In the inner courtyard, Shao Qing stopped Xiaochan, allowing only Hai Yunshu to enter alone.
The furnishings in the side room were simple, with only gauze curtains hanging from the beams as decoration. When the breeze blew through, it created an ethereal, fairy-like atmosphere.
Jiang Chengjing was reclining on a low couch.
Through the curtain, Hai Yunshu faintly saw a long, bloody mark on his face. It was likely inflicted by the chivalrous beauty from earlier.
“You’ve come?”
She bowed slightly. “Thank you, Your Highness, for making it happen.”
On her way here, Hai Yunshu had already heard that an imperial decree had been issued from the palace, lifting the royal seal on the Marquis’s estate, and an oral edict had been passed down to enfeoff the legitimate son, Cheng Zong, as the heir.
Jiang Chengjing was using practical action to tell her that as long as he wished, he could control the fate of the Marquis’s estate at any time.
He patted the edge of the bed lightly. “Come up. Do I need to invite you?”
Hai Yunshu complied, and then he pulled her into his embrace.
Though she wore no makeup, her stunning beauty was undeniable. A faint fragrance of begonia lingered about her, both familiar and distant.
Just as she thought to struggle, he pressed her down.
“Is this how you thank me?”
Hai Yunshu froze.
Theirs was an exchange of interests. As long as he wanted, she had no right to refuse.
“I… I want to ask you for another favor.”
“Hmm?”
“Could you… seal the Marquis’s estate again?”
He snorted coldly. “Do you think this is like a woman’s dress, to be taken or torn as you please?”
She retreated to advance. “My life in my husband’s family is difficult. If I don’t put in some effort, I fear I’ll be devoured alive.”
“Why should I help you?”
She looked into his eyes, their depths seeming to hide countless secrets. “Because we are both pitiful people…”
He yanked her closer. “You dare pity me?”
In this world, only others knelt before him, begging for mercy. Yet she dared call him pitiful—utterly audacious.
“Hai Yunshu, I’ve spoiled you too much.”
He wanted to see just how capable she was.
His warm hands roamed over every inch of her skin. Hai Yunshu instinctively tried to pull away but was drawn back, pinned down and unable to move.
This woman was both innocent and alluring. Too intense a desire would inevitably feel contrived, losing the thrill of exploration. Someone as reserved yet sensual as her was just right.
Jiang Chengjing gripped her chin, teasing, “Clearly a lamb, yet trying to play the fox.”
He didn’t give her a chance to resist before kissing her, as if addicted, starting shallow and deepening, creating a dizzying sense of suffocation.
Lips, neck, soft breasts… he was well-versed in the pleasures of the bed.
Hai Yunshu clenched the sheets tightly, silently enduring his passion. Within the warm gauze curtains, only soft moans remained.
The members of the Marquis’s estate waited in the front hall, too anxious to eat dinner, anticipating good news from Hai Yunshu.
Unexpectedly, after waiting and waiting, what arrived was not an edict of release for the eldest son and the others, but another royal seal.
In a single day, the entire family went from hell to heaven, then back to hell.
Enough.
Old Madame finally unleashed the anger she had long suppressed onto Hai Yunshu. “Is this the good work you’ve done?”
That’s right—just to torment you all.
Hai Yunshu replied, “Mother overestimates me. How could I have such ability? If you don’t believe me, you can go to Shezheng Wangfu and ask yourself.”
She wouldn’t dare go.
The fourth sister-in-law was puzzled. “Second Sister-in-law, everything was fine. Why was it suddenly sealed again?”
“You’ll have to ask Mother about that.”
“Why ask me?”
“Jiang Chengjing said that Second Brother is still alive, and that Mother knows where he is. He forced me to hand him over, only then would he spare Eldest Brother and the others.”
“Nonsense! Zifeng died months ago, was buried in the ancestral tomb, and entered the ancestral hall. All the clan members witnessed it. Where am I supposed to find someone for him?”
Bai Shishi, as a grasshopper tied to the same rope, chimed in: “How can the dead come back to life? The mistress failed in her duties and now resorts to lies, blaming the Old Madame. That really shouldn’t be.”
Yingge stepped forward and with a sharp “smack,” delivered a hard slap across Bai Shishi’s face.
She covered her cheek: “You… you dare hit me?”
