BMECDAH 06

Chapter 06

Shen Peirong’s expression was strange; Xiao Wei’s words were the same as the warning her father had given her in a dream last night. Could it really be that Xiao Yan had emptied the room herself, only to frame Xiao Wei? She found it hard to accept that her perfect eldest daughter could do something so absurd. It’s a coincidence, it must be a coincidence. In her dream, her father mentioned that the Master would take the opportunity to bring up the gold, but the Master hadn’t…

“Alright, stop guessing and hurting the sisterly bond between you two. In these chaotic times, if things are lost, we’ll just replace them. Eldest Madam, I am very busy lately and cannot spare the time. I leave the task of procuring items for the Eldest Miss to you.”

Shen Peirong’s heart sank; it was exactly as it had been in the dream. She was unwilling to let it go. “And the silver for the expenses?”

“What do you mean by that?” Jiang Dahai suddenly grew angry. “Xiao Yan is your own daughter. She is the most filial to you, her mother. Now that I’m asking you to procure some things for her, you’re unhappy? Or is it that now that the Second Girl has returned, you’ve started to dislike the Eldest Miss?”

“Father, please don’t talk to Mother like that. It’s my body that is frail. If I had a choice, I would rather it had been me who absorbed all the nutrients, and I would have been the one sent to the countryside. Then my sister wouldn’t have been separated from Father and Mother for so long… cough, cough, cough…” Jiang Yan coughed up a pile of black, viscous gunk.

Jiang Wei glanced at it secretly; it was the mud she had scraped off last night. It was… truly disgusting.

“Don’t let your imagination run wild.” Seeing her cough up the black substance, Shen Peirong explained anxiously, “In Mother’s heart, you are the most important. Don’t be angry about losing a few things; Mother will go and buy them for you right away.” After speaking, she noticed her younger daughter was also there, so to show that she was being fair, she added, “Xiao Wei, you are soon to marry into the Gu family, so you should also buy a few appropriate outfits.”

“Thank you, Mother, for the expense.” The clothes Jiang Wei was currently wearing were the tattered ones with patches that Jiang Yan had “enthusiastically” given her when she first returned to the Jiang family. The Jiang household was wealthy; even the servant girls didn’t wear patched clothes, let alone the most favored Eldest Miss. Anyone with eyes could see that Jiang Yan had intentionally sewn patches onto the clothes to disgust the original owner. But the blind “scum father” and “foolish mother” couldn’t see it; they only had eyes for the eldest daughter who sucked away their luck, and they even told the original owner to be considerate of her sister’s “hardship.” The original owner had been a fool, too. She was used to being bullied, and Jiang Yan’s small acts of kindness were, to her, supreme favors. Because of this, she was manipulated into doing many things that harmed the Gu family.

Jiang Wei agreed to the substitute marriage for three reasons. First, she wanted to atone for the original owner’s sins by changing the fate of the Gu family. Second, the city was about to become very chaotic in the near future. Third, she really missed the adoptive family who had bullied the original owner.

“You are also Mother’s daughter. When you marry, I will prepare 5 gold bars as your dowry.” Jiang Wei’s obedience and sensibility made Shen Peirong feel ashamed. She intended to use money to make up for her lack of love for her younger daughter. Five bars? That was two more than the three in the dream. Not bad, there is progress.

Jiang Wei smiled brilliantly; she wanted all of it. Jiang Yan didn’t expect Shen Peirong to actually give Jiang Wei five gold bars as a dowry. She hypocritically grabbed Jiang Wei’s hand. “Sister, I was just robbed by thieves, so I have nothing to give you, but I have already given up my fiancé to you. Also, I was always worried that Gu Ting would dislike you for being ugly, but now that I see you have become so beautiful, I can rest easy.”

Gu Ting was the best-looking man she had ever seen. If she hadn’t known in advance that the Gu family was about to be sent down, she really wouldn’t have been willing to let him go.

