Chapter 17

“Huai’er.”

Mrs. Jiang felt a sudden rush of panic.

Although Huai’er wasn’t very close to her, he had never questioned her so publicly in front of so many servants.

She moved closer to “Jiang Huai,” placed her hand on his chest, and spoke sadly: “Huai’er, right now, Siqing and your child are in serious danger. But you won’t make a decision for them? Instead, you’re protecting the person who tried to hurt them, Xu Lianqiao…”

She grew more upset and pointed at “Jiang Huai”: “That woman, she’s a curse.”

Mrs. Jiang spoke so passionately that she almost lost her breath. Jiang Xi, couldn’t hold back her anger. Thinking of how much Lu Siqing had suffered, she felt overwhelmed and started to cry.

“Second brother, why are you acting like this? Don’t forget that Siqing’s mother died saving you. You promised you would always protect Siqing.”

“And Xu Lianqiao, Second brother, don’t forget, she was dying at the time…”

Before Jiang Xi could say more, Lu Siqing’s weak cries came from the room.

“Prince… Prince… Qing’er is in so much pain…”

Ning Yuan’s face darkened as he heard it. For the first time since becoming Jiang Huai, he truly felt the helplessness of Ah Qiao in Jiang Mansion.

No one in the whole yard was speaking up for Ah Qiao. Even the maid who came with Ah Qiao from Xu Mansion seemed to want to harm her.

Ah Qiao…

Ning Yuan couldn’t help but think, if he had taken her away earlier, none of this would have happened.

Looking around at the chaos in the house, Ning Yuan tried to hide his impatience. He spoke calmly to Mrs. Jiang: “Mother, I am a minister of Dali Temple ^[1]a government office responsible for handling legal matters.. When dealing with cases, we need clear evidence, both witnesses and physical proof.”

He glanced at the person still kneeling and continued, “Right now, we only have the maid’s one-sided story. Please don’t let your son make a decision based on that. If people hear about it, they’ll think your son is turning Dali Temple into a joke.”

Mrs. Jiang was shocked. She hadn’t expected him to bring up Dali Temple again and dismiss the story as one-sided…

She was silent, unsure how to respond.

“Then what do you suggest we do? We can’t let Siqing suffer like this.”

This was exactly what Ning Yuan wanted. He didn’t want Ah Qiao to face injustice either.

“In that case, it’s time to investigate properly.”

_

Xu Lianqiao had just finished closing the booklet and was about to pack it up and go to bed when someone knocked on her door.

The visitor didn’t speak but simply instructed her to go to the main hall.

This made Xu Lianqiao feel a bit scared again…

It was nighttime, and everything was because of Lu Siqing.

She couldn’t help but think that tonight might be worse than before.

As she walked along, her steps felt hollow.

She didn’t feel guilty, but she was… worried she couldn’t explain herself properly.

When she entered the hall, the atmosphere was heavy.

Xu Lianqiao took a quick glance and saw that almost everyone from the Jiang family was present. Even Chun Xing, who had been in her room before, was kneeling at the side.

The only one missing was Jiang Huai…

Of course, he must be with Lu Siqing right now.

But for some reason, she felt even more uneasy.

Mr. Jiang and Mrs. Jiang were sitting at the center of the room.

Everyone in the hall looked at her with disdain.

Xu Lianqiao understood why.

They had agreed to her marriage with Jiang Huai for Mr. Jiang’s happiness.

In addition to Mrs. Jiang insisting on the engagement, it was also because her name was considered unlucky.

The Jiang family had originally planned to send Mr. Jiang back to the Xu family after his death, due to the bad omen associated with her name.

After all, no one thought she was lucky.

But then Mrs. Jiang’s health had improved.

Although she still couldn’t get out of bed, her complexion had gotten better.

Because of this, they couldn’t send her away.

It was really hard for them.

“Father, mother.”

Although she was reluctant, her grandfather had told her to always show basic respect.

Mr. Jiang answered softly, but Mrs. Jiang ignored her completely.

When she spoke, she ordered Xu Lianqiao to kneel.

Xu Lianqiao didn’t know where to put her hands.

Not far away, the candle flame flickered, swaying back and forth when the breeze passed.

Xu Lianqiao started to lose focus, watching the flame.

She recalled that the day after entering the Jiang Mansion, she had gone to serve tea to Mrs. Jiang, as usual, but Mrs. Jiang had purposely made things difficult for her, forcing her to kneel in the ancestral hall.

It was April, and the morning was still chilly. Her stomach was empty, and after waiting half the night, her body couldn’t take it anymore. After kneeling for two hours, she finally fainted…

“I don’t know what wrong I’ve done…” she muttered.

She didn’t want to kneel.

“Pa.”

Mrs. Jiang’s palm slapped the armrest, making the chair creak with her anger.

“Kneel when I tell you to.”

It was so unreasonable.

“I hope mother will explain.”

