"!"
Ah!
To think she would use such a method to feed him medicine—it was simply too shameful!
Jiang Lingzhi, however, felt nothing of the sort. She quickly finished feeding him the remaining half-bowl and said with a touch of smugness, "How was that? Isn't my method exceptionally effective?"
Xiao Jingyi was left speechless.
Jiang Lingzhi set the bowl down, chuckled to herself, and then, picking up a piece of rock sugar, used her own fingers to slide it into his mouth.
Only then did she begin to recount what had happened in Huichun Garden. She omitted the part where she had defended herself and instead credited everything to Old Madame Xiao.
"At first, Jiang Lingyuan only blamed me for her fall because she was afraid of being scolded by Lady Lu. But once she saw the Old Madame, she wanted to see me punished, so she flat-out lied to frame me. In the end, she only ended up shooting herself in the foot!"
Xiao Jingyi felt a bit more at ease. Indeed, if his mother intervened, nothing could be hidden from her.
Just as he was thinking this, a voice echoed from the doorway: "Madam, the steward has brought over several large chests. He says all the estate's account books from the past ten years are here. This servant has come to ask how you would like them arranged?"
"The west wing is still empty; put them there for now."
"Yes, Madam."
Xiao Jingyi felt a spark of confusion. Account books?
Why would the steward bring the estate's ledgers over?
Could they possibly be letting this little village girl audit the accounts?
It was as if Jiang Lingzhi could read his mind, for she immediately explained: "The eldest Madam replaced my return-visit gifts with inferior items, and Jiang Lingyuan let that slip out too. The Old Madame scolded the eldest Madam, and starting tomorrow, the second and third Madams will take over managing the household."
She even teased, "Mother also told me to audit the accounts and find the eldest Madam's mistakes. Hubby, tell me, how would I know how to do that? I think I'll just forget it."
Xiao Jingyi was taken aback, feeling a sense of disbelief. The eldest Madam was, after all, the mistress of the Duke Estate; could she really have stooped to such unseemly behavior?
As for the stewardship matter... he was a general, after all. He had read many military treatises, and he understood these inner-court maneuvers the moment he heard them.
Although his mother had reprimanded the eldest Madam and stripped her of her authority, she had left an opening.
As long as the eldest Madam filled the deficit in time, the stewardship would likely be returned to her after a while.
As for the little village girl's seemingly nonchalant remark at the end, he figured she likely understood that moving these old ledgers over was nothing more than a show.
After all, a village girl who barely knew a few characters being asked to audit the ledgers of a Duke Estate's mistress was clearly just a way of using her as a pawn to go through the motions.
Xiao Jingyi felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
No matter what, this little village girl was his new bride. Using her in such a way—where did that leave his pride?!
Yet, Jiang Lingzhi spoke as if she hadn't noticed a thing, even sounding cheerful: "Never mind the rest, I'm just happy to see Jiang Lingyuan suffer."
Xiao Jingyi: "..."
She was quite the grudge-holder.
But vaguely, he felt something was wrong.
He remembered what the leader of the assassins had said before he fell off the cliff: "General Xiao, let the blades forged by your own Duke Estate send you on your way today."
At the time, he thought it was just a psychological tactic to break him.
But now, seeing how the eldest Madam, a mistress of the house, was obsessed with seizing dowries and embezzling return-visit gifts, he couldn't help but connect the two.
He had an inexplicable feeling that there might truly be something wrong with those accounts.
He tried hard to speak, but it was as if he had exhausted all his strength; he could not move the corners of his mouth. The breath surging in his throat flowed quietly, serving only to keep his breathing steady.
His heart was filled with infinite, unvoiced anxiety.
...
After Jiang Lingzhi finished feeding him the medicine, she stayed to sleep with him for a short while.
Shun Garden was peaceful and harmonious, but over at the eldest branch, things were turning chaotic.
Eldest Branch, Ya Garden.
Lady Lu had been revived by Doctor Mu’s acupuncture needles and forced to drink a bowl of ginseng soup before she finally managed to compose herself.
"Mother, you're awake!"
Xiao Yan and Jiang Lingyuan sat by the bed, watching Lady Lu nervously.
The moment Lady Lu saw Jiang Lingyuan, her anger flared again. She struggled to sit up, grabbed a porcelain pillow, and hurled it at her.
"It’s all your fault, you vixen, you jinx! Before you even entered the family, you caused my Yan-er to suffer corporal punishment, and after you entered, you caused me to lose my keys and authority! You wench!"
"Thump!"
