Сhарtеr 5: Воnds
The girl mоvеd саutiоusly, her voiсе soft and timid.
Sоaked thrоugh аnd сhillеd, hеr vоicе саrriеd a slight nasаl tone, sounding soft аnd gеntle.
“Тhаnk уоu, еlder brоthеr, fоr saving Chuеr tоdaу. I will wash your сloаk clean аnd return it tо yоu.”
“Тhe weаther is so cоld, аnd еldеr brother gоt соmрletelу wet sаving me… Chuеr is truly gratеful.”
Jiang Yanсhuan couldn’t hеlр but рausе.
Lоoking at the girl bеforе him, hеr eyеs were сleаr аnd bright, рossеssing an innoсencе untоuсhed by worldly affairs.
In her gazе, thеre was a faint hint оf lоnging and depеndеnce toward him, her elder brother. Yet she dared not draw closer to him, nor speak more intimately, only offering thanks.
They were full siblings, born of the same father and mother, and should have been each other’s closest kin in this world. Yet, this sister of his had committed the disgraceful act of theft.
Jiang Yanchuan’s expression was complex, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
In the end, he only said, “You too, hurry back to bathe and change,” before turning and striding away.
Yet after he turned, the look in the girl’s eyes from moments ago faintly surfaced before him once more.
With the house arrest lifted, Jiang Chuji took Fuling back to Plum Fragrance Courtyard to pack her belongings, preparing to return to Yilan Courtyard.
Meanwhile, over at Fanghua Courtyard on the other side of the Chancellor’s Manor, the atmosphere was oppressive.
Concubine Zhou’s face was dark as she waved her hand, signaling the servants to leave. The maids and attendants trembled as they withdrew.
As the bedroom door creaked shut, Jiang Luowei could no longer maintain her previous gentle and graceful demeanor, clenching her hands tightly. “Mother, what exactly is going on?”
Jiang Luowei’s delicate face was tinged with jealousy.
Though she was a concubine-born daughter of the Chancellor’s Manor, Chen Shi had been imprisoned in the old residence and tortured for adultery, while her own mother was the one cherished in her father’s heart, holding a status equal to that of the principal wife.
For years, she had been her father’s most beloved daughter, with food, clothing, and provisions all meeting the standards of a legitimate daughter. When others spoke of the Chancellor’s Manor’s young lady, the first to come to mind was always Jiang Luowei.
If not for The Empress’s decree that all noble daughters in the capital who turned fifteen this year would have their coming-of-age ceremonies held in the palace alongside Princess Wenyan, the Chancellor’s Manor would not have brought Jiang Chuji back from the temple.
Though called a coming-of-age ceremony, it was actually The Empress’s way of selecting a suitable future Crown Princess from among the capital’s noble daughters.
This was the opportunity Jiang Luowei had been waiting for day and night, and she was determined to seize it.
When Jiang Chuji first returned to the manor, her plain appearance and inferior, timid demeanor had filled Jiang Luowei with a sense of superiority, and she hadn’t considered Jiang Chuji a rival at all.
Yet in just a few months, the Jiang Chuji who appeared tonight seemed like a completely different person. Her stunning beauty and flawless skin even surpassed Jiang Luowei’s own.
If Jiang Chuji were to appear at the palace coming-of-age ceremony looking like this, she would undoubtedly captivate everyone at once, even overshadowing Jiang Luowei.
“Mother, didn’t you have someone slip that Western Region Gu Insect into Jiang Chuji’s meal on the very first night she was placed under house arrest?”
Jiang Luowei bit her lip. “Why hasn’t Jiang Chuji grown fat as a pig? Instead, her figure is so slender and graceful?”
“Now, Father has lifted her house arrest early, and Grandmother’s opinion of her has also improved. Everything we did before has been in vain.”
Concubine Zhou was equally puzzled.
She had sent people to monitor the movements in Plum Fragrance Courtyard every day.Over the past three months, Jiang Chuji had been eating several times more than an ordinary woman at each meal—clearly the Gu Worm was taking effect. So how could she have ended up like this?
She took a deep breath and could only comfort her daughter for now: “Don’t worry, Mother will naturally get to the bottom of this.”
Yilan Courtyard.
Yilan Courtyard was the courtyard Concubine Zhou had arranged for the original host when she first returned to the Chancellor’s Manor.
