The maidservant gave a light snort: “Shouldn’t the Second Young Master ask your mother about this? The rumors outside have become so outrageous. My young lady is still frightened and doesn’t dare to see you.”
What does this have to do with his mother?
Jiang Heng’s expression shifted slightly. Could it be about the matter of the concubine?
Was his mother so old and muddled? How could she speak of such things to her future daughter-in-law?
“Tell your young lady not to be afraid. With me here, nothing will happen to cause her worry.” Jiang Heng took a long brocade box from his sleeve and handed it to the maidservant, saying, “Give this to your young lady.”
After taking it, the maidservant hesitated for a moment and called out to Jiang Heng, who had already turned to leave: “Second Young Master, wait.”
With that, she took a sachet from her sleeve and handed it over, saying: “This was embroidered by my young lady for you. She is kind-hearted and soft-natured. She even pricked her fingers while making this sachet for you. After learning of that matter, she was so upset she kept wiping away tears. Several times she picked up scissors but couldn’t bear to cut it to pieces.”
Jiang Heng looked at the exquisitely crafted sachet in his hand—it carried the scent of osmanthus he had once mentioned he liked.
Carefully putting away the sachet, Jiang Heng glanced toward the second floor of the pavilion: “Tell your young lady to rest assured. I will never let her suffer any grievance.”
The maidservant watched Jiang Heng leave before turning back to the pavilion. She hurried upstairs, her previously cold expression now replaced with a smile as she presented the brocade box Jiang Heng had given her to Lu Zhaoying: “Young lady, this is from Second Young Master Jiang.”
Lu Zhaoying was still leaning against the wall, her hands playing with a silk handkerchief. Only when the maidservant spoke did she look up, taking the brocade box with her manicured fingers and opening it.
“A wooden hairpin?” The maidservant leaned in for a closer look, disappointment flickering in her eyes.
This hairpin was probably worth less than the brocade box itself.
But Lu Zhaoying picked up the hairpin and examined it. Such fine ebony wood, wasted like this.
Yet the smile at the corner of her lips couldn’t be suppressed.
The maidservant wasn’t foolish either. “This servant thinks the hairpin must have been carved by the Second Young Master himself. The young lady gave him a sachet she embroidered with her own hands, and the Second Young Master gifted you a hairpin he carved himself. You two really think alike.”
Teased by the maidservant, Lu Zhaoying wasn’t angry, only giving her a reproachful glance: “You deserve a beating.”
The maidservant laughed and ran off.
Though the wooden hairpin was crudely carved, it had been carefully polished, smooth to the touch and not rough—evidence of the maker’s care.
Lu Zhaoying recalled her first meeting with Jiang Heng, which had been accidental. After recognizing his identity, she had deliberately drawn closer.
Jiang Heng’s proposal was part of her plan.
Until she married into the Jiang family, her goal remained unfulfilled. She absolutely could not let mere rumors ruin everything.
After leaving the Lu residence, Jiang Heng pondered the matter, finding it suspicious. Yingying hadn’t even married into the family yet. No matter how anxious his mother was, she wouldn’t frighten her future daughter-in-law.
In public, his mother always maintained a composed demeanor.
Thinking carefully, the little maidservant had also mentioned “rumors.”
Jiang Heng turned to his attendant and ordered: “Liu Feng, go and inquire about the rumors concerning the Jiang residence.”
“Yes.”
Jiang Heng didn’t rush back, instead finding a teahouse for morning tea.
Jin’an’s morning market was always lively.
It wasn’t until Liu Feng returned with the news.
After hearing Liu Feng’s account, Jiang Heng set down his chopsticks. Had his mother gone mad?
His elder sister-in-law had already given birth? Wasn’t it still too early?
What had happened in the twenty days he’d been away from home?
Tossing down some silver, Jiang Heng stood up: “Return to the residence.”
When the servant announced the Second Young Master’s return, Zhao Xian was still holding the infant Jiang Shuxiu.
After these days of probing, she had discovered that Jiang Shuxiu most likely had not completely forgotten.
It was just unclear whether she hadn’t drunk Meng Po’s soup before reincarnation, was reborn, or had transmigrated—the specific category had yet to be determined.
“Madam, Yingchun sent word that the Second Young Master did not see you at Haitang Ju, so he returned to his own courtyard to change clothes first and will come back later to pay his respects to you,” Nanny He relayed the maid’s message, adding softly at the end, “The maid who delivered the message said the Second Young Master seemed to be in a bad mood, looking quite angry.”
Even though Zhao Xian lived in Yunzhu Yuan, there were still maids stationed at Haitang Ju.
Of the two senior maids, Shaoyao stayed by her side, while Yingchun remained at Haitang Ju.
In a bad mood? Had he been wronged outside?
Zhao Xian handed Jiang Shuxiu over to the wet nurse and returned to Haitang Ju.
Not long after she returned to Haitang Ju, Jiang Heng indeed arrived, just as the maid had said, with an angry expression on his face.
