"Second Master." Master Jiang anxiously urged, "Say sothing."
Jiang Shilin stood up in a daze, looking like he didn’t want to speak more. Dragging his steps, he returned to his own courtyard. Miss i was standing there waiting for him. Seeing him return, she imdiately went to support him and asked, "Brother Shilin, what’s wrong with you? Didn’t you bring Sister back?"
Jiang Shilin stopped, looked at her, and thought of Tong Xiyan’s request. He said, "ii, I’ll send you back tomorrow."
Miss i was stunned, and in an instant, her eyes filled with tears. She looked at Jiang Shilin in disbelief and said, "Send back? Why? Brother Shilin doesn’t want ii anymore?"
Jiang Shilin looked at her and said, "Back at your ho, I’ll help you find a good husband. You won’t have to be soone’s concubine. Wouldn’t it be better to be a legitimate wife?"
"No!" Miss i grabbed Jiang Shilin’s hand. "I won’t marry anyone but you. If you don’t marry , then I’ll die!" With that, she lifted her skirt and ran out.
Jiang Shilin wanted to stop her, but his footsteps halted.
Just as he returned to his room and sat down, a maid ca rushing to knock on the door: "Second Master, Miss i hanged herself."
Jiang Shilin felt the blood rush to his head. He flung open the door and asked, his voice trembling, "Where is she? Where is she?"
The maid replied, "Luckily, we found her early. Right now, she’s crying."
Jiang Shilin breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to the small courtyard at the back. As soon as he entered, he saw Old Madam Jiang holding Miss i, both crying on the ground. When Old Madam Jiang caught sight of Jiang Shilin, she cried even harder: "Oh, my ii, why are you so foolish? There are still many good n in this world. Your parents entrusted you to . I am like your mother. No matter what, I will find you a good family."
Jiang Shilin saw the red marks around Miss i’s neck. Unable to restrain himself, he took a few steps forward and angrily said, "What do you want? What do you all really want? Are you trying to force to death?"
Miss i cried even harder.
"Humph!" Old Madam Jiang looked at Jiang Shilin and said, "Send ii back and leave her alone? Does she think she’s a princess, that no one can enter her room? This is outrageous." Furious, she paced back and forth like a headless fly, "Divorce her, divorce her imdiately!"
Jiang Shilin angrily said, "Divorce her? On what grounds? Is it because she’s childless? But she’s only been married for a year. Is it unfilial piety? Yet she’s using her dowry to support you. What reason do you have?"
Old Madam Jiang choked on her words, then shifted her gaze with narrowed eyes and said, "What dowry? Once she married into the Jiang family, it beca Jiang’s property. It’s only natural for us to use our own things." Then she paused and continued, "Look at her being so skinny. Let alone a year, even in ten years, she wouldn’t bear a child. She’s just like a pile of skinny firewood."
"I’ll tell you, if you bring her back, it won’t just be ii hanging herself. You make the call, whether you want your mother and ii or her."
Jiang Shilin was filled with anger, but couldn’t reason with Old Madam Jiang. He flung his sleeve and returned to his room, drank three to four pots of wine alone. Miss i brought dishes into the room, sat down before Jiang Shilin, lantably grabbed his hand and said, "Brother Shilin."
Jiang Shilin looked up at her and sighed, "Why are you here?" Miss i placed his hand in her palm, gently rubbed it, then kissed it softly, walked over, knelt beside Jiang Shilin, rested her face on his leg, and cried, "Brother Shilin, I don’t want to make it difficult for you. If sister doesn’t like and won’t let enter, then I’ll leave. Only if I leave will you not feel troubled."
Jiang Shilin was stunned, his heart aching beyond words. He lifted his hand to touch Miss i’s head but stopped.
He thought of the tis she followed him around the mountains when they were young, listened to him reciting, brought out delicious food from ho for him, made clothes for him, pricking her hands full of wounds with every stitch...
"Brother Shilin." Miss i hugged him. "I like you!" She raised her head, her crimson lips slightly curved, looking pitiably at Jiang Shilin.
Jiang Shilin looked at her, recalling the ti the azaleas blood behind their hotown, the way he placed azaleas in her hair. He had always treated her as a sister, never had any improper thoughts... really never.
"Brother Shilin." Miss i kissed his temple and whispered in his ear, "I’m leaving. This is the last ti we’ll see each other."
The warm, fragrant breath on his ear, the drunkenness surged into his mind, and the subsequent events were a complete blank.
Early the next morning, Old Madam Jiang stood by the bed, looking down at her son. Smiling, she said, "Since you two had the consummation, get married today!"
"What?" Xiqiu was dumbfounded, "You say the Jiang family sent soone to inform Fourth Sister that Miss i is entering the house today?"
Nanny Qiu, her face red with anger, exclaid, "I’ve never seen a family like this, how... how could they do such a thing!" Such sordid matters, how could they do it!
"And what about Fourth Sister, what was she doing when you left?" Xiqiu asked anxiously.
Nanny Qiu replied, "First Young Madam and Nanny Fang are accompanying her, trying to console her." Pausing, she added, "First Young Madam was worried you might fret, so she asked to co and inform you."
Xiqiu frowned and stood up, "And Brother-in-law Jiang? Didn’t he promise to persuade Old Madam to separate the households? Didn’t he promise Fourth Sister not to take in Miss i?" Nanny Qiu had co yesterday, approximately relaying what Tong Xiyan and Jiang Shilin discussed to Xiqiu. She thought Jiang Shilin would surely keep his word, but she never expected...
"I don’t know either. Master Jiang didn’t look good when he left. I thought he would settle things upon returning. And in a few days, when the elder master’s residence was ready, Fourth Young Madam could move into the new house. Who knew it would turn out like this? That Miss i is not easy to deal with. Who knows what she might do to Fourth Young Madam in the future."
Nanny Qiu was elderly and had keen judgnt. That Miss i was indeed not a simple character, and Tong Xiyan was no match for her.
After sending off Nanny Qiu, Fourth Master Xiao returned from the governnt office that evening. Xiqiu recounted the Jiang family’s matters to Fourth Master Xiao, "It seems only a separation is possible now." The Jiang family had truly gone too far.
Fourth Master Xiao sat at the table drinking tea. Seeing Xiqiu’s upset expression, he pulled her to sit next to him, patted her on the head, and said, "Perhaps it’s best to let your Fourth Sister stay in the Jiwei Mountain villa for a few days!"
His implication was for everyone to calm down and not act impulsively.
"I’m afraid Fourth Sister wouldn’t want to go." Xiqiu sighed, "Nanny Qiu said she hasn’t shed a tear in front of others, but her eyes are swollen."
Fourth Master Xiao nodded, seeing Xiqiu’s worried face. He thought for a mont and said, "I’ll visit the Jiang family and ask Brother-in-law Jiang what he really intends." After speaking, he felt this was a good idea. Since they were brothers-in-law, speaking and acting from the sa standpoint might be more effective than others.
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