Chapter 86: I’ll Make Her Pay
“Alright, when the time comes, if there’s a chance to see His Majesty, I will definitely mention it to His Majesty.”
Jiang Rui was secretly delighted, but remained calm on the surface. “Then I’ll arrange for Second Sister to meet His Majesty right away.”
Jiang Ruanxi nodded and continued, “However, Third Brother, before that, I want to trouble you to help me with one thing.”
Jiang Rui frowned. “Second Sister, no matter what it is, nothing is more important than Second Brother’s safety. Why don’t we wait until Second Brother is out before discussing it?”
She feared that once Jiang Changjun was out, he would kill the donkey after it had outlived its usefulness.
Jiang Ruanxi wore a smile on her face.
“Third Brother doesn’t know, but the matter in my family is quite urgent. If it’s not resolved soon, I’m afraid I won’t have the mind to meet His Majesty by then.”
This was a threat, and Jiang Rui was very displeased in his heart.
But for the sake of the bigger picture, Jiang Rui didn’t show it and instead smiled warmly. “Then Second Sister, tell me.”
Jiang Ruanxi stopped exchanging veiled words with him and said directly, “I want Yongning Marquis Manor to propose marriage to Lin Family and ask for Lin Tingting’s hand.”
“Second Sister, have you gone mad?” Jiang Rui’s eyelids turned cold; naturally, he didn’t want to accept this hot potato.
“Yongning Marquis Manor is a marquis manor after all. If Lin Family hadn’t been stripped of its noble title, it might be worth a try, but now Lin Family has been stripped of its noble title, and its status is far below that of Yongning Marquis Manor. This marriage is utterly unsuitable no matter how you look at it.”
Lin Family had so many shameful matters; he had no desire to help them propose any such ridiculous marriage—he wanted to avoid them whenever he saw them.
Jiang Ruanxi didn’t miss the disgust in his eyes, and her smile became even brighter.
“Since Third Brother is unwilling, then let’s pretend I never mentioned this matter. As for meeting His Majesty, let me go back and consider it again.”
The meaning was clear: if you don’t agree to this, she wouldn’t agree to meet His Majesty.
Threatened again and again, even the usually smiling tiger Jiang Rui could no longer maintain his smile, and his face immediately darkened.
His gaze was like a venomous snake staring at Jiang Ruanxi, as if as soon as she made any move, he would lunge forward and bite her to death.
Jiang Ruanxi felt a chill in her heart from his stare, but she still pretended to be calm.
After a long moment, Jiang Rui slowly spoke.
“Alright, I promise you. Within three days, I will give Second Sister a reply. I just ask that Second Sister remembers her own words.”
“Of course!”
After Jiang Ruanxi left, Jiang Leilin stormed in full of anger to remind him.
“Third Brother, Jiang Ruanxi is cunning and full of tricks. We underestimated her before and fell for it. Don’t believe her so easily.”
He had heard Jiang Ruanxi’s words from behind the screen just now. He hadn’t expected the current Jiang Ruanxi to have changed; he had underestimated her before.
“No matter how formidable, she’s just a mere woman. Now that Lin Family is destroyed, the only thing she can rely on is Lin Family. Don’t worry, she won’t dare to act out.”
Jiang Rui sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, took a gentle sip, and looked completely unconcerned.
Thinking of something, Jiang Rui looked at Jiang Leilin and instructed, “Go comfort Mother. Once Second Brother is rescued, I will make Jiang Ruanxi go apologize to Xue’er.”
As he spoke the latter part, his face was full of murderous intent.
He heavily set the teacup on the table, and quite a bit of the tea spilled out.
Jiang Leilin knew that Jiang Rui, like him, had no intention of letting Jiang Ruanxi off, so he sat down beside him.
“Third Brother is still the one with the methods. However, Jiang Ruanxi seems different from before. I’m just afraid she’ll pull some trick midway.”
Although Jiang Leilin was an official of the second rank, in Jiang Family, he still respected Jiang Rui greatly.
Jiang Rui dismissed it. “Don’t worry, I will make her pay the price.”
Just a mere daughter of a merchant—in front of him, this imperial merchant rich enough to rival a country, none of this was enough.
He wanted Jiang Ruanxi to see his power. She dared to cause the death of the gentle and kind Xue’er and get Jiang Changjun thrown into prison.
Murderous intent poured from Jiang Rui’s eyes.
Jiang Ruanxi, completely unaware of all this, went straight back to Lin Manor.
When Jiang Ruanxi returned home, she quietly waited for news from Nameless Daoist, but Lin Tingting became anxious.
She came knocking several times, wanting to speak but not knowing how to start.
Jiang Ruanxi took it all in and calmly took a sip of tea. “Third Sister, coming to find me so early in the morning—is there something?”
Lin Tingting’s face was tense. Although she was so bold as to secretly meet a man at night, she still had some sense of propriety and shame. She hemmed and hawed for half a day without speaking.
“Third Sister, I’m busy today. If there’s nothing, please go back.”
Lin Tingting clenched her hands into fists. In the end, vanity overcame reason.
“A whole day has passed—why is there still no movement from Yongning Marquis Manor?”
Jiang Ruanxi looked at her fierce yet pale face and curled her lips in mockery. “Is Third Sister so desperate to get married?”
Lin Tingting’s face paled. She knew she would use this to humiliate her, but she couldn’t care less anymore.
“I’m just afraid you won’t keep your promise—forcing me to sign those terms but not doing anything.”
“If Third Sister is so anxious, you can find someone else. I’ll have someone tear up the signed agreement for you.”
“Who says I’m impatient? I’m just afraid you’re fooling me.” Lin Tingting defended forcefully.
“If Third Sister doesn’t want to delay things, it’s best to go back and wait patiently. For marriage matters, being impatient in your heart won’t get you hot tofu.”
Lin Tingting was naturally dissatisfied, but since she still needed to rely on Jiang Ruanxi, she didn’t dare to flare up and could only leave in a huff.
Hong Ye said, “Madam, why didn’t you tell Third Miss that you’ve already sent someone to mention this matter?”
“The matter isn’t settled yet. Letting her worry a bit isn’t bad.”
Lin Tingting was straightforward by nature and had already been anxious over this matter, wishing for an immediate result.
But Jiang Ruanxi said nothing at this critical juncture.
Thinking of Lin Tingting’s anxious appearance, Hong Ye felt quite satisfied.
“Madam, I don’t understand. You clearly dislike Third Miss, so why help her this time when even First Madam won’t?”
“Who says I’m helping her?”
Hong Ye was even more confused. “Madam, then why all this running around?”
Jiang Ruanxi smiled faintly. “Only an idiot like Lin Tingting would think Sun Chengye of Yongning Marquis Manor is a good match. She’s jumping into the fire pit herself—why should I stop her?”
Hong Ye was still puzzled and didn’t understand, but Jiang Ruanxi didn’t explain. Anyway, she would understand eventually.
“Right, any news from Nameless Daoist?”
“Madam, if you hadn’t mentioned it, I’d almost forgotten. Shugen brought news that Master Bian Du wants to see you.”
Master Bian Du?
Not Nameless Daoist?
