Chapter 471
Chapter 471
Old Madam Luo stood by, unsure how to comfort her mistress.
The truth was, the young master had suddenly vanished without a trace, and she couldn't find a suitable excuse to defend him.
"Send more people out to search for him. When will Yue'er arrive in Lu City?" Madam Jiang thought of her niece.
Her heart was uncertain.
Over the years, she had tirelessly arranged marriages for Jiang Yuanrang.
But he always found all sorts of reasons to refuse.
At this thought, Madam Jiang worried deeply—could it be that Jiang Yuanrang knew the truth about his origins and therefore had no intention of settling down in Lu City?
"Old Madam, do you think Yuanrang and Yue'er could work out?" She recalled how she had often scoured Lu City for suitable matches for Jiang Yuanrang.
This time, she had planned to bring her niece to the mansion, hoping the two would come together.
That way, she would have no further anxieties.
But now, her niece hadn't even arrived, and Jiang Yuanrang's whereabouts were unknown.
Added to that was the disaster that had befallen Jiang Huaishan and his sons.
Madam Jiang grew even more uneasy. What if Jiang Yuanrang also looked down on her niece, Jiang Siyue? What would she do then?
Over the years, Jiang Yuanrang's biological parents had never come looking for him, but the clothes he wore back then were fine, suggesting his birth family was likely well-off.
Especially since Jiang Yuanrang was a boy.
At that thought, Madam Jiang herself felt uncertain—could the boy want to go back?
But recalling the greed of the second branch of the family, Madam Jiang was deeply unwilling to hand over the estate her late husband, Jiang Chongshan, had built with his own hard work to them.
After all, if it fell into their hands, where would she find a place for herself?
Thinking of this, Madam Jiang began to resent her departed husband, Jiang Chongshan. Even in death, he left her with so many troubles.
"No, Tang, old madam, you must go tomorrow to fetch Yue'er," Madam Jiang said, growing anxious. As long as Jiang Yuanrang remained unmarried, her restless heart would never find peace.
"Madam, the young master is not at the mansion now. Why not wait until he returns before bringing the young lady over?" Old Madam Tang considered that the Jiang household was in chaos right now, with only the second branch's illegitimate son, Jiang Yuanjie, able to take charge.
If the young lady arrived and that illegitimate son seduced her, would Madam Jiang not lose both her investment and her plans?
Moreover, Madam Jiang had already dismissed the second branch's legitimate second and fourth sons; it would be a true loss if her own niece ended up marrying the third son, who was born of a concubine.
"Yuanrang will certainly be back soon," Madam Jiang insisted, believing Jiang Yuanrang was not the kind of person to lack discretion.
"Sister-in-law!" The voice of Madam Feng, Jiang Huaishan's wife, came from outside.
Madam Jiang frowned at the sound.
She had never liked the people of the second branch.
Especially this false-hearted sister-in-law.
"Madam Feng, my mistress is resting," Old Madam Tang said, having received Madam Jiang's signal, as she went out with a smile to block the way.
"Resting?" Madam Feng was displeased at this.
"My husband and Da'er, Li'er are all injured like this—how can she rest?" The moment she heard that Madam Jiang was resting, Madam Feng became furious.
Thinking of her man and sons lying there between life and death, her heart sank into the abyss.
But after the incident, apart from appearing that night, Jiang Yuanrang had vanished.
Madam Feng even suspected that he was behind all this.
"Steward Tang, let her in." Jiang Siyue sighed. Having been sisters-in-law with Feng for so many years, she knew well that if she didn't see her today, Feng would never rest easy.
Jiang Siyue was already vexed and didn't want to beat around the bush with Feng.
"Humph!" Feng lifted her chin and strode into the inner chamber upon hearing this.
"Oh, so the eldest sister-in-law can sit tight and calm!" Feng's eyes were filled with undisguised envy as she looked at Jiang Siyue seated by the table.
"What brings you to my place, sister-in-law?"
Jiang Siyue ignored Feng's sour expression and asked directly.
"What brings me here? Eldest sister-in-law, such a huge incident has happened in the manor. As the mistress of the household, don't you know about it? Then the servants in this manor are utterly useless!" Feng sat down opposite Jiang Siyue discontentedly.
"If you have something to say, just say it plainly," Jiang Siyue replied bluntly.
"Eldest sister-in-law, is this the attitude you show me while my husband and children are in trouble?" Feng stood up indignantly, pointing at Jiang Siyue in accusation.
"What? Didn't I have a doctor summoned for them? Or did no one send medicine?" Jiang Siyue asked with feigned confusion.
In truth, she knew full well that a doctor had already been called and the medicine money had been given.
She deliberately said this to put Feng in her place.
"Eldest sister-in-law, no matter what, my husband is the elder brother of the eldest young master. Now that my husband is in trouble, can't the eldest young master even come to pay a visit?" Speaking of this, Feng pulled out a handkerchief and began to dab at her eyes.
After all, Jiang Yuanrang was now in charge of the household. With such a big incident, his presence was indispensable, lest the servants start to judge based on status.
Now that her husband and son had become like this, she dared not even dream of securing the position of head of the Yang family.
She only hoped that the Yang family would find some good doctors to heal them.
However, Jiang Siyue’s haughty attitude still provoked Feng.
"Sister-in-law, our eldest son is the head of the household. His responsibilities are hardly like those of your Dag'er and Lig'er, who can just idle away time walking their birds. Otherwise, how would this entire household get its income?" Jiang Siyue darkened her face.
She knew exactly why Feng was making a scene, but why should she play along?
Let alone the fact that Jiang Yuanrang was not at the manor. Even if he were, she would never persuade him to visit the second branch.
She hadn't forgotten the obstacles that the second branch had imposed on her and her son all these years.
"Eldest sister-in-law!" Seeing that a harsh approach had failed, Feng sat down again and began to sob pitifully. "Our eldest son is still my husband's own nephew. Now that my husband and my two children are so badly hurt, the rest of this second branch will naturally have to rely on the eldest young master!"
"Sister-in-law, doesn't the second branch still have Jie'er? It stands to reason that no uncle would depend on his nephew to look after him," Jiang Siyue ruthlessly exposed Feng's scheme.
If Feng wanted her son to support those black-hearted people, she would have to get past her first.
"Is the eldest sister-in-law trying to drive the second branch away?" At this, Feng shot up in shock.
The second branch indeed had a concubine-son, Jie'er, but he was a useless, unreliable one.
Besides, Feng’s relationship with his mother, Madam Song, was far from warm.
With both her sons in trouble now, she couldn't bring herself to trust Madam Song's son.
She would rather rely on Jiang Yuanrang of the main branch.
However, after her husband and two sons met with misfortune, Jiang Yuanrang had never come to visit—this fact left her deeply resentful.
On the other side, Qingsong hurried Jiang Yuanrang along as fast as possible, and finally they arrived in the capital.
Gazing at the imposing city gates, Qingsong breathed a sigh of relief.
At last, he had not failed the prince’s trust.
“Master Jiang, we have reached the capital!”