Chapter 267: Despicable
Jiang Yihuan was trying on newly bought jewelry when a servant came in and said to her, “Second Madam, the Marquis asks you to come over and help the First Madam receive the guests.”
“Is this the Marquis’s idea or the First Madam’s idea?” Jiang Yihuan asked.
“The First Madam’s health has gotten worse. The Marquis saw that she was struggling to entertain the guests, so he said to let the Second Madam receive the guests in her place.”
Hearing that it was Marquis Jing’an’s idea, Jiang Yihuan thought it probably wasn’t the First Madam’s scheming, so she stood up. “Got it, I’ll go right now.”
She deliberately put on new jewelry and dressed up exquisitely and beautifully, like a bright rose.
She just wanted to crush that First Madam. Men are all lustful. Even if they say they love you, when they see a prettier woman, they forget all those sweet words and vows completely.
She had seen so many men. How could she not know what a man like Marquis Jing’an, who appears to be a gentleman on the surface, was thinking?
When Jiang Yihuan stepped into the First Madam’s courtyard, she saw Su Yaoguang and others dressed in their own distinctive styles. Among all these bright women, only the First Madam in her plain and elegant attire stood out as particularly different. Most importantly, she was fragile, which could arouse a man’s desire for protection.
Jiang Yihuan noticed that the atmosphere between Marquis Jing’an and the First Madam had changed.
Ever since she entered the manor, Marquis Jing’an had not stepped into the First Madam’s courtyard again. The First Madam was weak and had no children, so Marquis Jing’an had long stopped paying attention to her. Even for important occasions where they needed to appear together, Marquis Jing’an would let her rest and have her, the newly married concubine, step out instead.
Today, Marquis Jing’an was especially attentive and caring toward her.
“Second Madam is here.” The old wet nurse nearby said, “Just now the Marquis was still worried, saying whether Second Madam was too busy to make time. Now the Marquis doesn’t have to worry. Look at Second Madam’s outfit; it’s clear she values the distinguished guests very much, so she took the time to dress up elaborately.”
“Marquis, both are Madams, yet the First Madam is so plain while the Second Madam is so adorned with jewels. Isn’t this favoring one over the other?” Zhang Zhaodi said.
Marquis Jing’an frowned. “The First Madam has never liked those vulgar things and doesn’t wear them usually. The Second Madam is young and likes pretty things. One loves to wear them, the other doesn’t—it’s all based on their own preferences. This Marquis wouldn’t interfere with the habits of my two beloved wives.”
“The Marquis is right. I’m ill and don’t go out, so no one sees it even if I wear it.” The First Madam said, “Younger sister, no need to mind. The General’s wife is just joking with us.”
Mockery flashed in Jiang Yihuan’s eyes.
General’s wife?
This sickly person was indeed not as simple as she appeared on the surface.
She deliberately mentioned Zhang Zhaodi’s identity, and Marquis Jing’an wouldn’t dare say anything given her status.
“Second Madam, the First Madam can’t have ginger in her illness. I reminded you before, but your manor’s servants obey in public but defy in private. They don’t put ginger on the surface but pour ginger water over the dishes, so every dish has ginger. The First Madam’s condition can’t take more torment. If this happens again, I’ll tell everyone outside that the inner chambers of Jing’an Marquis Manor are too terrifying— a perfectly fine person was harmed to death. Who in this manor can’t even tolerate a sick person? She has already handed over household management and lies in bed all day. How could she possibly get in anyone’s way?”
“Doctor Jiang, I’ll investigate what you said. If it’s true, those cooks can’t stay.” Jiang Yihuan said, “It’s also my fault. I should have reminded older sister earlier. Older sister may not know, but earlier I found the cook was very negligent with the food for your courtyard—either deliberately making it unpalatable or using spoiled ingredients. After I discovered this, I severely punished the cook. Later I learned that when older sister managed household management, she was too strict with him, so he held a grudge. Now that you’re ill and can’t manage the inner chambers, he sees this as an opportunity for revenge, so he keeps tampering with the food.”
“But since I took over household management, I sent people to watch him, and he hasn’t tampered with older sister’s meals again. This time, it must be that the people I sent saw him behaving for so long and thought he wouldn’t do anything, so they got negligent.”
Jiang Yihuan meant that the reason the First Madam got ginger water from the cook wasn’t her instigation, but that her personality wasn’t likable and she had offended the manor’s servants before.