This concubine had always been skilled at putting on a show, maintaining a reputation for magnanimity and a compassionate heart. The courtyard she arranged for Jiang Chuji was even better than the one for her own daughter.
The courtyard was lush with plants and flowers, the bedroom spacious and bright, its decor showcasing the elegance and luxury of the Chancellor’s Manor.
After returning to her bedroom, Jiang Chuji’s first task was to have hot water prepared for a bath.
She sat quietly in the bathtub, enveloped in the rising steam. Yet, there was no expression on her face, only a coldness lingering between her brows.
The autumn lake water had been bone-chillingly cold. Having soaked in it for so long, she wasn’t about to let it go just because her confinement was lifted early or because the Jiang family’s opinion of her had slightly improved.
She hadn’t yet dealt with the person who framed her, got her confined, and tried to ruin her with poison.
After her bath, Jiang Chuji sat on the bed, her eyes slightly closed, cheeks flushed.
When Fuling came in and saw her, she instinctively reached out to touch her forehead and was startled to find it burning hot.
“Miss, you have a fever. I’ll go report to the master right away and have him call a doctor for you,” Fuling said anxiously.
But Jiang Chuji opened her eyes, her gaze clear: “Do I look like I have a fever?”
Fuling was taken aback: “What do you mean, look like… Miss, aren’t you running a fever?”
“No, I was just testing something. I took a medicine that raises body temperature and induces sweating.”
“Since it looks no different from a fever, I’ll maintain this state first thing tomorrow morning.”
In her modern life, Jiang Chuji had been a dazzling, widely admired star. She valued maintaining her face and body above all else, but unlike other female celebrities who preferred quick technological fixes, she only trusted traditional Chinese medicine. No one knew she came from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners, which was why she was well-versed in pharmacology.
Fuling stared blankly: “…Testing?”
Jiang Chuji glanced lightly at Fuling.
“Tomorrow, take the cloak I had you soak in water tonight and return it to my elder brother.”
“If he asks why I’m not returning it myself, tell him I’m sick and can’t go.”
Fuling’s eyes lit up: “Miss, are you pretending to be sick to mend your relationship with the eldest young master?”
Jiang Yanchuan had shown exceptional talent since childhood. Last year, he topped the imperial examinations, earning the title of Zhuangyuan, and was appointed by the emperor as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, bringing glory to the Jiang family. As a result, Jiang Bingrong held him in high regard, and Old Madam Jiang treated him as her most precious treasure.
In Fuling’s view, if her young lady could improve her relationship with the eldest young master, life in the Chancellor’s Manor would be easier for her in the future.
Jiang Chuji knew very well that in the original storyline, due to Chen Shi’s affairs and the repeated false accusations against the original host, Jiang Yanchuan had remained cold and indifferent toward her from start to finish, with little sibling affection.
However, she intended to transform herself from being ignored by this elder brother to becoming the sister he cared about most deeply.
Fuling worried: “What if I go, and the eldest young master still ignores you as he did before?”
Jiang Chuji wasn’t concerned: “He will come.”
Jiang Yanchuan was not a cold or heartless person; he simply had his own principles and couldn’t cross that line.Tonight, sharing a life-and-death moment on the lake forged a bond far deeper than a hundred indifferent encounters in this vast Chancellor’s Manor.
It made Jiang Yanchuan realize that no matter how emotionally distant they had been before, she was still his blood-related sister. It also sparked in him a desire to understand her better.
Jiang Chuji then turned to Fuling and said unhurriedly, “I suspect Concubine Zhou and my half-sister won’t sleep well tonight either. Concubine Zhou will likely come looking for you tomorrow.”
Fuling pointed at herself. “For me?”
“I was infected with a Gu Worm, yet I ended up looking even more beautiful. To figure out what happened, they’ll have no choice but to turn to you.”
Jiang Chuji lifted her chin slightly. “If they ask you about me, they’ll probably try to bribe you first, then threaten you.”
Fuling made a firm promise, her expression resolute. “Don’t worry, Miss. No matter how much Concubine Zhou tries to buy me off, I would never do anything to betray you!”
“No,” Jiang Chuji smiled, her expression innocent and radiant. “I want you to accept their bribes and betray me.”