The porcelain pillow struck Jiang Lingyuan’s instep, and the pain caused her to lose her footing, collapsing into Xiao Yan's arms.
Xiao Yan frowned. "Mother, why are you hitting her again?"
Lady Lu was so angry she ground her teeth. "What if I hit her? Didn't you see what she did? If I had known she was such a curse, I never would have agreed to let her into the house!"
Jiang Lingyuan knew she had caused a massive disaster—embarrassing her mother-in-law in public, losing the stewardship, and now facing an audit. She didn't dare say a word, tears streaming down her face.
Xiao Yan looked at the tear-streaked face of Jiang Lingyuan. While he felt pity, he also felt a sense of annoyance. Why... was she not the gentle and kind person he once knew?
Xiao Jingping stepped in to smooth things over. "Alright, Lingyuan, you are pregnant, after all. Go back and rest properly."
Xiao Yan did not want to stay in such a stifling environment. He mumbled a vague acknowledgement, bid his parents farewell, and led Jiang Lingyuan away.
Lady Lu threw another soft pillow at their retreating backs and cursed, "Wench! All these wenches from the Jiang family are a curse to me!"
Xiao Jingping clicked his tongue and shot her a sidelong glance. "Earlier, weren't you the one grabbing Jiang Lingyuan's hand, saying she was the only daughter-in-law you’d accept? Now you’re saying such things."
Xiao Jingping was in his early forties, with dignified features and a trimmed mustache. He looked steady, yet his words were caustic.
"You’re still making sarcastic remarks!"
It was as if Lady Lu had been stabbed in a vital spot. She screamed hysterically, "Who told the Duke to go and arrange that marriage contract for no reason? I told you to take Yan-er to fight for the annulment, but you wouldn't go! Was I just supposed to sit back and watch our Yan-er marry a peasant girl as his primary wife?"
Xiao Jingping clicked his tongue again. "The Jiang family's status is high, and Minister Jiang is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. Why would I want to annul such a good marriage?"
He rolled his eyes at her and sneered coldly, "Look at you. You climbed into your brother-in-law's bed to steal the marriage for yourself, and now you’re teaching your son to do the same. Aren't you embarrassed?"
Originally, the person Xiao Jingping was betrothed to was Lady Lu's own elder sister.
But Lady Lu had decided that since Xiao Jingping was the future Duke, he had a bright future, so she had actively climbed into her future brother-in-law's bed, created a *fait accompli*, and forced the man into becoming her husband.
Lady Lu's face turned red and then pale. To be exposed so ruthlessly by her own husband at her age, she couldn't help but snap back, "Bah! If you were such a righteous man, you wouldn't have come to my bed behind your sister's back!"
Xiao Jingping chuckled again. "A maiden served herself up on a platter. If I had played the saint, who knows how you’d have slandered me behind my back?"
Lady Lu took several deep breaths, nearly choking with rage.
Fortunately, she knew that Xiao Jingping’s barbed comments were all because of the unborn child in that little vixen’s belly, so she didn't pursue the matter.
Barely suppressing her anger, she brought up the more pressing issue. "The Old Madame wants me to hand over the stewardship, and she wants to audit the accounts!"
"What?" Xiao Jingping’s eyes widened in disbelief. He stumbled back, collapsing into a chair, his expression one of shock and doubt. "Audit the accounts?"
Ever since Lady Lu had given birth to Xiao Yan, the Old Madame had handed over the household management to her and hadn't interfered for nearly twenty years... Why would she suddenly want to audit the books now?
Seeing Xiao Jingping’s panic, Lady Lu felt she had regained a bit of face.
She said acidly, "Oh, my lord, you're scared now? Hmph, when those rotten accounts are exposed, forget about your title as heir—my reputation as the mistress will be ruined, and we'll both be finished!"
Just then, the maid Hongyu entered to report, "Eldest Madam, all the account books from the past ten years have been moved to Shun Garden and handed over to the fourth Madam."
Lady Lu waved her hand dismissively. "I know."
Xiao Jingping’s expression fluctuated. It was only when he heard the books had gone to Shun Garden that he eased up a little. "Mother is having the Fourth's wife audit the accounts? She was raised in the countryside; how many characters can she read... She shouldn't be able to find anything, right?"
Lady Lu sneered, "I was clever with those ledgers; she surely won't be able to spot it."
Xiao Jingping thought about it and felt better. "Then what is there to worry about?"
Lady Lu said unhappily,
"Mother told the second Madam to take over the management, and tomorrow I have to hand over the ledgers and the keys.
