Ying Tao froze, then screamed and ran away the next second, “Miss! How could you bring back a wolf? It’s so dangerous! Please send it back to the mountains quickly!”
Seeing that Hong Luo didn’t react much, Jiang Suihuan asked curiously, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Hong Luo shook her head, “Not afraid. I often went up the mountain to pick mushrooms when I was young and have seen wolves before. A wolf this small won’t bite people.”
“That’s good. For now, I’ll entrust Xi Zhi to your care. Its paw is injured, so change its dressing once a day. As for food, just get some goat’s milk from the farmers to feed it.”
Jiang Suihuan placed Xi Zhi in Hong Luo’s arms. She had to focus on refining medicine these two days and didn’t have time to take care of it.
Ying Tao was so frightened that tears streamed down her face. Wiping her tears, she asked, “Miss, why did you even give it a name? It’s a wolf! What if it eats us all when it grows up?”
Jiang Suihuan was amused by her words, “Don’t be afraid. It’s still small now. If it shows wild instincts when it grows up, we’ll release it into the mountains. For now, let’s just treat it like a little dog.”
“Besides, didn’t you think it was quite cute just a moment ago?”
Ying Tao reluctantly agreed, “Alright.”
She looked around Jiang Suihuan and asked, “By the way, Miss, where are the herbs you gathered?”
Jiang Suihuan couldn’t let others know about the existence of the laboratory. Pretending to search her sleeve, she took out a piece of Du Zhong tree bark from the laboratory: “Here, just a small piece is enough.”
For the next two days, Jiang Suihuan shut the door to her bedroom tightly and immersed herself in the laboratory to refine medicine. She didn’t step out for two full days, during which Ying Tao prepared her three meals and brought them to her door. She would eat hurriedly before returning to the laboratory to continue her work.
Though it was exhausting, she was used to it. Back when she was conducting research in the laboratory, she even had a record of not leaving for half a month.
On the morning of the third day, she finished refining the miscarriage-preventing medicine and a bottle of pills that could strengthen tendons and bones.
After taking the miscarriage-preventing medicine, Jiang Suihuan packaged the tendon-strengthening pills in a box and brought them along to return to the Houfu for the family banquet.
When Hou Furen saw her, she was slightly taken aback and showed a displeased expression, “Why are you back today?”
Jiang Suihuan could tell that Hou Furen was very angry but didn’t know why. “Mother, I’ve returned to attend the family banquet.”
Hou Furen said coldly, “The family banquet was yesterday. Mei’er said she informed you several days ago. We waited all day yesterday, but you never showed up. And you—you got the date wrong!”
Jiang Suihuan understood immediately—it must have been Jiang Meier secretly playing tricks, deliberately giving her the wrong date!
Just as she was about to explain, Jiang Meier appeared, linking arms with Hou Furen and speaking in a coquettish tone, “Mother, I heard that Sister has been very busy lately. It’s understandable that she might mix up the dates. Please don’t blame her.”
“Busy with what? What could be more important than the family banquet?”
Jiang Meier let out a meaningful light laugh and said, “A few days ago, at the entrance of Yuefang Lou, I saw Sister walking very closely with a teacher from Fuqing Academy. I wonder if Sister’s good news is approaching?”
“Nonsense!”
Hearing this, Houye, who was nearby, slammed his hand on the table and roared at Jiang Suihuan, “You just went through a Heli with Chu Jue not long ago, and now you’re getting so close to another man? If this spreads, what will people say?”
“They’ll say that as the Marquis Family’s Daughter, you have no sense of shame!”
Jiang Suihuan could no longer listen and retorted, “Chu Jue married Jiang Meier less than a month after our Heli, and now I’m merely having a meal with Li Xueming—does that make me shameless?”
“How is this the same? Chu Jue is a man, and you’re a woman! Moreover, he married your sister!” Houye was so furious his liver flared.
