In her previous life, when First Madame had wanted to adopt her younger sister, she had also sent Nanny Qiu over like this, asking Jiang Jingshu whether she was willing to be adopted under First Madame’s name.
But Jiang Jingshu’s cold and aloof demeanor had thoroughly infuriated Nanny Qiu and provoked First Madame’s displeasure as well.
The adoption had fallen through, and they had only earned themselves trouble—not long after her sister’s ji-pin ceremony, the two of them were carried into the Marquis of Su’an’s residence in two small sedan chairs as concubines.
At this moment, she inexplicably felt a bit nervous, her fingers tightly clutching the hem of her clothes.
“First Madame—what message did you send?”
Jiang Sihe felt so nervous that even her voice seemed to tremble slightly.
“First Madame sent me to ask the Second Miss whether she is willing to be adopted under her name and become the di-daughter of Jiangfu.”
Finally, she had waited for these words. She had schemed so much, snatched away the opportunity that rightfully belonged to her sister, and nearly lost her life over this matter again—was she finally about to get what she wanted?
“How can that be? If elder sister is adopted under First Madame’s name, how could she face the debt of gratitude she owes to Mother for raising her? Elder sister would never agree…”
The same words came out of Jiang Jingshu’s mouth again, grating and harsh to the ear.
“Is this First Madame’s intention?”
Concubine Ruan asked from the doorway, her voice clear and cold.
Hearing Concubine Ruan’s voice, Nanny Qiu turned around. “It is First Madame’s intention. She wishes to ask the Second Miss for her thoughts. If the Second Miss is willing, First Madame will go speak with the Master…”
Upon hearing Nanny Qiu’s words, Concubine Ruan found it laughable. First Madame wanted to adopt her daughter and yet did not bother asking for her consent at all.
Nanny Qiu and First Madame naturally considered this an honor—if she could become a legitimate daughter, how could Concubine Ruan possibly refuse?
Jiang Sihe saw her mother look at her, and that gaze made her feel a chill run through her entire body.
She knew her mother did not like her, but at this moment, the disgust emanating from the depths of her mother’s eyes still pained her greatly.
“Elder sister, are you going to abandon Mother and me just for the title of legitimate daughter? Is elder sister truly so lacking in backbone?”
Sensing that her sister had not spoken, Jiang Jingshu’s tone carried a hint of urgency.
Hearing Jiang Jingshu’s words, Nanny Qiu’s face instantly fell. It was fortunate that the Madame had even thought of adopting the Fourth Miss along with her—but hearing the girl speak like that, she really had been given more face than she deserved.
Concubine Ruan walked in a few steps and raised a hand to gently touch the hairpin at her temple.
“Sihe, Mother asks you—are you willing to be adopted under First Madame’s name?”
With a single glance, Jiang Sihe understood clearly: the expression on her mother’s face meant she was certain that, given her temperament, she would never dare defy her.
So she had deliberately emphasized the question, wanting her to refuse Nanny Qiu on the spot, so that First Madame would give up on this idea.
“Mother, I am willing to be adopted under First Madame’s name!”
Jiang Sihe’s tone was exceptionally firm. She knew that once she spoke these words, she would from then on become strangers with her mother and sister.
But she did not regret it. Thinking of her previous life—of her mother and sister’s cold indifference, of dying alone in a dark chamber unknown to anyone—she had already severed this life’s familial bonds.
“Elder sister, how can you disregard Mother’s kindness in raising you? You truly are someone who covets wealth and status…”
Jiang Jingshu pointed at Jiang Sihe’s nose and launched into a tirade.
Jiang Sihe did not even glance at Jiang Jingshu. She walked around her mother, who stood blocking her way, and approached Nanny Qiu.
She spoke slowly, “Nanny Qiu, please relay to First Madame that I am willing to be adopted under her name!”
Nanny Qiu looked at the young woman before her, whose face was somewhat pale, and felt an inexplicable ache in her heart. Her eyes held a composure that belied her age.
