiang Li had said—that Zhou Yanbang was drunk and resting. Thinking that Zhou Yanbang might be drunk, a glimmer of hope arose in her heart. Had Zhou Yanbang done this unconsciously while intoxicated?
When she boldly moved a bit closer and forced herself to overcome her inner disgust to look at Jiang Yu’e, she discovered that Jiang Yu’e, like Zhou Yanbang, was also muddled and unclear-headed.
But even drunk people shouldn’t look like this.
Shen Ruyun vaguely felt a sense of familiarity, feeling like she had seen this scene somewhere before. It wasn’t until she saw in a corner of the room half a stick of incense burning, with the other half already turned to ash on the ground, that things became clear.
Shen Ruyun suddenly understood!
She realized why this scene before her was so familiar, making her can’t help but recall whether she had seen it somewhere before. Now she finally knew—wasn’t this exactly the scene when her sister-in-law, Xue Fangfei, had been caught with her “adulterer”?
Almost exactly the same!
Xue Fangfei had been just like this then, muddled and unclear, unable to understand what kind of environment she was in. By the time they managed to wake her, the surrounding ladies had already seen everything they wanted to see.
It was the same two people drowsy and unclear-headed, the same incense, the same intriguing fragrance.
The longer Shen Ruyun stayed in the room, the more she could feel her mouth going dry, with an unfamiliar wave of heat surging through her body.
If she hadn’t experienced the incident with Xue Fangfei, given Shen Ruyun’s not particularly clever mind, she naturally wouldn’t have been able to figure out what was going on. But because she had that experience, this time Shen Ruyun was quite clever and immediately guessed what was happening.
Zhou Yanbang and Jiang Yu’e had been schemed against!
Having reached this point, Shen Ruyun instead became hesitant.
If Zhou Yanbang had been schemed against, then it wasn’t his true intention, so naturally she didn’t need to take revenge on him or call people to witness this scandal. But if she didn’t wake them up, after they awoke, would Jiang Yu’e take advantage of this situation to cling to Zhou Yanbang? The more she thought about it, the more she felt this was possible. Shen Ruyun even began to think that perhaps the one who had schemed and plotted against Zhou Yanbang was Jiang Yu’e herself.
With this conjecture, Shen Ruyun increasingly felt her thinking was correct. After all, given Jiang Yu’e’s status, marrying an official’s son in the future would be impossible, let alone becoming the wife of Young Lord Zhou of Marquis Ningyuan, whom all the young ladies in the capital admired. Even marrying Young Lord Zhou as a concubine would be considered climbing above her station for Jiang Yu’e.
Thinking this way, Shen Ruyun felt increasingly aggrieved and found looking at Jiang Yu’e extremely grating. If she just walked away now, wouldn’t she be fulfilling Jiang Yu’e’s wishes? Letting Jiang Yu’e gain this advantage for nothing was something Shen Ruyun was unwilling to see happen.
Thinking it over repeatedly, Shen Ruyun couldn’t come up with a good solution. She couldn’t help feeling indignant—why wasn’t she the one entangled with Zhou Yanbang? If the person lying on the bed with Zhou Yanbang now were herself, things would be much easier to handle. With her status as the Assistant Director’s sister, Zhou Yanbang could just marry her, and they would be well-matched and compatible. And having consummated their relationship, no matter how unwilling Jiang Youyao was, she would inevitably have to sever ties with Zhou Yanbang.
The Jiang family would not allow Jiang Youyao to become a co-wife.
What had started as a casual thought suddenly made Shen Ruyun pause.
That’s right—if she herself were entangled with Zhou Yanbang, Jiang Youyao would have no role to play, so why not do exactly that?
After all, Zhou Yanbang had been drugged and was unconscious. Even if there were one more person “entangled” with him, Zhou Yanbang wouldn’t know.
However, Shen Ruyun was also aware that her current status was different from before—she had an older brother who was Assistant Director. If she acted too unseemly, Shen Ruyun would lose face and it might affect Shen Yurun’s official career. She couldn’t, like Jiang Yu’e, sleep disheveled beside Zhou Yanbang. She was a woman; she had to consider her reputation.
On this matter, Shen Ruyun probably used up all the cleverness and wisdom of her entire life to fabricate a story of “being taken advantage of.” This way, she became a pitiable victim in everyone’s eyes, but she had also had intimate physical contact with Zhou Yanbang and could use this to make him take responsibility for her.
Things proceeded very smoothly. Even Princess Yongning stood on her side to speak for her. Judging by Marquis Ningyuan’s tone, he would definitely give her an explanation.
Shen Ruyun even dreamed of marrying Zhou Yanbang and becoming the Young Lord’s wife.
