Binding Spring Love

Lin Jiayue's movements were so abrupt that everyone in the room was stunned and stood frozen in place.

When Aunt Zhou realized what was happening, she subtly covered her lips.

Thinking that she wasn't the only victim harmed by that troublemaker, Aunt Zhou's pain was inexplicably relieved.

After the old Marquis passed away, Aunt Zheng, like Aunt Zhou, began to live a secluded life. Now, being treated like this by Lin Jiayue, she was stunned and blinked blankly.

"What are you doing?"

The first to speak was the little maid with the silver hairpin in her hair.

The young maidservant frowned, staring at Lin Jiayue with her big, round eyes, puzzled: "Why did you tear up my betrothal letter?"

"I'm saving you, are you stupid?"

Lin Jiayue threw the marriage certificate on the ground and angrily scolded Song Wan: "What are you thinking? Is it fun to harm a young girl? She's only a teenager, why should she be a concubine for a ten-year-old boy?"

"You're ruining her life before it even begins? Are you even human?"

Song Wan raised an eyebrow, wondering why Lin Jiayue had suddenly gone mad again.

"Get out of my way."

Lin Jiayue felt her shoulder being gripped tightly and suddenly pushed aside.

Aunt Zheng, holding onto the rickety hairpin in her hair, her face contorted with rage, said, "What does it have to do with you that I'm taking a concubine for the Fourth Master? Besides, Xiangmei is already one of my servants. What are you doing, acting so crazy? Do you think your slutty body is itching to serve the Fourth Master? Bah! You lowly thing, don't you even know if our Fourth Master would even look at you?"

Aunt Zhou, who had been teary-eyed, saw that Aunt Zheng was just as shrewish and unpleasant as she had been when she was young, and the last bit of resentment in her heart disappeared.

If the timing weren't so bad, she would have loved to clap and cheer, and let Aunt Zheng hurl a few more nasty insults at her.

"You want to stop the Third Miss's marriage, and you want to stop the Fourth Master from taking a concubine? Don't you even know your place? How dare you mess with me, Zheng Rujuan? This Chengyang Marquis's mansion and the First Mistress's Lan Courtyard are not places for you to point fingers and act like a tyrant!"

After saying that, Aunt Zheng pulled out the silver hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into Lin Jiayue's arm.

Lin Jiayue cried out, her eyes reddening with pain.

"Enough! What do you think this place is? A place where you can act like this?"

Granny Zhao burst out with a shout, and Aunt Zheng let out a soft moan and fell to the ground, clutching her chest and looking at Song Wan with teary eyes.

Song Wan felt that her head had been hurting ever since Jiang Xingjian returned to the manor, and it had never gotten better.

Song Wan glanced at Aunt Zheng silently, her ears burning.

In all her life, this was the first time she had ever seen someone hurl such foul language and act so skillfully in a tantrum.

It's really... I don't know what to do.

After a moment of silence, Song Wan turned to the equally flustered maid who didn't know where to look and asked, "Would you be willing to be taken into the Fourth Master's household as a concubine?"

The young maid knelt on the ground and said loudly, "Madam, this servant is willing."

For a servant, being taken in by her master is the best way out. She goes from being a slave to becoming half a master. If she gives birth to a son or daughter in the future, her life will be complete. Even when she meets her parents in the future, she will only be praised. Only a fool would not want that.

Not to mention that the sooner she was promoted to concubine, the sooner she could receive a month's salary.

Xiangmei answered loudly, showing no sign of being forced or unwilling; on the contrary, she seemed eager to immediately establish her status as a concubine.

Lin Jiayue was furious at her lack of assertiveness and shouted that she disagreed.

"It's not up to you whether you agree or not, and you don't have the final say in this mansion."

Aunt Zheng spat, and when she turned to look at Song Wan, she was once again looking sickly, clutching her chest.

Song Wan rubbed her forehead and shielded Zheng Yiniang's view with her hand: "Since Zheng Yiniang and Xiangmei are both willing, the matter is settled. You can go back now."

