“Your Highness!”
The door was suddenly pushed open. It was Jiang Yan’er’s dowry maid, Nanny Lin. Sweat beaded on her nose, and her face was filled with panic.
“Who allowed you to enter?” Chu Youqi suppressed his pain, masking the strangeness in his expression as he quickly stood up.
“The… the concubine has woken up and is crying for you. This servant truly had no other choice but to come find Your Highness,” Nanny Lin said anxiously.
Chu Youqi cast a deep glance at Jiang Yunxu, who merely smiled without any reaction.
Nanny Lin spoke up again to remind him, and only then did Chu Youqi withdraw his gaze and turn to leave.
Seeing his hurried footsteps as he departed, Jiang Yunxu knew her goal had been achieved—he would surely begin to doubt the events of that year.
At the same time, however, she noticed the sinister look in Nanny Lin’s eyes. In her hand, Nanny Lin clutched a silver bracelet—an item belonging to the original host’s mad mother!
Using her mad mother to threaten her?
Jiang Yunxu chuckled softly, her eyes dark and profound.
Under the moonlight, a dark figure slipped over the high wall unnoticed, following Nanny Lin as she exited through the back door.
Zaixiangfu—
“That wretched woman!”
Nanny Lin rushed over overnight to report the day’s events to Lady He, the head wife. Upon hearing that her daughter had been poisoned by that wretched woman, Lady He was so enraged that she smashed a teacup to the ground.
Nanny Lin added fuel to the fire: “She even dared to try and tell His Highness the truth. If not for this old servant’s timely intervention, I fear…”
Lady He’s delicate face was already contorted with anger as she ordered those around her, “Bring that madwoman up here. Cut off her little finger and show it to that little wretch—let her see what happens to those who cross me.”
“Yes!”
Moments later, a disheveled, filthy woman was brought forward. She looked around frantically, clutching her chest in terror.
Lady He looked at her and sneered, “Bring the knife.”
The servants pressed her hand against the stone bricks. A sharp blade was drawn, poised to strike her hand.
She cried out helplessly, “No! No! Jiaojiao, save me! Jiaojiao, save…”
Jiaojiao was Jiang Yunxu’s childhood name.
Lady He scoffed disdainfully, “Save you? You must be dreaming!”
In an instant, the wind rose, carrying a strange fragrance. Everyone felt dizzy and weak, collapsing to the ground on the spot.
Jiang Yunxu landed steadily from the high wall. She adjusted her mask, stepped over the fallen figures, and lifted her mad mother into her arms.
As the wind blew, her mad mother’s face was revealed, covered in deep knife scars, with not a single patch of unblemished skin on her body—all the handiwork of that concubine, Lady He.
Jiang Yunxu frowned at the sight.
Both were wives of the Jiang family. Why did Lady He command such power and live in luxury, while her mad mother was left deranged and destitute?
In her memories, her mad mother had been a beautiful woman from Xiyu. When she married, she brought with her countless dowries, the envy of all.
Back then, the Jiang family was just the Jiang family, not yet the illustrious Zaixiangfu it was today.
Now, the entire main branch lived in wealth and comfort, while the second branch was broken and scattered. The original host’s father had died in a mudslide while on duty, his body never recovered. From that day on, the second wife had gone mad, no longer recognizing anyone.
The outside world said the second wife had gone mad from the shock, but Jiang Yunxu didn’t believe it.
There had to be something fishy going on!
At that moment, her mad mother still clutched something tightly against her chest, murmuring, “Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao, go home.”
Jiang Yunxu took it out and saw it was a sugar-coated hawthorn stick that had melted beyond recognition, having been kept for who knew how long.
Her furrowed brow was soothed by a wave of warmth. Looking at the candied hawthorn, she resolved to protect her mad mother—after all, in this world, her mad mother was the only one who had truly cared for the original body.
Jiang Yunxu carried her mad mother to the outside of her grandmother’s room. The Old Madam was still chanting sutras and eating vegetarian meals, presenting an image of devout kindness, yet blind to the suffering within the mansion.
She was even more blind to the oppression of the second branch by the main branch. As for her mad mother’s madness, Jiang Yunxu would get to the bottom of it.
With a cold expression, Jiang Yunxu closed her eyes and retrieved a bottle of medicinal powder named “Meng” from her space, blowing it toward the Old Madam.
In a daze, the Old Madam slumped onto the table before her. Jiang Yunxu gently pushed open the door, then leaned close to her ear and whispered a few words.
When the Old Madam awoke again, she wore a look of astonishment, repeating the words she had vaguely heard: “Treat the madwoman in the mansion kindly, and you shall witness a divine miracle, living a long life!”
The madwoman in the mansion—that could only be the woman her son had married from Xiyu!
