Jiang Ruan smiled wordlessly. It was at this time that a voice from behind Xia Yan was heard, saying, “Mother is overanxious.”
Jiang Xin Zhi strode over and patted Jiang Ruan’s head. “Since the young ladies are all sisters of the Jiang fu, it would indeed not be a good idea to have Jiang Ruan occupy a carriage by herself. Father has also always been benevolent and has never discriminated between the shu and di sons and daughters.”
When Xia Yan heard the phrase ‘no discimination between the shu and di sons and daughters’, her face turned green. Even when Zhao Mei had been alive and in good health, Jiang Quan had treated Jiang Su Su and Jiang Chao much better than Jiang Ruan and Jiang Xin Zhi. Even at present, they were seen as being inferior. Thus, when Jiang Xin Zhi said this, her heart constricted. She looked over at Jiang Xin Zhi to see that his expression was proper and at ease, without even the slightest hint of sarcasm.
Xia Yan cursed inwardly. Jiang Xin Zhi and Jiang Ruan had such unforgiving tongues that there was an unbearable urge to tear their mouths off.
‘But, it’s really difficult to find another carriage right now,” Xia Yan said helplessly.
Jiang Xin Zhi smiled fleetingly and said, “No matter.” He waved his hand, and several carriages came into sight, moving towards them. There were three carriages in total and all of them looked exactly the same as the carriage which had been ‘specially’ selected for Jiang Ruan. Jiang Xin Zhi said, “I have found some carriages- would my younger sisters kindly take their seats?”
Xia Yan was taken aback and felt a sudden chill. She stole a glance at Jiang Xin Zhi’s face, but there was nothing strange about his expression. She forced a laugh and said, “How could I allow you, my son, to spend money this way?”
Jiang Xin Zhi smiled and said, “Mother does not need to be like this. These coachmen are all excellent, and will drive both speedily and steadily. My younger sisters need not suffer from constant jolting, and will be able to speed there and back.”
Jiang Ruan also smiled and said, “Mother, you don’t need to keep refusing. Or, could it be that you don’t wish to accept Dage’s kind intentions?”
Under the eyes of the watchful onlookers, Xia Yan was dumbstruck and rendered speechless by Jiang Ruan’s words. She could not decline the offer, and thus could only grit her teeth and accept it. Jiang Su Su, her face veiled so her expression was unseen, took the lead and walked to the rear carriage. Jiang Li naturally welcomed this development, as she no longer had to share a carriage with Jiang Su Su and Jiang Dan. Jiang Dan bit her lip and glanced timidly at Jiang Xin Zhi before slowly disembarking.
Jiang Ruan waited for her sisters to enter the carriages Jiang Xin Zhi had procured for them before boarding a carriage with Lu Zhu and the other servant girls. As Xia Yan struggled to maintain her gentle smile, she saw Jiang Xin Zhi wave his hand, and two imposing bodyguards came out of nowhere. Jiang Xin Zhi said, “Protect the young ladies well.”
The two bodyguards accepted their orders. Startled, Xia Yan said, “Xin Zhi, you . . .”
“Since Ah Ruan and the other sisters are travelling by themselves to such a distant location, and Second Younger Brother is not trained in martial arts, I was afraid that the fu’s bodyguards would be of little use.” Jiang Xin Zhi smiled as he continued, “These two brothers of mine are rather rough fellows. They have seen blood spilled and are fairly bloodthirsty themselves. With them protecting Ah Ruan and the others, I feel more at ease.”
When he said ‘seen blood spilled and are fairly bloodthirsty’, he deliberately slowed down his speech. He saw Xia Yan shiver, and she seemed somewhat reluctant to look at the expression on his face.
As Jiang Chao sat in the carriage, he kept glaring at Jiang Xin Zhi, following his every word and movement. When he heard Jiang Xin Zhi saying that he (Jiang Chao) did not know martial arts, followed by his calling forth of the two bodyguards, he felt as if he had been most egregiously insulted. He glared at Jiang Xin Zhi even more fiercely and cursed him a hundred times over in his heart.
