Chapter Twenty: No Matter What Xue Shoucheng Said Upon Waking, She Firmly Declared He Was Lying!

Jiang Nian stumbled to her feet and bowed.

"Greetings, Grand Preceptor. I am from the Jiang family of the capital. My father, Jiang Ping, has just been appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. I am here at the temple with my grandmother to offer incense today. I stopped here by chance and had no idea that you were in this area!"

The initial terror had already vanished, and her expression gradually regained its composure.

Lu Moran glanced at her, his expression cold, showing no desire to acknowledge her. However, as his gaze inadvertently swept past her slightly disheveled collar to the red plum blossom mark on her collarbone, his eyes suddenly narrowed. "The eldest legitimate daughter of the Jiang family?"

Jiang Nian was slightly stunned, then replied, "Yes."

She wondered what the Grand Preceptor intended to do, but he simply asked for her name and walked away.

Jiang Nian watched his retreating figure, her brows furrowed slightly. He had been about to leave; why did he suddenly ask about her identity? Still, having encountered the Grand Preceptor twice now, she could at least be considered a familiar face. With this head start, she was certain she could uncover how Jiang Yu had managed to enter the Directorate of Astronomy, whether to prevent it or to find an opportunity for herself to gain entry.

Seeing that the Grand Preceptor had left, Qing'er nervously supported her and helped tidy her slightly disarrayed clothes. "Miss, let's leave quickly..." The dead bodies littering the ground were truly terrifying.

"Let's go."

Jiang Nian quickly left the scene of the trouble and returned to the meditation room. Lianqiao had been keeping watch in the room; seeing her return covered in dust, she was startled. "Miss, what happened?"

"I had the bad luck of running into an assassination attempt on the Grand Preceptor. How is Jiang Yan?"

Lianqiao was stunned for a moment before replying, "Not long after I returned, the Second Miss and the Fourth Miss also came back. However, the Second Miss was quickly summoned away, saying the Old Madam wanted her to listen to Buddhist chants to cleanse her karma. Shortly after, two old maids helped a burly maid into the Fourth Miss's room..."

Jiang Nian curled her lips into a smile. "The maids must be the Third Madame’s people, and that 'maid' is surely Xue Shoucheng in disguise. It seems our Fifth Sister is using the enemy's own methods to pay them back..."

Inside Jiang Yu’s room, both she and Xue Shoucheng were unconscious.

"You piece of trash! Why don't you go take a piss and look at your own reflection!" Jiang Yan kicked Xue Shoucheng hard and ordered the maid beside her, "Castrate him for me!"

The maid’s heart trembled. Castrate him? How?

Jiang Yan sneered, "If he were dead, as long as Aunt compensated the Xue family enough, the matter would eventually blow over. After all, Aunt did it for Xue Shoucheng’s sake, and his mother's hatred would only fall on me."

The maid began to understand. "Then..."

"Make him incapable of having children! Make him wish he were dead! As long as Xue Shoucheng lives, he will hate Jiang Yu for inciting him and hate Aunt for her foolish plan! I want the Qiao mother and daughter to bear this hatred forever!"

The maid said, "I understand, Fifth Miss, please turn around."

Jiang Yan turned her face away, and then a "squelch" was heard, as if something had been crushed. Immediately after, she left the room, tossing back the instruction, "Tear apart the Fourth Sister’s clothes."

Soon, the maid emerged from the room, wiped her hands in disgust, and calmly headed toward the front hall.

Under the care of Qing'er and Lianqiao, Jiang Nian changed her clothes and went to the liberation pond, where Jiang Yan quickly found her. The two exchanged a silent, knowing look and each chose a small fish to release into the pond.

When the Old Madam and the others emerged, they ran straight into them. Seeing Jiang Yan standing there completely unharmed, Madame Qiao’s brow furrowed slightly.

Jiang Yan feigned ignorance and smiled, "Grandmother, Mother, Aunt, are we heading back?"

The Third Madame, Madame Cheng, nodded and asked with feigned casualness, "Why are only the two of you here? Where is Li'er?"

Jiang Yan shook her head. "Hasn't the Second Sister been with the Fourth Sister?"

Jiang Li, having just listened to the Buddhist chants, showed no sign of her karma being cleansed; her complexion was even worse than when she arrived. She muttered, "When I came to the front hall, the Fourth Sister went back to her room to change."

The group returned to the meditation room. Madame Qiao, feeling a sense of foreboding, headed straight for her daughter Jiang Yu’s room. Upon pushing the door open, everyone was shocked by the chaos inside!

The Old Madam’s wrinkled face instantly flushed with anger. "What is the meaning of this!"

Jiang Yan pretended to go over to look, but the Third Madame gestured to stop her. "All of you stay outside; no one is to enter." She then followed Madame Qiao and the Old Madam inside.

Circling past the overturned chairs and screens, they saw Xue Shoucheng lying on the floor, unconscious. The sight was so gruesome that even the cold-hearted Old Madam couldn't help but gasp!

The room door was slammed shut by Nanny Zhao, who was with Madame Qiao. The view was cut off.

Jiang Yan curled her lip toward Jiang Nian.

A moment later, a shrill, piercing scream from Jiang Yu echoed from inside. The Old Madam cursed, "What are you screeching for!"

Then, a sharp slapping sound followed, and Jiang Yu’s voice came to an abrupt halt.

Inside the room, Jiang Yu clutched her chest, her lips trembling, clearly terrified. "Mother, what is happening? It wasn't me, it wasn't me..."

Madame Qiao’s lips were pressed tightly together.

The Third Madame hid the mockery in her eyes and spoke with feigned concern, "This matter with Yu'er, only we know, so we can naturally keep it covered. But with the Second Young Master Xue in this state, even if you are his aunt, I fear it will be impossible to erase the hatred of this emasculation..."

The Old Madam stared fixedly at Madame Qiao. "It’s bad enough you couldn't give birth to a son, but the daughter you produced is such a base, wretched creature, capable of doing something like this! This is the fine daughter you’ve raised!"

The muscles on Madame Qiao’s cheeks spasmed involuntarily.

Hearing the words "wretched creature," Jiang Yu’s head was buzzing. She had only returned to her room to change her clothes, and then she had lost consciousness. Her two maids were also nowhere to be found...

"Mother, someone framed me! I didn't do anything!"

Madame Qiao’s face was ashen as she clearly contemplated a countermeasure.

The Third Madame shook her head with a troubled expression. "Yu'er, he is your aunt’s only son, and the only son of the Xue family’s third branch. Now, never mind his future, he can't even marry or have children. Will your aunt let you off?"

The Old Madam cursed coldly, "Hmph, you’ve ruined someone else’s lineage; even a lifetime of atonement wouldn't be enough!"

Hearing this, Madame Qiao’s expression shifted, and Jiang Yu nearly fainted. "I won't marry him, I don't want to marry him... he’s already like that..."

But who could Jiang Yu blame to take the fall? She was the architect of this scheme. Once Xue Shoucheng woke up, he would surely reveal the truth, and she would be unable to escape.

The best option now was to pin everything on Xue Shoucheng! Regardless of what he said upon waking, she would insist he was lying.

Jiang Yu gritted her teeth and said, "The cousin tried to force himself upon me while I returned to change! I made a mistake in the heat of the moment, but it was all to protect my chastity!"