Zhao Xian instinctively frowned and scolded, “How dare you speak to me like that?”
Jiang Heng stiffened his neck. “Don’t use your status as an elder to pressure me. Are there no servants in the mansion? As an elder, you should act like one. Don’t meddle in my elder brother’s affairs whenever you feel like it. It’s disgraceful.”
Seeing his mother’s expression darken, Jiang Heng realized he had gone too far and softened his tone. “I know you are kind-hearted and concerned about all matters in the household, Mother. But as an elder, you should maintain the dignity befitting your status.”
Zhao Xian smiled, picking up the teacup she had just set down. Cradling the saucer in one hand and holding the lid with the other, she leisurely skimmed the tea leaves floating in the cup.
The book didn’t mention that the male lead of a sweet romance novel could be so venomous!
Suppressing the discomfort in her body, Zhao Xian glanced coldly at Jiang Heng. “Dignity? You accuse and berate me with every word. What dignity is there for me to speak of?”
“Son didn’t—”
“Didn’t what? Didn’t reprimand your mother? You came home without asking for reasons or understanding the truth, immediately declaring that you want to move out and establish a separate residence now that you’re married. After raising you all these years, is this the reward I get—that you grace me with your presence only when you remember me on the first and fifteenth of the month?”
After speaking, Zhao Xian suddenly realized something was off. Her words had flowed out far too smoothly.
She hadn’t given birth to or raised him, so how could she say such things with such conviction?
Something was wrong!
Moreover, she felt furious—so angry she could explode, her chest aching with pain.
This reminded her of how she felt when she first transmigrated. The original host’s body had ached all over from anger caused by this very son.
Hold back, hold back, hold back.
She shouldn’t get angry. What was there to be angry about? She had heard far worse words before. How could she let this get to her?
But the original host’s body was uncooperative. Zhao Xian felt her hands trembling slightly.
Straining to keep her voice calm, she said, “I think you’re right. You are the second son of the family. From now on, your elder brother will shoulder the responsibilities of Jiang Jia. After your father and I pass away, you brothers will inevitably separate and live apart. Since you’ve brought it up, let’s settle the division early. When your father returns, we’ll finalize the matter.”
Jiang Heng was dumbfounded. He had only wanted a promise from his mother. How had it escalated to discussing the division of the family estate?
“I didn’t—”
He tried to explain, but before he could finish, Zhao Xian waved her hand dismissively. “You’ve paid your respects. If there’s nothing else, go attend to your own affairs.”
Though she tried to endure it, the discomfort in her body was impossible to ignore. Her hand trembled slightly as she set down the teacup.
With a thud, the entire cup fell to the ground. The lid clattered against the bowl, shattering into pieces.
The noise startled Nanny He, who was waiting outside. She hurried into the room and saw Zhao Xian’s pale face.
Rushing forward in quick strides, she asked, “Madam, are you all right? I’ll have Shaoyao fetch Liu Nüyi.”
Zhao Xian grabbed Nanny He’s sleeve. “It’s nothing. Help me to the inner chamber.”
As soon as she said it, she felt something was off. Shouldn’t she call for a physician when feeling unwell? Why had she instinctively tried to cover for him?
Was the original host still present?
“Mother…” Jiang Heng was also frightened by his mother’s bloodless face.
Nanny He helped Zhao Xian up. When Jiang Heng reached out to support her, Zhao Xian avoided his touch, leaning entirely on Nanny He instead. “Go fetch the female physician.”
Zhao Xian was not the original host. She wouldn’t cover for her son after being angered by him. She felt terrible now—could it be that the original host had a heart condition?
Regardless of whether the original host was still present or not, all she wanted now was to alleviate her physical discomfort.
Supported by Nanny He, Zhao Xian entered the inner chamber and lay down. After coughing up several mouthfuls of turbid air, she felt much better.
A silk handkerchief brushed her cheek—Nanny He was wiping away her tears.
Zhao Xian raised her hand to touch her slightly damp eye corners. Something was off, very off.
Even when facing the male lead of a tragic novel, she hadn’t felt this miserable. She could still fight back against the manipulation and slap him in return.
But with this male lead from a sweet romance novel, she was so infuriated that her entire body ached, speaking was painful, and she didn’t even have the strength to hit anyone.
This was very wrong.
‘Madam Jiang? Are you there? Make a sound if you are.’
‘I get it, being angered by your own son is understandable, but not to this extent. It’s unnecessary.’
‘If you’re here, take over this body. Whether you hit him or scold him, venting your anger will make you feel better.’
‘Don’t hold back. It’s your own child—only by dealing with him yourself can you be at ease.’
Zhao Xian kept muttering in her heart, trying to coax the original soul out for a chat.
When Liu Nüyi arrived, Zhao Xian hadn’t managed to summon the original soul, nor had she succeeded in relinquishing control of this body.
“Madam is suffering from a sudden surge of anger affecting her heart. I will prescribe some medicine for you to take,” Liu Nüyi said after checking her pulse.
After the female physician left, Zhao Xian looked at Nanny He. “Was I wrong to protect Lianniang?”
As a modern person who had also read that tragic novel, she instinctively didn’t want the female lead of the tragic story to suffer those hardships again.
She actually had a plan to deal with the rumors outside, but it wasn’t yet time to address them.
“Madam did nothing wrong. The Second Young Master doesn’t understand the full picture. He will come to appreciate your good intentions,” Nanny He comforted her.
