Jiang Xun stood outside the study door, knocked gently, and then pushed it open.
A cool spring breeze swept into the quiet study, scattering the incense smoke from the burner and leaving a faint scent of sandalwood in the air.
“Planning to join the Hanlin Academy or the Six Ministries?” Lord Jiang stood behind the desk, tracing a portrait. He didn’t even look up when Jiang Xun entered.
Jiang Xun turned to close the door. “Father, you know I have no interest in joining the court.”
Lord Jiang finally raised his eyes to look at Jiang Xun, seeming somewhat puzzled. “Why?”
Jiang Xun hesitated but still spoke. “Father, yesterday was Jiang Lingzhi’s return visit… You must know about it.”
“I know.” Lord Jiang set down the painting in his hand, as if waiting for him to continue.
Jiang Xun wasn’t sure what he had come to say. It was clear Father wouldn’t intervene in Jiang Lingzhi’s affairs, yet he had still come. He simply couldn’t turn a blind eye.
“Duke Xiao’s Manor has gone too far, forcing her to marry Xiao Jingyi instead. He clearly…” Jiang Xun thought of Jiang Lingzhi’s foolishness—being sold out and still helping count the money—and gritted his teeth. “She grew up in the countryside and has little experience. The Xiao family offered her some benefits, and she agreed to everything. Father, won’t you really do something about it?”
He spoke cautiously, afraid that mentioning Jiang Lingzhi would remind his father of his mother’s death and cause him pain.
But Lord Jiang remained calm. He simply picked up the portrait and studied it as he spoke. “Once she was sent to Duke Xiao’s Manor, it became the Xiao family’s affair. How can I intervene?”
“She still bears the Jiang surname,” Jiang Xun’s chest tightened, and he lowered his voice. “Father, I feel… this is unfair to her.”
Lord Jiang’s tone was cold. “Do you like having her as your sister that much?”
“I don’t—” Before Jiang Xun could say more, the door suddenly swung open again.
Jiang Lingyuan stood there holding a tray, seemingly oblivious to the tension between father and son. With an innocent expression, she said, “Father, Second Brother, the spring air is dry. I’ve stewed some pear soup for you to drink.”
Only then did Jiang Xun realize that he had nearly argued with his father over that girl Jiang Lingzhi.
It was truly unbelievable.
He pressed his lips together and forced a smile at Jiang Lingyuan. “I’ve lost my appetite.”
With that, he quickly left the study.
Jiang Lingyuan hurriedly set down the food box and turned to Lord Jiang. “Father, I’ll go check on Second Brother.”
“Hmm.”
Jiang Lingyuan rushed after him. “Second Brother, Second Brother, wait for me!”
Jiang Xun stopped and turned to her with a gentle tone. “A Yuan.”
“Second Brother, what’s wrong with you?” Jiang Lingyuan’s face was full of concern. “As soon as Father returned, you argued with him. Was it about Sister’s marriage swap? If that’s the case, then I won’t marry into the Duke’s Manor. That way, no one will gossip about Sister behind her back. I just hope you and Father won’t quarrel…”
Jiang Xun’s heart softened instantly. He reassured her, “A Yuan, don’t overthink it. It’s not like that. I already warned her yesterday—since we’ll be living under the same roof from now on, she’s not allowed to bully you.”
Seeing Ling Yuan’s anxious yet considerate demeanor, Jiang Xun felt he must have been out of his mind.
Regardless of her reasons, Jiang Lingzhi had ultimately chosen to switch marriages and wed Xiao Jingyi herself. Whatever life awaited her, she ought to bear the consequences—what did it have to do with me?
Not to mention, I had already compensated her with shops!
As for Ling Yuan and Xiao Yan, they were mutually devoted. In the end, this arrangement allowed lovers to unite.
Hearing this, Jiang Lingyuan felt slightly reassured—her second brother still favored her.
“Just wait peacefully for the Xiao family to send the betrothal gifts,”
Jiang Xun, completely unaware of Jiang Lingyuan’s shifting thoughts, continued comforting her: “The reason I argued with Father is that he always insists I enter officialdom. But you know me—I’m only interested in commerce, and my heart is set on managing the enterprises my mother left behind.”
“So that’s how it is.” Jiang Lingyuan smiled, seizing the moment to voice her purpose for visiting: “I always knew Second Brother treats me best. When I marry, you must add generously to my dowry.”
“Of course.” Jiang Xun reached out and patted her head. “Second Brother cares for A Yuan most! When the time comes, aside from the shops my mother Wei Lan left me, I’ll give you all the others as dowry additions.”
The shops left by his mother, Wei Lan, were his cherished mementos; he couldn’t easily part with them for Ling Yuan.
Jiang Lingyuan beamed sweetly. “Thank you, Second Brother! You’re so good to me!”
“You’re my only sister—who else would I treat well?” Jiang Xun said. “Alright, you should head back now. Second Brother wants to take a walk.”
Jiang Lingyuan hummed in agreement. “Very well, return early, Second Brother.”
Jiang Xun waved her off and strode away along the covered corridor.
The moment he was gone, Jiang Lingyuan’s expression turned dark and venomous.
It was true her second brother had an interest in business, but he wasn’t particularly skilled at it. The hundred or so most profitable shops in his possession were all inherited from his mother, Wei Lan.
As for the others—the dozen or so he managed himself—they were all small-scale establishments. How much could those be worth?
Clutching her skirts, Jiang Lingyuan hurried straight to Chu Shi’s courtyard.
“A Niang!” she cried, throwing herself into Chu Shi’s arms with red-rimmed eyes. “Second Brother won’t cooperate! He’s been bewitched by that wretched Jiang Lingzhi!”
Chu Shi stiffened, frowning. “What happened? Explain properly, Yuan’er!”
Tears streamed down Jiang Lingyuan’s face as if they cost nothing. “He’s holding tight to all the most valuable ones left by Wei Lan! He’s only willing to give me the worthless shops for my dowry!”
“What?”
Chu Shi’s face also changed, trembling with rage. “I raised him by hand! He always said you were his favorite sister. And now, after all this time, he’s still guarding against us, mother and daughter?”
Clutching Chu Shi’s arm, Jiang Lingyuan wept, “A Niang, if Second Brother won’t help us, we’re out of options! If this drags on any longer and my belly swells, I’ll be completely ruined!”
Chu Shi frowned, her face as dark as stormy waters. Indeed, Madam Xiao could afford to delay, but Ling Yuan’s pregnancy simply couldn’t wait.
After a moment of deep thought, Chu Shi’s expression hardened with resolve.
“Then we’ll spread the story of the marriage switch again! We’ll say it was Xiao Yan who forced himself upon his wife’s younger sister in the bridal chamber, defiling the Jiang family’s second young lady’s virtue. That’s what forced the eldest young lady to switch marriages right in the ancestral hall.”
“A Niang!”
Jiang Lingyuan was horrified, her eyes wide with disbelief.
“That matter was only just suppressed by Madam Xiao with great effort! If you spread it now, my reputation will be utterly destroyed! How could I ever hold my head up again?”
Chu held her hand: “Silly child, what does reputation matter? Only when this matter escalates to the point where Madam Xiao can no longer control it, will you be able to marry into Guogong Fu! Once you marry in and become the eldest grandson’s legal wife, who would dare point fingers behind your back?”
Jiang Lingyuan remained silent for a while, thinking there was truth in this, and finally agreed: “A Niang, I’ll listen to you.”