The Zhao family specially gave Ke Xiuran some instructions, and in return for a plum, Ke Xiuran spared no effort to publicize this case. In just a short day, everyone in the capital knew that Jiang Ruan had been wrongly accused and sent to prison. Not only that, but the details were also circulated. Hu Qianqiu and the Second Yiniang's earlier love affair was also exposed in front of everyone's eyes. As a result, the green hat on Hu Qianqiu's head became even greener.
However, the crowd did not sympathize with Jiang Quan. This was because from the time Jiang Ruan was imprisoned until she was released from prison, Minister Jiang, as her father, had never once seen Jiang Ruan. On that day in the court, there was also no sign of Jiang Quan. People always sympathized with the weak. Originally, they had thought that Hong 'an Junzhu would rise step by step and be a splendid and beautiful woman. Who would have thought that in the Jiang fu, she would be living in such dire straits. It was really pitiful.
Second YiNiang was sentenced to be beheaded on the second day at the Meridian Gate. Ke Xiu Ran was very concerned about this swift and decisive action. Naturally, after Hu Qianqiu was removed from his position, Ke Xiuran took the position of the Head of the Imperial Censorate. Not only that, under Hu Qianqiu's crimes, almost half of the officials in the Imperial Censorate were implicated. After such a long list of cleanups, the Imperial Censorate was reshuffled and there was not a single person who was originally under Hu Qianqiu. The new officials had completely rewritten the structure of the Imperial Censorate. The Imperial Censorate bade farewell to the decadence of the past few decades and welcomed a new lease of life.
In Minister Li's family, other than Minister Li's heinous crimes, he was sentenced to be beheaded. The rest of the children were not affected, but they would never be able to take the imperial examinations to become officials. The Li family could be considered to have finally reached this generation, there was no point in staying in the capital anymore. So the whole family moved out of the capital, even Minister Li and Second Yiniang who were still in prison were not taken care of.
Before leaving, Minister Li had also asked about Li Qiang's whereabouts, but Li Qiang seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth. Minister Li knew that Li Qiang was in danger, so he fainted again.
In the Jiang fu, Second Yiniang's news finally arrived.
With a clatter, the porcelain cup in Jiang Dan's hand slipped and fell to the ground. The tea and porcelain splashed everywhere. The maidservant hurriedly knelt down to pick them up. Jiang Dan anxiously asked, "The Minister's residence was raided?"
The maidservant had already told Jiang Dan everything that had happened outside. At this moment, hearing Jiang Dan's question, she said, "Yes." When she looked at Jiang Dan again, it was as if she hadn't heard what she said. Her expression was somewhat absent-minded.
The maidservant felt inexplicably afraid of her mistress and didn't dare to say anything more. She hurriedly picked up the broken pieces on the ground and quickly walked out of the room to find a towel to clean the water stains on the floor.
Jiang Dan stared blankly at the large puddle of water on the ground. The news she had just heard surfaced in her mind.
The Minister's residence was confiscated, the Second Yiniang was sentenced to be executed immediately, Minister Li was executed, and the descendants of the Li family were never allowed to enter the imperial examinations. Even Hu Qianqiu was stripped of his official position, and Li Qiang's whereabouts were unknown.
Although Jiang Dan had long anticipated that Second Yiniang would not be able to defeat Jiang Ruan, she had not expected that Jiang Ruan's methods would be so ruthless. With one move, the entire Li fu would be buried along with her. A trace of lingering fear surfaced in Jiang Dan's heart. If she treated Second Yiniang like this, if Jiang Ruan were to find out about that matter … Her heart turned cold, and she immediately felt a layer of cold sweat crawl up her back.
Jiang Dan stood up with a 'whoosh'. Jiang Ruan was too dangerous. Every day that Jiang Ruan lived in this world was another day that she was a threat to her. She could either get rid of Jiang Ruan immediately, or enter the palace in the shortest time possible, and then … Slowly get rid of her.
She narrowed her eyes, and her nails dug deep into her palms.
…
Because of the matter with the Second Yiniang, when she returned to the fu, the servants in the fu looked at Jiang Ruan with a faintly discernible trace of fear. Jiang Ruan pretended not to know. The Old Jiang Madame's death was unexpected, and the fu was busy preparing for the funeral. Everyone was dressed in plain mourning clothes. Originally, she had felt disgusted at the sight of white, but now, she could only change into plain white clothes.
According to the rules of the Great Jin dynasty, when a relative of an elder in the fu passed away, the daughters of marriageable age had to observe mourning for a full year. Originally, when one reached Jiang Ruan's age, it should be the time to talk about other people, but when the Old Jiang Madame passed away, all the daughters in the fu had to observe mourning for a year, and their marriages had to be delayed. Apart from Jiang Dan's portrait, which had already been sent up and could not be changed, the marriage between Jiang Ruan and Jiang Su Su had to be put aside for the time being.