But she never expected that her own brother, Shen Yurun, would not stand on her side. On the contrary, he even accused her of acting wrongly.
Feeling uneasy under Shen Yurun’s gaze, Shen Ruyun changed the subject, saying, “Brother! What’s the point of talking about this now? Marquis Ningyuan said he would give us an explanation. Now that Young Lord Zhou and I have this kind of relationship, no one else will dare marry me. Besides marrying him, I have no other option!”
“No other option?” Shen Yurun snorted. “When you did this, why didn’t you think about having no other options now!”
Shen Ruyun’s heart jolted. Shen Yurun had still guessed it. Well, with Shen Yurun’s intelligence, he would certainly figure out what was suspicious about it.
“I know you like him, but he’s the Jiang family’s son-in-law!” Shen Yurun said. “Now the Jiang family has no choice but to break off the engagement. You’ve made the Jiang and Zhou families enemies. Do you think Marquis Ningyuan’s household won’t resent you? The Jiang family will also hold you accountable!”
Shen Ruyun hated hearing about the Jiang family most. Although she was now also the Assistant Director’s sister, she still couldn’t compare to the nobility of the Chief Minister’s daughter. She couldn’t help but speak sarcastically, “The Jiang family, the Jiang family—all you know is the Jiang family. In the end, you’re still concerned about your official career. Now that Her Highness the Princess is in our Shen household, why should you fear the Jiang family? You—”
With a sharp “crack,” Shen Ruyun’s words came to an abrupt halt.
Because Shen Yurun had slapped her across the face.
Shen Ruyun’s body swayed from the blow and she nearly fell. She saw Shen Yurun’s eyes turn red, his palm trembling as he looked at her with a sinister gaze. He said, “Watch your words.”
Shen Ruyun was so frightened she forgot how to cry.
She knew her older brother was clever. From childhood, he had excelled at his studies. The teachers at the private school all said the Shen family would surely produce a top scholar someday. Later, Shen Yurun indeed became the top scholar.
Shen Yurun treated Madam Shen and Shen Ruyun very well, but when Shen Ruyun truly angered him and he lost his temper, she would feel apprehensive. But she didn’t know from what point onward—probably after Xue Fangfei’s death—she began to feel her older brother was becoming increasingly gloomy and increasingly unfamiliar. Like now, she was extremely frightened. She didn’t know what Shen Yurun might do.
Hearing the commotion outside, Madam Shen quickly pushed the door open and entered. Upon entering and seeing Shen Ruyun covering her face with tears in her eyes, she hurried over, pulled Shen Ruyun’s hand away, and seeing the wound on her face, immediately said angrily, “Yurun, how could you lay hands on your own sister!”
Seeing Madam Shen arrive, Shen Yurun helplessly pressed his temples and said, “Mother, don’t interfere in this matter.”
“How can I not interfere!” Madam Shen said. “I’m your mother! Ruyun suffered such a great injustice last night. What did she do wrong? She’s your sister! I know you’ve become important now. I can’t control you anymore. If you think Ruyun and I are burdens, if you’re embarrassed by us and think we’re not fit to be your family, then tell me early. Ruyun and I will pack our things and return to the countryside. We wouldn’t dare trouble you, this top scholar sir!” By the end, she simply sat down on the ground and wailed dryly, “It’s all because the master died early, leaving behind such a mess. I worked so hard to raise my son with great difficulty, but now he doesn’t recognize his own mother. What a sin…”
Shen Ruyun quickly crouched down, and the mother and daughter embraced and wept together.
The servants outside were even more terrified and didn’t dare breathe loudly, pretending not to see and staying far away. Such scenes were not unfamiliar in the Shen household. Whenever Madam Shen couldn’t handle Shen Yurun, she would always use this trick of wailing dryly to force Shen Yurun to compromise.
Sure enough, Shen Yurun immediately conceded defeat. He said, “Mother, when have I ever said I wouldn’t care for you? It’s all this son’s fault. I’m an unfilial son. It’s my mistake. Ruyun, at noon I’ll make a trip to Marquis Ningyuan’s household. I won’t let you suffer any injustice in this matter. As for Zhou Yanbang… just wait at home with peace of mind.”
Shen Ruyun was secretly delighted but still had to sob and say, “Don’t deceive me, brother. Don’t think I’m being unreasonable either. If Marquis Ningyuan’s household doesn’t give an explanation now, I have nowhere else to go and will have no choice but to cut my hair and become a nun. You know how the people of the capital treat unchaste women…” She abruptly stopped speaking and looked at Shen Yurun with fearful unease.
Shen Yurun did not allow anyone in the household to mention Xue Fangfei again. Everyone speculated it was because admitting he wore a cuckold’s hat—that his wife had an affair with another man—was ultimately a humiliating matter for a husband.