“The Buddha has manifested! The Buddha has manifested!” The old lady immediately rose and called out toward the door, “Someone! Bring the Second Madam here!”
“Why is the Second Madam sitting outside the door?”
Perched atop a high wall, Jiang Yunxu calmly observed the scene. Her mad mother slowly awoke, lifting her head and immediately spotting Jiang Yunxu’s direction. Jiang Yunxu smiled faintly, placing a finger to her lips.
“Shh.”
She lacked sufficient strength now, let alone being bound by an absurd marriage. There was no way she could take her mad mother and leave Yunxi City.
The old lady believed in Buddhism, treating the “Buddha’s” words as a sacred decree to be carried out. These days would be enough to ensure her mad mother’s safety—certainly better than being by Lady He’s side.
Jiang Yunxu knew well that in half a month, once Jiang Yan’er recovered, she would surely scheme again to take her Xinjianxue.
She couldn’t remain entangled with that mad dog surnamed Chu, but she wouldn’t let Jiang Yan’er and her mother off easily either!
A cold glint flashed in Jiang Yunxu’s eyes. She stood up to leave, but just as she was about to exit Zaixiangfu, a guard urinating in a corner spotted her.
He immediately shouted, “Assassin! Assassin!”
Damn it!
A large group of guards holding torches not far away quickly rushed over upon hearing the call. After subduing that guard, Jiang Yunxu dared not delay. She was about to scale the wall to escape when an arrow shot over, piercing her ankle.
Jiang Yunxu fell, watching as guards from all directions converged on her location. Gritting her teeth, she cursed, “Those who piss everywhere deserve to die horribly!”
She turned and ran toward an area without guards, but her blood had already dripped onto the ground. They would soon find her.
Her space could only store her consciousness, not her physical body.
“Hurry! She’s up ahead!”
Jiang Yunxu eventually fled to the doorway of a room. Without hesitation, she pushed the door open and entered.
Inside the room, there was a man!
He was half-naked, soaking in a bathtub. His long, dark hair flowed smoothly, and his jade-like skin glowed with a soft radiance. His sword-like brows were slightly furrowed, and when his phoenix eyes looked over, they seemed to captivate and enchant.
He pressed his lips tightly together, saying nothing.
Jiang Yunxu had no time to deal with him either. The footsteps outside grew closer. After scanning her surroundings, she finally stepped into his tub, burying her head underwater, leaving only one sentence: “Don’t make a sound, and I’ll grant you anything!”
At that moment, the door was pushed open.
When the guards saw the man inside the room, they panicked, addressing him respectfully, “Prince Xuan, we meant no offense. Please forgive us.”
Chu Xuanzhi’s gaze shifted from the water to them, his expression indifferent. “What is it?”
The lead guard reported truthfully, “An intruder has broken in. May I ask if Your Highness has seen anything?”
“Did I stay in this Zaixiangfu to watch out for intruders for you?”
Chu Xuanzhi’s cold tone immediately frightened the guards into kneeling. “This lowly one deserves death!”
“Get out.”
With just those words, they quickly retreated from the area.
It was then that Jiang Yunxu immediately surfaced from the water, gasping for air.
Looking at the handsome man before her and considering the guards’ attitude, she knew this man held a noble status. She imitated the clasped-fist salute of martial artists she had seen on television.
“Thank you. I will repay this favor someday.”
As she spoke, she rose from the water and was about to leave when Chu Xuanzhi grabbed her wrist. His eyes were indifferent as he asked, “Promise me anything? If you leave, how will I find you?”
Jiang Yunxu was taken aback—that made sense.
Immediately, she took out a jade pendant from her robe and informed him, “Come to Sanwangfu to find me. I’m there…” Jiang Yunxu paused for a moment. “Tending the fires. My name is Xiaocui. Make sure to look for me at the back hill!”
After all, he hadn’t seen her face. When he came, she could lead him to the back hill, and she wasn’t afraid of him exposing her. If he had wanted to expose her, he could have simply spoken up earlier.
Time was running short. After thanking him once more, Jiang Yunxu prepared to climb out through the window.
But before leaving, she turned back and gave a meaningful glance at the lower half of his body concealed in the water, silently raising her thumb.
Chu Xuanzhi’s dark eyes lifted slightly.
Jiang Yunxu didn’t delay any longer. After she left, a man in black leaped down from the eaves and knelt before Chu Xuanzhi. “Master, should I pursue and investigate?”
When that woman had intruded earlier, if not for the master’s gesture to stop him, he would have already taken her head.
Chu Xuanzhi toyed with the jade pendant, his aura aloof and detached. Recalling her earlier actions, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corners of his lips. “No need.”
Those eyes—he recognized them.
The legitimate daughter of the Jiang family, the ugly consort his third nephew had just married.