Chapter 18: Jiang Yan Begins to Suspect Jiang Wei

Steward Zhao was deeply disheartened.
“Eldest Miss, you’re the one who said Second Concubine had been locked up and asked me to come rescue her. You even took my gold watch and thick gold chain. Why are you denying it now?”

Sure, he liked Second Concubine—but he liked staying alive even more.
He had thought the Eldest Miss and Second Concubine would save him, but instead, they both abandoned him. His heart was cold.

Jiang Yan’s face went pale with anxiety.
“Steward Zhao, what nonsense are you spouting? I haven’t even left the house today—how could I have passed any message to you?
Let alone asked for your gold watch and chain. That kind of ridiculous story wouldn’t convince a ghost!”

“Miss, how could you distort the truth like this? You clearly came to see me—I even saw the jade bracelet on your wrist—”
Wait… where was the bracelet?

Why wasn’t the Eldest Miss wearing her jade bracelet?

Jiang Yan immediately sensed something was wrong. “Bracelet? What bracelet?”
She had given the bracelet to Jiang Wei a few days ago.

Could it be… Jiang Wei impersonated her and met Steward Zhao?

“Big Sister?”

“You scared me! Why did you suddenly pop out like that?!”

Jiang Wei suddenly appeared in front of Jiang Yan, startling her. When Jiang Yan saw her bare wrist, her heart skipped. “Where’s the bracelet I gave you?”

“Isn’t it on your wrist? You said Steward Zhao gave it to you for your birthday and that you couldn’t bear to part with it, so you came and asked for it back, remember?”

Jiang Yan looked down and saw the bracelet was indeed on her wrist…
But she had no recollection of asking Jiang Wei for it. Very strange.

Jiang Wei tilted her head and smiled. “Or did Sister change her mind and want to give it back to me after all?”

“Bracelet, bracelet, all you care about is that bracelet! Is this the time to be talking about jewelry?”
Jiang Dahai, who had noticed Jiang Wei’s shabby clothes, was immediately enraged.
“Always wandering around the house dressed in rags—if you’ve lost all shame, I still have some!”

“I know, Dad’s got the thickest skin of all,” Jiang Wei teased, moving closer. “So? Have you prepared my dowry yet?”

The mention of dowry made Jiang Dahai’s head ache. “Do I look like a dowry?”

“You’re not worthy.”
Before Jiang Dahai could blow up, Jiang Wei darted in front of the pinned-down Steward Zhao and tried to reason with him.
“Steward Zhao, can’t you tell this whole thing was staged by my sister and Second Concubine? The whole point was to lure you into a trap. Just admit to stealing and return whatever you ‘stole’—that’ll end it.”

Steward Zhao looked like he wanted to die. “Second Miss, I really didn’t steal anything from your family. On the contrary—your father took all my property and even burned down my house.”

Jiang Dahai heard this and exploded. “Pin him down! Use the family punishment! I don’t believe he won’t confess.”

As he was dragged away, Steward Zhao roared, “Jiang Dahai, you beast! I curse you to lose everything and live out your days in the countryside shoveling pig shit!”

Such a vicious curse.

Jiang Wei added slyly, “Father, considering how hard Sister and Second Concubine worked to help you catch Steward Zhao, maybe let the whole ‘secret rendezvous’ slide?”

Second Concubine was just about to be grateful when she heard the phrase secret rendezvous—her eyes flared in fury. This girl’s mouth was just as infuriating as Shen Shi’s.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yan stared at Jiang Wei the entire time, full of suspicion.

Weird. Too weird.

Back when Jiang Wei was still in the countryside, reports about her were regularly mailed in.
According to the letters, Jiang Wei was a timid, dull-witted woman. Sunburned and malnourished from constant labor, she was so hungry she resorted to eating bark and wild grass—she even ate dirt.

Too much dirt caused bloating and water retention, which explained why she looked puffy despite being undernourished.

