She remarried a cold-faced, powerful man, and the scumbag regretted it and cried his heart out.

The dragon pattern on the hilt of the knife reflected the lanterns under the corridor, cutting Gu Changyi's pale face into fragments of light and shadow.

"Back to the Duke of Dingguo's mansion?"

Gu Changyi curled up on the couch, coughing.

The maid kneeling on the blue bricks had disheveled hair. She was Gu Shile's personal maid, named Qingyu. Usually, she was quite quick-witted, but now she was pale and her lips were bluish.

Rain swirled in from outside the corridor, pelting her. She shivered violently, unsure whether it was from the cold or from fright. She could only respond in a low voice, making indistinct syllables.

“The Second Young Master’s injuries are too severe to be moved.” Jiang Jin’an tapped his knuckles on the scabbard of his ring-pommel sword, his python-patterned sleeve sweeping over the medicine bowl on the table, without even lifting his eyelids. “If the Duke of Dingguo really wants to see someone, then he should come and knock on the door of my Jiang residence in person.”

"The Second Miss came to fetch me in person..." Qingyu crawled half a step on her knees, her voice trembling uncontrollably, "She said the Third Prince brought Jade Dew Ointment to stop the bleeding... The Duke, the Duke... he was furious, he smashed seven or eight... no, more than a dozen vases..."

Gu Changyi chuckled and sat up, propping herself up on the edge of the bed. "Was it celadon or white porcelain that Father smashed? If it was a lotus cup from the Ding kiln of the previous dynasty, then we should reward him for his increased strength."

He suddenly grabbed the edge of the bed, his knuckles turning white, and shouted with all his might, "I want to see Wen Yin! I want to see her!"

Do you want to see a living person or a dead soul?

Shen Jingshu strode over and forcefully pried his fingers apart. "Are you really courting death? In your current state, what good will it do to Sister Wenyin? You're just asking for it! You might as well let your father's dragon staff send you on your way!"

Jiang Jin'an pressed his scabbard against the bedpost with a muffled thud: "The Jade Dew Ointment sent by the Third Prince? He can heal whip wounds, and he can heal the crime of deceiving the emperor?"

He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the trembling maid. "Go back and report—say that the Commandery is investigating the Northern Border Arms Case, and the Second Young Master is a key witness. He needs to stay at the Jiang Residence to cooperate with the questioning. Anyone who dares to obstruct him will be punished as an accomplice!"

Qingyu's face turned deathly pale. She felt as if she had unwittingly stumbled into some forbidden area and overheard a deadly secret. Her lips trembled, and she dared not utter a single word, wishing she were deaf.

"Is my cousin trying to force the Censorate to impeach Jiang Fu and accuse you of 'withholding witnesses'?"

Suddenly, the beaded curtain was lifted by the night wind, and a clear, cold female voice, carrying the chill of the night rain, came through the corridor, breaking the stalemate.

Gu Shile held up an oil-paper umbrella and stopped just under the dripping eaves. Her plain white skirt swept across the wet stone steps, but the jade pendant at her waist remained perfectly still, showing her excellent demeanor.

She closed her umbrella, raised her hand to adjust the white magnolia blossoms at her temples, and the jade bracelet on her wrist slid down to her elbow, revealing a small burn scar on her forearm.

Gu Shile stepped into the room, her finger pointing at Jiang Jin'an's scabbard. "Father asked me to pass on a message—cousin, you've probably completely forgotten the favor you received when you knelt before the Imperial Study back then."

Gu Changyi grabbed the medicine bowl and smashed it at Gu Shile's feet: "If you want to fight or kill, come at me! Stop using old grievances to blackmail people! You've been repeating this over and over again for so many years, who still cares about your meager kindness!"

Shen Jingshu stood to the side, glancing slightly to take in Gu Shile's expression.

His gaze fell again on her elbows, which were already covered.

I heard that it was a mark left by boiling oil when Gu Changyi was poured on her during her seventh birthday banquet.

……

The stone lions in front of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion were soaked by the rain, their fangs gleaming with a bluish light.

Gu Zhong's dragon-patterned staff slammed onto the brick and stone ground, causing the "Loyalty and Courage Passed Down Through Generations" plaque in front of the hall to shed dust.