Doesn't that mean the current deficit in the accounts has to be filled immediately?
You asked me for money a few days ago, and I intended to sell that wench's dowry, but wasn't it snatched away by that woman in Shun Garden?
I had no choice but to move one hundred thousand taels from the public funds to give to you."
Xiao Jingping frowned. One hundred thousand taels was no small sum; the Duke Estate’s annual revenue was only three hundred thousand.
With such a large hole needing to be filled immediately, he was truly at a loss.
He gripped the back of the chair to stand up, pacing back and forth. Finally, he gritted his teeth and threw himself into Lady Lu's arms, his eyes red. "Shuzhen, you must help your husband!"
Shuzhen was Lady Lu's given name.
Lady Lu was stunned; Xiao Jingping hadn't called her that affectionately in a long time, and she stiffened.
As she was at a loss, her hand touched something warm—a grown man of seven feet, sobbing in her arms.
After all, they had been husband and wife for decades, and Lady Lu’s heart softened.
She comforted him, "It’s only one hundred thousand taels; it’s nothing! My lord, why don’t you go find that person and have him return the money to you for the time being..."
"That won't do!" Xiao Jingping interrupted before she could finish.
He looked up, his gaze gloomy, and firmly denied it. "Shuzhen, what if this is the Old Madame secretly watching to see what we do? I cannot go find him at a time like this! Otherwise, we won't survive!"
After all these years, Lady Lu still didn't know who that person was, though she vaguely guessed it might be someone in the imperial family.
Feeling frustrated and hearing these cryptic, unfinished sentences, her heart felt like it was being fried in a pan. She couldn't help but press him.
"My lord, even if you won't tell me who he is, can you at least tell me what this is all about! We’ve spent so much money—even if we threw it into the water, we should have heard a splash! We haven't seen a single thing!"
"Don't ask anymore. I won't harm you or Yan-er." Xiao Jingping said in a gentle tone, his face full of affection as he reached out to touch Lady Lu’s cheek. "Shuzhen, please help me scrape this money together."
Lady Lu felt a lump in her throat. Outside, the sun was bright, but it couldn't penetrate this gloomy room.
Even if his gentleness was rare today, money was even rarer!
She frowned. "My lord, that’s one hundred thousand taels! How am I supposed to scrape that together in half a day? The private savings I’ve accumulated over the years only total thirty thousand taels..."
Xiao Jingping froze, a flash of impatience crossing his eyes before he quickly masked it. "How about you go and borrow some?"
Lady Lu felt her chest ache with anger. "...I am the mistress of the Duke Estate, after all. If I go out to borrow money, I’ll lose all face..."
Xiao Jingping spread his hands. "Well, I can't be the one to go borrow it, can I?"
Lady Lu thought for a moment and said viciously, "That wench Jiang Lingyuan brought some dowry from the Jiang family; I’ll tell Yan-er to demand it from her!
And that Xiang concubine of yours—wasn't she a top courtesan at the brothel?
Tell her to bring out her private savings; otherwise, I’ll sell her back to the brothel... I’ll go pawn some items tonight, and we should be able to scrape it together."
Xiao Jingping heard Lady Lu’s plan and, seeing that he didn't have to rack his own brains to come up with the money, felt relieved. He agreed to everything: "Good wife, I’ll leave it all to you!"
The eldest branch immediately sprang into action, scurrying about in a panic to fill the deficit.
By nightfall, Jiang Lingzhi checked the almanac and found that today was favorable for "sowing seeds."
Everything else could wait; bearing a child was her top priority now!
"Hubby,"
Jiang Lingzhi let down the bed curtains and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. "I’m back. Even though today was very busy, we must still do what we need to do."
This had already happened many times, and Xiao Jingyi knew what was to come. His thoughts were in a whirlwind, but under her provocation, his blood slowly began to boil.
Jiang Lingzhi no longer needed to ask Doctor Mu for wine when she did this now.
Because she had discovered that ever since the General regained his senses, he was capable—very capable—and seemingly indefatigable the moment she tested him!
Perhaps this was what the village wives back home meant when they joked about a man who had "tasted meat" for the first time; they were just different.
She enjoyed this, too.
Over these days, living together, she felt they were quite familiar with each other, so she was much more uninhibited in her actions.
Xiao Jingyi was carried along by her, feeling as if he were in his element, exceptionally comfortable.
In the midst of his bewilderment, he felt Jiang Lingzhi’s kisses falling like a rainstorm, and since he couldn't move a muscle, he could only accept it all.
