Jiang Liuli flew into a rage. "Bullshit! You were the one who failed to catch it, yet you dare accuse me, you little bitch! Don't think having the marquis's household backing you makes you anything special. This is the Jiang Family. You don't get to run wild here!"
Everyone froze.
Jiang Shuyue froze for a moment, then peals of laughter rang out in her mind. [Hahahaha! Brilliant, absolutely brilliant! I only said two sentences, and she exposed herself!]
[Oh my, this little white lotus is no good at all. She spent all those years pretending to be a proper lady, only to crack in an instant. Tsk, tsk, tsk.]
The system: [Congratulations, host. Your green tea points have increased by thirty.]
Jiang Liuli regretted it as soon as she finished speaking.
How could she have blurted out what she really thought?
"No, Eldest Brother, listen to me. I only said that because I was angry..."
"Angry? You broke Yue'er's things. We saw it with our own eyes. What misunderstanding could there be?"
Jiang Chen had remained silent for a long time, but the moment he spoke, he shut Jiang Liuli down.
"When Yue'er first came home, you called her a country bumpkin in front of me and said she'd disgrace the Jiang Family if she went out. Who's disgracing us now?"
"I think that noble airs you usually put on are all an act. You're the one who needs to learn some manners."
"At least Yue'er wouldn't call her family a bitch!"
"And another thing, this is the Jiang Family. Eldest Brother, Yue'er, and I are the actual Jiang Family children. You're only adopted. We treat you well out of kindness, so don't climb onto our faces just because we've given you a foothold!"
"If you dare insult Yue'er again, don't blame me for getting rough!"
Jiang Shuyue: [Has Second Brother really had his conception and governing meridians opened? His head's clear, and his tongue's sharp. It'd be a waste not to have him speak for me!]
Although Jiang Chen didn't understand what she meant by speaking for her, he could tell his younger sister was praising him.
Jiang Liuli said in a panic, "No, I only said that because I was angry... Eldest Brother, believe me. You know what kind of person I am. I really didn't do it on purpose!"
Usually, the moment she cried, Jiang Wujie would feel sorry for her.
Whether she was right or wrong, he would defend her to some extent. After all, girls were thin-skinned and needed to be pampered.
But now, Jiang Wujie felt nothing but irritation and disgust.
Jiang Wujie unobtrusively shook off her hand. "Chen's words may be a little crude, but he has a point."
"Shuyue suffered so much in your place. Instead of being grateful, you insult her. What kind of behavior is that?"
"Go back and copy the Analects a hundred times today. You may come out only when you've finished."
Eldest Brother was actually punishing her?
Jiang Liuli couldn't believe it.
Hadn't Eldest Brother always doted on her most? Why had he suddenly...
"What are you standing there for? Didn't you hear Eldest Brother? Get back to your room!"
Jiang Liuli glared at Jiang Chen through tear-filled eyes, then turned and ran off sobbing.
Jiang Shuyue: [I bet she's screaming inside right now: Jiang Shuyue, just you wait! I won't let you get away with this!]
The system: [Congratulations, host. Your green tea points have increased by another 50!]
Jiang Shuyue: [At this rate, I'll be able to redeem a Marrow-Cleansing Pill for Second Brother before long. I just wonder whether becoming a Martial Dao Grandmaster will make him stupid again, helping Jiang Liuli bully me.]
[And Eldest Brother, too. He's pretty smart when he's being smart, but truly stupid when he's being stupid. I wonder whether he'll escape the plot against him this time!]
Jiang Wujie was shocked. Someone was plotting against him?
That was outrageous!
Jiang Wujie cleared his throat and smiled. "Shuyue, I was in the wrong before. I owe you an apology. I bought the best tea snacks from the Drunken Cloud Tower. Would you like some?"
"Tea snacks? Yes, please!"
After putting that green tea bitch in her place, her mouth was dry and she was hungry. Some tea snacks sounded perfect.
