Chapter 86 - Upset (2/2)
She was the most exquisite pet, the best prisoner.
Li An’s eyes lit up with perverted passion in them, and when Li Yang saw that expression, he could not help but shiver. Li An glanced at him scornfully before turning his body and walking out of the door.
Li Yang was dazed on the spot. Only after Li An was gone, then he slowly clenched his fist, letting out an expression of indignant resentment. He suddenly thought of something and just like that, his expression changed and he unexpectedly laughed.
The maidservant who had bled all over the floor, continued to stand in her original position, trembling with fear. She had only felt that Li Yang’s smile was extremely frightening.
However, Li Yang opened his quilt, “Help me up, I want to see Father ?.”
* * *
Jiang Ruan returned to the fu and was going to return to her own courtyard. However, just as she walked to the garden next to the hall, she unexpectedly bumped into Jiang Su Su and Jiang Chao. Jiang Su Su was conversing with Jiang Chao, but upon seeing Jiang Ruan, she smiled, “Da Jiejie.”
‘Pretend, still pretending!’, Jiang Ruan thought. Jiang Ruan looked at her with cold eyes. She felt tired, and so could not be bothered to act out a show of sisterhood with her. Therefore, she wanted to walk off without sparing her a glance.
Jiang Su Su was taken aback for a moment, and a trace of resentment flashed in her eyes, “Da Jiejie, has Su niang done anything wrong?”
Bai Zhi and Lian Qiao’s eyes held disdain, while Jiang Ruan continued to ignore her. Due to the capital’s flooding disaster, Jiang Su Su had benefited from the natural disaster and the issue of going to the ancestral temple was delayed. Recently she had been extremely docile and well-behaved, she did everything more carefully and she constantly served Old Jiang Madame. Even in front of Jiang Quan, she was very careful. Jiang Quan originally already loved this daughter tenderly, thus seeing Jiang Su Su like this, he felt even more heartache and had somewhat started to waver from his original decision.
Her indifferent look appeared very unpleasant to Jiang Su Su’s eyes. She did not know the reason why Jiang Ruan, who was obviously a village girl and had grown up in the wild, appeared more noble compared to her, a young miss of an affluent family, who lived in luxury and had always had the best teachers. Whenever she was in front of Jiang Ruan, she always felt inferior to her. This was extremely unbearable to Jiang Su Su, who had always chased after the highest status.
Jiang Chao blocked Jiang Ruan at the front, gloomily saying, “This is the way you talk to your younger di sister?”
“What does the way I talk refer to? Second Elder Brother, what do you wish to hear?” Jiang Ruan looked at him with a slight smile, “Sweetened words with a hidden dagger[5], Ruan niang has heard numerous. However, I am not a parrot who repeats other people’s words and I am unable to imitate it in a vivid manner.”
[5] Kǒu mì fù jiàn ( 口蜜腹剑 ) – sweet words but with bad intentions.
“You!” Jiang Chao choked upon hearing her sarcastic words, “Truly presumptuous to the extreme!”
Jiang Ruan looked at him, the corners of her lips were still slightly curved, yet had a hint of mocking. They were bound to shed all pretense of cordiality sooner or later. Furthermore, it wasn’t as if putting on a facade of being peaceful with one another would really allow them to live in peace with each other. Currently, this pair of brother and sister was not as glorious as before, so why should she be willing to play along with their painstaking act of being respectful and loving siblings.
“Da Jiejie, what words has Elder Brother said wrong? If you have any dissatisfaction, take it out on Su niang, don’t be angry at Elder Brother.” Jiang Su Su came out to mediate a dispute, yet her words were all trying to sow discord between them.
“Disgusting.” Jiang Ruan looked at her and said.
Before this, Jiang Ruan had always maintained a gentle demeanour in front of them;, no matter how much they opposed her, she had never been this direct with her words. However, today, when she said things out loud like this, Jiang Su Su looked up in amazement and saw Jiang Ruan’s gaze of unconcealed hatred, as if looking at a bug in a rotten ditch.
Jiang Chao could no longer bear it, Jiang Ruan had tested his bottomline time and again. Jiang Chao suddenly moved his hand out, about to viciously slap it down.
However, before he could even attack, his whole body flew out like a kite and knocked against the doorpost with a ‘peng’ sound.
Jiang Xin Zhi strode in and his expression was incomparably cold. He looked handsome and he exuded the iron-willed temperament of a soldier with every move. As he walked over step by step, even the manservant did not dare to say a word, and no one helped Jiang Chao who had been sent flying out by Jiang Xin Zhi’s single punch.
Jiang Su Su held her hand over her mouth and looked at Jiang Xin Zhi with fear.
Jiang Xin Zhi walked to Jiang Ruan’s side, the cold demeanour from just now immediately disappeared fully. He touched Jiang Ruan’s forehead gently, “Are you alright?”
Jiang Ruan shook her head, “Dage, does your hand hurt?”
These two, this brother and sister, interacted with each other as if there was no one else, and almost caused Jiang Chao and his sister to vomit blood. Jiang Xin Zhi then walked in front of Jiang Chao, his steps very steady. No matter how mighty Jiang Chao was, he was still merely a scholar, where would he get strength like Jiang Xin Zhi’s. His face showed fear and he subconsciously wanted to back away.
Seeing Jiang Chao this way, anger flared in Jiang Su Su’s eyes. Jiang Chao also glared at Jiang Xin Zhi, “You actually dare to raise your hand and hit people!”
“I have just hit you, so what?” Jiang Xin Zhi’s words were shocking, “Do you want to complain to Father? Jiang Chao, are you a three year old kid? Quickly ask Father to come save you.”
