Chapter 25: Beaten

In the daytime, Jiang Chuyue refused to gift the golden swiftlet’s nest.

That night, Xiao Ji sent someone on behalf of Madam Jiang to ask for it.

Jiang Chuyue could never refuse Xiao Ji’s request.

It was just a box of bird’s nest—she could give it.

She didn’t want to disappoint him.

Love makes one humble enough to be ground into dust.

Jiang Chuyue sent the golden swiftlet’s nest away. Night had fallen deeply; she no longer felt like strolling, and returned to her rooms to rest.

…

Elsewhere, Madam Jiang finally got to drink the delicacy she had long coveted.

To be honest, golden swiftlet’s nest tasted no different from ordinary bird’s nest. But Madam Jiang was elated—this was something she had snatched from Jiang Chuyue’s hands.

At last, she could step on Jiang Chuyue’s head.

Still, Madam Jiang dared not push too far.

She knew that if she kept making Xiao Ji personally ask Jiang Chuyue for rare items, in time, it would breed his disgust.

A few days later, Madam Jiang, accompanied by her maid Dujuan, strolled in the garden. The Xiao residence servants greeted her with deep respect along the way.

Madam Jiang relished it.

She loved the feeling of being admired, as if it were the days back in Li County when everyone fawned over her.

Dujuan, supporting her, said smugly, “Madam, if you can give birth to a son, perhaps the General will raise you to be the main wife.”

Madam Jiang’s red lips curved. “May it be so.”

As the mistress and servant turned a corridor, they saw Jiang Chuyue in the front courtyard.

Jiang Chuyue was managing household affairs. Several stewards surrounded her, reporting. She listened, gave a few pointed instructions, and the men’s faces lit with sudden understanding.

Madam Jiang stood under the eaves, nails biting into her palms.

She had once run the household herself, but never with such skill.

Jiang Chuyue was not a delicate ornament raised behind closed doors—her beauty was matched by her competence in managing the inner residence.

They had both lost their parents and families, yet why was Jiang Chuyue so exceptional?

Madam Jiang’s mind turned. She adjusted the emerald hairpin at her temple, plastered on a gentle smile, and walked toward her. The sweep of her pale skirt on the marble floor whispered like a snake’s slither.

Jiang Chuyue was telling the stewards, “Go about your tasks. Later, I will leave the manor to inspect the quality of this batch of timber myself.”

The stewards dispersed.

Seeing Madam Jiang, Jiang Chuyue reminded her, “It’s hot today. As you are with child, Tenth Concubine, you should rest indoors.”

Madam Jiang smiled. “The physician says I shouldn’t lie down all day—best to walk more. Second Miss, you’re going out?”

Jiang Chuyue nodded. “Mm.”

Madam Jiang was about to speak when she caught sight of Xiao Ji in the distance. He was off duty today and had returned early.

Keeping her gentle smile, she swayed her fan and spoke softly: “Second Miss, to be a noble lady of the capital, you truly ought to thank your parents.”

Jiang Chuyue felt the malice instantly.

Her face hardened. “What do you mean by that?”

Still smiling as though chatting idly, Madam Jiang said, “If not for their early deaths, you wouldn’t be living so well now. In my view, your parents died at just the right time.”

Smack!

A sharp slap rang through the courtyard.

Jiang Chuyue’s face was ice-cold. “Hold your tongue!”

She would not permit anyone to insult her parents.

Madam Jiang staggered like a willow leaf in the wind and fell to the ground, clutching her belly with a pallid face. “My stomach… it hurts…”

Dujuan cried out loudly, “Second Miss! My lady was only greeting you! Even if you dislike her, you can’t hit her!”

Baozhu rolled her eyes. “What a clumsy trick—one slap and you fall over? Fooling ghosts, maybe.”

Unfortunately, Xiao Ji had just arrived back at the manor and saw the whole scene.

His face darkened as he rushed forward, carefully lifting Madam Jiang. “Someone fetch the physician!”

The household doctor came in haste.

After taking Madam Jiang’s pulse, his brow furrowed. “General, the Tenth Concubine’s fetus is extremely unstable. I’ll prepare a prescription to try and save it.”

Xiao Ji’s expression instantly grew grim; his fists clenched. A surge of fear and unease rose in him.

This child carried his hopes. It must not be lost.

By the bed, Madam Jiang—hearing that her child might not survive—panicked as well. She had only meant to teach Jiang Chuyue a lesson, never to endanger her own baby.

Tears streaming, she choked out, “Second Miss… even if you hate me, you should spare the child…”

Jiang Chuyue said coldly, “You slandered my parents. One slap is far from enough—”

Smack!

The blow landed before Jiang Chuyue could even blink.

She froze. So did Xiao Ji.

The room fell into a heavy silence.

Jiang Chuyue felt something precious in her heart shatter with that sudden slap.

Xiao Ji looked down at his tingling hand. His mind had been full of the child might be gone. This child was his hidden hope; he longed for its birth.

So when he heard Jiang Chuyue admit to striking, anger flared—and before he realized, his hand had struck her.

A dull pain thudded in his chest. He tried to explain: “Xiao… Xiao Yue, I didn’t mean to.”

He had never hit her before.

For years, he had given her all his tenderness, treating her like a treasured gem.

Lowering her eyes, Jiang Chuyue stepped back twice, drawing a chasm between them. She said quietly, “I… I have to inspect the timber. Elder Brother, take good care of the Tenth Concubine.”

She fled.

Pain constricted Xiao Ji’s heart. He instinctively wanted to chase her, but Madam Jiang groaned again on the bed, eyes shimmering with tears. “General, don’t worry about me—it was my fault for offending Second Miss.”

Her pallor made her seem fragile.

Xiao Ji hesitated. Jiang Chuyue had guards with her; she would be safe. When she returned that night, he would apologize in person.

He took Madam Jiang’s hand, speaking patiently: “Don’t overthink. Drink the medicine and focus on saving the child.”

The child must be saved above all.

Madam Jiang wept, hiding her secret delight.

…

Jiang Chuyue’s carriage left the manor.

Her right cheek was already swollen red.

Baozhu, eyes brimming, applied ointment for swelling and bruises. “Miss, the General went too far—how could he hit you?”

Xiao Ji was a man of the sword; his strength was great. Her cheek throbbed fiercely, her head dizzy.

Jiang Chuyue put on a white veiled hat, the gauze hiding her face. She went to a woodworking shop in the city to inspect a recent timber purchase for the Xiao residence.

With summer’s heat approaching, the elderly Madam Xiao feared the swelter. Jiang Chuyue wanted to buy quality wood to renovate the back garden’s pavilion and waterside hall, so Madam Xiao could summer there in comfort.

After checking the timber, she turned to return to her carriage. But at the alley’s mouth rolled a black-gold sandalwood carriage, its iron fittings carved with dragons and tigers—imposing and cold.

It was the carriage of the Regent, Xie Linyuan.

Jiang Chuyue tugged her veil lower, pretending not to notice. She truly couldn’t fathom why, in a city with ten main streets, she kept running into the Regent.

She kept her head down, feigning ignorance—but the carriage drew to a deliberate halt. A long-fingered hand lifted the curtain, the black jade thumb ring gleaming.

Xie Linyuan’s deep voice sounded: “What a coincidence, to meet Miss Jiang again.”