Jiang Meier sat comfortably on a rocking chair, eating fruit with great satisfaction. With Jiang Suihuan dead, the position of Zheng Fei would rightfully become hers. The Houfu would also have only one daughter left—her. So what if she was a Shu Nu? From now on, she could have whatever she wanted.
Thinking of this, Jiang Meier couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
“Madam, there’s news from the Houfu. Houye requests you and the Prince to go to the Houfu immediately,” her personal maid Cuihong rushed over to report.
Jiang Meier smiled faintly. “Has Father learned that Jiang Suihuan tried to kill me but was executed by the Prince instead?”
“No… Houye said… the Princess Consort is currently at the Houfu…” Cuihong stammered nervously.
“What?” Jiang Meier nearly fell off the rocking chair, scrambling to her feet in disarray. “Wasn’t Jiang Suihuan’s corpse thrown into the Luanzang Gang? How could she be at the Houfu?”
Cuihong seemed terrified, her voice trembling. “Not her corpse… Many witnesses just saw the Princess Consort appearing on the streets covered in blood. The Princess Consort… she has come back to life!”
These words struck Jiang Meier like a thunderbolt. She collapsed to the ground. “Impossible! I killed her with my own hands yesterday. She had clearly stopped breathing—how could she still be alive? You must have misheard!”
Jiang Suihuan’s dying words echoed in her mind. Though it was broad daylight, Jiang Meier felt increasingly cold.
Chu Jue strode over and helped Jiang Meier up from the ground. “Mei’er, I’ve already heard. Don’t be afraid. Let’s go to the Houfu immediately to get to the bottom of this.”
“Yes.” Jiang Meier clung tightly to Chu Jue’s collar, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
She was afraid—afraid that Jiang Suihuan might still be alive, but even more afraid that the truth would be exposed.
…
At the Houfu, Houye looked at the visitors before him and said with restrained anger, “Nan Ming Wang, I hope you can give me an explanation.”
Chu Jue snorted coldly. “You should ask your legitimate daughter Jiang Suihuan about that. If she hadn’t tried to kill Mei’er, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
Houye frowned, remaining silent for a moment before speaking again. “Although Suihuan is foolish, she has a good heart. How could she possibly want to kill her own sister?”
“Father, the Prince is not wrong. Last night, my sister invited me to the back garden. Only when I arrived did I realize she intended to kill me with a dagger. She said that with me dead, no one would compete with her for the Prince’s affection.” Jiang Meier leaned against Chu Jue’s chest, weeping softly.
Suddenly, applause echoed from behind, followed by a clear voice. “My sister’s skill in distorting the truth and confusing right with wrong has truly improved.”
It was Jiang Suihuan, who had just woken up and arrived at the scene. Hearing Jiang Meier’s words, she sneered and clapped mockingly.
When Jiang Meier saw Jiang Suihuan’s face covered in blood scabs, she screamed and collapsed to the ground, nearly scared out of her wits.
Chu Jue was also stunned. “What happened to your face?” he asked in astonishment.
“You should ask your Ce Fei about that,” Jiang Suihuan retorted sarcastically. “Why are you so frightened, little sister? Wasn’t it you who slashed my face with a knife until it became like this?”
“It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!” Jiang Meier shook her head frantically. “It must have been cut when the guards dragged you to the Luanzang Gang. It has nothing to do with me!”
“Luanzang Gang?” Houye slammed the table in fury. “You actually threw your own sister into the Luanzang Gang?”
What kind of place is Luanzang Gang? Even Houye felt a chill running down his spine when he went there, let alone Jiang Suihuan, who was merely a seventeen-year-old girl!
Jiang Meier was momentarily speechless, unable to utter a word.
Hou Furen, who had always doted on Jiang Meier, now looked at her with a hint of reproach in her eyes.
Chu Jue frowned in distress and stepped in front of Jiang Meier. “It was I who ordered Jiang Suihuan to be thrown into Luanzang Gang. This is all Jiang Suihuan’s fault—who told her to try to kill Mei’er?”
Jiang Suihuan had a maid bring a chair and sat down. Her face was pale, and she looked extremely weak, yet she carried an air of authority.
