“This?” Zhao E paused, turned back, and raised her hand to gently stroke her neck.
“Bitch!” Jiang Huaifu’s eyes were bloodshot as he struggled to break free from Ling Feng’s restraint.
No matter how much he loathed Zhao E, he could not endure such humiliation.
Zhao E had actually cuckolded him!
Zhao E returned to stand before him, bent down to examine him, her hand still resting on her neck, and sighed with infinite melancholy: “The land is right here—if you can’t plant it, does that mean no one else can?”
“You—!” Jiang Huaifu wished he could pounce and bite her to death.
“Accept your fate.” Zhao E raised the round fan in her hand and patted his face, then turned and strode away.
Back at Zhaoyang Yuan, she leaned close to the bronze mirror on the dressing table, casually pulled open her collar, and red marks were visible everywhere on her fair skin—below her ears, on her neck, her collarbone…
Zhou Yu, that beast—did he not get enough suckling as a child?
“Miss, what should we do?” Xiyu was deeply worried. “That Jiang Huaifu will surely find people to make a scene!”
The miss’s skin was fair, and these marks were far too obvious. There was no denying them at all—by any account, they were in the wrong.
“What is there to fear from him?” Xishi was straightforward by nature. “Worst comes to worst, we fall out. Who’s afraid of whom?”
“You make it sound so easy. If we fall out, the miss will have to leave the Fuguo Duke’s Residence—then how will she avenge the Madame?” Xiyu glared at her.
As the two argued endlessly, Ling Feng stood silently behind Zhao E without a word.
“Give me Guasha.” Zhao E pulled her collar open a bit wider.
“Good idea!” Xishi turned and ran. “This servant will go fetch the water buffalo horn board.”
Xiyu hurriedly brought sesame oil.
The two worked deftly and cooperated well. In but a moment, the red marks left by Guasha completely covered the traces Zhou Yu had left on Zhao E’s body.
Zhao E felt relieved and simply lay down on the soft couch, letting them scrape her back as well.
By the time they had carefully tidied Zhao E’s dress, clamorous voices came from outside.
“Miss, First Madame Jiang and the son-in-law have come in—this servant could not stop them…”
The maids guarding the gate ran in panic to report.
Before the words had even faded, Jiang Wang-shi and Jiang Huaifu charged in aggressively together.
Accompanying them were Jiang Huaifu’s aunt, Jiang Chen-shi, and a crowd of servants.
Zhao E went to greet them, her apricot-blossom eyes curving into a smile as she gave a light curtsy. “Mother-in-law, Aunt.”
The three people’s gazes fell upon her neck in unison.
Zhao E’s lips curved into a small arc as she looked at them with a half-smile, the rouge round fan in her hand swaying gently—unhurried and at ease, utterly without fear.
Jiang Huaifu had come full of fury. Now, seeing that the marks on Zhao E’s neck were different from before, he naturally could not hold back and was about to explode on the spot.
Jiang Wang-shi grabbed him and scrutinized Zhao E with sharp eyes. “Your neck—how did that happen?”
She was, after all, the matriarch of the Fuguo Duke’s Residence. She naturally had cunning and methods, and knew that everything required a proper justification.
At present, the marks on Zhao E’s neck were not enough to support her taking action.
“This—could Mother-in-law not tell?” Zhao E’s fair fingertips brushed over the red marks on her neck, and a hint of grievance appeared in her apricot eyes. “Does Mother-in-law believe Huaifu’s drunken words?”
As she spoke, she lightly glanced at the Second Madame, Jiang Chen-shi, who was watching the spectacle from the side.
“This is obviously from Guasha.” Jiang Chen-shi immediately spoke up. “I said before we came—how could my niece-in-law be that kind of person?
Zhanwen, this is clearly you seeing things after drinking and wrongly accusing your niece-in-law.”
She had long been unable to stand Jiang Wang-shi’s daily displays of authority, and she was quite happy to see the eldest branch of the family at odds.