"Shu Zi'an dare!"

He was so angry that the veins on his forehead bulged, and the gold-inlaid cane pointed towards the direction of Prince Jing's mansion in the west. "He dared to trespass into a prince's mansion for a woman! He's even resorting to self-harm!"

He slammed his foot hard on the rosewood table, which weighed at least a hundred pounds. The table shifted half a foot under his kick, making a screeching sound, which showed how furious he was. "The Gu family's century-old reputation is going to be ruined by this unfilial son!"

“Uncle, you might as well go to the palace to apologize sooner.” Jiang Jin’an’s fingertips traced the crackled patterns on the teacup, the Junshan Silver Needle tea leaves bobbing up and down within. His tone was indifferent, revealing no emotion. “Later—”

He suddenly raised his eyes, his tone abruptly turning sharp and piercing: "Those boxes of rotten Northern Border maps soaked in official silver should be hung out to dry in the Taiji Hall."

A rustling sound came from behind the screen—it was Gu Zhongxin's newly acquired Yangzhou concubine, who was now clutching "Biographies of Exemplary Women" and trembling.

"How dare you!" Gu Zhong roared, his dragon-patterned staff sweeping across the antique shelf, shattering a porcelain vase from the previous dynasty into pieces.

Gu Zhong's beard trembled as he roared: "If it weren't for me standing before the Emperor back then..."

"The favor my uncle begged for by kneeling in the Imperial Study for three hours," Jiang Jin'an said, rising to brush away the porcelain shards from his robe. "Is it to be used today to protect my cousin's smuggling of weapons?"

He suddenly took a half step closer, the fish-shaped tally at his waist bumping against the corner of the desk. "Guess which memorial Chief Steward Li will submit to His Majesty tomorrow?"

"Jiang Jin'an, do you have no heart at all?!"

The beaded curtain rustled as Jiang rushed in, her hair disheveled and half-updo loose, completely devoid of her usual composure.

She grabbed Jiang Jin'an's arm, her nail polish embroidered with python patterns, and shrieked, "Changfeng is your cousin! Back then, when you were poisoned by the Wang family, who carried you to seek medical help overnight? Now you're using him as bait to lure the Gu family!"

“Aunt has misremembered. It was Old Zhang from the stable who carried me that night; my cousin only helped lift the carriage curtain.” Jiang Jin’an brushed her hand away and tucked the crooked gold hairpin back into her hair. “If anyone accuses the Duke of Dingguo’s mansion of privately hoarding weapons at tomorrow’s morning court…”

He smoothed out the wrinkles in his sleeves, then stepped over the broken porcelain on the floor, saying, "I, your nephew, should avoid suspicion."

Looking at Jiang Jin'an's indifferent face, Jiang felt a chill run from the soles of her feet to the top of her head.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something more, but was interrupted by Gu Zhong's angry shout: "Enough! Shut up, all of you!"

Gu Zhong's gaze swept back and forth between Jiang Jin'an and the Jiang family, finally settling on Jiang Jin'an.

His face turned pale and then red. Jiang Jin'an was telling the truth, and every word hit him where it hurt.

However, asking him to plead guilty is worse than killing him.

Is the century-old reputation of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion going to be ruined in his hands?

After his death, how can he face his ancestors?

A sudden, muffled rumble came from the direction of the ancestral hall. The steward scrambled in, shouting, "Master! The incense ash in front of the ancestral tablets..."

When Gu Zhong rushed into the ancestral hall, the burning sandalwood incense on the offering table broke off all at once, and the ashes formed a crooked "prisoner" character in front of the ancestral tablets.

The slanting rain swept in through the window, scattering half of the gray characters.

Jiang was about to faint when her vision went black, but the nanny beside her quickly supported her.

Gu Zhong remained silent for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter and ordered the steward, "Go and bring the young master here!"

Deep in the rain, Gu Shile's oil-paper umbrella swept past the back alley of the Duke's mansion.

Suddenly, a hand adorned with red nail polish reached out from around the corner. Shen Jingshu pointed to the burn scar on her face. "Second Miss's self-inflicted injury scheme has truly deceived the Gu family for ten years."