Yingge flicked her sleeve: “I hit exactly you. The masters are discussing important matters, and you, a mere concubine, not only interrupt but dare to criticize the mistress of the house? Hitting you is letting you off lightly.”
Bai Shishi fumed with anger: “I am, after all, the Marquis’s woman. How dare a lowly servant like you criticize me? Someone, drag her away and slap her mouth!”
“Pah!” Yingge spat. “I am the dowry maid of the Marchioness. Whether to hit or punish me requires the mistress’s approval. What are you to make decisions in the main hall on behalf of the mistress?”
“You!” Bai Shishi was seething with rage.
“Shut up,” the Old Madame said with a sharp glare.
Bai Shishi protested unwillingly: “Whose influence is this lowly servant relying on to dare cause a scene in the Marquis’s residence?”
Hai Yunshu let out a scornful laugh: “Naturally, she relies on my influence. Not just her, Concubine Bai, aren’t you also relying on my influence? Otherwise, how did you enter the Cheng family? Whether as a slave or a concubine, you are still a servant. Are you any nobler than others?”
“I…” Bai Shishi was left speechless.
The Old Madame was only concerned about her beloved son: “Yunshu, why bother with a mere concubine? Right now, Second Brother’s matter is the most important.”
Hai Yunshu then said: “There are many soldiers around Second Brother. With the Ministry of Justice’s endless array of torture instruments, someone will eventually break and talk. If we hand over Second Brother now, we can still protect the others in the Marquis’s residence. But if Jiang Chengjing acts first, we’ll lose this chance to curry favor. When the nest is overturned, can any egg remain intact?”
The Old Madame, who had always doted on her eldest legitimate son, refused to give in easily: “Yunshu, he is your husband. Are you really going to sell him out like this?”
Hai Yunshu asked: “Does Mother mean that you know where Second Brother is?”
What is a husband? He is one within a zhang’s distance, but beyond that, who cares whether he is or isn’t.
“I don’t know!”
She sighed regretfully: “Sisters-in-law and younger sisters, I am willing to help everyone, but as you can see, Mother refuses.”
They were a group of selfish and petty individuals to begin with, and immediately turned their spears.
“Mother, Second Brother surrendered to the enemy on the battlefield, yet he has dragged us into this mess. Whether he is dead or alive, he hasn’t said a word. That’s truly heartless.”
“Mother, you cannot disregard the lives of the entire family, young and old.”
…
“All of you, shut up!” The Old Madame pounded her phoenix-headed cane: “Are you trying to drive me to my death?”
“Old Madame, something terrible has happened,” Nanny Qin rushed in, hesitating to speak: “Yingjie… she… she…”
“What now?”
It turned out that Yingjie had taken matters into her own hands, sneaking out through a side gate to Shezheng Wangfu, claiming she wanted to plead for her father’s sake.
No one knew what she had suffered, but now she was thrown outside the gate, disheveled and in disarray.
Passersby pointed and gossiped, whispering among themselves.
Yingjie, who had been raised in luxury since childhood, could not bear such humiliation and was now in her room, threatening to hang herself or slit her throat.
It truly was a case of misfortunes never coming singly. Old Madame Cheng urged anxiously, “What are you still standing there for? Go and check!”
With everyone holding her back, Yingjie’s life was barely saved.
She had always been stubborn as a mule.
It took exhausting every ounce of persuasion to finally calm her down and stop her from making a scene.
Old Madame Cheng was so breathless with anger that she sat there for a long while to recover.
She declared she was too vexed and sent everyone back to their rooms to rest.
Bai Shishi, feeling uneasy, deliberately stayed behind.
“Old Madame, why not just tell them that the Second Young Master is…”
“Shut your mouth!” Old Madame was furious at her lack of resolve. “Do you think saying it will solve everything?”
Bai Shishi muttered softly, “But we can’t let the whole family be dragged down with him, can we? Cong’er has only just been made heir.”
“Get out!”
She had once thought Bai Shishi was deeply devoted to Zifeng, but now it seemed she was just another greedy wretch, never satisfied with what she had. The moment her own son was named heir, her true colors showed—scheming to betray her own husband.
Enough. There wasn’t a single person in the household she could discuss matters with. She would have to go find Hai Yunshu.