Jiang Nian obediently closed her eyes as garments scattered across the floor. Blistering kisses rained down upon her, enveloped by that familiar scent. Their breathing grew ragged, the pressure alternating between gentle and fierce until Jiang Nian grew limp from the kissing, continuous soft moans escaping her lips.
The crimson candlelight flickered, casting two entwined silhouettes upon the wall. After their union, Qi Heng carried her to the inner chamber to wash, then they fell asleep in each other's embrace.
Qi Heng slept restlessly, plagued by a terrible dream. In it, he found himself in the solemn Wangfu where subordinates addressed him as Prince. While handling official matters in his study, his guard rushed in and knelt to report.
"The Wangfei is gravely ill and didn't accompany the Empress to the capital."
Shocked, he rebuked his subordinate. "The Wangfei has always enjoyed good health. How could she be seriously ill?"
He urgently wanted to ride back to Ruyang Commandery to see his wife, but his magnificently dressed mother came to persuade him. She urged him to issue a letter of divorce to the Wangfei so she could find him a noblewoman from a prominent family in Shangjing to be his new Wangfei. Having shared both hardships and joys with his wife all these years, supporting each other through everything – how could anyone compare? Naturally, he refused to divorce her.
Defying all opposition, he took only a dozen guards and raced through the night toward Ruyang Commandery. Unexpectedly, when they reached a remote mountain path, tens of thousands of soldiers emerged from both sides of the mountains to ambush them. Arrows flew like torrential rain, and all the guards protecting him fell in battle. He fought desperately, covered in blood, until countless arrows pierced his heart. Before dying, he seemed to see a familiar figure standing on the mountain peak, staring intently at him.
"Who are you?"
Qi Heng awoke to find the sky faintly lit. His wife was already fully dressed, sitting by the bed and watching him with a smiling expression.
"Husband, aren't you getting up? We need to go to the front courtyard to serve tea."
"Nian Nian." He gasped several times, his heart pounding like drums. Sitting up, he wrapped his long arm around her and pulled her into his embrace, his large hand caressing her cheek while his chin gently rubbed against her forehead.
"What's wrong?"
Listening to his strong heartbeat, Jiang Nian extended her delicate fingers to massage his hand with just the right pressure. Gradually, Qi Heng's emotions settled within this embrace.
Jiang Nian greatly cherished holding him like this. In their previous life, they would often embrace like this – he attending to official matters while she read or slept in his arms.
"Did you have a nightmare?" Jiang Nian reached up to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "Don't be afraid, it was just a dream, not real."
"Mmm." Qi Heng lowered his head to kiss her cheek. "I'll go wash up, then we'll go serve tea together."
Jiang Nian rose and went to the outer chamber while Qi Heng went to the inner room to wash. Glancing sideways at Baizhi and Baishuang, Jiang Nian noticed both women staring at Qi Heng with flushed faces. Her expression instantly darkened.
"Both of you, get out!"
Baizhi and Baishuang knelt in terror. "Second Young Mistress, we don't know what we sisters have done wrong. Why are you treating us like this?"
Jiang Nian sneered. "How am I treating you? I'm merely telling you to withdraw. With expressions like that, anyone would think I'd beaten you."
"We sisters were sent by Madame to serve the Second Young Master. You have no right to dismiss us," Baizhi declared haughtily, raising her head. Just a farmer's daughter with no background – what qualifications did she have to compete with them?
Jiang Nian pressed her lips together, her face turning icy. "You are servants, I am the mistress. Are you saying I, your mistress, have no right to dismiss you? Today, I'll show you whether I can dismiss you or not."
"Someone!" Jiang Nian called toward the courtyard, but the maids and matrons pretended not to hear.
Watching the maids and matrons busily feigning work, Jiang Nian let out a cold laugh.
"I can't afford to keep the maids in this courtyard. I'm selling them all off."
"Second Young Mistress!" All the servants in the courtyard turned pale with shock. A maid in pink clothing raised her voice: "We were all assigned by Madam. You have no right to sell us off."
"Fine!" Jiang Nian's face darkened as she slowly descended the steps, speaking leisurely:
"I'll go find Father-in-law right now and ask him whether I have the authority to sell you off or not."
The maids and older servants panicked. Baizhi stepped forward and snorted lightly.
"What are you all panicking about? She's new here – how would she dare to sell off all of us? Madam would never let her act so recklessly. Even the First Young Mistress wouldn't dare to sell off all the servants. What gives this peasant girl the right?"
Prefect Qi and his wife sat in the main hall, waiting to drink their daughter-in-law's tea. Jiang Nian entered alone with a grim expression, with no sign of their son.
