The maid looked conflicted and said, "Answering the Fourth Madame, this maid is called Xiayue. This maid... this maid saw with her own eyes that you pushed our concubine."
"Oh, Xiayue." A mysterious smile touched the corners of Jiang Lingzhi's lips. "Then do tell, which hand did I use to push her?"
Biting her lip, Xiayue hastily raised her head to glance at Jiang Lingzhi. Recalling the positions at that moment, she said with absolute certainty, "Your right hand! You pushed her with your right hand!"
Jiang Lingzhi let out a sharp laugh. "Sure about that? Not changing your mind?"
A sudden and inexplicable sense of guilt made Xiayue instinctively glance toward Jiang Lingzhi on the bed. Seeing Jiang Lingzhi glaring fiercely at her, she was frightened into nodding frantically. "Yes! It was the right hand!"
Jiang Lingzhi laughed again, her tone instantly shifting into something cold and menacing: "Vile maid! It is clearly you who failed to protect your master, causing Lingzhi to fall, yet you dare to bite back with a counter-accusation. You truly have a sharp tongue!"
Turning pale, Xiayue argued, "Chunliu and I followed the concubine closely all along. It was only because Chunliu was punished and left behind that I was the only one by the concubine's side, which is why I couldn't stop you in time and let you succeed!"
"Is that so?" Jiang Lingzhi curled the corners of her lips, slowly raising her right hand and gently pulling down her sleeve until a length of her wrist was exposed.
Thus, everyone saw it: upon that wrist, originally smooth as jade, several angry, swollen red marks wound their way upward, looking quite terrifying.
"Hiss—"
Everyone could not help drawing a sharp breath.
Old Madame Xiao frowned and asked, "What is this?"
Showing a sorrowful expression, Jiang Lingzhi looked toward Old Madame Xiao:
"Answering Mother, when the General is in his wheelchair, he always tends to lean toward the left side. Your daughter-in-law was constantly thinking of weaving a sturdier support for him, but these past few days I have been feeling unwell and unable to attend to it. Today at the Peony Banquet, I wanted to push him out to get some fresh air, yet fearing he might fall, I tied him in place with a strip of cloth and used my right hand to steady him from the other side."
Hearing this, Old Madame Xiao's eyes reddened.
Where in all the world could one find such a good daughter-in-law? She was so meticulous and painstaking for Jingyi's sake that she, as his mother, could not utter a single word of criticism.
"Child, you've suffered."
Jiang Lingzhi lowered her gaze slightly, and when she raised it again, her eyes carried just the right amount of tears—tears on the verge of falling, aggrieved yet strong, her voice still laced with a sob: "Mother, I don't feel it is a hardship. The General is very good to me; I only fear I am not worthy of him."
She had watched Jiang Lingzhi's tricks at the Jiang family every single day; even if she didn't learn all of it, she had certainly picked up five or six tenths. Well, enough was enough to get by.
Sure enough, after such a period of paving the way, coupled with these words, she completely captured Old Madame Xiao's heart.
Filled with pity and trust for Jiang Lingzhi, and re-examining today's events through that lens, the truth was as clear as day.
With utter disgust, Old Madame Xiao looked at Jiang Lingzhi. "What else do you have to say?"
Jiang Lingzhi naturally had nothing to say. Her face turned ashen; she had never imagined that Jiang Lingzhi still held this trump card in reserve.
Xiao Yan's expression grew complicated. He slanted a glance at Jiang Lingzhi, feeling a slight twinge of vexation... How could she be so good to his fourth uncle? Chapter 28: Offending your mother-in-law or being driven out of the State Duke's Estate—such a difficult choice.
Meanwhile, for the sake of the child, Lady Lu hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Mother, since Lingzhi is with child, it is inevitable that her memory is a bit poor. Perhaps the two sisters had some friction while tugging at one another in conversation, and she panicked and remembered wrongly. Surely she didn't mean it. This matter..."
Jiang Lingzhi narrowed her eyes. She had no liking for these words—who would willingly be sisters with a concubine?
She retorted, "First Sister-in-law, what kind of talk is this? A wife follows her husband; since I am your sister-in-law, how could I be sisters with your daughter-in-law? Wouldn't that mean you and Lingzhi would also have to address each other as sisters?"
