After Jian Ruonan finished speaking, Jian Chuyun froze for a moment.
She turned to look at the old madam, who was reclining on the Arhat Bed with no socks on her feet.
Quite a few white scraps of human tissue lay scattered along the edge of the bed and over the bedding. They looked suspiciously like flakes of skin from the old madam's feet.
Then Jian Chuyun shuddered, her stomach churned, and she threw up every grape the old madam had fed her.
"Pfft-"
"Blech-"
She was close to the old madam and knew that her feet stank and that she liked picking at them. She had even helped find plenty of remedies for the old madam's foot ailment. Every summer, blisters sprouted on her feet, filled with thick, yellow fluid...
The more Jian Chuyun thought about it, the worse she felt. Waves of nausea surged through her.
"Blech-"
Vomiting once was not enough. She got up, rushed to the spittoon in the corner, and began throwing up into it in great heaves.
Jian Chuyun's throat felt itchy, and then her entire body began to itch.
"What's wrong with Chuyun?" The old madam's brows knitted as she demanded sharply, "Ruonan, what did you say to Chuyun to make her react like this?!"
Jian Ruonan said softly, "I only asked Chuyun whether the grapes Grandmother fed her were sweet. I don't know why she's acting like this, either."
She curled in on herself and blinked innocently.
She looked pitiful, helpless, and frail.
Once Jian Chuyun finished vomiting, a young maid immediately offered her clean water to rinse her mouth. Jian Chuyun glanced at the teacup holding the water, wiped the corner of her mouth with her handkerchief, and did not take it.
That single remark from Jian Ruonan had made her not even want to stay in the old madam's room anymore.
"Chuyun, what exactly happened?" the old madam asked again.
Jian Chuyun shook out her handkerchief and pressed a hand to her chest. "It has nothing to do with Ruonan. Perhaps I caught a chill. I suddenly felt a little nauseous."
The old madam was petty. She did not dare repeat Jian Ruonan's words verbatim.
She really had to swallow her knocked-out teeth along with the blood.
That Jian Ruonan was utterly hateful.
Jian Ruonan continued in her tiny voice, "Oh, oh, you scared me to death. I thought Chuyun threw up because she didn't like the grapes Grandmother fed her."
Jian Chuyun: "..."
"Of course not. Having Grandmother feed me grapes is a blessing I earned in my previous life."
That simple sentence nearly made her grind her back teeth to pieces.
Seeing Jian Chuyun's teeth-clenched expression, the old madam grew suspicious too. Could Jian Chuyun really be reacting this way because she had fed her?
The old madam was petty and had never deigned to hide her expressions from the younger generation. Her face darkened at once.
Jian Xilu and Min had always suffered grievances here with the old madam. Yet since Nannan returned to the residence, both their visits here had left them in a good mood.
Jian Xilu absolutely adored this younger sister.
Seeing Jian Chuyun angry secretly delighted Jian Xilu.
Unable to find a reason to fly into a rage, the old madam found the sight of Min irritating. "The meal is about to be served. Eldest daughter-in-law, you may leave. It's enough for Second Child's and Third Child's wives to stay."
This was hardly the first time the old madam had favored the second and third branches. In the past, Min would have left swiftly at such an order, but today, for once, she hesitated.
She was still waiting to enjoy the old madam's and Shi-shi's humiliation. Why had the servant bringing the bad news not arrived yet?
Jian Ruonan and Jian Xilu did not want to leave either. Watching the drama was only exciting when you were right there at the scene.
"Mother, I would like to hire a teacher for Ruonan and wanted to ask your opinion," Min said, inventing an excuse to stay.
"As you please." The old madam waved her away.
Min walked over to Jian Ruonan and slowly straightened her skirt to stall for time, pricking up her ears to listen to Nannan's inner voice.
[The servant has already entered the Hanging Flower Gate. Countdown: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...]
Hearing the countdown, Min breathed a sigh of relief.
As the countdown ended, the young maid waiting outside lifted the curtain and let a servant in.
The servant rushed frantically into the room, nearly knocking over a maid serving the meal.
