” That little tramp really has your eldest brother completely bewitched. After she’s done something so disgraceful, your brother still dared to vouch for her right in front of your father. He says they’ll deal with her in a few days—she should have been thrown out of this house long ago!”
Mother Jiang was furious, pulling Jiang Shuwan aside in the small courtyard to vent about what had just happened in the main hall.
Although Father Jiang was the head of the Jiang household, he often deferred to his eldest son’s judgment. He felt Jiang Lin’s reasoning had some merit, so he agreed to have the girl confined in the house for now.
Mother Jiang’s heart raced with alarm—her precious son had truly taken a liking to the adopted daughter.
Even if Jiang Qingning hadn’t done anything shameful, word of this getting out would still be terrible for their reputation.
“Mother, don’t be angry. After all, eldest brother knew from the very beginning that sister was adopted. After all these years of living together day and night, it’s only natural that other feelings might have developed.”
Jiang Shuwan’s words seemed gentle and consoling, but inwardly she was seething with resentment.
Why did eldest brother care so much about Jiang Qingning? She was the one who should be the treasured pearl of the whole family!
“I never noticed it before, but today when I saw Jiang Qingning pleading with your eldest brother, I realized she has exactly the kind of face that makes men want to protect her.” The very image of it made Mother Jiang’s blood boil. She slammed her hand on the table and declared, “No, I’m going to talk to your father right now and have him send Jiang Qingning away immediately. At this rate, she’ll end up ruining your brother’s reputation in his own bed.”
Seeing Mother Jiang about to leave, Jiang Shuwan quickly stopped her.
“Mother, even if we drive sister out of the house, what if eldest brother takes pity on her and keeps her somewhere outside instead?”
Mother Jiang’s face showed surprise—she realized there was truth to that.
“Then what should we do?”
That little tramp had already lost her virtue. She wasn’t even fit to be her son’s lowly concubine now, let alone worthy of tarnishing his reputation. They absolutely could not leave any opportunity for those two.
Jiang Shuwan’s eyes darkened, a hint of calculation flashing through them.
She smiled softly and took Mother Jiang’s arm. “Mother, I have an idea…”
After the thunder had first cracked through the sky, the oppressive clouds finally released their torrential rain.
Jiang Qingning was locked in the woodshed, where raindrops dripped through the leaky roof, the air cold and drafty.
She hugged her knees in the corner, curling into a pitiful ball.
But what right did she have to ask for anything now?
Eldest brother had begged their father to let her stay, yet she couldn’t bring herself to see that as a good thing.
She had never imagined that eldest brother harbored such feelings for her—it was more than she could accept.
Not to mention Mother Jiang’s fierce opposition—what face did she even have left?
A woman losing her chastity was the most shameful disgrace imaginable. She didn’t want to remain in the house, enduring her family’s strange looks and their harsh accusations of shamelessness.
It would be better to be cast out and left to fend for herself.
Jiang Qingning thought this, then couldn’t help but sob quietly.
It truly was fate—there was no escaping it.
[Female supporting character, do you know that the Jiang family plans to send you to a sixty-year-old general tonight as his concubine?]
[The Jiang family intends to use the years of raising you as leverage, forcing you to serve that old beast so your eldest and second brothers can secure their futures.]
[You can still cry now, but once you fall into Old General Chen’s hands, you’ll be burned with candles, chained with iron shackles, and whipped night after night—you won’t even be able to cry then!]
Ah?
Those golden characters appeared again, and by the time Jiang Qingning finished reading the last one, her face had turned deathly pale.
As if to confirm the words, the tightly shut door was suddenly kicked open by two burly matrons.
“What are you doing?”
Jiang Qingning showed a hint of fear, and before she could even rise from the ground, the two burly matrons had already seized her.
“The eldest miss truly has good fortune. Though you’ve committed the shameful act of taking a lover, the master and madam still consider the years they’ve raised you and have arranged a place for you. They’ve ordered us to send you to a noble household to be a concubine!”
“Eldest miss, don’t disappoint the master and madam’s kindness.”
“No, I won’t! You’re sending me to Commandant Chen’s residence, aren’t you!”
Jiang Qingning struggled desperately, but she was cornered against the wall with no way to escape.
The sixty-year-old general mentioned in those golden characters, with the surname Chen—she knew they meant Commandant Chen from East Street, the old beast who boasted his blade was still sharp yet had tormented eighteen concubines to death!
Everyone in the capital knew this! How could her parents be so heartless to her? They might as well have given her a white silk ribbon to hang herself with!
The two burly matrons exchanged a glance, wondering how the eldest miss knew this.
But it didn’t matter—they had plenty of strength and means to force her into the sedan chair!
“Eldest miss, don’t be ungrateful. Now that you’ve lost your virtue, do you still think you can be someone’s proper wife? Be a good girl and obediently change into your wedding dress and get in the sedan chair!”
“No, I won’t marry! Let me go! I want to beg my parents for mercy!”
If she were truly sent to Commandant Chen’s residence, that would be even more terrifying than pig-cage immersion.
Why?
Why wouldn’t heaven leave her a way to survive?
Jiang Qingning’s desperate resistance was no match for the two coarse matrons, and in the end, she was held in their grasp like a beast being slaughtered.
Rain poured in torrents, and not a single pedestrian was on the streets, yet a pink carriage braved the wind and rain as it moved forward.
Jiang Qingning had been forced to drink a bowl of medicinal broth, and now her limbs were limp as she slumped against the carriage. She tried to open her mouth to call for help, but no sound would come out.
Tears of despair rolled down her eyes as she bitterly resented the Jiang family’s cruelty.
[Ahhh, this part is so heartbreaking to watch.]
[The Jiang family aren’t even human—sending the female supporting character off in a torrential downpour just to make sure those two can never be together, not even caring whether she lives or dies.]
[Stop talking about it. I don’t even dare watch the part where she’s given to Commandant Chen. In the end, she dies on the bed—it’s utterly miserable!]
[Female supporting character, don’t accept your fate! As long as you haven’t entered the commandant’s residence, you still have a chance to escape!]
[Exactly! Since you’re going to die anyway, why not take a gamble now? Maybe the chance for survival is right beneath your feet—what if it works out!]
Jiang Qingning looked at the golden characters before her, and a faint light flickered in her eyes.
The golden characters that had appeared before the Jiang family had mostly supported Jiang Shuwan, but now these golden characters were rooting for her, encouraging her.
Yes. Since she was going to die anyway, she might as well take a gamble.
Fate, destiny—she couldn’t even decide her own death, could she?
In that instant, Jiang Qingning suddenly understood.
The dead heart within her suddenly sparked with a glimmer of hope, and it seemed as though something in the unseen was beginning to break.
She looked at the cramped space inside the carriage, steeled her resolve, and immediately bit down on the tip of her tongue.
Oww, it hurt!
A faint taste of rust spread through her mouth, and tears welled up in Jiang Qingning’s eyes from the pain, but the intense agony also stimulated her limp body.
She struggled to rise from her seat, her body trembling unsteadily.
She lifted her head, and those almond-shaped eyes, which had been glistening with tears all day, fixed firmly on the tightly shut window of the carriage.
[Damn, look at that—the delicate, fragile female supporting character is actually starting to save herself!]