Chapter 56: Deceived into Caring for a Concubine’s Postpartum Recovery

“It’s okay, Mother. I can handle it. I’ve grown up now. Faced with the Second Branch and their pack of wild dogs circling us, how could I not stand by your side and fight?” Fang Zhiyi’s gaze was serious and resolute.

Qin Xuan’s voice trembled slightly, filled with reluctance. “But this matter… it concerns Jiang Shicheng.”

Fang Zhiyi was momentarily stunned but quickly regained her composure.

After marrying into the Jiang family, she soon realized that the honesty and kindness her mother had investigated were nothing but illusions.

On the contrary, they were calculating and mean-spirited. Her sisters-in-law and mother-in-law frequently stirred up trouble.

She could have handled it—

But after news of her father’s disappearance spread, their attitude toward her worsened.

She was growing weary of dealing with them, nearing the breaking point.

As for her husband, Jiang Shicheng, he initially tried to mediate and play peacemaker.

But as time passed, he began justifying their actions, saying that his mother and sister had sacrificed a lot to put him through school and that she should be understanding.

She never told her mother any of this.

Perhaps An’an had mentioned something.

“Go ahead,” Fang Zhiyi said, still unwilling to bring up the matter herself.

Whatever An’an had revealed, so be it.

She didn’t plan on telling her mother more than necessary—no need to cause her unnecessary regret and worry.

This was the path she had chosen.

“Did you care for a pregnant woman and continue taking care of her even after she gave birth?” Qin Xuan asked.

Fang Zhiyi’s eyelashes fluttered as she froze for a moment, confused. “Jiang Shicheng told me she was an official’s concubine. That the official’s wife was aggressive and wouldn’t dare make arrangements herself, so she ordered him to find someone to look after her.”

“For the sake of his career, he couldn’t afford to refuse. He wanted the woman to put in a good word for him, so he asked me to take care of her personally. I sympathized with the official’s wife and didn’t approve of his underhanded tactics, so I refused.”

“But then he said he had uncovered a secret about this official. If he didn’t help, he might be targeted. Even if the Fang family wanted to protect me, they might not be able to intervene in time.”

She hadn’t told her mother that, at the time, her mother-in-law and four sisters-in-law took turns criticizing her—saying she neither sought her maiden family’s help for Jiang Shicheng’s promotion nor was willing to assist him herself. They even threatened to cast her out.

Had she been alone, she wouldn’t have cared. But she was the eldest sister, with many younger sisters still at home.

At the time, she had been married to Jiang Shicheng for less than a year. The scandal at the poetry gathering had only just died down. If she were immediately divorced, it would severely damage the Fang daughters’ reputations.

So, she had to play the villain.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Fang Zhiyi looked at her mother with suspicion. “Is there something wrong with this?”

Qin Xuan steeled herself and revealed the truth. “That woman was his own concubine!”

Fang Zhiyi instinctively took a deep breath.

She never had any feelings for Jiang Shicheng—they couldn’t even hold a proper conversation.

As long as he stayed out of her way, he could have all the concubines he wanted.

But that didn’t mean he could deceive and humiliate her.

In truth, nothing had actually happened between them at the poetry gathering.

They had been drugged, but when people found them, they were only lying together in disheveled clothing.

Even after marriage, they had never consummated their relationship.

Jiang Shicheng always found excuses—on their wedding night, he claimed he was too tired. Later, he said he was too busy and stayed away for days on end.

She had hoped to have a child and had asked him about it gently.

That was when he finally admitted he had some “issues” and was seeking treatment.

Only now did she realize—he had been “saving himself” for his concubine.

At that thought, Fang Zhiyi couldn’t help but laugh coldly, her eyes filled with bleakness.

True, their marriage had been arranged by circumstance—

But wasn’t Jiang Shicheng the one who had personally sought it?

The Fang family had never forced him to marry her.

After their wedding, she had treated everyone sincerely, dutifully serving her mother-in-law and even using her dowry to support the household.

Yet in return, her husband played her for a fool, and her in-laws tormented her endlessly.

