Chapter 130: A Villain Should Look Like a Villain
It was night.
The Jiang Mansion was no longer brightly lit.
Jiang Wan was now in charge of the household.
She felt that it was too wasteful.
And too conspicuous.
It was enough to light the rooms of each master.
Because it did not affect people’s lives and instead made everyone feel more comfortable, the household adapted quickly to her management.
However, managing the household was not easy. After taking control of the household authority, Jiang Wan was flustered for a while. She was not born knowing how to do it and could not learn immediately; she also needed a period of adjustment.
She got rid of a steward, confiscated the steward’s property, and took over the assets left behind by Aunt Yao before she could maintain the household.
Jiang Wan’s methods were very ruthless; it could be said that she did very well.
But after all, she was just a young girl who had not yet married. Doing so inevitably made people feel that she was too scheming.
There were no idlers in the mansion now; every person had their place, and every position was compact and useful.
It was basically divided into three parts. Jiang Huaisheng, his wife Madam Wu, and the newborn Shushu lived together in their daily lives.
Jiang Huaisheng had an injury on his face and always felt that he had not received proper medical treatment. Now, the scar was clearly visible on his left cheek.
He originally had a very open and bright face, with a sunny and magnanimous appearance. His face was more liked by the elders than Jiang Changtian’s face, looking more reliable.
But now, there was an extra scar. Actually, it was not big after healing, just half a finger long.
However, the mirrors in the room were all removed. In order not to make her husband sad, Madam Wu even gave up her dressing mirror.
The situation was chaotic. He still looked the same as before, reading books and practicing swordplay, and educating the children in his spare time.
But now, he could not really focus on reading and was a bit irritable. He practiced swordplay even more fiercely and sometimes even got slightly injured.
He no longer lectured Jiang Rong at every turn. Jiang Rong was even more diligent than him, reading so much that he did not even leave his room.
He had more time to accompany his little daughter, Shushu.
The time this child arrived was very subtle, but it comforted Jiang Huaisheng’s heart.
He spent more time taking care of her personally, and his feelings became deeper.
He did not expect there to be so many things to do with an infant, and his relationship with his wife became more harmonious.
At night, Shushu was a little one who stayed up late, her eyes rolling around. Jiang Huaisheng sat beside his little daughter and read aloud to her.
Madam Wu was doing needlework. When she was a young girl, her needlework was very poor, just enough to get by. She did not expect that after arriving in this remote place, she would hone her needlework day after day.
At this moment, she was actually very satisfied; the quiet beauty of time was nothing more than this.
Jiang Rong was still reading. His attendants had been replaced by Jiang Wan, but he did not care.
The new attendants would remind him to sleep when it was time. If he did not sleep, they would bring him a late-night snack and try to persuade him to get up and walk around. Although it was a bit annoying, Jiang Rong was still grateful.
So during this period, Jiang Rong did not lose weight; he actually gained weight.
A bit of stress-induced weight gain.
Old Madam Jiang was a light sleeper and did not dare to sleep too early. If she slept too early, she would easily wake up in the middle of the night and could not fall back asleep.
Actually, she had not lived a hard life for most of her life.
Even on the road to exile, there were people taking care of her. It could be considered a difficult part of the journey, but looking back, it was okay.
They had not traveled far before the Emperor granted amnesty, and they got back into a carriage.
Although Ming County was remote, they lived like a top-tier wealthy family, and Aunt Yao took good care of her.
She was not used to the time after Aunt Yao left. However, with Wan’er, and the granddaughter having trained new maids, she was not used to it at first, but now she felt it was not bad. They also knew how to act according to her wishes; although they were not as thoughtful as Aunt Yao, they were more respectful.
They served her more thoroughly.
Although she knew that there was not much money left in the household—two-thirds had been taken away by the Rebels, and that beast had plundered most of the rest—they were barely maintaining.
Old Madam Jiang knew that the household’s remaining money was insufficient by looking at the dishes and quantity. This was also the reason why she, at her age, finally decided to take her descendants to seek refuge with her daughter.
Actually, this was not a good choice. It would be better to return to the Jiang Family’s old residence to avoid dragging her daughter down.
But now Huaisheng had a scar on his face, and that little beast was not dead yet. She dared not return to the old home, as it was very close to the capital.
Her daughter was a Prince’s consort after all, and in her fief, given Yu Luan’s personality, it would be enough to settle them.
Old Madam Jiang did not drink tea at night, and she could not sleep well when she got up in the middle of the night. She kept half a slice of ginseng in her mouth to nourish her spirit.
In fact, the person with the largest and most expensive expenses in the family was Old Madam Jiang.