Young Shi-shi scolded, "What's the hurry? Have you run into a ghost? If you knock into one of the young ladies, watch your hide."
The servant knelt on the floor with his head lowered, not daring to let his gaze wander, and announced loudly, "Old Madam, something terrible has happened! Second Master has been arrested! He's already spent a night in jail!!"
The old madam's face turned ashen, Shi-shi's hand trembled around her bowl, and even Jian Chuyun's body tensed.
Only the second branch's two concubine-born daughters sat there blankly, looking as though it had nothing to do with them.
Min and her two daughters suddenly felt refreshed in body and spirit.
It was not that they did not want to leave. Something serious had happened, so they could no longer go.
"Tell me at once! What happened? What's the charge?!" The old madam was frantic. "Why are we only being informed now, after he's already spent a night locked up?!"
"The officer who arrested Second Master said he got another household's concubine pregnant. The charge is adultery!" The servant spoke clearly and loudly, and everyone in the room heard every word.
Young Shi-shi's face flushed a livid purple.
Jian Lang was a philanderer by nature. Every attractive maid around her had been initiated into his bed and elevated to concubine, and the second branch had the most concubine-born sons and daughters.
With so many concubines at home, he still had to go out and steal someone else's-and get caught. How utterly disgraceful.
Young Shi-shi looked mortified, feeling thoroughly shamed.
Jian Chuyun felt ashamed too. Her father could not compare to her eldest uncle in either scholarship or his official career, and now he had committed such a shameless offense. It was humiliating.
The old madam, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, it was nothing serious. A few palms greased, and he would be out. "Where's my eldest? Bring him here at once!"
Jian Zhang served in the Ministry of Justice. If they asked him to handle this, getting his brother released would take no more than a word.
A maid immediately went to the front courtyard to fetch Jian Zhang.
After the servant left, the old madam looked at Young Shi-shi with displeasure. "Second Child's wife, don't be so sour and jealous all the time. When your husband can't find satisfaction at home, he starts thinking about straying."
"See? Once he goes outside, it's all too easy to make mistakes." In just a few sentences, the old madam shifted the blame for Jian Lang's wrongdoing onto Young Shi-shi.
Ultimately, Jian Lang had stolen another man's concubine because Young Shi-shi was jealous.
Young Shi-shi gritted her teeth. "I understand."
The old madam looked at the servant on the floor. "Which household's concubine did Second Master get involved with?"
The servant said quietly, "This household's Eldest Master's concubine. Concubine Wei."
The old madam: "..."
The room instantly fell silent, and everyone turned to look at Min.
Already prepared, Min asked with a bewildered air, "Mother, I've only just learned of this myself."
The old madam suddenly remembered that Jian Zhang had caught Concubine Wei committing adultery yesterday. She had even been pleased about it.
The servant continued, "The officer said the person who reported it presented the old master's calling card and demanded severe punishment. That was why no one came to inform you."
The old madam: "..."
She seemed to have been the one who demanded severe punishment.
She had wanted Concubine Wei and her illicit lover severely punished... How had that illicit lover turned out to be Second Child?
[Bwahahahahaha! Dumbfounded, aren't you? Didn't see that coming, did you? You sent your precious son to jail with your very own hands!!!]
[Well done, Father!!]
Jian Xilu lowered her head and smiled faintly. She too felt that Father had handled everything thoroughly.
Before long, Jian Zhang arrived.
The moment Jian Zhang entered the room, a teacup smashed at his feet, its shattered pieces blossoming across the floor.
"You black-hearted, rotten-lunged wretch! As his elder brother, you won't rest until you've killed your second brother, will you?!"
Jian Zhang had already prepared his explanation. He would simply say he had not known the illicit lover was his second brother, and that sending him to the authorities had been entirely his mother's doing.
Jian Zhang collected himself and was just about to speak when Jian Ruonan's inner voice suddenly rang out.
[What does this have to do with my father?! Weren't you the one who told him to use Grandfather's calling card, report it to the authorities, and demand severe punishment?]
[Old age really does loosen the backside. You can't stop the bullshit from popping out.]
Jian Zhang: "..."
Before you continue