As soon as Jiang Jingyi spoke, Ji Qiuyang had already turned back, glaring at her in anger as if accusing her of breaking her promise.
Jiang Jingyi grinned mischievously, “If you keep glaring, I really will regret it.”
Her gaze made Ji Qiuyang uncomfortable. He quickly averted his eyes, steadied himself, and left Jiang Jingyi’s line of sight.
Jiang Jingyi thought about the trouble from the previous day and felt a headache coming on. Forcing herself on him was one thing, but to be caught in the act? Given how gossipy those women were, she’d surely be pointed at and whispered about the moment she stepped out of the Ji household. She didn’t mind others’ opinions, but she feared that Ji Qiuyang, a scholar who valued his reputation, would despise her even more.
Why hadn’t they locked the door!
As her mind wandered, the door was pushed open, and a young maid of about fourteen or fifteen entered. Seeing that Jiang Jingyi was already up, she dropped to her knees with a thud. “Miss, Yingtao was wrong.”
Jiang Jingyi looked at the frightened girl and sighed inwardly. This was Yingtao, the only maid the original host had brought as dowry. In the original story, the girl was pitiful—as the original host’s sole dowry maid, she endured not only beatings and scoldings but was eventually sold off on suspicion of trying to climb into the master’s bed.
Given Jiang Jingyi’s experience reading many historical romance novels, the fate of a maid sold off likely wouldn’t be a good one.
However, judging by Ji Qiuyang’s demeanor, even a beauty like her couldn’t spark his interest, let alone Yingtao, who was the maid of a woman he despised. Even if someone as stunning as Xi Shi or Diao Chan were placed beside Ji Qiuyang’s pillow, he’d probably chase them away.
Now that she had become that shrewish, spiteful, and malicious woman, she couldn’t suddenly change her ways without arousing suspicion. She nodded and said, “Find me something to wear. Something pretty.”
Yingtao scrambled up, curtsied, and hurried over to the trunks to rummage through them. She pulled out a thin, rose-red, narrow-sleeved dress. The garment was festive, suiting both the original host’s taste and her status as a new bride.
Truth be told, the original host’s preferences weren’t too different from her own, she also liked brightly colored clothes.
With Yingtao’s help, Jiang Jingyi changed into the dress and waited for the maid to fetch water for washing. She initially thought about applying makeup but reconsidered, as it was already early summer and the weather was hot. The cosmetics of this era weren’t waterproof, so she restrained herself, only applying some moisturizing oil.
Yingtao looked puzzled when she didn’t put on any makeup. “Miss, no makeup today?”
Jiang Jingyi shook her head. “No.” If she sweated and her makeup started streaking, it would be a terrifying sight.
With that, she picked up the bronze mirror on the table and finally got a good look at her current face.
An oval face, peach-blossom eyes, full lips, and skin as white as snow. Paired with naturally straight brows, she looked quite dashing when she wasn’t smiling or speaking. But when she smiled, the corners of her lips lifted slightly, revealing a seductive charm. The two contrasting expressions didn’t clash at all; instead, they created a unique allure.
Good—her face was still hers, just reverted from her twenties back to her teens, with skin in impeccable condition.
Jiang Jingyi was satisfied. At least she was still a beauty.
When it came to hairstyling, however, she was clueless. Fortunately, Yingtao was there. Though young, the girl was quite skilled, deftly styling her hair into a married woman’s bun and adorning it with a golden hairpin.
“Miss, it’s done,” Yingtao said, stepping back and standing to the side, worried she might be scolded or hit if her work wasn’t satisfactory.
Jiang Jingyi tilted her head and examined her reflection in the mirror. Not bad. She nodded in approval. “It’s quite nice.”
Yingtao instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Jingyi stood up and surveyed the room’s furnishings, concluding that the family was quite poor. However, the few trunks were rather nice—likely the original host’s dowry.
“Open the trunks,” she said. Troops march on their supplies. She needed to know how much she was worth now.
But the results were disappointing. Aside from the ready-made clothes and decent fabrics, the rest of the dowry was rather shabby. Even an amateur like her could tell that the paintings, calligraphy, and antiques tucked away at the bottom weren’t valuable. The rest was a mishmash of worthless items, and even the gold and silver jewelry looked dated. Judging by the luster, they were likely gold-plated rather than solid gold.
In short, it was a bit pitiful.
Yet, as far as she knew, the Jiang family were well-known wealthy landowners in the town. Her father was a landlord with considerable assets. There was no way the dowry prepared for the legitimate daughter should be this shabby.
