A reason she had no choice but to go?
Jiang Si calmly gazed at Elder Hua, waiting for her to provide a reason she couldn’t refuse.
Elder Hua flipped her hand, revealing an object in her palm – an ordinary-looking pouch.
The moment Jiang Si saw the pouch, her expression changed drastically. She could no longer maintain her usual composure and calmly asked, “Where did you get this?”
As she spoke, she instinctively reached for the pouch.
Elder Hua didn’t move, allowing Jiang Si to take the pouch.
Jiang Si clutched the bamboo-green pouch and examined it carefully. She noticed dark brown stains on the tightly stitched pouch – traces left by dried blood. Her eyes reddened.
This pouch was the one she had personally given to her brother before he went south.
When Jiang Zhan was about to go to the battlefield, Jiang Si, worried, had prepared some medicines – for stopping bleeding, detoxification, eliminating miasma… all personally concocted by her, with extraordinary effects that couldn’t be bought on the market.
She had sorted these medicines into several pouches, and this bamboo-green one contained the blood-stopping powder.
Jiang Si understood Jiang Zhan.
Whether it was the shoes given by their elder sister or the pouch she gave, her brother would wear them and never discard them casually.
And now, the pouch her second brother wore had appeared in Elder Hua’s hands.
This couldn’t help but shock Jiang Si, and after the shock came anger.
Jiang Si’s gaze turned icy as she stared intently at Elder Hua.
Elder Hua’s expression became more composed. She even raised her hand to gently smooth her temples and said unhurriedly, “Now, is the Princess Consort willing to travel south with me?”
“I’ll ask once more, where exactly did Elder Hua get this pouch from?”
Meeting Elder Hua’s confident gaze, Jiang Si’s heart tightened, and the outward display of anger subsided.
The more urgent the matter, the less she could show it, lest the other party gain complete control over her.
She had long understood this principle, but when it came to her brother, she was inevitably anxious.
She couldn’t help but be flustered. Her brother had died on the battlefield, and they couldn’t even find his remains. She couldn’t let go of even the slightest clue.
“It’s just a pouch, it doesn’t prove anything. Elder Hua, if you say nothing, do you think I would travel south with you just because of a pouch?” Jiang Si spoke again, her voice calmer than she had imagined.
This calmness wasn’t true calmness, but rather a turbulent undercurrent beneath the ice, a calm before the storm that could break at any moment, sweeping the other party into it.
Elder Hua sensed the danger but remained unfazed, clearly confident in her position.
“I heard that the Princess Consort’s brother joined the southern expedition. Recently, the Da Zhou army engaged in a fierce battle with the Nan Lan army. Your brother died on the battlefield, but his remains weren’t recovered. Is this true?”
Jiang Si’s gaze turned cold, her tone even colder: “In the capital of Da Zhou, this should be common knowledge.”
Elder Hua smiled slightly: “I heard that Prince Yan personally went south to search for your brother’s remains.”
“This should also be common knowledge. What exactly does Elder Hua want to say?” Jiang Si showed some impatience.
The feeling of being led by the nose was truly awful. Contrary to her outward impatience, she was becoming increasingly calm.
Elder Hua, thinking that this young woman who looked identical to the Holy Maiden had finally lost her composure, said meaningfully: “What I want to say is – the Prince won’t be able to recover your brother’s remains.”
Jiang Si narrowed her eyes.
Elder Hua spoke with such certainty that A Jin couldn’t find her brother’s remains, and her brother’s pouch had appeared in the other party’s hands. Did this mean that her second brother’s remains might have fallen into the hands of the Wu Miao people?
Thinking of this possibility, Jiang Si clenched her fist tightly.
“What does Elder Hua mean? Have you perhaps found my brother’s remains?” Jiang Si asked, striving to maintain her composure.
But Elder Hua gave an answer that shocked her even more: “Has the Princess Consort not considered that your brother might still be alive?”
In Elder Hua’s view, a corpse couldn’t guarantee that the other party would agree to travel south.
Jiang Si’s pupils dilated sharply, the veins on the back of her clenched hand protruding, her nails almost drawing blood from her palm.
“Elder Hua, are you… telling the truth, and not toying with me?”
As Jiang Si asked, even though she desperately told herself to remain calm, her trembling eyelashes betrayed her true emotions.
And her gaze turned exceptionally cold.
At this moment, Jiang Si thought fiercely: If Elder Hua dared to trick her, she would beat the other party so badly that even her granddaughter wouldn’t recognize her.
For Jiang Si, when angered to the extreme, all talk of “a gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years” or “elegant retaliation” was nonsense. Only fists spoke the truth.
Elder Hua keenly sensed the danger and quietly moved back a bit: “I went to great lengths to see the Princess Consort. I’m not here to joke with you.”
Jiang Si tightly pursed her lips, saying nothing.
She feared that if she opened her mouth, she would no longer be able to control the storm in her heart.
Her second brother was still alive!
Her second brother was still alive – this thought crashed like waves against Jiang Si’s heart, making her forget that she was still in the dilapidated temple.
Long Dan and A Man, who remained outside, grew tense when they noticed the silence inside.
Jiang Si and Elder Hua had been conversing in the Wu Miao language, so those outside didn’t understand what they were saying.
“Should we go in and check?” A Man pointed inside and asked in a low voice.
Long Dan nodded slightly, just about to enter when Jiang Si’s voice finally sounded from inside.
“Is my second brother in Wu Miao?”
Elder Hua smiled slightly and asked with certainty: “If the Princess Consort travels south once and brings back her healthy and alive brother to the capital, is this condition acceptable?”
Jiang Si was about to agree immediately.
This was a condition she couldn’t refuse, and wouldn’t refuse.
As rationality returned, she gently bit her lip: “First, Elder Hua, answer me: is my brother in Wu Miao?”
“Yes.” Elder Hua no longer kept her in suspense and gave a definitive answer.
Jiang Si clenched her fist tighter and asked, taking a light breath: “If I agree, how can I ensure that after fulfilling your request, I can leave safely with my brother?”
Elder Hua said she wanted her to appear before the clan members as the Holy Maiden to calm their hearts, but who knew how much more they might demand? What if they thought one time wasn’t enough and wanted her to stay in Wu Miao long-term as a puppet Holy Maiden?
Elder Hua didn’t know that she was already aware of the truth about Holy Maiden A Sang’s death.
Elder Hua seemed to have anticipated this question from Jiang Si and said solemnly: “I’m willing to swear in the name of our true god that as long as the Princess Consort cooperates with the Great Elder and appears once before the clan members, we will let the Princess Consort and her brother leave. The Princess Consort may not know that our clan members are only restless because they haven’t seen the Holy Maiden for a long time. They don’t need to be by the Holy Maiden’s side every day.”
Jiang Si smiled: “Then let Elder Hua swear.”
Even if the other party swore, she still wouldn’t fully trust it, but some things had to be done even if there were doubts, like bringing back her second brother.
After hearing Elder Hua’s solemn oath, Jiang Si appeared much calmer: “I have one more question to ask.”
“Please, Princess Consort.”
“How did Elder Hua know my identity?”