After my husband and sister-in-law had a child, they made me take the blame and go to prison. I turned around, joined forces with a powerful official, and sent their whole family to hell.
“Jinshu, Yunyan is frail. As her eldest sister-in-law, you must protect her.”
“Remember, just now it was you who accidentally collided with the Young Master of Yongning Marquis Mansion, causing the Young Master to fall into the pond.”
“You and Yunyan have similar figures, and you are wearing the same colored clothes today. You have Princess Chang protecting you; the Marquise of Yongning will, at most, scold you a few times, and the matter will pass.”
The man in front of her rambled on incessantly. Jiang Jinshu felt a splitting headache.
Seeing her sitting there with a tight frown, Shen Nanxing stepped forward displeased and grabbed her wrist.
“Jiang Jinshu, did you hear clearly what I said to you?”
“If you take responsibility for this matter today, I will naturally compensate you in the future.”
Only then did Jiang Jinshu snap back to reality. It seemed Heaven had opened its eyes; she had finally returned.
She had returned to the day of the banquet at the Chengxiangfu, when Shen Nanxing asked her to take the blame for Su Yunyan.
In her past life, she had been blind and foolish, pouring her entire heart into Shen Nanxing.
Coupled with the fact that her parents had died on the battlefield, leaving her with no one to rely on, she had been instigated by her mother-in-law to become estranged from her maternal grandmother’s family.
The Shen family had sucked her dry, using her dowry to support the entire household, and finally plotted for her to take the fall for Su Yunyan.
After she entered prison, the Shen family used her dowry to pave the way for Shen Nanxing step by step, allowing him to rise from a minor fourth-rank general to a second-rank general.
Ultimately, because Shen Nanxing opened the city gates for Prince Qi’s rebellion, he earned the merit of helping a new emperor ascend and was enfeoffed as a Prince of a different surname.
She spent ten years in prison. What awaited her upon release was not the heartache of the husband she had yearned for for ten years, nor the position of a Princess Consort, but the sight of her husband and that Su Yunyan—who had called her “sister-in-law” with every breath—already having a son and a daughter together.
In a fit of rage, she spat blood and fainted. When she woke up, she found herself locked in a woodshed, where she eventually starved to death.
Heh? A Prince of a different surname? A rebellious official and traitor doesn’t deserve it.
Since Heaven let her return, she would send everyone who bullied her to hell.
If she didn’t grind the Shen family into ashes, she would be wasting the opportunity Heaven had given her.
Seeing that Jiang Jinshu remained silent, appearing to be in a daze, Shen Nanxing couldn’t help but frown, his expression becoming even more displeased.
At this moment, Su Yunyan’s eyes filled with tears. She reached out piteously to tug on Shen Nanxing’s sleeve.
“Brother, if sister-in-law is unwilling, then forget it. We cannot force others. Let Yunyan go and confess to the Marquise. At worst, Yunyan will just be beaten due to her lowly status. It’s just that Yunyan’s body is frail; I’m afraid I’ll only make Mother worry again…”
Her voice grew smaller toward the end as tears fell one by one.
One hand held a handkerchief to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes, while the other was placed on her lower abdomen. She looked as if she had suffered a great grievance, making one’s heart ache for her.
Seeing this, Shen Nanxing felt even more that Jiang Jinshu was being difficult. Her parents had sacrificed their lives for the country, and Princess Chang was close to her mother; no matter what, she would be protected.
He had already come to her and spoken so much to coax her; why was she still so unreasonable, unable to consider the bigger picture?
“Jiang Jinshu, the husband is the guide for the wife; the husband is the wife’s heaven. For you to act like this…”
Jiang Jinshu suddenly looked up and smiled, raising an eyebrow.
“The wife is the guide for the husband; if the husband is unrighteous, the wife may remarry. Was the second half of that saying eaten by a dog?”
Shen Nanxing was momentarily speechless, choked by Jiang Jinshu’s sudden retort. He hadn’t expected the usually rabbit-meek Jiang Jinshu to talk back like this today.
Su Yunyan was also stunned, tears still hanging on her eyelashes, looking both surprised and innocent.
“Jiang Jinshu, why must you be so aggressive? You clearly know that Yunyan’s status is special. She doesn’t have Her Highness Princess Chang to protect her like you do. If the Marquise knows it was Yunyan who accidentally knocked the Young Master into the water, it certainly won’t be as simple as a few scoldings. If you take the blame first, with Princess Chang protecting you and me pleading for you, then…”
Jiang Jinshu slowly stood up, her cold gaze sweeping over the two people in front of her, her heart filled with sneers.
In her previous life, she had truly been blind to believe such full-of-holes rhetoric.
However, now was not the time to argue with them. In her past life, she remembered that the Young Master of Yongning Marquis Mansion had passed away at a young age because medical treatment was not timely.
