“Miss, it’s already the hour of Xu,” Ah Man, the maidservant, entered the inner chamber. She lifted the rain-washed sky-blue gauze curtain hanging on the canopy bed and called softly to the young lady reclining on the bed.
It was early summer, and outside, the sky had just fully darkened. A faint night shrouded the young lady’s face. By the candlelight on the table, one could vaguely make out her appearance.
The young lady had eyebrows like distant mountains, a jade-like nose, cherry lips, peach-blossom cheeks, and snow-white skin – truly outstanding beauty.
She was the fourth daughter of the Jiang family of the Earl of Dongping’s household, with the given name Si.
Seeing Jiang Si’s state, Ah Man felt a surge of anger in her heart, feeling indignant on behalf of her mistress.
How could the Third Young Master of Duke Anguo’s household be so blind? With her mistress’s looks, she could even enter the palace as a consort, yet he seemed unenthusiastic about this marriage. Could it be that he thought the young miss wasn’t good enough for him?
Ah Man’s anger stemmed from a poetry gathering in spring.
The gathering was organized by some young gentlemen from noble families. It was nothing more than young people getting together to drink, recite poetry, and have fun. When the wine began to take effect, someone started teasing Ji Chongyi, the Third Young Master of Duke Anguo’s household, envying that he was about to marry one of the renowned beauties of the capital.
Unexpectedly, Ji Chongyi, under the influence of alcohol, gave a self-deprecating smile and said, “How one looks is merely a facade. A woman should be valued for her gentle and virtuous character.”
Originally, it was just drunken talk among young men, something to be forgotten once the alcohol wore off. However, somehow these words spread, and suddenly the Fourth Miss of the Jiang family became the subject of gossip.
The Earl of Dongping’s household had shallow roots to begin with, with their title only inheritable for three generations. Jiang Si’s father, the current Earl of Dongping, was already the third generation. As such, even Jiang Si’s elder brother hadn’t been granted the title of heir apparent.
In other words, after the Earl of Dongping passed away, the household would retire from the circle of nobility and become an ordinary family.
For a daughter from such a family to be engaged to Duke Anguo’s household was already quite remarkable, regardless of the circumstances. This was enough to make many people look unfavorably upon Jiang Si for marrying above her station.
When the Third Young Master of Duke Anguo’s household, Ji Chongyi, said that a woman’s beauty wasn’t important and that he valued temperament and character more, wasn’t he implying that Fourth Miss Jiang had a poor disposition?
Whether Ji Chongyi said this intentionally or not, once the words spread, they immediately caused Jiang Si to lose face. Whenever she attended gatherings with other noble ladies afterward, she had to endure a belly full of gossip.
Jiang Si had a fiery temper. Upon returning home, she fell ill and remained so for half a month.
Jiang Si, who had been lying on the bed with her eyes closed, suddenly opened them.
Her eyes were exquisitely shaped, slightly upturned at the corners, outlining an indescribable charm and allure.
As her beautiful eyes met Ah Man’s, a faint smile appeared. “Why do you look like you want to eat someone?”
“Thinking about how someone is so blind makes this servant angry on behalf of the young miss,” Ah Man replied.
The smile in Jiang Si’s eyes quickly faded, but the curve of her lips deepened. She said lightly, “That person has never seen me, so we can’t say he’s blind.”
“Young Miss, you’re still speaking up for him!” Looking at her mistress who had lost weight in just half a month, Ah Man felt a pang of heartache and indignation.
Half a month ago, when the young miss returned from the flower-viewing banquet at the Marquis Yongchang’s mansion, she had cried bitterly and even smashed her favorite jade pixiu ornament. Whenever the Third Young Master of Duke Anguo’s household was mentioned, she would grit her teeth in hatred. How had she changed now?
“I’m not speaking up for him. It was just drunken talk,” Jiang Si’s eyes shifted towards Abao, another maidservant standing by the folding screen, and instructed, “Abao, go fetch the two sets of clothes I asked you to prepare a few days ago.”
Soon, Abao brought two sets of clothes, giving one to Ah Man and helping Jiang Si put on the other.
As Ah Man was putting on her clothes, she grumbled, “One drunken comment caused the young miss to be laughed at.”
The coldness in Jiang Si’s eyes deepened. She simply closed her eyes and said softly, “What does that matter?”
All her misfortune began with this ill-matched engagement.
Back then, young and naive, she had been so proud to be engaged to a young master from Duke Anguo’s household. Who knew that Third Young Master Ji Chongyi already had someone in his heart?
Ji Chongyi’s beloved was a commoner girl.
It wasn’t until after she married into the family that she gradually learned the truth. That commoner girl had coincidentally saved Ji Chongyi when he encountered danger while traveling. Ji Chongyi stayed at the girl’s home for several days to recover before being found by Duke Anguo’s household. During that time, they had developed feelings for each other and had been secretly meeting ever since.
While she was still full of dreams and pride about this marriage, Ji Chongyi had already rebelled against his family elders multiple times to be with his beloved.
With the wedding approaching, Duke Anguo’s household naturally wouldn’t allow Ji Chongyi to act recklessly, especially since he wanted to marry a commoner girl who wasn’t even as good as the Jiang family. Ji Chongyi’s resistance and dissatisfaction never spread beyond the family.
Thinking of Ji Chongyi’s drunken truth-telling, Jiang Si couldn’t help but feel how foolish she had been back then. After her initial anger, she even found excuses for him, believing that he wasn’t shallow and wasn’t like those vulgar men who only cared about a woman’s appearance. She thought he was just speaking objectively.
To hell with objectivity! On this very night, the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the eighteenth year of Jingming, this noble young master who was above worldly concerns had gone to Mouyou Lake with his beloved to commit suicide by drowning.
Later, Ji Chongyi was rescued, but his beloved perished.
To cover up this incident, their engagement, originally set for early winter, was abruptly moved up by several months. After she married into the family with a heart full of joy, that man with pure love in his heart never touched her for nearly a year until his accidental death.
Then, more changes occurred, until she died tragically and opened her eyes again, returning to when she was fifteen years old.
It could be said that all her misfortunes began with marrying Ji Chongyi. Now that she had a chance to start over, her most urgent task was to resolve this engagement, to draw a clear line between herself and the noble Ji Chongyi, and the unreachable Duke Anguo’s household, never to associate with them again!
In an instant, Jiang Si had finished dressing for going out. She nodded to Ah Man, “Ah Man, let’s go.”
Ah Man picked up the bundle placed on the chair.
Abao hesitated for a moment, then stopped Jiang Si and asked anxiously, “Young Miss, it’s so late, are you going out? The second gate has already been locked—”
“It’s alright, everything has been prepared. Abao, just guard the courtyard well,” Jiang Si said with a determined expression.
If possible, she certainly wouldn’t want to risk sneaking out at night. However, currently, besides her two personal maids, she couldn’t find anyone reliable to help her in the household.
Seeing this, Abao could only nod heavily, say “Young Miss, don’t worry,” and step aside.
Jiang Si led Ah Man quietly out of her residence, Begonia Courtyard. Under the cover of lush flowers and trees, they passed through the garden and several gates, arriving at the second gate.
“Young Miss—” Ah Man called out softly, looking at the tightly closed door.