Old Qin drove the carriage directly to the second gate of the Dong Ping Earl’s mansion.
A’Man supported Jiang Yi as they alighted from the carriage and walked inside.
The elderly woman guarding the second gate greeted them with a smile: “A’Man, is Fourth Miss tired—”
She swallowed the rest of her words, her tone turning strange: “Is this the First Young Madam?”
“First Young Madam is feeling unwell. I’m quickly taking her to Haitang Residence. We can’t chat now.”
“Ah, ah—” By the time A’Man had hurriedly supported Jiang Yi away, the gate guard finally reacted.
Why had the First Young Madam suddenly returned, and in such a state?
After a moment’s thought, the gate guard hurried to report to Old Madam Feng.
As Jiang Yi was supported by A’Man to the entrance of Haitang Residence, she finally regained some sensation and laboriously pointed towards the direction of Cixin Hall.
At this point, Jiang Yi’s entire weight was on A’Man, yet A’Man still moved nimbly, continuing without pause to drag Jiang Yi into Haitang Residence.
As for Jiang Yi pointing toward Cixin Hall?
Oh my, how could a little maid with only brute strength understand such things?
When Old Madam Feng received the report from the gatekeeper, she was quite shocked, her entire body tensing up.
It was no wonder Old Madam Feng was nervous. Too many vexing things had happened in the past few months. As this year was coming to an end, she would be thankful just for some peace.
“Go to Haitang Residence and invite the First Young Madam over.”
A’Fu obeyed Old Madam Feng’s order and went to Haitang Residence to invite Jiang Yi. A’Man stepped forward and said, “First Young Madam can’t get out of bed. Sister A’Fu, I’ll go report to Old Madam.”
In A’Fu’s mind, the married Jiang Yi was a guest. Given the current situation, there was naturally no reason to force a guest to get up. She had no choice but to take A’Man back to report.
When Old Madam Feng saw that Jiang Yi hadn’t come, her brows immediately furrowed, and she asked coldly, “Where is the First Young Madam?”
Facing Old Madam Feng, A’Man showed none of the timidity typical of servants and replied crisply, “She’s resting in Haitang Residence.”
A’Fu whispered Jiang Yi’s condition into Old Madam Feng’s ear.
“What happened?”
A’Man blinked her eyes: “This servant doesn’t know. Miss told this servant to bring First Young Madam back first.”
A’Fu silently gritted her teeth.
This A’Man was quite slippery. She had just said she came to report to Old Madam Feng, but when asked, she knew nothing.
“Where is Fourth Miss?”
“Miss is with the Master. By my calculation, they should be back soon,” A’Man said uncertainly.
Old Madam Feng simply closed her eyes, silently waiting for Jiang Ancheng to return.
After Jiang Ancheng returned, he went straight to Cixin Hall. Without waiting for Old Madam Feng’s questioning, he recounted the day’s events in detail.
After listening, Old Madam Feng was so angry her hands shook: “A man gets involved with another woman outside, and you just bring your daughter back to her maiden home?”
“Mother, that beast Zhu Ziyu isn’t simply involved with another woman. He had intentions to harm Yi’er!”
Old Madam Feng waved her hand, her face full of dismissiveness: “That’s just your speculation, it can’t be taken as fact. Moreover, Princess Rongyang said those words and took her daughter away, clearly intending to sever ties with the Zhu family. Who could shake Yi’er’s position? Have you thought about how to resolve this situation in the future, bringing her back so rashly?”
Jiang Ancheng was astonished: “What do you mean, how to resolve it? I brought Yi’er back, of course intending for her to divorce Zhu Ziyu.”
“Impossible!” Old Madam Feng’s voice rose, startling the maids and older women serving in the room, who quickly lowered their heads.
Old Madam Feng stood up abruptly, pointing at Jiang Ancheng in a rage: “Don’t even think about it! Unless I’m dead, Jiang Yi cannot divorce Zhu Ziyu! First, it was the fourth girl breaking off her engagement, then the second girl severing ties, and now the eldest girl wants a divorce. Eldest son, won’t you be satisfied until you’ve made our Earl’s mansion the laughingstock of the entire capital? Haven’t we lost enough face yet?”
A cold laugh rang out.
Everyone’s gaze suddenly fell on the person who had made the sound.
Old Madam Feng became even more enraged by Jiang Si’s laugh and asked, enunciating each word: “Fourth girl, what are you laughing at?”
Jiang Si stepped forward, closer to Old Madam Feng, her expression frank: “Granddaughter wants to laugh because it’s laughable!”
Old Madam Feng raised her cane: “What did you say?”
Jiang Zhan watched Old Madam Feng vigilantly, ready to snatch the cane away if it fell on his sister.
But Jiang Si paid no attention to the threat of the cane and spoke clearly: “Granddaughter broke off her engagement because the third son of the Duke of An’guo eloped with a commoner girl. The second sister severed ties because the heir of Marquis Changxing brutally killed an innocent girl. Father wants the eldest sister to divorce Zhu Ziyu because Zhu Ziyu had an affair with Princess Rongyang’s daughter and harbored evil intentions to harm his wife. Grandmother, the people of the capital are laughing at them, not us. We sisters are all victims in the end. How have we lost face?”
“How?” Old Madam Feng was almost angered to death by her granddaughter’s outrageous words and said hatefully, “Who told you to be born as girls? This world doesn’t run on reason. Do you think that if the men become laughingstocks, the women can stay uninvolved? If that were true, why has no one come to propose marriage to you yet?”
“Mother!” Jiang Ancheng didn’t expect his mother to say such harsh words to her granddaughter. His mind heated up, and he blurted out, “Who says no one has come to propose? It’s just that I wasn’t very satisfied and refused them.”
Old Madam Feng was surprised by this unexpected revelation from her casual remark. She was so shocked that she forgot about Jiang Yi’s matter and stared fixedly at Jiang Ancheng: “Which family came to propose?”
Jiang Ancheng regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth. He raised his hand and rubbed his nose.
Having already politely refused the proposal, it seemed somewhat ungracious to bring it up now.
Old Madam Feng sneered, not bothering to say a word.
She knew her eldest son was just putting on a brave face for his daughter.
This sneer successfully provoked him.
Jiang Ancheng waved his hand to dismiss the servants in the room, ignoring Jiang Si’s restraining gaze, and said with a smile: “I haven’t told you before, but the Zhen family recently approached me to propose marriage to Si’er.”
“Which Zhen family?” Old Madam Feng instinctively thought of someone but immediately denied it in her heart.
Impossible, how could it be that Zhen family?
“Of course, it’s Lord Zhen, the Prefect of Shuntian. He proposed on behalf of his eldest son for Si’er.” Having said this, Jiang Ancheng felt somewhat proud. “Mother, you must have heard of Lord Zhen’s eldest son, right? He’s this year’s top scholar in the autumn imperial examinations.”
Jiang Zhan and Old Madam Feng both gasped in shock.
When had his sister caught the eye of Lord Zhen? It was truly unpredictable.
Old Madam Feng had a different reaction: “Eldest son, what nonsense are you talking?”
“Mother, would I joke about such a thing? If this weren’t true, how could I face others if word got out?”
Hearing Jiang Ancheng speak so, Old Madam Feng believed most of it. She looked at Jiang Si suspiciously, and in her shock, she voiced her inner thoughts: “Why would the Zhen family choose the fourth girl?”
Jiang Si didn’t know how the conversation about her elder sister had turned to her. Hearing Old Madam Feng’s words, she felt a surge of anger and said coolly: “Granddaughter has one greatest strength. Could it be that Grandmother has never noticed it?”