“I dreamed that—” Jiang Si’s eyes flickered slightly, revealing a hint of fear.
Old Madam Feng couldn’t help but hold her breath.
The three-legged incense burner on the windowsill was emitting a fragrant aroma, the usual scent used by Old Madam Feng.
Old Madam Feng was particular about this. Throughout the four seasons, there was a custom for which incense to burn at what time.
But Jiang Si never liked the smell of incense, regardless of the time.
It was too strong; her nose felt uncomfortable.
“I dreamed that two golden pheasants were trying to claw at my eyes. I hurriedly dodged, but then the two pheasants suddenly flew towards Grandmother…”
“And then?” Old Madam Feng’s eyes narrowed.
“Then—” Jiang Si paused, quickly glancing up at Old Madam Feng, “I saw Grandmother couldn’t avoid them in time, and one of the pheasants scratched her eye.”
Old Madam Feng’s hand suddenly tightened around her teacup.
At her age, she increasingly believed in mystical things. Last night, she had been awakened by such a strange dream, and it had left her feeling uneasy. She never expected the fourth girl to have had the same dream.
“Do you remember which eye of Grandmother’s was scratched by the pheasant?”
“The left eye,” Jiang Si answered without hesitation.
Old Madam Feng was shocked to her core.
If she had any doubts before, now she had to believe it. In her dream, it was indeed her left eye that the pheasant had scratched!
This dream was certainly not an auspicious omen, and there was an eight or nine out of ten chance it would come true. Otherwise, there would be no reason for grandmother and granddaughter to have the same dream.
“What happened after that?” Old Madam Feng asked, composing herself.
“When I saw the pheasant scratch Grandmother’s eye, I was frightened awake. There was nothing after that.”
Old Madam Feng remained silent for a while before mumbling to herself, “What does this dream signify?”
Her words were meant to be a soliloquy born of unease, but unexpectedly, Jiang Si responded, “The implication is obvious.”
Old Madam Feng was stunned, staring at her granddaughter as if seeing her for the first time.
Jiang Si smiled slightly, “I thought of it as soon as I saw Second Sister today. Second Sister is the second daughter among the Earl’s daughters, and she was born in the Year of the Rooster. Aren’t the two golden pheasants representing her?”
“Nonsense!” Old Madam Feng’s face darkened.
Jiang Si shrugged, “I wouldn’t have thought of it either, but I had that strange dream last night, and today Second Sister arrived.”
“Enough.” Old Madam Feng set her teacup down heavily on the table, not wanting to hear more from Jiang Si. “You may go now.”
“Granddaughter takes her leave,” Jiang Si stood up, curtsied slightly to Old Madam Feng, and showed no intention of trying to convince her further. She turned to leave.
“Wait,” Old Madam Feng called out from behind.
“Does Grandmother have any other instructions?”
“I don’t want to hear any more of this nonsense from anyone else!”
Jiang Si smiled, “Don’t worry, Grandmother. I understand.”
In her previous life, it was Grandmother herself who had spoken such “nonsense.”
It was at this time that Old Madam Feng’s left eye began to inexplicably hurt, and within two days, she couldn’t see out of it.
Old Madam Feng couldn’t bear the pain of losing sight in one eye. After consulting several doctors without results, she turned to a spiritual medium.
The medium performed a ritual, and surprisingly, the blame was pointed towards Jiang Zhan.
Jiang Zhan was the second son, and he had recently bought a pair of parrots, as he enjoyed keeping birds and dogs. All these signs seemed to align with Old Madam Feng’s strange dream.
Old Madam Feng firmly believed this. In front of Jiang Zhan, she ordered someone to wring the necks of the pair of parrots.
Strangely enough, not long after the parrots were killed, Old Madam Feng’s left eye began to recover. From then on, she became increasingly unfavorable towards Jiang Zhan.
Jiang Si still remembered when she returned for Jiang Zhan’s funeral. Her father, who usually either beat or scolded her second brother, had hair that had turned half white, while Grandmother remained as calm as ever.
