Binding Spring Love

After Jiang Xingjian and Lord Sun returned to the mansion, someone from the gatehouse should have come to greet them, but he waited for a long time after getting off the carriage before the servants who were supposed to welcome and guide him were nowhere to be seen.

"Ahem, Lord Sun and Madam Sun, please come with me."

The couple exchanged a glance, and Madam Sun clutched the handkerchief in her hand, her heart filled with worry.

Recently, many rumors have been circulating in the capital about the Marquis's mansion. If they were just anecdotes and jokes spread by people with ulterior motives, that would be one thing. But even some of the secrets of the Marquis's mansion are being told in great detail, making people wonder if the mansion is really in such dire straits that the foundation is exhausted and the internal affairs cannot be maintained, as the rumors suggest.

If that's the case, she definitely can't let Xiuxiu marry into the Marquis's mansion.

"Madam Sun, please have a seat. I will be right back."

Jiang Xingjian left the main hall where guests were being received with a sullen face, but after searching for a long time, he still couldn't find a single servant or old woman.

Having finally encountered a hasty, rough-looking old woman, Jiang Xingjian's face was already clouded with gloom.

"What happened? Where are the gatekeeper and the servants on duty?"

The old woman hurriedly said, "My lord, everyone is busy."

"Nonsense! What could be more important than entertaining guests? Go and call the servants from the tea room. Also, send someone to inform Madam and Second Master that Second Master should come to the outer courtyard to find me, and that Madam should prepare to entertain Madam Sun."

Suppressing his anger, Jiang Xingjian, despite his exhaustion, went out to entertain guests.

After exchanging pleasantries with the Sun couple for a long time, Jiang Yan did not see even half a figure of the maid who was supposed to serve tea until she arrived.

Lady Sun looked at Lord Sun and finally sighed.

It seems that what's being said outside isn't entirely unfounded.

"Greetings, Lord Sun and Madam Sun."

Jiang Yan greeted the two as soon as he entered, but when he saw Jiang Xingjian, his gaze was extremely complicated, and the subtle emotions in it puzzled Jiang Xingjian.

"Young Master Jiang is a man of exceptional talent and appearance; such a man is truly rare."

Madam Sun thought highly of Jiang Yan. Not only did he appear gentle and refined, but he also acted with propriety and propriety. Even now, no excessive rumors had been heard coming from his room.

"This servant apologizes to the Marquis; this servant deserves to die a thousand deaths."

Before Madam Sun could even glance at Jiang Yan a few more times, a young maid of eleven or twelve years old rushed in from outside the door. She only managed to say one sentence before kneeling down on the ground, cowering and not daring to get up.

Jiang Xingjian's expression was cold and stern, his thin lips pressed into a straight line. If there hadn't been other guests present, he would have definitely lost his temper.

Seeing that he remained silent, Jiang Yan said, "Go and pour tea for the guests."

The young maidservant hurriedly got up and staggered out.

Madam Sun sighed and shook her head in disappointment at Lord Sun.

"I have come today to tell you, my lord, that my daughter is not worthy of your family. The marriage we discussed earlier is off, and we will have no further dealings with each other in our future marriages."

Jiang Xingjian frowned, about to speak, when Jiang Yan interrupted him, saying, "It is because I am unworthy of your esteemed young lady that I am unworthy of your talent. Lord Sun, you have been so kind in protecting my reputation. I am truly ashamed to accept such praise."

Seeing this, Madam Sun felt even more remorseful and glared at Jiang Xingjian with hatred in her eyes.

"..."

Jiang Xingjian was completely bewildered. Just as he was about to try to salvage the marriage between the two families, he heard Madam Sun say, "Young Master Jiang is a man of refined taste and has a limitless future. It is my daughter who is unfortunate..."

After Madam Sun finished speaking, she pulled Lord Sun away quickly, as if the Marquis's residence were some kind of filthy place.

Jiang Xingjian frowned deeply as he looked at Jiang Yan and asked, "Why did you so easily cancel the marriage with the Sun family?"

Jiang Yan lowered his eyes, but his mind kept flashing back to the secrets of the inner quarters that he had heard in the past few days.

After a long while, he lowered his eyes and composed himself: "Why don't you ask Concubine Lin in the room, my lord?"

After saying this, Jiang Yan bowed and left.

