Chapter 74
Impermanence

“It’s you. You’re the one who caused my Jing’er’s death. Today, I’m going to send you down to accompany her.”

As soon as Madam Zhou saw Lin Jiayue, she became even more hysterical. She pushed aside the maids in the courtyard, rushed up to Lin Jiayue, and slapped her hard.

Lin Jiayue, who hadn’t eaten or slept for days, blacked out and fell to the ground from the force of the slap. Though her cheek hurt, she felt a strange sense of relief.

To this day, she couldn’t understand why Jiang Jing had thrown herself into the well. Was it really because of the so-called unchaste reputation, or was it because the Chen family had broken off the engagement?

Whatever the reason, Lin Jiayue knew she couldn’t escape the blame.

Madam Zhou pounded on Lin Jiayue, who lay there numbly, letting her vent her anger.

It wasn’t until Madam Zhou started choking her that Lin Jiayue began to struggle.

She was scared.

Facing death, she was terrified.

But Madam Zhou’s hands were like iron clamps, and no matter how much Lin Jiayue struggled, she couldn’t break free.

The Old Madam fainted, and Mother Jiang, panicking, stayed by her side. Seeing the Old Madam’s face turn blue and her breath falter, she quickly removed the gold hairpin from her head and pricked Old Madam’s philtrum, finally allowing her to gasp for air.

Madam Zheng stepped forward to pull Madam Zhou away. If someone died in front of the Old Madam, Madam Zhou would be doomed. Just thinking about it filled her with a sense of shared sorrow.

The entire Fuhe Hall was in chaos, and Song Wan stood quietly behind Mother Jiang, not leaving the Old Madam’s side.

When the Old Madam regained consciousness, Song Wan hurried to support her.

The Old Madam pointed at Lin Jiayue, who was lying on the ground, and said, “Get this troublemaker out of here…”

“Old Madam, you must seek justice for Jing’er!”

“Enough.” Jiang Xingjian rushed in. He had just started his duties at the Breeding Office when a servant from the mansion fetched him. Seeing the situation, he felt a splitting headache.

“Pull Madam Zhou away.”

Lin Jiayue was rescued by a few young male servants from the outer courtyard. The mansion was in such disarray that they couldn’t even maintain the separation between men and women, so they had to call in the young male servants to handle her.

Madam Zhou, restrained by the servants, glared at Jiang Xingjian with bloodshot eyes and a contorted face. “Marquis, can you give me a straight answer today? Will you get rid of the root cause of my Jing’er’s death or not?”

Lin Jiayue clutched her neck, her eyes bloodshot, gasping for breath. Experiencing the feeling of near-death again made her hair stand on end, and fear gnawed at her heart, leaving her mind blank.

Madam Zhou’s emotions calmed, and she fiercely shook off the young male servants holding her.

After all, they were women of the inner courtyard, and the men didn’t dare to act rashly. Seeing that Jiang Xingjian hadn’t made a decision, they all let go.

“Marquis, I only ask you this: will you remove the root cause of this chaos or not?”

Jiang Xingjian seemed momentarily dazed as if stunned by the question.

Only Song Wan looked at him in surprise before lowering her eyes.

At that moment, he felt a murderous intent.

The brief silence made Lin Jiayue, who was particularly sensitive to life and death, look up with red eyes. Jiang Xingjian seemed to come to his senses and said in a low voice, “Take Madam Zhou back to Yu’an Courtyard.”

“Hahaha, it’s all in chaos. The Marquis Mansion is in complete turmoil.”

Madam Zhou was utterly disappointed because Jiang Xingjian had no intention of dealing with Lin Jiayue. She tidied her hair, tears in her eyes, and smiled faintly, her dimples showing as they did when she was gentle.

“With descendants like these, the old Marquis must be restless in his grave.”

“Old Marquis, Jing’er, I’m coming to join you…”

With that, Madam Zhou suddenly rushed towards a pillar in the courtyard of Fuhe Hall and slammed her head against it. There was a dull thud, blood splattered, and she fell lifeless to the ground.

Everyone in the courtyard was stunned, but Heng Wu quickly shielded Song Wan while Heng Zhi covered her eyes with a handkerchief.

Jiang Xingjian’s face turned ashen, and Lin Jiayue felt her scalp tingle, her body trembling with cold.

The Old Madam fainted from shock, and Madam Zheng, crying, removed her robe and gently covered Madam Zhou’s face, sobbing softly, “I told you not to make a scene. What good did it do? Our lowly lives can’t hold anyone accountable.”

“Take Young Madam back to her room.”

Jiang Xingjian ordered sternly, and Heng Zhi and Heng Wu quickly escorted Song Wan back to Lan Ting Courtyard.

Mother Jiang sent someone to fetch the doctor while the maids of Fuhe Hall busied themselves with carrying the Old Madam back to her room.

Jiang Xingjian directed the servants to handle Madam Zhou’s body, and Madam Zheng was led away in tears by the maids…

Only Lin Jiayue stood there in a daze, staring at the pale arm peeking out from under the yellow robe.

Two people had died violently in the mansion within seven days, leaving everyone in a state of panic. No one paid any attention to Lin Jiayue.

People passed by her, but no one asked her a single question. It wasn’t until Qian Bi and Qing Hong found her that they quickly dragged the soulless Lin Jiayue away.

There were no cries of mourning, no white cloth or yellow paper. The bloodstains on the pillars and white jade floor tiles were wiped clean by the servants, and no one mentioned Madam Zhou’s death again, as if such a tragic event had never occurred in the Marquis Mansion.

---

Taking out two plain invitations from his pocket, Song Lan’an pushed them in front of Jiang Xingjian. “The Marquis’s betrothal letter and Wan’er’s marriage contract. The Song family cannot afford to climb to the Marquis Mansion’s level. Please find two elders from the clan and choose a date.”