By saying this, she not only cleared herself but also signaled to Marquis Jing’an that the First Madam wasn’t well-regarded in managing the household before, and the manor’s servants didn’t submit to her.
Su Yaoguang poured a cup of tea for the First Madam and said to Jiang Yihuan nearby, “It’s too stuffy here. I want to go out for a walk.”
“Sure, the flowers in our courtyard have just bloomed, blooming vibrantly. Let’s all go appreciate the scenery!” Jiang Yihuan said, “Marquis, do you want to come along?”
Marquis Jing’an listened to all these women chattering, his ears hurting, so he stood up and said, “I have things to do. You all have fun!”
With Marquis Jing’an not going, the group of women went to the back garden.
“Second Madam…” A servant came over and said to her, “Madam Zhang, Madam Yang, and Madam Li brought the manor’s young miss to visit.”
Su Yaoguang and the others exchanged a glance.
Official family women always pay attention to propriety. For visits, they usually send a calling card two days in advance and only visit after confirmation. Now they came without any notice, showing these families aren’t prominent households—they’re probably temporary tools pulled in by Jiang Yihuan.
Those few madams and young misses were ushered to the back garden.
Su Yaoguang and Zhang Zhaodi checked their information and confirmed they hadn’t seen these people at various occasions, further verifying they were from minor official families.
“Mother, what does Jiang Yihuan want to do to us using them?”
“We’ll know soon.”
Jiang Yihuan said to the several madams, “Let me introduce you. These are the First Madam’s distinguished guests. Our Marquis Manor recently received a batch of fish from the sea area—rare breeds fished up. Since we’re all here together, let’s appreciate them!”
“Last time Second Madam told the Marquis she liked pretty fish, and in just a few days, the Marquis got so many pretty fish. It shows how much the Marquis values Second Madam.” Madam Zhang said, “Second Madam is truly the envy of all women in the capital city for her happiness. The Marquis dotes on you so much, and you just entered the manor and gave birth to his child. You know, the Marquis has been hoping for this child for over twenty years. No wonder the Marquis dotes on you. If I were a man, I’d dote too.”
Su Yaoguang leaned close to the First Madam and said, “You’ve heard words like this a lot, right?”
The First Madam controlled her itchy throat, coughed lightly, and said, “This is just the appetizer. There should be other tricks later.”
“By the lake… water… not pushing into the water, right?” As soon as Su Yaoguang finished speaking, the Li young miss nearest to Jiang Jing pushed her. Eyeing Jiang Jing about to fall into the water, a figure darted out and pulled Jiang Jing back directly.
After Jiang Jing was safe, that figure hid in the shadows again.
Everyone fell silent.
Zhang Zhaodi looked at Su Yaoguang, then at Jiang Jing. “Can’t they come up with something new?”
“Sorry, I saw that fish was so pretty I got dazed and didn’t notice anyone in front.” That Li young miss said aggrievedly, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”
Zhang Zhaodi wanted to say something but was stopped by Su Yaoguang.
“Of course we believe you didn’t do it on purpose. You’re not crazy—why would you push someone into the water for no reason?”
“Right, we just met and have no grudge. We’re all guests in the Marquis Manor; we should be friends.”
“Exactly.” Su Yaoguang walked to the railing.
Nearby Zhang Zhaodi tried to pull her back, but Su Yaoguang stopped her.
Su Yaoguang deliberately went to the railing and looked down.
Annoyance flashed in Jiang Yihuan’s eyes.
What’s wrong with this family? Visiting someone else’s manor and bringing hidden guards along.
Looks like today isn’t a good opportunity.
Fine, let them off today and find another chance next time to make them suffer.
Su Yaoguang went to the railing and said toward the water surface, “Wow, these fish are so pretty. Look at this one—red eyes, golden tail, and it’s circling here like it can understand us.”
“Where?” Those people were from small families and had never seen such magical fish, so they all curiously craned their necks to look down.
Jiang Yihuan was curious too.
She knew the fish in the lake were pretty, but were they as pretty as she described?
Could Marquis Jing’an really have gotten such pretty fish?
She leaned on the railing to look.
Su Yaoguang forcefully snapped the railing, then pushed. The several people originally leaning on the railing plunged toward the water.
“Ah…”
Plop! Plop! Plop!