After Jiang Xin Zhi had issued his orders, Jiang Ruan’s head emerged from behind the carriage curtains. She smiled at him and said, “Dage, do go home.”
Jiang Xin Zhi patted her on the head, his expression as warm as ever as he regarded her and said, “Be careful on the road.”
Jiang Ruan smiled as she let the curtain fall once again. When she could no longer see Jiang Xin Zhi, she leaned against the side of the carriage, sighed softly and said, in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Dage.”
A hint of jealousy flashed in Jiang Su Su’s eyes as she took in the interaction between this pair of siblings. Nowadays, in the Jiang fu, Jiang Xin Zhi was just like a vengeful spirit, with a palpably murderous aura. No one dared to provoke him, fearing to incite the fury of this soldier who had returned from the battlefield. Jiang Su Su loathed Jiang Xin Zhi, but was also envious that Jiang Ruan had such an outstanding older brother protecting her. It was not so long ago that Jiang Su Su also had Jiang Chao protecting her. At that time, he was at the high point of his career; people were lauding him as a potential zhuang yuan (top scorer in the Imperial Examinations), and Jiang Su Su had naturally become extremely conceited. But, now, Jiang Chao was the laughingstock of the capital, while Jiang Xin Zhi had experienced a transformation, becoming a Deputy General. The more protective he was of Jiang Ruan, the more envy stirred within Jiang Su Su.
She let the curtain fall heavily and thought about what Xia Yan had said to her the day before. Under her veil, she could not hold back a pleased smile.
So what if Jiang Xin Zhi was outstanding, so what if he was protecting Jiang Ruan? Today, she would not be able to escape what was planned for her even if she had wings to fly; ten Jiang Xin Zhis would not be able to rescue her.
Jiang Dan had been watching Xia Yan and Jiang Xin Zhi thoughtfully. Abruptly, she pulled the curtains closed. Behind the curtains, her timid expression vanished, and the corners of her mouth gradually lifted up.
The carriages travelled along the drenched stone-flagged road, sending little sprays of water into the air as they went. Jiang Xin Zhi followed Jiang Ruan’s departing carriage with his eyes, seemingly reluctant to move away. Xia Yan smiled as she asked Jiang Xin Zhi, “Xin Zhi, don’t you have military business to attend to today?”
“The General is occupied with official business today, and doesn’t require my presence,” Jiang Xin Zhi replied.
Xia Yan felt a stab of anxiety as she asked, “Then, Xin Zhi, why don’t you return to the fu to wait?”
“The weather today is excellent, so I think I’ll stay at the fu gate for a while longer.” Jiang Xin Zhi smiled faintly and said, “Mother, is there something wrong?”
That day, the sky was gloomy and it was raining incessantly. Excellent weather? Xia Yan bit her lip and said through clenched teeth, “Nothing.” Seeing as Jiang Xin Zhi appeared to have no intention to return to the fu for the time being, she felt her anxiety mounting. Gritting her teeth, she turned and headed back inside to her courtyard.
After Xia Yan had gone in, Jiang Xin Zhi’s expression grew solemn. Waving his hand, he called over two more guards and ordered, “Watch the entrance to the fu carefully. Whoever comes out, follow them closely, then knock them out.”
Both guards received their orders and left.
Jiang Xin Zhi thought about what he had been told the previous night by Lu Zhu, whom Jiang Ruan had sent over. She had said to prepare three identical horse carriages, look for two bodyguards with outstanding martial arts skills to accompany them, and finally, to visit the Zhao family again.
He had no idea what Jiang Ruan was planning. When Jiang Ruan wanted to conceal something, not even he, as her older brother, could persuade her to disclose it. Moreover, he would never force her to tell him what she did not want to talk about, as he trusted his own meimei.
