Chapter 34: Is Grandmother Planning to Send Her Away?

The Old Madam’s eyes streamed with tears. "Mingzhu, you do not know this, but your grandfather treated your father exactly the same way."

Jiang Lingyao’s hand trembled, and her eyes widened.

"Back then, he kept a mistress and wanted to drive your father and me out of the house. Fortunately, he was short-lived and died in the throes of passion, which allowed me to elevate your father to his position."

"Looking at it now, this father and son are truly cut from the same cold-blooded cloth. Mingzhu, you are different. You are not like them at all, and that is why you are my greatest worry."

These words struck Jiang Lingyao, leaving her face pale and her limbs cold.

No wonder. No wonder the Duke of the State, her grandfather, had died suddenly in his prime, and why his funeral arrangements had been handled with such unseemly haste.

So, the cause of his death had been too shameful to speak of.

Jiang Lingyao had never heard anyone mention this; she had always assumed her grandfather had died of a sudden illness. Fearing that bringing it up would only sadden the Old Madam, she had never dared to ask.

How much suffering had her grandmother endured back then for her health to have withered away so severely in her old age?

She choked back her tears, her eyes red. "Grandmother, you have suffered so much."

The Old Madam smiled faintly. "Yes, it was a hardship, and that is why I do not want you, Mingzhu, to suffer the same. I was a daughter of Jiangzhou before I married. The Old Madam of the Wen family in Jiangzhou is my dear friend. Mingzhu, my time is running out, and I want to send you to her."

This was a last resort. She trusted Old Madam Wen to care for Mingzhu, but she knew the others in Jiangzhou would inevitably gossip behind her back.

As she spoke, she hesitated. "The marriage proposal from the Pei family is also excellent. Let me think on it a little longer."

She wanted to leave, and her grandmother wanted to send her away.

Jiang Lingyao found herself speechless for a moment. Remembering what Nanny Li had said the night before—that she was the most important person in her grandmother’s heart—tears suddenly poured down her face.

"I don't want to leave." She wiped her eyes. "Let me stay and keep you company a little longer, please?"

"Are you still unwilling to give up on them?"

Hearing this, she shook her head. "In this household, you are the only one I cannot bear to leave."

The Old Madam smiled, looking relieved, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. "Why are you not like the rest of the Jiang family? If you were as cold-blooded as they are, I would actually feel at ease."

"Very well. My body can at least hold out for another three months; there is still time for me to plan carefully for you."

The Old Madam reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind Jiang Lingyao’s ear, her tone growing softer. "Mingzhu, I have some private assets that the rest of the Jiang family knows nothing about. I will leave them all to you so that no matter where you go, your life will be easier."

Jiang Lingyao could no longer hold back her tears; she sobbed until her breathing became ragged and she could barely catch her breath.

Hearing the commotion, Nanny Li asked from outside the door, "Mistress, are you awake? May I come in?"

"Come in, and bring those things with you."

Once Nanny Li entered, the Old Madam allowed the two of them to help her sit up. She slowly opened a wooden box and took out a silver chain, placing it around Jiang Lingyao’s neck.

"This is the key to the Wanyuan Trading House, Mingzhu. Inside, there are one hundred thousand taels of silver. Back when the incident occurred, I feared I wouldn't be able to protect my dowry, so I transferred everything out of the estate. Looking back, it was a wise decision."

The Old Madam chuckled. "Don't cry. I am giving you a gift, why are you still blubbering?"

Jiang Lingyao sniffled and murmured an acknowledgment.

"The Wanyuan Trading House has branches in every country, so you can use it wherever you go. If you lose the key, do not be afraid. Just tell them you are Mingzhu. They recognize people, and I gave them instructions long ago."

Mingzhu...

Mingzhu!

Jiang Lingyao felt as though her heart had been struck, the pain so sharp she could hardly breathe. Her grandmother had been planning for her for a long time.

"I intended for these to be your dowry, but it seems your grandmother will not live to see you married."

Jiang Lingyao could not stop her tears today. The Old Madam reached out to wipe them away, smiling. "There are other things to give you tomorrow. Your eyes are so swollen—have you not been sleeping these past few days?"

She bit her lip and leaned against her grandmother’s knees. "I don't want to leave."

"Very well. Take off your shoes and stockings and sleep on my bed, just like you did when you were little. How about that?"

Jiang Lingyao nodded.

That sleep was the most peaceful she had had since returning to the estate.

Seeing that her breathing had steadied, the Old Madam signaled for Nanny Li to help her sit up. She moved behind the folding screen and asked in a low voice, "Did you manage to find out the truth? How exactly have they been treating Mingzhu?"

Nanny Li sighed heavily. "It is exactly as you have seen." She then added, puzzled, "The young mistress is so kind—how can they be so heartless?"

The Old Madam gave a cold laugh, remembering the man who had driven her, then suffering from a miscarriage, and her sick son out of the house in the freezing snow. Her gaze turned icy. "That is the way of the Jiang family. Mingzhu is the least like them."

"Then, are you planning to..."

"If Mingzhu can marry Pei Hangzhi, that would be for the best. If not, I must send her away."

The Old Madam had been ill for many years, her eyes clouded with the dim light of twilight, yet as she spoke, she once again became the decisive Madam Jiang of years past, her tone sharp and resolute. "They will regret this."