Wei Zhilan froze for a moment before snapping, “Watch your mouth! Even His Majesty doesn’t address my brother by his given name. How dare you? Your brother committed a heinous crime. My brother should have him cut into a thousand pieces!”
“Exactly! Exile was far too lenient. He deserved every one of the eighteen forms of torture!”
Jiang Yihuan lowered her head, looking dejected.
“…Please… don’t hate my brother so much.”
“Of course we hate him! The day he was paraded through the streets in the prison cart, I had my servants throw rotten eggs at him!”
“So did I! I had people throw flatbread at him. Guess what? He actually picked it up and ate it!”
Tears streamed down Jiang Yihuan’s face.
Hadn’t her brother told her he was beloved by everyone in the capital?
Seeing her cry, the girls finally quieted down a little.
Pei Nianfang looked her up and down.
“Your spring clothes are so plain. What terrible taste.”
Jiang Yihuan sniffled.
Big Sister Zhu Xian, come quickly… they’re insulting your taste in clothes…
“What do you usually do in the countryside?” another girl asked mockingly. “Play the qin? Prepare tea? Burn incense?”
“…I… I raise chickens and geese. I gather wild vegetables. And I catch fish.”
The kinder girls covered their mouths to hide their laughter.
The less kind burst out laughing openly.
Jiang Yihuan looked utterly miserable.
“Miss Wei, you’re the one who brought me here. They’re bullying me. Aren’t you going to do anything?”
Wei Zhilan sneered.
“Your brother nearly got my brother killed. Compared to that, what little grievance have you suffered?”
Pei Nianfang’s eyes lit up.
“Miss Jiang, you really can’t blame us. Your brother committed a crime. We’re righteous people. Naturally we despise him.”
Jiang Yihuan’s eyes turned red.
“My brother never embezzled money or harmed innocent people. The only thing he wanted was to kill Wei Zhao. Is that really such a big deal?”
Pei Nianfang snorted.
“Fine. We won’t argue with you anymore. I’ll take you upstairs to enjoy the lake view and broaden your horizons.”
She shot Wei Zhilan a meaningful glance.
Jiang Yihuan wanted to refuse, but Pei Nianfang was surprisingly strong and practically dragged her away.
“Wei Zhao! Wei Zhao!”
Pei Nianfang twisted her wrist painfully.
“Stop shouting. He can’t hear you.”
Meanwhile, at Old Madam Wei’s courtyard, maids and elderly attendants bustled about in panic—some soothing her, others bringing water.
Wei Zhao remained perfectly calm.
“Old Madam, please don’t be angry. The Young Master didn’t mean it.”
“He absolutely did!” the old woman fumed. “Zhao’er, you’ve completely forgotten filial piety. Aren’t you afraid your father will settle the score when he returns?”
“My father has left the capital on official business. He won’t be back for another two years.”
Wei Zhao spoke indifferently.
“Grandmother can wait until then.”
“I am your grandmother! Even if I beat you or scold you, it’s a lesson from your elder! Are you really going to hold a grudge over such a trivial matter for all these years?”
Wei Zhao flicked his sleeve and walked away.
Only a fool would stand there listening to her lecture.
As he reached the lakeside, he vaguely heard someone calling his name.
He stopped, concentrating.
The voice seemed to be coming from above.
His face darkened.
He immediately strode toward Lingyun Pavilion, the best place to overlook the lake.
At the very top of Lingyun Pavilion, the stairway entrance had been locked with an iron chain.
Jiang Yihuan stood there helplessly.
After Pei Nianfang and Wei Zhilan had brought her up, she’d barely taken one glance at the lake before they shoved her aside, ran away, and locked the door behind them.
There wasn’t a servant in sight.
Growing desperate, she shouted,
“Wei Zhao! Wei Zhao! Where are you? Come save me!”
The only answer she received was the rain.
Large drops splashed against her face, cold and relentless.
By the time Wei Zhao arrived, the hem of her skirt was soaked through, and her lips had turned pale from the cold.
The moment she saw him, tears of relief welled up.
“Wei Zhao! You finally came! The stairway door is locked. I can’t get down!”
Wei Zhao spread his arms.
“Jump.”
