Binding Spring Love

If she had known Jiang Xingjian was so understanding and sensible, why would she have drunk that melon stalk water and endured the nausea and vomiting in her stomach?

Song Wan covered her lips and glanced at Jiang Xingjian lying on the couch.

"Miss……"

Hengzhi stepped forward worriedly, but Song Wan waved her hand to indicate that it was nothing, and opened "The Eight Formations of Ancient Methods" to study it carefully.

Lin Jiayue was overjoyed to receive the news of Jiang Xingjian's return to the manor. She hadn't seen him for a whole month and had been missing him terribly. Even when the old woman reported that the Marquis had returned in a rage, she didn't take it to heart.

"He's probably upset about the Bureau of Animal Husbandry. Be careful not to upset him any further."

Looking in the bronze mirror, Lin Jiayue changed into a white silk dress with butterflies and flowers that made her appear even more youthful and delicate. She smiled and asked, "Where is the Marquis?"

"I heard from the servants that the Marquis went to the eldest mistress's place as soon as he returned. I saw that Cuiwei in the main courtyard was boiling water in the kitchen, so she must be resting now."

"Did he go to see Song Wan?"

Lin Jiayue clenched her fists and stormed into Longxiangzhai with a grim expression.

Inside the room, Song Wan was sitting at her desk reading, while Jiang Xingjian was lying on the couch catching up on sleep. Seeing that the two were quite far apart, Lin Jiayue suppressed her anger and walked over to his side.

She crouched down and gently nudged him a few times: "Jiang Yi? Wake up."

After kneeling at the Marquis of Jinxiang's residence for over ten days, and then guarding the poultry shed with the plague doctor from the Imperial Garden for over ten days, Jiang Xingjian felt as if he had lost most of his soul. He was only slowly brought back to his senses after being pushed and shoved by Lin Jiayue for a long time.

The sunlight inside was so bright that he squinted slightly. "A-Wan?"

The gentle smile on her face almost crumbled; Lin Jiayue pursed her lips tightly, but could only force a smile and say, "My lord, I am Yue'er."

"Are you tired? Why are you sleeping here? You're causing trouble for others."

As she spoke, she reached out to help him up.

Upon recognizing Lin Jiayue, Jiang Xingjian sat silently on the couch, half-bent over, pressing his forehead without uttering a sound for a long time.

Song Wan put down her book and said to Hengzhi and Hengwu, "The Marquis is not feeling well. Please help Aunt Lin escort the Marquis back to Xiuyan Pavilion."

Jiang Xingjian raised his head, his eyes unreadable.

"My lord, this servant will see you off..."

"No need."

Jiang Xingjian turned and left, and Lin Jiayue got up and followed him, but felt a little uneasy.

Upon entering the Embroidered Smoke Pavilion, Jiang Xingjian coldly said, "You may all leave."

Lin Jiayue chuckled awkwardly, "What's wrong? Didn't you get enough rest?"

Jiang Xingjian said, "Has no one told you that the Marquis's mansion has never sold off its servants in its hundred-year history? Don't you know what the consequences of selling off servants would be?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Xingjian sneered: "You don't know anything, you know nothing, but you dare to do anything."

"When I left, I didn't hand over the reins of the household management to you. Don't you understand what that means?"

"Since you entered the Marquis's mansion, how much trouble have you caused? You still haven't learned your lesson! I've only been away for a little over a month, and you've already stirred up this enormous disaster again. Can't you just behave yourself for once?"

Lin Jiayue's face turned ashen: "You want me to behave? If I behave, who will run the ice shop and rouge shop for the Marquis's mansion?"

That's enough.

Jiang Xingjian's eyes turned cold: "If you value this shop so much, I'll return it to you today. What do you say?"

"What do you mean?"

Lin Jiayue's eyes reddened, and tears instantly streamed down her face.

"I followed you all the way to the Marquis's mansion, willing to be your concubine. I tried every means to help the Marquis's mansion open shops and make money, even selling off servants because I saw the Marquis's mansion struggling to survive..."

"I've always thought of you first, and now you repay me with this? Jiang Xingjian, do you have no heart at all?"

Jiang Xingjian remained silent, his mind in turmoil.

