Farmer girl swaps husbands: buys a sickly villain and pampers him

Chapter 267 The Worst
Jiang Yihuan was trying on her newly bought jewelry when a servant came in and said to her, "Second Madam, the Marquis requests that you go over and help the First Madam receive the guests."

"Is this the Marquis's idea or the First Madam's idea?" Jiang Yihuan asked.

"The First Madam's health has deteriorated further. Seeing that she was having some difficulty entertaining guests, the Marquis suggested that the Second Madam take over the reception of guests."

Upon hearing that it was the Marquis of Jing'an's intention, Jiang Yihuan thought it probably wasn't the First Madam's scheme, so she stood up and said, "I understand, I'll go right away."

She specially changed into new jewelry and dressed up exquisitely and beautifully, like a bright rose.

She was determined to crush that first wife. Men are all lustful; even if they swear they love you, they'll forget all their sweet words and vows when they see a more beautiful woman.

Having met so many men, how could she not know what a seemingly gentlemanly man like Marquis Jing'an was thinking?
When Jiang Yihuan stepped into the First Madam's courtyard, she saw Su Yaoguang and the others, each dressed in their own unique style. Among the group of bright and beautiful women, only the First Madam, dressed in simple elegance, stood out. Most importantly, she was delicate and could evoke a man's protective instincts.

Jiang Yihuan noticed that the atmosphere between Marquis Jing'an and his first wife had changed.

Since she entered the manor, Marquis Jing'an had not set foot in the First Madam's courtyard again. The First Madam was frail and had no children, so Marquis Jing'an had long since ignored her. Even on important occasions that required both of them to appear together, Marquis Jing'an would let her rest and let his newlywed concubine, whom he had just married, appear.

Today, Marquis Jing'an is taking good care of her and showing her great concern.

"The Second Madam has arrived," said the old nanny beside her. "Just now, the Marquis was worried that the Second Madam was too busy to come. Now the Marquis need not worry. Judging from the Second Madam's attire, she clearly values ​​these distinguished guests very much, which is why she took the time to dress up so elegantly."

“My lord, both are wives, yet the first wife is so plain and simple, while the second wife is so adorned with jewels. Isn’t this showing too much favoritism?” Zhang Zhaodi said.

Marquis Jing'an frowned: "The First Madam has never liked those vulgar things and doesn't usually wear them. The Second Madam is young and likes pretty things. Whether one likes to wear them or not is entirely up to their own preferences, and I shouldn't interfere with my two beloved wives' habits."

“The Marquis is right. I’m sick and don’t go out, so no one will notice if I wear it,” the First Madam said. “Sister, don’t mind, the General’s wife is just joking with us.”

A mocking glint flashed in Jiang Yihuan's eyes.

General's wife?

This sickly fellow was indeed not as simple as he appeared.

She deliberately brought up Zhang Zhaodi's identity, and Marquis Jing'an dared not say anything because of her status.

"Second Madam, I've already warned the First Madam that she shouldn't touch ginger, but your servants are disobeying your orders. They pretend not to put ginger in the dishes, but they pour ginger water into them, and every single dish has ginger in it. The First Madam's health can't be aggravated any further. If this happens again, I'll tell everyone that the inner quarters of the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion are terrifying. A perfectly healthy person was murdered. I don't know who in this mansion can't even tolerate a sick person. She's already handed over the management of the household and is lying in bed all day. Who else can she bother with?"

“Dr. Jiang, I will investigate this matter. If it is true, those cooks cannot be kept,” Jiang Yihuan said. “It’s my fault, I should have reminded my sister sooner. Sister, you don’t know, I noticed before that the cooks were very negligent in preparing the dishes in your courtyard. They would either deliberately make them taste bad or deliberately use spoiled ingredients. After I found out, I punished the cook severely. Later, I learned that you were too strict with him when you were managing the household affairs, and he held a grudge. Now that you are ill and cannot manage the affairs of the inner quarters, he sees this as an opportunity for revenge, so he always tampers with the dishes.”

"However, ever since I took over the household management, I've had people keeping an eye on him, and he hasn't done anything to my sister's food since. Come to think of it, the people I sent out probably thought he wouldn't do anything because he'd been behaving so well for so long, so they became complacent."

Jiang Yihuan meant that the reason the First Madam was put in ginger water by the cook was not because she ordered it, but because her personality was unpleasant and she had offended the servants in the mansion before.

