On an afternoon when the cicadas' chirping had just begun, Jiang Wan was bent over her desk, intently checking the accounts of the Marquis's Mansion's shops. Ever since her rebirth, she had deeply understood the importance of wealth and had taken the initiative to offer to help her father manage the family's businesses. By now, she could skillfully handle all kinds of affairs, and even her usually stern father looked at her with a much more gratified gaze.
"First Miss, this is terrible!" Lü'e rushed into the room in a panic, her hair bun slightly disheveled and her face full of anxiety.
Jiang Wan put down the writing brush in her hand and asked calmly, "What has happened to make you so flustered?"
Panting heavily, Lü'e said, "Everyone outside is spreading rumors... saying that you and the Young Master cousin were acting intimately in the garden, and they are even saying... saying that you have no regard for the reputation of a maiden of a noble house!"
Hearing this, Jiang Wan's gaze instantly turned cold. She had anticipated that Jiang Rou would not let the matter rest easily, but she had never expected the other girl to resort to such despicable methods in a vain attempt to ruin her reputation.
"Do you know where the rumor originated?" Jiang Wan's voice was devoid of any warmth.
Lü'e shook her head and said, "Xiaotao went to inquire, and she only knows it started from the servants' quarters. Who specifically began it is still unclear."
Jiang Wan stood up, walked over to the window, and looked out at the swaying bamboo shadows. After a moment of silent thought, she said, "Jiang Rou is simply turning desperate. Does she really think she can ruin my reputation with such a trick?"
Lü'e said indignantly, "First Miss, this is clearly her playing dirty behind our backs! She suffered a loss in the garden last time, so she must be trying to take revenge on you!"
Jiang Wan nodded slightly and said, "That's right. She wants to use this opportunity to make Father disappointed in me and make everyone in the mansion look down on me. But she has forgotten that I am no longer the old Jiang Wan who could be bullied by anyone."
"Then what should we do, First Miss?" Lü'e asked anxiously.
Jiang Wan turned around, her gaze resolute, and said, "First, go call Xiaotao here. I want to question her carefully about how this rumor came to be."
Before long, Xiaotao was summoned. Her face was pale, showing she had clearly been frightened by the sudden rumor as well.
"First Miss, this servant found out that the rumor first started in the kitchen. A newly arrived cook claimed she saw you and the Young Master cousin chatting happily and acting very intimately in the garden." Xiaotao kept her head lowered, her voice trembling slightly.
Jiang Wan let out a cold laugh. "A newly arrived cook? Hmph, Jiang Rou certainly knows how to find a scapegoat. Someone must be pulling the strings behind this cook."
Lü'e gritted her teeth and said, "First Miss, let's go straight to Madame and ask her to uphold justice! This is clearly someone deliberately framing you!"
Jiang Wan waved her hand and said, "Go to Madame? She has always favored Jiang Rou; how could she possibly uphold justice for me? We need to think of a way to make this rumor collapse on its own, and make Jiang Rou taste her own bitter medicine."
Just then, the sound of footsteps came from outside. Immediately following, a shrill voice rang out: "Oh, so this is the legitimate young lady of our Marquis's Mansion! Usually so proper and virtuous on the surface, who would have thought she'd be so devoid of propriety behind closed doors!"
Jiang Wan raised her eyes and saw an ostentatiously dressed woman standing in the doorway—none other than Hongxiao, Jiang Rou's personal maid.
Lü'e flew into a rage, rushed forward, and said, "What kind of thing are you, daring to spout nonsense here!"
Hongxiao showed not the slightest bit of fear, raising her eyebrows with a cold sneer. "I am not spouting nonsense. Everyone up and down the mansion is talking about how Miss Jiang Wan and the Young Master cousin were making eyes at each other and acting intimately in the garden. If word of this gets out, the Marquis's Mansion will lose all its face!"
Jiang Wan stood up, walked slowly over to Hongxiao, and stared straight into her eyes like a knife. "Hongxiao, you can eat your words casually, but you cannot speak carelessly. You say the Young Master cousin and I were acting intimately—do you have proof?"
Hongxiao felt her courage falter under that gaze, but thinking of Jiang Rou backing her up, she braced herself and said, "Proof? The servants throughout the estate are all talking about it; that is proof! People's eyes aren't blind!"
The corners of Jiang Wan's lips curled into a cold smile. "It seems you are dead set on framing me. In that case, I will go to Father and let him arbitrate. I want to see just who is making mischief behind the scenes!"
With that, Jiang Wan took Lü'e and Xiaotao and walked toward her father's study. Watching them leave, Hongxiao felt a flutter of nervousness in her heart, but she gritted her teeth and hurried off to report to Jiang Rou.
