Binding Spring Love

"What happened?"

Song Wan frowned, a chill running through her.

Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, which all the princes will attend. If chaos breaks out, something big must have happened.

Song Wan looked anxiously at Lin Jiayue, but only heard her say, "I have a maid in my room named Qinghong, she..."

Lin Jiayue slowly raised her eyes to look at Hengzhi and Hengwu, and felt a pang of sadness in her heart.

She considered herself quite good to Qianbi and Qinghong, but compared to Hengzhi and Hengwu beside Song Wan, she was far inferior.

Neither of those two girls sided with their own side.

"She's always been lazy and shirking her duties. Today, during the festival, her brother, whom she was serving in the outer courtyard, went out to see the lanterns, and she got restless. I was annoyed by her anxious and hurried appearance, so I let her go out and play by herself. But who knew that after only a little while, she ran back and said that someone had died outside."

"Her brother said that a fire broke out at the Dengtianlou building for some reason, and then a stampede occurred. He arrived late and was unable to get close enough to see, which is why he survived."

Ascend the Heavenly Tower!

Song Wan suddenly stood up.

The lamps of Qianbai are lit today, surely atop the Tower of Ascension.

"Thank you for telling me this."

Taking out her outer robe and putting it on, Song Wan said, "I'm going to find Jiang Xingjian. Should I take you back to Xiuyan Pavilion?"

"I can go back by myself."

Lin Jiayue looked at Song Wan, who had a calm expression, and suddenly her voice choked with emotion: "You accidentally ate something today. He must have done it on purpose to protect you, so he knew beforehand no matter what happened."

Song Wan said, "I know."

"Do you know that he was originally going to take me to see the lanterns today? He even gave me a set of clothes that were so green they made me feel uneasy."

Lin Jiayue cried and laughed at the same time: "It's the kind of green that you can see at a glance even at night."

Song Wan pursed her lips: "What do you want?"

Reaching into her bosom, Lin Jiayue pulled out a dagger. Upon seeing this, Hengzhi and Hengwu immediately shielded Song Wan behind them.

"Giving you this thing is a consequence he deserves."

With red eyes, Lin Jiayue handed the dagger to Song Wan and said, "This is for your self-defense. If you can, stab him a couple more times for me."

"you……"

Taking the dagger, Song Wan suddenly felt a pang of pity: "Do you know that he is related to Huaisu...?"

"I know."

She lived in the same courtyard as Huaisu, so how could she not know what had happened between them? It's just that she had been deceiving herself and refusing to believe it before, and now she no longer cared.

Lin Jiayue tied her hair up and turned to climb out of the window again. Song Wan hesitated for a moment, then said, "If you want to leave the Marquis's mansion, I can help you regain your status as a free person."

"No need."

She lay sprawled awkwardly on the embroidered couch, just as she had been in since entering the Marquis's mansion.

"I can't leave, and I can't leave."

"Here lie the sins I committed, and the debts others owe me. My sins remain unpaid, and my karma remains unfulfilled. I cannot leave, nor will I leave."

After Lin Jiayue left, Song Wan, holding a dagger, said to Hengzhi and Hengwu, "Go change your clothes. I'm going to ask Jiang Xingjian what he did to Qianbai."

The three servants, master and servant, carried lanterns and walked out of the Lan Courtyard.

As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard gate, an old woman stopped them and asked what they wanted. Without saying a word, Hengwu smacked the old woman on the head with a stick.

"Ouch..."

"Get out of my way, don't block my young lady's path."

"Someone's being hit! Help!"

The old woman shouted loudly, but Song Wan said, "You don't need to waste your energy. I have something to say to Jiang Xingjian. You can't stop me."

She took a step forward, and the old woman tried to grab her leg, but Hengzhi kicked her away.

"You should all step back. If you dare not hurt me, why should you take the beating for nothing?"

After finishing her sentence, Song Wan strode towards Jiang Xingjian's study.

