Xia Yan was naturally mindful of the way the crowd was looking at her, and was so furious that she was about to explode. Then, out of the blue, she heard a low voice saying, “Xin Zhi.”
Jiang Ruan raised her eyes. Unexpectedly, it was Jiang Quan. Behind him stood Jiang Chao and Jiang Su Su, with Jiang Li, Jiang Dan, and the yiniangs. Apart from Old Jiang Madame, who was of ill health, every member of the Jiang family was present.
Jiang Xin Zhi faced Jiang Quan, and extremely politely, yet with an air of awkwardness which belied a lack of practice, nodded his head and said, “Father.”
On seeing him this way, a sense of dejection surged in Jiang Quan’s heart. This son had matured into such an exceptional person, but that also meant that there would be even less means of controlling him. He looked at Jiang Ruan, who was standing by his side – this sibling pair were both equally outstanding in terms of appearance and temperament, but, they had unfortunately crawled out from Zhao Mei’s womb!
Jiang Su Su’s expression was unreadable. On the other hand, Jiang Chao’s face was taut with tension, and he was glaring at Jiang Xin Zhi dead in the eyes like a poisonous viper. Jiang Ruan noticed the expression in his eyes and looked over at him without ceremony, giving him a faint smile.
The moment this smile appeared in Jiang Chao’s line of sight, he knew it was nothing but naked provocation. He slowly clenched his fists, and the little finger which had suffered forced amputation curled up tightly. He felt as though the eyes of all the spectators were mocking him.
Jiang Ruan’s smiling expression remained unchanged. Comparison. When two people of the same status appeared in a fu, what people most loved to do was to make comparisons. In her previous life, people had always compared her with Jiang Su Su. The more Jiang Su Su had stood out, the more undesirable she herself had become. This kind of comparison could utterly destroy someone. Moreover, this time the target had switched to Jiang Chao, who had always been the apple of Jiang Quan’s eye. Such an arrogant and proud person like Jiang Chao, if she let him taste what it was like to be thus compared and made to feel like an inferior object, would he act impulsively and do something rash? He who had been locked up in his room, unable to take action – what would happen if he took the initiative to attack?
Jiang Li and Second Yiniang stared at Jiang Xin Zhi with eyes of hatred; their hearts were full of both jealousy and hate. With Jiang Xin Zhi’s return, at the very least, no one in the fu would dare to openly bully Jiang Ruan for the time being. How on earth did Jiang Ruan come by such good fate, to reach this stage, and to have such a highly-lauded elder brother to rely on.
Hong Ying quietly gave a sigh of relief and rejoiced that she was not Jiang Ruan’s enemy. With Jiang Xin Zhi’s return, and especially due to his position as a Deputy General, Xia Yan’s days in the fu would not be so relaxed. She did not know if Jiang Ruan would really honour her promise to make her the mistress of the fu, but, in her heart, she was secretly excited.
After exchanging a few painfully polite words with the entirety of the Jiang family at the entrance, Jiang Xin Zhi appeared to be somewhat weary, and said, “I am very tired. I’d like to go back first and talk with Ah Ruan a little more. We can talk about other things later tonight.”
The siblings had just been reunited, so they naturally had a lot to talk about, and it would do no good to stop them from doing so. Just as Jiang Xin Zhi was about to walk through the entrance, Xia Yan finally could not restrain herself any longer and asked, “Xin Zhi, as you were travelling back . . . Did anything happen?”
“What does Mother think could have happened?” Jiang Xin Zhi asked in response. His tone was as warm and gentle as it was earlier, but there was also a faint sense of a murderous intent. Xia Yan stiffened and smilingly said, “I was just asking.”
Jiang Ruan smiled as she said, “Mother has truly hit the mark. On the way home, Dage ran into a group of rebels.”
“Rebels?” Xia Yan cried out hoarsely, her voice failing her. “How could they be rebels?” Those men were only lying in ambush for Jiang Xin Zhi, how could they have become rebels? To be charged with rebellion was no small matter. If they did not deal with the matter carefully, the entire family and clan of the person thus charged would be guilty by association, and summarily punished.
Jiang Ruan said softly, “Weren’t they? Quite a few archers were lying in ambush, but it was a lucky coincidence that General Guan and Xiao Wangye rushed up and captured all of them. I suppose they will carefully interrogate the men and ferret out the person behind it.” She smiled coolly at Xia Yan, who was clearly uneasy, and said, “When the person behind it all is captured, His Majesty will definitely order this person to be torn apart by five horses[1].” Having said this, she paid Xia Yan no further attention. She took Jiang Xin Zhi’s arm and walked into the fu with him.
[1] Wu ma fen shi ( 五马分尸 ) – lit. five horses divide the corpse. An ancient form of torture/ punishment, where horses are attached by chains to a person’s limbs and head, and thereby tear the person apart.