The young man wore a peacock-blue narrow-sleeved robe, tied at the waist with a clasped belt inlaid with warm jade. His hair was tied in a high ponytail secured with a jade hairpin, red silk threads entwined with his dark locks and the golden hairpin, hanging down to both sides of his shoulders.
The young man was full of heroic spirit, handsome with an air of carefree ease.
He was entirely different from Jiang Wei’s expressionless, rigid demeanor.
Remembering that he was the male lead in a sweet romance novel, Zhao Xian couldn’t suppress the smile at the corner of her mouth. After all, when reading such stories, this kind of character was most deserving of readers’ praise.
“Your son pays his respects to Mother.”
Jiang Wei seemed to walk with the wind, arriving before her in almost the blink of an eye.
In the book’s description of the sweet romance male lead, his looks were naturally top-tier. Beyond that, he was intelligent, never biased or gullible, and cherished, protected, and loved his wife—truly an exceptional man.
He was the complete opposite of his elder brother.
Even though he wore a sour expression now, with the filter of her perspective, Zhao Xian found him quite pleasing to the eye.
She raised her hand, pointing to a stool to signal him to sit, and said with a smile, “Did you swallow a firecracker?”
As the words left her mouth, Zhao Xian felt her voice didn’t sound like her own—too affected and doting.
“Ahem.” She couldn’t help but cough lightly twice.
Just then, a maid brought tea, and she picked up a cup to take a small sip.
Jiang Heng showed no trace of a smile; instead, he continued to look at her with a mix of resentment and anger.
This left Zhao Xian puzzled, and her heart suddenly skipped a beat. Could it be that he had learned about his incompatibility with the sweet romance female lead?
Seeing his mother lower her eyes to drink tea, not daring to look at him, Jiang Heng became even more convinced that she was guilty. Perhaps this time, moving into his elder sister-in-law’s quarters was meant to torment her.
Although Jiang Heng never spoke of it, he saw clearly that his mother had never been satisfied with his elder sister-in-law.
She had also imposed many rules on her.
He thought of the rumors outside and Yingying’s worries, which were not without reason.
He also didn’t want his mother coming to his room after he married—what kind of behavior was that?
Nanny He, noticing the strange atmosphere between mother and son, spoke up to ease the awkwardness: “What happened, Second Young Master? Were you wronged outside?”
When he didn’t answer, Nanny He added, “If you don’t say it, Madam won’t know, will she?”
Jiang Heng glanced at Zhao Xian and said, “After I marry, I want to leave the estate and choose my own residence.”
Nanny He wished she could slap herself. It would have been better not to ask—the question had only led to a devastating blow. She too lowered her head and fell silent.
Zhao Xian took a moment to process his words before reacting, “You want to separate from the family and live on your own?”
While the two masters showed little reaction to what had been said, Nanny He and the maids were stunned.
Nanny He waved her hand, signaling the maids to withdraw. Soon, only mother and son remained in the room.
Zhao Xian didn’t notice the servants’ actions. She was puzzled—was this scene in the book? She had no recollection of it at all.
Could it be that she had transmigrated into a pirated version? Or worse, a tampered pirated copy.
Thinking of that horoscope slip that predicted an ill-fated match, only a pirated version would dare to maliciously alter the plot like this.
Zhao Xian’s distracted state was noticed by Jiang Heng.
Frowning tightly, he saw that his mother hadn’t taken his words seriously at all. It seemed he hadn’t spoken firmly enough.
“Mother, Yingying is gentle and timid. I don’t want her to suffer any grievances. It would be better for us to live separately outside. We’ll come to pay our respects to you on the first and fifteenth of each month.”
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xian raised her eyebrows slightly. So, he had indeed discovered the issue of their incompatible horoscopes.
Given the original body’s temperament, seeing that incompatible horoscope slip would have surely led to vehement opposition to their marriage.
Zhao Xian set down her teacup and smiled. “A family that lives in harmony and supports one another can endure. There’s no need to live separately. Don’t listen to the words of swindlers—someone is deliberately trying to drive a wedge between us.”
Anti-fans were everywhere, infiltrating every corner.
Turning a sweet romance into an ill-fated match in a pirated version—what kind of mindset was that?
Still, Jiang Heng knew about their incompatible horoscopes yet remained so determined to marry Lu Zhaoying. This was true love.
“Drive a wedge?” Jiang Heng was utterly confused.
Since when had his mother become so adept at playing dumb?
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Heng decided not to beat around the bush with his mother any longer. He spoke bluntly, “Son doesn’t want you moving into my room after I get married. It would be inconvenient.”
Zhao Xian: “…Move into your room?”
Jiang Heng nodded and added, “Haitang Ju is much larger than my courtyard. Please don’t come crowding in with us.”
Zhao Xian looked Jiang Heng up and down again, her admiration for the male lead of the sweet romance coming to an abrupt halt.
She realized that, perhaps, maybe, possibly, she and her son were not talking about the same thing.
“Why on earth would I move into your room?”
“Then did you have a reason for moving into my elder brother and sister-in-law’s room?”
Zhao Xian: “…”