Chapter 68
Annoyance

After returning to the mansion with Lord Sun, Jiang Xingjian expected someone to greet them at the gate. However, after waiting a long time, no servant welcomed them.

“Ahem, Lord Sun, Madam Sun, please follow me.”

The couple exchanged worried glances, and Madam Sun clutched her handkerchief anxiously.

Recently, many rumors about the Marquis Mansion have been circulating in the capital. If they were just idle gossip, it wouldn’t matter, but even some intimate secrets of the Marquis Mansion were being talked about in detail, making people wonder if the mansion was truly in decline, as the rumors suggested. If that were the case, she couldn’t let her daughter marry into the Marquis Mansion.

“Lord Sun, Madam Sun, please have a seat. I’ll be right back.” Jiang Xingjian left the reception hall with a stern face, but after searching for a long time, he couldn’t find a single servant.

Finally, he encountered a hurried maid, and his frustration reached its peak.

“What’s going on? Where are the servants on duty at the gate and the tea room?”

The maid hurriedly replied, “Marquis, everyone is busy.”

“Nonsense! What could be more important than attending to guests? Go call the servants from the tea room and send someone to inform the Young Madam and the Second Young Master. Have the Second Young Master come to the outer courtyard to find me and have the Young Madam prepare to entertain Madam Sun.”

Suppressing his anger, Jiang Xingjian returned to the guests, trying to maintain his composure.

After chatting with the Sun couple for a long time, Jiang Yan finally appeared, but there was still no sign of the maid who was supposed to serve tea.

Madam Sun sighed and looked at Lord Sun with disappointment.

It seemed the rumors were not baseless.

“Greetings, Lord Sun, Madam Sun.” Jiang Yan entered and greeted the couple, but his expression was complicated when he saw Jiang Xingjian, leaving Jiang Xingjian puzzled.

“Second Young Master Jiang is truly outstanding.” Madam Sun admired Jiang Yan, finding him refined and well-mannered. She hadn’t heard any scandalous rumors about him.

“Marquis, I beg your pardon. I deserve to die.” Before Madam Sun could take a closer look at Jiang Yan, a young maid of about eleven or twelve rushed in, said a few words, and then knelt on the ground, trembling.

Jiang Xingjian’s face was stern, his thin lips pressed into a straight line. If it weren’t for the guests, he would have lost his temper.

Seeing his silence, Jiang Yan spoke, “Go serve tea to the guests.”

The maid hurriedly got up and stumbled out.

Madam Sun sighed and shook her head at Lord Sun in disappointment.

“My Lord, I came today to tell you that my daughter is not worthy of your esteemed family. The marriage proposal we discussed earlier is off. From now on, we will go our separate ways.”

Jiang Xingjian frowned and was about to speak when Jiang Yan interjected, “It’s my fault for being unworthy of your daughter. Lord Sun, your generosity in preserving my reputation is something I am deeply grateful for.”

Seeing this, Madam Sun felt even more regretful and glared at Jiang Xingjian with disdain.

“……” Jiang Xingjian was at a loss, wanting to salvage the marriage alliance, but Madam Sun continued, “Second Young Master Jiang is talented and has a bright future. It’s my daughter’s misfortune…”

With that, Madam Sun pulled Lord Sun away quickly, as if the Marquis Mansion were a place of filth.

Jiang Xingjian frowned deeply and looked at Jiang Yan, “Why did you so easily reject the Sun family’s marriage proposal?”

Jiang Yan lowered his eyes, his mind filled with the recent rumors about the inner courtyard.

After a long time, he finally looked up and said, “You might want to ask Concubine Lin.”

After Jiang Yan finished speaking, he bowed and left.

Hearing Lin Jiayue’s name, Jiang Xingjian felt a metallic taste in his throat and a tightness in his chest that was hard to relieve. After a whole month without rest, he had hoped to find a peaceful place to rest upon returning to the Marquis Mansion, but even such a small wish seemed impossible.

“Someone come here.”

The mansion was eerily quiet, with none of the usual maids, servants, or attendants in sight.

Suppressing his anger, Jiang Xingjian said to Song Yan, “Are all the stewards in the outer courtyard dead? Go, have them wait for me in the small study.”

After giving his instructions, he strode into the inner courtyard of the mansion.

However, the inner courtyard was no better. It wasn’t until he reached the entrance of Lan Ting Courtyard that he saw two maids sitting in the corridor, chatting and laughing.

“Young Madam has been ill for many days because of Concubine Lin. It seems she is useless, and we will have to rely on Concubine Lin in the future.”

The other maid sneered, “How many years have we been in the Marquis Mansion and seen such household management? Although our pockets are full, it is a disgrace to the ancestors of the Marquis Mansion. If the ancestors of the Jiang family knew about this disaster, they would come up from the ground to strangle… Marquis!”

Before the maid could finish her sentence, she fell off the corridor in fright and landed in front of Jiang Xingjian.

Jiang Xingjian was furious and shouted, “What’s going on? I’ve only been away for a month, and the mansion is in such chaos? What do you mean by saying the Young Madam is seriously ill?”

The maid knelt on the ground, trembling, “Marquis, a few days ago, Young Madam tried to stop Concubine Lin from selling the servants. Concubine Lin took out Madam’s token, and the Young Madam, pressured by filial piety, fell ill in anger.”

“Selling servants? Since the establishment of the Marquis Mansion, there has never been a precedent for selling servants. Who did she sell?”

“She sold… nearly a hundred. I don’t know who they all are; only Concubine Lin has the list…”

Jiang Xingjian felt dizzy, and Song Yan quickly stepped forward to support him.

No wonder, no wonder Lord Yu and Lord Sun were so strange today, and Yu Shiquan was so disrespectful.

Nearly a hundred servants were sold…

Jiang Xingjian couldn’t even imagine the consequences. He steadied himself and, with great effort, made his way to Lan Ting’s main courtyard.

When Song Wan heard that Jiang Xingjian had returned, she had Heng Zhi prepare the melon stalk tea she had ready.

Melon stalks are bitter and slightly toxic.

“Miss, the Marquis is outside the courtyard and will soon come to Long Xiang Zhai.”

Song Wan calmly blew on the melon stalk tea in her cup and slowly drank it.

As Jiang Xingjian pushed open the door of Long Xiang Zhai, he saw Song Wan dressed in plain clothes, her fair face without makeup, looking so pure and delicate that it evoked pity. However, her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and her lips were pale, giving her a sickly appearance.

A thousand words surged to Jiang Xingjian’s tongue, but he swallowed them back down.

“I heard from the servants that you are ill? Are you feeling better?”

Song Wan nodded, her face pale, looking very uncomfortable.

Jiang Xingjian’s thin lips parted slightly. He wanted to ask how the household management had fallen into Lin Jiayue’s hands again, why her mother had given the token to Lin Jiayue, and if she knew about the selling of the servants. But seeing Song Wan’s face, he couldn’t bring himself to ask any of it.

After a long time, Jiang Xingjian said, “Is there a place here where I can rest for a while?”

Song Wan looked up in confusion as if she hadn’t expected Jiang Xingjian to say such a thing.

After a moment of contemplation, she nodded and pointed to the Luohan bed, signaling Heng Zhi to tidy it up for Jiang Xingjian to rest.

After the maids brought hot water for him, Jiang Xingjian washed his face and lay down, falling into a deep sleep almost immediately.

Song Wan sat on the embroidered stool, feeling slightly annoyed despite her discomfort.