Unlike Hou Furen’s bias, he cared deeply about face. Jiang Suihuan’s actions would make him lose respect before other officials, and the more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
Jiang Suihuan suddenly laughed, “Father means it’s fine if Chu Jue marries my sister, and I marry Chu Jue’s elder brother?”
As she said this, Gu Jin’s figure flashed through her mind. Since Gu Jin was Chu Jue’s Imperial Uncle, marrying him should count, right?
But their statuses were vastly different. Even if she wanted to marry, he might not necessarily want to wed her.
Hearing Jiang Suihuan’s words, Houye gasped with rage, snatching a teacup and smashing it violently on the ground: “You rebellious daughter! How dare you!”
Hou Furen stroked Houye’s chest, soothing him: “Master, calm your anger. Don’t harm your health over this.”
Jiang Meier appeared to mediate but actually fanned the flames: “Sister, Father’s health was already poor. Don’t provoke his anger further. Besides, you originally skipped the family banquet for Young Master Li. Now that you’ve finally come, you’re arguing with Father—please apologize to him quickly.”
“Mei’er’s words are mistaken. I last met Young Master Li three days ago. When I encountered you on the street then, you said the family banquet was in three days, which is why I came today.”
Jiang Suihuan’s gaze turned icy. “Wasn’t it Mei’er who misspoke about the timing?”
Jiang Meier pouted, clinging to Hou Furen’s arm and shaking it. “Mother, look at Sister! She’s the one who remembered wrong, yet she blames me for misspeaking.”
“Jiang Suihuan, you’ve actually learned to lie. I’m so disappointed in you.”
Hou Furen heaved a long sigh. “Meng Qiao and Meng Qing from the General’s Residence were both present that day and can confirm Mei’er said two days later. How did it become three days in your telling?”
Jiang Suihuan sneered inwardly. Meng Qiao and Meng Qing were in cahoots with Jiang Meier—of course they’d back her story.
“Young Master Li Xueming was also there that day. Why not ask him, Mother?” Jiang Suihuan suggested.
“Enough! Don’t mention him again!” Houye pointed toward the door. “Go kneel in the ancestral hall for a full day and repent thoroughly to our ancestors! You may not leave until you’ve recognized your wrongdoing!”
Jiang Suihuan walked toward the ancestral hall without looking back, not even retrieving the prepared pill she’d painstakingly refined over two days. These people weren’t worth it.
The ancestral hall was gloomy, without even a single window, preventing air circulation. The stifling air was thick with the pungent odor of decay, and the altar tablets of the Houfu ancestors stood enshrined on the platform.
Jiang Suihuan knelt on the ground, flanked by two Houfu maids monitoring her.
Staring straight ahead, she sank into deep thought.
With Houye and Hou Furen so biased—not only unable to help her seek revenge but likely to hinder her—should she sever ties?
The moment this thought emerged, a sharp pain pierced her heart.
It seemed the original host’s residual consciousness didn’t wish to break relations with the Houfu.
Jiang Suihuan shook her head helplessly.
Two hours later, the two maids were struggling to stand steadily, yet Jiang Suihuan remained kneeling perfectly upright. Having practiced ancient martial arts for over a decade, she had lost count of how many times her master had punished her with kneeling. Such a short duration meant nothing to her.
She said calmly, “If you two are tired, go rest for a while. I won’t run off.”
Hearing this, the two maids happily left.
After another incense stick’s worth of time, Jiang Meier entered the ancestral hall, her smile not reaching her eyes. “I never expected Sister to be so persistent. It’s been over two hours, and you’re still kneeling.”
Jiang Suihuan retorted mockingly, “Did you come to laugh at me, Mei’er?”
“Sister, you think too poorly of me.”
In the dim ancestral hall, Jiang Meier suddenly leaned close to Jiang Suihuan’s face, her expression dark and venomous. “Sister, I’ve come to take back what belongs to me.”