Chapter 57
Powerless

Song Wan had seen the invitations she sent.

It was laughable that Song Wan, who always prided herself on being a lady of high society and spoke in an affected manner, could even get the name wrong in a eulogy.

Walking into the room, Lin Jiayue sat beside them, not caring at all about Song Wan and Jiang Xingjian’s frowns.

“Get me a pair of chopsticks, please.”

Smiling lightly at Heng Zhi, Lin Jiayue didn’t care if others welcomed her or not, and reached out to pick up a snack and put it in her mouth.

Wasn’t Song Wan the one who loved to show off her ladylike demeanor, always talking about rules and propriety? Since she chose to be a hypocrite, even if others found her unpleasant, they could only hold it in and endure it!

“This snack is really delicious. Can you send a portion to Xiu Yan Pavilion tomorrow? You wouldn’t mind, would you?”

Song Wan smiled faintly, “If you like it, eat as much as you want. I can afford to give more.”

“Heh.” Lin Jiayue’s smile turned cold, and after a moment, she said to Jiang Xingjian, “Brother Xingjian hasn’t come to see Yue’er for a long time. Are you still angry with Yue’er?”

“Although I made a mistake, I have been doing my best to make up for it these past few days. Can you forgive me?”

“Marquis, please enjoy your meal. I must excuse myself.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Song Wan left without even showing her back to Jiang Xingjian and Lin Jiayue.

“This isn’t that tasty after all.” Throwing down the snack, Lin Jiayue asked, “Why did the Jinxiang Earl Mansion come to make a fuss?”

After discovering that Song Wan’s eulogy had the wrong name, she rewrote it overnight. Fortunately, she had written one for the company’s vice president before and received the company’s approval. Without that experience, she wouldn’t have dared to write it.

Although writing in a literary style was troublesome, revising Song Wan’s version wasn’t a problem.

Lin Jiayue believed she had written it with deep emotion, enough to move herself to tears. She deliberately didn’t remove Song Wan’s version but included it together.

With the comparison, it would highlight Song Wan’s hypocrisy.

Thinking about how the servants said the Jinxiang Earl Mansion had cursed her for half an hour this morning, Lin Jiayue couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Jiang Xingjian looked at the snack Lin Jiayue had bitten and casually thrown away, his expression cold. “Why did you take it upon yourself to write the eulogy and send it to the Jinxiang Earl Mansion?”

“Eulogy… to express mourning, isn’t it something anyone can write? I even asked Huai Su and Ling Yun, and they both said I could write it.”

Jiang Xingjian’s eyelids drooped slightly, unable to vent his anger. “When will you finalize the firearm formula?”

He had waited too long and couldn’t wait any longer.

Jiang Xingjian had never thought of urging Lin Jiayue with this matter, but today he couldn’t help it. “Since returning to the capital, you haven’t researched it at all, instead focusing on opening shops and managing the household.”

“I thought that since you have time now, you should quickly develop the firearm to ease the Consort’s worries.”

Lin Jiayue’s face fell upon hearing this. Who knew that the lie she told when Jiang Xingjian saved her from the wolves would be remembered until now? But seeing Jiang Xingjian’s serious expression, she didn’t dare to speak.

Lin Jiayue pursed her lips and said after a moment, “I’m researching it. I’ll give you an update in a few days.”

“Alright.” Jiang Xingjian exhaled deeply, recalling the terrifying scene she described about the firearm, feeling slightly reassured.

For the sake of his sister and the Fifth Prince, he had given up too much. He couldn’t afford to give up on this firearm now.

“Have you finished eating?”

Seeing his face soften, Lin Jiayue blinked her eyes, “You haven’t told me why the people from the Jinxiang Earl Mansion came.”

“Your eulogy had the deceased’s name wrong, which is why the Jinxiang Earl Mansion came to confront us.”

His tone was unpleasant, but Lin Jiayue reacted even more strongly, “Impossible, it was clearly Song Wan’s eulogy that had the wrong name. I checked it carefully.”

Jiang Xingjian lowered his eyes, “Do you know the name of Madam Cheng?”

“Isn’t it clearly written as Lu Gongren?”

Jiang Xingjian stood up, too exhausted to say another word. He still had to go to the Jinxiang Earl Mansion to pay respects to Madam Cheng, and if he was late, it would seem insincere.

“Wait, did someone switch my eulogy?”

Jiang Xingjian turned back, his eyes deep, “Madam Cheng’s given name is Lu Wan, Gongren is her title.”

“……” Lin Jiayue was a bit flustered, “How would I know all that? If her name is Lu Wan, then it’s Lu Wan. Why write Lu Gongren? Both invitations clearly stated Chengmen Lu Gongren. I really didn’t know it was her title.”

Clenching his fists tightly behind his back, Jiang Xingjian suddenly heard a buzzing in his ears.

Lin Jiayue timidly stepped forward, her eyes red as she took his hand, “I’m sorry, I really didn’t know. But just because I got the name wrong, the Jinxiang Earl Mansion wouldn’t be so petty, right? I think they’re angry because Song Wan got Madam Lu’s surname wrong.”

“I’m just a concubine. Why would they hold it against me?”

The girl bent her finger and carefully wrote the character “Lu” in Jiang Xingjian’s palm.

“That’s exactly how she wrote it. This character is clearly wrong.”

Jiang Xingjian clenched his fists and, after a long time, said hoarsely, “Respect for the deceased is paramount. To show respect, it is common to avoid using the deceased’s name directly and to use characters with missing strokes.”

“I…” The girl’s eyes reddened, “I really didn’t know. How could I know all these rules and customs? I put a lot of effort into writing that eulogy. I really did.”

“Forget it, I’ll go to the Jinxiang Earl Mansion to apologize.”

“I’ll go with you.”

Jiang Xingjian paused but did not respond to her.

Sitting at her desk, Song Wan listened to the conversation in the courtyard and asked curiously, “It’s strange. Lin Jiayue is literate. Although she can’t write elegant prose, her speech doesn’t seem uneducated. How could she be so crude and ignorant of basic etiquette?”

“I don’t know either.”

“In an ordinary family, being able to recognize a few characters is already impressive. Lin Jiayue, as a woman who can read and write, must come from a decent background. But what kind of noble family would act like this?”

Song Wan thought for a long time but couldn’t figure it out, so she decided to drop the matter.

“Miss, the household account books and tokens were not taken by the Marquis.”

“Send them to the Marquis’s room and tell him that the accounts have been checked. If there are any unclear points, he can ask me.”

Heng Zhi nodded and had a servant deliver the items to Jiang Xingjian’s residence.

Jiang Xingjian was changing clothes in his room when he saw the large wooden box and looked solemn.

“Forget it. Move it to my mother’s Jiangxiang Courtyard.”

At Jiangxiang Courtyard, after placing the items down, Jiang Xingjian said softly, “Mother, I must trouble you to manage the household affairs for a while longer. Wan’er… is temporarily unable to handle the household duties.”

Holding her head, Mother Jiang got up weakly, “Is she throwing a tantrum again? When she was living in the mansion as a widow, she was clearly obedient and filial. Why is she causing so much trouble now that you’re back?”

“How did I not see her petty nature before? If I had known, I wouldn’t have agreed to this marriage with the Song family.”