Shen Yurun’s brow twitched slightly. He didn’t lose his temper, but suddenly became quiet, his expression also turning cold. He said, “I understand. You stay in the household and wait. I’ll go out for a while first.” After speaking, without paying any more attention to Shen Ruyun and Madam Shen, he left directly.
This time, Madam Shen also didn’t wail again. Only after Shen Yurun had left did she suddenly slap Shen Ruyun on the back, complaining, “Why did you bring up that matter out of the blue? Look at your brother—he’s upset again.”
Shen Ruyun also felt very regretful. At this critical juncture, she didn’t want to anger Shen Yurun either, but she still wouldn’t back down verbally, saying, “What’s wrong with brother anyway? He still acts like this when that person is mentioned. Could he still be thinking about her?”
“What nonsense are you talking?” Madam Shen immediately said. “Your brother has long had no relationship with that woman! She made your brother the laughingstock of the entire capital. What man in the world could tolerate an adulterous wife? It’s good she died. If she hadn’t died, your brother would still be dragged down by her. Where would his current good prospects come from?!”
Seeing Madam Shen’s stern appearance, Shen Ruyun didn’t dare contradict her. After a while, she asked, “Mother, will brother really go to Marquis Ningyuan’s household to stand up for me?”
“Of course he will!” Madam Shen gripped Shen Ruyun’s hand, a fierce gleam flashing in her eyes. “Even if your brother doesn’t come forward, Marquis Ningyuan’s household has insulted your virtue in front of so many people. They naturally must give you an explanation. If worst comes to worst, we’ll ask the Princess to help… In any case, we absolutely cannot let you suffer any injustice!”
Shen Ruyun felt somewhat guilty. Apart from letting Shen Yurun guess about her scheming against Zhou Yanbang, even Madam Shen didn’t know about it. If Marquis Ningyuan’s household learned the truth, they would certainly not let the matter rest. But judging from Zhou Yanbang’s condition, he probably wouldn’t learn the truth.
This way, the matter was perfect and seamless. She could smoothly marry into Marquis Ningyuan’s household.
She would finally get what she wished for.
…
At this moment in Marquis Ningyuan’s household, a woman’s crying could be heard from the main hall.
“My lord, stop hitting him, stop hitting him! Yanbang can’t withstand this beating. Quickly stop!” Lady Ningyuan reached out to snatch the whip from Marquis Ningyuan’s hand, but was pushed away by Marquis Ningyuan and fell to the ground. She could only watch helplessly as that black, gleaming whip landed on Zhou Yanbang’s back, and Zhou Yanbang immediately let out a miserable scream.
The servants in the hall and the other people of Marquis Ningyuan’s household all dared not plead for Zhou Yanbang. Zhou Yanbang knelt on the ground, wanting to avoid his father’s lashing, but was beaten even more fiercely.
His back immediately became covered with red welts. The wounds rose up one by one, and because he had been pampered with delicate skin since childhood, the scars looked extremely horrifying.
As Marquis Ningyuan struck, he cursed, “Worthless scoundrel!”
No matter how Lady Ningyuan tried to dissuade him, she couldn’t stop it. She could only watch helplessly as Marquis Ningyuan grew tired from beating, threw down the whip in his hand with a snort, and walked away without looking back.
Lady Ningyuan quickly rushed over. Seeing Zhou Yanbang’s barely alive appearance, her tears immediately couldn’t be stopped. She urgently shouted at the nearby servants, “Quickly fetch a physician!”
The physician soon arrived and wrote several prescriptions for Zhou Yanbang. Lady Ningyuan quickly had someone fetch the medicine and take it to the kitchen to brew. At the same time, she personally applied medicinal ointment to Zhou Yanbang’s back.
After a while, the unconscious Zhou Yanbang finally slowly regained consciousness and called out, “Mother.”
Lady Ningyuan’s tears fell on the back of her hand. In her heart, she pitied his misfortune and was angry at his failure to meet expectations. She wanted to reach out and strike Zhou Yanbang a couple of times but couldn’t bear to do it. She only said, “What have you done?”
Zhou Yanbang couldn’t explain it either.
What had he done? From last night until now, he had been dizzy and unclear about everything.
Lady Ningyuan continued, “You getting mixed up with Jiang Yu’e would be one thing—after all, she’s just a concubine’s daughter. At worst, we could take her in as a high-ranking concubine and be done with it. But why did you have to go and provoke Shen Ruyun for no reason? That’s the Assistant Director’s sister. Now the Emperor values Shen Yurun most highly. By provoking the Shen family, the Emperor will surely be displeased with you and have misgivings about our Marquis Ningyuan household. That’s why your father is so angry.”