And the original host’s mother, who had died early, was from a wealthy family in Qingshui County. Her dowry must have been substantial.
So, where were her mother’s dowry and the dowry that rightfully belonged to her?
Jiang Jingyi wasn’t a saint, but she didn’t like taking advantage of others either. That didn’t mean she’d let others take advantage of her.
With a calm expression, Jiang Jingyi instructed Yingtao to close the trunks and turned to ask her, “Did Madam Ma embezzle my dowry?”
Yingtao was instantly taken aback. Thinking their young lady had finally come to her senses, she quickly nodded, “Not only your dowry, but even the dowry that should have belonged to the late mistress was taken too. However…”
“However what?” Jiang Jingyi was displeased by her hesitation. “Don’t tell me I voluntarily gave it away?”
As soon as she finished speaking, she saw the complicated expression on Yingtao’s face. Jiang Jingyi’s expression darkened immediately, unsure whether to blame the original host for her foolishness or Madam Ma for her greed. While it was pitiful that the original host had been raised to be sharp-tongued and malicious by Madam Ma, she was still sixteen or seventeen, not a child, and shouldn’t have made such a foolish mistake.
She thought back and realized that the original host’s father had been against this marriage. Yet, the original host had schemed against Ji Qiuyang on her own. Displeased with his daughter, the father had allowed the stepmother to arrange the wedding. The stepmother, Madam Ma, had used the marriage as leverage. In her infatuation and eagerness to marry the man she loved, the original host had impulsively handed over the dowry that rightfully belonged to her to Madam Ma.
Jiang Jingyi was far from happy. She had no intention of living in poverty. She needed to get that dowry back.
Seeing her displeasure, Yingtao quickly shrunk back, “This servant… this servant will go help the mistress with cooking.”
Jiang Jingyi didn’t stop her, waving her off dismissively. She sat on the bed, sighing deeply.
What was the point of the heavens giving her such a terrible hand? Was it to have her save the big bad villain or simply to make things difficult for her?
Unable to come up with an answer, Jiang Jingyi stood up, pulled the door open, and stepped outside. Before her was a small farmyard. She was standing at the entrance to the west wing. Facing her were three main rooms, with two wing rooms on each side. The west wing currently housed her and Ji Qiuyang, with the other room used for storage. The east wing housed Ji Qiuyang’s family, while the other room served as the kitchen. To the south of the courtyard was an enclosure housing more than twenty chickens of various sizes.
At that moment, an old woman and a girl of about sixteen or seventeen stood by the chicken coop, whispering to each other. Hearing the noise, they turned to look in her direction.
The looks in their eyes were unfriendly. Jiang Jingyi made a mental note but also knew these people weren’t her mother-in-law or sister-in-law, so she ignored them.
The young girl curled her lip and said, “She’s nothing special. What does she have besides a rich family?”
“Hua, enough,” the old woman scolded Yu Cuihua, but her eyes remained full of venom as she glared at Jiang Jingyi, as if Jiang Jingyi had stolen her family’s money.
Jiang Jingyi glanced back at Yu Cuihua with a smile, “Besides a rich family, I also have a pretty face. Do you?”
Her face was naturally well-maintained and delicate, her features enchanting. Even with a mischievous smile playing on her lips, she was radiantly beautiful. Not just men, even a woman of Yu Granny’s age couldn’t help but feel a tremor in her chest. What kind of man wouldn’t be captivated by such a sight?
Yu Cuihua was stunned for a moment before bursting into tears, “Mother!” Looking up and seeing Ji Qiuyang approaching, Yu Cuihua hurried over to stand beside him, complaining in a coquettish tone, “Brother Qiuyang, look at her! She called me ugly.”
Ji Qiuyang glanced at Jiang Jingyi, who seemed completely unbothered, then at Yu Cuihua, who was crying so hard she was gasping for breath, clearly putting on an act. He said coldly, “Did she say anything untrue?”
Yu Cuihua’s crying abruptly stopped. Jiang Jingyi burst into laughter.
Flushing bright red, Yu Cuihua covered her face and ran off. Old Woman Yu glared with her triangular eyes, gritting her teeth as she said, “No wonder I heard people say you two were undressing in the room before it was even dark yesterday. So, it’s true!”