Not expecting her to say this, Lady Lu flushed red with anger. "You!"
"Quiet, all of you!" Old Madame Xiao let out a cold bark and scolded, "Bringing every bit of foul and fragrant trash into the courtyard—you lot in the First House truly are unpicky eaters."
Lady Lu gave an involuntary shudder and dared not say another word.
Having cleanly washed herself of any blame, Jiang Lingzhi had no desire to continue sharing a room with these sordid characters. She looked toward Old Madame Xiao: "Mother, the matter has been sorted out. If there is nothing else, I will return to look after my husband."
Old Madame Xiao nodded and said mildly, "Go on."
With that, she also intended to stand up and leave; whatever remained had nothing to do with her.
After all, the First House was not born of her own flesh. Since they insisted on bringing such a creature inside, they could deal with the mess themselves.
Who could have anticipated that right at this moment, Jiang Lingzhi would suddenly blurt out, "Elder Sister—no, Fourth Madame, Old Madame has defended and trusted you so much, yet when you made your return visit to your maiden home, you secretly swapped the fox-fur cloak Old Madame prepared for you. Have you no conscience?"
As these words fell, the air seemed to freeze solid.
Jiang Lingzhi glared fiercely at Jiang Lingzhi, looking as though she would not rest unless she tore a piece of flesh from her!
As for Lady Lu, her expression changed drastically. Never in her wildest dreams had she expected Jiang Lingzhi to spill this secret!
Jiang Lingzhi paused slightly, not expecting the boomerang to return quite this swiftly.
Turning back to gaze at Jiang Lingzhi, she raised an eyebrow with a faint, amused smile. "What fox-fur cloak? Make yourself clear."
The trace of guilt in Xiao Yan's eyes instantly transformed into disgust.
She was raised in the countryside after all, so shallow and ignorant of fine things that she would even secretly swap her return-visit gifts.
Lady Lu hurried to scold Jiang Lingzhi: "Hold your tongue! Have you not made enough of a fool of yourself with your nonsense today?"
How could Jiang Lingzhi know the inside story? With a pair of reddened eyes, she stubbornly declared:
"I am not talking nonsense! The gift list for Elder Sister's return visit clearly stated a fox-fur cloak, but when it was brought out to be stored in the treasury, it turned out to be a grey-rat-skin robe. I merely wanted to remind Elder Sister that since she has now married into the State Duke's Estate, she should not behave in such a stingy and vulgar manner, lest she disgrace the Estate's reputation."
Why was Jiang Lingzhi so good at acting?
Why did Old Madame Xiao treat her with such gentle warmth while showing utter revulsion toward herself?
She was determined to strip away her mask and let everyone know that a mud-legged rustic was a mud-legged rustic; even if they flew up to a high branch, at best they were only an obnoxious, ill-omened crow!
Jiang Lingzhi curled the corners of her lips, turned to look at Lady Lu, and said, "Indeed, how could people of the State Duke's Estate behave in such a stingy and vulgar manner? Wouldn't you say so, First Sister-in-law?"
Old Madame Xiao's suspicious gaze also landed on Lady Lu. "What is the meaning of this? Weren't you the one who personally managed the return-visit gifts that day?"
Jiang Lingzhi stared in stupefaction, her eyes wide. How—how could Lady Lu have managed it?
Biting her lip, she looked from the forbearance-filled yet enraged Lady Lu to the serene Jiang Lingzhi, and hurriedly tried to patch things up: "...Perhaps I saw wrong. It was indeed a fox-fur cloak..."
With a smile, Jiang Lingzhi said, "Dragging down and framing an elder—the State Duke's Estate cannot tolerate such servants. Even if she is a concubine, she must be driven out according to family rules. Lingzhi, you had better think this through."
Left speechless, Jiang Lingzhi began to break out in a cold sweat on her forehead. "I... I..."
If it were proven that the fox-fur cloak had been swapped, she would completely alienate her mother-in-law. Yet if the charge of framing an elder was pinned on her, she would be driven out of the State Duke's Estate. Truly, she was caught in a hopeless dilemma...
