Binding Spring Love

There are many taverns in the capital, but Jiang Yan and Xiao Jiyue prefer to find a small boat and sail on the river.

"Try it."

Xiao Jiyue casually tossed a flask of wine to Xiao Jiyue and said, "This is good stuff; you may not have tasted it before."

Jiang Yan sneered and opened the bamboo plug.

The wine in the pot was clear and honey-colored, with a fragrant aroma that made one feel intoxicated even before taking a sip. Jiang Yan smiled and filled a wine cup.

"Tsk."

Xiao Jiyue raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone tinged with sarcasm: "You seem to be in a good mood, perhaps because you've heard the rumors circulating in the capital?"

"I've heard that your elder brother, the Marquis, has neglected his wife, and the two haven't even consummated their marriage yet..."

Thinking back to that fleeting glimpse, Xiao Jiyue shook his head and laughed freely: "What a waste of talent."

Jiang Yan's expression turned cold upon hearing this: "She is not someone you can casually tease or make fun of."

"You cherish her like a treasure, but she is discarded like trash. How interesting things are in this world."

He grabbed the wine jug from the table and downed it in one gulp. The honey-colored liquid slid down his throat, and Xiao Jiyue wiped it away with a flourish, his movements both elegant and carefree. Jiang Yan watched, suddenly filled with envy, admiring the other's unrestrained and carefree nature, his complete disregard for worldly concerns.

"but……"

Despite his attempts to restrain himself, Xiao Jiyue couldn't hold back any longer. He bent down slightly, his expression arrogant: "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Xiao Jiyue scoffed, "Why bother putting on that hypocritical gentlemanly act in front of me? I'm not your sister-in-law, who likes to look at these kinds of things."

Jiang Yan tightened his grip on the wine cup slightly, and the look in his eyes gradually shifted from clear and gentle to sinister.

"Only then do I find it pleasing to the eye."

Jiang Yan wanted to lash out, but ultimately suppressed it.

When he first heard about his brother's affairs in the bedroom, he wasn't entirely unmoved. But compared to getting that person, he was more afraid of being looked at with disgust and hatred.

Jiang Yan lowered his eyes, feeling powerless, and the strength in his hands slowly dissipated.

She would never tolerate his intentions.

The mellow wine flowed down his throat, followed by a refreshing, sweet, and mellow aroma. This taste stirred his base thoughts and sorrowful bitterness, making them feel obscure, bitter, and piercing.

Seeing his dejected appearance, Xiao Jiyue suddenly became curious about what kind of charm that woman possessed that could bewitch Jiang Yan so much.

Leaning back slightly, Xiao Jiye grinned, his eyes full of mockery. He would never be as foolish as Jiang Yan, handing over his joys and sorrows to someone else.

"Last time you used my name to seize shops in the capital on a large scale, do you know how much money you caused me to lose?"

Jiang Yan said indifferently, "When that batch of goods from Srivijaya comes back, I'll give you 10% of it."

"Very generous."

Seeing that the wine they had brought was finished, Xiao Jiyue brought out another jar, and the two drank heartily for a while. Xiao Jiyue then asked, "Who exactly is this woman who has turned the Marquis's mansion upside down? How could she make the Marquis of Chengyang keep his beautiful wife by his side and refuse to enter the mansion?"

Jiang Yan frowned slightly: "Just some ordinary women."

He couldn't even recall what the person looked like.

"Besides your sister-in-law, which woman doesn't seem ordinary and unremarkable to you?"

Xiao Jiyue smiled wickedly, and Jiang Yan gave him a slightly warning look.

"With your abilities, dealing with that idiot would be easy; why would you need to borrow my life?"

"..."

Jiang Yan lowered his eyes and said sneer, "What do you know?"

How could someone who lives a life of constant danger understand the charms of women, let alone matters between men and women?

Taking a sip of strong liquor, Jiang Yan smiled bitterly: "Even if I had a thousand methods, what could I do? Did I intend to eliminate her and watch those two live happily ever after?"

"So you're just going to let that concubine dominate your sister-in-law?"

