The late spring breeze swirled pear blossoms onto the bluestone path. Jiang Wan had just finished arranging a newly acquired Ru ware tea set under the grape trellis when she heard the faint sound of footsteps outside the courtyard. As Wanqing lifted the curtain to enter, her brow was slightly furrowed. "Madame has arrived with the Second Miss, and she has brought four maidservants with her."
Jiang Wan rubbed the edge of the tea cup with her fingertips, a trace of coldness flashing in her eyes. Madame Li had come quite quickly.
In her previous life, this mother-daughter pair had always sung from the same hymn sheet. Whenever a conflict arose between her and Jiang Rou, Madame Li would always step in as the "stepmother" to mediate—outwardly fair and strict, but inwardly favoring the concubine-born daughter in every way, eventually leaving Jiang Wan with the reputation of being "disrespectful to her stepmother and mistreating her younger sister."
"Invite them in," Jiang Wan said calmly, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear with effortless grace.
A moment later, Madame Li stepped into the courtyard, accompanied by Jiang Rou. Madame Li was dressed in a lake-blue, gold-woven ru skirt, draped with a matching gauze shawl. A pair of jade bracelets on her wrists chimed softly with her movements. Although she wore a smile, her eyes held a hint of authority. "The Eldest Miss is quite idle today. Rou'er and I have come over—I hope we aren't interrupting you?"
"Mother, what are you saying?" Jiang Wan rose to offer a curtsy, her gaze sweeping over Jiang Rou's reddened eyes. "Whatever is the matter with the Second Miss? Her eyes are so swollen; has she suffered some grievance?"
Hearing this, Jiang Rou’s lower lip trembled slightly. She looked up at Madame Li, her eyes full of pleading.
Madame Li patted her hand lightly, then turned to Jiang Wan, her tone tinged with reproach: "Eldest Miss, we are all one family. What is there that cannot be discussed properly? Why must you cause Rou'er to cry for an entire night?"
Jiang Wan raised an eyebrow. "Mother, where is this coming from? I went to Tinglan Courtyard yesterday to have a heart-to-heart with my sister. Everything was fine, so how could it have led to her crying?"
"A heart-to-heart?" Madame Li gave a cold laugh and signaled for the maidservant behind her to step forward. The servant knelt, holding a lacquer box, and lifted the lid—it was the very stack of plain paper that Jiang Wan had instructed Wanqing to take the day before. "Biyue came to me this morning, saying the Eldest Miss led people to ransack her room, insisting that she had written these things, and even threatening to drag her before the Marquis. Eldest Miss, as the legitimate elder sister, is this how you manage the servants in your sister’s quarters?"
Jiang Wan glanced at the stack of paper, a faint smile curling her lips. "Mother, have you asked Biyue why these things were found in her vanity case?"
"She is but a maid, what sort of schemes could she have?" Madame Li’s face hardened. "It must be that you saw Rou'er receiving a few compliments from Father recently and felt dissatisfied, so you intentionally took it out on the people around her..."
"Mother, if Father were to hear you say this, I fear he would be deeply disheartened." Jiang Wan interrupted, her voice suddenly chilling. "Because I have been helping manage the manor's estates, Father praised me a few times; does that make me 'dissatisfied' in your eyes? Could it be that in Mother’s view, my efforts to share the burden of the Marquis's Mansion are actually a mistake?"
Madame Li’s expression shifted. She had not expected Jiang Wan to use the Marquis of Dingbei to pressure her, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.
Seeing this, Jiang Rou quickly spoke up, "Sister, please do not misunderstand Mother's intentions. Mother is only worried that you and I might grow distant... These things must have been planted to frame Biyue. If Sister does not believe it, we can bring Biyue here to confront her!"
"A confrontation?" Jiang Wan gave a light laugh and nodded at Wanqing. Wanqing immediately turned to leave, and a moment later, she brought in a pale-faced young maid—it was Biyue.
"Biyue," Jiang Wan looked at her, her tone calm, "Yesterday when I questioned you, you said these papers were not written by you. Now that Madame and the Second Miss are both here, tell us once more: is this handwriting yours or not?"