Leisurely, Jiang Lingzhi said:
"Why not send someone to the Jiang family to ask? Just say that the cloak was an imperial bestowal and not something ordinary households should use; I imagine your mother will surely send it back intact. That way, won't we know whether it was a fox-fur cloak or a grey-rat-skin robe?"
"No... don't..." Losing her wits, Jiang Lingzhi grew even more panicked, looking now toward Lady Lu, now toward the Old Madame.
Suddenly rolling her eyes, she clutched her lower abdomen. "Ah... my stomach hurts so much..."
Raising an eyebrow, Jiang Lingzhi remarked, "I told you to cultivate some virtue and stop making baseless accusations and framing people. Look, even my two grandchildren refuse to stand for it."
Seething with extreme resentment, Jiang Lingzhi thought, *You!*
By what right was Jiang Lingzhi going to be the grandmother of her child?
Jiang Lingzhi was so angry she was practically ready to vomit blood.
Yet at this moment, no one in the room cared what she thought.
With a gloomy face, Old Madame Xiao stared fixedly at Lady Lu. The return-visit gift she had prepared for her own daughter-in-law had actually been swapped away so brazenly by Lady Lu?
Old Madame Xiao could not fathom it.
It was merely a fox-fur cloak; which daughter-in-law in this household had she not bestowed things upon?
Lady Lu had managed the internal affairs of State Duke Xiao's Estate for over a decade, seeing all manner of fine treasures—how could she still be so shallow-sighted?
With a stiff expression, Lady Lu did not know what to say.
Leaning on her cane, Old Madame Xiao stood up from her seat and walked step by step toward Lady Lu.
The sound of the dragon-headed cane striking the floor was like stepping on the tips of people's hearts, causing them to tremble involuntarily.
Terrified, Jiang Lingzhi grabbed the quilt, her face drained of all color. It was too horrifying...
How could anyone be this terrifying? Ten thousand times more terrifying than her own father...
With weak legs, Lady Lu was frightened into sliding from her chair to sit flat on the floor.
Looking down at her from above, Old Madame Xiao rebuked angrily, "Are you even incapable of managing the servants in your own courtyard? How could I possibly feel at ease handing over this vast State Duke's Estate to you?"
Panic surged in Lady Lu, and with an unsightly complexion, she said, "Mother, it was just a moment of oversight on your daughter-in-law's part..."
It was merely a fox-fur cloak, not some earth-shattering matter; was there any need to speak so severely?
"A moment of oversight? Or constant oversight?" Old Madame Xiao struck the floor with her dragon-headed cane. "Go back and reflect deeply upon yourself! Hand over the tally plaques, keys, and account books. I'm going to have someone audit the accounts of this Duke's Estate."
The forced smile on Lady Lu's face could no longer be maintained.
She felt as though lightning had struck her from the blue—the Old Madame was going to audit the accounts personally... It was over... Chapter 29: How could her husband use calligraphy given by another woman?
Voices rose inside the inner rooms, while the crowd outside fell instantly silent.
Ever since entering the estate, Old Madame Xiao had been endlessly amiable, almost making people forget that she was Princess Rongan, forged in the bloody struggles of imperial power.
When the late Emperor passed away and the throne was to pass to the present sovereign, Prince Huai insisted on being regent and even usurping imperial power under the pretext of the Emperor's youth. At that time, Princess Rongan, a mere sixteen-year-old, held the Son of Heaven's treasured sword and slew Prince Huai with a single stroke in the Golden Luan Hall, safeguarding the current Emperor upon the dragon throne and changing the era name to Youning.
Hardly had Dayong's internal politics stabilized when Qiangyue raised troops to invade.
Princess Rongan once again volunteered for a marriage alliance. Five years later, Emperor Youning led a personal campaign alongside State Duke Xiao, who was then the commander-in-chief, to annihilate Qiangyue, only then welcoming Princess Rongan back.
Afterward, she was bestowed in marriage to State Duke Xiao as his second wife.
She had spent these years in the Duke's Estate acting amiable and keeping her claws retracted, but that did not mean she had become a sick cat.
"Lady Gu, Lady Zhao, come inside, both of you." Old Madame Xiao gave another sharp command toward the outside.
