UFRMDD 03

Chapter – 03

Eruption

The household physician arrived.

Jiang Changyi carried Su Jingwan in his arms, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Xia Jinzhi like a sworn enemy. “I will not let this rest!”

Xia Jinzhi sneered. “I’ll be waiting! According to our dynasty’s law, taking another wife while the first still lives is a grave offense! You ought to think about how you will answer to the Xia family—and to the Emperor and Empress Dowager!”

Jiang Changyi’s face turned ashen. Suppressing his fury, he carried Su Jingwan hurriedly into the warm chamber.

Jiang Yue and Jiang Xuan followed close behind.

The Old Madam Jiang held her Buddhist prayer beads in her hand, watching coldly, with not a trace of pity in her eyes.

She then turned to Xia Jinzhi and said persuasively, “Su Jingwan will most likely not survive. You should stop while you’re ahead. If word of this gets out, it will be said that your jealousy drove her to her death!”

Xia Jinzhi was about to respond when Jiang Li stepped in front of her. She looked at the Old Madam Jiang with a cold expression.

“Father concealed the truth from both sides and married two legitimate wives with full rites. Su Jingwan, unable to bear the humiliation of being demoted from wife to concubine, took her own life.

Grandmother had better think carefully—what will you do about Father’s crime of bigamy?”

At this moment, what occupied her mind was Su Jingwan’s claim that she had been married with all proper rites and ceremonies. If that were true, then there must be a marriage certificate and betrothal documents.

That would be proof of Jiang Changyi’s second marriage!

The Old Madam Jiang’s expression darkened.

“A Li, how can you speak of your father this way? If he is at fault, and you are his daughter, what good will come to you? This is unfilial and insubordinate!”

“But I am also my mother’s daughter. My mother carried me, gave birth to me, raised me, and taught me all by herself.

Father may have guarded the border for the greater good, but toward me, he has fulfilled not a single fatherly duty.

It is because Grandmother failed to teach Father properly that he would abandon his first wife, take another while she still lives, and forget all gratitude and loyalty.”

Her daughter’s defense brought tears to Xia Jinzhi’s eyes.

The Old Madam Jiang’s wrinkled face twisted with anger.

“You—you are utterly unfilial! Do you know, do you even know that your mother could rightfully be divorced? She bore no son—that is one of the Seven Grounds for Divorce!”

Xia Jinzhi’s face turned pale. Never had she imagined that the mother-in-law she had served with all her heart would say such a thing to her!

She said coldly, “For eighteen years, I have fulfilled my filial duties to you! I gave your husband a proper funeral! I managed the entire household and observed every rule.

Have you forgotten that I used the Huiyuan Pill to save your life? For all these years, I have waited on you daily at your bedside, drawn from my private coffers to pay for your physicians, and invited Imperial Physician Cheng to treat you.

And as for Jiang Changyi—he was promoted by my father, and my brother lost his arm to save him. What right does he have to divorce me?

Furthermore, we have been separated for twenty years. How could I possibly bear him a son? Or are you blaming the Emperor for sending him to the border?

I know I have committed no wrong. Why should I fear the Seven Grounds for Divorce?

Even if my brother has died in battle and my father has gone missing, I still have the Xia family behind me. I refuse to believe there is no justice in this world!”

The Old Madam Jiang’s face instantly drained of color, and she was rendered speechless.

Jiang Li took her mother’s hand. It was ice-cold and trembling faintly—a sign of how furious she was.

“Mother, don’t be sad. You still have me!”

Xia Jinzhi’s eyes grew moist, and her frozen heart gradually began to warm.

“Jingwan? Jingwan!!”

“Mother! Mother!”

Suddenly, wailing erupted from the warm chamber. The physician hurried out and bowed respectfully to report:

“Old Madam, First Madam, I have done all I could. She… she is gone.”

Xia Jinzhi slowly closed her eyes, feeling only desolation in her heart.

The Old Madam Jiang’s expression relaxed slightly, even revealing a trace of satisfaction. She said persuasively:

“Jinzhi, I know of your sacrifices. But she is already dead, so stop making a scene. Now that Changyi has returned to the capital, you and your husband should support each other.

You are still young—barely past forty. Perhaps you can still bear a son. Then you will have someone to rely on in this household!”