Bai Zhi and the others were extremely worried about this matter, and Jiang Ruan herself did not care much about it. Currently, the only woman in the fu who could make decisions was Hong Ying. However, Hong Ying now wholeheartedly wanted to become the mistress of the Jiang fu. Moreover, she was only a concubine, so she naturally did not have the qualifications nor the mind to worry about her marriage. Originally, when the Old Jiang Madame was still around, perhaps she would consider it for her. Now that the Old Jiang Madame had left, no one in the fu would pay attention to whether she could be betrothed to someone else smoothly.
Even Jiang Quan would only consider her marriage as an exchange gift. From this, it seemed that observing mourning for a daughter was not necessarily a bad thing.
Lu Zhu pushed open the door and walked in, "Today at noon, the Second Yiniang will be beheaded at the entrance of the food market, Miss …" Lu Zhu hesitated for a moment before asking, "Do you want to go?"
Bai Zhi frowned, "That kind of filthy scene will not dirty Miss's eyes."
"Let's go and take a look." Jiang Ruan said, "In any case, we have some friendship, so it is only right to send her on her way." The friendship of two lifetimes was not shallow.
...
The entrance of the food market was crowded with onlookers. The clothes of the woman who was tied up and kneeling on the ground were already extremely dirty, and her hair was covered with stains and rotten vegetable leaves — — there would always be people who were filled with righteous indignation to express their anger towards the prisoner.
"Pei, shameless, actually colluding with the adulterer to harm the Junzhu."
"Exactly, she is not a good family's daughter. Didn't you see that even the Minister's fu was confiscated?"
"She reaped what she sowed. Sure enough, the kind of person raises the kind of daughter they raise. Perhaps that shameless doctor's wife from a few days ago was led astray like this."
Amidst the heated discussion, the woman dressed in prisoner's clothes raised her head, revealing a mottled face. One could vaguely see her former beauty, but her gaze was extremely lax. Her lips were curved in a silly smile, and her face was covered with drool. She spoke to herself in a low voice, and only the nearest executioner could clearly hear her words. She was saying, "Li 'er, mother will take you out to buy clothes."
The executioner's mouth twitched in disdain, and his gaze towards her was full of contempt.
In the crowd at the entrance of the food market, Lu Zhu and Tian Zhu protected Jiang Ruan from being squeezed by the crowd. Jiang Ruan lifted the curtain hat and looked at the woman who was muttering to herself.
Second Yiniang's silly appearance was no longer a shadow of her former shrewdness and beauty. Although Second Yiniang had never been shrewd, in her previous life, she had envied Jiang Li because Jiang Li had such a strong mother. A concubine's daughter lived more comfortably than a di's daughter.
When Jiang Ruan was young, Zhao Mei was still the mistress of the household in the Jiang fu, but she did not live up to the title of mistress. Zhao Mei was gentle, and usually, she was attentive and would not give others anything to use against her. Second Yiniang, on the other hand, saw that Jiang Quan did not like Zhao Mei, and constantly bullied the three of them.
When Second Yiniang was young, she was very domineering, and privately threatened Jiang Ruan many times. The person she had feared in her previous life had ended up like this in this life. Now that she was reborn, she felt that the person she had feared in the past was nothing more than a paper tiger.
As early as when Second Yiniang was released from house arrest, she had noticed that Jiang Dan was only using a borrowed knife to kill her. However, Second Yiniang also had some old grudges with her. Before she was arrested and imprisoned, she had written a letter that night. The letter contained nothing but records of Minister Li, Li De Xing's efforts to amass wealth and build connections over the past few years.
In her previous life, the Li family had ultimately sought refuge with Xuan Li. The Li family and the Jiang family were related by marriage, and Xuan Li had been happy to take care of them. However, Xuan Li had a habit. He did not use people without suspicion, and did not use people he suspected. As long as it was one of his own people, he would always investigate them and grasp their weaknesses in his hands in case of an emergency.
The things that Li De Xing had done had passed through her hands. Naturally, she remembered it clearly. As for Hu Qianqiu, it was not aimed at Second Yiniang. Hu Qianqiu had originally belonged to Xuan Hua's faction, but later, when he saw that the situation was not right, he sought refuge with Xuan Li. Nearly half of the people in the Imperial Censorate later became Xuan Li's people. The Imperial Censorate's position in the court was extremely important, especially when it came to major cases involving officials. This time, with Hu Qianqiu removed, the Imperial Censorate would be reshuffled, which would cut off a large part of Xuan Li's support in the future.
