Seeing this, Yuanzheng had no choice but to open the visiting card and carefully place it on the table.
Qiyin hadn’t been in the manor for the past few days, so he hadn’t heard about this Miss Jiang. Hearing the name, he craned his neck over. “Miss Jiang? Young Master, Miss Jiang is inviting you for a spring outing in the suburbs… Wait? Isn’t that place right near Mincui Mountain?”
Xie Yunian scowled and glanced over.
The visiting card lay quietly on the desk. The calligraphy was elegant, and the start and finish of every stroke were particularly exquisite.
A delicate, flowing seal script.
Although this Miss Jiang’s behavior was somewhat wanton, her handwriting was quite good.
Meanwhile, Qiyin had finally been caught up on the events of the past few days by Yuanzheng. His eyes immediately widened. “This, this Miss Jiang is so bold?”
“Does she like our Young Master?” Qiyin whispered.
Yuanzheng spoke with a pretense of seriousness. “Isn’t that right? She even knew our Young Master had a waist injury, and after seeing him wake up, her tears of excitement simply wouldn’t stop.”
“I see,” Qiyin suddenly understood. “This Miss Jiang is utterly devoted. She must have been secretly watching our Young Master for a long time.”
“…Stop talking. I have nothing to do with her.”
Listening to the two of them getting increasingly carried away, Xie Yunian’s expression darkened further.
“Um…” Yuanzheng looked at Xie Yunian and tentatively asked softly, “Should I go reject the card then?”
“Wait.”
Xie Yunian’s fingers lightly tapped the desk, producing a crisp sound.
“Go reply to the Miss Jiang,” he paused, then continued, “I accept the invitation for the spring outing.”
“Y-Yes, yes, I’ll go right now,” Yuanzheng quickly nodded and withdrew.
Before leaving, he didn’t forget to give Qiyin a meaningful look: See? I told you there was something going on between them.
“…”
Xie Yunian’s face was as gloomy as it could be. He expressionlessly tightened his grip on the jade pendant in his hand.
It looked as though it might land on someone’s head at any moment.
Xie Yunian glanced at Qiyin, who was still in the room.
Qiyin looked at Xie Yunian, then at the window outside.
“Go stop Yuanzheng. Tell him not to go yet, but to wait until the last day,” Xie Yunian reached up and massaged the bridge of his nose.
“Why is that?” Qiyin was a little confused.
“To see what scheme this Miss Jiang is actually up to.”
“You want to catch Miss Jiang completely off guard!?”
Xie Yunian let out a cold snort.
Qiyin gave him a thumbs-up. “As expected, Young Master’s methods are brilliant! You can go to Mincui Mountain openly and still win over the beauty, win over the beau—” I’ll take my leave!”
Xie Yunian shot him a look.
“Scram.”
Regarding money matters, Nanny Chu’s hands and feet were swift.
That day, while Jiang Yao was eating breakfast, Chunlan brought the news.
Chunlan had been secretly monitoring Nanny Chu’s every move for the past few days. Early this morning, while pouring water, she caught a glimpse of Nanny Chu sneaking out of the private vault and knew the time was right.
“Miss,” her voice was tinged with urgency, “Nanny Chu went to the private vault this morning.”
Jiang Yao paused with her chopsticks. “The fish has arrived.”
“What should we do next? Should we just arrest her?” Chunlan asked.
Jiang Yao’s fingers lightly tapped the table, seemingly thinking about something. “It’s no use if we arrest her. We need to make the people behind her pay a price too.”
She stood up, her voice calm.
“Let’s go. It’s time to pay our respects to Grandmother today.”
Nanny Chu’s steps were hurried as she passed through the corridor, constantly glancing left and right.
Just as she was about to step out of the courtyard gate, a cool voice sounded behind her. “Nanny Chu, where are you going?”
Nanny Chu’s body shuddered violently. She slowly turned around and saw Jiang Yao.
Jiang Yao’s expression was calm, as if she were merely asking a casual question.
Nanny Chu forced a smile onto her face. “Miss gave my grandson a longevity lock a couple of days ago. Today is his full month birthday, and I was thinking of going back to put it on him myself. Don’t worry, Miss, I’ll be back soon.”
Jiang Yao slowly walked closer, her gaze falling on the bundle Nanny Chu was clutching tightly. “Is that so? Is such a small thing worth such a large bundle?”
Nanny Chu subconsciously hid the bundle closer to her chest. “This also contains the fabrics Miss usually gives me. I planned to take them back with me too.”
“I see. However, Nanny, wait a little longer before you leave. I need to go to the Quiet Grace Hall. Come with me, Nanny.”
Jiang Yao spoke unhurriedly, seemingly ignoring the guilt on Nanny Chu’s face.
Nanny Chu’s smile gradually faded. She was intimidated by the Old Madam Jiang, and the most urgent task was to smuggle the jewelry out of her embrace first.
“Miss, ask Chunlan and the other young maids to accompany you instead.”
Jiang Yao’s eyes gradually reddened. She lowered her head and tugged on Nanny Chu’s sleeve. “Nanny, you must come with me. I need to clarify this matter and seek justice for my mother!”
In the courtyard of the Quiet Grace Hall, Old Madam Jiang was lying on a soft chair, basking in the sun.
Yuzhu sat beside her, gently massaging the Old Madam’s legs, her movements skilled and the pressure just right.
A nanny wearing a gray vest walked over quietly. She approached Old Madam Jiang, bowed, and respectfully said, “Old Madam, the Third Miss has come to pay her respects.”
Her surname was Fang, and she was Old Madam Jiang’s maid who accompanied her as part of her dowry years ago.
Old Madam Jiang slowly opened her eyes, a hint of surprise in her expression. “The third girl?”
Nanny Fang nodded. “She’s standing just outside the courtyard.”
A flicker of anticipation and complexity crossed Old Madam Jiang’s gaze. “Ask her to come in.”
Jiang Yao entered and first performed a courtesy. “Grandmother is well. Your granddaughter has come to pay her respects.”
“Mm, sit down,” Old Madam Jiang put down the prayer beads in her hand and asked Yuzhu to serve tea to Jiang Yao.
Jiang Yao did not sit.
Nanny Chu, who was following behind, curled her lip into a smile, waiting to see Jiang Yao argue with Old Madam Jiang.
She understood best that even the deepest affection would be worn away by repeated arguments.
This was how Nanny Chu had dealt with her own young daughter-in-law.
That vile woman actually didn’t allow her youngest son to take concubines, causing him to have few descendants. It was fortunate that she finally gave birth to a son before she died, otherwise, Nanny Chu wouldn’t have let that vile woman enter the ancestral grave.
While Nanny Chu was musing, she suddenly realized that the atmosphere in the courtyard felt wrong.
She looked up and found that everyone’s attention was focused on her.
What was going on!?
“Grandmother, Nanny Chu said that you harmed your granddaughter’s birth mother…”
Mid-sentence, Jiang Yao’s eyes instantly reddened. “You treat your granddaughter so well! Although your granddaughter doesn’t believe this, I didn’t dare get close to Grandmother anymore. Now, after being gravely ill, your granddaughter has understood many things…”
Listening to her, Old Madam Jiang narrowed her eyes and looked straight at Nanny Chu.