Chapter 52: Arrival of the Xue Mother and Daughter

Not long after, Peng Lizhong paused as he watched a young lady step gracefully down from a carriage. Her demeanor was tranquil and her temperament gentle; she appeared to be about the same age as Qin Keqing. With a fair complexion, her autumn-clear eyes were framed by distant mountain-like brows, her nose delicately bridged, and her lips tinged with a faint crimson. Her beauty was only slightly inferior to that of Qin Keqing.

This young lady was none other than Xue Baochai.

Although Peng Lizhong found Xue Baochai stunningly beautiful, his heart remained unmoved. Instead, it was the woman who had earlier slightly lifted the curtain to reveal her face that truly stirred his emotions.

At this moment, Peng Lizhong saw the lady descend from the carriage, supported by the young lady. She was dressed in a treasure-blue brocade long skirt, the hem embroidered with gold-threaded peonies that gleamed brilliantly. In her hair she wore a gold-filigree hairpin inlaid with precious stones, and pearls hung from her lobes, exuding an air of classical nobility and elegance.

This lady was Aunt Xue.

The longer Peng Lizhong looked, the more enchanting he found her graceful bearing. He sighed inwardly to himself, "Such a noble lady—how could a servant like me ever dare to covet her? I wonder whose wife she is, and what brings her to visit Master Jiang?"

Only after seeing Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai walk through the gates of the Jiang residence did Peng Lizhong turn and head back to the Qin household.

……

……

Guided by the coarse-sweeping maid Qi'er, Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai stepped leisurely through the gates of Jiang's small courtyard, proceeding slowly toward the main rooms of the inner courtyard.

As they walked, both mother and daughter cast their gazes about, carefully sizing up the residence.

Yesterday, when the two of them first laid eyes on this small courtyard, they had both thought it old, crude, and rather unappealing.

Yet now, upon examining it once more, they unexpectedly felt that while the small courtyard lacked luxury, it possessed a certain serene and secluded charm.

This was partly because the small courtyard had been meticulously swept and put in order, but even more so because, though only a single day had passed since yesterday, Jiang Nian's stature in the hearts of the Xue mother and daughter had grown vastly, inspiring deep reverence within them both.

Deliberately omitting any welcome for the Xue family mother and daughter, Jiang Nian simply waited quietly for them in his study.

At this time, Qi'er led Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai to the doorway of the study.

Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai saw Jiang Nian sitting beside a red-sandalwood desk, his expression calm as his fingertips lightly tapped the cover of a book lying before him.

Qi'er spoke respectfully to Jiang Nian, "Master, they have arrived."

Jiang Nian nodded. "You may withdraw."

"Yes," Qi'er acknowledged, turning to walk out of the main room.

Overwhelmed by shame and reverence, Aunt Xue did not dare to step across the threshold for a moment. Instead, she stood outside the door, her face showing embarrassment, her throat tightening slightly as she lowered her posture in a deferential curtsy and called out, "Master Jiang."

Seeing Aunt Xue's constrained demeanor, and noting that Xue Baochai behind her kept her head lowered with downcast lashes—evidently out of shame—Jiang Nian's expression remained unchanged as he said indifferently, "Come in."

Hearing this, the mother and daughter slowly stepped into the study one after the other.

As soon as she entered, Xue Baochai bent her knees in a deep curtsy toward Jiang Nian. "Greetings, Master Jiang."

Her head remained bowed, not daring to look directly at Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian pointed to two official's hat chairs in the room and spoke in a calm tone, "Sit down, both of you."

After a brief hesitation, Aunt Xue seated herself.

Xue Baochai, however, remained standing quietly, head bowed, by her mother's side.

With a playful glint in his gaze, Jiang Nian scrutinized Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai closely.

Although Aunt Xue forced herself to appear composed, her eyes darted restlessly.

Xue Baochai's cheeks were tinged with a faint flush, and she appeared exceptionally constrained, her breathing as soft as gossamer.

Gathering her courage and looking toward Jiang Nian with a wretched expression, Aunt Xue lowered her voice to apologize, "Master Jiang, yesterday Bao'er's uncle made a scene with you. This was our fault, and we hope you can forgive us."

