Chapter 70
Breaking off the engagement

“Miss, the Marquis is here.” Heng Zhi reported with a frown. Song Wan put down her book and lightly tapped her forehead, feeling quite troubled.

She murmured, “I knew I couldn’t avoid this.”

She wondered why Jiang Xingjian didn’t ask her clearly when he came at noon, causing her to drink the bitter melon stalk tea again and endure the unpleasant taste.

When Jiang Xingjian entered the room, he saw that Song Wan’s face was even paler than before. She was leaning against a stone-blue silk cushion, her brows tightly furrowed in discomfort.

“Have you seen the mansion doctor?”

Song Wan nodded but didn’t speak.

Seeing this, Jiang Xingjian became worried and quickly asked Heng Zhi to fetch the doctor.

“No need. The doctor already saw me during the day. It’s nothing serious.”

Song Wan got up, and Heng Zhi came over to support her.

“Why have you come, Marquis? Is there something you need?”

“There are some matters I need to discuss with you.”

Looking down at the list of sold servants in his hand, Jiang Xingjian suddenly found it difficult to speak.

“Just say it.” Song Wan extended her hand, inviting Jiang Xingjian to sit down, and poured two cups of hot tea.

Jiang Xingjian’s expression softened slightly as he pushed the list in front of Song Wan. “These are the servants who were sold. I’ve sent people to find their whereabouts, but some rumors are already outside the mansion…”

“And today, Lord Sun and Madam Sun came to the mansion and called off the marriage proposal.”

Song Wan frowned but quickly regained her composure. She had invested a lot in the marriage with the Sun family and didn’t want to see it end like this.

“Do you have any way to prevent the Marquis Mansion from being implicated?”

Song Wan lowered her eyes, hiding her emotions.

Jiang Xingjian assumed she was thinking of a solution. Little did he know that after sitting for a while, her face turned frighteningly pale, and she seemed to be in pain. Cold sweat formed on her forehead, but she still forced herself to look at the list carefully.

“Enough, your health is more important. You should rest. I’ll think of a way to handle the mansion’s affairs.”

Taking the list from Song Wan’s hand, Jiang Xingjian looked worried. “Go rest in your room.”

Song Wan didn’t resist and struggled to get up and walk back to her room.

In the summer, she wore light clothing, and as she turned, Jiang Xingjian noticed that her back was soaked with cold sweat, causing her clothes to stick to her skin.

Jiang Xingjian pressed his lips together and, after hesitating, followed her.

“I’ll have the doctor come to check your pulse.”

Heng Zhi said, “The doctor has been coming every day to check on the Young Madam, but they haven’t found anything wrong. They just said she needs to rest and avoid stress.”

“A few days ago, three or four doctors took turns coming, causing Young Madam to change clothes multiple times a day. I think she got worse because of it.”

“If the Marquis cares for Young Madam, he should let her rest more.”

Heng Wu added coldly, “How can she rest? The mansion is in such chaos that the Miss would crawl out to clean up the mess if she had to.”

The two maids continued their veiled complaints, and Jiang Xingjian, with a stiff face, left Lan Ting Courtyard after telling Song Wan to rest well.

As soon as he left, Song Wan curled up in bed.

“Miss, I brought a warming pan to warm you up.”

Holding the warming pan in her arms, Song Wan finally felt a bit more comfortable.

“Miss, you are the mistress of the Marquis Mansion. You can avoid managing the household for a while, but not forever. You can’t keep harming your health like this.”

Song Wan closed her eyes and sighed softly, “There are rumors spreading outside, and the Song family will surely take action. I want to see what my father will do.”

She had some hopes, knowing it wouldn’t be easy, but she still longed for it.

Heng Zhi and Heng Wu noticed her thoughts and felt a pang of sadness, serving her even more attentively.

Since Song Wan was still ill, Jiang Xingjian had to handle the chaos in the Marquis Mansion himself. He worked during the day and had to manage the household like a woman in the evening, which was exhausting. Fortunately, Huai Su was able to help him with some of the tasks. Seeing that Huai Su was handling things well and was familiar with the stewardesses, he gradually entrusted her with more responsibilities.

Lin Jiayue was very dissatisfied with this, but Jiang Xingjian was avoiding her everywhere, leaving her with no outlet for her anger.

“Concubine Lin, Madam Chen is here to see you.”

“What does she want?”

Qian Bi shook her head, indicating she didn’t know. Lin Jiayue reluctantly went to receive the guest, but she was shocked by what Madam Chen said.

Lin Jiayue was stunned, “Ten thousand taels of dowry?”

“Yes, who in the capital doesn’t know that the third young lady of the Marquis Mansion loves to read some improper books in her boudoir? Such an unruly and undisciplined girl, which family would dare to marry her?”

“What improper books?” Lin Jiayue was completely puzzled.

Madam Chen sneered, “The rumors outside… well, they aren’t really rumors. Didn’t the Marquis Mansion sell its own servants? Some of those servants said that the third young lady loves to read improper books and often recites them softly in her room. Such a girl, who doesn’t know chastity, my Chen family is willing to marry her, and we are already bearing a great grievance.”

“But since our families have exchanged betrothal gifts, I’ll just take it as a dumb loss. But this dowry, if it’s less than ten thousand taels, don’t even talk about it.”

Lin Jiayue bit her lip, finally understanding why Song Wan and Jiang Xingjian said that servants couldn’t be sold.

But…

“Are you threatening me?”

“Concubine Lin, that’s an unpleasant way to put it. The girls of the Marquis Mansion don’t know the rules. How is that our fault?”

Lin Jiayue squinted her eyes disdainfully, “I want to know, what improper books are worth ten thousand taels of silver?”

Madam Chen glanced at her, “Maybe something like ‘The Story of Yingying’ or ‘The Peony Pavilion,’ how would I know?”

“I think you’re crazy for money, using this to threaten me? Go ahead and see if anyone will pay attention to you. As for the marriage between the Marquis Mansion and the Chen family, whether you want it or not, I want to see if the girls of the Marquis Mansion can’t get married without your Chen family!”

“Fine, fine.” Madam Chen was almost furious. She stood up abruptly, her narrow eyes full of calculation, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you, if a girl’s reputation is ruined, there’s only one path left. Think it over.”

“The girls of the Marquis Mansion would rather stay single than marry into your Chen family.”

Lin Jiayue sneered and turned away, thinking Madam Chen was truly mad.

Would reading ‘The Story of Yingying‘ and ‘The Peony Pavilion‘ ruin chastity? Who wouldn’t laugh at that?

Already furious from Jiang Xingjian’s scolding, Madam Chen’s threat only added fuel to the fire. If she didn’t want to cause more trouble, she would have thrown hot tea in Madam Chen’s face.

Previously, she had strongly recommended the Chen family and arranged Jiang Jing’s marriage. Now that Madam Chen suddenly turned against them, she didn’t want to add fuel to the fire at this critical moment. She figured Madam Chen was just trying to take advantage of the situation and didn’t tell anyone about it.

Unexpectedly, the Chen family turned around and publicly broke off the engagement, using the excuse that the third young lady of the Marquis Mansion was unchaste and read improper books instead of ‘The Biographies of Exemplary Women‘ and ‘The Four Books for Women.’