Prefect Qi slammed the table angrily and stood up, rolling up his sleeves. "Has that bastard Qi Heng bullied you? Daughter-in-law, wait here. I'll teach him a proper lesson for you!"
"Father-in-law! Don't be hasty!" Jiang Nian stopped him. "Father-in-law, my husband hasn't bullied me. He's still washing up in the inner chamber. I came to see you about another matter."
"What matter?" Prefect Qi sat back in his chair, looking at her kindly. "Child, whatever it is, speak up. Your father will definitely stand up for you."
Jiang Nian glanced at Madam Qi, who stiffened. "I haven't bullied you."
Jiang Nian couldn't help but smile. "Mother, your daughter-in-law wasn't referring to you, but this matter does concern you."
"What do you mean?" Madam Qi asked urgently.
Jiang Nian said calmly: "All the people in our courtyard were assigned by you, correct?"
"That's right," Madam Qi said. "They were carefully selected by me to serve the Second Young Master diligently."
"What's wrong?" Madam Qi asked. "Are they not serving diligently enough?"
"Diligent, too diligent." Jiang Nian said sarcastically: "They're diligently trying to climb into the Second Young Master's bed to serve him. How could that be called not diligent enough?"
Prefect Qi understood – his second son and daughter-in-law were newlyweds, and some maids were trying to climb into bed.
"Arrest the maids who dared to climb into bed and sell them off! Our Qi Manor cannot keep traitorous creatures!"
Jiang Nian was quite satisfied. She sat in a chair, facing Prefect Qi, openly making her complaint.
"Father-in-law, all the servants in the courtyard disobey me. When I wanted to punish two maids who tried to climb into bed, they pretended not to hear. They even said that since they were all assigned by Madam, I had no right to touch them."
Madam Qi broke out in cold sweat. "Master, this has nothing to do with me. Those servants acted on their own – it's unrelated to me. If you don't believe me, you can investigate."
Prefect Qi was furious. "Truly, servants growing too arrogant to bully their masters."
Baizhi and Baishuang were captured by Prefect Qi's guards and brought to the front courtyard.
"Madam, save us!"
Madam Qi was stunned – so these two maids were the ones who tried to climb into bed. These were the ones she had originally intended to give to her son as concubines, specially chosen for their beauty. But her son hadn't accepted them, so she had left them in Zhuqing Yuan to do cleaning work.
Baizhi cried out: "Second Young Mistress, what have we done? Why are you treating us like this?"
"You two have improper intentions. Of course I can't keep you." Jiang Nian scoffed.
"We sisters have been content with our positions. Could it be that the Second Young Mistress sees we're quite beautiful and fears we might threaten your position as Second Young Mistress, hence you're so eager to dispose of us?"
"How dare you!" Prefect Qi's face was as dark as charcoal, his eyes wide with fury. "Even servants dare to rebut their masters now—is this what you call knowing your place?"
"Have mercy, my lord!" Baizhi and Baishuang pleaded through tears. "The Second Young Mistress wanted to sell us off without even hearing our side. We cannot accept this injustice."
"Hah, what cunning servants," Prefect Qi radiated menace. "The Second Young Mistress was indeed wrong to merely sell you off."
Baizhi and Baishuang secretly rejoiced, but the next moment, Prefect Qi's words plunged them into an abyss of despair.
"You should be beaten to death with clubs!"
"No! Have mercy, my lord!" Baizhi and Baishuang desperately begged for their lives as guards dragged them into the courtyard. Their wails grew increasingly piercing. When Liu Shi arrived, the scene before her nearly made her faint from fright.
Qi Heng also rushed over. "Nian Nian, what happened?"
"Nothing much, just selling off two unruly maids," Jiang Nian said dismissively.
All the servants of Zhuqing Yuan were also sold off, weeping and begging the Second Young Mistress like stray dogs. Jiang Nian paid them no mind—these were the same people she had disposed of in her previous life. Why keep disloyal servants who only ate without working?
Qi Heng ordered the steward to purchase twenty new servants for the estate. Jiang Nian instructed the steward to find a pair of sisters—the two maids who had been utterly loyal to her in her past life.
After this incident, Jiang Nian's fearsome reputation was firmly established. During the tea ceremony, Madam Qi drank her tea meekly. Originally intending to assert control over her daughter-in-law, she now considered herself fortunate if the young mistress didn't cause her trouble.
Prefect Qi gave Jiang Nian an exceptionally thick Hong Feng, his kindly expression making his four sons feel like they were seeing a ghost. They had never witnessed their father treat anyone with such gentleness—even his demeanor toward Liu Shi had only ever been slightly restrained.
Liu Shi stared at the thick red envelope in Jiang Nian's hands, her eyes turning red with envy.