At these words, a mocking curve formed at the corner of Jiang Nian's lips. "Is the word 'forgiveness' so easily spoken? Do you think this was merely a trivial matter, something to be so readily pardoned?"

Aunt Xue felt an invisible pressure bearing down upon her, causing her breath to catch and filling her with panic and anxiety.

Jiang Nian's expression grew colder as he continued, "The matter of Miss Xue being promised to me as a concubine was settled long ago on the Grand Canal. You even personally wrote the betrothal contract in black and white—how could this be treated as child's play? Yet what did you do? The moment you entered the capital, you impatiently enlisted Wang Ziteng to subdue me!"

Feeling the pressure redouble, Aunt Xue opened her mouth to argue, but finding herself utterly speechless, her face turned pale.

Jiang Nian let out a cold snort, his tone sharp. "Do you know that yesterday Wang Ziteng first came with a host of personal guards to threaten me? When threats failed, he actually mobilized a large force of government soldiers to surround my place completely, intending to take my entire household into custody. Had I not promptly dispatched someone to urgently request Prince Zhongyi to lift the siege, I would already be rotting in a prison cell, and my life would likely have been forfeit!"

Hearing this, Aunt Xue grew terribly anxious and hurriedly defended herself, "No! No! My elder brother had no intention of harming your life; he only... only wanted to annul the concubine arrangement..."

At this point, overcome with burning shame, her voice trailed off into a murmur, and she dared not meet Jiang Nian's gaze.

At that moment, she seemed to return to the humiliation she had felt years ago when scolded by her late husband.

Xue Baochai, head bowed and eyes lowered, cast a discreet glance at her mother. Seeing that Aunt Xue was also looking down in utter mortification, Xue Baochai could not help feeling astonished.

It was not as if Xue Baochai had never seen her mother look this way; over the past two days, Aunt Xue had displayed such an attitude before Wang Ziteng. Yet Wang Ziteng was, after all, Aunt Xue's elder brother, a man of high and mighty position, pride, and authority. It was hardly surprising for Aunt Xue to lower her head in shame before him. But now, seeing her mother display such a submissive and shamed posture before someone of the younger generation like Jiang Nian struck Xue Baochai as both novel and bizarre.

Just as Xue Baochai's mind was in turmoil, Jiang Nian suddenly shifted his gaze toward her, asking in an indifferent tone, "Miss Xue, what brings you and your mother here today?"

Startled, Xue Baochai lifted her eyes for a fleeting glance at Jiang Nian, then looked over at Aunt Xue. Seeing her mother nod in instruction, Xue Baochai understood. Suppressing her shame, she spoke in a soft, delicate voice, "Does Master Jiang know that the Retired Emperor and the reigning Emperor have already issued an imperial decree punishing yesterday's incident?"

Deliberately keeping his voice flat, Jiang Nian replied, "Naturally I know. The matter was memorialized to the Emperor by Prince Zhongyi, and the Emperor subsequently reported it to the Retired Emperor."

At these words, both Aunt Xue and Xue Baochai suffered a shock in their hearts, their reverence for Jiang Nian deepening all the more.

Mother and daughter exchanged glances, both feeling deeply perplexed: Jiang Nian was merely a young master born and raised in Jiangning; how had he grown so close to Prince Zhongyi? It was truly baffling.

Overwhelmed with shame and utterly unwilling to speak further, Xue Baochai whispered to Aunt Xue, "Mother, you speak."

With a long sigh, Aunt Xue raised her eyes toward Jiang Nian and pleaded helplessly, "Master Jiang, our family's status as imperial merchants has been stripped away! Yesterday's events were my fault for being foolish and shouldn't have brought up the concubine matter to Bao'er's uncle. Had her uncle not known of this, he wouldn't have come to cause trouble for you yesterday... Things having reached this pass, I know I am in the wrong. I only ask that you take into consideration... take into consideration the fact that Bao'er has already been promised to you as a concubine, and help us preserve our position as imperial merchants."

Xue Baochai hurriedly lowered her gaze to stare at her own skirt, as if she wished to bore a hole right through the fabric.

In truth, the moment Jiang Nian learned of the visit by the Xue mother and daughter, he had already guessed they were mostly likely here to plead for leniency. Yet hearing Aunt Xue utter these words with her own ears, he still found it absurdly comical.