Chapter 19

The cousins were only half a year apart in age. The original owner was delighted upon learning she would be going to the capital, eagerly anticipating the chance to get along well with the female lead of a similar age.

She had chosen an orchid hairpin as a birthday gift for the female lead, even painstakingly composing a poem:

"The thousand-mile journey to the capital is long and arduous,
Yet my heart is joyful and unwearied.
The Jiang family boasts a daughter as serene as an orchid,
Her reputation well-deserved and known to all."

To express the closeness between cousins, she signed the poem with her childhood nickname, Yuge'er.

The poem was awkward and awkwardly phrased; the elders merely smiled and dismissed it, never to mention it again.

Madam Xie was the first to catch on. She immediately ordered Nurse Liao to search Jiang Gui’s room.

Soon, Nurse Liao returned with two items.

After examining them, Madam Xie suddenly raised her hand and slapped Jiang Gui sharply.

“Smack!”

Jiang Gui clutched her face in disbelief.

“Mother, why do you hit me?”

Madam Xie, furious, slammed the items onto the table. Alongside the poem that Jiang Si had mentioned, there was a small, partially burnt piece of paper. On it, two half-formed characters were still visible—faintly identifiable as “Yuejun.”

The handwriting of these two characters closely resembled that on the poem and the note.

Jiang Gui stared at the scraps in utter disbelief.

She had burned all the practice sheets. How could the pieces she threw into the brazier have ended up here?

In a moment, she realized.

It must have been the new maid and the nurse!

At this, Madam Gu pieced together the whole story and angrily confronted her.

“Fourth Miss, why did you do this? How has my Yuge’er ever been a hindrance to you that you’d harm her so?”

“Third sister-in-law, don’t you understand yet? We fourth sisters are reckless and covet the wealth of the Prince Fu’s mansion. Unfortunately, our last attempt to take the spotlight failed, and instead your fifth sister’s face was shown. She must harbor resentment and schemed to ruin her reputation.

Poor fifth sister, so young yet so understanding, concerned for the Jiang family’s honor, unwilling to become a laughingstock. She even took the blame for this note to protect us, unfairly carrying the burden of being ‘fond of him’!”

Yu’s words hit the mark.

Jiang Yi, seeing the scheme exposed, washed his hands of it completely.

“I said fourth sister was acting strange this morning, insisting there was something good in Gu Duan’s book bag. Turns out she was using me as a pawn!”

Jiang Gui said nothing, lowering her head.

He breathed a sigh of relief and told Jiang Si, “Fifth sister, don’t blame me for this.”

Jiang Si was ambiguous, “As long as fifth brother has a clear conscience.”

Her words had a double meaning, making him feel guilty.

Feigning heartbreak, he said, “Fourth sister, look at what you’ve done! What am I, your brother, supposed to say about you now?”

Jiang Gui suddenly looked up, tears streaming down her face like blossoms in a spring rain.

“Mother, two aunts, it truly was I who did this. I saw fifth sister boldly taking the initiative to show favor to Gu Gongzi, but he seemed indifferent to her. I worried for her and thought to help. But my plan backfired and only harmed her.”

“Your meaning is that you did all this for fifth sister’s sake. Then your closeness to Gu Gongzi was also for her?” Madam Xie was not convinced by such nonsense.

“Exactly.” Jiang Gui cried, full of regret and self-reproach. “I thought Gu Gongzi hadn’t yet awakened to her, so I wanted to guide him. But he took things as they came, seeming utterly uninterested in fifth sister. In my haste, I made this foolish move.”

Madam Yu sneered repeatedly and asked Madam Gu, “Third sister-in-law, do you believe her?”

She was not one to meddle, but had defended Jiang Si previously because Jiang Si had helped her daughter Jiang Chan at the Wei Qihou mansion.

Madam Gu shook her head. “I don’t believe it!”

“Third aunt, I know none of you will believe me. I was foolish. But I truly did it for fifth sister. I cherish her and would never harm her.”

Jiang Gui looked genuinely remorseful, her body swaying weakly. She wept as if gasping for breath, then suddenly fainted.

Before anyone could react, Consort Liu burst in. She said nothing—not even a word pleading—just repeatedly knocked her head on the floor until blood stained the ground.