The group of old women looked at each other and stopped.

They certainly didn't dare to really hurt Song Wan.

The Marquis only said that the lady was not allowed to leave the Lan Courtyard, but he did not say how to stop her. If the lady was injured, they would be in deep trouble.

No one dared to make a move and could only watch Song Wan leave.

Upon arriving at Jiang Xingjian's study, Song Wan gently pushed open the door.

Inside the room, Jiang Xingjian was shirtless, his body covered in plasters for bone healing. When he saw her come in, he hurriedly reached for his clothes, but as soon as he moved, he winced in pain.

The Fifth Prince slept on the inner couch, his legs bound with wooden strips. Song Wan glanced past Shen Qianshu and said coldly, "What did you do to Qianbai?"

Jiang Xingjian pursed his lips and remained silent.

"How is Qianbai now?"

"I have no idea."

Jiang Xingjian said, "There was great chaos outside today. The First Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fifth Prince were all seriously injured. I don't know the current condition of the Third Prince."

Who was responsible for the Crown Prince's injury?

"I don't know."

Song Wan lowered her eyes: "I've always known that there will inevitably be a contest between the three princes, but what's laughable is that I've always regarded you as an upright gentleman, yet you've become increasingly despicable in your actions."

"Even setting aside the outrageous things you've done in the manor, just consider today: how could you so cruelly harm Qianbai?"

"He's not even ten years old!"

Jiang Xingjian gritted his teeth, his tone anxious: "What about Shu'er? Do you think your Song family is so upright? Didn't Song Yunning still have someone jump off the platform with Shu'er in her arms? If it weren't for me today, Shu'er would have been trampled into a pile of minced meat. How can you not say that Shu'er is not even six years old yet?"

Song Wan's face was icy: "My aunt and Consort Jiang had no choice but to compete. Consort Jiang suppressed me in her quest for the throne. Have I ever held a grudge against you for that? Have I ever harbored any disgust towards the Fifth Prince?"

"Husband and wife are one, even if there are disputes among the three or five, I have always kept the Marquis's mansion in my heart, but how has your Chengyang Marquis's mansion acted?"

"I don't care how Consort Jiang and my aunt fight, but Jiang Xingjian, you should know that the day you lay a hand on Qianbai will be the day our friendship ends."

Song Wan threw the white jade plum blossom hairpin in front of Jiang Xingjian and turned to leave.

The jade hairpin snapped with a crisp sound, and Jiang Xingjian suddenly panicked as he watched Song Wan's resolute back.

"Wan'er..."

However, just as he stood up, Jiang Xingjian suddenly fell forward due to a sharp pain, and Song Wan was caught in his arms before she could dodge.

Jiang Xingjian was about to explain when he let out a muffled groan.

"you……"

Song Wan gripped the dagger in her hand, a hint of panic in her eyes.

Despite her fear, her hand remained extremely steady and firm. As Jiang Xingjian looked down at his abdomen, she showed no mercy and plunged the entire dagger deep into his stomach.

"You want me dead? You hate me that much?"

Jiang Xingjian's eyes were bloodshot, filled with disbelief.

His wife, the little girl he grew up with, wished he were dead.

Warm blood dripped onto the ground from the dagger. Song Wansong hurriedly stepped back, and Hengzhi and Hengwu quickly helped her up. The three of them, master and servant, stood in the corner, quietly watching Jiang Xingjian lying on the ground with a sharp look in his eyes.

"Jiang Xingjian, our relationship is now severed. I only wish never to see you again in this life."

She was leaving the Marquis's mansion; she would never forgive anyone who had hurt her aunt and brother.

"Someone come here."

Jiang Xingjian shouted, and Song Yan rushed in. When she saw her master lying in a pool of blood, she was almost scared out of her wits.

Jiang Xingjian gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice, "Stop the madam. We must not let her leave the Marquis's residence even a step."