Arriving at the study door, Jiang Wan took a deep breath and gently knocked.
"Come in." Her father's steady voice came from inside.
Jiang Wan pushed the door open to see her father sitting at his desk, reviewing official documents. Seeing her enter, her father frowned slightly and asked, "Wan Niang, what is it?"
Jiang Wan curtsied and said, "Father, your daughter has come today to clarify a matter with you. There are rumors outside that your daughter has been acting intimately with the Young Master cousin and ruining her maidenly reputation. This is entirely someone deliberately fabricating rumors to make trouble, and I hope Father will investigate clearly."
Her father put down his brush and looked at her with a stern gaze. "I have also heard about this matter. Tell me, where did this rumor originate?"
Jiang Wan recounted everything from her chance encounter with the Young Master cousin in the garden to Jiang Rou deliberately falling and framing her. Finally, she said, "Your daughter suspects that this rumor was instigated behind the scenes by Jiang Rou, with the sole purpose of ruining my reputation and making Father disappointed in me."
Hearing this, her father's expression turned extremely ugly. "Preposterous! If it is truly as you say, Jiang Rou is far too lacking in discretion!"
At that moment, the sound of crying suddenly came from outside: "Father! You must uphold justice for your daughter! Eldest Sister... she actually sent people to beat me!"
Jiang Wan's heart sank. Without even looking, she knew Jiang Rou had arrived.
Her father furrowed his brows and barked, "Come in!"
The door was pushed open, and Jiang Rou ran in crying, followed by Hongxiao and several maids. Her face bore a few faint red marks, looking as though she had been struck.
"Father! Eldest Sister is jealous of me, so she sent people to drag me to a secluded spot and beat me ruthlessly! Look, my face is beaten until it's swollen!" Jiang Rou threw herself before her father, weeping like a pear blossom in the rain.
Her father looked at Jiang Wan with a trace of doubt in his eyes. "Wan Niang, what is the meaning of this?"
Jiang Wan sneered inwardly; Jiang Rou's counter-accusation tactic was truly brilliant. Unflustered, she said, "Father, your daughter has spent the entire day in her own courtyard checking accounts and has never sent anyone to beat Jiang Rou. There must be some misunderstanding here."
Jiang Rou refused to let the matter drop, crying out, "Eldest Sister, why must you be so vicious? Even if you are jealous of me, you cannot use such methods to frame me! Father, you must seek justice for your daughter!"
Hongxiao chimed in from the side, "Indeed, Master! Our young miss was beaten so terribly, and those people even threatened her, forbidding her from telling the truth!"
Her father's expression grew steadily darker. He looked at Jiang Wan and said severely, "Wan Niang, if you truly did this, do you know your fault?"
A pang of hurt went through Jiang Wan's heart; she had not expected her father to actually suspect her. But she quickly calmed herself and said, "Father, your daughter has a clear conscience. If Father does not believe me, you can easily send someone to investigate whether your daughter left her courtyard today. Furthermore, regarding the rumor about myself and the Young Master cousin, your daughter earnestly implores Father to thoroughly investigate, unearth the mastermind, and clear your daughter's name."
Just as the atmosphere reached an impasse, a voice sounded from outside: "Marquis, Old Madame asks you and the young misses to come over."
Her father sighed and said, "Let us go to Old Madame's place first. This matter will be discussed later."
The group arrived at Old Madame's courtyard. Old Madame sat in the main seat with a gloomy expression, evidently already aware of what had happened in the mansion.
"Kneel!" Old Madame barked, startling Jiang Rou and Jiang Wan into dropping to their knees simultaneously.
"The two of you—one the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's Mansion, the other a concubine-born daughter—yet you stir up the household until there is no peace! Now rumors are flying everywhere, and you have lost all dignity for the Marquis's Mansion!" Old Madame said angrily.
Jiang Rou began to cry again. "Grandmother, it is all Eldest Sister's fault! She is jealous of me, so she targets me everywhere, even sending people to beat me and spreading those rumors..."
Jiang Wan raised her head, looked straight into Old Madame's eyes, and said, "Grandmother, your daughter is wronged! Those rumors were deliberately fabricated by someone, and your daughter has never done anything to shame the reputation of the Marquis's Mansion. As for Jiang Rou being beaten, your daughter knows nothing about it either. I beg Grandmother to investigate clearly!"
Old Madame looked at her two granddaughters, her eyes filled with disappointment. "I don't care which of you is right or wrong; in short, this matter must be resolved quickly, and the rumors must not be allowed to spread any further!"