Jiang Wei blushed. “This is all thanks to the chicken soup the Third Concubine sent that made me look so beautiful.” Jiang Yan’s face twisted for a moment. The chicken soup Jiang Wei drank was the one she had ordered the Third Concubine to send. In other words, Jiang Wei became beautiful because of her. Dammit, she tried to be clever only to end up with a backfiring result.

“However,” Jiang Wei smiled shyly, “compared to Sister, I just happen to look like Mother, so I’m not ugly. On the contrary, Sister has a face just like the Second Concubine—a peerless, flower-like beauty. No wonder Father likes you more.”

Jiang Dahai, Shen Peirong, Chen Xiaolian, and Jiang Yan instantly changed expressions, their faces turning a kaleidoscope of colors. Among the crowd, the Third Concubine, Chen Yiyi, watched the four of them looking as if they had eaten excrement, and she almost burst into laughter. Looking at the four of them suffering defeat for the first time, a glimmer of hope rose in the Third Concubine’s heart. Perhaps this second miss, who had returned from the countryside, was her lucky star to escape her fate.

Shen Peirong frowned. Everyone in the house knew that although the Master respected her, the First Madam, he actually loved the Second Madam, whom he had grown up with as a childhood sweetheart. Previously, she had always thought it was because of her that the Master liked Xiao Yan, but she hadn’t expected that her younger daughter’s words would make her realize the Master liked Xiao Yan because Xiao Yan had a face exactly like the young Second Concubine. Shen Peirong was furious.

Jiang Yan noticed this and hurriedly changed the subject. “Mother, don’t worry about my affairs. I had the kitchen stew some pig brain soup that is good for your health. You and Father should go have some to nourish your stomachs. I will stay here with my sister; I will persuade her to prepare for her marriage with peace of mind.”

Afraid of setting herself on fire, the Second Concubine followed up on Jiang Yan’s words. “That’s right, First Madam, you and the Master have been tired all day, you should rest. Look at how thoughtful the Eldest Miss is; she knows your health is poor, so she specifically ordered the kitchen to stew soup for you. Unlike my foolish son, who only knows how to play in the mud and shoot a slingshot all day.”

“My daughter is naturally better than your son.” Shen Peirong couldn’t stand anything she did right now. “Yes, yes, yes.” The Second Concubine kept her head down. It wasn’t her son, so she didn’t care how Shen Peirong scolded him. The harder she scolded, the happier she actually felt.

Jiang Wei took in the Second Concubine’s thoughts and curled her lips in mockery. “Mother, look at how much the Second Concubine likes Sister. In order to please Sister, she actually called the eldest brother a stupid idiot. Tell me, is there any woman in this world who would curse her own son like that?”

“No woman could be that stupid.” She was a woman, and she knew perfectly well the value of a son to a woman. Back then, she had sent the Second Girl to the countryside because she had caused her to lose the ability to bear children—making it so she could never have a son again. If she had a son, she would be willing to die for him. She believed that no mother would dislike her own son, unless… Yun He was not the Second Concubine’s child.

The time was ripe, and Jiang Wei stirred the pot. “Mother, I remember the Second Concubine gave birth on the same day as you, right? Do you think it’s possible someone purposely swapped the Eldest Sister and the brother while you were giving birth?”

“I don’t know.” Shen Peirong frantically recalled, “I had a difficult labor and was unconscious when I gave birth to you. When I woke up, it was you and your sister by my side.” The seed of doubt had already blossomed in Shen Peirong’s heart; she only needed to find the midwife from that year, and the truth would come to light.

“Nonsense! That is impossible! I will beat this rebellious daughter to death for spouting such nonsense!” Jiang Dahai suddenly exploded in rage, rushing over to hit her.

“Father, what are you panicking about? Whether Big Brother is Mother’s son or not, he is still your son. Instead of letting him be an illegitimate son in the second house, wouldn’t it be better to register him under Mother’s name as a legitimate son? Such a good thing, why are you and the Second Concubine both so unwilling?”