Xiao Jiyue was puzzled. If she were his woman, he would never allow anyone to bully or humiliate her in the slightest. Jiang Yan's subtle thoughts were truly unfathomable.

"She is nothing but a concubine of lowly birth. As long as she cannot give birth to a son of a commoner in the Marquis's household, she is nothing."

Jiang Yan downed the wine in his bowl in one gulp, his expression gentle: "She is a crystal-clear person, utterly pure, and would never stoop to any dirty tricks. What she disdains and is unwilling to do, I will do for her; what she desires and wishes, I will also fulfill for her."

"She wanted to close the shop early and make a fortune off that foolish woman, so I helped her inflate the prices of all the shops in the capital. She wanted me to marry a daughter of the Sun family, so I did. She didn't want to help the Marquis's family anymore, so I forced the Sun family to break off the engagement."

"Song Fu was having a hard time in the Ministry of Personnel, and she felt sorry for him, so I gave away all my personal wealth to help him get promoted."

"I have countless methods, but I have no desire to separate Jiang Xingjian from that foolish woman."

Jiang Yan lowered his eyes: "I wish those two to be together forever in this life. I long for them to be harmonious and inseparable every day."

"But I don't want to see her suffer alone for the rest of her life, I..."

You're drunk.

Xiao Jiyue interrupted Jiang Yan calmly, saying that jokes are fine, but it wouldn't be good to talk about it too deeply.

Jiang Yan felt a bitter taste in his mouth, but he just smiled and drank another bowl of strong liquor.

The two put aside their personal matters and discussed future business. By the time the boat drifted downstream, it was past 7 PM. A servant from the Marquis's mansion was anxiously waiting on the shore. As soon as Jiang Yan disembarked, the servant beside him said, "Second Master, you're finally back. Something has happened at the mansion."

"What is it?"

The servant said, "It's the Third Miss. The Third Miss has passed away."

Jiang Yan raised an eyebrow: "Why did it suddenly disappear?"

When Jiang Yan recounted the events of the day in detail, he merely frowned slightly, showing no sign of regret. It wasn't until the servant mentioned that the eldest mistress had been too frightened and had summoned the royal physician upon returning to the courtyard that Jiang Yan became slightly flustered.

Just as she was about to say goodbye to Xiao Jiyue, she saw him with a solemn expression, head bowed, whispering to the person beside him.

Jiang Yan only heard a vague sentence that the paralyzed man was about to die, and then saw the two walk away.

"Return to the residence."

As Jiang Yan returned to his residence by carriage, he had just entered the backyard when he saw Song Wan standing unusually not far from the hanging flower gate.

He paused for a moment, then the tips of his ears turned red.

Jiang Yan stood by the door, not daring to go forward, afraid that his smell of alcohol would offend Song Wan's nose.

"Greetings, Second Master."

Hengzhi spoke up to remind her, and Song Wan turned around.

"Has Second Master been drinking?"

Jiang Yan's ears burned even hotter, and he felt extremely annoyed. After a moment of hesitation, he bowed and said, "I did have a few drinks with a friend."

Song Wan smiled faintly, casually said that drinking is bad for your health, and then stepped aside to let him go first.

Jiang Yan pursed his lips, feeling reluctant to part with her. Seeing that her behavior today was unusual and she hadn't returned to Lan Courtyard by now, he asked, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing...?"

"I'm waiting for Hengwu. I asked her to go to Jixiang Garden to add some paper money for the Third Miss."

"..."

Jiang Yan then remembered that he had been brought back to the mansion because of this matter.

As if noticing his somewhat intoxicated appearance, Song Wan asked gently, "Are you feeling unwell?"

"It was my drinking that caused this trouble, sister-in-law. Don't worry, I promise I will never touch a drop of alcohol again."

After saying this, Jiang Yan bowed and left, returning to Yulingzhai to wash up, change clothes, and prepare for the funeral.

Seeing him leave, Song Wan said, "Judging from his actions, one can know his virtue. Second Master is a refined gentleman, and his upright and honest character is truly rare."

Thinking of this, Song Wan suddenly realized that if Jiang Xingjian had not returned and Jiang Yan had inherited the title, the Marquis's mansion would not have fallen into chaos and become like the end of the world.