By saying this, she not only absolved herself of responsibility, but also showed the Marquis of Jing'an that the First Madam had not been well-regarded in managing the household and that the servants in the mansion did not respect her.

Su Yaoguang poured a cup of tea for the First Madam and said to Jiang Yihuan beside her, "It's too stuffy in here, I want to go out for a walk."

"Alright, the flowers in our courtyard are in full bloom, they're really beautiful, let's all go and enjoy the scenery!" Jiang Yihuan said. "My lord, would you like to come along?"

Marquis Jing'an, his ears aching from the chatter of so many women, stood up and said, "I have things to do, you all have fun!"

Marquis Jing'an did not go; instead, a group of women went to the back garden.

"Second Madam..." a servant came over and said to her, "Madam Zhang, Madam Yang, and Madam Li have come to visit with the young ladies of the manor."

Su Yaoguang and the others exchanged glances.

Women of officials are usually very particular; for things like visiting someone's home, they would typically send out a visiting card two days in advance and only visit after receiving confirmation. The fact that they arrived without even a word suggests that these families are not wealthy or influential; they are likely just temporary pawns brought in by Jiang Yihuan.

The ladies and young women were ushered to the back garden.

Su Yaoguang and Zhang Zhaodi checked the information and confirmed that they had not seen these people on any occasion, which further confirmed that these people were all family members of minor officials.

"Mother, what do you think Jiang Yihuan wants to do to us?"

"You'll know right away."

Jiang Yihuan said to the ladies, "Let me introduce you. These are our eldest madam's distinguished guests. Our manor recently received a new batch of fish, which was sent from the sea. They say it's a rare species that was caught. Since you all happen to meet here, let's enjoy it together!"

"Last time, the Second Madam told the Marquis that she liked beautiful fish, and it's only been a few days, yet the Marquis has already brought so many beautiful fish. It's clear how much the Marquis values ​​the Second Madam," said Madam Zhang. "The Second Madam is truly the envy of all the women in the capital. The Marquis dotes on you so much, and you've already given birth to his child so soon after entering the household. You should know that the Marquis has been longing for this child for over twenty years. No wonder the Marquis spoils you so much; if I were a man, I would spoil you too."

Su Yaoguang leaned closer to the First Madam and said, "You've probably heard plenty of things like this before, haven't you?"

The First Madam, suppressing her itchy throat, coughed lightly and said, "This is just an appetizer; there should be other tricks up your sleeve later."

"Lakeside...water...it wasn't pushed into the water, was it?" As soon as Su Yaoguang finished speaking, Miss Li, who was closest to Jiang Jing, pushed Jiang Jing. Just as Jiang Jing was about to fall into the water, a figure emerged and pulled Jiang Jing back.

After Jiang Jing was safe, the figure disappeared back into the shadows.

Everyone was silent.

Zhang Zhaodi looked at Su Yaoguang, then at Jiang Jing: "Can't they come up with something new?"

"I'm sorry, I was so captivated by the beauty of the fish that I didn't notice anyone in front of me," Ms. Li said, feeling aggrieved. "I didn't mean to."

Zhang Zhaodi was about to say something when Su Yaoguang stopped her.

"Of course we believe you didn't do it on purpose. You're not crazy, why would you push someone into the water for no reason?"

“Yes, we just met and have no grudges against each other. We are all guests at the Marquis’s residence, so we should be friends.”

“That’s right.” Su Yaoguang walked to the fence. Zhang Zhaodi next to her tried to pull her back, but Su Yaoguang stopped her.

Su Yaoguang deliberately walked to the railing and looked down.

Annoyance flashed in Jiang Yihuan's eyes.

What's wrong with this family? They went to someone else's house as guests and even brought along bodyguards.

It seems today is not a good time.

Forget it, I'll let them off the hook today. I'll find another chance to teach them a lesson next time.

Su Yaoguang walked to the railing and said to the water, "Wow, these fish are so beautiful. Look at this one, it has red eyes and a golden tail, and it keeps circling around here, as if it can understand us."

"Where?" The group of people, all from humble backgrounds, had never seen such a magical fish before, and they all craned their necks to look down.

Jiang Yihuan was also curious.

She knew the fish in the lake were beautiful, but were they as beautiful as she described?
Could it be that Marquis Jing'an really got such a beautiful fish?
She leaned over the fence and looked.

Su Yaoguang snapped the fence with a strong pull, and with another push, the people who were clinging to the fence plunged into the water.

