Chapter 216: Drunkenness

Chapter 216: Drunk

Jiang Shuning turned to Xiao Huaijin. "Prince Ning, please excuse me."

Just as she was about to leave, Jiang Lian bowed gracefully to Xiao Huaijin. "Prince Ning, may I trouble you for a quiet place? This concubine wishes to have a private word with my elder sister."

Perhaps because Jiang Lian's features bore a slight resemblance to Jiang Shuning's, Xiao Huaijin treated her kindly and agreed without a second thought. "Of course."

He then summoned a maidservant and instructed gently, "Find a quiet room, make sure the two Miss Jiangs are comfortable, and prepare some fine refreshments."

"Yes, Your Highness." The maidservant replied respectfully and gestured to the two women. "Misses, please follow me."

Seeing Jiang Lian's solemn demeanor, Jiang Shuning felt a vague unease.

What kind of private conversation required such an elaborate setup?

The maidservant led them through the corridors to a secluded chamber far from the banquet.

As soon as they entered, Jiang Lian dismissed the maidservant. "No need to attend here. You may all leave."

Jiang Shuning also said to Ling Wu, "Go check on Miss Zhang. See how she is doing and if she's seriously injured."

"Yes, Eldest Miss!"

Once the maidservant and Ling Wu had left, Jiang Lian turned and locked all the doors and windows. With the final click of the bolt, the light in the room dimmed abruptly, and the room grew stifling.

Jiang Shuning frowned. "Third Sister, what are you doing?"

Jiang Lian did not answer.

She turned around and, in front of Jiang Shuning, began to undo her clothes one by one.

When the outer garment slipped off, revealing an emaciated body covered in bruises and bloodstains, Jiang Shuning's breath caught in her throat.

The crisscrossing scars, old and new, were appalling and immediately stirred buried, uneasy memories from her past life.

She had wanted to ask Jiang Lian if she was doing well, but now it was clear that no question was needed.

The answer was written plainly on that unbearable body.

She was not doing well. Not at all.

"Was it Prince Rui who did this?" Jiang Shuning's voice trembled with extreme anger. "How could he treat you like this?"

Jiang Lian's eyes reddened instantly, tears streaming down her face. "Ever since his arm was crippled, he has been summoning me to serve him every night. He calls out your name while beating and torturing me with all sorts of cruel methods..."

"Monster!" Jiang Shuning's blood boiled. She stepped forward and, with trembling hands, draped the clothes back over her. "Third Sister, you can't stay in Prince Rui's residence any longer! You must leave that inferno as soon as possible!"

Jiang Lian's eyes flickered with despair. "But I am already his concubine. Unless he divorces me, how can I possibly leave?"

"No," Jiang Shuning grasped her hand tightly, lowering her voice. "There is another way for you to leave—death."

Seeing Jiang Lian's expression change, she quickly explained, "I mean, faking death to escape! When I was practicing medicine with Divine Physician Sun in Nanshuo, I happened to discover an herb there. In small doses, it can relieve pain. If taken in slightly larger amounts, it slows the pulse and breathing so much that one can easily be mistaken for dead. The effects wear off in two hours."

"You've been to Nanshuo?" Jiang Lian caught the place name sharply and glanced at her.

Jiang Shuning's heart tightened, realizing she had slipped up, and immediately brought the topic back. "That's not the point! The point is, this herb can help you escape Prince Rui's residence. Are you willing?"

"I..." Jiang Lian's eyes showed hesitation, but thinking of the endless torment, she finally nodded firmly. "I am willing! I can't stand that place for another day!"

"Good! Wait for my word. Tomorrow I'll find a way to send the herb to the residence!"

As they were speaking, a maidservant's voice came from outside. "Miss Jiang, Concubine Jiang, your refreshments are here."

"Bring them in."

Several maidservants filed in. Not only did they bring delicacies, but they also added high-quality silver-thread charcoal, quickly warming the room.

When the maidservants withdrew, Jiang Lian feigned stirring the charcoal and quietly dropped a bundle of incense she had hidden in her sleeve into the blazing brazier.

"Third Sister!"

Jiang Shuning's voice suddenly sounded behind her, startling Jiang Lian so much that she nearly dropped the incense.