The Second and Third Madames exchanged glances, each seeing panic and cautious wariness in the other's eyes. Daring not delay, they steeled themselves and headed into the inner room.
"Mother."
With a blank expression, Old Madame Xiao looked down at the collapsed Lady Lu and stated coldly, "Tomorrow morning, hand over all account books and keys. Reflect on yourself properly! Second Sister-in-law, you take charge of the tally plaques and keys for now. Third Sister-in-law, you manage the account books."
Second Madame Gu widened her eyes in sheer disbelief. Having thought the Old Madame would reprimand her for the mishaps at the Peony Banquet today, who could have imagined she would be gifted the prime duty of managing the household just like that?!
In the future, wouldn't she also be able to put on the airs of a mistress of the house?!
She could not help exchanging a glance with Lady Zhao nearby, and seeing the joy brimming in Lady Zhao's eyes as well, the two hurriedly accepted, "Yes."
With a hum, Old Madame Xiao paused, then looked casually toward Jiang Lingzhi. "Take the former account books of the estate back and read through them at your leisure. If you spot any problems, come report them to me."
Lowering her gaze to veil the complexity in her eyes, Jiang Lingzhi obediently complied, "Yes."
For a moment, some rejoiced while others sorrowed.
Standing beside Old Madame Xiao, the Second and Third Madames wore thoroughly docile expressions.
Lady Lu collapsed on the floor in utter terror, while Xiao Yan sat beside the bed with a suffocating expression, holding the shivering Jiang Lingzhi.
"Xiao Yan,"
Old Madame Xiao did not let him off either. "Your grandfather had you serve as a military cavalry lieutenant precisely to temper your character, yet look at you—you went for a single day and started a brawl. Having returned to undergo family punishment, I trust you have learned a fair bit of sense. Tomorrow, you will report back for duty."
Xiao Yan's face immediately darkened.
He had thought this wretched errand was behind him; how had this page been flipped back again!
Yet he dared not talk back to the Duke, let alone the Old Madame.
Dawning belatedly upon him was the realization of just how deeply dissatisfied Old Madame Xiao was with the First House currently.
The roots of this dissatisfaction lay in his own foolishness on his wedding day, in Lingzhi's reckless framing and slander today, and not least in his mother Lady Lu's lax management of the household.
It filled him with extreme vexation.
Stripped of her household management rights, Lady Lu felt as though the sky had collapsed, her face devoid of color.
She had waited so hard for the First House to have a successor, thinking that once the problem of the Duke's sparse offspring—something the Duke cared about most—was resolved, she could promptly petition for her husband to be named heir.
Yet she never imagined someone would seize a handle against her here!
One must know that the Duke's four sons were all legitimate heirs; any one of them could potentially be petitioned as the heir!
For so many years she had guarded against every threat, conscientiously holding onto household management rights, firmly suppressing the Second and Third Houses from rising, and even overshadowing the fourth one, who was now practically dying...
So how, at the very final hurdle, had things gone wrong right here with her?
Darkness overtook Lady Lu's vision, and she collapsed limply to the ground.
A fresh flurry of noise filled the room.
Old Madame Xiao instructed everyone else to return to their respective courtyards, leaving the First House to deal with their own domestic affairs.
Gu and Zhao departed in high spirits, hurrying back to prepare for their future duties as managers of the household.
Facing the warm sunlight spilling across the ground, Jiang Lingzhi left Painting Spring Garden and headed back to Shun Garden.
The corners of her lips curled upward slightly. The wheel of fortune turns; those who sought to harm her were suffering a catastrophic downfall, and she was simply overjoyed.
All along the way, Xueying and Yunrou wore expressions of wanting to speak but holding back.
Knowing what they wished to ask, Jiang Lingzhi unconcernedly lifted the sash at her waist and twirled it around her fingertips: "I used this to strangle it!"
When each side has their own version of events, quarreling settles nothing; only by producing evidence can one convince others.
As for lacking evidence... she simply had to manufacture some herself.
However, since there was nothing wrong with her wheelchair, she had first to make someone push Xiao Jingyi back, gambling that Old Madame Xiao's deep maternal affection would cause her to lean toward believing her.
Heh, and she had won the gamble.
