Binding Spring Love

"Why aren't you apologizing to your sister-in-law yet?"

As soon as Aunt Zhou entered the room, her eyes red, she pushed Jiang Jing. Upon seeing this, Jiang Jing forced back his tears and knelt down in front of Song Wan.

The little girl cried and said, "It was Jing'er's bad temper that offended you, sister-in-law. I hope you will be magnanimous and forgive me this time."

"Yes, Madam, please don't take it to heart. A young lady's marriage is of utmost importance; if she can't find a good match, her life will be ruined. You're a magnanimous person, please don't hold a grudge against a little girl, okay?"

Aunt Zhou's legs went weak and she was about to kneel down, but Hengwu pulled her up.

Hengwu has a fiery temper, and she has been holding back her anger for the past few days. Today, when she saw Lin Jiayue walking in as if nothing had happened, swaying her hips and swaying her lap, she could no longer suppress her rage.

She raised her voice, forcing a smile, and said, "Third Miss, it's fine for you to kneel before our grandmother. Given your seniority, it's not a loss for you to kneel. But what is Aunt Zhou doing? You are, after all, half an elder to our grandmother. Are you trying to give our mistress a reputation for being mean and demanding of her father-in-law's concubines, or are you trying to secretly ruin our grandmother's fortune?"

"Miss Hengwu, you flatter me. I have no such intentions."

Aunt Zhou started crying again.

"Aunt Zhou, please stop crying. Third Sister, please get up too. I cannot accept your kneeling."

Song Wan helped the two up, and then had Lüzhu bring them handkerchiefs and brew them some calming tea.

"Does Aunt Lin have something to discuss with me?"

Lin Jiayue smiled faintly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.

She and Jiang Xingjian had been arguing fiercely these past few days, and Jiang Xingjian even moved out of Xiuyan Pavilion. It was all because she had organized a buffet, and he had given her the cold shoulder for almost half a month; she was simply furious.

She was furious, but she couldn't let Song Wan take advantage of the situation.

"Madam, you flatter me. Consort Jiang has given an imperial edict to have Jia Yue manage the Marquis's residence with you. A few days ago, Jia Yue was busy with the Huanyanzhai business, but now that Huanyanzhai is thriving, I have some free time to help you out."

"Jia Yue is a bit slow-witted, so please don't hold it against me if she does anything wrong."

Hengwu glanced at Lin Jiayue with a strange look, but didn't utter a curse. Lin Jiayue was somewhat surprised that Hengwu could restrain herself, despite her fiery temper.

"Prepare a seat for Aunt Lin."

Looking at Song Wan's indifferent and calm expression, Lin Jiayue suddenly had the feeling that this person had been waiting for her all along.

"Aunt Zhou..."

Seeing Aunt Zhou's red and swollen eyelids from crying, Song Wan's tone softened a bit: "Third sister's marriage to the Lan family is definitely off, so you don't need to be so sad. It was never agreed upon in the first place, so just pretend it never happened."

"Oh."

Lin Jiayue sneered from the side, but to her surprise, no one in the entire room paid any attention to her.

"Can't you think of another way for Jing'er, Madam? I asked Jing'er, and she didn't do anything that day. She just didn't answer when Madam Lan summoned her. You can explain it to Madam Lan properly. She's a magnanimous person and won't hold it against Jing'er."

Upon hearing this, Song Wan's expression softened considerably. She said calmly, "Then I wonder how Aunt Zhou thinks I should explain this?"

"Then say that Jing'er didn't hear it that day, or perhaps Jing'er is too young and doesn't know manners, but she has been learning proper etiquette at home recently..."

"Although the Lan family are merchants, they are of official origin. Lan Yunhe, as the uncle of the Lan family patriarch, is of a very high generation, needless to say. Do you think Madam Lan would accept a girl who only begins to learn etiquette right before her marriage as her aunt?"

"He's just a man I've never met. If the marriage falls through, so be it. We can just find someone else. My third sister is a girl, and she's not ugly. I've never seen a girl who would bring shame to the family."

"Pah!"

As soon as Lin Jiayue finished speaking, Aunt Zhou spat in her face: "Do you think all the girls in the world are as shameless as you, who would sleep with any man they meet without any betrothal or marriage proposal? If it weren't for you, you troublemaker, would my Jing'er have ended up like this?"

Aunt Zhou's eyes were bloodshot, she had cried all her tears in the past few days: "Who is that Young Master Lan? The Lan family is extremely wealthy. If my Jing'er marries into the Lan family, she will be the most senior in the entire Lan family. She has no mother-in-law or sisters-in-law. Even the Lan clan leader has to call my Jing'er 'aunt'."

"Young Master Nalan bought a five-courtyard house in Guangqumen in his early years, intending to establish his own residence after his marriage."

"Jing'er could have become a wealthy lady after marrying him, but you've ruined such a good life!"

"You only think about the Lan family's wealth, but why don't you consider what kind of person that young master Lan is? No matter how rich he is, if he has a harem of wives and concubines in the future, Jiang Jing won't be happy marrying him!"

"Pah!"

Aunt Zhou shouted, "The union of yin and yang is the way of heaven and earth. Which man in this world doesn't take a concubine? My Jing'er is the legitimate wife after marrying into the Lan family. Even if the young master of the Lan family takes a concubine, no one can surpass my Jing'er."

"I know! It must be because you were born lowly and are now a concubine that you couldn't stand seeing Jing'er as the main wife, so you viciously instigated her to lose her marriage! I'll skin you alive!"

"What's wrong with you?"

Lin Jiayue glared at Aunt Zhou, too lazy to argue with this shrew.

Song Wan sipped her tea, completely unconcerned about the farce unfolding before her.

The courtyard was noisy. A woman and a little girl stood awkwardly at the entrance, looking like they had something to say but didn't know how to start.

"Aunt Zheng".

Hengzhi called out to greet her, and Aunt Zhou immediately fell silent upon seeing Aunt Zheng, pulling Jiang Jing aside.

Aunt Zheng walked in gracefully, followed by a young maidservant wearing a silver hairpin. The maidservant was timid but very pretty.

Aunt Zhou fell silent as soon as she saw her, feeling both angry and anxious that the other woman had seen her embarrassing state.

She was once very much favored by the old Marquis. If it weren't for Concubine Zheng's schemes that stole her favor, how could she only have one daughter, Jiang Jing? The thought of Concubine Zheng having both a son and a daughter made Concubine Zhou feel a pang of bitterness in her bones.

"Greetings to Madam. I have come today to trouble you with something."

Song Wan said softly, "Please speak, Aunt Zheng."

Raising her hand to adjust the gold hairpin in her hair, Aunt Zheng laughed heartily: "It's Fourth Master. He's ten years old now, and I thought it was time to arrange someone for him in his room, so I chose a clever little maid to be Ang'er's concubine."

"According to the household rules, any concubine who is promoted must be registered in the register. I was thinking of speaking with the eldest mistress and asking when you would have time to add this girl's name to the register?"

"Once a concubine or mistress is promoted, she will receive a monthly allowance," Aunt Zheng said with a smile, handing Song Wan the birth chart of the little maid in her hand.

Song Wan was about to nod when Lin Jiayue suddenly stood up and asked in a shrill voice, "The person in the room, is it your concubine?"

She snatched the birth chart from Song Wan's hand, carefully calculated the birth time on it, and said with a livid face, "Are you out of your minds? Letting a ten-year-old child take a concubine and marry a thirteen or fourteen-year-old mistress? You're crazy, I don't agree to it."

As she spoke, Lin Jiayue tore the birth certificate in her hand to shreds.