She wanted a lot of things. Jiang Huaisheng thought the money diverted was used by his Mother to support his younger brother, but in reality, it was just various medicinal materials used by Old Madam Jiang. For example, keeping ginseng in her mouth daily; ginseng slices were life-saving items in poor families, but here they were just snacks to sweeten her mouth.
When sleeping, if the bed was not in contact with silk, she could not sleep. Silk products were prone to wrinkles and were as expensive as gold. If replaced frequently, it was almost the same as using gold for a while and then throwing it away.
Jiang Wan also knew this, so although she did not want to seek refuge with her aunt and rationally felt that it was inappropriate—as seeking refuge naturally meant being inferior—the household really could not support itself. Managing the household was too tiring; her previous smiles were always simple and bright, but now her smiles always had a trace of fatigue.
Jiang Wan actually spent a lot of money herself. Previously, when purchasing calligraphy, paintings, jade, etc., she did not feel it when she was not managing the household, but when she managed the household, she realized that she was also quite a spender.
Since she was managing the household, she could not cut her own expenses, no matter whose she cut.
And she had to buy some attire for herself. The owner of that jewelry shop was hateful; he originally said he would buy out the designs she drew at a high price, but then he went back on his word.
Jiang Wan felt that the owner was greedy, remembered her designs, and went back on his word.
She was still too young and suffered a loss in dealing with people.
It was also because they were under the rule of the Rebels, so they did not need to give face to their Jiang Mansion.
No matter how much intelligence one had outside, ultimately one still had to rely on power.
This period of experience was a bit bad for Jiang Wan, but it was not too bad; it was also a tempering and growth.
There were no detours in this world; every path was a necessary one.
She had read many books. Although she was a bit composed when she saw Jiang Yu and her Mother during the day, she adjusted quickly.
Actually, there was no need to be surprised. It was easy to change rivers and mountains, but hard to change one’s nature. Even if Jiang Yu’s temperament was better disguised, it was still nothing major. She could see through it at a glance; it was still very childish.
Lady Qin was born in the countryside and could only act like a tyrant in Ming County. She did not need to seek momentary satisfaction in front of her.
Jiang Wan adjusted her mindset, copied another copy of the Heart Sutra, and practiced the zither for an afternoon.
The zither music had more emotions, but it was more melodious and long-lasting.
It was fine; they would soon leave Ming County.
Leave this place that made her feel uneasy.
“Bang!”
“Clang!”
The sound of the door being hit.
The sound of swords clashing.
It was actually right in her ears.
At first, she thought that more Rebels had come. Could it be that the Rebels were having internal strife? These Rebels without roots were most prone to internal strife. Nothing had been accomplished, yet they started fighting among themselves first. This was also the reason why rebellions throughout history rarely succeeded.
But this sound was too close.
It was as if it was inside the courtyard.
“Bang!”
A guard’s body flew in from outside the door, knocking the door open.
He lay in front of Old Madam and Jiang Wan.
Old Madam was so startled that she was almost choked by the ginseng slice in her mouth.
Jiang Wan was startled, and her first reaction was actually to look down at her clothes; her outer garment was neat.
The guard’s body flew in.
It was pitch black outside the door.
A person walked in from the darkness, with long black hair draped over his shoulders and dressed in a black robe. He had a smile on his face, as if he had walked out of a painting.
Old Madam Jiang was so scared that she almost suffocated.
Jiang Wan was also sitting there, trembling uncontrollably.
“You beast, what are you doing?”
Jiang Changtian said with slightly red eyes: “Mother, I had a nightmare in the middle of the night and suddenly missed Mother so much, so I came to see Mother.”
These calls of “Mother” made Old Madam Jiang’s skin crawl; she did not know what kind of madness he was having.
“Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.”
Behind Jiang Changtian came the sound of uniform footsteps.
Dozens of people wearing armor and helmets, holding swords, stood neatly at the door.
“I was worried that Mother would not let me in to fulfill my filial piety again, so I had to bring a few subordinates. Mother, look, we have come in.”
Over there, the guards captured Jiang Huaisheng and Madam Wu, and even brought the infant along. Jiang Rong was also captured together.
“I had a nightmare, and I missed Mother, Brother, Sister-in-law, and my niece and nephew. Seeing that you are all here, I am relieved. I just wanted to gather with you all. Worried that you would not be willing, I brought a few more people. Look, this is also useful. See, everyone is gathered here. We are brothers and friends, and respectful to each other; Mother must be very gratified, right?”
Jiang Changtian found a chair and sat down, wiped the blood off his hands, his face full of smiles, and his voice was gentle.
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