Old Madam had never liked Jiang Wan to begin with.
Upon learning what had happened at Tianxiang Zhai, she flew into a rage.
“The future mistress hasn’t even entered the household yet, and she’s already been humiliated by her! What arrogance! Bring her to the East Courtyard and enforce the family rules. Today, she must learn what it means to know her place!”
The matron hurriedly tried to dissuade her, “The master is at the residence today. If you punish Concubine Jiang now, wouldn’t that put him in a difficult position? Perhaps it would be better to wait a few days.”
Old Madam’s expression darkened, “She’s just a concubine. Do I need to pick a day to deal with her?”
“That’s not what I meant. I’m only worried it might cause a rift between you and the master. As you said, she’s just a concubine. If that’s the case, why go to such lengths over her and risk damaging the harmony?”
“If she were an ordinary concubine, it wouldn’t matter. Once Yanran enters the household, she could still help bear children and continue the Fu family line. But look at her—she has Ci’er wrapped around her finger, and he even dares to defy me openly while obeying in secret!”
Old Madam was still very weak, and now that she was angry, she could hardly catch her breath.
The matron patted her back soothingly, offering constant reassurance, “The master still cares for you. Otherwise, why would he have agreed to marry? Since this marriage has been settled, as long as Miss Yanran doesn’t back out, it won’t fall through!”
Old Madam sighed, “Ci’er’s temperament is too cold. He should marry a lively and virtuous wife to bring warmth to the household. Yanran comes from a respectable family and is such a good match for him. How could he be so ungrateful?”
“The master is still young. In a few years, he’ll understand your well-intentioned efforts.”
Old Madam now only wished to finalize the wedding date as soon as possible. The sooner it was done, the sooner she could rest easy.
She spat out, “That Jiang Wan is truly a scourge. To protect her, Ci’er even angered The Emperor. If not for his aunt’s pleading, would a mere beating have sufficed?”
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
“Tomorrow, once Ci’er has left for court, bring Jiang Wan to me.”
The matron nodded, “But isn’t enforcing the family rules too severe? With Concubine Jiang’s health, even a single lash might take her life.”
Jiang Wan’s frail constitution was one of the reasons Old Madam disliked her.
Sickly and weak, she looked like bad luck.
Forget about bearing children in the future—she probably couldn’t even serve Ci’er properly!
A woman like that, no matter how beautiful, was useless. Even if offered as a concubine to another family, they might not want her.
Only Ci’er was foolish enough to have been deceived by her long ago.
Old Madam snorted, “It depends on her behavior. If she behaves well, she can kneel for two hours. If she still refuses to acknowledge her wrongdoing, then the family rules must be enforced. After all, the state has its laws, and the family has its rules. If we don’t punish her now, how can we explain it to the Yun family? Once Yanran enters the household, she might hold a grudge, which wouldn’t be good for fostering feelings with Ci’er.”
The matron didn’t try to dissuade her further. Whether Jiang Wan lived or died would depend on her own fate.
Jiang Wan had originally thought she would face Old Madam’s reprimand as soon as she returned to the residence.
After all, that was how it had been in her previous life.
The first time Fu Ci postponed his wedding for her, the old lady had summoned her and made her kneel for two hours.
This time, Jiang Wan was determined that if the old lady called her for a lecture, she would find an excuse to avoid it.
According to tradition, the autumn hunt was just a month away.
By then, Fu Ci would surely accompany The Emperor, and he would be gone for half a month.
As long as he wasn’t in the residence, she had plenty of ways to escape.
Having lost any desire to please Old Madam, Jiang Wan naturally had no intention of going to face punishment.
That night, Fu Ci insisted on sharing a bed with Jiang Wan.
No matter how Jiang Wan kicked him, Fu Ci refused to leave.
“I’ve already slept on the soft couch for over ten days. If I don’t come back, Qiu Yue and the others will probably start to suspect something.”
Jiang Wan didn’t care about any of that. She didn’t want to do that with Fu Ci—sharing a bed was too dangerous.
That child had been destined for them, but fate had intervened. Jiang Wan didn’t want to bring her into this world to suffer again.
She kicked Fu Ci once more. “Are you leaving or not?”
“No.”
If things continued to be this cold between them, Fu Ci was going to go mad.
Wasn’t it said that couples quarreled at the head of the bed but made up at the foot?
Leaving was out of the question.
Jiang Wan sat up.
“Where are you going?”
Jiang Wan didn’t answer, climbing over Fu Ci to get out of bed.
Fu Ci thought she was going to the bathing room and lay back comfortably, waiting for her.
A long time passed, but she didn’t return.
Fu Ci got up and left the inner chamber, calling for the maid on night duty.
“Go check on Madam.”
The maid looked conflicted and pointed toward the side room. “The concubine… the concubine is in that room.”
Fu Ci’s face darkened like ink. Not only was she refusing to share a bed, but now she was even refusing to share a room!
He strode into the side room, lifted the person on the bed over his shoulder, and carried her out.
“Put me down.”
Jiang Wan pounded his back.
Fu Ci frowned slightly and gave her bottom a light slap.
“Behave.”
The maid on night duty stared in shock. Was this still the aloof and untouchable Lord Fu?
How could he act so frivolously?
Watching as the two masters entered the inner chamber, she immediately stepped forward to close the door.
Pinned beneath Fu Ci, Jiang Wan felt her nerves tense.
“I’m not feeling well. Get off.”
“Where don’t you feel well?”
Fu Ci was on the edge of danger, untying Jiang Wan’s sash. “Let me check for you.”
Jiang Wan clutched her collar. “If you want to, you can choose two maids and take them as concubines.”
Fu Ci laughed in anger. “You’re truly generous. Don’t forget, you’re the one who’s my woman.”
A frenzied kiss followed.
Jiang Wan pushed and kicked him with all her might.
None of it worked.
In the end, Fu Ci took her foot in his hand and kissed it.
Jiang Wan was ticklish, and his touch sent a shiver racing through her body.
It was both tingling and numbing.
Jiang Wan let out a startled cry.
She kicked Fu Ci in the face. “You shameless man!”
“I have even more shameless things. Do you want to try them?”
“Get lost!”
“Fine, let’s get lost together.”
Having done it once before, Fu Ci knew how to please Jiang Wan.
Jiang Wan trembled, hating herself for being so weak.
Tears fell, only to be kissed away by Fu Ci.
The man poised for action pulled back slightly. “I’ll stop. Don’t cry.”
He wiped her tears with his thumb, but they wouldn’t dry.
Fu Ci’s heart ached with bitterness. Was it really so painful for her to be with him?
Had she forgotten all the affection they once shared?
With trembling hands, he dressed Jiang Wan.
“Stop crying. From now on, if you don’t agree, I won’t touch you.”
Jiang Wan wept bitterly.
She hated that even after starting over, she still couldn’t completely free herself from Fu Ci’s influence.
She really was so useless.