At the time, she thought Grandmother’s behavior exemplified the demeanor of a noble family, remaining unperturbed even if Mount Tai were to crumble before them. It was only later that she understood Grandmother’s calmness wasn’t composure, but indifference.
With such little emotional attachment, how could she feel sorrow?
After Jiang Si left, Old Madam Feng wasn’t as composed as she appeared on the surface.
What the fourth girl said seemed to make some sense—
“Nanny Feng, what do you think?” she asked.
In the household, it was Second Madam Xiao who managed affairs. Madam Xiao often gave favors to those close to Old Madam Feng, so naturally, Nanny Feng had to speak for the second branch.
“It’s hard to say—”
“If you have something to say, just say it. You’ve been with me for so many years, surely you know my temperament?”
Nanny Feng quickly agreed and carefully said, “This old servant observed that Fourth Miss wasn’t very affectionate towards Second Miss today. Perhaps there’s some small conflict between the sisters, which is why she spoke that way.”
“Then how do you explain Fourth Miss’s dream?”
“That Fourth Miss and Old Madam had related dreams indicates that this dream truly foretells something. But exactly what it portends, this old servant cannot fathom.”
“Let’s hope it’s just a coincidence,” Old Madam Feng muttered.
While Old Madam Feng was talking with Nanny Feng, a maid wearing a light green short jacket came from Yaxin Courtyard. She quietly asked A-Xi a few questions and hurried back to report to Second Madam Xiao.
“Madam, Sister A-Xi said that Second Miss was snubbed by Fourth Miss several times today. The Old Madam got annoyed by the quarrel and didn’t keep Second Miss to talk further. Second Miss might have been upset, so she went straight back to her maiden home…”
Madam Xiao’s face instantly darkened.
How outrageous! She had been managing the household for so many years and had never knowingly mistreated the eldest branch. Her daughter Qian had always acted like a proper elder sister to Jiang Si. How could Jiang Si be so ungrateful as to upset her daughter?
The more Madam Xiao thought about it, the more angry she became. With a gloomy face, she ordered, “Go and call Old Woman Liu from the kitchen.”
Jiang Si was unaware that Jiang Qian’s hasty departure had made Madam Xiao particularly attentive to what had happened in Cixin Hall. Even if she had known, she wouldn’t have cared.
After leaving Cixin Hall, she sent A-Qiao to inform Jiang Ancheng and then left with A-Man.
The second floor of the teahouse by the window offered a perfect view of the bustling street. Jiang Si held a cup of tea, sipping it slowly.
A-Man gulped down some tea and commented on the taste, “It’s not as good as the tea we have at home.”
“Drinking tea isn’t just about the taste,” Jiang Si replied absent-mindedly, her eyes fixed on the street outside.
“Then what else is it for?” A-Man asked curiously.
Jiang Si had already spotted Jiang Zhan approaching from afar.
Jiang Zhan, not yet seventeen, wasn’t particularly tall among the crowd, but he always caught people’s attention.
Like a pearl or beautiful jade, the handsome youth naturally drew eyes, standing out like a precious gem among pebbles.
But what attracted Jiang Si’s attention at this moment wasn’t her unparalleled handsome brother, but the birdcage he was carrying.
It was an exquisite bamboo birdcage, and inside were a pair of colorful parrots.
“Of course, it’s for intercepting people!” Jiang Si casually explained, her gaze following Jiang Zhan as he drew nearer.
Jiang Zhan was humming a tune, his steps light and quick. His servant A-Ji was barely keeping up at a small trot.
Just as Jiang Zhan was about to pass by the teahouse, Jiang Si broke off a piece of a tea snack and threw it down, hitting Jiang Zhan squarely on the shoulder.
Jiang Zhan reached up to feel his shoulder, finding crumbs of the snack on his fair palm.
Jiang Zhan was furious and looked up, starting to curse, “Who’s so—”
The girl’s bright face disappeared from the window.
“—clever!” Jiang Zhan gasped, finishing his sentence.