The Li family, Hu Qianqiu, and Xuan Li's future wings had been cut off by her. It was unknown whether Xuan Li's road to the throne would still be smooth in the future. As for Second Yiniang, she was just a sacrificial lamb. However, she did not sympathize. In the matters of the world, no one sympathized with anyone. In her previous life, when she had ended up in such a situation, Second Yiniang had relied on her relationship with Minister Li and Xuan Li to thrive in the Jiang fu. Although she could not compare to Xia Yan, she had still climbed up by stepping on her flesh and blood.
She did not sympathize with the people of the Jiang family who had used her blood to pave the way, but they were enemies from her previous life. How could she be softhearted?
Seeing that the time for the execution was approaching, if it had been a prisoner in the past, at this time, the relatives and friends would have come forward to send them on their final journey. Second Yiniang was not an orphan, but today, no one had come to accompany her on her final journey. Jiang Li had already gone to the Yellow Springs one step ahead of her, and the entire Li family had moved. As for Jiang Quan, Second Yiniang had made him a cuckold. It was already benevolent of Jiang Quan to not kick her to vent his anger, so why would he come forward to send her off?
Amidst the shouts, a person slowly walked forward. She was dressed in plain clothes and a curtained hat, walking elegantly and freely. The crowd gradually quietened down as they looked at the woman who had suddenly walked forward.
The woman walked to the front of the prisoner and lifted the curtained hat, revealing a charming and beautiful face. In the crowd, there were people who had seen her appearance before, and they immediately sucked in a breath of cold air and said, "It's Hong 'an Junzhu!"
It was actually Hong 'an Junzhu! The common people were the most capable of imagining things, and for a moment, the sounds of discussion rose again, "It's actually Hong 'an Junzhu, why is Hong' an Junzhu here?"
"She really has a merciful heart. This vicious woman has harmed her, but Hong 'an Junzhu still came to send her off. How rare!"
"She is indeed the younger sister of the God of War. This kind of bearing is not something that anyone can have."
Jiang Ruan tilted her head towards the executioner and smiled, "Eldest Brother, may I say a few words to my Yiniang?"
The executioner was shocked by Jiang Ruan's beauty, and when he heard her address him so politely, he was momentarily excited and embarrassed. His face turned red as he said, "Junzhu is too polite, please." As he finished speaking, he walked to the side and emptied the seat for Jiang Ruan.
Jiang Ruan squatted down in front of Second Yiniang. Lu Zhu hurriedly took out a clean, wet handkerchief from the basket and wiped Second Yiniang's face clean bit by bit. Second Yiniang's hands and feet were tied, and she could not struggle free, so she could only struggle futilely.
After Lu Zhu wiped Second Yiniang's face clean, Jiang Ruan looked at her and said, "Second Yiniang is still more beautiful like this. Otherwise, when you meet an old friend in the underworld, what would you do if you can't recognize you?"
Second Yiniang's eyes were originally glazed over, and she had a foolish look on her face, but when she heard Jiang Ruan's words, her body trembled slightly. Jiang Ruan lowered her body, and her lips pressed against Second Yiniang's ear as she whispered, "Second Yiniang should also have a taste of what my mother tasted at that time." She said, "Regardless of whether you are a madman or not, you should be able to understand what I mean."
She looked down at the prisoner lying on the ground, and the hostility in her tone made even Tian Zhu, who was at the side, somewhat apprehensive. In a flash, Jiang Ruan's gaze became very deep and very black, like a bottomless whirlpool. She said, "Second Yiniang should also be aware of what happened at that time. The people of the Jiang fu should all know. You see, they were so evil that they strangled my mother just like that. "
"My eldest brother, and me, the people of the Jiang fu like to step on the blood of the three of us to climb up. Now, it is time to give the Jiang family a taste of this."
"Second Yiniang and Third Younger Sister were the first to go to the underworld, and Old Furen as well. When you meet in the underworld, you must greet each other, but don't leave too hastily. In any case, wait for the other people of the Jiang fu."
"Doesn't he cherish this Jiang family the most? For the Jiang family, I sacrificed my life, so I want him to live. I want him to see with his own eyes how the Jiang family is destroyed in my hands."
"The debt of life that the Jiang family owes me, I will naturally demand it back one by one. No one can escape."
Her lips were warm and soft, and there was a hint of a smile in her tone, but the words she spoke were like those of an evil spirit, causing one to tremble with fear. "I once walked the road to hell, and along the way, the Red Spider Lily blossomed from the piles of white bones. All of you must properly admire it."
She said, "Yiniang, take care."
Second Yiniang's eyes seemed to move as she finished speaking, but in a short moment, she once again giggled foolishly. Jiang Ruan straightened up, and the executioner walked over and smiled at Jiang Ruan apologetically. "This person's brain is somewhat damaged, I'm afraid that Junzhu's words will not enter his ears."
