The golden glow of the setting sun pierced through the carved window lattices, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow across the bluestone courtyard floor.
Jiang Wan stood just outside the moon gate of Tinglan Courtyard. A slight evening breeze stirred her plain pleated skirt, and the scarlet gold and kingfisher-feather hair ornament at her temple swayed gently with her movements, making not the slightest sound. Behind her followed her maid, Wanqing, who held a half-worn brocade box in her hands. Through the gap in the lid, several folded sheets of plain letter paper were faintly visible.
From within the courtyard came the clear, resonant sound of a zither playing *Autumn in the Han Palace*. The melody was mournful, yet carried a deliberate, carefully feigned lingering tenderness.
Jiang Wan curled the corners of her lips, though there was not a trace of warmth in her eyes.
This was her dear younger sister, Jiang Rou. Before others, she always maintained the air of a delicate willow in the wind, peerlessly talented and virtuous, yet behind the scenes she was capable of splashing ink onto her own elder sister and spreading malicious rumors to drive people to the brink of ruin.
"Eldest Sister has come?"
The zither music stopped abruptly. Jiang Rou's voice drifted out from the room, carrying a perfectly calibrated blend of surprise and submissive gentleness. When she lifted the beaded curtain and stepped outside, she was wearing an aquamarine soft-satin sleeveless jacket fastened at the waist with a matching pearl-embedded embroidered sash. Her face was lightly powdered, and her apricot-shaped eyes looked toward Jiang Wan with an expression brimming with deep affection and admiration.
Had this been the Jiang Wan of her past life, she likely would have been deceived by this display once again.
"Younger Sister's zither playing grows more accomplished by the day," Jiang Wan said evenly, stepping into the courtyard and letting her gaze sweep over several bolts of newly cut cloud-brocade drying under the veranda. "Only, *Autumn in the Han Palace* is far too sorrowful. Sister is in the prime of your youth; constantly playing such tunes risks harming your constitution."
Biyue, Jiang Rou's senior personal maid, immediately stepped forward and curtsied. "Eldest Miss jokes. My mistress merely saw that the evening was growing late and plucked the strings at random."
Jiang Rou, however, gently furrowed her brows and walked up to Jiang Wan, her tone carrying a hint of aggrieved hurt. "Why does Eldest Sister have the leisure to visit my humble courtyard today? Could it be that... Father has given you some task again?"
Her words sounded ordinary on the surface, but in truth they were a subtle insinuation that Jiang Wan had been frequently meddling in the affairs of the estate lately, to the point where even the Dingbei Marquis's attitude toward Jiang Wan had improved significantly—something that filled both her and her mother, Madame Li, with burning resentment.
Jiang Wan did not take up her lead, instead raising her eyes to look straight into her eyes. "I came for a matter."
"Oh? What matter could possibly require Eldest Sister to make the trip in person?" Jiang Rou feigned curiosity, though her fingertips clenched tightly against the handkerchief hidden in her sleeve in a subtle manner. A faint, ominous premonition stirred within her.
"Naturally, it is for Your Sake, Sister." The moment Jiang Wan's voice fell, she cast a meaningful glance at Wanqing.
Wanqing stepped forward at once and presented the brocade box in her hands to Jiang Rou. "Second Miss, this is what my mistress asked me to bring."
Jiang Rou looked at the brocade box, her heart skipping a beat for no reason. Forcing herself to remain composed, she took it and opened it—inside lay several sheets of plain letter paper, and the handwriting upon them unmistakably belonged to her own personal maid, Biyue!
"What does Sister mean by this?" Jiang Rou's voice rose a fraction. "Th-this is my handwriting? But what is written on these..."
The contents on the letter paper were drafts of several spreading rumors. They read: "The Eldest Miss has recently been associating far too closely with the estate manager," and "The legitimate daughter of the Dingbei Marquis Manor actually meddles in the affairs of male servants; one fears she harbors improper intentions"... Every single line and phrase insinuated that Jiang Wan's conduct was unchaste and intended to ruin her reputation.