Because of this, she had been burdened with a life on her hands and almost had to pay with her own life for the Young Master. It was only because Princess Chang intervened and did her utmost to protect her that the sentence was commuted to imprisonment.
“I will go see the Marquise of Yongning first.”
Shen Nanxing was suddenly taken aback. How did she agree again?
“At least you are sensible. Jinshu, don’t worry, in a moment I will definitely plead earnestly for you…”
Jiang Jinshu spoke sharply.
“Shut up. If you want me to handle this, then don’t stand there barking like a dog and wasting my time.”
Shen Nanxing’s heart trembled at Jiang Jinshu’s icy tone. He realized that the Jiang Jinshu before him seemed vastly different from the past. Those eyes, which used to be full of affection, now held an unquestionable determination and distance.
Before he could react, Jiang Jinshu had already walked far away.
Seeing Shen Nanxing’s dazed expression, Su Yunyan, who had followed, pulled on his arm.
“Brother, will sister-in-law really help me? Is she angry? It’s all Yunyan’s fault…”
Shen Nanxing was busy comforting Su Yunyan and didn’t think further about Jiang Jinshu’s attitude. Forget it, this was the only use she had anyway.
“Yan’er, don’t be afraid. Since she promised, she won’t dare go back on it. Besides, I won’t give her the chance to regret it. Today, she has to take this blame whether she wants to or not.”
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Wife was watching with anxiety as the Imperial Physician treated the Young Master of Yongning Marquis Mansion. Although the maid said it was a lady in green who pushed the Young Master, the incident had happened in her own residence.
The Marquise of Yongning sat by the bed, looking at her son with extreme anxiety, tears rolling down her face incessantly.
“Imperial Physician Liu, how is the Young Master?”
Imperial Physician Liu shook his head.
“Marquise, prepare for the funeral. This old official is of meager talent and cannot save the Young Master. The Young Master was rescued too late; it is no longer in time.”
Hearing this, the Marquise of Yongning felt as if the sky had collapsed. She had only this one son.
“No! Imperial Physician Liu, please think of something else, I beg of you!”
The Marquise of Yongning cried out hoarsely, almost collapsing before the physician, but she was quickly supported by the maids and servants around her.
Suddenly, a voice rang out.
“Marquise, there may still be hope for the Young Master.”
The Marquise of Yongning and the Prime Minister’s Wife were both startled by the words and looked toward the door in unison.
They saw Jiang Jinshu walking in gracefully, a composed expression on her face.
How could someone who had already stopped breathing still be saved? Someone was questioning his medical skills. Imperial Physician Liu spoke displeased.
“Young Madam Shen, the dead cannot be brought back to life. Why give the Marquise hope only to disappoint her?”
Jiang Jinshu approached the bedside and glanced at the Young Master’s complexion. Ignoring Imperial Physician Liu’s words, she looked at the Marquise.
“Marquise, do you also feel there is no hope for the Young Master? I had the fortune to learn the Xuming Shisan Zhen from a divine doctor. Do you really not want to try, Marquise?”
Seeing this, Imperial Physician Liu immediately spoke up.
“This is sheer nonsense! Only the Ghost Doctor knows the Xuming Shisan Zhen, and the Ghost Doctor travels all over the world. How could it be possible…”
Jiang Jinshu frowned.
“Marquise, if we delay any further, it truly will be beyond redemption.”
Imperial Physician Liu had personally said there was no hope, but seeing Jiang Jinshu’s calm demeanor, a spark of hope ignited in the Marquise’s eyes.
“Even if there is only a sliver of hope, I must try.”
Seeing that she completely disregarded him, Imperial Physician Liu was even more displeased.
“This is simply preposterous…”
Jiang Jinshu looked at him and spoke slowly.
“Does Imperial Physician Liu not wish to witness the Xuming Shisan Zhen?”
A quarter of an hour later.
Shen Nanxing, who had arrived with Su Yunyan, saw the Marquise weeping silently and hurriedly cupped his hands.
“Marquise, it is all because my lowly wife was troublesome and pushed the Young Master into the water. Rest assured, Marquise, our Shen family will absolutely not shield her. You may dispose of her as you wish, even if you make her pay with her life for the Young Master; there is no need to consider our Shen family.”
Su Yunyan spoke with a face full of guilt from the side.
“Marquise, Prime Minister’s Wife, it is all Yunyan’s fault. Yunyan should have followed sister-in-law today; then sister-in-law wouldn’t have committed such a great mistake. How could sister-in-law be so petty with a child like the Young Master? Marquise, Yunyan apologizes to you on behalf of sister-in-law. Please do not blame sister-in-law too harshly.”
Jiang Jinshu calmly retracted the silver needles from the Young Master’s body and slowly stood up. She had been half-kneeling to facilitate the acupuncture.
“I have truly seen shamelessness, but never to this extent. One lies through his teeth while the other twists black and white; you two really are a bitch and a dog, a perfect match for eternity.”