Originally, Lady Hou intended to visit the Duan Family to see her daughter, but unexpectedly, Jiang Zhaohua rushed back to the Marquis's Mansion in a panic upon hearing that her mother had been poisoned.
"Mother—" Jiang Zhaohua sobbed as she threw herself into Lady Hou's arms.
Lady Hou quickly embraced her. "Be careful! You're carrying a child now—how can you be so reckless?"
Jiang Zhaohua carefully examined Lady Hou's complexion. "How is your health, Mother?"
Not wanting to worry her daughter, Lady Hou concealed the fact that the imperial physician had said three-tenths of the residual poison could not be neutralized. She smiled and replied, "It's nothing. Fortunately, it was detected early, and the physician will detoxify me."
Jiang Zhaohua was concerned about her mother's health, while Lady Hou was equally worried about her daughter's condition. "Why did you have a miscarriage scare the other day? Are you better now?"
Pressed for an explanation, Jiang Zhaohua couldn’t hide the truth any longer.
"At a banquet, I heard that the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord has taken in a woman he dotes on—one who excels in dancing. In my confusion, I thought it might be Second Sister and was terrified."
Lady Hou was also startled upon hearing that the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord had taken a favored woman. "Really? The Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord has always been indifferent to women..."
Years ago, some bold individuals had sent beauties to him, but none met a good end. Since then, no one dared to offer him women.
However, Lady Hou’s surprise stemmed only from the fact that the famously aloof Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord had taken a lover. She couldn’t fathom why Jiang Zhaohua would immediately think of Jiang Yunshu...
Was pregnancy truly making her foolish?
Lady Hou gently patted her daughter’s hand. "How could that be? There are countless women in the world skilled in dance. Just because you heard of one, you thought of Jiang Yunshu?"
"Jiang Yunshu has long since been buried with the late emperor."
Unaware that Jiang Zhaohua had been saved by the Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord in her past life and taken to the Xie Residence, Lady Hou couldn’t understand why her daughter would entertain such an absurd notion.
Jiang Zhaohua couldn’t explain it either, but she was relieved to know it had been a false alarm.
She smiled at her mother. "I was mistaken. The Nine Thousand-Year-Old Lord’s woman not only dances but also plays the zither. He’s scouring the land for famous instruments for her."
"Second Sister never learned the zither."
Lady Hou nodded. "Of course it couldn’t be Jiang Yunshu."
"You mustn’t let yourself be so easily frightened in the future. You’re pregnant—you need to take care of yourself."
Jiang Zhaohua nodded repeatedly. "Don’t worry, Mother, I’m fine. But enough about me—are you truly unharmed?"
Lady Hou laughed. "Really, I’m perfectly fine."
Jiang Zhaohua’s brow furrowed again.
"Has that wretched Concubine Qiao confessed yet?"
Both Lady Hou and Jiang Zhaohua believed someone had put Concubine Qiao up to it, refusing to accept that she had acted alone.
Concubine Qiao, flayed and barely clinging to life under the lash, gasped weakly, "No one ordered me... I poisoned Lady Hou myself... I wanted to avenge Second Miss..."
"My Second Miss... died in Jiang Zhaohua’s place!"
"Jiang Zhaohua, the Marquis, Lady Hou... they all killed my Second Miss!"
Though Concubine Qiao spoke the truth, Lady Hou and Jiang Zhaohua dismissed every word.
"You avenging Second Miss? She wasn’t even your own daughter! At least make your lies believable!"
"Continue the torture until she tells the truth!"
"Still lying? More torture!"
"Again!"
Lady Hou had the Marquis summon a notorious interrogator from court. Following her orders, he subjected Concubine Qiao to multiple rounds of torment.
When Lady Hou demanded another round, he reported, "My Lady, if we proceed, she won’t survive."
He added, "Based on my experience... Concubine Qiao isn’t lying. No one instigated her—she truly sought revenge for Second Miss."
"She also said that Lady Hou was only her first target. If she ever got close to the Marquis or Eldest Miss, she’d make them pay with their lives."
Convinced by the interrogator’s expertise, Lady Hou and Jiang Zhaohua finally believed it.
Yet they remained baffled—why would Concubine Qiao risk everything for a girl unrelated to her by blood?
Upon learning the truth, Lady Hou flew into a rage!
She stormed into the torture chamber and slapped Concubine Qiao hard across the face!
"Have you lost your mind? Poisoning the mistress of the Marquis's Mansion for a lowly concubine’s daughter?"
"Whether Jiang Yunshu is dead or alive, both of you would’ve lived under my thumb!"
Emaciated and mangled from the torture, Concubine Qiao had no unbroken skin left, clinging only to her last breath.
Lady Hou’s full-force slap made her spit a mouthful of blood.
Delighted by her state, Lady Hou laughed wildly. "You and Jiang Yunshu were just two pitiful souls huddling for warmth in the Marquis's Mansion’s backyard... Did you truly think of her as your own daughter?"
"Are you so desperate for a child that you’ve gone mad?"
Concubine Qiao spat the blood in her mouth at Lady Hou. "Jiang Zhaohua is the one who deserves to die!"
"You all deserve to die!"
Seeing the hatred burning in Concubine Qiao’s eyes, Lady Hou no longer doubted her sincerity—she genuinely wanted vengeance for Jiang Yunshu, even at the cost of her own life.
Lady Hou sneered. "Yet here we are, alive and well... Jiang Yunshu is dead, and you’ll soon follow."
"Jiang Yunshu died well!"
"To die in Zhaohua’s place was her fortune!"
"How dare you harbor resentment?"
The Marquis agreed with Lady Hou’s words.
Though Jiang Yunshu was also his blood, a lowborn concubine’s daughter could never compare to his renowned legitimate daughter.
Jiang Yunshu had never won his favor. He remembered how, even as a child, she never fawned over him like her sisters.
While the others competed to sew gifts for him and acted sweetly in his presence... Jiang Yunshu’s gaze alone unsettled him.
Her eyes were large, her pupils dark, her stare so piercing it unnerved him...
Every time he met her gaze, it felt like staring into a mirror—one that reflected his own flaws with painful clarity.
Jiang Yunshu’s eyes held no admiration or affection for her father, only indifference... even disdain.
How could he possibly love such a daughter?
The Marquis shared Lady Hou’s view—trading Jiang Yunshu’s life for Jiang Zhaohua’s was more than worth it!
For Jiang Yunshu to die in her sister’s stead was her destiny!
Jiang Zhaohua’s thoughts were even crueler. She believed Jiang Yunshu had gotten off too easily with a quick death.
In her past life, she had suffered for years in the Xie Residence, hidden from the world...
Jiang Yunshu should have endured the same torment before dying!