Xia Jinzhi found it utterly ironic. She said coldly, “He owes me an explanation for taking another wife. Otherwise, I will enter the palace tomorrow and plead for justice. You may decide how to proceed, Mother.”

The Old Madam Jiang wanted to say more, but Xia Jinzhi had already taken Jiang Li’s hand and turned to leave.

Watching their departing backs, the Old Madam Jiang felt a lump stuck in her throat, unable to go up or down—it was unbearable.

The warm chamber was still in an uproar. Suppressing her rage, the Old Madam Jiang said through gritted teeth, “Call the Eldest Master here! It’s only a concubine who died—why all this anguish?”

At a glance from the matron Chun, a young maid immediately went to summon him from the warm chamber.

Inside the warm chamber, Su Jingwan lay motionless, her face and head covered in blood, her complexion deathly pale.

Her son and daughter knelt by the bed, weeping heart-wrenchingly.

Jiang Changyi was devastated, his bloodshot eyes brimming with overwhelming hatred.

It was all Xia Jinzhi! Xia Jinzhi’s relentless aggression had killed his beloved!

He had thought her gentle and virtuous—he never imagined she could be so jealous and ruthless.

Just then, the young maid entered with her head bowed, curtsied, and reported, “Eldest Master, the Old Madam requests your presence.”

Jiang Changyi wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and strode out with a fierce glare.

Seeing this, Jiang Yue quietly followed.

Leaving the warm chamber and entering the main hall, Jiang Changyi saw only the Old Madam Jiang and roared furiously, “Where is that poisonous woman?”

“Wretch! I think you have truly been bewitched by that slut!”

The Old Madam Jiang was furious. She grabbed a teacup and hurled it to the ground. The loud crash of its shattering brought a measure of clarity back to Jiang Changyi’s hate-filled eyes.

The hatred in his expression subsided somewhat. He lifted his robe and knelt before the Old Madam Jiang, bowing his head.

The Old Madam Jiang felt sorry for her son, but she also blamed Xia Jinzhi for her stubbornness and persistence.

Truth be told, she understood Xia Jinzhi’s grievances. But selfishly, she favored her son more.

She had not expected Xia Jinzhi to be so unyielding.

She had thought that without her father and brother, and with Jiang Li’s wedding approaching, how could she dare to act out?

Was she not supposed to compromise?

Since the hard approach would not work, the Old Madam Jiang decided to try the soft approach.

She said to her son, “If you fall out with Xia Jinzhi like this, do you truly intend to make a huge scandal? But have you considered how you will resolve it in the end?

Do not forget—she was raised by the Empress Dowager and grew up alongside the Emperor. They share a certain bond, and she has the powerful Duke’s mansion behind her.”

Jiang Changyi thought of his own triumphant return to the capital, at the height of his glory—yet still being restrained by a woman.

He was deeply resentful. In his eyes, Xia Jinzhi was merely a woman raised in the inner chambers, relying on her father and brother’s protection and her husband’s favor to enjoy her status all these years.

“My son, do not let things get so ugly. She is angry now. Tonight, when you are alone with her, admit your fault, accept your punishment, and coax her gently—then this will all pass.

The priority is to have Xuan’er recognized by the clan! The Jiang family’s future is long.

And Jiang Li’s wedding to the Heir Gu is approaching.

Now that you have returned to the capital, your foundation here is still shallow. You will need to rely on the Xia family’s influence for a long time yet!”

The Old Madam Jiang advised him earnestly, then added coldly, “It’s better that Su Jingwan is dead. Xia Jinzhi should be appeased now. Listen to your mother—do not make this into a bigger scandal!”

Jiang Changyi clenched his fists, but he understood that he had to consider the bigger picture.

But he would not let Jingwan die in vain!

At the entrance of the warm chamber, Jiang Yue had overheard every word of her so-called grandmother’s speech.

Her fingers dug into the doorframe. Gnashing her teeth with resentment, she grieved for her mother, who had lost her life so unjustly.

The haughty bearing of Jiang Li and her mother.

The gruesome sight of her mother’s death.

The grandmother’s cold cruelty.

And her father’s anguished yet helpless humiliation.

All of it was etched deeply into her mind.