At present, although Songyin and Xie Yingyue had no communication, judging with her own eyes, she did not find anything particularly wrong with her.
If it came to malice, while she could save people, she was even more skilled in poisons. In her previous life, Jiang Tan’er had frequently exploited this ability of hers. As the so-called righteous female supporting character, she had committed far more evil deeds than Xie Yingyue.
Right and wrong, good and evil, could not be determined by a few adjectives.
“The ‘Springtime’ that Xie Yingyue was poisoned with was indeed made by me. I am at fault in this matter. However, the mistake has already been made, and saying more is useless. In a few days, I will send her a grand gift to make amends,” Songyin said straightforwardly to Lanhua.
“Miss, I’m afraid no grand gift can make up for Second Miss’s reputation. A woman’s reputation is very important, especially since our Second Miss has reached the age for marriage. Many ladies originally admired our Miss’s gentleness and grace, but now that this incident has happened, almost all good marriage prospects have been cut off,” Lanhua couldn’t help but speak her mind.
She genuinely sympathized with Second Miss.
Second Miss was both talented and beautiful, and she had been quite popular.
Since Second Miss came of age, Madam had begun selecting potential husbands for her. Second Miss herself was also ambitious; due to her exceptional talent and beauty, she received much admiration from young masters at every banquet she attended. So, despite the Master’s not-so-great social connections, there were quite a few matchmakers who came to the door for Second Miss’s sake.
Madam always felt there was no need to rush, which was why nothing had been settled yet.
But after the incident at the tavern, several families had already sent letters saying that their previous marriage proposals were now withdrawn.
Lanhua had spoken impulsively in front of Miss, and after finishing, she felt some regret.
If Miss felt displeased and got angry, the relationship between the two young ladies would only worsen. Realizing this, she immediately closed her mouth and carefully lowered her head.
“I would like to compensate her with a good marriage, but I am not the matchmaker, and I don’t know who would be suitable. If I rashly play matchmaker or use poison to force someone to marry her, it would only backfire. So, I will owe her this for now. Tell her that for matters of marriage, I have no solution for the time being. But if she wants to vent her anger first, she can patiently wait a few days. I won’t casually brush her off,” Songyin said earnestly.
In truth, she was not a kind person, nor was she someone who would feel guilty or uneasy over some mistakes.
Although her master was highly skilled in medicine, he was ruthless. To advance his own abilities, he had obsessively studied various poisonous herbs. She had been bought by her master when she was young and had no freedom. Whatever her master ordered her to do, she had to obey obediently; otherwise, she would have died at his hands.
Because of this, before meeting Jiang Tan’er, there were many patients who suffered worse than death at her hands.
Many people who entered the Divine Physician Fort had to test her master’s medicines before receiving treatment. The process was extremely arduous, and even if they eventually recovered and left, they would be filled with resentment toward her and her master.
After her master died, she was no longer under anyone’s control, so she disliked using certain methods.
Xie Yingyue was a member of the Xie family, which was why she was willing to make amends for her mistake.
Lanhua didn’t know what Miss intended to do, but recalling the prescriptions she had provided today, she couldn’t help but feel a bit more hopeful.
The prescriptions provided by Songyin were quickly copied and, as per her instructions, taken out to be sold.
Since they did not demand high prices, they sold much more easily.
After Xie Jiyan returned home from the academy, he also received a task from his mother.
“Mother, are you out of your mind? I refuse to use her things to curry favor at the academy! Who knows if there’s something wrong with them? What if they end up poisoning someone?” Xie Jiyan muttered under his breath.
Madam Meng rolled her eyes. “I’ve already had someone check them! There’s nothing wrong with the items, so you can rest assured. Besides, that girl is now part of our family. If she were to do something so blatantly harmful, she wouldn’t gain anything from it. Are you really so foolish that you can’t understand this?”
“Then I still won’t do it! My sister has already suffered because of her. If I use her things, wouldn’t I be betraying my loyalty? I absolutely refuse!” Xie Jiyan raised his head high, as if all the family’s dignity rested solely on his shoulders.
Madam Meng rubbed her temples in frustration.
Xie Yingyue had already woken up. After venting her emotions, she felt a bit more refreshed.
In her heart, she sided with her brother, but she also knew her mother was right. She said, “Didn’t you say before that Jiang Erlang’s things were very good? It must be these. If you give them away, Jiang Erlang will surely be furious.”
Second Young Master Jiang had entered the academy to study. He was older and already held the title of a scholar, so he wasn’t in the same class as Xie Jiyan, and they originally had no interaction.
However, after Jiang Tan’er and Xie Yingyue had their conflict, Second Young Master Jiang also clashed with Xie Jiyan at the academy.
Xie Jiyan was younger and held no scholarly title, having entered the beginner’s class solely through payment.
At the academy, there was occasionally a rule allowing scholars from the advanced class to teach the younger students in the beginner’s class. This was generally provided for students from less fortunate backgrounds who were academically talented, giving them an opportunity to earn money for their studies. Jiang Erlang, however, seized this opportunity and specifically came to Xie Jiyan’s beginner’s class. During lessons, he repeatedly called on Xie Jiyan to answer questions, employing endless methods to humiliate him.
So, at the mention of Jiang Erlang, Xie Jiyan gritted his teeth in hatred.
“Jiang Gu’an is nothing but a hypocritical scoundrel! Today, in front of many people, he called me a useless fool. I couldn’t hold back my anger and argued with him, but he took the opportunity to accuse me of disrespecting the teacher and punished me by making me stand outside all day!” Xie Jiyan hadn’t wanted to mention this earlier, but now he couldn’t help it.
Madam Meng was shocked. “The Jiang family is truly shameless! How dare they trouble you at the academy?!”
“What wouldn’t they dare? Jiang Gu’an relies on being recommended to the academy by the Seventh Prince and puts on quite a show!” Xie Jiyan also felt aggrieved. He glanced at the prescription and added, “I heard that when he first entered the academy, his classmates didn’t pay him much attention, but he often used food, snacks, and energizing pills to win people over…”
“Then you should give these things away casually. We shouldn’t be afraid of him!” Xie Yingyue immediately said.
Xie Jiyan truly didn’t want to use Songyin’s things.
But compared to Songyin, he found the Jiang siblings even more detestable.
Songyin had been slashed by him with a sword, but what had the Jiang family suffered?
“Jiang Erlang’s pills were likely given by Song… our elder sister. Now she’s given these things to us too, saying we can do whatever we want with them. It’s also a gesture of goodwill, wanting to help you vent your anger. Silly brother, you may not like our elder sister, but that’s a family matter. Even if the relationship isn’t good, we should still unite against outsiders. Mother also told me today that we mustn’t fight among ourselves.” Suppressing her discomfort, Xie Yingyue advised.
“Moreover… didn’t you not believe she would treat us well? Then let’s test it—see which side she truly cares about when you threaten Jiang Erlang’s interests.” Xie Yingyue added another point.
As for the message Songyin had Lanhua relay to her, she didn’t actually believe it.
Stand up for her? She herself didn’t even know how to ease the suffocating gloom in her heart.