Two days later, in the capital city.

Early in the morning, two green-roofed carriages with the emblem of the character Chu stopped in front of the Jiang family mansion.

A well-dressed, respectable servant woman in a dark green jacket approached the door and knocked.

A young servant peeked out through a small opening in the gate. “Who’s here this early?” he asked.

The servant woman replied sharply, “I’m from the Old Madam’s residence of the Chu family in Jinling. The Old Madam is not feeling well and wishes to see our Fourth Young Lady one last time. Today, we’ve come to bring her back to the Chu family.”

The Fourth Young Lady of the Chu family, of course, was now the Lady of the Jiang household.

The young servant, with his pinched face and sneaky expression, immediately dropped the door latch upon hearing they were from the Chu family. “Our Madam has gone mad, and the Master has ordered that she be locked up in the courtyard, forbidden from seeing anyone,” he said.

But the servant woman was fierce.

She put her hands on her hips and began to scold loudly, “Is this how the Jiang family behaves? Fellow neighbors, listen to this! My young lady married into the Jiang family, and now that she’s sick, not only have they refused to call a doctor, but they won’t even allow her family to visit!

Today, our Old Madam is unwell and wants to see her married daughter, which is only fair, since they are relatives by marriage. Yet the Jiang family won’t even open the door!”

“Oh, pity my poor young lady! How did she end up with a family like this?”

“Our Old Madam is ill, and she wants her daughter to come back and take care of her. But the Jiang family won’t allow it. What kind of family rules are these? Jiang Jing’an is supposedly a high-ranking official, but it seems all the Confucian teachings he’s read went straight to the dogs!”

The Chu family servant’s voice echoed down several streets, and the crowd gathering in front of the Jiang family gate grew larger, each onlooker pointing fingers at the Jiang family.

Unable to withstand the commotion, the young servant quickly fetched the steward.

Minister Jiang was at the palace and wasn’t at home.

Seeing the situation, the steward, wiping the sweat from his forehead, knew it wouldn’t help to let her continue scolding.

He quickly had the servants open the gate to let them in. “We didn’t know the Chu family would be coming today. The Master has gone to the palace. Please forgive any lack of courtesy.”

The Chu family servant sneered, “The Jiang family has certainly risen in rank with the Imperial Consort in the family, but if it weren’t for our young lady still being here, the Chu family wouldn’t bother stepping into this high threshold.”

With that, she led her people straight toward Madam Jiang’s courtyard, brushing past the steward, who couldn’t stop them.

As they passed through a hanging flower gate, they encountered a graceful young woman walking towards them.

Although she wore a maid’s uniform, she was adorned with a gold bracelet carved with intricate floral patterns, earrings made of top-grade pearls, and hairpins crafted from pure gold.

There was nothing about her attire that was fitting for a maid.

Yan Hong, upon seeing the Chu family’s entourage, arched her finely painted brows and, in a tone of authority, reprimanded, “What’s going on here? Causing such a ruckus—is there no sense of propriety and decorum?”

The Chu family servant let out a cold laugh. “Oh my, since when did Minister Jiang take a concubine? How come the Chu family hasn’t heard a word about it?”

Yan Hong’s expression changed at this, her face growing even uglier when she realized the speaker was from the Chu family.

The steward quickly interjected, “This is Miss Yan Hong, originally the eldest young lady’s maid. Now she assists the Master in the study.”

“So she’s just a lowly maid, huh? I almost thought she was the lady of the house!” The Chu family servant’s sarcastic tone made the steward’s face twitch with embarrassment.

He replied, “The Madam is ill, and Miss Yan Hong handles the household affairs.”

This was his way of subtly hinting that Yan Hong’s promotion to concubine was only a matter of time.

However, the Chu family servant simply took a step forward, grabbed Yan Hong by her carefully styled hair, and gave her two resounding slaps.

