Chapter One: Rescuing the Chen Family

"Giddyap!"

Jiang Nian braved the biting wind, gripping the reins tightly as she raced anxiously toward the Jiang family’s ancestral estate. She had to arrive before her mother took her own life.

At the Jiang ancestral estate in Luzhou.

"M-Miss?" The doorman looked bewildered to see Jiang Nian back so soon. Before he could even offer a greeting, she had already crossed the threshold, hurrying toward the inner courtyard.

According to the plot of the book, her mother, Madam Chen, was currently in the side chamber reciting sutras. Jiang Nian suppressed her physical discomfort and strode quickly into her mother’s bedroom. The furnishings were exactly as described in the story. Her gaze swept over the prayer cushions until it landed on one with a slight indentation.

Her heart hammered against her ribs. She hurriedly tore the cushion open, discovering that most of the cotton filling had been removed. Feeling carefully inside, she pulled out a bundle of secret letters. This was the very evidence used to frame her mother for illicit affairs, leading to the tragic end where she hanged herself.

Before she could examine them further, footsteps sounded outside. Jiang Nian quickly hid the letters in her bodice. Just as she turned around, Jiang Ping strode in. Seeing his daughter, he frowned. "Nian'er? I thought I told you to return to the capital. Why have you come back without permission?"

"Father, I wanted to leave with you and Mother..."

Jiang Ping stood with his hands behind his back, his expression stern. "You were seen meeting with your brother-in-law in private yesterday. Your grandmother sent you back to the capital for your own good, to spare you from gossip."

Jiang Nian nodded, choking back a sob. "Father... I know Grandmother loves me, but I am afraid..."

Jiang Ping stared at her for a long moment, his eyes cold. "Very well. Since you have returned, go and keep your mother company."

"Yes." Watching Jiang Ping’s departing back, Jiang Nian sneered inwardly. Her father prided himself on being a man of deep, unchanging love, yet he had taken a secondary wife for the sake of power, abandoning his first wife and daughter at the ancestral home under the guise of filial piety, when in truth, he merely found them to be a nuisance. Her mother, deeply in love with him, had waited in vain for years, only to be rewarded with a white silk noose and a frame-up that led to an unjust death.

Shivering, Jiang Nian did not call for a cloak. Instead, she clutched the letters and headed straight for the side chamber. The door was slightly ajar. She saw her mother kneeling on a cushion, head tilted, speaking with Old Mother Li.

Jiang Nian frowned and pushed the door open. Hearing the movement, Madam Chen turned to see her daughter standing in the doorway, looking dazed. She was utterly shocked. "Nian'er?!"

Seeing her daughter’s vacant expression, she assumed something had happened. Ignoring the pain in her knees, she stood up shakily and hurried toward her. "Nian'er, didn't you leave already?"

"Mom... Mother!"

Seeing the face identical to her own mother's, Jiang Nian felt a wave of dizziness. She buried her face in Madam Chen’s embrace, enveloped by the familiar scent of osmanthus, and uncontrollable tears streamed down her cheeks. Since her mother had passed away in an accident when she was seven, this was the first time she had cried—not even when she was hacked to death in her previous life had she shed a single tear.

Madam Chen was frightened by her display and wiped her tears in a fluster. "Nian'er, did something happen? Why aren't Lianqiao and the others with you?"

Old Mother Li bowed her head, masking the complexity in her eyes, and asked softly, "Miss, did something happen on the road?"

Old Mother Li’s voice pulled her back to reality. According to the book, her mother was framed for adultery, and the last person she saw before her death was Old Mother Li! It was she who claimed her mother kept secret tokens and reported it to her father. The original owner had hoped her father would investigate, but he simply had her mother thrown into a mass grave to be devoured by wild dogs. The original owner had searched for three days and nights without food or water, only to find a pile of remains. Her sister, who suffered from a heart condition, was sent to a farmstead, and the two sisters never saw each other again until the original owner was buried alive.

Jiang Nian closed her eyes, suppressing the original owner's grief and anger, and cast a cold glance at Old Mother Li without a word. Once they were alone, Jiang Nian brought out the letters.

"Mother, I found these in your prayer cushion. Do you recognize them?"

Madam Chen opened them with a blank expression, but as she read the contents, her fair face flushed, and her eyes brimmed with shame. "Nian'er, are you certain you found these in my bedroom?"

After regaining her composure, Madam Chen frowned. "Who would be so bold as to hide this in my room?"

"In my opinion, it must be someone close to you."

"How could that be? Paper of this quality doesn't even exist in our household..." As if realizing something, Madam Chen’s expression darkened. "Someone is trying to frame me?!"

Jiang Nian pressed her lips together. Her mother was clever, just blinded by her so-called love. "Mother, can you guess who might have placed it there?"

Hearing this, Madam Chen sat down at the table, her right hand tapping rhythmically against the surface.

"Mother, besides this, I find what happened at Grandmother’s birthday banquet yesterday suspicious as well." Yesterday was her grandmother’s sixtieth birthday. Her cousin’s fiancé had pulled Jiang Nian into a pavilion to profess his love. It was witnessed by Jiang Li, who then caused a scene, even taking her complaints to the front courtyard. It became a laughingstock for all the guests, and by the time the banquet ended, the rumor that "Jiang Nian tried to seduce her cousin’s fiancé" had spread, with many versions circulating. That was why the Old Madam had insisted on sending Jiang Nian away the very next day.

"Master Guo rarely visits the Jiang estate, let alone the inner courtyards. If no one had guided him, how could he have found me?" Jiang Nian continued. "And within a single day, the news of me seducing my brother-in-law was known throughout the city. I don't believe this is a coincidence!"

Madam Chen also felt it was strange but hadn't thought it through. Hearing her daughter's analysis, she let out a long breath. "I have always lived a secluded life, treating others with kindness. I haven't wronged anyone, so I cannot guess who would betray me."

"What was Mother talking to Old Mother Li about just now?"

"I was reciting sutras, and Old Mother Li suddenly came in, saying you had angered your father and urged me to tell you to leave quickly."

After she finished, Madam Chen paused. "Are you saying that Old Mother Li..."

"Mother, you only have two old nurses and a few maids in your quarters. I took most of them with me. Besides her, I can think of no one else who could enter and leave your room so freely!"

Madam Chen’s expression grew even grimmer. "What would she gain from this? If I fall, her life won't be easy either."

Jiang Nian had already guessed the mastermind and formed a plan. "Mother, keep these letters with me. For now, act as if you know nothing and see what the person behind this does next!"

Madam Chen pondered, then gave a slight nod. Jiang Nian tucked the items back into her clothes. "Mother, it is getting late. I will return to my room to rest."

As soon as she finished, Cuizhu called out softly from outside the door, "Madam, the Old Madam has sent someone to fetch the Miss."

Madam Chen’s breathing quickened. The Old Madam calling her daughter now must be about her departure. Jiang Nian gently patted her mother’s arm to show she would be fine. She walked to the door and said firmly, "Tell Grandmother that I have caught a chill. Once I have freshened up, I will go to pay my respects."