bookrebus Chapter 22 The Eve of the Wedding
Chapter 22 The Eve of the Wedding
"you--"
Jiang Shuyue paused for a moment, then replied, "If you didn't poison her, why is she suffering from severe abdominal pain?"
"If she hadn't sent Qiao Lixue to cause trouble at the manor yesterday, would I have been publicly insulted and rude?"
"What did you say?" Jiang Shuyue looked at her in shock. "Jiang Zhi, what nonsense are you spouting? What does this have to do with Xiao Luan?"
"What does Jiang Luan's matter have to do with me?"
Jiang Zhi raised his eyebrows slightly.
"Besides, wasn't it you who started this unreasonable argument?"
Jiang Shuyue's face stiffened.
Jiang Shuyue clenched her fists tightly. She clearly felt that this matter was inseparable from Jiang Zhi, but she was troubled by the lack of evidence.
Even the imperial physicians couldn't diagnose the cause of the illness, and Xiao Luan hadn't been poisoned, so how could he blame it on Jiang Zhi?
Whether it's poisoning or some other reason, finding the cause is essential for determining guilt.
Jiang Shuyue's face darkened. "Xiao Luan is still your sister..."
She raised an eyebrow, then suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She lowered her head and whispered, "If you're willing to kneel outside until I get married, maybe Jiang Luan's stomachache will disappear without medicine."
Jiang Zhi's words sounded like he was giving him a choice.
"You can give it a try too."
Jiang Zhi smiled slightly, his eyes filled with blatant malice.
Jiang Shuyue felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze: "I..."
"roll."
Jiang Shuyue, harboring resentment, turned and left.
Meanwhile, Jiang Luan was rolling around on the bed.
Physician Xu examined Jiang Luan three times, turning her over and over, and asked her everything he could, but he still couldn't figure out what was wrong with her.
The conversation even suggested that Jiang Luan was faking illness.
Upon hearing this, the Marquis of Zhenyuan looked at Jiang Luan with a hint of suspicion.
“Father, I didn’t.”
Jiang Luan was trembling with pain, suffering a torment that made her wish she were dead.
Marquis Zhenyuan frowned. Seeing her pale face and cold sweat pouring down her forehead, he could only suppress his anxiety and personally invite Physician Xu out.
Everyone was helpless and could only watch Jiang Luan suffer.
Jiang Zhi is getting married in three days, and the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion is busy preparing her dowry, so they have no time to take care of Jiang Luan.
Having exhausted all other options, Jiang Shuyue returned to Tao Huiyuan again that evening.
He gritted his teeth and asked, "How can you make her stop feeling pain?"
Jiang Zhi remained silent, as if she couldn't hear him.
Jiang Shuyue gritted her teeth and said, "If I'm willing to kneel, will you be able to calm down?"
Jiang Zhi lowered his eyes to watch the play, without saying a word.
"I hope these things will be resolved within the next two days."
Jiang Zhi turned the page of the play, ignoring his words, and even laughed.
"Jiang Zhi!"
“Young Master Jiang, you must not be disrespectful to the Princess.” Shu Yao walked over and warned sternly, “If you disobey your superior, I will report this to the Prince of Liang.”
Jiang Shuyue coldly replied, "What business is it of the Prince of Liang if I'm talking to my sister?"
At noon, she replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Miss Jiang is the Princess Consort of Liang. Rank comes first, brother and sister second."
“You—” Jiang Shuyue gritted his teeth, turned around and walked out, then knelt down in the courtyard after lifting his robe.
"Jiang Zhi, I'm willing to kneel."
At noon, she turned to look at Jiang Zhi: "Your Highness, should we send him away?"
They're all born of the same mother, how could he be so stupid?
"Let him be."
"Yes."
Jiang Shuyue actually knelt down outside Tao Huiyuan.
Although the Zhenyuan Marquis's mansion disliked Jiang Zhi, they had to face the fact that she was about to marry the Liang King, so they dared not be negligent and busily prepared her dowry and wedding arrangements.
During this time, Liu visited Tao Hui Yuan several times and saw Jiang Shuyue kneeling in the courtyard, so she knew what was going on.
No one in the Jiang family dared to question Jiang Zhi anymore, as if they all tacitly agreed that Jiang Luan's matter had nothing to do with her, and even she had no evidence to prove that she did it.
Moreover, before the wedding, Liu needed to prepare a dowry. With limited time, she couldn't afford to dwell on Jiang Luan's affairs and could only instruct the nanny to take good care of her.
