Chapter 12  

The sky was green with a hint of white in the east.

The waves on the lake sparkled as a crucian carp leaped from the water, splashing as it jumped back in.

A morning breeze rustled through the jujube trees in the yard.

Xu Lianqiao’s eyelids fluttered slightly in bed. She opened her eyes a little, lifted a corner of the bed curtain, glanced around the still-dark room, then turned over and snuggled back into her thin quilt.

It felt lukewarm.

Sleepiness soon crept into her eyes, and her eyelids closed in surrender.

It felt so comfortable.

But before she could enjoy it for long, the sound of footsteps and a loud knock on the door disturbed her. She covered her ears with the quilt.

Why was there a knock so early in the morning?

Suddenly, Xu Lianqiao was alarmed.

Would Mrs. Jiang, her mother-in-law, impose rules on her again?

She remembered when she first joined the Jiang family, she had to sit with Mrs. Jiang for meals and serve her at both dawn and dusk. There were even some traditional rules that were enforced.

Sometimes, when Xu Lianqiao had fallen asleep, Nanny Xu would come with others to knock on her door, just like now.

During the three months when Jiang Huai was in a coma, Mrs. Jiang had been too busy to enforce those rules, so Xu Lianqiao had felt some relief.

How could she have forgotten? Jiang Huai had woken up the day before yesterday!

That meant Mrs. Jiang had time to trouble her again.

Reluctantly but with no choice, Xu Lianqiao lifted the quilt.

She was about to sit up and lift the bed curtain when she heard Nanny Xu’s unmistakable voice:

“Young Madam, it’s almost chen o’clock ^[1]refers to the second of the twelve double-hour periods in Chinese timekeeping, around 7–9 AM.. The old Madam has been up since two o’clock. According to the rules of the Marquis, you should serve the old lady breakfast at four quarters ^[2]refers to a time division, about 6 AM..”

Xu Lianqiao felt frustrated but sighed.

What could she do? She had to submit to the rules.

After some internal hesitation, she reluctantly dressed and smoothed her messy hair with her hands before opening the door.

As expected, Nanny Xu stood outside with two maids, eyeing her with a slightly critical look.

“The old lady believes that in addition to the blessing of God, the Prince’s safe recovery must also be thanks to the ancestors of the Jiang family…”

When Xu Lianqiao heard the word “ancestor,” she felt a bad omen in her heart.

As expected, Nanny Xu smiled mischievously and continued:

“Young Madam, you are the Crown Prince’s wife, and you should show gratitude to the ancestors of the Jiang family for the Prince’s safety. The emperor has set an example of devotion through his actions. As a daughter-in-law of the Jiang family, you should demonstrate your filial piety as well.”

Xu Lianqiao: “…”

She wanted to know who had come up with this idea.

Usually, Mrs. Jiang would just have her serve, stand, and follow the rules. The suggestion to have her tidy the ancestral hall was probably Jiang Huai’s sister’s doing, adding one trick after another.

“It’s getting late, Young Madam. Please get ready and follow the old servant,” Nanny Xu said, blocking the door with an expectant look.

Xu Lianqiao: …

Could she possibly escape?

_

“Siqing, what’s going on? I think this is a good idea.”

After saying this, Jiang Xi set the tea cup down, turned slightly on the couch towards Lu Siqing, and curiously glanced at her swollen belly.

Lu Siqing, who was sitting beside her, covered her mouth and smiled softly:

“Miss, your idea is a good one.”

Hearing the title “Miss,” Jiang Xi pretended to be annoyed: “Didn’t you agree not to call me Miss?”

She pouted, reached out, took Lu Siqing’s hand, and held it. After sighing, her tone grew serious:

“Siqing, in my heart, you’re my sister-in-law.”

Jiang Xi spoke sincerely, even rubbing her head gently against Lu Siqing’s palm, acting sweetly:

“Sister Qing, don’t mention the fact that I was taken care of by my nanny when I was younger. I still remember when I was little, and my parents weren’t around, my older brothers disliked me because I was a girl. They wouldn’t play with me. You were the only one who would keep me company, no matter what I wanted to play.”

As Jiang Xi spoke about these things, she felt especially indebted to Sister Qing. Both the nanny and Sister Qing were so kind to her. No, they weren’t just good to her—they were kind to all three of them.

She also knew that Sister Qing had feelings for her second brother. Jiang Xi had noticed for a long time that Sister Qing would often steal glances at him.

However, her mother had said that Sister Qing’s background wasn’t suitable for her second brother, so she could only be his concubine.

When Sister Qing married her second brother, there was no grand sedan chair or phoenix crown, no lavish wedding—just a small sedan chair, and she entered from the side door into the second brother’s backyard.

Even the child in her belly would only be given the title of a concubine’s child.

Perhaps, one day, this child would have to call the woman who almost caused their death “mother.”

Jiang Xi felt truly sorry for Sister Qing, but there was nothing she could do.

At least the second brother treated Sister Qing well, which was a small comfort, but…

That doesn’t matter now.

Sister Qing was about to give birth, yet the second brother had not even visited once.

Instead, he kept going to Xu Lianqiao.

Xu Lianqiao was nothing.

Sister Qing’s background wasn’t prestigious, so she didn’t deserve to be part of their Xuanwu Marquis Mansion.

