Jiang Qingran’s words aligned perfectly with Shen Ruoliu’s intentions, as she had never dared to touch the Snow Skin Cream in the first place.
“Thank you for your understanding, Fifth Miss. I shall take my leave now.”
After she left, Qinghe asked, “Miss, how could you accept her gift? What if she intended to poison you?”
Jiang Qingran raised an eyebrow and sneered, “You guessed correctly. This Snow Skin Cream really is poisoned. After using it, within three days, the face will ulcerate and develop sores.”
“That Concubine Shen truly has a heart as venomous as a snake!”
“No matter. Didn’t she give Jiang Qingyue a box as well? Go and swap mine with hers. Do it discreetly.”
“Yes, Miss!”
…
The auspicious hour arrived.
However, neither the Third Prince nor the Seventh Prince came to fetch their brides, each sending only a bridal sedan chair instead.
Qinghe couldn’t help feeling indignant. “The Third Prince is taking a concubine, so it’s normal for him not to come. But the Seventh Prince—isn’t he deliberately trying to humiliate you?”
Jiang Qingran, however, understood clearly. “Although I am the legitimate daughter, I am also the discarded one. The Jiang family is substituting me, the discarded daughter, for Jiang Qingyue, the pearl, to marry into the Seventh Prince’s Mansion. This is something everyone knows. The Seventh Prince must harbor some resentment, and besides, his health is not good. It’s fine if he doesn’t come.”
Since she put it that way, Qinghe, no matter how dissatisfied, could only help her into the sedan chair.
The Chengxiangfu and the Seventh Prince’s Mansion were separated by only two streets, arriving in the time it takes to burn a stick of incense.
Yet on such a joyous day, the Seventh Prince’s Mansion was not only not decorated with lanterns and streamers, but there wasn’t even a single servant waiting at the entrance to welcome them.
Qinghe couldn’t help but feel her eyes redden. “Miss…”
Before she could finish, Jiang Qingran said, “Lower the sedan.”
Then, she stepped out of the sedan chair on her own.
“Qinghe, go and break open the main gate.”
“Yes!”
Qinghe, already resentful on behalf of her mistress, was filled with pent-up anger.
Gripping her sword, she used eighty percent of her strength and with a loud “clang,” split the gate of the Seventh Prince’s Mansion in two.
The steward, Zhao Si, hurriedly came over with several guards.
“What are you doing?”
Qinghe lifted her head angrily. “I want to ask what the Seventh Prince’s Mansion is doing! The Seventh Princess Consort’s bridal sedan has arrived at the door. Why is there no one to welcome her?”
Zhao Si wore an arrogant expression, his face full of disdain.
“What Seventh Princess Consort? She’s just a discarded daughter. Since she’s here, why put on airs?”
Jiang Qingran lifted half of her red veil. Her voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally cold as she uttered two words.
“Slap him.”
As soon as she spoke, Qinghe swiftly slapped Zhao Si twice across the face with a “smack, smack!”
The servants of the Seventh Prince’s Mansion were caught off guard.
The Seventh Princess Consort appointed by the imperial decree was originally the Fourth Miss of the Chengxiangfu, the most favored daughter. Yet, for some unknown reason, she was replaced by the Fifth Miss, who had been discarded since childhood.
Logically, having just returned to the Imperial City, she should keep her head down. Why would she dare to act so arrogantly the moment she arrived at the Seventh Prince’s Mansion?
Zhao Si was even more incredulous.
“You… do you know who I am? I am Zhao Si, the steward of this Seventh Prince’s Mansion! A distant nephew, eighteen generations removed, of Huang Hou Niang Niang!”
The Seventh Prince was a good-for-nothing; the Seventh Prince’s Mansion was essentially under his control.
So what if she was the Seventh Princess Consort? If she dared to challenge him, he would make sure she couldn’t even get leftovers to eat.
Jiang Qingran narrowed her eyes. “No matter who you are, once you enter the Seventh Prince’s Mansion, you are a servant of this mansion. A servant who dares to bite their master has only one fate—death. Qinghe, kill him.”
“Yes, Miss!”
With a “thud,” a single sword stroke sealed his throat, and blood gushed forth.
“You… you…”
Zhao Si fell to the ground with a thud, his eyes wide with shock, unable to utter a single word.
Jiang Qingran smiled faintly, her beauty breathtakingly radiant, yet it sent a chill creeping up from the soles of one’s feet.
“Today is my wedding day. If any reckless servant dares to cause trouble again, they will be executed without mercy. This crimson blood will serve as a fitting tribute to Seventh Prince and me.”