Upon hearing Lin Jiayue's name, Jiang Xingjian felt a metallic taste in his throat and a tightness in his chest. Having not rested for a whole month, he only wanted to find a peaceful place to rest for a while after returning to the Marquis's residence, but even such a small thing had become a luxury.

"Someone come here."

The Marquis's mansion was eerily quiet. The throngs of maids, servants, and young men who used to attend to him were all gone.

Jiang Xingjian suppressed his anger and said to Song Yan beside him, "Are all the stewards of the outer courtyard dead? Go, tell them to all go to the small study and wait for me."

After he finished giving his instructions, he strode into the inner courtyard of the Marquis's residence.

However, the inner courtyard was not much better than the outer courtyard. It wasn't until they reached the entrance of Lan Courtyard that Jiang Xingjian saw two old women sitting in the veranda chatting and laughing.

"Madam has been ill for many days because of Aunt Lin. She seems to be useless. We will have to rely on Aunt Lin in the future."

Another old woman scoffed, "In all our years in the Marquis's mansion, have we ever seen such a way of managing a household? Though we are well-off, it's a real hardship for the ancestors of the Marquis's family. If the Jiang family ancestors were alive, knowing such a scourge had been created, they would probably come up from below and strangle... the Marquis!"

Before the old woman could finish speaking, she was so frightened that she tumbled off the veranda with a thud and landed right in front of Jiang Xingjian.

Jiang Xingjian was furious and shouted, "What happened? I've only been away from the manor for a little over a month, and the Marquis's residence is in such chaos? What about the lady's serious illness that you two mentioned?"

The old woman knelt on the ground, trembling, and said, "My lord, it was...it was a few days ago that the eldest mistress stopped Concubine Lin from selling off the servants. As a result, Concubine Lin produced the madam's ivory tablet. Because of the pressure of filial piety, the madam dared not say anything, and in a fit of anger, she fell ill."

"Selling out servants? Since the founding of our manor, there has never been a precedent for selling out servants. Who did she sell out?"

"Sold off...nearly a hundred were sold off, and this old servant doesn't know who they are. The only name on the list is Concubine Lin..."

Jiang Xingjian's vision went black, and Song Yan quickly stepped forward to help him up.

No wonder, no wonder he acted so strangely towards Lord Yu and Lord Sun after court today. Yu Shiquan's words were frivolous and extremely disrespectful.

Nearly a hundred servants were sold off...

Jiang Xingjian didn't even dare to imagine what the consequences would be.

He calmed himself down and, with great difficulty, made his way to the main courtyard of Lanting.

When Song Wan heard from a servant that Jiang Xingjian had returned to the mansion, she had Hengzhi bring the prepared melon stalks to be boiled early in the morning.

The stem of the melon is bitter and cold in nature, and slightly toxic.

"Miss, the Marquis has walked outside the courtyard and is about to head to Longxiangzhai."

Song Wan calmly blew on the water from the melon stalk in her teacup and slowly drank it down.

Jiang Xingjian pushed open the door of Longxiangzhai and saw Song Wan dressed in plain clothes, her fair face without any makeup, so pure that it evoked pity.

But now her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, her lips were pale, and she looked sickly.

A thousand words surged from the tip of his tongue, but Jiang Xingjian suppressed them.

"I heard from the servants that you were ill? Are you feeling any better?"

Song Wan nodded with a pale face, looking as if she was very uncomfortable.

Jiang Xingjian's thin lips parted slightly. He wanted to ask Song Wan how the power to manage the household had fallen into Lin Jiayue's hands again, and he also wanted to ask why her mother had given the ivory token to Lin Jiayue. He also wanted to ask if she knew about the sale of servants in the mansion, but looking at Song Wan's expression, he couldn't ask her a single question.

After a long while, Jiang Xingjian said, "Do you have a place here where I can rest for a moment?"

Song Wan looked up in confusion, seemingly never expecting Jiang Xingjian to say such a thing.

She pondered for a moment, then nodded and pointed to the daybed in the room, indicating to Hengzhi to tidy it up for Jiang Xingjian to rest on.

He had a maid in the room fetch him hot water, and after washing his face, Jiang Xingjian lay down and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Song Wan sat on the embroidered stool, suppressing her discomfort and slight annoyance.