Binding Spring Love

Back at Yanqing Palace, Jiang Man smashed the incense burner with mother-of-pearl inlay on the incense table.

"What a terrible Empress Song Yunning! The two of them have conspired to frame me in such an unjust way."

Eunuch Chang gently comforted her from the side, "Your Majesty, why be angry? The two men beside you couldn't do anything to you; they're just barely clinging to life."

"What do you know?"

Jiang Man grabbed the incense table, suppressing her anger: "What do they want to do to me? They want to ruin the reputation of the Marquis of Chengyang's mansion and Shu'er."

"Song Yunning keeps saying that Shu'er resembles his mother, which is a sarcastic remark about my limited talent, implying that I can't give birth to a son with exceptional abilities!"

"The Empress summoned Yi'er to the palace. Do you think she really intends to do anything to Yi'er? She just wants to see Yi'er make a fool of herself, to let everyone know that my Chengyang Marquis's mansion can't produce any good talents!"

Jiang Man grew angrier as she spoke, and suddenly overturned the incense table in her hands.

The struggle for the throne among the princes is a race against time. There's the eldest prince who holds the rightful place, and the Crown Prince who's barely alive but has taken the throne. Although the palace intrigues were fierce for several years, and many princes died in the wombs of concubines, Shen Qianbai's existence was like a thorn in her side.

The third prince has shown remarkable talent at a young age, and his popularity in the court is growing, with more than half of the court officials being his supporters.

The current emperor is weak-willed and lacks great talent. If his older brothers hadn't fought so fiercely back then, resulting in some of them dying or being crippled, how could he have ascended the throne?

The court officials already knew that the emperor was incompetent and that the princes had accomplished little. Therefore, since the birth of the third prince, the dynasty had placed great hopes on him.

Her son, Shu'er, is already young and doesn't have as much time to plan as her older brothers. If she doesn't compete or fight now and does nothing, by the time the Third Prince grows up and the situation is settled, she and her son will probably be even less able to compete or fight for him!

She had spent seven or eight years painstakingly trying to get Shu'er to be on par with Shen Qianbai, but unexpectedly, a lowly woman of humble origins caused chaos in the Marquis's mansion and ruined her reputation in just a few months.

Now she's even dragged Shu'er down with her.

Jiang Man was furious and deeply regretted trusting Lin Jiayue.

Has Yan Zhizhang replied?

Eunuch Chang said, "Lord Yan said that he is not knowledgeable enough to be the Fifth Prince's teacher. Your Majesty... this servant thinks that Lord Yan is just an old-fashioned Confucian scholar and is indeed not qualified to teach the Fifth Prince."

"Although he is pedantic, he is very knowledgeable. More importantly, he is upright and incorruptible. If Shu'er becomes his student, she will surely achieve great things."

Jiang Man clenched her hands slightly, her eyes sharp: "What I value is his adherence to the teacher's code and his strict teaching. If he were a smooth-talking, flattering person, I would look down on him."

"The reason for refusing now is probably because of concerns about the reputation of the Marquis's mansion and the limited talent of my son."

"The Empress and Song Yuning... Hmph."

Jiang Man sneered: "Aren't those two always opportunistic and in cahoots? I'll give them the chance to go to the Yellow Springs together and have a good talk about sisterly affection."

"It's time to get those two fellow countrymen of yours in the First Prince's residence moving."

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Chang was taken aback, then nodded.

Jiang Man shook off the broken jade bracelet and her face darkened.

Song Yuning is quick-witted and eloquent, but all she knows is spreading rumors and playing the tricks of a woman confined to the inner quarters. What can you do to her if you throw dirty water on her today and frame her for something tomorrow?

She was simply too lazy to argue with the women in the harem.

"Let those two stir things up a bit more. With the Third Prince dead, won't this empire belong to Shen Qianchi?"

The Crown Prince has been paralyzed for so many years, it was only a matter of time before he passed away. Right now, Shen Qianchi's reputation is not much different from Shu'er's. Shen Qianchi is also the eldest son of the legitimate wife and is nearly twenty years older than Shu'er. If someone were to give him a push now, he would definitely be tempted.

Who knows, that fool might get carried away and bring down that old man.

Jiang Man lightly brushed off her skirt, her eyes flashing with a cold light: "Do you really think the Marquis of Chengyang's mansion is full of fools?"

"Tell Yi'er about the affairs of the First Prince's residence. I don't want Shen Qianbai to live past this winter!"

Eunuch Chang agreed and turned to leave.

Song Wan returned to the mansion with Jiang Xingjian and Lin Jiayue. The three of them sat in the same carriage, and the atmosphere was extremely somber.

Lin Jiayue nestled in Jiang Xingjian's arms, ignoring how stiff his body was.

"Brother Xingjian, Yue'er is so scared."

Song Wan lowered her eyes, her cheeks burning, but she could only remind herself in her heart not to look at what was improper.

The carriage was already crowded, and now with another person on top of it, it felt even more cramped. Lin Jiayue, however, threw herself onto Jiang Xingjian, expressing her worries, fears, love, and gratitude word by word.

However, after just one day in the palace, Lin Jiayue seemed like a completely different person. She had been sickly earlier, but now her eyes were full of an incomprehensible vitality and fervor.

"It's all Yue'er's fault. That rouge shop will definitely have to close down. Brother Xingjian, don't worry, Yue'er has also prepared a general store..."

Jiang Xingjian pressed Lin Jiayue down and said in a deep voice, "Your body hasn't fully recovered yet, there's no need to think about these things."

"How can that be? Don't you trust Yue'er anymore? I know I was wrong, this general store would never do such a thing."

"Brother Xingjian, please give Yue'er another chance. This time, I'll only be responsible for providing the design drawings. Once the product is made, can you put it in the shop for sale if you think it's okay? Trust me, give Yue'er a chance to make amends."

Jiang Xingjian's face was grim, but Song Wan desperately hoped he would agree, as she wanted to know what Lin Jiayue intended to do in the future.

It has to be said that Lin Jiayue's previous actions aroused a curiosity she had almost never had before.

The carriage arrived at the Marquis's residence, and Jiang Xingjian got off as if fleeing.

During dinner, everyone received news that Huanyanzhai had been raided by the Emperor, and the manager had died before he could endure the eighty strokes of the cane.

When Qingzhai informed Jiang Yan of this news, Jiang Yan simply said it was a pity.

"Have someone send some compensation money to his wife and children, and also send them to the capital."

After saying that, Jiang Yan continued to eat with his head down and did not mention it again.

He had planted some people under Lin Jiayue's command, intending to help that person if necessary, but the situation has developed far beyond his expectations.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Yan put down his jade chopsticks, having lost his appetite.

He took the soft towel from Qingzhai and wiped his hands clean.

Five days later is Mid-Autumn Festival. This year, His Majesty has chosen the Third Prince to light the palace lanterns at the Dengtian Tower in front of Dongzhimen. On that day, the entire household will surely mobilize to present the lanterns. Jiang Yan rubbed his itchy fingertips uncomfortably, suppressing the restlessness in his heart.

Since that person stopped managing the household affairs, and the old lady was exempted from the morning and evening greetings due to her illness, he had not seen her for a long time.

Lighting lanterns in mid-autumn is probably the only chance to see her before winter arrives.

Thinking of this, a hint of tenderness appeared in Jiang Yan's eyes.

He walked to the mahogany wardrobe in the room and began to select the clothes he needed for that day with great excitement and seriousness.