“Very well. Then the Second Miss should rest and recover her health first. I will return and report to First Madame. Once the arrangements are made, I will come to escort the Second Miss to the Madame’s courtyard…”
Having said this, Nanny Qiu did not even glance at the other two ungrateful people in the room, only giving one instruction.
“Danfeng, take good care of the Second Miss!”
With that, she turned and left the room.
Danfeng came over to support Jiang Sihe, but saw her smile at her and say softly, “Would you please fetch me a change of clothes? I’ve been lying down for several days and feel a bit uncomfortable…”
With the Second Miss speaking this way, Danfeng naturally understood that she was asking her to step out for a moment—she must have something to say.
“The Second Miss need not be so polite. This servant was sent here to care for you. I’ll go fetch your clothes right away…”
With that, she too left.
Only the three of them—mother and daughters—remained in the room. Concubine Ruan’s cold, composed face now showed no expression at all, making her seem even more aloof.
“Mother…”
“Hmph, you need not address me that way. Now that you’ve climbed a high branch, this mother of yours can hardly bear such a title…”
Her mother’s cold mockery sent an even deeper chill through Jiang Sihe’s heart.
“Heh, Mother thinks I’ve climbed a high branch?”
“Elder sister, you’ve always been fond of petty gains, and now you’ve become even more selfish. For wealth and honor, you’ve abandoned all sense of integrity, even acknowledging First Madame as your mother. Have you cast aside all the kindness Mother has shown you in raising you all these years?”
“Kindness in raising me? Hahaha…”
Jiang Sihe, a person who had already died once, found Jiang Jingshu’s words utterly ridiculous.
Back when the two of them were both concubines in the marquis’s residence, she had endured whatever torment the marquis’s wife inflicted on her, all so that her unassuming younger sister and her mother could have food to eat. But in the end? Her mother and sister felt that she had disgraced their dignity by accepting that charity. When she was finally trapped in the dark chamber, her mother, believing this daughter had shamed her, never once came to see her. By then, the debt of giving birth had been repaid.
As for raising her, that was even less worth mentioning. During those years in the detached estate, the household had completely forgotten about them. They went hungry and cold, and it was she who often went to the back mountain to dig up wild goods, secretly selling them in town for money to buy rice, flour, and cloth.
Yet her mother and sister still looked down on her for haggling with people in town over a few coins, calling it undignified.
So even if there had been a debt of nurture, she had long since repaid it when she died in that dark chamber!
“Just as my sister said, I am selfish to the core, and all I want is to eat my fill and stay warm. With such a fine opportunity right before me, why should I let it slip away?”
She truly wanted to see how her dignity-loving, aloof and refined mother and sister would survive if she were no longer at the detached estate.
“How could I have given birth to such a spineless coward like you…”
Her mother looked coldly at Jiang Sihe, her eyes filled with nothing but disappointment.
Jiang Sihe no longer felt anything at these words. In her past life, perhaps she would have felt hurt and wronged, but now her heart had long since turned to ice.
“Jingshu, pack our things. We’re returning to the detached estate right now. Even staying here with her for one more moment makes me feel ashamed!”
With that, she didn’t spare Jiang Sihe another glance and headed for the door.
Jiang Jingshu wanted to say something more, but Jiang Sihe cut her off.
“Little sister need not say more. I will definitely become the di-daughter of Jiangfu. As for all those grand principles of yours, you might as well swallow them back down…”
Jiang Jingshu looked at Jiang Sihe with disdain, then let out a cold snort and turned to leave.
“Wait…”
Jiang Sihe suddenly called out to Jiang Jingshu, who had reached the doorway.
“What? Has my sister changed her mind? Even if you have, Mother will not easily forgive you this time…”
“Jiang Jingshu, I only want to say one thing to you.”
For a brief moment, Jiang Jingshu felt as though the Jiang Sihe before her had become a different person.
“There’s an old saying among the common folk: ‘If a person does not look out for themselves, heaven and earth will destroy them!'”