"What's wrong? Did I scare you?" Seeing her so startled, Jiang Shuning felt deeply guilty. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. If I had known I would meet you today, I would have brought some tonics. You suffered a miscarriage last time and need to recuperate properly."

Seeing her elder sister's concern, Jiang Lian felt a pang of guilt.

But remembering that Jiang Yaozhen was the one who decided whether she would have to serve at night, and remembering Prince Rui's savage demeanor, her heart, which had softened momentarily, hardened again.

If she failed today's task, what awaited her was another hellish night.

She had had enough.

"Prince Rui's residence is... short on funds now. He was reluctant to come, afraid of losing face at Prince Ning's banquet, but he also feared offending Prince Ning. So he sent me to present a small gift." Jiang Lian suppressed the turmoil within her, turned, and filled a cup of wine for Jiang Shuning, handing it to her. "Elder Sister, we sisters rarely meet. Have a drink."

"Alright." Jiang Shuning had no suspicions. She took the cup and drank it all.

After only two cups, the room spun around her, and her mind grew hazy.

She knew her alcohol tolerance was not great, but it had never been this weak.

What was wrong today?

"Third Sister, I think... I'm drunk..." She held her forehead, trying to stand up from the chair, but her body was limp and uncooperative, swaying dangerously.

"Elder Sister, wait here. I'll go get you a hangover remedy!" Seeing the effects of the incense take hold, Jiang Lian immediately got up. She checked one last time that the doors and windows were sealed, then pushed open the door and left.

She thought she had devised a perfect plan: the sedative in the incense would only deepen the drunkenness, without causing any real harm.

By claiming Jiang Shuning was drunk and luring Xiao Lingchuan here to look after her, she could thereby keep him in Prince Ning's residence.

Thus, she could fulfill Jiang Yaozhen's task without truly harming her sister.

But she didn't anticipate that shortly after she left, a passing maidservant noticed something amiss and pushed the door open to check. Seeing Jiang Shuning passed out drunk, the maidservant was alarmed and hurried to report to her master, Xiao Huaijin.

On the other side, after listening to Jiang Lian's report, Xiao Lingchuan raised an eyebrow. "Miss Jiang is drunk?"

Jiang Shuning rarely drank, let alone to the point of intoxication.

In their past life as husband and wife, he had once been fortunate to see her drunk—adorably coquettish and seductive. The mere thought made his throat tighten involuntarily.

"Yes, my elder sister couldn't hold her liquor and has passed out. I alone couldn't support her, and I was afraid of alarming the other guests, so... I took the liberty of asking Your Highness for help." Jiang Lian kept her head down, staring at her own toes, afraid to meet Xiao Lingchuan's eyes, which seemed to see through everything.

"Your Highness!" Ling Feng, who was standing nearby, lowered his voice to try to stop him.

Miss Jiang was drunk, and her sister, instead of calling for the manor's physician or maids, had gone all the way to seek their prince—this was clearly a trap!

But Xiao Lingchuan only gave him a glance, silencing all his unspoken admonitions. Then he stood up and said to Jiang Lian, "Lead the way."

Ling Feng sighed inwardly.

He understood—as long as it involved Miss Jiang, even knowing full well that a dragon's den and a tiger's pit lay ahead, his master would willingly leap into it.

The two of them, one after the other, soon arrived in front of the secluded side room.

Before they got close, Xiao Lingchuan heard, from behind the tightly closed door, Jiang Shuning's soft, tipsy murmur: "I'm not drunk... I want more to drink..."

Her voice reached his ears, instantly lit a fire in his heart.

But then, another gentle male voice rang out, like a bucket of ice water dousing his fantasies:

"Miss Jiang, you're drunk. Have some hangover soup first..."

It was Xiao Huaijin's voice!

Xiao Lingchuan's face instantly froze, and his demeanor turned ferocious.

He swung his leg and kicked the door open with a thunderous crash!

Inside, Xiao Huaijin was carefully supporting the swaying Jiang Shuning, her cheeks flushed, with one hand, while holding a bowl of soup with the other, about to bring it to her lips.

And Jiang Shuning, giggling, her eyes dazed, reached for the wine jug on the table.

The scene was jarring and ambiguous.

"Fourth Brother, why are you here?" Xiao Huaijin asked, stunned. But before he could finish, Xiao Lingchuan's fist, wrapped in thunderous fury, slammed into his face.