Seeing her cold expression, Chu Jue suddenly felt she was different from before.
Jiang Suihuan’s gaze was sharp as she demanded, “Jiang Meier, you keep saying that yesterday I tried to stab you with a dagger. Do you have any proof?”
Chu Jue couldn’t bear to see her pressuring Jiang Meier and retorted, “I saw it with my own eyes yesterday. What more proof is needed?”
“What a ‘saw it with my own eyes’!” Jiang Suihuan turned her piercing gaze toward him, sharp as a blade. “Did you see me raising the dagger, aiming to plunge it into Jiang Meier’s chest?”
Chu Jue faltered. “Well, no.”
“Then what exactly did you see?” Jiang Suihuan’s eyes grew increasingly fierce, as if she could carve a piece of flesh from Chu Jue.
Startled by her gaze, Chu Jue’s confidence wavered. “I saw the two of you struggling over the dagger.”
“Hah! You saw us struggling over the dagger, and without even asking a single question, you snatched it and stabbed me in the chest.”
Jiang Suihuan’s voice turned severe. “How could you be so sure that I was trying to kill Jiang Meier, and not the other way around—that Jiang Meier was trying to kill me?”
Her words sent a shock through the room.
Only then did Chu Jue begin to sober up. Last night, he had indeed acted impulsively without thinking things through. Still, he chose to stand by Jiang Meier. “Mei’er is kind-hearted and would never do such a thing. As for you, having grown up in Zhuangzi, it’s no surprise you would resort to this.”
Jiang Suihuan had expected him to defend Jiang Meier. She sneered, pulled a dagger from her sleeve, and tossed it at his feet. With a cold smile, she said, “Prince, why not take a good look at this dagger before deciding whether to keep trusting Jiang Meier or to trust your own eyes.”
Chu Jue picked up the dagger and examined it carefully. His expression shifted. This was the dagger he had given Jiang Meier for self-defense. Though it looked like any ordinary dagger, there was a small mechanism in the hilt. Pressing it would extend the blade.
His face darkened as he turned to Jiang Meier. “Mei’er, isn’t this the dagger I gave you?”
Jiang Meier’s face turned ashen. Last night, she had indeed tried to frame Jiang Suihuan, but in her haste, she had mistakenly used the wrong dagger.
Trembling, she stammered, “Prince, I don’t know how this happened. Perhaps… perhaps Sister found my dagger last night and intended to return it to me, but I misunderstood and thought she meant to kill me.”
Jiang Suihuan burst into laughter, though her eyes held no mirth. “Jiang Meier, do you even believe what you’re saying?”
“Sister, it’s my fault. I wrongly accused you. Please don’t blame me, alright?” Jiang Meier stumbled toward Jiang Suihuan but twisted her foot and ended up lunging straight at her.
Jiang Suihuan instinctively wanted to dodge, but her wounds hadn’t fully healed yet. The slightest movement sent waves of pain through her body.
The next second, Jiang Meier pounced on her, knocking her to the ground.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Jiang Suihuan kicked Jiang Meier away with all her strength. “Is this your idea of an apology?!”
The kick sent Jiang Meier flying several meters away, leaving her dazed from the impact.
Everyone was stunned by this scene. Was this Jiang Suihuan still the same weak and foolish Marquis Family’s Daughter they knew from before?
Chu Jue was the first to react. He helped Jiang Meier up with great concern and glared discontentedly at Jiang Suihuan. “What are you doing? Mei’er didn’t mean it!”
Jiang Suihuan stood up, brushed off her skirt, and sat down leisurely. “She apologized with her words but attacked in action. What’s wrong with me fighting back instinctively?”
Her sharp retort left Chu Jue momentarily speechless.
Jiang Meier, recovering from her daze, began sobbing pitifully. “Sister, I didn’t mean it. What can I do to make you forgive me?”
“You want my forgiveness? Fine.”
A smile appeared on Jiang Suihuan’s face—a smile that should have been breathtakingly beautiful, but the blood scab on her face made it appear terrifying instead. “First, spend one night alone at Luanzang Gang. Then I might reluctantly consider it.”
Jiang Meier’s expression froze, and she went limp in Chu Jue’s arms. She’d rather die than spend a night in such a place.