“It’s you—it’s you who harmed my Jing’er. Today I’ll make you go down to accompany Jing’er in death.”

At the sight of Lin Jiayue, Concubine Zhou became even more deranged. She pushed aside the servants in the courtyard and rushed before her, raising her hand to deliver a vicious slap.

Lin Jiayue hadn’t eaten or slept for days. With this slap, her vision went black and she fell directly to the ground.

Though her cheek hurt, she felt much more relieved in her heart.

Even now she couldn’t understand why Jiang Jing had thrown herself into the well—was it truly for that worthless reputation of lost chastity, or because the Chen family broke off the engagement? But whatever the reason, Lin Jiayue knew clearly it couldn’t be separated from herself.

Concubine Zhou pounded Lin Jiayue forcefully. She numbly and blankly let the other vent.

It wasn’t until Concubine Zhou gripped her throat tightly and the feeling of suffocation came that Lin Jiayue began to struggle with all her might.

She was afraid.

After nearly dying, she was afraid.

But now Concubine Zhou’s hands were like iron pincers, refusing to loosen no matter how she struggled.

Old Madam Jiang fainted. Madam Jiang guarded her side in panic. Seeing Old Madam’s face turn blue, unable to draw breath, she quickly removed the gold hairpin from her head and pierced it into her philtrum acupoint. Only then did Old Madam Jiang gasp that breath back up.

Concubine Zheng stepped forward to pull at Concubine Zhou. If someone truly died before Old Madam, Concubine Zhou would certainly die. Just thinking this, she felt a sorrow of empathy for a fellow sufferer.

The entire Fuhe Hall was in complete chaos. Song Wan stood behind Madam Jiang, quietly guarding Old Madam Jiang without leaving.

When Old Madam Jiang regained consciousness, Song Wan quickly stepped forward to support her.

Old Madam pointed at Lin Jiayue lying on the ground: “Throw this source of household chaos out for me…”

“Old Madam, you must stand up for Jing’er!”

“Enough.”

Jiang Xingjian hurried over. He had just reported for duty today and hadn’t yet entered the Imperial Breeding Office when he was found by an estate servant on horseback. Seeing the current situation, Jiang Xingjian only felt his head splitting with pain.

“Go pull Concubine Zhou away.”

Lin Jiayue was rescued by several servant boys from the outer courtyard. The Marquis Estate was so chaotic it couldn’t even maintain the separation between men and women, and could only summon outer courtyard servant boys into the inner courtyard to handle her.

Concubine Zhou was restrained by people, her eyes blood-red, looking at Jiang Xingjian with a contorted expression: “Can the Marquis give this concubine a straight answer today? This source of household chaos that killed my Jing’er—will you eliminate her or not?”

Lin Jiayue covered her neck, the whites of her eyes showing red, unable to stop gasping for breath.

Experiencing the feeling of near-death again made all her body hair stand on end, her heart gradually devoured bit by bit by fear, terrifying her until her mind went completely blank.

Concubine Zhou’s emotions calmed. She glared at the several servant boys holding her and shook them off forcefully.

After all, she was an inner courtyard woman. Those men didn’t dare to easily lay hands on her, and seeing that Jiang Xingjian hadn’t expressed his position, they let go one by one.

“My Lord, I only ask you—will you eliminate this source of household chaos or not?”

Jiang Xingjian suddenly became somewhat dazed, as if stunned by the question.

Only Song Wan looked at him with some surprise, then lowered her eyes.

In this moment, he had actually felt murderous intent.

The instant of silence made Lin Jiayue, who was particularly sensitive to matters of life and death, raise her head with reddened eyes. Jiang Xingjian seemed to only then react, opening his mouth in a low voice: “Send Concubine Zhou back to Yu’an Courtyard.”

“Hahaha, chaos, chaos—this Marquis Estate has been thrown into utter chaos.”

Seeing that Jiang Xingjian had absolutely no intention of dealing with Lin Jiayue, Concubine Zhou was utterly disappointed. She smoothed her hair, smiling faintly with tears in her eyes, the dimples on both cheeks faintly visible, just as gentle as usual.

“With such descendants in the Marquis Estate, I fear even the Old Marquis cannot rest peacefully underground.”

“Lord Marquis, Jing’er—I’m coming to accompany you…”

Having finished speaking, Concubine Zhou suddenly rushed toward a pillar of the covered walkway in Fuhe Hall’s courtyard. With a muffled thud, bright red blood splattered everywhere as she fell straight down, lifeless.

