Li Yishu was utterly dumbstruck.
She knelt rigidly on the spot, staring dumbly at “Huo Ci” seated in the master’s chair.
“Cousin, don’t fool me, he clearly—”
Jiang Xingyan’s brows shot up, her tone displeased. “Cousin, who do you think I, Huo Ci, am?
Would I jest with you about such a matter?”
Li Yishu instantly turned deathly pale.
It had been ten days since Xiao Mingxu sent her back to the General’s estate.
In those ten days, she hadn’t received a single word from him about coming to fetch her.
Even those two little maids had fallen into despair, weeping daily and secretly blaming her.
After day after day of hope turning to bubbles, she finally understood: She had been played!
At first, she had cried, made scenes, gone half-mad, wanting to rush out of the side courtyard to find him, but the guards had turned her back.
She endured her aunt’s mockery, living like a walking corpse.
Her most valuable bargaining chips were her exceptional beauty and her pure body.
Having lost the latter, she was forever cut off from marrying into prestigious families.
She would either be wedded off to some lowly vendor or porter, ending her life in mediocrity.
Or she would sink into the world of pleasure, becoming even more base and contemptible.
She wallowed for three days. Amidst her aunt’s increasingly vulgar curses, she suddenly saw the light: She absolutely could not wait for death!
She must climb to the highest point, make her aunt kneel and beg for her forgiveness!
She began calculating her story. She had thought of many, but only this one sounded somewhat plausible.
She would wait until her cousin returned to the estate and then pour out her woes to him.
Even if Cousin was angry with her, he wouldn’t condone others treating her this way.
After all, she was still considered half a member of the General’s estate.
If it blew up, given Cousin’s weight in the Emperor’s heart, he might even force Xiao Mingxu to marry her.
Even if only as a concubine.
As long as she could enter the palace, she had the means to climb to the position of the Crown Prince’s consort.
Yet, she never imagined Xiao Mingxu would actually take the initiative to propose making her his concubine.
Had she misjudged him?
Seeing her cousin rise angrily, about to leave, Li Yishu hurriedly lunged forward and clung to “Huo Ci’s” calf.
“Cousin, Cousin, I was wrong. I misjudged the Crown Prince. He is actually a man of feeling and honor.
Yishu is willing to be his concubine. I beg you, Cousin, please agree!”
Jiang Xingyan’s face hardened. She kicked Li Yishu aside with one foot.
“It was you who kept insisting the Crown Prince had wronged you, and now you say you misjudged him.
What exactly are the facts? Tomorrow at court, I will confront him face-to-face. Once it’s all clarified, then we’ll talk about marriage!
Otherwise, my General’s estate cannot bear such humiliation!”
Li Yishu panicked utterly.
Ignoring the pain in her chest, she lunged forward again, tightly grabbing “Huo Ci’s” ankle, not daring to let go for a second.
“Cousin, I beg you.
As long as you let me marry His Highness the Crown Prince, I won’t even leave from the General’s estate!
You can just find me an inn. His Highness can come fetch me from the inn.”
Li Yishu certainly knew that becoming someone’s concubine meant no grand dowry procession of ten miles, no phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes. The bride’s family didn’t even need to prepare a dowry.
The main household would simply pick a date, use a small sedan chair, and sneak her in through a side door.
Jiang Xingyan watched Li Yishu, who would rather be a prince’s concubine than live honorably as someone’s legal wife, with cold indifference. A ball of fire churned in her heart, with no sense of satisfaction at all.
They were both women. How could one live with so little backbone!
With no thought of self-reliance in her heart, her mind was full of scheming how to fight other women in the inner chambers, climb into the master’s bed, and use her body to exchange for wealth and status.
She felt no shame, only pride, and even turned around to trample on those weaker than herself.
Truly despicable!
She took a deep breath, giving her one last chance. “Cousin, are you certain?”
Li Yishu nodded frantically, afraid her cousin would change his mind the very next second.
“I… I’m certain. I’ll go to the inn tonight to wait for His Highness.
I only beg Cousin to give Yishu some decent clothes and jewelry, so I don’t appear too shabby.
Just for the sake of our cousinly bond.”
Jiang Xingyan closed her eyes, suppressing the turbulent, foul air rising in her heart.
“Fine!”
She strode out of the main hall and instructed Wang Qi to prepare the necessary items. “Tomorrow, no matter when His Highness sends someone to fetch her, just guide them to the inn. Say nothing more.
If he has any questions, tell him to come find this General at the military camp.”
Wang Qi agreed to each point. Looking up, he saw the General walking towards the gate.
“It’s so late, General, are you returning to the camp? I’ll go fetch the carriage right away.”
Jiang Xingyan waved her hand. “No need. Go attend to your tasks.”
As soon as the words fell, Jiang Xingyan gathered her energy and used her lightness skill. In a few leaps like a hare or a swooping falcon, she vanished without a trace.
Wang Qi blinked in confusion. Turning back, he saw the General’s wife standing under the corridor, staring blankly at the direction the General had disappeared.
Ah Yan was in such a hurry; she must be eager to return to see Yun Chunfeng.
In his memory, a scene became clear: a delicate young woman urging a white-haired old man.
“Grandfather, walk faster! General Huo is waiting for me to change his dressing.”
“Aiya, a grown daughter truly cannot be kept. At this speed, your grandfather’s old bones are about to fall apart.”
“Shush, shush! Grandfather mustn’t say such things.
Grandfather must live a hundred years, and stay with Ah Yan!”
“Alright, alright, I’ll listen to Ah Yan.
So, can Grandfather walk a bit slower now?”
“No! I’ll hire someone to carry Grandfather!”
“Heh, you silly girl…”
Tears fell from the corner of Huo Ci’s eyes, one after another.
Please, don’t use Ah Yan’s body to cry anymore!