Chapter 16

Qingfeng Courtyard.

The main house was brightly lit, and the servants were silent as if gripped by fear.

In the courtyard, two servants were being punished: a young maid and an old woman, each tied to a long bench, their mouths tightly gagged. Even as the cane struck them, causing excruciating pain, no sound escaped their lips.

After an indeterminate time, the punishment ended, and they were dragged away.

The night breeze carried a chill, mingled with suppressed sobbing. From inside the house came the sounds of mournful pleading and desperate explanations.

“Madam, this matter has nothing to do with the Fourth Miss. If you must punish, punish me—I alone am to blame...”

“Mother, it truly wasn’t me. Aunt Liu Feng and Madam Zhang, I don’t know why they did this. Perhaps they thought I was not on good terms with the Fifth Miss...”

Concubine Liu desperately took the blame upon herself. Kneeling beside her was Jiang Gui, tears streaming down her face, her expression full of grievance.

Madam Xie sat upright, her face as cold and still as water.

After investigating the incident thoroughly, she ordered the mouths of Madam Zhang and Liu Feng to be sealed, and after their punishment, sent them back to her estate, ensuring that no word of this would leak out.

This was not done for Jiang Gui, but for the sake of the Jiang family’s reputation.

“To climb higher, you falsely claimed that the Heir Prince favored you. To seek attention, you disregarded the Jiang family’s honor. You disgrace yourself and try to drag your own sister down with you. Jiang Gui, you truly are a fine daughter of the Jiang family!”

“Mother, the Heir Prince really said it—he said he liked me...”

“Silence!” Madam Xie snapped. “At this point, you still dare to involve the Heir Prince and claim he favors you? You are nothing but deluded!”

“That’s not true! It’s not like that,” Jiang Gui retorted bitterly. “The deluded one is the Fifth Miss. If not for her rivalry with me, the Heir Prince wouldn’t have turned his affections elsewhere.”

Madam Xie could barely bear to listen.

By now, she understood clearly: the Heir Prince favored the Fifth Miss of the third branch. Otherwise, he would not have behaved so improperly. And that illegitimate daughter, with her ambition to climb the social ladder, naturally saw the Fifth Miss as a thorn in her side and committed such foolish deeds.

She had once thought the girl somewhat sensible and had hoped to arrange a good marriage for her, but it turned out she was only pretending—conceited and scheming, wasting Madam Xie’s painstaking efforts.

“Gui, it’s not wrong for you to admire the Heir Prince, but your mistake lies in your arrogance and selfishness, even scheming against your own sister. Luckily, the Fifth Miss is simple-hearted, or else the sisters would surely be enemies!”

“Mother, don’t be fooled by the Fifth Miss—she is the most cunning of all...”

“Silence!” Madam Xie was furious. “I think you’re possessed if you can say such things. If notI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.