Jiang Ruan smiled. "I'm just sending Yiniang off, that's all." After saying this, she turned around and left with Tian Zhu and Lu Zhu.
The executioner threw the signature in his hand to the ground, and in a long and shrill voice, he said, "The time has come —"
Suddenly, the executioner's hand rose and the knife fell. Silver light flashed, and blood spurted out. Just like that, a life fell.
Jiang Ruan's footsteps did not stop, as if this was something that was completely unworthy of stopping. Only the head of the prisoner rolled into the crowd, rolling on the muddy road. It was almost impossible to tell what it originally looked like.
…
The Li family, which had once been considered an important official in the capital, had fallen just like that, and the Jiang fu became even more deserted. Only Hong Ying was very happy. Not only did she not need to observe mourning and abstain from eating vegetarian food, she could also vigorously nourish her body every day. With each passing day, her belly grew bigger. If she had not known that she was carrying a pillow, perhaps Jiang Ruan would have almost thought that the child in her belly was a Lin 'er.
After the death of the Old Jiang Madame, the power of the Jiang fu fell into Hong Ying's hands. Perhaps feeling that it was somewhat wrong for a concubine from a brothel to be in charge of the household, Jiang Quan, for the first time, instructed Eldest Yiniang to help Hong Ying manage the affairs of the fu.
Eldest Yiniang was almost an invisible person in the fu, and did not pose any threat to Hong Ying. Usually, she was not even as good as a servant girl, so Hong Ying naturally did not pay any attention to her.
All the daughters of the Jiang fu had to observe mourning for the Old Jiang Madame, but Jiang Dan was an exception. Because the portrait of the consort selection had been sent, there had been a reply in the past few days. Someone from the palace had come, and Jiang Dan had been selected to enter the palace with the other beauties to display their talents. Whether or not she would be able to stay in the palace was still unknown.
However, Jiang Quan was obviously very concerned about this matter. In reality, the Emperor had not chosen Jiang Dan because of her outstanding talent. In her previous life, he had chosen the daughter of the Jiang family to enter the palace only to contain the Jiang family. In her previous life, by this time, the Jiang family's power was already at its zenith. However, ever since she had returned to the capital three years ago, the Jiang family had been hindered in many ways, both overtly and covertly, and their power was far from what it had been in her previous life. Even so, the Emperor was still wary of the Jiang fu.
Jiang Quan called Jiang Dan into his study for a full four hours. The servants in the fu guessed that it was something that Jiang Quan had instructed Jiang Dan to do. Since Jiang Quan thought so highly of Jiang Dan, the servants in the fu were happy to dream of having a consort in the Jiang fu.
As Lian Qiao brought in the peony cake that had been made in the kitchen, she said, "Master really wants to praise Fourth Young Miss. Fourth Young Miss can't even compare to Second Young Miss, so how can she gain His Majesty's favor?"
Lian Qiao had a straightforward temperament, and when no one was around, she spoke even more straightforwardly. She was not wrong. If one really wanted to use a daughter to enter the palace as a consort to promote the Jiang family, why not send Jiang Su Su? Jiang Su Su was born beautiful and talented. Although she was not as patient as Jiang Dan, she was more liked by men than Jiang Dan. Sending Jiang Su Su into the palace would definitely gain the Emperor's favor.
"Master can't bear to part with Second Young Miss." Bai Zhi said softly, "The palace looks like glory, splendor, wealth, and rank, but how can the hardships within be understood?"
Lu Zhu curled her lips, "Master's heart is too biased, but I don't think others think so. These days, the servant girls in the fu are all rushing to curry favor with Fourth Young Miss."
No one understood Jiang Quan's intentions better than Jiang Ruan, because in her previous life, she had also been coaxed into the palace in the same way. Jiang Quan had only said that there would be people in the palace to take care of her, and that Jiang Su Su's health was not good. This was all for the Jiang family, and in addition, Xuan Li had said that he would take care of her. Thus, she had entered the depths of the palace, and in the end, even her corpse had not been left intact.
Now, she had stayed out of the matter and watched coldly as Jiang Quan repeated his old tricks. Jiang Dan was not her, Jiang Dan had voluntarily entered the palace. Jiang Quan was not willing to sacrifice Jiang Su Su, but he did not know that Jiang Dan had the courage to sacrifice the Jiang family, as long as she could climb up.
Perhaps Jiang Quan thought that he could control Jiang Dan, but he did not know that this move was like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. Jiang Dan was a poisonous snake. Once it had nourished soil, it would definitely grow rapidly, and then... swallow up the Jiang fu until not even a scrap was left.
The two of them harbored ulterior motives. Jiang Quan thought that he had crossed the sea by deceiving the world, but in fact, Jiang Dan had taken advantage of the situation. Sitting on top of the mountain and watching the tigers fight, there was no end to it.
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