Jiang Xingjian was busy with matters, so he handed over the affair of Jiang Jing’s funeral wedding with the Chen family to Jiang Yan.

No one knew what methods Jiang Yan employed, but the Chen family, who had originally resisted to the death, was by the second day dejectedly preparing for the wedding. Not only did they hang white cloth throughout the entire courtyard, they even had someone pour white wedding candles.

It was just that everyone in the entire Chen estate, from top to bottom, had expressions as gloomy and miserable as the deceased Jiang Jing herself.

On the day of Jiang Jing’s wedding, Song Wan leaned against a backrest strung with jade beads, somewhat lost in thought.

Today she was listless and couldn’t muster any energy, nor did she have the heart to do anything, which worried Heng Zhi and Heng Wu greatly.

“Miss, won’t you eat something?”

“I can’t eat.”

She had no appetite and only wanted to sit quietly alone for a while. But just as she closed her eyes, she heard someone running hurriedly through the garden. When she looked clearly, it was actually Yun Que, the senior maid by Madam Jiang’s side.

“First Madam, the Madam asks that you quickly come to Fuhe Hall.”

“What’s happened?”

Song Wan rose from the bed platform. Heng Wu quickly knelt down to help her put on her shoes.

“It’s Concubine Zhou. She took advantage of the servants at Yu’an Courtyard being unprepared and ran out. Now she’s heading to Fuhe Hall. Old Madam is still ill and knows nothing about these matters in the estate. Right now, Concubine Zhou’s appearance is truly unsettling. The Madam feared she couldn’t dissuade her alone, so she had this servant come find you.”

Yun Que looked panicked, very afraid that something might happen to Old Madam.

Song Wan pressed her lips together, changed her dress and followed Yun Que out.

By the time they reached Fuhe Hall, Madam Jiang was directing a courtyard full of servants to hold down Concubine Zhou.

Concubine Zhou had been gentle and timid for a lifetime, but today she was like a fierce beast released from its cage—lunging at anyone she saw to tear at them.

“Why won’t you let me see Old Madam? I want to tell Old Madam about the chaos in this estate, about how you all murdered my Jing’er, causing her to die violently at home at such a young age.”

“As the mistress of the Marquis Estate, you’re incompetent and muddled, never treating my Jing’er as a person.”

Concubine Zhou pointed at Madam Jiang, her voice tearful and blood-curdling: “If you hadn’t set such a poor example at the top, never caring about the estate’s illegitimate children, would my Jing’er have ended up in today’s predicament?”

“You!”

Concubine Zhou pointed at Song Wan, who had just arrived, crying and cursing loudly: “I know my Jing’er made mistakes, listening to the instigation of that creature worse than pigs and dogs. But when you two fought, why did you have to use my Jing’er as a sacrifice?”

“You couldn’t defeat that wanton, wilted flower, so you used my Jing’er as a stepping stone, forcibly blocking her marriage with the Lan family. Are you even human?”

“The Marquis Estate is being ruined by a cheap whore born of a prostitute—does Old Madam care or not?”

“If Old Madam doesn’t give me an explanation today, I’ll bash my head to death at the main gate of the estate, so that from now on the Marquis of Chengyang’s Estate will never have peace, and no one will have a good death!”

Concubine Zhou bit down on the finger of a servant woman grabbing her. The servant woman let out a miserable shriek and immediately retreated several meters.

The people surrounding her no longer dared to approach. Concubine Zhou charged toward Fuhe Hall like a madwoman.

From the distance came running a woman wearing a plain vest and silver hairpins. Seeing Concubine Zhou charging recklessly through the rough servant women, she suddenly rushed over and hugged her tightly.

Concubine Zheng cried out: “Have you gone mad? What kind of place is Fuhe Hall that you can act so wildly here?”

She held Concubine Zhou tightly. Though she wouldn’t let her struggle free, she also wouldn’t let those servants approach.

“Are you possessed? Don’t you want to live? If you don’t want to live, go die in your own courtyard—why are you running here to throw a tantrum?”

Concubine Zhou froze, as if she hadn’t expected that the one coming to stop her now would be this woman who had fought with her for a lifetime, who had trampled her for a lifetime. But somehow, seeing the tears on Concubine Zheng’s face, Concubine Zhou could no longer contain the grievance in her heart and burst into loud sobs.