In truth, she hadn’t approved of Madam’s approach initially, as it was easily criticized.
But over these past few days, she had realized that Madam genuinely cared for the Eldest Young Madam and was truly looking out for her in every way.
During this time, the Eldest Young Madam hadn’t grown thinner but had instead gained some weight, looking even more beautiful and smiling more often.
Madam also doted on Xiu Jie’er.
The Eldest Young Master had already punished the loose-lipped servant from Yunzhu Yuan who had spread the rumors, but the news had already gotten out.
Madam had instructed them not to pay it any mind.
Who would have thought that upon his return this time, the Second Young Master would argue with Madam over this matter and even threaten to leave the residence and live elsewhere?
The Master and Madam were not yet old, and the Second Young Master’s words had truly hurt Madam’s heart.
After taking the medicine, Zhao Xian drifted into a drowsy sleep for about an hour.
When she woke up, she saw Nanny He hesitating to speak and asked, “What’s wrong? If you have something to say, just say it. Is something the matter with Lianniang?”
Nanny He shook her head and said, “The Second Young Master is still kneeling in the outer chamber. Will Madam allow him to rise?”
Sensing the heartache emanating from within her body, Zhao Xian scoffed. “If he wants to kneel, let him kneel.”
Who was he trying to threaten?
Nanny He handed her a cup of water and said, “Madam, you’re just speaking in anger. If his knees get damaged, it’s you, his mother, who will feel the heartache.”
Zhao Xian took a sip of the warm tea and thought to herself: The one who would feel heartache is the original soul. That son isn’t hers—she wouldn’t feel any heartache.
She even regretted not being able to slap Jiang Heng twice, as she had done with the male lead of the tragic novel.
It was all because she had a filter for the male lead of a sweet romance novel and because of the original soul’s doting on Jiang Heng.
Zhao Xian had no intention of dealing with Jiang Heng at all. Previously, she had thought the eldest son, Jiang Wei, had a foul mouth. But comparing the two, Jiang Wei only spoke harshly to Li Lianniang. Even when he was angry with the original soul, at most, he would change his address from ‘Mother’ to ‘Madam Mother.’
As a scholar, his insults were more refined, and even when shifting blame, his words were laced with subtle implications.
Jiang Heng was different—he openly confronted her.
Zhao Xian felt she needed to calm her emotions properly; otherwise, with the original body’s physical condition, even if she had the intention to confront Jiang Heng, she lacked the physical capacity to keep up.
Hearing voices from inside the room, Jiang Heng, being a martial artist, had better hearing than ordinary people.
“Mother, Mother, are you feeling better? Your son was wrong, your son knows he was wrong.”
Nanny He helped Zhao Xian sit up on the soft couch. Listening to the sounds from outside, she advised, “Madam, listen—the Second Young Master knows he was wrong and is apologizing.”
Shaoyao brought a thin blanket to cover Zhao Xian’s knees and chimed in with Nanny He, “The Second Young Master has been kneeling for over two hours.”
Outside, Jiang Heng’s voice sounded pitiful: “Mother~ your son was wrong, I shouldn’t have made you angry. Please be magnanimous and don’t hold it against me.”
As he spoke, Jiang Heng shuffled forward on his knees, making noise.
Perhaps from kneeling too long, his legs had gone numb, and occasional hissing sounds could be heard from him.
“Mother, are you ignoring Heng’er now?”
The young man’s voice was full of grievance, tugging at one’s heartstrings.
Nanny He whispered, “Madam, with maids coming and going in the house, and the Second Young Master being a man, it’s not proper for him to be seen kneeling there. Perhaps…”
Come to think of it, this was the longest the Second Young Master had ever knelt. In the past, even when he made mistakes and was punished by the master, the madam was always the one pleading for leniency.
With the madam protecting him, the Second Young Master had rarely suffered hardships since childhood.
It was also because he had been spoiled and allowed to run wild that he dared to suggest living separately in another residence after marriage.
Zhao Xian’s eyes flickered as she observed Nanny He and Shaoyao. The two were echoing each other, both pleading for Jiang Heng.
And the emotions carried by the body were also filled with reluctance.
Zhao Xian really wanted to say: If the original owner pities her son, she should come out and take over the body herself. Hiding away like this is ridiculous.
“Let him get up.”
Nanny He’s face lit up with a smile, and she had just taken two steps forward when Zhao Xian added, “But don’t let him come in to see me. Send him back to his own courtyard.”
The original owner had doted excessively on her son Jiang Heng, to the point that the body still retained traces of that consciousness.
Zhao Xian had initially viewed the male lead of a sweet romance novel through rose-tinted glasses.
But after one encounter, she realized he was completely different from how he was described in the book or how she, as a reader, had imagined him.
Thus, she needed to strip away that inherent bias, along with the residual consciousness in the body. Neither could remain.
All her belongings had been moved to Yunzhu Yuan, and even the household account books were kept there.
As soon as Jiang Heng left, Zhao Xian headed to Yunzhu Yuan.
Having knelt for so long, Jiang Heng’s legs were numb, and he walked slowly with Liu Feng supporting him due to his discomfort. Mother and son ended up crossing paths.
“Nanny, where is my mother going?”
Zhao Xian lifted the sedan chair curtain and looked at Jiang Heng, who had spoken. With a mischievous tone, she said, “To Yunzhu Yuan, to mistreat your elder sister-in-law and annoy your elder brother. Want to come along?”
Jiang Heng: “…”