At this point, Jiang Wan spoke up: "Grandmother, your daughter has a way to trace the source of the rumor and restore peace to the Marquis's Mansion."
Old Madame raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Let's hear it."
Unflustered, Jiang Wan said, "Your daughter heard that the rumor first came from the kitchen. Why not summon all the kitchen servants here and question them one by one? I am certain we can find the mastermind."
Jiang Rou's expression shifted slightly, but she quickly returned to normal. She felt a surge of smug satisfaction inside; that cook had already been bought off by her and would never betray her no matter how she was questioned.
Old Madame nodded and said, "Very well. Someone, bring all the kitchen servants here!"
Before long, the kitchen staff were all brought to Old Madame's courtyard. At a single glance, Jiang Wan spotted the so-called "rumor-monger"—an unfamiliar-looking cook.
The cook looked somewhat nervous, her eyes darting about, not daring to meet Jiang Wan's gaze.
Jiang Wan stepped forward and asked softly, "Are you the one who first started the rumor about the Young Master cousin and me?"
Lowering her head, the cook stammered, "Y-yes... This servant saw with her own eyes that you and the Young Master cousin were acting intimately in the garden, and so... so I spoke of it."
Jiang Wan let out a cold laugh. "Oh? Then do tell, how were we acting intimately?"
The cook was momentarily struck dumb by the question. After a long pause, she said, "This servant... this servant saw you chatting and laughing together, and the Young Master cousin even... even held your hand!"
As soon as these words were uttered, an uproar broke out in the courtyard.
Yet Jiang Wan remained entirely unruffled. Turning to Old Madame, she said, "Grandmother, this cook is clearly lying. The Young Master cousin is a man of utmost integrity; how could he ever do such an unmannered thing? Moreover, your daughter and the Young Master cousin merely met by chance and exchanged a few words. Someone must have instigated this!"
Old Madame's gaze grew sharp. She looked at the cook and demanded, "Confess the truth! Who on earth told you to say this? If you dare conceal anything, you will face family punishment!"
Trembling all over, the cook broke out in a cold sweat. She cast a stealthy glance at Jiang Rou and, seeing Jiang Rou glaring at her with a threatening gaze, gritted her teeth and said, "Replying to Old Madame, no one instigated this servant; it was what I saw with my own eyes!"
Jiang Wan had prepared for this. Taking something out of her sleeve, she said, "You are certain you saw it with your own eyes? Then how do you explain this?"
Everyone looked closely and saw it was a letter. Jiang Wan unfolded the letter and read aloud: "'As long as you do as I say and spread the rumor about Jiang Wan and the Young Master cousin, I will give you one hundred taels of silver afterward and help you find a good family in the city to marry into.' The sender is signed: Hongxiao."
Hongxiao's face instantly turned ashen, and she collapsed to her knees with a thud. "Young Miss, this servant is wronged! Th-this was not written by me!"
Jiang Rou panicked as well, but she quickly forced herself to remain calm and said, "Eldest Sister, where did you find such fake evidence? You are clearly trying to frame me and Hongxiao!"
Without arguing with her, Jiang Wan simply said to Old Madame, "Grandmother, yesterday your daughter had someone secretly investigate this matter and indeed discovered this letter. Furthermore, your daughter has found the errand boy who delivered the letter to Hongxiao; he is waiting right outside."
With a face as dark as iron, Old Madame barked, "Bring him in!"
The errand boy was brought in and tremblingly recounted the whole story. As it turned out, everything had been orchestrated by Jiang Rou through Hongxiao, with the sole purpose of ruining Jiang Wan's reputation.
The truth came to light, and Jiang Rou slumped onto the ground, her face the color of dead ash. Jiang Wan looked down at her without a trace of pity. "Jiang Rou, what else do you have to say?"
Old Madame slammed her hand down on the table in fury. "Jiang Rou, you have disappointed me to the utmost! To commit such an act that destroys the family reputation—what crime deserves this?"
Weeping bitterly, Jiang Rou kowtowed and begged for mercy: "Grandmother, your daughter was wrong! Your daughter was merely momentarily muddle-headed; I beg Grandmother to spare your daughter this once!"
Her father also shook his head in disappointment. "Jiang Rou, you have brought this upon yourself."
In the end, Jiang Rou was sentenced to three months of confinement, and Hongxiao was driven out of the Marquis's Mansion. The cook who started the rumors was sent to the authorities to be dealt with.
This storm had thus subsided. But Jiang Wan knew this was only the beginning. Within this Marquis's Mansion, the struggle between her, Jiang Rou, and Madame Li was far from over. However, she was no longer afraid. For she understood that only by making herself stronger could she protect herself and safeguard her fate in this lifetime.