He was afraid that if he left to fetch help, she’d start crying and screaming again.
Jiang Yihuan looked down.
Her legs trembled.
Still, she climbed over the railing and leaped.
Her heart nearly burst out of her chest.
The wind roared past her ears as she fell through the air, making her tremble with fear.
Then—
She landed safely in Wei Zhao’s arms.
A warm, clean scent enveloped her.
Eyes reddened, she wrapped both arms tightly around his neck.
“…Wei Zhao… they set me up!”
The trembling girl clung to him with all her strength.
Turning his head slightly, Wei Zhao said quietly,
“Don’t cry. Tell me what happened.”
“…Sob… sob… Your sister’s friend dragged me here. She said she wanted to be friends with me, but while I wasn’t paying attention, they locked the door and ran away.”
Without another word, Wei Zhao carried her to confront Wei Zhilan.
Wei Zhilan remained perfectly composed.
“Brother, I kindly took Miss Jiang out to have some fun, but she kept cursing you for harming her brother. She hates you.”
“…Is that so?”
“Yes. I brought her to Lingyun Pavilion to calm her down and enjoy the scenery, but she threw a tantrum, crying and making a scene. I was afraid she’d disturb our guests, so I locked the door, intending to report the matter to you. Who knew she’d accuse me first? The guests and servants can all testify.”
She was convinced her story was flawless.
And she had witnesses.
“That’s right, General Wei,” one of the girls chimed in. “Miss Jiang was terribly rude. She’s lying. She was the one causing trouble.”
“Exactly! She even said she hated you and wanted to run back to the countryside to dig wild vegetables.”
The other young ladies hurried to back her up.
“I didn’t! I wasn’t lying!”
Jiang Yihuan protested anxiously.
“Wei Zhao, you have to believe me! I don’t want to leave you at all!”
Wei Zhao turned toward the servants.
“And what do you say?”
One servant bowed.
“Reporting to Young Master, it happened exactly as our young lady described.”
Wei Zhao slowly swept his gaze over everyone.
“I’ll ask one more time.”
“Is that truly what happened?”
“Before you answer… think carefully about the price of lying to me.”
His expression wasn’t particularly fierce.
His tone remained calm.
Yet every girl who had been eagerly accusing Jiang Yihuan fell silent.
The servants didn’t dare utter another word either.
Resting her head against his chest, Jiang Yihuan spoke in a muffled voice,
“Wei Zhao, I didn’t lie to you. I’m telling the truth. You have to believe me.”
“…After all, our relationship is… special.”
Wei Zhao nodded.
“I believe you.”
Wei Zhilan panicked.
“Brother! Don’t listen to her nonsense! Her brother is a menace, and so is she! How can you let her stay? Why don’t you hand her over to me? I’ll deal with her myself, alright?”
“Silence!”
Wei Zhao barked.
“My affairs are none of your concern!”
“You can prepare to kneel in the ancestral hall.”
He ordered someone to report the matter to Madam Heng before hurriedly leaving with Jiang Yihuan.
Back at his private residence, Jiang Yihuan finally relaxed.
“Wei Zhao… I like it here much better.”
“There’s food, there’s drink, and nobody bullies me.”
“From now on, I’ll just stay inside your cage. I won’t go anywhere.”
Wei Zhao still had to enter the palace.
“Go to sleep.”
“You could barely keep your eyes open in the carriage earlier.”
Jiang Yihuan grabbed his sleeve.
“I’ll sleep right away.”
“But… after I wake up… could I have some beautiful fabric?”
“No.”
“You’re my prisoner.”
“My hostage.”
“Don’t make unreasonable demands.”
With that, Wei Zhao left.
Zhu Xian sighed helplessly.
Miss Jiang really does know how to stir up trouble…
“Big Sister, could you give me some pretty fabric?”
“No.”
“You’re a prisoner. A hostage.”
“Don’t make unreasonable demands.”
Zhu Xian repeated her master’s exact words.
Rejected again and again, Jiang Yihuan climbed onto the bed in low spirits.
Just as she was pulling the blanket over herself, Zhu Xian suddenly spoke.
“Do you know…”
“…that you’ve caused trouble today?”
Jiang Yihuan jolted upright inside the covers.
“What trouble?!”