Due to the flurry caused by Jiang Xin Zhi’s unexpected return, a courtyard had not yet been prepared for him, and so he went first to Jiang Ruan’s. Lu Zhu and Zhou momo had been waiting anxiously; when they saw Jiang Ruan and the others walk in unscathed, they were overjoyed, and hurried to serve them tea.
Jiang Xin Zhi and Jiang Ruan sat by the window. Jiang Xin Zhi looked at Jiang Ruan, and said, “Ah Ruan, do you suspect that Xia Yan was behind it?” He was no longer an ignorant and impetuous 13 or 14-year old boy, and Jiang Ruan’s recent attitude towards Xia Yan had given him much cause for thought. However, how had Jiang Ruan come to know about these matters? Moreover . . . “There was no way for Xia Yan to mobilise such a large number of archers; those men were clearly trained soldiers.”
“That Xia Yan can’t do it herself doesn’t mean that the Xia family can’t. Moreover, there’s also the Li family, and maybe even the involvement of Eighth Prince.” Jiang Ruan looked at him as she said, “Dage, you are someone who attacks the enemy on the battlefield. Leave these shameful schemes cooked up by the furen of the back residence to me to manage.”
“And just how old do you think you are to be dealing with such schemes?” Jiang Xin Zhi frowned as he looked at her, and his heart was full of sorrowful love as well as anger. “Ah Ruan, I don’t want you involved in such matters; leave them to me. If you don’t like living in the Jiang fu, then we will simply move out.”
“You are the eldest di son of the Jiang fu – what will others think if you move out? There are so many imperial censors in the capital city. Once you have exposed an area that others can castigate you for, they will not hesitate to criticize and raise a complaint against you to the Emperor. Then what will happen to your career as an official thereafter?” Jiang Ruan stated, “I will not move out of the Jiang fu.”
“I don’t care about being an official,” Jiang Xin Zhi said. “Ah Ruan, as long as you are safe and happy, Dage will be satisfied.”
Safe and happy? Just two simple words, but how many people could actually achieve them? In this lifetime, she was only living to exact vengeance. Safety and happiness were like a mirage, things she could only dream of, impossible to achieve.
“You have to be an official, Dage,” Jiang Ruan said. “Only in this way will you be able to trample them all underfoot, and cause them to respect you, fear you, be afraid to bully you. As a result, they will also not bully me. Dage, don’t worry about me. I have managed all these years; I can protect myself, and I can protect you, as well.”
Jiang Xin Zhi looked at her and said, “Ah Ruan, is there something you are keeping from me? Why do you insist on living in the Jiang fu?” Why had his younger sister’s temperament changed so drastically, and why was she involved in imperial matters? Jiang Xin Zhi had only just returned to the capital city, and his mind was in a whirl. He only knew that somehow, somewhere, some unforeseen event had occurred to precipitate the change.
Jiang Ruan said, indifferently, “There’s nothing.” She was as yet unable to tell Jiang Xin Zhi about how Zhao Mei had been harmed. Jiang Xin Zhi would act on impulse and inevitably mess up her plans. Moreover, in this lifetime, it was enough to have one rotten-hearted villain. Jiang Xin Zhi had to live cleanly; all this dirty business and conspiracy must never corrupt his heart.
“I won’t force you to tell me,” Jiang Xin Zhi said. Even if Jiang Ruan refused to tell him anything, he would still be able to find out. He patted Jiang Ruan’s head and said, “Since you refuse to move out of the Jiang fu, I won’t do so, either. I will stay in the fu, and make sure that no one dares to bully you.”
Jiang Ruan nodded her head slightly.
On witnessing the warm reunion between brother and sister, Bai Zhi, Lian Qiao, and Lu Zhu could not stop their tears from flowing. After so many years, Jiang Ruan had finally broken free of all the troubles and hardships.
While there was great joy and satisfaction on this side, in other places, the world had been upended.
“What did you say? Jiang Xin Zhi has returned to the Jiang fu?” Xia Cheng clasped his hands behind his back and shot the messenger a look of disbelief. “Utter nonsense! Even if he had nine lives, he would not have been able to escape! There was no way this plan could have failed, unless there was some supernatural intervention!”
“Not only that, but . . .” the messenger said very cautiously, “the men who were sent have all been captured, and are now being interrogated in prison.”
“Didn’t we send men who were willing to sacrifice their lives? Why are they still alive? However,” Xia Cheng snorted in disdain, “those willing sacrifices have been well trained and will not say anything, no matter what. Find out where they are being kept and find some people to take care of the situation tonight, I don’t have to tell you what to do.”
“But . . . the interrogator is Xiao Wangye.”