Madam Xie’s expression was complicated. She sighed and looked at Madam Gu.

Madam Gu resented Jiang Gui’s scheming but felt pity for Consort Liu. Still, as her own daughter had been wronged, she could not bring herself to forgive.

Everyone remained silent except for the sound of Consort Liu’s head hitting the floor.

After a long while, Jiang Si spoke.

“Aunt, no one knows Fourth Sister’s true intentions. She says it’s for my sake, but I’m terrified. If it happens again, I might really die of fright.”

Madam Xie felt moved; this fifth sister was still a child, and her words were so childlike.

“Fifth sister, I promise you, there won’t be a next time.” She looked at Consort Liu and shook her head. “Enough bowing. Take Gui’er back. She’s of marriageable age now, so she should stay home and prepare for marriage. No more school.”

Consort Liu expressed deep gratitude and, together with the nurse, helped Jiang Gui leave.

Jiang Yi pretended to be angry, pointing at Gu Duan, who seemed out of his body.

“Gu Duan, you outsider, you almost made my two sisters turn on each other. You are truly something!”

Gu Duan felt as if he had been dreaming—flying high among the clouds, joyfully lost for days, only to suddenly fall back down.

At this point, what else did he not understand?

He murmured, “So it was all lies.”

He looked blankly and met Jiang Si’s calm gaze. A wave of indescribable pain welled up inside him. Had his cousin resented him?

“Yuge’er...”

“Cousin Duan, this is not your fault. You need not blame yourself.”

He, too, was an innocent party caught up in the mess, much like the original owner once was.

Jiang Si did not blame him, but she could no longer be close to him.

Madam Gu had once doted on this nephew but now felt only disappointment. After sending him back to the Gu family, she sadly took Jiang Si’s hand, her eyes full of pain and guilt.

“Yuge’er, admitting in public that you have someone you fancy will surely invite gossip from now on.”

“Mother, don’t be sad.” Jiang Si comforted her. “I can’t marry anyway; a little gossip means nothing. I am a daughter of the Jiang family, and the Jiang family is my refuge. If I exposed Fourth Sister publicly, it would ruin all Jiang daughters’ reputations. Even if the elders did not blame me, I would find it hard to bear. Better that I take this burden alone, so they remember my kindness. If I remain in the Jiang household, I might gain more sympathy.”

Madam Gu, hearing this, felt both pity and admiration for her daughter’s maturity.

She looked up at the sky, vast and boundless.

In this life, no matter how vast the world, she only wished to hold tightly to what she had now. As for empty fame, it was nothing but passing clouds.

As the clouds dispersed, the Grand Tutor Jiang sent someone to summon her.

She approached the study, and someone else arrived from the other side.

The person wore a dark cloak embroidered with subtle patterns, the hood drawn tightly. Though his face was concealed, his refined and noble bearing marked him as extraordinary.

As they were about to meet, she prepared to step aside.

“Jiang Si.”

The voice was gentle, ethereal, and familiar.

Murong Fan removed his hood, revealing a face as luminous as moonlight.

She gasped, “Your Highness?”

“I came with idle time to challenge Master Jiang to a game of chess.”

“I came to see Grandfather. Grandfather wishes to meet me.”

Murong Fan’s lowered eyes met her clear, limpid gaze.

“Today, you deliberately played along with the ruse, hoping that your reputation for having someone you fancy would spread. From now on, whenever someone proposes marriage, you can refuse on that basis.”

“Something like that.”

Jiang Si was not surprised he knew; after all, he was Murong Fan.

He was the Heavenly Clan’s enlightened disciple, who calculated all the world’s affairs and people. A man like him—even her origins were clear to him, let alone such trivial matters.

“Society is like a high wall. Those who overreach, like a tall tree in the forest, are bound to be blown down by the wind. Are you not afraid?”

Perhaps in response to his words, a sudden breeze arose.

The wind played with Jiang Si’s hair, several loose strands teasing her, brushing across her eyes and clinging to her lips. One strand stubbornly stuck to the corner of her eye, resisting her attempts to brush it away until the man’s slender fingers helped remove it.

When the wind stopped, her heart seemed to pause as well.

“Do you think I have improper intentions?”

“How could that be?” she shook her head vigorously.

“Why not?”

She gave a coy smile. “Because you are my elder.”