Xiyue Tower, as the name suggests.
This courtyard’s name was written by Wei Chi himself, meaning to cherish and embrace the moon; now, it all seems ironic.
Jiang Lanyue’s heart clenched; she couldn’t bear to look any longer. Their love had been worn away in their past life; in this life, she would live for herself.
On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon was bright and the stars were few.
Outside the capital, the city was bustling with noise, but the Wei residence was eerily silent. Wei Chi, as in her past life, had not returned. Only Jiang Lanyue, her mother, Wei Wan’er, and Wei Xu’an, the illegitimate son born to her mistress and registered under Jiang Lanyue’s name, remained in the Wei residence.
Two-year-old Wei Xu’an slept a lot, only waking up when hungry, fussing for goat’s milk. The wet nurse went to Jiang Lanyue.
In her past life, Jiang Lanyue had personally cared for Wei Xu’an since he was an infant. Even after her falling out with Wei Chi, she continued to care for him privately.
But her devoted care was met with that ungrateful little brat’s violent attacks on her in an attempt to please Shen Jiaxue.
Looking down at the wet nurse, Jiang Lanyue’s eyes were icy cold. She impatiently slammed her hand on the table.
“Why are you telling me he wants goat’s milk? Do you expect me to cook it for him myself? Does the monthly allowance I give you make you feel like masters?”
The wet nurse trembled. Had the madam lost her temper today? Wasn’t she usually the one who doted on the young master?
Innocently scolding, the wet nurse couldn’t help but resent Jiang Lanyue and decided to go to the old madam’s courtyard to complain.
Jiang Lanyue saw the wet nurse’s expression and cursed herself for being blinded by greed in her past life, even a servant could ride roughshod over her.
“Get out!”
Inside the Ciyuan Courtyard.
Finally regaining her senses, Wei’s mother, hearing the wet nurse’s exaggerated words, smashed the medicine bowl in anger.
“Jiang has truly gone too far! Does she think that just because Chi’er passed the imperial examination and became a high-ranking official, she can ride roughshod over me? Chi’er is my own flesh and blood; he was born to be on my side!”
Madam Wei pointed casually, “You, go to Xiyue Tower and tell Jiang that she should kneel before the Buddha tonight to repent. If she still doesn’t admit her mistake, she should kneel there until she dies. I refuse to believe I can’t teach her a lesson.”
Madam Wei’s eyes flashed with ferocity; manipulating and crushing Jiang Lanyue was always her forte.
Inside Xiyue Tower, Jiang Lanyue laughed in anger at the old woman’s words.
If it were her previous life, she might have felt wronged and angry, but now, facing Madam Wei’s torment, she felt no emotion whatsoever. After sending the old woman away, Jiang Lanyue’s head throbbed with pain, indicating that her high fever hadn’t subsided. She called for Shanhu.
“Make my bed; I want to sleep.”
Shanhu was immediately stunned. She had heard everything the old woman had said and felt indignant for her mistress, thinking that she was going to be punished by kneeling again, which pained her greatly.
Hearing that the madam was going to sleep, Shanhu subconsciously said, “Just now, where was the old madam…”
Jiang Lanyue’s cold gaze killed Shanhu’s remaining words, and she obediently went to make the bed.
Glancing at Shanhu, Jia ng Lanyue’s feelings were complicated.
This girl was loyal to her. In her previous life, when she was imprisoned by Shen Jiaxue, Shanhu begged Wei Chi, but Shen Jiaxue directly accused Shanhu of climbing into bed and beat her to death.
She was partly to blame for Shanhu’s fate, and in this life, she was determined to leave the Wei family. If Shanhu was willing to leave with her, she would protect her for life.
The next morning, the first ray of sunlight shone through the gauze window, announcing the arrival of a new day.
Jiang Lanyue greedily reached out to catch the sunlight. The morning sun was not scorching, but it brought her peace of mind.
In her previous life, Shen Jiaxue had specially built a cage just for her to torture her, locking her in a dark room where there was no sunlight.
