Chapter 21 As If Living a New Life

Chapter 21 As If Living a New Life

When the lieutenant with a long sword tied the person up and brought them over, he thoughtfully asked, "What information does Madam wish to extract from this person? I am willing to serve Madam with all my loyalty."

Ying'er was dressed in women's clothing, her hair disheveled, and her pea-green cotton jacket had several threads pulled loose, exposing the white cotton padding. Although she looked disheveled, Jiang Wanrou noticed that her clothes were quite thick.

Truly poor families could not afford cotton clothes in winter. Her clothes were made of cotton and linen, and they were not dirty, suggesting that she had lived well in recent years.

She glanced at the tall lieutenant beside her and sighed softly.

"Since you say so... to be honest, this woman once did something wrong to me. After so many years, I'm afraid she has forgotten. As a woman of the inner chambers, my heart is soft, and I really don't know what to do."

"What's so difficult about that?"

The lieutenant, with a stern face, clasped his hands and said, "Please entrust this person to me. Just a trip to the Forbidden Dragon Bureau's secret prison, and this person will remember even if she doesn't want to!"

Seeing Jiang Wanrou silent, the lieutenant thought the beautiful and delicate woman before him was dissatisfied and hurriedly said, "This woman's husband and children have already been captured. Please give your orders, Madam."

Jiang Wanrou was truly shocked this time.

She originally didn't intend to do anything to Ying'er, just wanted to use the lieutenant's words to scare her into telling the truth. She didn't expect them to capture her entire family. She was secretly shocked. The Ministry of Justice needed official documents with seals to arrest people, but the Forbidden Dragon Bureau wielded such immense power?

The lieutenant, not understanding, still politely replied, "Madam is overthinking. We have the authority to arrest people without a decree, bestowed by the Emperor."

Not to mention such commoners, even the residence of the former Chief Grand Secretary Hu Liangyu had been raided by them.

There were also those who criticized this. Some civil officials jointly petitioned, requesting the Emperor to revoke the Forbidden Dragon Bureau's privilege, at least requiring the case to be tried and convicted by the Dali Temple before the Forbidden Dragon Bureau could take over, otherwise it would easily lead to forced confessions and wrongful convictions. The Emperor kept all the petitions without response, and when he was annoyed by the remonstrations, he sighed leisurely, "Jun Chi is a good lad."

This left the officials speechless.

Jiang Wanrou's heart was complicated. She hadn't read much history, but she understood the principle that extreme prosperity leads to decline. Now it's glorious, but in the future when it's time to settle accounts...

She didn't dare to think too much, and had Cuizhu give them some silver, politely sending them away. Ying'er's courage had long since been shattered. When the gag was removed, she poured out everything.

Just as Ma Chunlan had said, the original Ying'er was ambitious. Who would want to be a servant when there was a chance to be a master? The day before the old lady's birthday, Jiang Wanying found her.

"Miss Five said—said—the Duke's mansion is wealthy, but one must have the life to enjoy it."

The terrified Ying'er, with tears in her eyes, recalled Jiang Wanying's words that day, speaking in great detail.

"Tomorrow is grandmother's birthday. If a scandal were to be exposed on such an occasion, do you think you'd survive? The Marquis's wife will beat you to death to uphold the family's honor."

"Of course, perhaps you are lucky. The eldest son of the Lu family is responsible and will send someone to take you in. You will get your wish and become a concubine of the Duke's mansion. Huh, do you think you will live a life of luxury and wealth? Young Master Lu would regard you as a disgrace, ignore you, and the young lady of the Lu family is willful and extremely attached to her brother, making things difficult for you in every way. The lady of the Lu family dislikes her son and despises you even more. By the way, the young master Lu has two younger brothers, and the second and third young mistresses each have their own backgrounds, and they are not easy to deal with."

"Seeing that you are not favored, the servants will also mistreat you. As a concubine, your life will be worse than when you were a maid in the Marquis's mansion. You will regret it, you will want to be favored, but the young master Lu will not touch you. You will want to leave the mansion, but as a concubine of the Lu family, you can only endure, driving yourself mad."

"I am saving you."

...

Ying'er shivered and cried, "Miss Five's words... her words were so real, I was so scared, I ran a high fever that night, so that day, I ran away."

She was lucky. In the chaos, no one paid attention to her, a small fry. Later, she fell seriously ill and didn't serve in front of her master, thus avoiding the chaos. After recovering, she awoke as if from a dream, like the Buddhist saying, suddenly enlightened, as if living a new life.

She donated three strings of coins for temple incense, no longer wanting to climb high and marry a steward on the estate. Though dark-skinned, he was honest, hardworking, and treated her well. Later, she became pregnant, and the steward used his savings to redeem their slave status, returning to their rural hometown, buying three acres of thin land. Now, with children, they live a stable life.

...

Jiang Wanrou released Ying'er and Ma Chunlan, who had been locked in the woodshed, and instructed Cuizhu, "Go to the accounts and get a hundred taels of silver, send it to Ying'er. Also, go to the Forbidden Dragon Bureau and release her entire family unharmed."

