Before leaving, Shen Yihuan secretly shot Jiang Lanxin a provocative look, looking every bit like the scheming female villain from a movie.
Jiang Lanxin immediately trembled with rage.
She knew it! Shen Yihuan had deliberately framed her!
She opened her mouth to wail, but Liu Guiying was quicker. She clamped a hand over Jiang Lanxin’s mouth and dragged her toward the house.
That foolish girl! Didn’t she have any sense at all? Couldn’t she see there were still so many villagers outside watching the commotion?
After today, who knew what kind of gossip would spread through the village about the Jiang family’s sister-in-law and younger sister-in-law being at odds?
Shen Yihuan simply wanted Jiang Lanxin to experience how devious people could be.
So after returning to their room, she frankly explained everything to Jiang Changfeng. Jiang Lanxin had indeed pushed her, but she had intentionally fallen.
Jiang Changfeng felt she would have been better off saying nothing. The explanation only made him realize more clearly that Shen Yihuan simply didn’t care about him.
That was why she could be so open about it—completely fearless.
Her eyes practically said, Think I’m vicious? Then why don’t you consider divorcing me?
Jiang Changfeng felt a dull ache in his heart, but he stubbornly replied, “Lanxin pushed you. She was also at fault. I’ll apologize to you on her behalf.”
Shen Yihuan waved her hand dismissively. “No need to apologize. We’re even.”
Jiang Lanxin had pushed her, and she had falsely accused Jiang Lanxin. That settled the score.
Still worried, Jiang Changfeng asked, “Is your waist really alright?”
“I’m fine. I was just sore from sitting in the carriage for so long. A little rest and I’ll be okay.”
As she spoke, Shen Yihuan climbed onto the bed and flopped down, waving a hand grandly.
“Go check on your sister. Don’t worry about me.”
Seeing how indifferent she looked only made Jiang Changfeng feel worse. With a gloomy expression, he left the room.
In the east room, Jiang Lanxin had barely calmed down after Liu Guiying’s combination of stern discipline and gentle comfort.
Deep down, she knew she had been in the wrong today.
If she didn’t take the opportunity to let things go while she had an excuse, once her father came home, she’d be punished with copying calligraphy again.
The mere thought of practicing calligraphy made her shudder.
She’d rather take a beating than write characters.
Silently, Jiang Changfeng carried the grain from the courtyard into the kitchen before going to find Jiang Lanxin.
She was still sulking and didn’t greet him warmly when he entered.
Jiang Changfeng placed a box of mung bean cakes on the table in front of her. Her eyes lit up slightly, only to hear him say,
“Your sister-in-law bought these for you.”
The corners of Jiang Lanxin’s mouth instantly drooped.
“Who wants them?” she huffed.
Jiang Changfeng frowned.
“Why do you have such a problem with your sister-in-law?”
Feeling aggrieved on his behalf, Jiang Lanxin said, “She’s a petty woman. You and Sister Qinghe were obviously supposed to be together.”
Jiang Changfeng knitted his brows tightly.
“Who told you that? There’s absolutely nothing between Ye Qinghe and me.”
“How is that possible?” Jiang Lanxin’s eyes widened in shock. “Weren’t you childhood sweethearts? Weren’t you already in love and secretly promised to marry each other?”
Jiang Changfeng’s expression darkened.
“Who filled your head with such nonsense? Over all these years, Ye Qinghe and I haven’t even exchanged more than a few words. Don’t ever say something like that again. It would be terrible if your sister-in-law heard it.”
Jiang Lanxin’s mouth fell open into a perfect ‘O,’ her eyes filled with confusion.
But… that wasn’t what Sister Qinghe had told her.
Seeing her reaction, Jiang Changfeng immediately understood.
Ye Qinghe must have said something that gave her this mistaken impression.
Feeling it was necessary to clear things up, he spoke seriously.
“Lanxin, listen carefully. I have never, not even for a moment, had romantic feelings for Ye Qinghe, nor have I ever done anything inappropriate with her.
Marrying your sister-in-law was me marrying above my station.
I love her, and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.
You don’t have to like her, but you must respect her, because she is your eldest sister-in-law.”
Jiang Lanxin felt as though five thunderbolts had struck her at once. Her mind buzzed uncontrollably.
Everything her brother had said completely contradicted everything she had believed.
And hearing him solemnly confess that he loved Shen Yihuan shocked her even more.
She felt both envious and heartbroken.
After a long silence, she lowered her head, her nose stinging, and whispered,
“I understand.”
After a moment’s thought, Jiang Changfeng reached out and gently patted her head.
“You’ll understand someday. Your sister-in-law is really a good person.”
But Jiang Lanxin wasn’t comforted at all.
She felt miserable.
Part of it was anger at being deceived by Ye Qinghe. The other part was the bittersweet realization that she would no longer be the little sister her eldest brother cherished most.
…
Before long, the courtyard fell quiet.
Jiang Lanxin stayed shut in her room, questioning everything she thought she knew about life, while Liu Guiying prepared dinner in the kitchen.
Shen Yihuan locked her bedroom door and entered her private space.
She first relaxed comfortably in the massage chair before heading up to the rooftop terrace to inspect the treasures stored in the camphorwood chest.
Gold ingots, silver ingots, agate, jade, jewelry…
After looking through everything, Shen Yihuan could only curse the evils of the wealthy.
She also felt even more strongly that Father Shen and Madam Li were utterly despicable.
They were sitting on a fortune, yet they had treated the original Shen Yihuan like an enemy.
They had enough gold and jewels to last generations. Would it really have hurt them to treat her a little better?
Feeling indignant on behalf of the original owner of this body, Shen Yihuan angrily ate several popsicles before finally calming herself down.
Forget it.
She had already emptied most of the Shen family’s valuables anyway, so she considered it revenge on the original owner’s behalf.
Don’t be angry. Don’t be angry.
She comforted herself as she wandered into the yard.
She found that the chili peppers, eggplants, water spinach, and amaranth she had planted earlier were all ripe, so she harvested them and stored them in the kitchen.
Then she leveled all four garden plots and planted them entirely with sweet potatoes.
Why sweet potatoes?
Because she’d read too many novels.
She became so absorbed in her work that she lost track of time. When she finally came to her senses, it was already getting late, so she hurriedly left her private space.
The moment she came out, she heard someone pounding loudly on the bedroom door.
Outside, Jiang Changfeng was anxiously shouting,
“Yihuan! Are you asleep?”
He was worried she had fainted because her body was still weak. Otherwise, after knocking for so long, why hadn’t she answered?
Shen Yihuan quickly called back,
“I’m awake! I’m awake!”
Jiang Changfeng visibly relaxed. Had she still not responded, he had been prepared to break the door down.
“It’s good that you’re alright. Take your time. There’s no rush.”
Shen Yihuan checked herself to make sure nothing seemed out of place before opening the door.
Jiang Changfeng looked her over twice. Seeing that her complexion was rosy and she showed no signs of illness, the worry weighing on his heart finally disappeared.
“How’s your waist feeling now?”
“Much better. It’s completely fine now.”
“Then let’s go have dinner.”
As usual, Shen Yihuan headed toward the kitchen to help carry the dishes.
But as she crossed the courtyard, she noticed something unusual.
The chickens were clucking nonstop and refused to return to their coop. Dogs throughout the village were barking one after another. Looking up, she could see swallows darting wildly through the sky as though frightened.
After taking only a couple of steps, a rat suddenly darted out from nowhere and scampered right across the top of her foot.
“Ahhh!”
Shen Yihuan jumped nearly three feet into the air in fright.