His tone was full of ridicule, the mocking in those words immediately led Jiang Chao to feel so ashamed that his whole face turned red, and the surrounding servants had a hard time holding their laughter in. Jiang Chao choked out, “You… disrespect your brother……”
“Do not talk to me with all your virtues and justice[6],” Jiang Xin Zhi said, “You should only tell me whether you are a man. Jiang Chao, today, I will tell you straightforwardly that I have hit you, so what? After today, if you dare to touch Ah Ruan, I’ll hit you everytime I see you. You should know that I am a crude man, I am not as gentlemanly or reserved as you all who have been raised in the Jiang fu. I cannot control the strength of my hand well. With a slip, a life might actually be lost.”
[6] Rén yì dào dé ( 仁义道德 ) – refers to traditional virtues and propriety
Jiang Xin Zhi had an army ruffian- like appearance which made all the surrounding servants who were looking at him gape- Jiang Chao also couldn’t believe it. Originally, Jiang Xin Zhi was the gentle and scholarly eldest young master of the Jiang family. However, his current demeanour didn’t have even a trace of his past self. That blatant threat was not at all like the Jiang Xin Zhi in the past.
Truly similar to Guan Liang Han. Jiang Ruan witnessed the happenings in front of her with a slight smile, it seemed like during the five years of living in an army camp, the things that Guan Liang Han had taught Jiang Xin Zhi were not only battle tactics.
Lian Qiao could not help but let out a laugh with a ‘puchi’ sound. Jiang Chao’s face immediately became flushed. Yet at this moment, they abruptly heard Jiang Su Su give an alarmed cry, “Father!”
Then, they saw Jiang Quan coming from the other side of the garden and upon seeing Jiang Chao lying on the floor, his face turned gloomy, “What has happened?”
Jiang Su Su stood up, her eyes brimming with tears, “Su niang doesn’t know how she has angered Da Jiejie. I greeted Da Jiejie, however, Da Jiejie not only ignored Su niang, but even spoke impertinently. Second Elder Brother could not stand it and chided Da Jiejie with a few lines, but who knew that when Eldest Brother came back…… he knocked Second Elder Brother onto the ground without saying anything.”
Jiang Su Su looked at Jiang Ruan with grievances, “Da Jiejie, what exactly has Su niang done wrong, Su niang will apologise to you. However, Second Elder Brother hasn’t done anything wrong, I beg Da Jiejie to not let Eldest Brother harm Second Elder Brother this way anymore.”
What a good compromise[7], every sentence was a direct complaint.
[7] Wěi qū qiú quán ( 委曲求全 )- make concessions/compromise to achieve one’s aim
Jiang Xin Zhi coldly stared at Jiang Su Su who was sobbing with tears trickling down her face. Jiang Su Su’s skill of reversing black and white[8] was really not boasted about outrageously. After distorting a few main points, it became a story about this brother and sister pair abusing their power to bully others.
[8] Diān dǎo hēi bái ( 颠倒黑白 ) – lit. to reverse black and white (idiom); to misrepresent the facts / to reverse right and wrong.
Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi had difficulty hiding the despise in their eyes. It was just as Jiang Xin Zhi had said, the pair of brother and sister only knew how to complain! Complain! Complain! Truly something only a three year old child would do!
Jiang Quan after hearing those words, did not say anything else and raged at Jiang Ruan and the other, “Unfilial son! Unfilial daughter! Kneel!”
There was some disappointment in Jiang Xin Zhi’s eyes. He knew that Jiang Quan had not liked him and his meimei since they were young. Thinking that because he was a son, he felt that maybe it was because he was blocking Jiang Chao’s path that made Jiang Quan act in this way. However, Jiang Ruan was a girl completely without any threat, yet, Jiang Quan actually allowed Jiang Chao, the brother and sister pair, to bully Jiang Ruan without care!
So this is how Jiang Ruan had been living all those years!
A spark of fury grew in Jiang Xin Zhi’s eyes, and he pulled Jiang Ruan behind him in a protective stance, coldly glaring at Jiang Quan.
Jiang Quan, seeing the situation, raged, “Rebel! Rebel!”
Jiang Ruan stood out from behind Jiang Xin’s body and said, “Father has only heard Second Younger Sister’s one sided statement, isn’t it too biased? If it was on normal days and there was only Ruan niang, these words could be dismissed. However, Dage is here as well. We brother and sister versus them brother and sister, both have the same number of people, both are the Jiang family’s daughter and son, why is it that we do not have the right to speak up?”
She smiled, “Just now it was obviously Second Younger Sister who was rude to me, and Second Elder Brother still wanted to slap me. Dage only acted out of anxiety. However, who knew that Second Elder Brother, a man, would have such a weak and fragile body, and end up flying away.” Jiang Ruan said with joy, “I know that Second Younger Sister has been possessed by an evil spirit, thus her insolent remarks were probably that evil spirit’s act of mischief. This is perhaps why she refuses to acknowledge it. After all, even though Ruan niang is courageous, I am also afraid of being stained by that filthy spirit.”
Jiang Su Su’s body became rigid, and Jiang Ruan looked towards Jiang Chao, “Second Elder Brother as well, in future you must train your body more. After all, this concerns the Jiang fu’s future. You flew away after being touched slightly, this truly causes one to worry. However, luckily you didn’t injure either of your little fingers or toes.”
She stood next to her tall and imposing brother who had a soldierly bearing, smiling gently and causing the three people on the opposite side to be so furious that their faces turned white.