Yet here she was, just three days after returning—suddenly transformed from a swollen, ugly girl into a graceful beauty.

Even stranger, Jiang Wei, who seemed meek and gentle, had a way with words that stirred up conflict between their parents with just a few sentences.

Could it be… she was possessed?

Jiang Dahai was stunned. He had just caught Steward Zhao and was thrilled—why would he blame Second Concubine?
But for this unfilial daughter to defend the Second Concubine? That was completely out of character.

“Why are you suddenly defending Second Concubine? What kind of trick are you playing now?”

Jiang Wei gave a sinister smile.
“Oh, Father, what kind of scheme could I possibly have? I’m just pitying Second Concubine. She threw away a bright future to marry you as a concubine—and now she won’t even get a peaceful ending.”

Second Concubine was offended. “Second Miss, are you cursing me?”

Jiang Dahai was also annoyed. “You wicked girl, what nonsense are you spouting? Second Concubine is perfectly healthy—why wouldn’t she get a peaceful ending?”

“Oops, my bad! You’ve misunderstood,” Jiang Wei feigned innocence and slapped her own mouth lightly before raising her voice.
“Dad, I just heard that outside, everything’s changing. The new government has issued a monogamy law: one man, one wife.”

“In other words, from now on, you’ll have to give up Second, Third, and Fourth Concubine and spend the rest of your life with my boring mother. Isn’t that basically ‘not ending well’?”

She looked at her scumbag dad with mock sympathy, raising her voice just enough for the eavesdropping Third and Fourth Concubines to hear everything clearly.

Second Concubine’s world collapsed. “Xiao Yan, am I really going to be abandoned by your father?”
She had never imagined that a concubine could be discarded.

Jiang Yan frowned. She wasn’t interested in this kind of news and whispered to Second Concubine, “Don’t worry, Mother. Father already promised to take us to Hong Kong. No matter what the new policies say, you’ll always be his one and only wife.”

Only then did Second Concubine feel slightly reassured.

Jiang Dahai, on the other hand, felt despair at the thought of abandoning his most beloved and beautiful three concubines just to live with the dull and timid Shen Peirong for the rest of his life.
Clearly, he had to hurry and leave for Hong Kong.
But Steward Zhao had stolen all his money. He needed Zhao to cough it back up—and he also had to find a way to retrieve Shen Zhennan’s fortune buried in the Huo family’s backyard.

But how?

He’d heard that Huo Qì, the Huo family’s son, was a promising young man. If only he could get Xiao Yan to…

Sigh—if he had known Jiang Wei would become so beautiful, he wouldn’t have married her off to Gu Ting. It would’ve been much better to sacrifice her to seduce Huo Qì instead.
He didn’t want to use his precious eldest daughter—but Jiang Wei and Shen Peirong? He could discard them anytime.

Jiang Wei glanced at him with a dark smile.
“Father, are you planning to be a ‘Chen Shimei’ who abandons his wife and daughter?”

Jiang Dahai’s face flushed. “Stop spouting nonsense! You’re always making trouble and stirring up drama. Can’t you do something useful for once?!”

“What kind of ‘useful’ thing?” Jiang Wei blinked innocently.

“Let the Gu family hand over your betrothal gift money!” Jiang Dahai snapped. “Even a skinny camel is bigger than a horse. I don’t believe the Gu family can’t afford a proper dowry!”

“Oh, they want to give it, alright. But do you dare take it?” Jiang Wei threatened him.
“Everyone knows Uncle Gu took the wrong path. His money is supposed to be handed over to the state. And you want him to sneak some out for a dowry? If the authorities find out, it won’t just be the Gu family getting punished—it’ll be us too.”

“You’re talking nonsense again. I’m done arguing with you.”
Frightened, Jiang Dahai turned to the lingering Second Concubine and Jiang Yan.
“You two, come with me to the study. I’ve got something to discuss.”