Turning around, Zhao Xian instructed Nanny He to spread the word about this matter, determined to block all paths that could lead to the formation of tragic male protagonists and malicious female antagonists.
The news from Yunzhu Yuan reached Li Lianniang first.
Danruo, stirring the incense burner, was someone who couldn’t keep things to herself: “Why did Madam suddenly decide to adopt Miss Cui as her goddaughter?”
Li Lianniang was also confused at the moment. Logically, Cui Tingyue had been at Jiang Jia for half a year, and her mother-in-law had never mentioned this before. Yet now, she suddenly announced her intention to adopt Cui Tingyue as her goddaughter.
Even Jiang Shuxiu, still in swaddling clothes, found it strange. In her previous life, there had been no such development. That Cui Tingyue and her despicable father had caused her mother no small amount of distress.
And now, her grandmother actually wanted to adopt her as a goddaughter? Wouldn’t that allow her to act even more recklessly in the future, relying on this status?
“Oh, Xiu Jie’er has spit up milk, nanny!” Chilan was playing with the child when she suddenly saw Jiang Shuxiu vomit a mouthful of milk.
The nanny took Jiang Shuxiu away to clean her up, unaware that her spitting up was out of anger.
-At the Residence of Master Lu, Shumiyuan Duchengzhi-
A servant reported: “Madam, Madam Jiang has declined the invitations to both the flower banquet and the tea banquet.”
Madam Lu looked at her eldest daughter-in-law. “Why is it so difficult to gauge Madam Jiang’s intentions?”
Recently, the rumors outside had grown increasingly unpleasant.
Some said Madam Jiang was overly attached to her son and couldn’t bear to be apart from him. Others claimed that when young Lord Jiang took the imperial examination, Madam Jiang wept uncontrollably at the entrance of the Examination Hall, utterly humiliating herself.
There were even those who said Madam Jiang deliberately tormented her eldest daughter-in-law, not allowing her to rest peacefully even during her postpartum confinement.
The rumors were vivid and detailed.
These external rumors made Madam Lu begin to reconsider whether the marriage alliance with Jiang Jia should proceed.
She glanced at the red booklet on the table.
The results of having a master match the eight characters of the two families’ children had already arrived.
A match made in heaven, a union of gold and jade.
But now, she hesitated.
“Mother, why don’t we go to the Jiang residence?”
Madam Lu looked at her eldest daughter-in-law with confusion.
Her daughter-in-law continued, “Little sister’s marriage is of utmost importance. Since you’re concerned about Madam Jiang’s character and she rarely goes out, why not visit in person to assess the situation? Coincidentally, her eldest daughter-in-law has just given birth. We can bring gifts to offer our congratulations.”
Since the Jiang and Lu families were discussing a marriage alliance, a visit at this time wouldn’t seem out of place.
Madam Lu was very pleased with her daughter-in-law’s suggestion. “Quickly prepare a visiting card and send it over.”
She had been so anxious that she’d forgotten: hearing is not as reliable as seeing for oneself. She ought to go and see in person.
“I’ll go take care of it right away, Mother-in-law.”
After the visiting card was sent to Jiang Jia, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, along with their servants, went to the Jiang residence the following day.
They did not bring their youngest daughter, Lu Zhaoying.
Although Lu Zhaoying and the Jiang family’s second son, Jiang Heng, were in the process of discussing marriage, there was no reason for an unmarried young lady to visit outside of festivals or special occasions.
Doing so might give the impression that they were overly eager, and leaving a poor impression on Madam Jiang would be counterproductive.
Moreover, with Madam Jiang’s current tarnished reputation, Madam Lu didn’t want her daughter’s reputation to suffer before marriage, potentially affecting the match.
When her mother and eldest sister-in-law left, Lu Zhaoying received the news.
“Miss, Madam and the young madam have gone out,” a maid reported as she entered the room.
Lu Zhaoying nodded, picking up the nearly finished sachet from her embroidery frame and continuing to stitch it, one thread at a time.
The maid attending Lu Zhaoying was talkative and couldn’t help but whisper, “Miss, do you still want to marry the second young master of the Jiang family? Will the master and madam agree to this match?”
The second young master Jiang was a good man, well-suited to the young lady, and treated her well.
Why did she have to end up with such a mother?
“Stop talking and come split the threads,” Lu Zhaoying said, pointing to the silk threads in the embroidery frame.
Whether this marriage arrangement could be finalized was still uncertain, and to make matters worse, Jiang Heng was not in Jin’an.
Thinking of Jiang Heng, Lu Zhaoying knew full well that he was the best marriage prospect she could hope for.