Zhou Yanbang only felt his head grow larger. When had he provoked Shen Ruyun? He didn’t even know what Shen Ruyun looked like. The Assistant Director’s sister—when the incident occurred last night and she tearfully made her accusations, that was the first time Zhou Yanbang clearly saw this woman’s appearance. Toward such a strange woman, how could he have taken liberties with her? Zhou Yanbang himself couldn’t figure it out.
“Didn’t you say before that you were interested in Second Miss Jiang, Jiang Li? If you were interested in her, how did you end up with Fifth Miss Jiang and also Shen Ruyun? Yanbang, what are you really thinking? How could you do such a foolish thing?”
Jiang Li? Zhou Yanbang was startled. The pain from the whip marks on his back was momentarily forgotten. Zhou Yanbang remembered—last night, the person he had clearly arranged to meet at Yuxiu Pavilion was Jiang Li. How did it turn into Jiang Yu’e? At that time, he saw someone coming to Yuxiu Pavilion and thought Jiang Li had come to the appointment. His heart had been overjoyed, which was why he had acted impulsively. Could it be that from that moment, the person who came was actually Jiang Yu’e?
Seeing Zhou Yanbang fall silent in a daze, Lady Ningyuan asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
Zhou Yanbang came back to his senses and said perfunctorily, “Nothing.” But in his heart, it was like a tumultuous storm—he truly couldn’t remain calm.
How had Jiang Li turned into Jiang Yu’e? What was going on? The note had been sent to Jiang Li’s hands, and the person who reported back had also made it clear that Jiang Li had received the note. Such an important item—Jiang Li would certainly not have casually discarded it for someone else to pick up.
Zhou Yanbang also recalled that last night, after Shen Ruyun had brought the crowd, Jiang Li had also stood among them. The look in her eyes as she gazed at him held not a trace of surprise—it was so calm it made one’s teeth chatter.
She had known all along.
Like a basin of cold water poured over his head, Zhou Yanbang felt his entire body grow cold with trembling. The colder his body became, the more the flames of hatred and anger in his heart leaped higher and burned more fiercely.
Jiang Li didn’t want to come to his appointment, so she simply conspired with Jiang Yu’e to frame him. Jiang Yu’e desperately wanted to marry into the Jiang family, and Jiang Li must have known about this long ago, which was why she gave the note to Jiang Yu’e.
This way, she could stand in the crowd and coldly watch his disgrace!
Zhou Yanbang was beyond furious.
No matter how foolish he was, he knew that after last night’s events, his official career was completely ruined. For students coming out of the Imperial Academy, the first requirement was moral character. His moral character, verified by so many people, had already become a joke. Emperor Hongxiao was displeased with him. He no longer had the opportunity to make great achievements in his official career!
All of this was thanks to Jiang Yu’e and Jiang Li.
Zhou Yanbang hated Jiang Yu’e, but he hated Jiang Li even more. If Jiang Li didn’t want to come to the appointment, that would have been fine, but she had used such a humiliating method. She turned a blind eye to his sincere feelings for her and discarded them like worn-out shoes. Using such a method, she had ruined his entire life.
This was a vicious woman!
Seeing Zhou Yanbang’s whole body starting to tremble, Lady Ningyuan became a bit anxious and asked, “Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Should I have the physician come look again?”
“No need.” Zhou Yanbang forcefully endured the pain on his back and the coldness in his heart, saying, “Mother, what should be done next? Right now, I have entanglements with both Fifth Miss Jiang and Miss Shen. What should I do?” He pulled at the corners of his mouth. “The engagement with Jiang Youyao probably isn’t possible anymore, is it?”
Lady Ningyuan was silent for a moment, then shook her head. “Early this morning, the Jiang family sent someone.” Her tone carried both anger and regret. “As for the engagement with Jiang Youyao, just pretend it never happened.”
Zhou Yanbang said, “It’s fine. The marriage between Jiang Youyao and me shouldn’t have happened in the first place.”
Lady Ningyuan felt his words were a bit strange and couldn’t help but look at him.
In Zhou Yanbang’s heart, he was thinking that the engagement with Jiang Youyao had originally been a substitute for the one with Jiang Li. Now that Jiang Youyao was leaving, it was like returning to the beginning.
But his connection with the Jiang family didn’t seem to have been completely severed.
“What about Jiang Yu’e?” Zhou Yanbang asked. “It seems I need to arrange a status for her. Mother, what about making her a concubine?”
“That would be best.” Lady Ningyuan snorted. “She should consider her own status. If even this doesn’t satisfy her, she’d better give up any thoughts of entering Marquis Ningyuan’s household.”