"Sister doesn't understand?" Jiang Wan tilted her head slightly, her tone tinged with a trace of innocence. "I thought Sister would be quite familiar with this handwriting. After all, these were all found inside Biyue's vanity case."
"You're spouting nonsense!" Biyue shrieked, her face turning ashen. "The Eldest Miss is making false accusations! Th-this is not my handwriting at all!"
"Whether it is your handwriting or not, we need only ask Nanny Zhou, who manages the accounts in the manor," Jiang Wan said calmly. "Nanny Zhou oversees the monthly allowance ledgers for everyone in the household. The fingerprint you pressed and the signature you signed when collecting your monthly allowance—she has every single one recorded."
Panic instantly seized Biyue, and she instinctively glanced toward Jiang Rou.
Jiang Rou took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the raging turmoil in her heart, while squeezing a wronged smile onto her face. "Sister, have you perhaps misunderstood something? Biyue is my personal maid; how could she ever do such a thing? Someone must have deliberately framed her in order to use this to smear me..."
"Smear you?" Jiang Wan interrupted, her voice turning abruptly cold. "Jiang Rou, things have come to this—are you still going to keep up the act?"
She stepped forward, closing in on Jiang Rou. "Half a month ago, I resolved the rent-collection difficulty at the suburban farmstead, and Father praised me a few times. Ever since then, the rumors about me within the manor have never stopped. They claim I am unseemly and shameless, they claim I am having a secret affair with an outside man... These words—where they were spread from, do you not know in your heart?"
"I did not!" Jiang Rou abruptly took a step back, bumping against the wooden veranda pillar behind her, her eyes instantly turning red. "Sister, I know Father favors you now, but you cannot simply wrong me like this! I am your younger sister, we share the same father and mother... No, although I was born to a concubine, I have never once thought of harming you!"
The more she spoke, the more "agitated" she became, her tears falling in heavy drops. Anyone else witnessing this weak and pitiful appearance would likely have believed her utterly.
Yet Jiang Wan merely looked at her coldly.
In her past life, she had been deceived by this exact act for far too long, remaining blind to the true nature of this pair until the day she died.
"Whether you did it or not, we can go confront Father," Jiang Wan said slowly. "Or, we can find Mother... Oh, that's right, Mother has been feeling unwell these past few days, so she likely has no energy to spare for such idle matters."
She deliberately brought up Madame Li to remind Jiang Rou that if this matter blew up, Madame Li would not be able to wash her hands of it either.
Jiang Rou's complexion turned deathly pale in an instant. She knew how much weight Jiang Wan currently carried in their father's heart; if this truly reached the ears of the Dingbei Marquis, with such evidence in hand, even if she escaped execution, she would still be confined to her quarters for a long time. As for Mother's side... Mother had recently been vexed to distraction by the change in Father's attitude toward Jiang Wan, and if she herself got dragged into it, then—
"Sister..." Jiang Rou's voice carried a sob. "I truly didn't... Did you listen to someone's instigation? Tell me, who is speaking ill of me behind my back? I will go confront them face to face!"
She wanted to muddy the waters.
Jiang Wan, however, refused to fall for this trick.
"Who instigated it is not important," she looked straight at Jiang Rou, speaking each word with deliberate clarity. "What matters is that these items were indeed found in Biyue's possession. And since Biyue is your person, you must naturally take responsibility for what she has done."
"I..." Jiang Rou bit her lip, a flash of venom crossing her eyes. "Sister, must you truly be so relentless? We are sisters of the same blood—can you not spare me just this once?"
"Spare you?" Jiang Wan sounded as though she had heard a ridiculous joke. "When I was murdered in my past life by you and the Crown Prince working together, did you ever think of sparing me?"
She uttered these words practically through clenched teeth, the hatred in the depths of her eyes flashing away in an instant.
Jiang Rou was startled by the ruthlessness in her gaze and instinctively retreated another step. She had never seen Jiang Wan like this. In the past, Jiang Wan's eyes held only the Crown Prince; though she might feel dissatisfaction toward her sister, it had never gone beyond crying, throwing tantrums, or complaining to their father—never had she worn such a bone-chilling, icy expression.