Xueying and Yunrou exchanged glances, hurriedly looking around with nervous tension. Seeing that no one was paying attention, they finally let out sighs of relief.
Xueying said, "Just now, this maid was almost scared to death."
Jiang Lingzhi smiled. "Actually, I was thinking just then, if this trick hadn't worked, I had another backup plan."
Curious, Yunrou asked, "What?"
Jiang Lingzhi looked slightly embarrassed: "Just push Xiao Yan down with a single shove. Given my strength, I could at least break one of his arms and tell them: that is the consequence of crossing me... But then I thought better of it, afraid that if I used too much force, I'd cause him permanent injury."
Hearing this, Yunrou felt her heart leap into her throat. "...It's a good thing you thought better of it."
Returning to Shun Garden, as Jiang Lingzhi passed the front courtyard study, her footsteps paused.
"The two characters *Tuihan* are no good; I don't like them. Have Di Qing take them down later," Jiang Lingzhi said calmly, withdrawing her gaze. "Change them to the two characters *Xiangnuan*."
Her husband—how could he possibly use calligraphy given by another woman?
Back in the room, the sight of him made her happy all over again.
Oh, she had chosen this husband simply too well. As long as she used him as a shield, no dirt could ever be splashed onto her.
Seeing a maid about to feed him medicine, she spoke up: "Let me do it."
"Yes, Fourth Madame."
The maid hurriedly stepped aside, handed the medicine bowl to Jiang Lingzhi, and gently reminded her, "Madame, ever since the General regained some sensation, he hasn't been very cooperative with taking his medicine. You may need to be a bit more patient, Madame. It is common for the General to spit out the medicine; there is another bowl keeping warm on the stove over there."
"It is hard on you all for being so meticulous," Jiang Lingzhi praised.
With maids and manservants serving him with such dedication, Xiao Jingyi had never suffered any hardship even while unconscious.
His clothes were consistently clean, the bedding underneath was dry, and a faint fragrance lingered about the bed.
Sensibly, the maid retreated. Jiang Lingzhi set the medicine bowl aside, scooped up a spoonful of warm broth, and habitually said, "Husband, I've come back safe and sound. Be a good boy and drink this spoonful of medicine, and I'll tell you a big piece of news!"
With those words, she gently pinched his chin and poured the spoonful of broth into his mouth.
*This isn't so difficult after all...* she thought to herself—when in the very next second, Xiao Jingyi spat out every last drop of the medicine she had just fed him.
Jiang Lingzhi: "......"
Truly uncooperative indeed. Chapter 30: She thought of a great method for feeding medicine!
Xiao Jingyi was likewise feeling deeply distressed.
He genuinely wanted to listen to her speak, wanting to know how the preceding matter had concluded...
Could this little village girl have suffered any grievances?
Yet the moment the medicinal broth entered his mouth, his tongue slipped beyond his control, spitting the medicine right out.
...It made him look terribly fussy, as if even bitter medicine was beyond his endurance.
Pondering for a moment, Jiang Lingzhi gently lifted his head to rest in the crook of her arm. This time she scooped half a spoonful, delivering the broth straight to the back of his throat before pressing it down.
Yet in the next instant, the medicinal broth actually choked him into a muffled cough, his face flushing crimson red.
Frightened, she quickly dropped the spoon, gently patted his back, and smoothed his breath.
*Why bother?* thought Xiao Jingyi.
Her concern was not lost on him, but clumsy as she was, why insist on forcing herself to do something she wasn't cut out for instead of leaving it to the servants?
He didn't mind the tossing about; he only feared she would stubbornly push herself too hard.
As it turned out, Jiang Lingzhi refused to yield to this obstacle!
She looked at the spoon in her hand, then at the half-bowl of medicinal broth, and finally at the closed, heroic, and handsome face resting in her arms. A clever thought crossing her mind, an idea took root. "Husband, I really don't want to take advantage of you."
Xiao Jingyi: "!"
What was she going to do now?
With brisk decisiveness, Jiang Lingzhi lowered his head back against the pillow.
Then, she took a mouthful of the medicinal broth, pinched his nose to force his mouth open, pressed down upon his tongue, and passed it over bit by bit.
Xiao Jingyi: "!!!"