Jiang Shuyue and Jiang Chen followed him to his courtyard.
Jiang Wujie's courtyard had a scholarly air. A maid brought over the tea snacks, glared at Jiang Shuyue, and set them before her.
Jiang Shuyue: [System, am I imagining things? Why do I feel like she just glared at me?]
The system: [You're not imagining it. Jasmine works for Jiang Liuli. Of course she's unhappy to see you here.]
Jiang Wujie nearly lost his grip on the tea snack.
Jiang Liuli was merely a young lady of the household. How could she have the ability to plant a spy in his courtyard?
The system: [Your eldest brother was a key target for cultivation. They first sent someone to monitor him and tried to control him. Only when they realized that wouldn't work did they move to harm him.]
Jiang Wujie caught the key word: they!
Who else was involved besides Jiang Liuli?
Jiang Shuyue: [That scumbag father of mine would even go after his own son for money and status. Trash!]
Jiang Wujie suppressed his shock and anger and picked up a soft, sticky bun for Jiang Shuyue. "It's fresh out of the steamer and hasn't cooled yet. Try it."
"Thank you, Eldest Brother."
Jasmine stood beside them, her gaze turning even more venomous as she watched Jiang Shuyue.
Jiang Shuyue: [Is she sick in the head? A spy dares look at me like that?]
The system: [She's a very ambitious spy. She drugged your brother and climbed into his bed, making your future sister-in-law so furious that she smashed her head against something and died. Then she claimed she was carrying your brother's child and forced her way up from maid to concubine. She may be ugly, but her dreams are certainly beautiful.]
Jiang Shuyue: [My future sister-in-law? That should be Ji Hanshuang, the eldest daughter of the prime minister's household, right? Such a poised, gracious girl with a fierce spirit. What a pity.]
Jiang Chen knew how much his eldest brother loved Ji Hanshuang. She was his very lifeblood.
Compared with him, Jiang Chen seemed a little luckier.
The system: [But the child she was carrying wasn't your brother's, either. That girl had long since been used and ruined by others. She'd already lost her virginity three years earlier.]
[After she gave birth, your eldest brother still paid her no attention, so in her fury, she helped your father and Jiang Liuli go after him.]
[After your brother was crippled, she even gave him a slow-acting poison that left him paralyzed. Every day, she brought her lover over and performed their "contortions" in front of your eldest brother.]
Jiang Shuyue was deeply sympathetic. [Ah, a gentleman as pure as a fresh breeze and bright moon, reduced to that. How sad.]
Jiang Wujie's gaze turned icy.
A lowly maid had actually harmed him to such an extent. How dare she?!
He glanced at Jasmine without betraying anything and, sure enough, saw the venomous resentment lurking in her eyes.
He had only his own blindness to blame. When his mother said his courtyard was understaffed and that she wanted to assign a few more servants, he had agreed without a second thought.
He hadn't investigated their backgrounds afterward, either.
His mother would never harm him. She must have been deceived as well.
Jiang Wujie was still brooding when he heard the system's merciless voice. [Enough gloomy talk. Let's enjoy some juicy gossip to cheer ourselves up.]
[Did you know? Your brother looks like a graceful gentleman, complete with benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and filial piety, but your eldest and second brothers are actually no different.]
[At three, he put mud in his tutor's shoes. At six, he schemed against a romantic rival and left the boy so thoroughly trapped he couldn't tell north from south. At eight, he wrote lyrics for a theater to earn money. At ten, to secure his engagement to the Ji Family's daughter, he found ten beauties to lure his romantic rival away.]
[Even better, your brother has henpecked ears!]
Jiang Shuyue: [What does "henpecked ears" mean?]
The system: [He's his wife's slave! If Ji Hanshuang tells him to go east, he wouldn't dare go west. His wife is wonderful, his wife is great, his wife is the best!]
Jiang Shuyue burst out laughing. [I never would have guessed! So this was what Eldest Brother was really like!]
Before you continue