Everyone in the courtyard was scared silly on the spot. But Heng Wu, discovering something was wrong, had already protected Song Wan behind her early on, while Heng Zhi pulled out a handkerchief to shield her eyes.

Jiang Xingjian’s face was pale as snow. Lin Jiayue only felt her scalp explode instantly, her whole body shaking and trembling coldly.

Seeing this situation, Old Madam Jiang, both shocked and frightened, completely fainted.

Only Concubine Zheng, crying, removed the vest she was wearing, walked forward and gently covered Concubine Zhou’s face, sobbing quietly: “I told you not to cause trouble. What result can you achieve by making such a fuss? With our cheap lives, who can we hold accountable?”

“Send First Madam back to her room.”

Jiang Xingjian shouted sternly. Heng Zhi and Heng Wu quickly protected Song Wan as they returned to Lanting Courtyard.

On Madam Jiang’s side, someone was sent to find the estate physician. The maids of Fuhe Hall busily carried Old Madam back to her bedroom. Jiang Xingjian directed the estate’s servants to handle Concubine Zhou’s corpse. Concubine Zheng was pulled away crying by maids…

Only Lin Jiayue stared blankly at the pale arm faintly visible beneath the goose-yellow vest.

With two violent deaths in the household within seven days, the Marquis Estate was in a state of panic—who had time to care about Lin Jiayue?

People shuttled past her front and back, but no one came forward to ask even a single question.

It wasn’t until Qianbi and Qinghong came looking that the two dragged the soulless Lin Jiayue away quickly.

The estate showed no mourning wails, not half a strip of white cloth or sheet of yellow paper. The bloodstains on the corridor pillars and white jade floor tiles were wiped clean by servants. No one mentioned Concubine Zhou’s death again, as if the Marquis Estate had never experienced such a tragic event.

The next day, the main kitchen prepared eighteen meat dishes including fragrant braised pork elbow, steamed goose, and salted fermented bean curd lamb tripe, sending them to each quarter.

Concubine Zheng gnawed on the pork elbow while crying and laughing. Old Madam Jiang slept without waking. Madam Jiang’s temples turned white overnight.

Jiang Xingjian sat in the courtyard drinking alone, not sleeping all night.

Song Wan, under the care of Nanny Zhao, Heng Zhi and Heng Wu, slept shallowly for a few hours, but tossed and turned restlessly throughout the night.

The one with the strongest reaction was Lin Jiayue. She hadn’t eaten or slept for days, her body showing a pathological exhaustion, and now she had developed an unusual affliction.

She could no longer bear to see the pale white arms of young women, nor could she hear the clear sound of leather drums.

The Marquis Estate was deathly silent. When Song Lan’an arrived with his wife, Jiang Xingjian was even somewhat dazed, momentarily unsure what his father-in-law’s personal visit was for.

“There are matters in the estate—I was unable to properly welcome Father. This is Xingjian’s discourtesy.”

Song Lan’an said: “Hearing that the Marquis Estate has had many troubles recently, this old man came to take a look. Moreover, my wife misses Wan’er, so today we thought to let mother and daughter meet.”

Jiang Xingjian quickly had an estate servant take Madam Song to Lanting Courtyard, while he remained to accompany the guest and exchange pleasantries with Song Lan’an.

After the two exchanged a few bland and inconsequential words, Song Lan’an suddenly said: “I’ve heard rumors in the capital that the Marquis of Chengyang is quite dissatisfied with his legitimate wife?”

“In the end, it’s also this official’s failure to educate his daughter strictly, unable to teach our family’s daughter to be a model wife.”

Jiang Xingjian’s jaw tightened. He quickly said: “Father, these words are too much—they shame Xingjian. Wan’er has nothing wrong with her. It’s all this son-in-law being possessed by demons, thereby neglecting Wan’er.”

His fists clenched tightly. Jiang Xingjian tensed his body: “It was Xingjian who was wrong first. In the future, I will never fail Wan’er again.”

Song Lan’an laughed coldly: “The Marquis is too serious. Who in the capital doesn’t know that the young lady of my Grand Councilor’s Estate has neither virtue nor talent, and is incompetent at managing the household?”

Taking out two plain cards from his bosom, Song Lan’an pushed them before Jiang Xingjian: “The Marquis’s betrothal card and Wan’er’s marriage certificate. This marriage with the Marquis of Chengyang’s Estate is beyond my Song family’s station. I hope the Marquis will find clan elders from both sides and choose a date.”