She slapped her thighs, crying out in anguish: “My Jing’er, my Jing’er is gone.”

“My Jing’er is gone…”

Concubine Zheng pressed her lips together, letting tears stream down her face: “That unfilial creature is gone, so be it. In the future, I’ll have Jiang Ang provide for you in old age. After all, they’re both Old Marquis’s children—what’s wrong with him calling you Auntie?”

The Old Marquis hadn’t been one to greedily crave beauty. Though in his early years he had fooled around for a while and taken several concubines, once the novelty wore off he set them aside. After the Old Marquis passed away, Old Madam granted them mercy, returning their contracts and letting them leave.

Those who had borne illegitimate sons and hadn’t left were only her and Concubine Zhou, as well as Concubine Liu, the birth mother of Jiang Yan and Jiang Xing.

Concubine Liu had a good figure and fine appearance, and moreover had a very fierce temperament. Being a household-born servant of the estate, her status was naturally much higher than theirs. In earlier years, the two of them together couldn’t touch a hair on Liu Zhu’s head. Later, discovering that Concubine Zhou had the softest temperament, she joined forces with Concubine Liu to bully Concubine Zhou.

But competing for favor and being jealous in their youth at least had some purpose. Now that the Old Marquis was gone, these past few years they had all been much more peaceful.

Though they had fought and scolded each other for a lifetime, in the Marquis Estate, aside from those maids and servants, the only ones who could prove that this group of widows had once existed vibrantly were each other.

Concubine Zheng didn’t like Concubine Zhou. She didn’t even like Jiang Jing. But seeing a group of rough servant women wanting to tie her up, she still rushed out.

She gripped Concubine Zhou tightly, crying: “Listen to my advice—live well and don’t cause trouble for the Madam and Old Madam.”

“My Jing’er is gone—what’s the point of me living?”

“I only had this one child in my whole life, but Jing’er is gone!”

Concubine Zhou bit down on Concubine Zheng’s arm, but didn’t use all her strength as she had before.

“What’s all this commotion here?”

Old Madam Jiang, supported by Baozhu and Feicui, walked out trembling. Seeing her, Madam Jiang was so frightened her legs went weak.

“Why don’t you quickly help Old Madam back inside? Be careful of the wind—it might worsen Old Madam’s condition.”

Old Madam Jiang glared angrily at Madam Jiang, then frowned at the courtyard full of servants: “All of you, withdraw. Let Zhou Shi speak with me.”

“Old Madam, you must seek justice for Jing’er!”

Shaking off Concubine Zheng, Concubine Zhou fell to her knees with a thud, telling everything Lin Jiayue had done during this time down to the last detail. When Old Madam Jiang heard that Jiang Xingjian had been bestowed by the Emperor the position of Director of the Shanglin Park and that the Marquis Estate’s servants had been sold off, she suddenly clutched her chest and leaned back in pain.

“Old Madam, my Jing’er—you must stand up for my Jing’er.”

Seeing Concubine Zhou still pestering, Madam Jiang stepped forward and kicked her in the shoulder.

“Are you trying to anger Old Madam to death? You keep saying I don’t care for illegitimate sons and daughters—why don’t you mention the mercy I’ve shown? I let you raise the young masters and misses of the estate yourselves. Now that something’s happened, you come to blame me? You might as well blame yourself for raising someone who didn’t observe proper conduct and implicated all the young ladies of the Marquis Estate—a disaster.”

Concubine Zhou was kicked down from the high steps, rolling far away.

In a daze, hearing Madam Jiang insult Jiang Jing, her face contorted hideously as she climbed up and charged forward again.

Old Madam Jiang was so angry she convulsed, while Concubine Zhou tangled with a group of rough servant women.

Song Wan watched the chaos before her, pressing her lips together and standing to the side with lowered eyes, thinking unknown thoughts. When the scene had become completely chaotic, Lin Jiayue, her face showing signs of illness, walked in through the courtyard gate.

She looked at Concubine Zhou and suddenly said tearfully: “It has nothing to do with others. I was the one who harmed Jiang Jing. If you have any grievances, come find me.”

Song Wan glanced at Lin Jiayue, who in just a few short days had become so thin as to be unrecognizable, and let out a long sigh.