Chapter 56
Letting go

Song Wan was very troubled. Initially, she planned to let Lin Jiayue seize her small mistake to get herself out of trouble, but now that such a big mess has occurred, it isn’t easy to handle.

After thinking for a long time, Song Wan picked up the brush on the table, dipped it in ink, and blacked out the phrase “descendant of a eunuch.”

“It’s still early. When the Marquis wakes up, he will definitely ask about the Jinxiang Earl Mansion. Don’t mention this phrase. I will explain it to him myself.”

Heng Zhi and the others nodded in agreement while Song Wan sat at the desk, thinking about how to pass the hot potato to Lin Jiayue.

At dawn, Jiang Xingjian arrived at the main courtyard of Lan Ting. He was not currently living in Lan Ting Courtyard but was temporarily staying in the guest room of the outer courtyard. So, when he got up early, he heard that people from the Jinxiang Earl Mansion had come to make a scene, and Song Wan invited two women into the inner courtyard.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xingjian knew that it was likely Lin Jiayue who had caused some trouble again.

Thinking of Lin Jiayue, a wave of inexplicable irritability swept over him, but he had to force himself to believe that he had not fulfilled his responsibility as the head of the family.

“What happened with the Jinxiang Earl Mansion? I heard from Song Yan that they have been making a fuss since before dawn.”

“I was just about to tell you about this.” Song Wan asked Heng Zhi to prepare breakfast and invited Jiang Xingjian to sit in the room.

“The day before yesterday, I asked Concubine Lin to send the eulogy and the road sacrifice invitation to the ceremonial room for the Jinxiang Earl Mansion. Unexpectedly, she wrote a eulogy herself and sent it along with the others to the Jinxiang Earl Mansion.”

As she spoke, Song Wan took a piece of thin paper from the table and handed it to Jiang Xingjian.

Jiang Xingjian’s eyes were first drawn to the black ink spot. He frowned slightly, and when he saw the paper filled with “Lu Gongren,” his forehead throbbed.

The man pressed his long index finger to his brow, not only unable to dispel the annoyance in his chest but also adding seven or eight points of frustration.

He didn’t know why he suddenly felt a bit aggrieved.

With Song Wan’s capabilities, such disgraceful incidents should not have occurred in the household. If Lin Jiayue could cause such trouble, Jiang Xingjian would never believe it was without her indulgence.

As long as she wanted, the entire Chengyang Marquis Mansion could be protected like an iron barrel. But why are there so many mistakes now?

Jiang Xingjian frowned, not daring to think deeply about the reasons.

“Let’s have breakfast first.”

Seeing Heng Zhi bring the breakfast to the small table and looking at Jiang Xingjian’s expression, Song Wan inexplicably felt more appetite.

Since Jiang Xingjian was also present, today’s breakfast was prepared with a few extra dishes. There were four kinds of snacks: red bean cakes, butterfly rolls, eight-treasure buns, and treasure makeup cakes. The small kitchen made sea cucumber porridge and jade porridge. Seeing the green vegetable leaves floating on the milky white rice porridge, Song Wan suddenly felt hungry and asked Xiang Cao to bring it to her.

Seeing her calm expression, focused only on eating, Jiang Xingjian said with a hint of grievance, “You… knowing Jiayue’s impulsive nature, how could you let her deliver the eulogy? Even if she wanted to, you should have stopped her.”

“……” Song Wan put down her jade chopsticks, her appetite ruined by his words.

Heng Wu sneered from the side, “If you ask me, being the head of the household should be like the Marquis, worry-free.”

“You raised an arrogant person who caused a storm in the city. If it goes well, it’s because you have a keen eye and appoint people based on merit. If it causes trouble, it’s because our lady didn’t supervise properly and didn’t know that person was impulsive.”

“How come when the household management rights were handed over to her, you didn’t know she was impulsive and foolish?”

After being scolded, Jiang Xingjian pursed his lips, his seven parts of anger turning into full-blown rage.