"Don't leave."

Lin Jiayue stretched out her arm, blocking the crowd: "No one is allowed to leave today. I can't stand by and watch you do such a heinous thing."

Blood gushed from the arm where she had been stabbed by the silver hairpin. Summer had already dressed lightly, and now the blood was dripping onto the ground. Song Wan looked at the bright red blood on the ground and gestured for Xiangcao to help bandage her arm.

"In any case, we must wait for the Marquis to return to the manor today. I want to ask him whether he agrees to you letting a young girl become that so-called Fourth Master's concubine!"

Lin Jiayue pushed away Xiangcao, who had taken the medicine, and stood firmly in front of everyone.

Song Wan was so angry that her forehead throbbed, but she couldn't do anything about it.

She was really bad at dealing with this kind of unruly, unreasonable person.

"Fine, since she's willing to wait, let's wait for the Marquis to return to the manor."

Sitting back down at her desk, Song Wan picked up a notebook and started reading, but no matter what she did, she couldn't concentrate. Even the silence of everyone in the room annoyed her.

Aunt Zheng pulled Xiangmei to sit on the embroidered stool, while Lin Jiayue leaned against the door with her arms crossed. Aunt Zhou, preoccupied with something, was pulled by Jiang Jing four or five times to signal that she should leave first, but she refused each time.

The standoff continued until Jiang Xingjian returned to his residence after finishing his duties at the Shanglin Garden Supervisory Office. As soon as he got out of his sedan chair, he was urged by an old woman to come to the Lan Courtyard.

"What happened?"

As soon as Jiang Xingjian entered, he saw Song Wan looking relieved. Before he could savor the anticipation she felt for his arrival, Lin Jiayue rushed over.

"You're back just in time. I have something to tell you."

Upon hearing Lin Jiayue's voice, Jiang Xingjian's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"They've all gone mad, making a teenage girl serve as a concubine for a ten-year-old boy. Don't you think that's outrageous?"

Jiang Xingjian pressed his temples: "What's the problem?"

"What's the problem? It's a huge problem!"

Lin Jiayue would point at Song Wan and say she was aiding and abetting evil, then she would curse Aunt Zheng for harming the servants, then she would turn around and point at Xiang Mei and say she was blinded by greed, and then she would start cursing Jiang Ang for being so young yet so lustful and indulging in debauchery.

As soon as she finished speaking, Song Wan stood up, Aunt Zheng rushed forward to tear Lin Jiayue's mouth apart, and Jiang Xingjian slammed his hand on the table.

The loud noise made Lin Jiayue shut up abruptly, looking at him with utter confusion.

"If these words get out today, Jiang Ang will be branded as a lustful man for the rest of his life. You spoke recklessly, but Jiang Ang's future will be ruined. Couldn't you have thought before you spoke?"

The sternness of the voice startled everyone.

Song Wan had never seen Jiang Xingjian with bulging veins and bloodshot eyes before.

The Jiang Xingjian she knew had always been gentle, polite, and refined; he had never lost his composure like this before.

Song Wan lowered her eyes and remained silent, a pang of bitterness rising in her heart.

Perhaps she and Jiang Xingjian never truly knew each other.

Lin Jiayue continued to pester him, repeatedly accusing the Marquis's mansion of mistreating its servants, which drew disgusted looks from all the masters and servants in the Lan Courtyard.

Jiang Xingjian had a splitting headache.

The reputation of the Marquis of Chengyang's mansion is already infamous. If Lin Jiayue continues to act recklessly, the mansion may become a living hell of rape, kidnapping, and all sorts of evil deeds by tomorrow.

"Wan'er, tell her why you arranged a concubine for Jiang Ang."

Jiang Xingjian was defeated and had no choice but to ask Song Wan for help.

Song Wan lowered her eyes to hide the disgust in them, utterly disappointed in Jiang Xingjian and the entire Chengyang Marquis's mansion.