"From now on, you should no longer concern yourself with the affairs of the Marquis's mansion. Instead, focus on thinking about the firearms formula in the inner quarters."

He had long since given up on talking to or teaching Lin Jiayue.

Even though he carefully advised her to be cautious and to think more about the thousands of people in the Marquis's mansion, in Lin Jiayue's heart, the most important person in the world was herself. As for whether others lived or died, she didn't care at all, let alone the reputation of the Marquis's mansion or any future.

"Give me the list of servants who are to be sold, and I will try to find them."

Lin Jiayue was puzzled as to why he had made such a scene today, and even more confused as to why the Marquis's mansion was keeping so many useless people for no reason. He was being dragged down by them, yet he was still stubbornly clinging to the airs of a wealthy family; it was truly laughable.

Lin Jiayue sat on the bed, silently shedding tears, as she angrily handed Jiang Xingjian the list of servants to be sold.

Jiang Xingjian still spoke coldly: "Mother's ivory token."

"Here you go."

With a thud, he threw it on the ground. Veins bulged on Jiang Xingjian's forehead, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to walk out.

After asking the servants, Jiang Xingjian learned that his mother was at Fuhe Hall, so he hurried over.

As soon as he entered Fuhe Hall, before he could even question Jiang's mother about why she had handed over the power to manage the household to Lin Jiayue, he heard Jiang's mother crying, "Yi'er, you're finally back."

Madam Jiang, who was lying in bed, hurriedly raised her head upon hearing this.

"Good child, come here and let Grandma take a look."

Jiang Xingjian stepped forward to help Old Madam Jiang, swallowing all the words he wanted to say.

"Is Grandmother feeling better?"

Madam Jiang nodded: "It's all thanks to your mother who stayed by my side day and night without taking off her clothes that I was able to wake up. Otherwise, I'm afraid I might not have made it this time..."

"Pah, pah, pah! What are you saying, old lady?"

Jiang's mother pressed a handkerchief to the corner of her eye. Her face was sallow, her eyes were dark, and her cheeks were much thinner, clearly indicating that she had suffered some pain.

Old Madam Jiang smiled wearily and asked, "How has the manor been lately? Has anything happened? Did you listen to me and send Concubine Lin back to Xiuyan Pavilion at the grand banquet the other day?"

Jiang's mother gave an awkward smile and turned her gaze away, not daring to look at her.

Jiang Xingjian said, "I came here as Grandmother instructed. Everything in the mansion is normal, and Wan'er has managed it very well."

"Wan'er is a good child, and I am at ease entrusting the Marquis's mansion to her. Yi'er, no matter how much you love Aunt Lin, you must never be separated from Wan'er. A virtuous wife benefits three generations. Wan'er is intelligent and resolute, and she will surely help you protect the Marquis's mansion for a hundred years to come."

Jiang Xingjian lowered his eyes: "Yi'er knows."

"After this ordeal, my health is much worse than before. My grandmother only hopes... to see my great-grandson born before that."

"Grandmother is in good health and will surely be fine. Don't talk nonsense."

Madam Jiang chuckled, "So you dare to tease your grandmother now."

The old lady was not fully recovered and felt exhausted after saying a few words. Seeing this, Jiang's mother went forward and got a soft pillow to help the old lady find a more comfortable position.

After Old Madam Jiang went to sleep, Jiang Xingjian pulled his mother out of the bedroom. He was about to tell her about the recent chaos in the mansion when he saw his mother tapping her leg with a dejected expression.

Taking care of someone who is ill is already a very tiring task, let alone when Jiang's mother is old.

Jiang Xingjian's thin lips opened and closed, and he finally said, "Mother has gone back to the hospital to rest. I will stay with Grandmother today."

"No, how can I let you work so hard? You've just finished your business, go back to the courtyard and rest. Your mother is here with the old lady, you don't need to worry about her at all."

"..."

Jiang Xingjian exhaled heavily, and finally nodded numbly.

After walking around the mansion for a long time, he finally suppressed his frustration and went to Lan Courtyard.

With such a major blunder occurring in the inner quarters of the Marquis's mansion, no one but Song Wan can reverse the current decline. Moreover, the Marquis's reputation in the capital is in jeopardy, and only she has the ability to handle the matter of selling off servants flawlessly.