White Cloud Temple was a prosperous and bustling monastery built on the mountainside. A spacious area had been specially cleared outside the temple gates for worshippers to park their vehicles.
Jiang Yi glanced at the small rented carriage that Jiang Si had pointed out, and invited, “Fourth Sister, why don’t you ride in my carriage?”
Jiang Si immediately looked toward Zhu Ziyu.
Zhu Ziyu wore a faint smile, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.
Jiang Si withdrew her gaze and asked with a smile, “What about Brother-in-law?”
Jiang Yi’s face reddened as she hurriedly replied, “Your brother-in-law came on horseback.”
“That’s perfect then. I’d love to chat more with Elder Sister,” Jiang Si agreed without hesitation upon hearing Jiang Yi’s explanation.
With Jiang Si joining Jiang Yi in the same carriage, having three maids attend to them would be too crowded. So Jiang Yi sent A Zhu, A Ya, and A Man to sit in the carriage Jiang Si had rented.
The two sisters entered the carriage one after the other. Jiang Si glanced around and remarked with a smile, “Elder Sister, this carriage is quite comfortable.”
Jiang Yi reached out to tidy a few loose strands of Jiang Si’s hair, her tone a mix of affection and curiosity: “I remember the Earl’s mansion had two carriages. Why did Fourth Sister rent one?”
She recalled that when she got married, her youngest sister was her greatest concern. Although Father doted on her sister, he was still a man and couldn’t possibly attend to the affairs of the inner courtyard every day. Second Brother was a boy, and it was already a blessing if he didn’t cause trouble, so there was no need to worry about him being taken advantage of. Only this younger sister had no mother to protect her from above, nor sisters to support her from below. Living comfortably in a large household was too difficult.
Sometimes when Jiang Yi thought of these things, her heart would clench painfully, taking a long time to calm down.
Jiang Si explained with a smile, “It just so happened that Second Aunt and Third Aunt both needed carriages today. There weren’t enough in the mansion, so I sent someone out to rent one.”
“I see.” Even knowing the reason, Jiang Yi still felt uneasy. If Mother were still alive, how could her sister not have a carriage to use when going out? Of course, she didn’t mean to compete with the elders for carriages but rather felt sorry for her younger sister’s circumstances.
Jiang Si looked out the carriage window and saw Zhu Ziyu riding his horse not far ahead of the carriage. His figure was upright but somewhat thin, and a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes.
Zhu Ziyu came from a family of scholars and was a pure academic. Although scholars in the Great Zhou Dynasty had to learn horseback riding and archery, most of them were still physically weak.
For a couple traveling together, Zhu Ziyu chose to ride a horse instead of sharing a carriage with Elder Sister. Was their relationship as close as Elder Sister believed?
Jiang Si knew this thought might be nitpicking, or perhaps she had a preconceived impression due to her elder sister’s fate in her previous life, causing her to scrutinize Zhu Ziyu’s every move.
Jiang Si couldn’t help but think of herself.
After she married Yu Qi, whenever they went out together, Yu Qi never rode a horse again. He always insisted on squeezing into the carriage with her, cuddling and being affectionate…
Thinking of that man’s boldness and absurdity, Jiang Si’s face grew slightly warm. She lowered her eyes to compose herself, then tentatively asked Jiang Yi, “Why isn’t Brother-in-law riding with you, Elder Sister? I think a married couple traveling together should be together.”
Jiang Yi looked at Jiang Si in astonishment, caught between laughter and exasperation. “How could Fourth Sister have such an idea?”
“Isn’t that how it should be?”
Jiang Yi put her arm around Jiang Si, finding it quite amusing. “My silly little sister, how could men and women always be stuck together?”
Speaking of this, her face reddened slightly, and she leaned close to Jiang Si’s ear, lowering her voice, “When a man accompanies his wife to offer incense, some people might even make sour comments about it.”
The happiness and shyness in Jiang Yi’s eyes made Jiang Si sigh inwardly: how happy her elder sister must have been in her previous life, and how desperate she must have felt after the incident, no wonder she chose such a drastic path.
“Elder Sister, may I come visit you in a few days?” Unable to learn about whom Jiang Yi had saved, Jiang Si felt increasingly pressed for time and decided to visit in person, hoping it might yield some results.
“Of course, Fourth Sister. Just send word whenever you want to come over.”
The return journey was a bit bumpy due to the muddy road after the recent rain. Before long, Jiang Yi’s face grew increasingly pale.
Seeing this, Jiang Si became concerned and said softly, “Elder Sister, you were caught in the rain today. Remember to drink some ginger sugar water when you get back to ward off the chill.”
“The same goes for you, Fourth Sister.” As they got further from White Cloud Temple, the shadow cast by what happened in the pavilion didn’t dissipate for Jiang Yi. Instead, it weighed on her heart like a stone, feeling heavy whenever she recalled it.
The carriage fell silent for a moment.
Meanwhile, in the carriage following closely behind the Zhu family, the atmosphere was lively.
A Man was vivacious, and Jiang Yi’s senior maid A Zhu was also fond of joking. The two quickly engaged in animated conversation.
A Ya, sitting by the carriage door, had been silent for a while. Finally, she mustered the courage to ask, “Sister A Man, what does your young mistress like to do for leisure?”
A Man hesitated upon hearing this.
What did their young mistress like to do for leisure? Come to think of it, recently the young mistress seemed to enjoy killing and arson the most.
Uh, that couldn’t be said!
A Man cleared her throat and said seriously, “Our young mistress enjoys making perfumes.”
She wasn’t lying. Recently, the young mistress had created several fragrances and sent them to be sold in cosmetic shops. They were reportedly very popular among the ladies and young misses.
Thinking of this, A Man felt somewhat proud.
After all, it was their young mistress. Whatever she decided to do, she excelled at it. She was so adept at killing and arson, and her perfume-making skills were unmatched by others.
Perfume making? A Ya thought of how Jiang Si had threatened her with insects without changing her expression and didn’t believe a word A Man said.
The fierceness in Miss Jiang’s eyes at that time convinced her that if she spoke out of turn, the other party would follow through on her threats.
She had heard that some noble ladies privately took pleasure in tormenting their servants. Miss Jiang might be that kind of person, and if so, her maids must be pitiful indeed.
The sympathy in A Ya’s eyes made A Man feel quite puzzled. She asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”
A Ya snapped back to reality and forced a laugh, “Perfume making is indeed suitable for a heavenly beauty like Miss Jiang to pass the time.”
A Man smiled awkwardly, “Yes, indeed.”
She thought killing and arson suited her mistress quite well too, much more exciting than perfume making.
A Ya’s heart skipped a beat: See, the way Miss Jiang’s senior maid responded was so reluctant, it was just a cover-up.
The young maid quietly moved closer to the door, determined to keep her mouth shut.
At that moment, a sudden neigh broke the peaceful atmosphere in the carriage.
A Man was the first to react, immediately lifting the curtain to look outside. She saw the Zhu family’s carriage, which had been not far ahead of their own, suddenly bolt forward like an arrow released from a bowstring, causing panic and cries among the pedestrians on the road.
“Young Mistress!” A Man’s eyes reddened with urgency at the sight, and she was about to jump out of the carriage.
Old Qin, who was driving the carriage, was the first to jump down. He urgently said, “A Man, you drive the carriage.”
After giving this instruction, Old Qin quickly ran to Zhu Ziyu, who seemed paralyzed with fear, unceremoniously pulled him off the horse, jumped onto the horse’s back himself, and galloped off in pursuit of the runaway carriage ahead.