To Jiang Si’s absolute astonishment, the young lady meeting with Zhu Ziyu turned out to be Miss Cui Mingyue, the eldest daughter of General Cui’s household.
Cui Mingyue was the beloved daughter of General Cui Xu and Princess Rongyang. Her elder brother was none other than Cui Yi, who had been running with Yang Shengcai before the latter’s death in the riverboat arson case.
Cui Mingyue’s background was among the most prestigious in the capital—her father was a renowned general, her mother a princess, and her grandmother the Empress Dowager. Jiang Si could hardly believe someone of such high status would be Zhu Ziyu’s lover.
Could she have misunderstood? Perhaps the relationship between Cui Mingyue and Zhu Ziyu wasn’t romantic?
Faced with such an absurd reality, Jiang Si almost doubted her deductions.
“Miss, I followed them,” A-Fei said softly, noting Jiang Si’s distracted state.
Jiang Si stopped him: “No need.”
Now that she knew the lady’s identity, there was no point in having A-Fei follow them further.
Jiang Si followed herself.
Cui Mingyue, accompanied by her maid, wandered about casually before entering the Lu Sheng Xiang perfume shop.
Faced with such a coincidence, Jiang Si didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She adjusted the gauze veil of her hat and walked in confidently.
Miss Xiu was softly explaining their new fragrances to a young matron when she caught sight of Jiang Si entering. She was so shocked she momentarily forgot what she was saying.
The owner’s actions were truly unpredictable.
“Shopkeeper, are you deaf? We’re calling you!” the maid accompanying Cui Mingyue called out impatiently.
Miss Xiu snapped back to attention, apologized to the young matron, and hurried over: “What would the honored guest like to purchase?”
Cui Mingyue remained silent while her maid spoke up cheerfully: “We’ve heard your fragrances are quite good. Bring out all your scents for our Miss to see.”
Miss Xiu complied with a “Yes,” not daring to look at Jiang Si again as she quickly retrieved several bottles of perfume from the shelves.
“This is jasmine scented, this is gardenia, this is…”
As Miss Xiu introduced the fragrances, the maid asked Cui Mingyue eagerly: “Miss, which would you like to try?”
“Let’s try the rose scent,” Cui Mingyue said casually, resting her chin on her hand as she surveyed the well-stocked shelves.
Miss Xiu took out a light pink bottle, opened it, and poured a drop onto the maid’s extended wrist.
The maid sniffed her wrist and proudly offered it to Cui Mingyue: “Miss, it smells even better than your usual perfume!”
Cui Mingyue glanced at her maid and frowned as she sniffed.
Her usual rose perfume was an imperial tribute from overseas, worth thousands of gold—how could a mere perfume shop’s fragrance surpass such a precious item?
As she caught the delicate yet persistent, heart-refreshing aroma, surprise flickered in Cui Mingyue’s eyes, and she nodded slightly.
The maid asked Miss Xiu: “Do you have an even finer grade of rose perfume?”
Their Miss only used the finest things—though this shop’s perfume smelled nice, how could their Miss use such common goods that everyone else used?
“Please wait a moment, honored guest.”
As Miss Xiu went to fetch the premium rose perfume, the maid leaned close to Cui Mingyue’s ear and whispered with a smile: “Miss, when you wear this fresh fragrance, that person will surely be besotted—”
Jiang Si stood openly behind Cui Mingyue, eavesdropping when she heard three words fall from Cui Mingyue’s lips: “He’s not worthy!”
Those three short words were cold and heartless, revealing utter disdain for the man the maid mentioned.
Considering Cui Mingyue had just met secretly with Zhu Ziyu, Jiang Si easily guessed that the man in question was him.
This puzzled her even more.
Cui Mingyue had just met with Zhu Ziyu, so why would she show such an attitude?
Remembering Zhu Ziyu’s self-satisfied demeanor when leaving the Tianxiang Teahouse, Jiang Si found the situation increasingly strange.
“Enough! Watch your tongue in public!” Cui Mingyue rebuked sharply.
Jiang Si heard nothing more of use before Cui Mingyue and her maid left.
She leaned against the counter, pondering this bizarre situation.
If she accepted the premise that Cui Mingyue was Zhu Ziyu’s lover, then his elaborate scheme to harm his elder sister made sense.
He wanted to clear the way for Cui Mingyue, and he needed to appear completely innocent!
It was absurd—given Cui Mingyue’s status, she couldn’t become a secondary wife to the son of a fourth-rank official.
However—Jiang Si laughed coldly inside.
If Zhu Ziyu and Cui Mingyue could be lovers, what wasn’t possible?
Years ago, her mother and General Cui had been childhood sweethearts, nearly married, until Princess Rongyang—Cui Mingyue’s mother—had interfered, forcibly separating the lovers.
If Princess Rongyang could brazenly steal another’s love despite public censure, what was so strange about her daughter becoming a secondary wife for true love?
Jiang Si suddenly froze as a thought struck her: perhaps this was exactly what Zhu Ziyu thought!
Yes, a man like Zhu Ziyu wouldn’t act without certainty. If he wasn’t convinced he could marry Cui Mingyue as his secondary wife, he wouldn’t scheme against his devoted first wife.
But what about Cui Mingyue?
Those words—”He’s not worthy”—echoed in her ears as Jiang Si thought of her previous life.
Zhu Ziyu didn’t marry Cui Mingyue in the end but rather took an ordinary official’s daughter as his secondary wife three years after his first wife’s death.
More importantly, there had been no whisper of any connection between Zhu Ziyu and Cui Mingyue then—they appeared completely unrelated in the public eye.
Zhu Ziyu remained a promising official with a clean reputation, and Cui Mingyue remained a noble lady far above others.
Was it interference that separated them, or—
Those words “He’s not worthy” led Jiang Si to favor another theory: this was all just Cui Mingyue toying with Zhu Ziyu. Perhaps she enjoyed seeing a married man fall at her feet, or…
Ice formed in Jiang Si’s eyes as cold fury rose in her heart: perhaps it was just to make her elder sister miserable!
Jiang Si knew well Cui Mingyue’s attitude toward the Jiang family.
In her previous life, after marrying into Duke An’s household and entering the capital’s highest social circles, she had encountered Cui Mingyue several times and clearly understood the other’s attitude.
In Cui Mingyue’s view, it was unforgivable that Jiang Si’s mother had kept General Cui’s heart, and as that woman’s children, they were equally detestable.
After experiencing the trials of her previous life, Jiang Si had no qualms about assuming the worst in people.
“Miss, the Master is still waiting for you,” A-Qiao whispered, coming close to remind her.
Jiang Si smacked her forehead.
Oh no, she had completely forgotten about her father!
Rushing to the teahouse across the street, she met Jiang Ancheng’s worried gaze with an apologetic smile: “Sorry to keep you waiting, Father.”
“It wasn’t long. Did you get what you wanted, Si’er?”
Jiang Si pointed to the brocade box A-Qiao was carrying and smiled: “Yes, I did. Father, shall we head back?”
She needed to return home to sharpen her knife and deal with that despicable pair!
“All right.” Jiang Ancheng walked slowly out of the teahouse when suddenly his expression changed and his pace grew even slower.
Jiang Si noticed something was wrong and stopped: “Father, what’s the matter?”
Jiang Ancheng forced a smile: “Nothing… nothing…”
Heavens! After eating that greasy roasted meat at home and then drinking all that tea, it seemed his stomach was acting up!