20demayo Chapter 350
Chapter 350
chapter 350
“you...”
lady su was about to say something more, but su ruyue pushed her out of the room: “mother, brother’s heart is set on sister yunxia. no matter how much you press him, he won’t say anything. it’ll only strain your relationship with second brother. why bother?”nôv(el)b\\jnn
“ever since he met that jinx from the jiang family, he hasn’t had a single smooth day. what’s wrong with me not agreeing to this?” lady su shouted loudly from the doorway. “your second brother used to be the most obedient to me, but now he’s completely changed. for the sake of a woman, he doesn’t speak a single honest word. do they really think i don’t know they eloped? i’m not exposing them just to save some face.”
“mother...”
su ruyue led her away by the hand and said, “isn’t this exactly what we wanted? don’t be angry with second brother anymore.”
fourth miss pei has always seen the jiang family as a thorn in her side. once jiang yunxia enters the su household, she won’t have an easy life.
what does second brother’s affection matter?
a man’s world is in the court and outside. he doesn’t understand the intrigues of the inner chambers.
hmph!
both elder brother and second brother have always doted on her. even after elder brother’s marriage, she was still his priority, with his wife taking a backseat. jiang yunxia hasn’t even married in yet, and she’s already snatched away her favorite second brother. she absolutely won’t allow such a woman to manipulate second brother.
“yes, we need to act quickly.”
lady su’s eyes flickered with a mix of emotions: “with the empress dowager’s passing, weddings and marriages are forbidden for three months. the pei family has already exchanged birth dates with us. the minister of rites has consulted the imperial astrologer, and the fifteenth day four months from now is an auspicious time. we’ll have plenty of time to prepare. four months... jiang yunxia will be reduced to a pariah...”
her lips curled into a cold smile: “this concubine position, she’ll take it whether she wants to or not.”
shortly after, she arranged for people to spread rumors everywhere, claiming that jiang yunxia hadn’t attended the new year’s banquet because she had found her way to the su family that night, begging su erlang to elope with her.
su erlang, being soft-hearted, saw the young lady weeping in front of him like a pear blossom bathed in rain. as a woman with whom he had once been betrothed, his head grew hot, and he impulsively took some valuables and eloped with jiang yunxia.
however, they were unlucky. as soon as they left the city, they encountered bandits who not only stole su erlang’s valuables but also sought to dishonor jiang yunxia.
the su family didn’t know that the emperor would bring jiang xinyue home discreetly today, so they were still busy spreading rumors.
although the first day of the new year couldn’t see grand banquets, it was still acceptable for two families to gather together for a reunion meal.
jiang xinyue had just taken her seat beside the emperor when she asked, “why didn’t i see my two cousins?”
jiang yanxi forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: “sister xia isn’t feeling well, and sister yun is staying with her in the room. it’s fine, their meals will be sent to them by the servants. your highness, the noble consort, please don’t worry.”
lying!
if it were just a common cold, there would be no need for someone to stay with her. a few doses of medicine would suffice. even if the eldest jiang daughter didn’t want to pass on her illness to jiang xinyue, that would still make sense.
but what about lady sun, who was standing nearby, clearly wanting to say something but being repeatedly stepped on by jiang yanxi?
how did he know what was happening under the table?
because jiang yanxi had stepped on the “dragon foot” of the emperor.
but apparently, jiang yanxi didn’t realize it. he even continued to shake his head and give lady sun signals.
“jiang qing?”
the xuanwu emperor took the wine cup handed to him by jiang xinyue with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, his gaze fixed on jiang yanxi: “your majesty’s shoes are about to be crushed by you.”
“clang!”
jiang yanxi’s wine cup fell to the ground, and he immediately knelt on both knees, trembling: “your majesty, forgive me, i didn’t do it on purpose.”
lady sun also thought the emperor was angry and hurriedly knelt down, her expression filled with fear: “your majesty... your majesty, please forgive us. my husband didn’t do it on purpose. he... he... it’s just that the su family is too much. they’re pushing my daughter to her death! they said their second son admires my daughter and wants to marry her. then they said my daughter’s reputation is bad and want to break off the engagement. we didn’t make any trouble for them; they said whatever they wanted. now they’re spreading rumors to ruin my daughter’s reputation. isn’t this forcing her to die?”
as she spoke, her words turned into genuine sobs, and she wailed: “i come from a small merchant family. i don’t have all these twists and turns in my heart. i can’t compete with these noble ladies from well-bred families. i never knew they were playing with us like this, just to force my daughter into becoming a concubine.”
“master, the eldest miss... the eldest miss has jumped into the river!”