She should’ve suffered a little.

Seeing how close Jiang Xi was to her, Lu Siqing secretly felt happy, though she still maintained a calm expression, with only a light smile.

She took Jiang Xi’s other hand and, pretending to speak sincerely, said:

“How can you say that I was just accompanying you? Xi’er was also there for me. When I was young, I could read and write, but it was Xi’er’s kindness that allowed me to study. When I was bullied in school, it was Xi’er who stood up for me.”

Lu Siqing’s tone grew more heartfelt as she spoke, and by the end, her eyes were full of tears.

In the blink of an eye, a single teardrop fell.

Jiang Xi quickly took out a silk handkerchief and wiped away her tears.

“Why are you crying? If you keep crying, my eldest nephew will never stop being a crybaby.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Siqing smiled and laughed through her tears. She took the silk handkerchief from Jiang Xi and turned around to wipe her tears.

To Lu Siqing, although Jiang Xi didn’t have much influence in the Jiang family, it was enough for her that Jiang Xi’s presence made Xu Lianqiao uncomfortable.

For instance, Jiang Xi had mentioned that her second brother hadn’t been visiting her lately.

Jiang Xi’s words would allow Mrs. Jiang to continue tormenting Xu Lianqiao.

For Lu Siqing, it was enough that Jiang Xi had this effect.

Thinking of this, Lu Siqing stroked her belly. Occasionally, she felt the baby moving—this child was hers and Jiang Huai’s.

And this baby would always remain a thorn between Jiang Huai and Xu Lianqiao.

_

At the Jiang Family Ancestral Hall.

Xu Lianqiao twisted her right wrist and looked at the scriptures she was copying, which were only halfway done. She couldn’t help but feel sorrowful.

It was all Jiang Huai’s fault.

Her hands were nearly useless now.

Taking a deep breath, she continued to pick up her pen and write.

She muttered curses while she wrote…

And then, she noticed that she didn’t feel as tired as before.

Perhaps it was the intensity with which she cursed, but when she looked up, she unexpectedly bumped into something hard.

“Ah…”

“Ah…”

They both exclaimed in unison. When Xu Lianqiao looked up, she realized the “hard” thing in front of her was actually Jiang Huai.

At that moment, Jiang Huai was holding his chest and smiling playfully.

She thought he was sick!

“You…” she started to say, but Jiang Huai didn’t let her finish. He bent down and closed the book she’d placed on the desk, then took the pen from her hand and put it back into the pen holder.

He looked at her head and asked:

“It didn’t hurt, did it?”

Xu Lianqiao thought he was just being polite, but then he said:

“It shouldn’t hurt, it’s not that hard.”

Xu Lianqiao was left speechless.

Why was he so unwilling to keep a serious face?

She turned her head to avoid him, but before she knew it, Jiang Huai had moved behind her and started to gently push her out of the room.

“Stop writing, it’s no use.”

If it were useful, how could she attract such a soul?

Xu Lianqiao was led by him, and by the time she realized what was happening, she had already been led out of the ancestral hall.

“What are you doing?”

Was Jiang Huai being stupid or crazy? He had punished her to kneel in the ancestral hall earlier, not a single kind word from him. Why was he acting this way now?

Wait, maybe he actually wanted to help her, not harm her.

“Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

Though she didn’t want to talk to him, she couldn’t help but ask.

Jiang Huai gave her a mysterious look, then told her to follow him first.

_

Xu Lianqiao didn’t expect that Jiang Huai would bring her to a bar.

It should be a drinking session. Otherwise, what else would they do in the pub?

Jiang Huai whispered something to someone, and a waiter led them to a private room.

As they sat by the window, Ning Yuan asked,

“What would you like to drink, white or yellow?”

Looking at the bottles of wine the waiter had placed on the counter, Xu Lianqiao felt as if she was dreaming.

She knew that Jiang Huai liked to drink.

She had seen him drunk more than once.

To describe it, he just loves to talk nonsense when drunk.

Seeing the increasing confusion in her eyes, Ning Yuan poured a glass of wine and placed it in front of her.

“Shaoxing Nuerhong^[3] is type of wine, which is a famous variety of rice wine., try this first.”

When Xu Lianqiao saw the rice wine in front of her, she gently pushed it away and said:

“I don’t know how to drink.”

“Okay.”

Ning Yuan simply agreed, picked up her wine glass, drank it all, then pretended to regret:

“Such a pity, some people never get to enjoy drunken crab.”

After another glass of wine, he sighed, “Hey, that’s really too bad. What a pity.”

Just as he finished saying “drunken crab,” Xu Lianqiao smelled a refreshing aroma… It was the smell of crab.

A plate of thick, golden crabs was brought in…

The combination of the crab’s scent and the wine made Xu Lianqiao swallow her saliva.

Ning Yuan noticed her reaction, smiled slightly, and drank another glass of wine.

“You’re welcome.”

Unable to resist, Xu Lianqiao picked up half of a crab to eat.

But…

She wasn’t very good at eating crabs.

She hesitated, wondering how to eat it.

Just then, she saw a plate of peeled crab meat placed in front of her.

Looking up, she saw Jiang Huai carefully peeling crabs for her.

Sunlight shone on his hair by the window.

In that moment, Xu Lianqiao couldn’t help but remember someone.

That person had once picked fish bones out for her…