"You... what are you talking nonsense about..." Jiang Rou's voice trembled slightly. "Past life? Sister, have you lost your mind from exhaustion?"
"I've lost my mind?" Jiang Wan let out a cold laugh. "Whether I have or not, you know very well in your heart."
Ceasing to beat around the bush with Jiang Rou, she went straight to the point. "I did not come today to listen to your quibbling, nor am I here to deal with you right now. I simply want to tell you, Jiang Rou: the old Jiang Wan is already dead. From this moment on, whoever dares to touch me again, or touch those I care about, I will make sure they learn what it means to wish for death."
Her voice was not loud, but it carried a heart-stopping chill.
Wanqing chimed in sternly from the side, "Second Miss, my mistress is kindly warning you. If you still refuse to restrain yourself, the next time won't be as simple as just bringing these things for you to look at!"
Looking at Jiang Wan's icy gaze and Wanqing's unyielding stance, Jiang Rou felt the terror in her heart grow rapidly. She knew Jiang Wan was being deadly serious this time.
"I... I understand..." She lowered her head, her shoulders trembling slightly as if frightened out of her wits. "Sister, I... I won't do it again... I beg you, don't tell Father..."
Watching her submit, Jiang Wan felt not a shred of pity.
This was only the beginning.
The debts of her past life—she would collect them back, ledger by ledger, slowly and thoroughly.
"I hope you remember what you said today." Jiang Wan withdrew her gaze and turned to leave. "Wanqing, let's go."
"Yes, Miss." Wanqing glared at Biyue before following closely behind Jiang Wan.
Not until Jiang Wan's figure vanished beyond the moon gate did Jiang Rou abruptly lift her previously lowered head. Not a trace of grievance or fear remained on her face—only venom and bitter resentment.
"Jiang Wan!" she hissed the name through gritted teeth, her nails digging deeply into her palms. "Do you think you've won? Hmph, we shall see!"
Biyue hurriedly stepped forward and whispered, "Miss, what should we do now? She... she seems to really know everything..."
"So what if she knows?" A fierce, sinister glint flashed in Jiang Rou's eyes. "The fact that she didn't hand the evidence over to Father means she still doesn't want to make an ugly scene out of this. Good; that gives me a chance..."
She paused, then looked at Biyue. "What were you panicking for just now? Didn't I teach you to deny it to the death?"
Biyue said aggrievedly, "Miss, I... when I saw her expression, she looked so completely certain..."
"She merely managed to dig up a few scraps of paper!" Jiang Rou scoffed coldly. "There isn't even my name on them. Even if they trace it back to you, if you bite the bullet and refuse to admit it, what can she possibly do to you? You're just a maid; at worst you'll take a few beatings with a paddle—is she really going to kill you?"
Biyue shivered and dared not speak another word.
Jiang Rou walked over to the stone table, picked up the teapot resting upon it, and took a fierce gulp. The tea had already grown cold; swallowing it, she felt only a bitter taste spreading through her mouth.
She was unwilling to accept this.
Why was it that the moment Jiang Wan was reborn, she managed to win their father's favor? Why was it that Jiang Wan had previously been able to capture the Crown Prince's affection?
No, she could not let things end like this.
"Biyue," Jiang Rou set down the teacup, a sharp glint of calculation flashing in her eyes. "Go to Mother and tell her... tell her that the Eldest Miss came to cause trouble for me today, and even produced some inexplicable things in an attempt to smear me."
"But Miss, those things..."
"Go when I tell you to!" Jiang Rou cut her off sharply. "Mother will know how to handle it."
Daring not ask any further questions, Biyue hurriedly answered with a "Yes" and scampered off in a rush.
Jiang Rou stood in the same spot, staring at the setting sun slowly sinking below the horizon, while the corners of her mouth curled upward in a chilling smile.
Jiang Wan, did you really think that winning the first round meant you could win the second?
The waters of this Marquis Manor ran deep indeed.
And as for her—she had plenty of patience to play this game out slowly.