Lord Jiang was a favorite of the Emperor, with boundless prospects, and Jiang Heng himself was ambitious. Compared to the frivolous playboys from other families, what she valued most was the Jiang family’s reputation.
Lord Jiang was in his late thirties and still had no concubines in his household.
She knew that men would take concubines—even her own father was no exception—but there was a big difference between having fewer or more concubines.
With an elder brother to uphold the family’s reputation, the Jiang family was less particular about the status of Jiang Heng’s prospective wife.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been her turn.
If this marriage arrangement could be finalized, it naturally should be. Her father and mother were not unreasonable people, but with Madam Jiang being criticized like this, the Jiang family’s poor reputation would also be detrimental to her.
Zhao Xian received Madam Lu and her daughter-in-law, the younger Madam Lu, in the reception hall.
Madam Lu got straight to the point: “I heard that the eldest young mistress of your household has given birth, so I brought some modest gifts.”
“You’re too kind. Please, have a seat.”
To be honest, when she received the Lu family’s visiting card yesterday, Zhao Xian was still a bit confused. It was only after Nanny He reminded her that she realized the Lu family’s youngest daughter was in marriage discussions with Jiang Heng.
When she first transmigrated, Jiang Heng had lashed out at the original host because the marriage was about to be finalized, and the original host wanted to arrange a concubine for him.
All morning, she had been hoping to meet the female lead from another book—a sweet romance novel.
The female lead in the sweet romance novel was described as pure, kind, gentle, and charmingly naive—essentially a “dumb beauty,” the most guileless little fairy.
Since it was a sweet romance, there weren’t too many annoying, extreme relatives, and the whole story was so sweet it made readers grin like doting aunties.
Compared to the female lead in a tragic novel—a doormat, enduring hardships silently, never speaking up, suffering back and forth until readers were fuming with frustration—the sweet romance female lead was guileless, speaking in a charmingly naive way that even the original host, the evil mother-in-law, adored her.
Unfortunately, she waited all morning but didn’t manage to see her.
The disappointment in Zhao Xian’s eyes left Madam Lu and her daughter-in-law puzzled.
After exchanging glances for a moment, Madam Lu took a sip of tea and said, “On the way here, my daughter-in-law mentioned how envious she was of the eldest young mistress of your household for having such good fortune—to have her mother-in-law personally care for her after giving birth.”
Zhao Xian waved her hand modestly, “How could that be? The household has servants. I just give a few instructions.”
Madam Lu and her daughter-in-law, the younger Madam Lu: “…”
Undeterred, Madam Lu tried another approach, asking, “Was the eldest young mistress’s childbirth very dangerous?”
Zhao Xian took a sip of tea. Naturally, it was dangerous, especially with the male lead from a tragic novel adding fuel to the fire.
“It was indeed dangerous. It scared me quite a bit and reminded me of the hardships I endured when giving birth to Wei’er.” She had used this excuse once before; using it again wouldn’t hurt.
“So, Madam personally took care of her?”
Zhao Xian glanced at the younger Madam Lu who spoke. Hadn’t she already said there were servants? Was she hard of hearing at such a young age?
Madam Lu shot a look at her daughter-in-law. It was fine to speak so bluntly at home among family, but how could she be so direct in public? She quickly added, “Taking care of someone during their confinement is a tiring task. Even with servants, you still have to keep an eye on things. It’s quite draining. You’re truly kind-hearted—I couldn’t do it.”
Zhao Xian smiled. “It’s no trouble. My daughter-in-law has a gentle temperament, and my granddaughter is adorable and well-behaved.”
The new mother had maids and matrons attending to her, and the child had a wet nurse for feeding.
The only things that taxed Zhao Xian’s mind were the account books of Jiang Jia and that male lead from a tragic novel, Jiang Wei.
Household affairs and useless men—tsk, truly vexing.
Madam Lu exchanged a glance with her daughter-in-law, Young Madam Lu, and both saw the difficulty in each other’s eyes. Truly, Madam Jiang was somewhat hard to communicate with.
She answered when asked, but her responses were never what they expected.
The atmosphere suddenly grew tense.
Unaware of the thoughts of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law pair, Zhao Xian instead felt that Madam Lu truly lived up to being the birth mother of the female lead from a sweet romance novel—she was kind-hearted.
It had been over half a month since Li Lianniang gave birth, and Madam Lu was the first to visit.
Now she was even more curious about the female lead from that other book, the sweet romance novel.
Who would want bitterness when they could have sweetness?
Unfortunately, she had transmigrated at the wrong time—the sweet romance female lead hadn’t yet married into the family.