Mrs. Jiang didn’t expect Xu Lianqiao to be so stubborn.

She was about to get angrier when…

“Jiang Huai” appeared at the door.

His arrival interrupted her anger.

“Huai’er, why aren’t you with Siqing?” Mrs. Jiang asked.

Jiang Huai didn’t respond and walked calmly toward Xu Lianqiao.

Seeing that she turned her head away from him, he knew she was uncomfortable.

Xu Lianqiao did feel uneasy.

She didn’t like Jiang Huai, but she felt an odd discomfort.

When she turned away, she noticed Jiang Huai was gently tugging at her sleeve.

What was he doing…?

She vaguely heard “Jiang Huai” whisper, “Don’t be scared.”

She… was so scared…

Before she could react, “Jiang Huai” moved in front of her, blocking the distance between her and everyone, and stood protectively in front of her.

For some reason, Xu Lianqiao felt reassured.

“Bring everyone here.”

When “Jiang Huai” finished speaking, two more people entered the room.

What was this about?

Was it related to Lu Siqing?

Before Xu Lianqiao could process it, the two newcomers knelt.

“Master Marquis, madam, I am an apprentice at Huichun Hall.”

“I’m an errand young man from the east alleys.”

“It was this young man who came to Huichun Hall asking for musk.”

“Yes, yes.” The errand young man added, “Someone gave me two taels of silver to buy it.”

Mr. Jiang frowned, realizing that the unknown musk had come from Huichun Hall before.

He asked solemnly, “Who did you give the musk to?”

The errand young man looked around nervously.

His eyes first fell on Xu Lianqiao, then quickly moved away, and he slowly pointed toward someone.

Xu Lianqiao turned her head to see who he was pointing at.

It turned out to be Nanny Xu, who was standing beside Mrs. Jiang.

This confused her, but it made sense in a way.

Nanny Xu couldn’t stand for long, and her legs had been trembling since she was brought in.

When the young man pointed at her, she collapsed to the ground.

“Madam, this isn’t fair. They’re lying!” Nanny Xu protested.

At this, Ning Yuan, who had been calm, grew angry.

“I found the person. Does Nanny Xu mean to say I’m framing you?”

He didn’t stop and threw down a sachet.

“You shouldn’t be sneaky. If you are, you won’t know what you lost.”

Mrs. Jiang looked at the sachet in surprise. It was the one Grandma Xu had brought with her before.

A few days ago, she had asked why Grandma Xu wasn’t wearing it anymore, and the woman had claimed she had lost it.

Now… it had been found.

“That’s nonsense. The thief must have picked it up!” Nanny Xu cried.

“Old woman, stop talking nonsense.”

Before the argument could escalate, Ning Yuan said to Mr. Jiang:

“Father, mother, the musk in Huichun Hall all have its mark. According to the records, I investigated and found that the musk in the wormwood incense came from Huichun Hall and was given to this person.”

“Now, the only one left is Nanny Xu.”

Nanny Xu was shocked… her hands were covered in cold sweat.

Not only her, but Chun Xing at the side was also trembling in fear.

She had thought Nanny Xu was reliable, but now everything was unraveling too quickly.

What could they do now…?

Mrs. Jiang was in disbelief. How could Nanny Xu want to harm Siqing?

She had always been so fond of Siqing.

Was it a case of misjudging a person’s heart? Or… was this matter…

Mrs. Jiang couldn’t bring herself to think further.

At this point, Nanny Xu closed her eyes.

“It was me. I did it.”

“Why?” Mrs. Jiang asked, confused.

“Because I hated that slut Liu Qiao’er.”

Liu Qiao’er was Lu Siqing’s mother.

“I was just a slave, but her daughter was about to give birth to the prince’s eldest son. How could I accept that?” Nanny Xu explained.

Xu Lianqiao didn’t know the details of their grudge, but she couldn’t understand why Nanny Xu would harm Lu Siqing and her child.

Mrs. Jiang was so angry she nearly fainted.

In her mind, the two of them had been such close friends.

Jiang Xi, who had been quiet, comforted her, though her expression was mostly one of confusion.

Only Zhou Wan seemed unaffected by the entire situation, still standing politely aside.

_

Later, it happened in a natural and logical way.

Nanny Xu and Chun Xing admitted that they had worked together to frame things, including the incident where Lu Siqing fell today, which was also their fault.

“Stop worrying.”

The night was quiet, and after the commotion, Jiang Huai led Xu Lianqiao back.

“Did you know about this earlier?”

It happened suddenly, and those two witnesses couldn’t have been called so late at night.

Sure enough, in the dark night, Jiang Huai nodded.

After he woke up, he instructed people to start checking. Everything was prepared, but there happened to be a sudden turn of events.

Although the matter was not completely resolved.

As he walked forward, he noticed Xu Lianqiao had stopped behind him.

“Are you Jiang Huai?”