Jiang Qiao seemed to be desperately trying to control her movements. Though she rose abruptly, she made little noise, only breathing heavily as if she had exhausted all her strength.
Jiang Si’s mind raced.
At this point, how could she not guess that Jiang Qiao had been awake all along?
Jiang Qiao’s current state undoubtedly meant she had discovered the Young Master of Changxing’s arrival.
Jiang Si instinctively closed her eyes, hearing muffled sobs.
She sighed inwardly: Jiang Qiao was terrified.
It could be said that Jiang Qiao’s reaction was already quite good. In the dead of night, with a man intruding into a lady’s chamber, other women would have lost control and screamed.
The sobbing was very soft; if Jiang Si hadn’t already been awake, she wouldn’t have heard it at all.
After a moment, the sobbing stopped, and Jiang Si could feel Jiang Qiao turning her head, her gaze falling on her.
At this moment, Jiang Si hesitated, unsure whether to continue pretending to sleep or to be frank with Jiang Qiao.
As she wavered, Jiang Qiao whispered, “Fourth Sister, the Young Master of Changxing truly has designs on you!”
Hearing this, Jiang Si immediately opened her eyes.
Jiang Qiao was startled, staring blankly at Jiang Si.
Jiang Si simply sat up.
After a while, Jiang Qiao came to her senses and murmured, “Fourth Sister, how are you awake?”
In the dim moonlight filtering through the window lattice, Jiang Si could see the bloodless face of the girl close by, and her hand involuntarily raised in nervousness.
Jiang Qiao’s hand was trembling, tightly clutching a gold hairpin. She was still shaken by the Young Master of Changxing’s earlier visit.
Even so, she was trying hard to control her body’s instinctive reactions, as if afraid of transmitting this fear to Jiang Si.
“Third Sister, I’ve been awake for a while,” Jiang Si said, feeling a myriad of emotions. She decided not to keep Jiang Qiao in the dark any longer.
She couldn’t handle everything perfectly, but at least she could try to empathize.
Hearing Jiang Si’s words, Jiang Qiao’s grip on the gold hairpin loosened, and she suddenly embraced Jiang Si. Her whole body trembled like a withered leaf clinging to a branch in the autumn wind. “Fourth Sister, the Young Master of Changxing is a beast!”
Jiang Si didn’t respond to Jiang Qiao’s words, instead asking, “Third Sister, did you already suspect this?”
Jiang Qiao released her embrace, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and after a moment of silence, nodded. “I wasn’t certain, but I couldn’t help but be suspicious. Earlier, when we were dining in the flower hall and the Young Master of Changxing came to eat, Second Sister said she forgot to inform him. I felt something was amiss then. Knowing Second Sister’s character, how could she make such an oversight with four sisters visiting?”
Jiang Si was somewhat surprised.
She hadn’t expected Third Sister to have sensed something wrong from that moment, which was completely different from the impression she usually gave.
From her previous life until now, Jiang Si had always seen Jiang Qiao as someone sharp-tongued yet kind-hearted, generally a guileless young girl.
She truly hadn’t understood Jiang Qiao well enough.
“Then there was the incident in the garden. Although the Young Master of Changxing appeared to encounter us by chance, even just greeting us without approaching before leaving, very proper indeed—” At this point, Jiang Qiao gave a cold laugh, “The peony garden in the Changxing Marquis’s residence is so attractive, if he were truly proper, as the master of the household, wouldn’t he have thought that we would most likely be there admiring the flowers? Yet he appeared precisely then. At that moment, I was certain it was deliberate…”
“Third Sister insisted on sleeping with me to protect me, didn’t you?” Jiang Si asked softly.
Jiang Qiao’s face reddened, and she said embarrassedly, “Fourth Sister, you’re so beautiful. I guessed that if the Young Master of Changxing had any ill intentions, it would be towards you. I thought if we stayed together, he wouldn’t dare to act recklessly. Who knew that beast would actually—”
At this point, Jiang Qiao couldn’t continue. Her whole body trembled slightly, clearly still in shock.
“Fourth Sister, let’s go back tomorrow!” Jiang Qiao grasped Jiang Si’s hand.
Jiang Si sighed, “Second Sister will surely try to keep us here.”
“Surely she can’t forcibly prevent us from leaving?” Jiang Qiao said, then suddenly froze as if realizing something. Her expression changed dramatically, her lips trembling, “F-Fourth Sister, Second Sister, she—”
Could it be what she was thinking? If it were true, it would be too terrifying and absurd.
Jiang Qiao involuntarily clutched her rapidly beating heart, not daring to think any deeper.
Jiang Si’s expression remained calm as still water. “Second Sister invited me here with great sincerity.”
Jiang Qiao was stunned again, looking at Jiang Si in disbelief. “Fourth Sister, you had already guessed?”
Seeing Jiang Si nod slightly, Jiang Qiao’s hand waved and then fell limply. She said angrily, “Are you stupid? If you had guessed, why did you still come? Isn’t this walking right into their trap?”
Jiang Si lowered her gaze and remained silent.
She had nothing to say.
To others, it might seem like walking into a trap, but to her, this journey into the tiger’s den was necessary.
Currently, the Young Master of Changxing was restrained because she was unmarried, but what about later? Should she pin her hopes on him having a change of heart and sparing her?
Rather than waiting passively to save herself in the future, she preferred to actively resolve the issue with this beast in human clothing now.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking!” Jiang Qiao poked Jiang Si’s forehead with her finger, fuming.
“Don’t be angry, Third Sister. I just thought that you can’t be on guard forever against a thief, so I might as well come and see what they’re really up to.”
“But you’re the one who will suffer!”
Jiang Si smiled faintly. “Second Sister invited us here with formal invitation cards. At least for now, she won’t let me truly come to harm.”
“Then what do you plan to do? That beast dared to sneak in tonight; tomorrow night, he might go even further. At that time, you’ll have to suffer in silence. You can’t exactly make a fuss about it, can you?” Jiang Qiao gripped Jiang Si’s hand tightly. “Fourth Sister, let’s leave tomorrow, alright?”
Jiang Si firmly shook her head. “We can’t.”
Right now, Jiang Qiao is seen as an outsider in the eyes of Jiang Qian and her husband. But if tomorrow Jiang Qiao insisted on leaving, given that they had shared a room tonight and the Young Master of Changxing had visited, they might suspect that Jiang Qiao had discovered something.
If that were the case, Jiang Qiao would be in danger of being silenced.
Jiang Si had the means to protect herself, but Jiang Qiao, despite her perceptiveness, was just a young girl without any fighting skills. Jiang Si had dared to enter the Changxing Marquis’s residence to resolve the problem completely, not leaving endless troubles behind.
“Then what do you want to do?” Jiang Qiao was furious.
“Third Sister, give me some time. I will deal with him.”
“Don’t do anything reckless!”
Jiang Si smiled reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Third Sister. I understand the principle of not taking on tasks beyond my capabilities. It’s late, let’s sleep.”
Suddenly, Jiang Qiao felt her eyelids grow heavy. She mumbled a response and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Jiang Si gave Jiang Qiao a long look, then stepped around her and got out of bed. She put on her soft-soled embroidered shoes and walked out.
In the outer room slept the maid Jiang Qian had sent to serve Jiang Si. Jiang Si walked past her with extremely light steps, lightly flicking her fingernail. A powder, hidden by the darkness, silently scattered.
The moon gate of the Young Master’s residence led directly to the back garden. Jiang Si moved swiftly through it, arriving at the peony patch in the garden.