Jiang Luan was in pain for two whole days, tormented by abdominal pain to the point of wanting to die, while Jiang Shuyue knelt in the courtyard for two whole days.
-
In the private room of Chunzhuo Tower, Gu Liang and the Imperial Son-in-Law Qin Qi sat facing each other.
Qin Qi asked with a smile, "Why would you be thinking about getting married?"
"What? I can't get married?"
"That's weird, you actually want to get married?"
"I've reached that age."
Qin Qi lowered his eyes and gazed at him, a clear smile playing on his lips.
He quickly opened an exquisite box, took out a small amount of tea leaves, and put them into the pot. "These are the new snow buds from this spring. Wen Xiangyu rushed over to deliver them."
He spoke lightly as he poured boiling water into the kettle, saying, "This one or two taels of snow buds is worth a fortune; he really spared no expense to see me."
Gu Liang glanced at her indifferently, "Your status as a prince consort is worthless."
Qin Qi glanced at him. "What makes you say that?"
Gu Liang curled the corners of her lips, "Who in the capital doesn't know you're henpecked? Back in the day, someone even wrote a hundred poems just to make the princess smile..."
Qin Qi blushed, a rare sight for him. He slammed his hand on the table. "Who told you that? That's utter nonsense."
How old was he when this happened?
Besides, we weren't even in Kyoto yet.
That being said, the news was quickly suppressed by the Princess's residence, which is enough to prove the Princess's affection for him.
Gu Liang didn't argue with him, and poured herself a cup of tea. "If Wen Xiangyu isn't after your status as the prince consort, then he's after your connection to Bailu Academy."
“I am just a humble schoolteacher, yet I have received the favor of the Minister of Revenue. I cannot say that I am useless.”
"If you're really stupid, then so be it."
"Ah, that's not quite right," Qin Qi said, flicking his sleeves.
Gu Liang picked up his teacup and exhaled a puff of hot air. "He did this simply to undermine Bailu Academy. Bailu Academy is full of students who haven't yet entered officialdom. What he wants is simply to win people's hearts."
Gu Liang hit the nail on the head: "No matter whose man he is, he will attract attention and even arouse the emperor's suspicion, unless he is the beneficiary."
Qin Qi smiled knowingly, "They really went to great lengths to pave the way for Prince Jing."
"We must not be careless," Gu Liang said cautiously.
"But no matter how well they try, they can't overcome the human heart."
Qin Qi pulled a secret letter from his sleeve and handed it to Gu Liang.
“Our people in the Northern Di region discovered this.”
A simple map was drawn on a beige hemp paper, but there were a few lines of text obscured by cryptic writing.
After reading it, Gu Liang looked at it with disdain, "His scheme is much more complicated than we thought."
Qin Qi smiled slightly, stood up, and stretched. "Alright, tomorrow is your big day, go and prepare. I won't bother you any longer."
"The eldest princess is still waiting for me to draw seasonal stationery for her."
Gu Liang was about to give him some advice when he spoke first, "Our people are watching him. We won't let them discover the secrets of the Northern Barbarians."
He picked up his teacup and said, "Let me first offer you tea instead of wine, wishing you and Miss Jiang a long and happy life together, and that you will never become enemies."
Gu Liang stroked the rim of the teacup. "Your blessing is quite unique."
He stepped out of the room with an air of elegance, when he suddenly heard Gu Liang call out behind him, "Your precious daughter, Xueya."
Qin Qi paused, then slowly turned back and tucked the box of tea into his sleeve. "Thank you."
After saying that, he walked out leisurely.
Gu Liang leaned against the window, watching the carriage of the Princess's residence gradually disappear into the distance.
The wind blew, and raindrops fell.
"Your Highness," Qinghuai called softly from outside the house.
"Come in," Gu Liang said.
Qinghuai strode into the room and saw Gu Liang leaving through the window.
"Your Highness?" Qinghuai subconsciously peered in that direction.
Gu Liang remained expressionless. "What is it?"
Qinghuai said, "The Ministry of Rites has sent an official in charge of rites."
"They said that His Highness is getting married tomorrow, and they want to explain the wedding ceremony to His Highness again."
Gu Liang glanced at him indifferently, "You only came to the Liang Prince's residence?"
Qinghuai exclaimed "Ah!" in confusion, but quickly realized, "The Marquis of Zhenyuan will definitely prepare for Miss Jiang, so we don't need to worry about it."