"what……"

thump! thump! thump!
They were packed in like dumplings being boiled.

"Help... help..."

Jiang Yihuan thrashed about, shouting towards the shore.

The First Madam stared in astonishment at this scene.

Just now, Miss Li tried to push Jiang Jing, but was stopped in time by the guards. Now, with so many people falling into the water at the same time, they all seem to have no brains, so easily tricked.

"I really don't understand. Even if you want to scheme against someone, can't you use a better method? Look, wherever there's water, it's drowning; wherever there's a cliff, it's falling off a cliff; wherever there's a man, it's drugging; wherever there's a powerful person, it's humiliating them... I just want them to taste the bitter fruit of their own actions. The water is quite cold now, hopefully it will clear their minds a little."

The First Madam shouted loudly, "Help! Help! Someone has fallen into the water..."

The servants in the manor heard the shouts and rushed over.

However, few of the servants could swim, and by the time the swimmers arrived, the people in the water were already suffocating.

When Marquis Jing'an heard the news, he rushed over and just in time to see Jiang Yihuan and the others being rescued ashore.

The man who rescued Jiang Yihuan was a tall and strong male servant. When he held Jiang Yihuan, his arm inevitably rubbed against certain parts of her body, and Jiang Yihuan, who should have been unconscious, made ambiguous sounds.

Everyone: "..."

I suddenly felt a little embarrassed for her.

Marquis Jing'an's face was also extremely dark.

As his woman, she was actually hugged, cuddled, and touched by the servants in his house.

"My lord, the fence around your manor really needs repair and inspection. Look how many people have fallen in because it's broken," Su Yaoguang said. "They're all drowning now and need a doctor. Quickly, get them a doctor!"

“Isn’t Doctor Jiang here?” said Marquis Jing’an. “With her medical skills, a minor drowning shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“My lord, I’m afraid it’s inconvenient for us to treat her. Your second wife must have mentioned us before. To be honest, we have some grudges against each other. If we were to treat her now, which would be a normal treatment, she might turn around and accuse us of trying to harm her. Then we would have nowhere to seek justice. You should hurry up and call a doctor for her to avoid delaying treatment and causing any lasting effects.”

"Yaoguang is right. You should ask another doctor to treat them. They just drowned, so they can afford to wait."

"I am here, I will not let her misunderstand you. Doctor Jiang, so many people are unconscious, please treat them immediately."

"Since the Marquis has vouched for them, then I will treat them!"

In front of everyone, Jiang Jing gave them acupuncture.

"Ah..." Jiang Yihuan woke up in pain. "It hurts...it hurts so much...what is this..."

Jiang Yihuan had several needles stuck in her body. As soon as she woke up, Jiang Jing removed the needles. Only then did her screams stop.

The others were also awakened by Jiang Jing's needles, and their first reaction upon waking was intense pain. The pain disappeared as soon as Jiang Jing removed the needles.

"My lord, you must stand up for us! We were pushed down by them!" Jiang Yihuan pointed in Su Yaoguang's direction and accused him.

Marquis Jing'an frowned: "What did you say?"

“I said we were pushed into the water,” Jiang Yihuan complained, feeling wronged. “My lord, my sister clearly knew I had a grudge against them, so why did she still invite them over? Why not just have a peaceful day instead of bringing troublemakers to make a mess of things? I don’t care, I don’t care even if I die in this inner quarters, it’s just that I met you too late and didn’t become your wife. But, how pitiful it would be if our child lost his mother! If I’m gone someday, please entrust our child to my sister to raise, my sister must really love children.”

"Why do you say you were pushed into the water? Did you see it?" asked Marquis Jing'an.

"Pfft!" The First Madam covered her mouth and chuckled. "My lord, look at what you're saying. My sister was just standing there watching the fish. If she saw someone push her, she'd be a monster if she had eyes in the back of her head."

“I didn’t see it, but I just know,” Jiang Yihuan said. “The water in this lake is so deep; I almost died just now.”

“My lord, you saw it. I told you long ago we shouldn’t have saved them. They’re ungrateful wretches,” Jiang Jing said.

"You fell into the water because the fence was broken. Second Madam, you are now in charge of the household affairs, and these matters should be your responsibility. Now that something has happened, you haven't even figured out the facts before accusing the guests. I don't think you have the ability to manage the household affairs at all; this should be handed back to the First Madam."