Jiang Sihe only heard the chaos of voices around her.
“Blood… there’s blood on Second Miss’s back…”
“Quick, call the physician…”
“Hurry, carry Second Miss into the flower hall…”
After that, everything went black before her eyes, and the voices faded away.
…
The carriage stopped at the entrance of Pei Fu. A guard dressed in a dark form-fitting outfit jumped down from the carriage first.
Then came a low voice: “My lord, we’ve arrived at the mansion gate. Shall we return?”
Pei Yanchao lifted the carriage curtain, glanced out, and pondered for a moment. “Forget it. I’ll stay at the residence tonight.”
As he bent down to step off the carriage, a strip of cyan silk ribbon fell from his front.
He reached out and caught it, examining it briefly. A young girl who had crashed into his arms at the moon-shaped doorway floated through his mind.
He had a gift for never forgetting anything he saw. With a single glance, he recognized that this ribbon matched the color of the young girl’s ru skirt.
“My lord, is something amiss?”
Pei Yanchao tucked the ribbon away, furrowed his brows, and said in a low voice, “It’s nothing. Let’s return to the residence.”
…
The First Madame of Jiangfu, Wang Mingyi, first sat on a chair outside the flower hall, but soon grew restless and stood up. She glanced inside, then turned and sat back down.
“First Madame, the physician is currently treating Second Miss. Surely Second Miss is blessed by heaven and will be fine…”
Nanny Qiu, noticing the anxious look on her mistress’s face, stepped forward to comfort her in a soft voice.
“Ah, if it weren’t for this child today, I would be the one lying in there now…”
Thinking back to the perilous moment at the flower hall entrance, the First Madame still felt lingering fear.
“Yes, thanks to Second Miss…”
“What about her birth mother and younger sister?”
Nanny Qiu glanced outside. “They’ve already returned to their courtyard.”
The First Madame nodded and asked nothing more, but Nanny Qiu recalled something.
“Madame, do you still remember what the young novice monk said when we went to Fu’an Temple last month?”
Reminded by Nanny Qiu, the First Madame immediately thought of that day. As they were leaving the temple, they happened to encounter a young novice monk returning from his travels.
He stared at her for a long while, then suddenly stepped forward.
He told her that she would soon face a calamity, but if a lucky star could help resolve it, her fortune would be reversed by that lucky star, and she would enjoy peace and prosperity thereafter.
At the time, she and Nanny Qiu had simply taken it as a pleasant blessing. She had wanted to give him some incense money, but the young novice monk shook his head, paid his respects, and left.
Now that Nanny Qiu brought it up, she suddenly felt that those words did seem to have come true.
“Madame, today it was precisely Second Miss who shielded you from that calamity. Do you think she might be the lucky star the young novice monk at Fu’an Temple spoke of?”
The First Madame, née Wang, had never borne a child since marrying into the Jiang family. She had tried every method to conceive, but none had worked.
Later, she turned to Buddhism. A small Buddhist shrine was set up in the back courtyard of the residence, and on the first and fifteenth of every month, she would go to chant sutras. Now that this matter had fulfilled the young novice monk’s words, she naturally found it incredible—and even more so, a pleasant surprise.
She immediately grasped Nanny Qiu’s hand. “Nanny, she must be my lucky star. I want to adopt her into my lineage and raise her by my side…”
Nanny Qiu also nodded. “That would naturally be good. But I wonder if Concubine Ruan would be willing. And if Madame only adopts Second Miss, what about Fourth Miss?”
“As long as they are willing, I can adopt both into my lineage. They are both young ladies of the Jiang family, and I naturally won’t treat them harshly. Though that Concubine Ruan has no sense of propriety…”
“Madame is naturally kind-hearted, but this old servant worries that Second Miss is already fifteen this year, and Fourth Miss will soon reach her ji-pin ceremony. They are no longer young. Would they grow close to you after being adopted over? You would be showing them great kindness by making them di-daughters, but I fear they might not know gratitude…”
Jiang Sihe and Jiang Jingshu’s ranking in the household was based on the two branches of the Jiang family. The daughters of the second branch held the highest rank among the girls, while the young masters were ranked third…
The First Madame glanced inside and spoke with a solemn tone: “Sihe was able to shield me from that glazed tile, which shows she has a pure and kind heart. As for Fourth Miss, consider it her sharing in her sister’s good fortune.”