Biyue trembled all over, subconsciously looking at Jiang Rou. Jiang Rou shook her head slightly, her eyes filled with warning.
"I..." Biyue’s lips quivered. "In reply to the Eldest Miss, th-this is not my handwriting..."
"Oh?" Jiang Wan raised an eyebrow. "Then why did Nanny Zhou say that when you collected your monthly wages last month, the signature you signed was exactly the same as the writing on these papers?"
"Nanny Zhou?" Madame Li frowned. "Why are you dragging the accountant, Nanny Zhou, into this?"
"Naturally, to prove my innocence." Before Jiang Wan’s voice had faded, more footsteps sounded outside the courtyard. Nanny Zhou entered with a young maid, holding several account books in her arms. "If Mother does not believe it, why not let Nanny Zhou take a look herself?"
Nanny Zhou was an old steward of the mansion and the person most trusted by the Marquis. Seeing this, Madame Li felt a sense of foreboding, yet she maintained her composure. "Nanny Zhou, tell us, what is going on here?"
Nanny Zhou curtsied, opened an account book, and pointed to the signature on it. "In reply to Madame, every month when Biyue collects her wages, she signs this book. I have carefully compared the handwriting on these papers with the signatures in the ledger; the brushstrokes and the pressure points are identical. They could not possibly have been written by two different people."
As soon as she said this, Jiang Rou’s face turned deathly pale. Biyue’s legs went weak, and she knelt directly on the ground, tears streaming down her face. "Madame, Miss, this servant was wrong... I should not have listened to the Second Miss..."
"Biyue!" Jiang Rou barked, her eyes full of panic. "What are you spouting nonsense about!"
Madame Li also turned abruptly, staring at Jiang Rou. "Rou'er, is what she said... is it true?"
Jiang Rou’s lips trembled; she couldn't utter a word. She had never expected Jiang Wan to actually bring Nanny Zhou, nor had she expected Biyue to be so useless as to confess on the spot.
"Mother," Jiang Wan saw the situation and spoke at the right moment, her tone laced with "reluctance." "Sister is young, perhaps she was momentarily confused and let her servant do such a thing. But since this rumor has already spread, if Father were to find out..."
She deliberately paused, her gaze lingering on Madame Li’s face.
Madame Li naturally understood the implication. If the Marquis of Dingbei learned that Jiang Rou had been spreading rumors about her own elder sister, he would surely be furious. At that point, not only Jiang Rou but she herself would be implicated.
"Biyue," Madame Li took a deep breath, turning to the maid with a touch of ruthlessness in her voice. "As the Second Miss's personal maid, you have committed such a deed, ruining the reputation of the mansion. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Biyue trembled, kowtowing repeatedly. "This servant knows she was wrong, please spare my life, Madame... It was the Second Miss who told me to write it. She said that if these words were spread, the Eldest Miss would lose the Marquis's favor..."
"Shut up!" Jiang Rou could no longer hold back; she lunged forward with a scream and slapped Biyue. "You base creature, how dare you slander me!"
"Second Miss!" Nanny Zhou cried out, quickly stepping forward to pull Jiang Rou back. "You mustn't! You are the mistress, how can you strike a servant?"
Jiang Rou acted as if she hadn't heard, attempting to lunge again, but Madame Li grabbed her. "Enough!"
Looking at Jiang Rou’s red-rimmed eyes, Madame Li felt both angry and heartbroken. She never imagined that her own daughter would be so unable to keep her composure, revealing her hand at such a critical moment.
"Eldest Miss," Madame Li turned to Jiang Wan, her tone finally showing a hint of weakness. "It is my fault for not teaching her well, leading Rou'er to commit such a foolish act. You are the legitimate elder sister; for the sake of your father, spare her this once."
Jiang Wan looked at her, sneering inwardly. In her previous life, Madame Li was always like this: first putting on a show of blaming her, and when things were exposed, immediately switching to a pitiful guise, using their father to pressure her.