Besides, Zhao E had privately sent her no small amount of gifts.
“I…” Jiang Huaifu was about to argue back.
“Zhanwen indeed misread the situation.” Jiang Wang-shi once again pulled Jiang Huaifu back, casting a deep glance at Zhao E. “It’s getting late. Best to rest early.”
With that, she forcibly dragged Jiang Huaifu away.
“Aunt, I feel so wronged…” Zhao E stepped forward, clutching Jiang Chen-shi’s sleeve, her apricot eyes welling with tears, looking pitiful and delicate. “I’m merely a bit playful. How could Huaifu and Mother-in-law wrong me like that? How could I have such audacity…”
“I understand, I understand. You’re a good girl.” Jiang Chen-shi patted her hand gently to comfort her. “Zhanwen had too much to drink and spoke nonsense. Don’t take it to heart…”
“Aunt, my heart aches so…” Zhao E covered her face with her wide sleeve, stealing a glance at her, and began to sob. “Huaifu is impotent, and his heart is bitter. It’s only natural for him to take it out on me. But who can understand my suffering…”
“What?” Jiang Chen-shi was greatly shocked upon hearing this. “You mustn’t say such things carelessly.”
If what Zhao E said was true, and the eldest branch had no heir, wouldn’t her opportunity have come?
She was, after all, the second madam of the Fuguo Duke’s Residence, yet ever since she married in, Jiang Wang-shi had managed the household. In all these years, she had borne three sons, yet couldn’t even scrape together a bit of private savings.
Even for a casual snack on ordinary days, she needed Jiang Wang-shi’s approval. Her life was utterly miserable.
And at this moment, Zhao E had already collapsed crying onto the couch, “choking on her sobs.”
Xiyu stepped forward and explained the details to her in private.
Jiang Chen-shi was secretly delighted. She pretended to comfort Zhao E a few more times, then couldn’t wait to take her leave.
“Miss, they’ve gone far.” Xishi reminded her with a smile.
Zhao E immediately stopped crying and lifted her head. There was not a trace of tears on that lush, ravishing little face.
She looked toward the main gate, let out a scoff, and casually tossed the round fan in her hand to one side. “Bring water.”
Let them fight, let them scheme. She would see the Fuguo Duke’s Residence rot from within.
Once the core was corrupted, it was only a matter of time before even the greatest family crumbled.
After bathing and drinking a calming decoction, she closed her eyes and slept.
＊
The moment Jiang Huaifu left Zhaoyang Yuan, he stamped his feet in fury. “Mother, why won’t you believe me? I did drink, but I’m not blind!”
That wretch Zhao E—if he weren’t ill, he would have pinned her to the bed and tormented her ruthlessly!
When he married her, aside from her money, wasn’t it also for her looks?
Now he only hated that his body was failing him, useless at this critical moment.
“When have I ever not believed you?” Jiang Wang-shi held his wrist. “Calm down. She’s already destroyed the evidence. If we press the matter forcefully, we won’t have right on our side. How could we deal with her then?”
“Are we just to let her live so freely?”
Such a humiliating disgrace—Jiang Huaifu could not endure it!
His rather handsome features had already become somewhat distorted.
“What’s your hurry? Wasn’t everything already discussed?” Jiang Wang-shi consoled him. “What matters now is getting our hands on her money and shops to fill that hole for your father.
Once she’s pregnant with Jiang Cheng’s child and the things are in our hands, it won’t be too late to deal with her.”
Jiang Cheng was Jiang Huaifu’s younger half-brother, born of a concubine.
Jiang Huaifu knew she had a point, but he was truly too angry to accept it. He stiffened his neck and said nothing.
“Could it be you’ve developed feelings for her?” Jiang Wang-shi provoked him. “You don’t want Jiang Cheng to touch her anymore?”
“Ah, if only you weren’t ill, I’d rather the child were your own flesh and blood. That little wench may be wanton, but her looks are indeed not bad…”