What followed was five years of torture, leaving her with no healthy skin on her body. Later, when the new emperor ascended the throne, he was most averse to anyone abusing their power.
At that time, Wei Chi was on the verge of being promoted to Grand Secretary. To avoid gossip from his rivals, he strictly ordered Shen Jiaxue to treat her well.
Wei Chi was at the height of his power then, and the Shen family dared not treat him lightly, which allowed Jiang Lanyue to catch her breath.
“Shen Jiaxue! Wei Chi! I won’t let either of them go!” Jiang Lanyue murmured, a sinister glint in her eyes.
Today, the Emperor would bestow Wei Chi’s official title, and the servants in the Wei residence were already busy.
They needed to prepare reward money and incense, and the ancestral hall also needed to be cleaned. However, after yesterday’s events, the steward dared not ask Jiang Lanyue for money, so he ordered the servants to prepare incense so that the masters could later inform the ancestors.
Coral, like a butterfly, selected clothes for Jiang Lanyue.
“Today is a good day, Madam must dress up nicely. The Master loves Madam so much, he must have already petitioned for Madam’s official title. When the Master returns home, let’s see who in this mansion will dare to bully you!” Coral angrily waved her fist.
She felt sorry for Jiang Lanyue. Such a good person as Madam, yet those servants never respected her, treating only that family of four as their masters.
A hint of sarcasm flashed in Jiang Lanyue’s beautiful eyes. Unfortunately, Coral would be disappointed, because…
Ciyuan.
Madam Wei, sipping her expensive bird’s nest soup, raised a brow and looked at the old woman beside her, saying, “A noble lady from the palace is coming to deliver an imperial decree today. Go and wake Jiang Shi!”
The old woman stiffened, hesitating to leave. Madam had retired early last night.
“Old Madam, Madam…she didn’t go to the Buddhist hall to kneel as punishment last night.”
“What?” Madam Wei asked in surprise.
A surge of anger welled up within her. She threw the bird’s nest soup out of the bowl without a second thought, deciding to let Jiang Shi buy more.
“Is she trying to disobey? Go and call Jiang Shi over.”
She really dared to offend her; she wouldn’t even listen to her. It seemed she needed to teach her a lesson.
Suddenly, firecrackers went off outside the Wei residence, and servants shouted, “The master is back!”
Everyone inside the mansion cheered. Madam Wei, instantly losing all interest in dealing with Jiang Lanyue, rushed out to greet him.
At the gates of the Wei residence, looking at the dilapidated house, Wei Chi’s feelings were complex.
He didn’t know why he had returned to the time when he had achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations, but back then he was just a low-ranking official whom everyone could bully, unlike the powerful prime minister he had been in his previous life.
At Xiyue Tower, the servants’ faces lit up with joy at Wei Chi’s return.
Only Jiang Lanyue’s eyes held a mixture of resentment, sorrow, and finally, resignation, but no expectation or joy.
Fortunately, she concealed it quickly, and Shanhu didn’t notice.
“Madam, the master is back! This servant will help you change your clothes.”
Jiang Lanyue shook her head; she had no interest in pleasing the ungrateful wretch. “No need! I’m fine as I am. Let’s go out and receive the imperial decree!” At the gates of the Wei residence, everyone except Jiang Lanyue had arrived.
Just like in her past life, Wei’s mother, holding the tall, handsome man in dark green, staged a scene of maternal love and filial piety. Wei Wan’er held her chin high, her face full of pride, while two-year-old Wei Xu’an was held in his wet nurse’s arms.
Seeing that no one paid him any attention, Wei Xu’an waved his little hands frantically, his chubby body bouncing up and down.
Despite being a lovable, chubby little boy, Jiang Lanyue felt nauseous.
As the saying goes, like father, like son; the father is an ingrate, and so is the son.
Perhaps it was because Jiang Lanyue was staring so intently, but Wei Xu’an saw him and his eyes lit up.
He rushed towards her, making “Ah ah ah” sounds. “Liang~ Liang liang~” The two-year-old could only utter words that sounded similar to his own voice.