"Mother, what are you saying?" Jiang Wan said lightly. "Sister was only momentarily confused; naturally, I will not hold it against her. However, the rumor has already spread. If it is not clarified, I fear it will damage the reputation of the Marquis's Mansion."
Madame Li quickly said, "That goes without saying. I will have the servants clarify it and say that those words were nothing but rumors."
"Clarification alone is not enough," Jiang Wan stared at her. "Mother forgets, Biyue is the maid from my sister's quarters. Since she committed a crime, the sister, as her mistress, should also receive some punishment. Otherwise, if word gets out, others might think our mansion allows slaves to commit offenses against their superiors."
Madame Li gritted her teeth. "What do you want?"
"It doesn't need to be too severe," Jiang Wan said nonchalantly. "Just have my sister copy the *Lessons for Women* twenty times in her own courtyard to properly reflect on her actions. As for Biyue..." She looked at the maid sprawled on the ground, "...send her to the manor's farm to do manual labor so she might learn a lesson."
"No!" Jiang Rou shrieked. "She is my maid, how dare you dispose of her!"
"Because I am the legitimate elder sister," Jiang Wan said coldly. "Or does my sister think my decision is inappropriate and wishes to have Father make the final determination?"
At the mention of the Marquis of Dingbei, Jiang Rou immediately fell silent. She knew that if it truly reached her father, she would only suffer more.
Seeing this, Madame Li quickly pressed down on Jiang Rou's shoulder and curtsied to Jiang Wan. "We shall do as the Eldest Miss says. Rou'er, why aren't you apologizing to your sister?"
Jiang Rou bit her lip, her face full of resentment, but under Madame Li's instruction, she still begrudgingly curtsied. "Sister, I was wrong. I hope you will forgive me."
Jiang Wan watched her, knowing clearly that this was merely a superficial gesture. But she was in no rush; she had plenty of time to wear them down slowly.
"Very well," Jiang Wan waved her hand. "If Mother and Sister have nothing else, please return. I must still organize the estate accounts for Father, so I will not see you out."
Madame Li gritted her teeth, turned, and led Jiang Rou away. As they walked out the gate, she looked back once at Jiang Wan under the grape trellis, a flash of malice in her eyes.
*When did this girl become so difficult to deal with?*
Back at Tinglan Courtyard, as soon as they entered, Jiang Rou smashed a tea cup. "Mother, why did you bow to her? She is just a daughter, what gives her the right to ride over me!"
Madame Li stared at the shards on the floor and said coldly, "You still have the nerve to speak? If it weren't for your stupidity, would that wretch Biyue have ruined such a big plan?"
Jiang Rou was stunned, her eyes filled with grievance. "Mother..."
"Enough," Madame Li interrupted. "This is not the time for arguing. Listen to me: from this day on, restrain your edge and don't give her any handle to use against you."
"Are we just going to let it go?" Jiang Rou said resentfully. "She made me copy the *Lessons for Women* and sent Biyue to the farm. How can I swallow this indignity!"
Madame Li gave a cold laugh. "You will swallow it, whether you can or not. Do you think she only wanted to teach you a lesson? She was demonstrating her power to me, and to your father."
She walked to the window, looking at the pear blossoms outside, and said slowly, "However, she won't be proud for long. Although your father’s attitude toward her has improved, at the end of the day, she is only a girl. The future of the Marquis's Mansion still relies on..."
She suddenly stopped, turning to look at Jiang Rou. "Remember, don't be so rash in the future. Some things must be done slowly."
Jiang Rou nodded, half-understanding.
Madame Li sighed and reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind Jiang Rou's ear. "Rou'er, remember, everything Mother does is for you. As long as you can stand firm in this mansion, then in the future..."
She did not continue, but Jiang Rou already understood her meaning.
Yes, as long as she could stand firm in this mansion, everything in the future would be hers.
Including the Crown Prince.
Thinking of this, a flash of cruelty crossed Jiang Rou's eyes.
*Jiang Wan, just you wait. This time it was my oversight, but next time...*
*Next time, I will not give you another chance.*