Gradually, he could no longer afford to think of anything else; his mind went blank, leaving only fireworks exploding.
Jiang Lingzhi lay in his arms for a while before rolling off him with difficulty. She tucked a pillow under her waist; she had heard this made it easier to conceive.
For the sake of her baby, she was willing to try!
Beside her, Xiao Jingyi also gradually calmed down from the encounter.
It was very late, but he was still thinking about the account books.
He desperately wanted to know if his assassination had anything to do with the Duke Estate... no, with his eldest brother's family?
He even thought of the struggle for the succession.
The current Emperor had four sons, and the eldest, born of the Empress, had long been established as the Crown Prince.
The other princes had their own ambitions, but they were illegitimate... He hoped his brother wouldn't make a wrong move and implicate the entire Duke Estate.
Thinking of this, Xiao Jingyi’s heart sank.
On one hand, he knew his eldest brother had long been dissatisfied with not being named the heir, and since his brother’s official career wasn't going anywhere, the title was his only hope.
But he really didn't want his brother to take the wrong path.
After all, his father valued the rules of primogeniture, and the title was tacitly meant to be passed to the eldest.
It was only because his eldest brother’s family had been so absurd in recent years that he hadn't yet petitioned for the title.
For instance, their only son, Xiao Yan, was dissolute and unmotivated, and the eldest Madam was famously greedy for money.
And then there was the concubine Xiao Yan had recently taken!
Pregnant before marriage, ruining the family name, and she even dared to target and plot against his, Xiao Jingyi’s, new bride in public?
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel some resentment. If his brother had the energy to worry about the title, couldn't he first manage his own household properly?
A lowly concubine actually dared to scheme against her elders!
While he was lost in thought, Jiang Lingzhi moved again. She sat up, kissed his face, and pulled his attention back.
"Oh, by the way, there’s one thing I almost forgot to tell you." Jiang Lingzhi pinched his nose. "I threw away that calligraphy your cousin sent! You can only hang the calligraphy I gave you in your study. It’s called 'Facing the Warmth.'"
Xiao Jingyi: "..."
Calligraphy from a cousin? What calligraphy?
He had absolutely no memory of it.
However, seeing this little village girl’s jealousy was somewhat cute.
It even made him feel a bit at ease.
She truly considered him her husband.
Thinking this, an idea occurred to him.
Since the little village girl was so literate, perhaps she wasn't bad at mathematics either. If only she could help him check those accounts.
After all, in times like these, he couldn't trust anyone else.
As he was thinking, Jiang Lingzhi crawled over him, got out of bed, and went to bathe inside.
Xiao Jingyi lay there, testing himself, trying to speak.
The night was long.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he faintly felt an itch in his throat, the sensation of light, warm air brushing through his windpipe.
He was overjoyed, then realized his lips could open, but he had forgotten how to speak after being unconscious for so long.
His breathing became more rapid until Jiang Lingzhi woke up with a start. She panicked, "Hubby, what’s wrong..."
Jiang Lingzhi was frightened. He had been fine before sleeping; why was he suddenly like this?
She hurriedly sat up, wrapped a robe around herself, and lifted the bed curtains to look outside. The sky was already turning a pale fish-belly white.
"Di Qing, Di Hong, go get Doctor Mu!"
At that moment, Xiao Jingyi couldn't catch his breath. His throat was blocked; he made a wheezing sound, and a trickle of dark blood leaked from the corner of his mouth as his face turned blue.
Jiang Lingzhi was terrified, her face turning pale. She rushed to pat his face. "Hubby... Hubby..."
This wasn't happening! She hadn't conceived a baby yet; he couldn't die!
Doctor Mu arrived quickly, but as he took the pulse, his expression became peculiar.
He gasped, then frowned in contemplation, then looked as if he had a sudden realization.
Jiang Lingzhi’s heart skipped a beat with every change in his face. "Doctor Mu, just tell me the truth, don't keep me in suspense!"
"Ah, ah, ah, the Fourth Madam is truly impatient." Doctor Mu was so startled that his hand shook. He quickly raised it to stroke his beard, trying to act composed. "It’s just... it’s difficult for me to say."
"Why is it difficult to say?!" Jiang Lingzhi urged anxiously.
Doctor Mu stroked his beard again. Jiang Lingzhi clearly saw him pluck a hair out, but she didn't have the heart to point it out.
Doctor Mu stroked it once more, seemingly having figured it out. "The General’s pulse is quite strange. It is peaceful, yet it beats with unusual slowness. My skills are insufficient; I cannot treat this..."