Song Wan lowered her head, thought for a moment, then picked up her jade chopsticks again and took a bite of the pepper vinegar chicken in front of her. The chicken, with its spicy and sour taste, was very appetizing on this summer morning.

“With the Marquis and the Madam here, how dare you act wildly?” Heng Zhi pretended to hit Heng Wu’s arm a couple of times, then asked Xiang Cao to take her away. Seeing that Song Wan had a good appetite today, she placed a piece of grilled clam on the small plate in front of her.

Jiang Xingjian was full of frustration, his throat feeling as if it was stuffed with cotton, making it impossible to eat.

Song Wan, however, rarely ate a finger-sized butterfly roll and a small bowl of porridge. After rinsing her mouth, she said to the still-distracted Jiang Xingjian, “This eulogy looks like a deliberate insult to the Jinxiang Earl Mansion. We must give them an explanation.”

“I will go to apologize today, burn incense, and bow for the deceased.”

“That doesn’t seem enough.” Jiang Xingjian pursed his lips, unable to come up with a solution. He had never encountered such a situation before and didn’t know how to apologize properly. After all, there had never been such an absurd precedent in the entire capital.

Thinking of the phrase “descendant of a eunuch,” Song Wan felt so embarrassed that her teeth ached. She coughed lightly and continued, “The Marquis just blamed me for not stopping Concubine Lin, and it’s not entirely unjustified.”

“I really didn’t want to stop her, nor did I intend to.” Song Wan casually tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled faintly, “What happened when I tried to stop her?”

“I tried to stop Lin Jiayue from taking charge of the household, from managing the grand banquet, from handling my third sister’s marriage, and from allowing the fourth master to bring someone into the house. But every time I tried to stop her, didn’t you fully support her and praise her talents, saying she would bring glory to the Marquis Mansion?”

Jiang Xingjian lowered his eyes, feeling bitter but unable to express it.

“I know she is frivolous, but how could I have known that simply asking her to deliver the eulogy to the ceremonial room would cause such a big mess?”

“After the grand banquet, the reputation of the Song family women was ruined. Now, we’ve been cursed by the rough servants of the Jinxiang Earl Mansion for half an hour with filthy words that are unbearable to hear…”

Song Wan’s expression grew colder. “I have always followed the rules and upheld the virtues of a woman. Yet, in just over a month this summer, I have become a notorious, despised, and incompetent fool in the capital. What more do you want from me? If I continue to cover for the Marquis Mansion, how will I face the ancestors of the Song family when I die?”

“Jiang Xingjian, not only will I not stop Lin Jiayue today, but I will also never manage her again in the future.”

“I cannot bear the responsibility of managing the Marquis Mansion.”

“Originally, the Consort had given an oral decree. Now, it would be better to let Concubine Lin take full control, so the servants in the mansion won’t be confused about whom to listen to.”

“A Wan…”

Hearing that Song Wan wanted to relinquish her responsibilities, Jiang Xingjian suddenly panicked.

Let Lin Jiayue manage the household? He didn’t even dare to think about it.

“My words were harsh just now. I didn’t mean to blame you.”

“Have you thought about how to explain the matter with the Jinxiang Earl Mansion?”

“I…” Song Wan smiled lightly. “I have thought of a way to help you.”

“You go to the Jinxiang Earl Mansion’s mourning hall and kneel for three days. I will hand over the household management rights and move into the small Buddhist hall to chant scriptures for Madam Cheng, seeking her forgiveness for the Marquis Mansion. This way, we might be able to gain their forgiveness.”

“A Wan, I…”

Calling Heng Zhi, Song Wan asked her to bring out the household management tokens and account books that had been prepared and handed them all to Jiang Xingjian.

Only then did Jiang Xingjian realize that Song Wan was serious. She didn’t want to manage the Marquis Mansion or him anymore. He felt a bitter taste in his mouth and was about to argue when Lin Jiayue walked in.

She was full of joy, smiling sweetly. “I heard that the Jinxiang Earl Mansion sent people to make a fuss all morning. What happened? Did someone make a mistake?”