With that, Old Woman Yu sneered at Ji Qiuyang, spat, and said, “And you call yourself a scholar? Shameless. My Cuihua is so much better. In every way, she’s better than this woman. I curse you, Ji Qiuyang, to remain a mere scholar for the rest of your life!”
After delivering this tirade, the old woman snorted and stalked off.
Jiang Jingyi wasn’t bothered by the old woman’s harsh words. Instead, her eyes sparkled as she looked at Ji Qiuyang and asked, “Were you telling the truth? Do you also think I’m beautiful?”
Ji Qiuyang turned and went back into the house without a word. Jiang Jingyi laughed from behind, “Scholar Ji has excellent taste. I think so too.”
Lady Yun and Ji Linxia came out of the kitchen carrying the food. When they saw Jiang Jingyi’s face clearly, their eyes filled with admiration. Lady Yun said, “Sister-in-law, come inside for the meal. Don’t take Yu Cuihua and her mother’s words to heart. That mother and daughter are no good.”
Jiang Jingyi acknowledged her and glanced at Ji Linxia. Thinking of Ji Qiuyang, she felt that the heavens were quite skilled at creating people, both siblings were exceptionally good-looking.
Entering the house, Old Lady Ji emerged from the inner room, smiling as she saw Jiang Jingyi and inviting her to sit down for the meal. The whole family gathered around the table for breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of a porridge made with leftover meat from the previous day, along with dishes that were mostly leftovers from yesterday’s banquet, except for a freshly prepared cucumber salad. Jiang Jingyi took a bite and found the dishes too greasy, so she picked at the cucumber instead.
The fact that Jiang Jingyi simply ate more cucumber made Old Lady Ji even more anxious, fearing that she might flip the table if she was dissatisfied.
In reality, at yesterday’s wedding banquet, Jiang Jingyi had already overturned the table over the meal the Ji family had prepared for her. Her excuse, naturally, was that the Ji family had served her unappetizing, poorly made food fit only for pigs.
However, Jiang Jingyi had no memory of the original host causing such a scene in front of the entire village yesterday.
Yingtao knew about it, but she wasn’t present at the moment. Even if she had been, given her understanding of her mistress’s temper, she wouldn’t have dared to mention it to Jiang Jingyi.
Unaware that a simple meal could cause such unease, Jiang Jingyi ate her fill, stood up with a smile, and said cheerfully, “I’m finished. Please continue.”
With that, she headed outside. Hearing the commotion, Yingtao quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks and hurried out of her room to attend to Jiang Jingyi.
Once Jiang Jingyi was out of sight, the atmosphere in the room finally relaxed a little.
Ji Qiuyang’s expression wasn’t as grim as before. Old Lady Ji couldn’t help but comfort him, “She doesn’t seem that bad. Perhaps yesterday she was just unaccustomed and acted out. Since you’re married now, you’re husband and wife. In all matters, be a little more accommodating to her.”
Ji Qiuyang responded absentmindedly, making it unclear whether he had taken her words to heart.
He couldn’t help but think about their agreement. Given her current behavior, he found it hard to believe that the two of them could coexist peacefully in the days to come. If it were just him, it wouldn’t matter, but he had a mother, an elder brother, and a sister-in-law who had sacrificed for him. If he left home for days to study, he wouldn’t be around, but if Jiang Jingyi had merely been deceiving him last night, his family would have to face her shrewish and malicious nature in his absence.
He knew the Ji family’s temperament all too well. If they ever crossed paths with Jiang Jingyi, they would undoubtedly suffer. Earlier, he had merely suggested sending Yingtao back to the Jiang family as a test, and Jiang Jingyi had immediately shut him down. Who knew what would happen after he left?
Feeling troubled, Ji Qiuyang finished his breakfast hastily and prepared to return to his room to review his studies.
As he was about to leave, Old Lady Ji said, “You should explain the situation with Yu Cuihua and her mother to your wife to avoid any unpleasant encounters in the future. The Yu family isn’t easy to deal with. Don’t let them affect your relationship as husband and wife.”
Ji Qiuyang paused, his brows furrowing slightly. It was hard to tell whether he had taken her words to heart.
But he had forgotten—now that he was married, there was another person in the room. When he returned, he saw Jiang Jingyi fiddling with something in front of the mirror.
Ji Qiuyang immediately felt a headache coming on.
Originally, Jiang Jingyi had been sitting in front of the bronze mirror, admiring her own appearance. Hearing someone enter, she turned to look at Ji Qiuyang and then gave him a radiant smile. “Am I beautiful?”
**