Every grievance has its origin, and every debt has its creditor. Ma Chunlan merely engaged in petty theft and did nothing heinous, while Ying'er was an innocent victim. After giving clear instructions, Jiang Wanrou continued, "Grandma's birthday is coming up. Find me the guest lists from previous years."

"Yes, I understand," replied Cuizhu.

Cuizhu then said, "By the way, madam, while I was taking inventory of the storeroom today, I noticed some discrepancies. Five bolts of flowing brocade, some rouge and eyebrow pigments, and a few sets of jewelry—all items for women—are missing. Perhaps they were gifts sent to someone but not logged."

The storeroom items and account books were checked monthly, and such discrepancies occasionally occurred. Jiang Wanrou didn't pay much attention and said, "Double-check thoroughly, especially the corners—"

Suddenly, she paused and said to Cuizhu, "You've been putting in a lot of effort lately."

With Jintao absent, Cuizhu had been doing the work of two people, which was an oversight on Jiang Wanrou's part.

Cuizhu smiled sweetly and said, "It's not tiring. Just running errands and passing on messages. I don't have to do anything myself, so it's not tiring at all."

She was thrilled that the madam trusted her. During Jintao's absence, some of the restless maids had been trying to catch the madam's attention. Cuizhu knew exactly what they were up to!

She didn't want anyone else to take Jintao's place. The lower-ranking maids wanted to move into the inner courtyard, while those in the inner courtyard aspired to become the madam's trusted aide. Even maids had ambitions. With no hope of gaining the master's favor, they could only strive to win the madam's trust.

Jiang Wanrou smiled and said, "Go and bring Jintao back. It's been so long, and I miss her."

Cuizhu happily left, but the smile on Jiang Wanrou's lips instantly faded. She couldn't figure out why it was her fifth sister.

They had no grievances or even arguments. In terms of status, they were both unfortunate daughters of Madame Qin, and they had even formed a subtle "alliance."

When she was young, Jiang Wanrou had even rescued her fifth sister a few times from Madame Qin's grasp. Why would she repay kindness with malice and harm her like this?

Now, after years of managing the household, Jiang Wanrou looked back and realized that Jiang Wanying's words made a lot of sense. If she hadn't intervened back then, things might have unfolded exactly as Jiang Wanying had predicted. How did Jiang Wanying, a young woman from the inner chambers, know so much about the Lu family's affairs?

And her foresight regarding Ying'er—she wasn't usually sharp, but she had predicted this situation pretty accurately, something even Jiang Wanrou couldn't have anticipated at the time.

Jiang Wanrou pondered for a long time, turning the matter over and over in her mind, but she couldn't figure out what she had done to wrong Jiang Wanying or why Jiang Wanying would want to harm her. Her constant anxiety made her lose her appetite.

Cuizhu was worried sick. The madam had been in low spirits for a while, and just when she seemed to be recovering, she had relapsed, and it looked even worse than before.

Jintao suggested worriedly, "Should I get a doctor to check on you?"

Jiang Wanrou waved her hand dismissively, "Why call a doctor? It's just a minor issue, not worth making a fuss."

With the grandmother's birthday approaching, Jiang Wanrou was in charge of all the preparations for the banquet and performances. If she called a doctor now, what would the grandmother think? The old lady was finally celebrating a grand birthday, only to have her granddaughter-in-law fall ill from exhaustion?

What was supposed to be a joyous occasion would end up becoming a joke.

"You really should eat more," Cuizhu urged as she entered, holding a bowl of swiftlet nest soup that had been reheated three times. She said with concern, "You've been running around all morning and barely eaten anything."

The small porcelain bowl was the size of a palm. Jiang Wanrou picked it up and ate less than half before frowning and pushing it away, "It's too strong."

"It's not strong," Cuizhu insisted, her round eyes wide. "I swear, I personally supervised the cooking, and I didn't even add a drop of sesame oil."

The madam had been favoring light meals lately, and Cuizhu was well aware of that.

Jintao, being more perceptive than Cuizhu, tentatively asked, "Madam, are you troubled by something?"

Emotional pain is hard to heal with medicine.

Jiang Wanrou was deeply troubled, not only by Jiang Wanying's actions but also by the preparations for the grandmother's birthday. The missing items from the storeroom had been thoroughly checked, and there were no accounting errors. They had simply vanished without a trace, something that had never happened since Jiang Wanrou took charge of the household.

With many things piling up, Jiang Wanrou felt an inexplicable anger rising within her, yet she had no way to vent it. Jintao picked up the bowl and, observing Jiang Wanrou's expression, cautiously advised, "Madam, you're known for being open-minded. You once said, 'We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.' There's nothing that can't be overcome."

"Madam, you've seemed a bit on edge lately, not your usual self."

Jiang Wanrou paused, and suddenly felt a weight lift from her heart.

Yes, why was she trapping herself in endless speculation? Would overthinking solve anything? No!

She must have been so swamped she lost her mind!

Jiang Wanrou's eyes immediately brightened, and she asked Jintao, "Have the invitations for Grandmother's birthday not been sent yet? Pick out the invitation for the Pei family."

"I'll take care of it myself."