However, today, for some unknown reason, his eyelids had been twitching uncontrollably, as if something bad was about to happen. He had to make a great effort to suppress his unease. Turning, he mounted his horse and sped off in the direction of the General fu.
When Xia Yan reached Yan Hua Yuan, Xiao Si informed her that Jiang Xin Zhi had left. Xia Yan immediately straightened up and hurriedly said, “Quick, send two people to tell them, Jiang Ruan is in the second carriage. Don’t make any mistakes.”
Xiao Si rushed off. Xia Yan finally sat down and released a long breath. Lin Lang served her a cup of tea, which she took a few sips of, feeling the panic within her subside. When she thought about all of Jiang Xin Zhi’s movements today, she felt uneasy, and turned to Li momo beside her to ask, “Momo, in your opinion, have they discovered something? Otherwise, why would they suddenly change carriages?”
Li momo consoled her by saying, “Furen, rest easy. This servant thinks that Eldest Young Master is certainly incredibly crafty, and he is doing all this to guard against Furen. However, he could not possibly have uncovered Furen’s plan, otherwise he would not have allowed Eldest Miss to go with the others to Bao Guang Temple, and with only two bodyguards accompanying her.”
Xia Yan felt calmer on hearing Li momo’s words. She said, “That is what I think, as well. Humph! He’s definitely crafty but, today, that little slut cannot escape her downfall. So what if there are bodyguards; there are only two of them, after all, no different from a cicada trying to stop a runaway carriage. On thinking about it, one could say that Jiang Ruan brought this upon herself by engendering such a deep animosity between herself and the Li family. Li An is a person who haggles over every cent, so how could he let her off so easily?”
A chilly, faint smile appeared on her beautiful face. “Bao Guang Temple is a great distance away. Even if Jiang Xin Zhi receives news and hastens there, he will not make it in time.”
The previous day, she had received a letter from Li An out of the blue. In the letter, Li An had gone straight to the point and declared he wanted to eliminate Jiang Ruan, and needed her help to do so. Even though Xia Yan was hesitant to associate with a criminal official[1] like Li An, he was a master at manipulating people. With just a few words, he had stirred up Xia Yan to the point where she could barely wait to tear Jiang Ruan to shreds.
[1] 罪臣 (zui chen) – criminal official/ minister. There were apparently eight major criminal ministers in Chinese history: Qingfu, Zhao Gao, Lai Junchen, Li Linfu, Qin Hui, Yan Song, Wei Zhongxian, He Shen. See here for more details.
Xia Yan had originally planned to take action on the journey to Bao Guang Temple and cause Jiang Ruan to suffer. However, when Li An unveiled his plan to Xia Yan in the letter, she found it too marvellous for words. Thus, she conceded this opportunity to Li An. Even though the young ladies of Jiang fu would proceed to Bao Guang Temple as she had planned, what would take place would not be her original plan.
If the plan succeeded, of course, that would be great; she would be the third party who benefitted in the clash between the two of them. If the plan failed, it would have nothing to do with her.
Li An’s plan was bold and crazy but, even if something happened, the sudden appearance of a criminal official would have no connection with her. The original arrangement was foolproof. Who knew that Jiang Xin Zhi would appear all of a sudden and disturb their arrangements. Furthermore, with four identical carriages, Li An’s people would inevitably make a mistake.
If they made a mistake . . . she could not help shuddering, then immediately comforted herself. It would not happen; the messengers would inform them of the change swiftly. There was no way Jiang Ruan would escape the calamity that awaited her on the road to Bao Guang Temple. On previous occasions, she had managed to narrowly escape numerous disasters due to sheer luck, but what awaited Jiang Ruan now was an inescapable trap, that even two bodyguards, skilled in martial arts, would not be able to help her out of.
This was because Li An’s people did not consist of just one or two persons, but a troop of soldiers.
Genuine, elite troops. Secretly kept by the Grand Councillor fu.