Qin Xuan, deeply worried, reached out to squeeze her daughter’s hand, which rested on the table.

“Yi’er, are you okay?”

Fang Zhiyi immediately smiled at her mother, reassuringly turning her hand over to hold hers.

The room fell silent.

Delicate wisps of smoke curled from the intricately carved incense burner on the rootwood table.

“Mother, I have always been kind to others,” she said, her voice calm and cold as deep waters. “But I will never forgive those who hurt me.”

When the mother and daughter emerged from the room, Nanny Lei, who had been waiting at a distance, hurried over.

“Madam, those two have confessed. However, they said the employer deliberately concealed their face, making it hard to recognize them. But they did notice one thing—the person was actually a woman dressed as a man. The only distinctive feature was a unique fragrance they carried, though they couldn’t quite describe it.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Zhiyi returned to her room for a while before emerging with a handkerchief, which she handed to Nanny Lei.

“Nanny, let them smell this.”

Taking the handkerchief, Nanny Lei immediately set off to carry out the task.

Meanwhile, mother and daughter walked side by side toward the dining hall.

Noticing that her daughter still had something to say, Qin Xuan dismissed the servants following them.

As they strolled down the garden path, Fang Zhiyi explained the significance of the handkerchief to her mother.

“When my daughter was young and learning the art of perfumery, she always wanted to create unique scents and often experimented with different combinations. By chance, she once crafted a particularly distinct fragrance—vivid and striking, like a bright red robe, easy to detect, yet not overpowering, lingering in the air without dispersing quickly.”

“She used it for two years but later felt that lighter, more elegant scents suited her better and stopped using it. However, she was wearing that fragrance during the time she saved Prince Qi. As for the formula, I only ever taught Fang Zhenzhen.”

She still remembered the winter of her fifteenth year, the final snowfall before spring arrived.

She had been painting in the snow with her maids when Fang Zhenzhen suddenly ran up to her, saying she loved the scent she had frequently worn when she was eight or nine years old and asking for the perfume formula.

She had been puzzled at the time, finding Fang Zhenzhen’s request rather strange.

But under Zhenzhen’s coquettish pleading, she didn’t press further and simply taught her the formula.

After all, back then, she had cherished Fang Zhenzhen as her beloved younger sister.

Qin Xuan, after hearing this, made a few guesses but couldn’t understand why, if the person in question was Fang Zhenzhen, she had chosen to reveal herself.

Fang Zhiyi shared the same doubt.

In the end, they decided to wait for Nanny Lei’s confirmation before analyzing further and shifted the conversation to other topics.

Qin Xuan then spoke to Fang Zhiyi about Cao Yaxian.

Oddly enough, her own affairs hadn’t made Fang Zhiyi cry, but when it came to Cao Yaxian, she couldn’t stop her tears from falling, no matter how hard she tried.

Qin Xuan gently comforted her, suggesting they find an appropriate time to visit the Cao family together.

Only then did Fang Zhiyi slowly regain her composure.

By the time they arrived at the dining hall, Fang Yuean and Er’er were already seated at the round table, waiting.

At first, they had waited for a while, but when no one showed up, Fang Yuean grew restless, left someone to keep watch, and went off to play elsewhere for a bit before returning.

Resting her chin in her hands, she absentmindedly fiddled with the windmill on the table.

Why aren’t they here yet? Did Mother and Big Sister forget about us and sneak off to eat something delicious on their own?

Hearing movement by the door, she immediately straightened up and craned her neck to look.

She saw her mother and older sister rounding the screen, chatting and laughing as they walked in.

“You must be starving. It’s all my fault for losing track of time,” Qin Xuan said apologetically to the two of them.

Fang Yuean didn’t catch what her mother said—she was too busy staring at Fang Zhiyi in a daze.

I wonder if Big Sister brought back any special treats from Lincang?

I just saw the servants unloading boxes from the carriage—big ones and small ones—so she probably did. She answered herself.

Sigh, but I’m not that close with Big Sister. It’d be too embarrassing to ask outright.

Behind the screen, Huai Ze’s expression grew increasingly unreadable as he thought to himself, You? Embarrassed?