When Shuran arrived at Meng Fang Courtyard, Jiang Danyun had already awakened and taken a calming medicine. She was reclining in bed. Shuran approached and smiled, saying, “Young Lady Dan, Madam is chatting with everyone up front. She misses you and says she has something wonderful to give you. Please come with me quickly.” Initially, Jiang Danyun was unwilling, but then Shuran called out loudly, “You useless things, hurry and help Young Lady Dan walk!” Two old servants immediately emerged and half-carried, half-dragged Jiang Danyun away.
Qingfen was terrified and hurriedly told Jiang Shangxian. When he heard his sick sister had been taken away by the Lin family’s people, he immediately became angry and ran after them. However, he was intercepted halfway by Shuangxi and several servants. Shuangxi wore an ambiguous smile and said, “Master Jiang, you cannot enter the inner quarters. However, our Master has instructed us to invite you to come with me.” As he spoke, he led Jiang Shangxian away. We’ll leave them for now.
When Jiang Danyun arrived at Chang Chun Hall and saw the atmosphere inside, her heart suddenly went cold. Her lips turned pale, and her legs grew weaker until she could barely stand. Jiang Xiyun was quietly sobbing, and upon seeing Jiang Danyun arrive, she immediately stood up and said tearfully, “Fourth Sister, they say we conspired together to put medicine in Elder Cousin’s concubine’s medicine. How… how could this be possible!” She stepped forward to grab Jiang Danyun’s hand, shaking it while crying, “Fourth Sister, say something! Say something! When did we ever conspire together? How could we possibly drug Elder Cousin’s concubine? Even if we were confused, we wouldn’t do such a thing! Father’s reputation, the family’s honor, our faces – would we disregard all of these?”
Jiang Danyun was already frightened senseless, but hearing Jiang Xiyun’s tearful words, which were hints to her, she immediately understood the situation and became somewhat clearer-headed. She lowered her head and said through gritted teeth, “Indeed, how could we… do such a thing, and when did we ever conspire?”
Jiang Xiyun gently wiped her tears and said grievously, “That’s right. That day, Fourth Sister and I were just taking a walk when we came to Chang Chun Hall and exchanged a few words with Chunling. Aunt and Elder Cousin, think about it – with the friendship between the Lin and Jiang families and the elders’ love, why would I resort to such a low scheme?”
Jiang Danyun was already cowed, especially by Lin Jinlou’s sinister gaze, which made her whole body cold and her hands tremble within her sleeves. At this moment, filled with regret, hatred, and fear, tears unconsciously rolled down her face. Jiang Xiyun gently squeezed her hand, making Jiang Danyun’s whole body shudder as she sobbed, “That’s right, we… we would never do such a thing…”
Chunling had already convinced herself that the Jiang sisters had conspired together. Seeing Jiang Xiyun act innocent and hearing Jiang Danyun play along with her, she nearly ground her teeth to pieces and stretched her neck to shout, “May Heaven strike you down, you treacherous wretches! You sisters conspired together to play tricks, committed shameless and unlawful acts, and pushed the blame onto me – you’ve fed your conscience to the dogs! Even if I die, my ghost will never forgive you!” As she spoke, tears fell like rain, every word dripping with blood.
Jiang Danyun was so frightened she hid behind Jiang Xiyun, her heart filled with shock and fear, her face showing clear signs of guilt. Seeing this, Jiang Xiyun quickly pulled Jiang Danyun down to kneel, crawling on their knees to Grandmother Jiang. She hugged her legs, eyes brimming with tears, and said sorrowfully, “In broad daylight, I never conspired with Fourth Sister to harm anyone. In this situation, I cannot defend myself against these accusations. If this is how it must be, I might as well die!” As she spoke, her face showed utter heartbreak, crying like a flower in the rain. Looking at Chunling, she said, “Chunling! I’ve always treated you well. When you complained about how your mistress treated you poorly, I even advised you kindly. Why do you insist that we sisters conspired together?” She then looked at Madam Qin and Lin Jinlou with a grieved expression, “Aunt, Elder Cousin, you know how careful I am about my conduct and how much I value the family’s reputation. How could I do such a thing? Perhaps someone else deliberately created this situation to sow discord!”
Hearing these words, Liusu stepped forward and pointed at Chunling, scolding, “Perhaps it was you, you scheming servant, harboring resentment against your mistress, who deliberately used underhanded means. You saw our Young Lady come to talk to you and deliberately framed her! Not just the Lin family, but even the Jiang family won’t let you off! Maybe you even conspired with your mistress to frame us!”
Lin Jinlou cut off Liusu’s words and asked harshly, “Fourth Cousin, tell us, what happened?”
Jiang Danyun had already collapsed into a trembling heap on the ground. She was terrified and desperately wanted to extricate herself from the situation. Unable to help herself, she cried, “This wasn’t me! It wasn’t me! It was… it was…” She stammered, looked up at Chunling, and saw her beaten miserable state, disheveled hair, and face full of hatred like a demon. Then she glanced at Jiang Xiyun… Jiang Danyun dared not look any more and prostrated herself, crying bitterly, “How could I have done this? I’m leaving with my elder brother soon anyway, and I have no grudge against Xianglan, past or present. I’m not the one marrying in, so why would I harm her?”
Lin Jinlou said, “Are you suggesting Fifth Cousin did this?”
Hearing these words, Jiang Xiyun was secretly annoyed but cried even more desperately. She crawled on her knees to Madam Qin, clutching her skirt hem, eyes full of tears, and said sorrowfully, “Aunt, Aunt, I never conspired to harm anyone! Before this, Chunling harbored resentment against Concubine Lan and mentioned it to me several times. I always tried to counsel her, and yes, I became somewhat close to her, but who knew it would lead to such misfortune?” Her face showed complete heartbreak as she turned to look at Jiang Danyun, saying plaintively, “Fourth Sister, Fourth Sister, why do you say such things? Why do you treat me this way?”
Jiang Danyun had always been envious of her sister’s marriage prospects and had tried to frame her, but she hadn’t expected things to spiral out of control. She was already frightened and senseless, and hearing Jiang Xiyun’s tearful words was like being doused with cold water while holding ice in her arms. Her eyes rolled back and she fainted again. Grandmother Jiang and Liusu hurriedly rose to check on her, pressing her philtrum and massaging her chest. Grandmother Jiang called out “Child!” and “My flesh and blood!” After a moment, Jiang Danyun opened her eyes and let out a weak breath. Grandmother Jiang constantly wiped tears while sighing, “What a sin! What a sin! Are you trying to drive people to their deaths?” Jiang Xiyun collapsed crying at Madam Qin’s feet, wailing sorrowfully. Chunling sobbed quietly.
At this point, further questioning was impossible. Madam Qin hurriedly ordered the maids to carry Jiang Danyun back on a sedan chair. Amid this chaos, Huashan came out and announced loudly, “Our Concubine requests Elderly Lady Jiang and Fifth Young Lady Jiang to come to her room for a discussion.”
The room suddenly fell silent. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Huashan. Grandmother Jiang and Jiang Xiyun stared at each other, dumbfounded. Huashan announced again loudly, “Concubine says, please, Elderly Lady Jiang and Fifth Young Lady Jiang, come in for a discussion.”
Lin Jinlou gave a cold snort, stood up, and left with a flick of his sleeve.
While Grandmother Jiang was still in a daze, Jiang Xiyun had already stepped forward to support her, saying slowly, “Let’s go, let’s go see her.”