“A shameless wench, talking about propriety and decorum in front of the Lady’s family? Disgusting!” She spat on Yan Hong’s face with contempt.

“Even if you’re officially made a concubine, in front of the Lady’s family, you should be kneeling and paying respects! The Jiang family sure has a good reputation. The daughter’s maid climbs into her father’s bed, and Jiang Jing’an isn’t even ashamed!”

Yan Hong felt as if her scalp was being ripped off, her cheeks stinging with pain as she began to cry.

The Jiang family guards tried to intervene, but the Chu family’s escorts stopped them.

After Chu San, the Third Master, joined the military, the Chu family replaced all the servants with trained fighters.

The Jiang family guards were no match for them.

The steward shouted, “The Chu family must not be so arrogant—this is the Jiang residence!”

The Chu family servant yanked the earrings from Yan Hong’s ears and ground them to pieces beneath her heel. “Arrogant? What kind of family treats their maids like you do? Adorned with gold and silver, putting on airs! I’m here on behalf of my poor young lady, teaching this unruly maid a lesson!”

Yan Hong’s ears were bleeding, and she collapsed on the ground, crying bitterly. “You’re bullying me! The Chu family is bullying me! I don’t want to live anymore!”

She tried to throw herself against a rock, but the Jiang family maids hurried to stop her, comforting her with a flurry of words.

The Chu family servant, an old woman who had served the Chu family her entire life, had seen countless little temptresses.

She walked over, grabbed Yan Hong’s hair, and slammed her head against the ground twice, leaving her forehead bleeding.

This time, Yan Hong stopped trying to harm herself and began screaming for help.

“Oh, I thought you didn’t want to live anymore! Why are you shouting for help, little wench? Who do you think you are? Don’t you dare try to act out in front of me!” the Chu family servant sneered, throwing her to the ground and heading toward Madam Jiang’s courtyard.

Madam Jiang’s courtyard was not only locked but also guarded by Jiang family guards.

The Chu family servant, outraged, ordered the escorts to take down the two guards and kick the door open.

Inside, the maids and servants, knowing that the Lady of the house had fallen out of favor, had grown lazy and even began helping themselves to her provisions.

As the door swung open, the maids were casually eating sunflower seeds and chatting in the courtyard.

Seeing the furious crowd storming in, they leaped to their feet in panic.

The maidservant of the Chu family scanned the room with a glance and noticed there wasn’t a single familiar face.

Her heart sank slightly, and she angrily demanded, “Where is your mistress?”

Madam Jiang, locked in a room, must have heard Yang Nanny’s voice, as she quickly started pounding on the door, crying out, “Yang Nanny, is that you?”

Yang Nanny’s heart tightened.

Madam Jiang recognized her voice immediately—how could this be the behavior of someone who had lost their mind?

She hurriedly led people toward the courtyard.

When she saw that the door to Madam Jiang’s room was locked, her eyes reddened with anger. “Madam, what kind of suffering have you been through?”

The window screen above the door had already been torn off by Madam Jiang over the past few days.

Through the narrow gap between the door and the frame, Yang Nanny could see Madam Jiang inside—disheveled and dirty, wearing clothes that hadn’t been changed or washed.

Upon finally seeing someone from her family, Madam Jiang cried uncontrollably, “Yang Nanny… Jiang Jing’an is not human! He sold off all my servants and sent Nanny Fang away… He’s afraid I’ll go back to my family to expose him, so he’s telling everyone I’ve gone mad and locked me up…”

Nanny Fang had been Madam Jiang’s wet nurse and was extremely loyal to her.

If she were still around, she would never have allowed Madam Jiang to suffer like this.

Yang Nanny’s fury rose as she cursed, “That heartless, ungrateful man! When his career was going nowhere, it was your brother who supported him!”