“No wonder we haven’t seen you at any of the social gatherings—you’ve been at home caring for your precious granddaughter,” Madam Lu said, noticing the awkward atmosphere and somewhat stiffly changing the subject.
Zhao Xian nodded, her smile softening at the mention of her granddaughter. “I truly wish you could see my Xiu Jie’er. She looks so much like her mother—she’ll surely grow into a beauty. Unfortunately, the child was born prematurely and hasn’t yet completed the month of confinement, so it’s not suitable for her to meet guests.”
“No matter, no matter,” Madam Lu replied, her smile already somewhat forced.
Madam Lu and her daughter-in-law sat for a while longer before rising to take their leave, not even staying for lunch.
The conversation never hit the right points, and they couldn’t directly ask why she had moved into her daughter-in-law’s rooms or when she planned to move out.
Nor did they dare mention the marriage arrangement between their daughter and the Jiang family’s second young master. Madam Lu thought it best to delay a bit longer.
Her husband was only a fifth-rank official, while Lord Jiang was young and promising with a high-ranking position. Missing out on such a marriage alliance would be a loss for their Lu family.
But this Madam Jiang…
After seeing off the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, Zhao Xian didn’t think much of it, assuming they had simply come to offer congratulations.
That afternoon, Nanny He entered carrying a red booklet. “Madam, the results from sending someone to Huguo Temple last time to ask Master Lingkong to match the birth charts of the second young master and the Lu family’s young lady have arrived.”
Zhao Xian set down the rattle-drum she had been using to amuse the child and took the red booklet. Opening it, eight characters met her eyes: ‘Ill-fated union; together brings family ruin and death.’
“…”
She had only heard of auspicious phrases like ‘heaven-sent match’ or ‘union made in heaven.’ This was the first time she had seen such a direct curse—what kind of combination of two celestial killers was this?
Was this segment in the book? She had no recollection of it at all.
Zhao Xian began to suspect whether she had transmigrated into the official plotline.
Noticing her mistress’s odd expression, Nanny He asked softly, “What did the master say?”
Zhao Xian closed the booklet. “What was that Lu family young lady’s name again?”
The booklet only wrote ‘Lu family’s third daughter,’ without a given name.
Nanny He answered truthfully, “This servant remembers it was Lu Zhaoying.”
Lu Zhaoying—that matched the name of the sweet romance novel’s female lead.
Clutching the booklet in her hand, Zhao Xian found the plot development somewhat hard to handle.
Thinking of Madam Lu’s visit that morning—could it be that she had already received the news and came to cancel the marriage arrangement?
But Madam Lu hadn’t mentioned the marriage alliance between their children at all during her visit.
Nanny He glanced at the booklet in Zhao Xian’s hand. Were the second young master and the Lu family young lady’s birth charts incompatible?
Though she had her suspicions, since her mistress hadn’t spoken of it, it wasn’t her place to ask directly.
“The second son should be returning soon,” Zhao Xian said as she tucked the booklet into her sleeve.
The fact that such an ill-fated match appears in a sweet romance novel is unreasonable, utterly unreasonable.
Nanny He nodded. “Counting the days, the second young master should return from the City Guard Battalion in two days.”
Jiang Heng disliked studying, and as the second son, with an older brother already pursuing the imperial examinations, he enjoyed more freedom. However, he did not idle away his time. Instead, at a young age, he joined the City Guard Battalion for training, returning home every twenty days for a four-day break before leaving again.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Jiang Heng set off before dawn and entered the city as soon as the gates opened.
His attendant followed him, skillfully guiding the horse around a corner toward the residence of Master Lu, the Shumiyuan Duchengzhi.
Jiang Heng dismounted, tossed the riding crop to his attendant, and effortlessly scaled the wall into the Lu residence.
The attendant dismounted, took the reins, and expertly tied them to a nearby tree trunk.
It was clear that the master and servant had done this many times, as they moved with practiced ease.
In the early morning, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, Jiang Heng avoided the Lu household servants and made his way to the bamboo grove behind Lu Zhaoying’s boudoir.
The bamboo grove was surrounded by gauze curtains, and the qin platform stood somewhat empty. Jiang Heng leaned against the edge of the platform, weighing three small stones in his hand.
From the qin platform, he could see the closed window of the pavilion upstairs.
After the stones struck the window twice, Lu Zhaoying pushed open the window shutter but did not show herself.
Before long, Lu Zhaoying’s maid entered the bamboo grove. Her expression was indifferent as she said, “Second Young Master Jiang, please return. My young lady is unable to see you today.”
Jiang Heng straightened up instinctively and asked, “Why?”