“Since Madame has already made up her mind, shall we wait until Second Miss wakes up and discuss it with the Master?”
The First Madame shook her head. “Let’s wait until she wakes and ask her thoughts first. If she is unwilling, we must not force her…”
…
The blow Jiang Sihe had taken was truly perilous. Had that glazed tile shifted even an inch, it would have struck her neck—and that would have been the end of her.
When she opened her eyes, she found herself lying face down on the bed, with white cloth wrapped around the back of her neck.
“Hiss…” Just as she tried to rise, a piercing pain shot through the back of her neck. She wanted to reach up and touch it.
“Second Miss is awake?”
A young maid with a round face and hair styled in double buns was holding a wooden basin, a hint of surprise in her voice.
Jiang Sihe tilted her head to look at her, confusion written all over her face. “You are?”
“This servant is called Danfeng. The First Madame sent me to attend to Second Miss!”
After speaking, Danfeng quickly set down the wooden basin, walked to the bedside, and gently helped support Jiang Sihe.
“Second Miss, you have wounds on your back, so you must not move recklessly. If you wish to sit up, this servant can support you and help you rise slowly.”
Jiang Sihe glanced at the room she was in—it should be the side courtyard where her mother had originally lived.
Danfeng immediately responded to her, “First Madame originally wanted to take you to her courtyard, Chunhua Ge, to recuperate, but…”
“Sister is awake…”
Jiang Jingshu lifted the curtain and entered, cutting off Danfeng’s words.
Seeing Jiang Jingshu enter, Danfeng helped Jiang Sihe sit up before offering a salute.
“Fourth Miss…”
Jiang Jingshu glanced at Danfeng, nodding expressionlessly.
“Sister, it was Mother who brought you back. She felt that although you shielded First Madame from the glazed tiles, moving into First Madame’s courtyard and having her care for you would be improper… It’s only right that you return to our courtyard, where I and Mother will look after you…”
Though Jiang Jingshu was only around thirteen, she already carried a hint of quiet elegance, and her speech, like her mother’s, was always cool and detached.
Jiang Sihe curled the corner of her mouth into a faint, cold smile, then pointed to the teacup on the table. “Then I’ll trouble my sister to pour me a cup of tea—I’m rather thirsty…”
Jiang Jingshu glanced at Danfeng. A maidservant was standing right there, yet she was being asked to pour the tea.
“Since Mother feels it’s improper for First Madame to care for me, I imagine she’d also find it improper for the people First Madame sent to tend to me. So I’ll have to trouble my sister instead…”
The moment Jiang Jingshu finished speaking, Jiang Sihe shot back immediately.
Danfeng looked at Jiang Sihe with slight surprise, some thoughts stirring in her mind.
Jiang Jingshu, extremely reluctant, poured a cup of water for Jiang Sihe and carried it over.
“Thank you, sister!”
At this point, Danfeng could no longer stand by and watch, so she helped Jiang Sihe, whose arm was not very agile, drink the water.
“Second Miss is awake? Fourth Miss is here too!”
At the doorway, Nanny Qiu lifted the curtain and entered, speaking with a smile when she saw them.
Jiang Sihe knew that Nanny Qiu was a trusted elder by First Madame’s side, so she replied with great respect.
“I’m sorry to trouble Nanny to come and see me…”
Nanny Qiu was quite satisfied with Jiang Sihe’s attitude and said with a smile, “I didn’t come here solely to see Second Miss—I also brought a message from First Madame!”
Jiang Sihe’s heart inexplicably began to beat faster, because this was exactly what she had been waiting for…