One by one, like dumplings being dropped in.
“Help… help…”
Jiang Yihuan flailed, shouting toward the shore.
The First Madam stared in astonishment at this scene.
Just now the Li young miss tried to push Jiang Jing, but as soon as she moved, the hidden guard noticed and stopped it in time. Now so many people fell into the water at once, acting like they had no brains, so easily schemed against.
“I really don’t understand. Even if scheming against people, can’t you use a better method? You see, wherever there’s water it’s drowning, wherever there’s a cliff it’s falling off a cliff, wherever there’s a man it’s drugging, wherever there’s a benefactor it’s making a fool of themselves… I just wanted them to taste the flavor of reaping what they sow. Now the water is pretty cold too—hope it clears their heads a bit.”
The First Madam shouted loudly, “Come… come quick… someone fell into the water…”
The manor’s servants heard the shout and rushed over.
However, among so many servants, few could swim. By the time those who could arrived, the people in the water were already somewhat suffocating.
Marquis Jing’an heard the news and rushed over, just in time to see Jiang Yihuan and the others being rescued ashore.
The one rescuing Jiang Yihuan was a male servant, tall and strong. While holding her, his arms inevitably rubbed against certain places, and the originally supposed-to-be-unconscious Jiang Yihuan made an ambiguous sound.
Everyone: “…”
Suddenly feeling somewhat embarrassed for her.
Marquis Jing’an’s face was also extremely dark.
As his woman, she was actually hugged, held, and touched by the household’s servant.
“Marquis, your Marquis Manor’s railing should be repaired and inspected. Look, once it broke, so many people fell.” Su Yaoguang said, “Now they’ve all drowned and need a doctor. Quickly get a doctor for them!”
“Isn’t Doctor Jiang here?” Marquis Jing’an said, “With her medical skill, a little drowning shouldn’t be anything.”
“Marquis, we’re afraid it’s inconvenient for us to treat. Your family’s Second Madam should have mentioned us—we have some grudge. If we treat your Second Madam now, and she bites back saying we want to harm her or something, we’d have grievances with nowhere to appeal. You’d better quickly get her a doctor to avoid delaying treatment and leaving aftereffects.”
“Yaoguang is right. You should get another doctor to treat them. Anyway, they just drowned, so they can wait.”
“With this Marquis here, I won’t let her misunderstand you. Doctor Jiang, with so many people unconscious, please treat them immediately.”
“Since the Marquis guarantees it, then I’ll treat them!”
Under everyone’s witness, Jiang Jing gave them acupuncture.
“Ah…” Jiang Yihuan painfully woke up. “It hurts… it hurts so much… what is this…”
Jiang Yihuan had several needles on her body. As soon as she woke, Jiang Jing removed the needles, and her screams stopped.
The others were also woken by Jiang Jing’s needles. Their first reaction upon waking was intense pain, which disappeared as soon as Jiang Jing removed the needles.
“Marquis, you must stand up for us. We were pushed in by them.” Jiang Yihuan pointed toward Su Yaoguang’s direction in accusation.
Marquis Jing’an frowned. “What did you say?”
“I said we were pushed into the water.” Jiang Yihuan complained aggrievedly, “Marquis, older sister clearly knows I have a grudge with them, so why invite them as guests? Why not live peacefully but bring troublemakers to stir up chaos at home? I’m fine even if I die in the inner chambers—who let me meet the Marquis too late and not become the Marquis’s legal wife? But if our child loses its mother, how pitiful! If I’m gone one day, Marquis, entrust our child to older sister to raise. Older sister must like children very much.”
“Why do you say you were pushed? Did you see it?” Marquis Jing’an asked.
“Pfft!” The First Madam covered her mouth and chuckled lightly. “Marquis, look what you said. Younger sister was just standing there looking at the fish. If she saw someone pushing her, it’d mean eyes on the back of her head—she’d be a demon.”
“I didn’t see it, but I just know.” Jiang Yihuan said, “The water in this lake is so deep. I almost died just now.”
“Marquis, you saw it. I said long ago we shouldn’t save them. They’re ungrateful people.” Jiang Jing said.
“You fell into the water because the railing was broken. Second Madam, you now manage household management—these matters are your responsibility. Now that something happened, you wrongly accuse the guests without clarifying. I see you have no ability to manage household management. Better hand household management back to the First Madam.”
