Jiang Wuyan did not speak, but her fingernails scraped against her blind cane, producing a sharp, grating sound.
"Clang." The noise was piercing, causing He Yunxuan to frown.
He had just "poured out his heart" only to be met with not a shred of response, and now this irritating sound—it was truly a mood-killer.
"Go on then, and watch yourself," he said, giving her shoulder a perfunctory pat before turning to leave. He even forgot that his wife could not see and failed to at least help her back to the carriage.
Jiang Wuyan did not move for a moment; a cold glint seemed to flicker in her sightless eyes.
She pulled out a handkerchief to cover her mouth and coughed once, then squeezed the cloth tight before tucking it away. Only then did she begin to walk slowly, step by step, in the direction of the carriage.
Every step was heavy and weighted, yet her gait remained steady.
It was not as if she hadn't considered rebelling, or letting herself go mad for once. But it felt as if two people lived inside her head: one screaming wildly, filled with violent, destructive desires to tear everything down; and the other, an intensely calm version of herself sitting quietly, watching it all, even pinning the insane half of her down so it could not stir.
She knew clearly that she was blind, a useless person with no means of self-defense. She had her father’s house, but they were the very people who oppressed her. If she truly threw caution to the wind, these people would stop pretending; they would lash out, injure her, cripple her, or lock her away. Then she would have no chance at all.
All the years of painstaking pretense, the path she had carved out for herself with such difficulty—it would all be destroyed in an instant.
*Do not be impatient... do not be impatient!*
She steadied herself before the carriage, exhaled a long, slow breath, and then felt her way inside.
***
There was another "minor accident" along the way, and thanks to the series of delays, it was quite late when Jiang Wuyan arrived at the Jiang Estate. She had just entered the gates when the Crown Prince's carriage arrived as well.
As Jiang Wuyan heard the announcement and turned to move aside, she was bumped by someone rushing to welcome the Crown Prince. She lost her balance and fell to the ground; not only did her blind cane slip from her hand, but she also became disoriented. For a moment, she knelt there, frantically patting the ground in search of her cane.
Noticing someone approaching, and hearing people shouting their respects to the Crown Prince, she quickly knelt lower, not daring to move.
As the air shifted with the movement of the crowd, she smelled a distinct incense. Though the scent leaned toward the delicate and elegant, it was also domineering, lingering at the tip of her nose in a way she could not ignore. It smelled somewhat like agarwood.
Along with the fragrance, someone seemed to stop directly before her, radiating an inexplicable, powerful pressure. It felt as if Mount Tai were looming over her, or as if she were facing a towering wave.
"What is this?"
The voice was clear and steady, carrying the habitual tone of one in a position of power, tinged with a hint of curiosity.
Someone replied, "Reporting to Your Highness the Crown Prince, this is Prime Minister Jiang's eldest daughter, Miss Jiang Wuyan."
Another person lowered their voice, whispering to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, this woman is an omen of ill fortune. It would be best to keep your distance, lest you be tainted by her bad luck and affect your noble health."
Ever since she lost her sight, Jiang Wuyan's hearing had become exceptionally sensitive. The speaker could not possibly have leaned close enough to the Crown Prince's ear, so even though they had spoken quietly, it was loud enough for her to hear clearly.
But what could she do? She could only press herself lower, her body nearly flush against the cold ground.
She heard the person who was presumably the Crown Prince take a step, seemingly walking away.
She could not tell if she felt a sense of relief or a heavy gloom; at the very least, the Crown Prince had walked away without punishing her for the "collision" with an ill-omened person like her.
Suddenly, the fragrance and the sense of pressure closed in on her once more. Before her breath could even settle, it caught in her throat. Just as she tensed her body, she felt her arm being gripped, and she nearly trembled.
The hand had a firm grip, "helping" her up from the ground. It was likely a task the man rarely performed; what should have been a gentle gesture instead tugged hard enough to make her arm ache. Before she could recover from her shock or even form a silent complaint in her mind, her blind cane was placed into her hand.
Above her head, the Crown Prince’s voice sounded much closer than before: "Take good care of your eldest daughter."
The hand released her arm, and then the footsteps retreated, never looking back.
Jiang Wuyan stood there, dazed. This was the first time—and perhaps the last—that someone had helped her up, picked up her cane for her, and given orders for her to be well cared for.
She turned her head slowly in the direction the Crown Prince had departed.
For once, a rare thought crossed her mind: she wished she could see what this Crown Prince looked like.
Alas, she could not.
She tightened her grip on the blind cane and, urged on by a nanny who had secretly hurried over, followed her into the estate, avoiding the Crown Prince by taking a different path to the back courtyard.
The current Madam Jiang was Jiang Qianming's second wife and Jiang Huan's birth mother.
She had been waiting in Jiang Huan's room. As soon as Jiang Wuyan entered, she was pulled away, and without a word, they began stripping her clothes off.
Madam Jiang complained from the side, dissatisfied, "Why are you so slow? What if the Crown Prince's side discovers this? Wuyan, the family hasn't abandoned you despite you being a star of misfortune, so you must not deliberately harm the family or your sister!"
Madam Jiang was from Jiangnan and possessed the gentle, soft-spoken nature typical of women from that region. In the social circles of Shangjing, everyone praised Madam Jiang for being gentle, virtuous, and the kindest of souls.
Otherwise, how could a disaster like the eldest Miss have been allowed to grow up to this age, let alone secure such a fine marriage arrangement with the Pingyang Marquis Manor?
Indeed, even when Madam Jiang complained, her voice remained delicate, not at all like someone losing her temper.
Yet from the moment Jiang Wuyan stepped into the room, she was stripped by the nannies and forcibly dressed in Jiang Huan's clothes, without a single question addressed to her.
The hairpin was ripped from her hair with such force that several strands were torn out, and in the confusion of the changing, someone pinched her several times.
She had no dignity to speak of. Even a porcelain doll being dressed would have been treated with more care, would it not?
No sooner had they finished changing her than a report came from outside: the Crown Prince was approaching!
Jiang Wuyan was pulled along and shoved behind a folding screen—since they were not yet married, men and women had to keep their distance, and using the excuse that Jiang Huan was ill and feared passing the contagion to the Crown Prince, the screen provided a necessary veil.
A nanny warned her cruelly, "The eldest Miss must stay alert. Do not be 'careless' and ruin everything. I will be watching you right here!"
As if stung by the pain, Jiang Wuyan placed her hand over the back of the nanny’s hand, pleading fearfully, "I—I know. I will... take care!"