Madam Jiang, leaning against the doorframe and sobbing, added, “Ayi has been sent away to Xizhou, and we don’t know how she’s doing. Please, go back and tell Father to write to Third Brother. Have him rescue Ayi…”

Hearing this, Yang Nanny could no longer hold back her tears and choked out, “Miss Ayi… She’s been brought back by Third Master.”

Madam Jiang’s initial joy was short-lived. Seeing the tears in Yang Nanny’s eyes, she realized something was wrong.

Her lips trembled, but no words came out, and tears streamed down her face.

Yang Nanny ordered the guards to break down the door.

As soon as the door fell, Madam Jiang collapsed to the ground, but Yang Nanny quickly caught her.

There was a foul odor coming from Madam Jiang, a sign that she hadn’t bathed in a long time.

The food in the room looked as though it had been fished out of a slop bucket, and the chamber pot was full, with no one to clean it.

Yang Nanny wiped her tears, unable to bear the sight any longer, and supported Madam Jiang as they walked out.

Seeing a group of Jiang family maidservants standing in the courtyard, Yang Nanny ordered the guards, “Beat them! Beat these wretched slaves to death!”

At this moment, the steward of the Jiang household arrived with some guards.

Seeing that they had already freed Madam Jiang, he shouted, “You cannot take Madam out of the estate!”

Upon seeing him, Madam Jiang lost control and lunged at him, clawing and scratching. “You traitor!”

The guards from the Chu family beat the maids until they were wailing and had several teeth knocked out.

When the steward and his men arrived, they clashed with the Chu family’s guards.

The steward, originally promoted by Madam Jiang herself, was now Jiang Shilang’s trusted subordinate.

He didn’t dare strike Madam Jiang and could only dodge as she scratched him, leaving several cuts on his face.

The stench from Madam Jiang’s unwashed body was so strong it made him nauseous.

Seeing that the guards had subdued the estate’s servants, Yang Nanny held onto Madam Jiang and said, “Madam, we must quickly take the young master and return to visit the Old Madam!”

Visiting the Old Madam was just an excuse.

The real reason was that Chu Changping had brought back the coffin of “Jiang Yanyi” the night before.

Before Yang Nanny set out, Chu Changping had specifically instructed her to take Madam Jiang and the young master and return immediately.

Chu Changping had waited for Jiang Shilang to enter the palace before sending servants to fetch them.

If Jiang Shilang had been home, he would never have allowed them to leave.

Yang Nanny feared that if Jiang Shilang returned, they wouldn’t be able to leave.

After venting her anger, Madam Jiang calmed down and understood the urgency.

She spat at the steward and, with Yang Nanny, headed toward her son Jiang Yangui’s courtyard.

---

Since breaking his leg, Jiang Yangui hadn’t left his bed.

He needed constant care for all his needs.

Although he was Jiang Shilang’s only son, the people in his courtyard took decent care of him.

At least Jiang Yangui was clean, but that was all.

The servants in the courtyard acted like deaf-mutes.

Whether Jiang Yangui spoke to them or got angry, they never responded.

When Madam Jiang and her son reunited, they embraced and cried bitterly.

Upon hearing that his sister’s coffin had returned to the capital, Jiang Yangui bit his pale lips tightly, gripping the bedsheet beneath him.

His hands were slender and long, with well-defined joints.

Due to his prolonged illness, his skin was so pale it was almost translucent, with faint veins and blood vessels visible underneath.

His dark eyes, like a dry well, were lifeless and hollow, but tears continuously streamed from them.

With great difficulty, he whispered, “Take me… to see my sister.”

---

Meanwhile, in the imperial palace, the new emperor looked at the report just delivered to his desk, a cold smile forming on his handsome face. “Chu Changping has abandoned his post and secretly returned to the capital. This is suspicious and may be treasonous. Where is the commander of the Imperial Guards?”

The commander immediately stepped forward. “Here, Your Majesty!”

The new emperor’s voice was as cold as a snake’s hiss. “Take one thousand imperial guards and raid the Chu estate!”