Jiang Yunshu remained completely unaware of all this.
She would never have guessed the inexplicable jealousy burning within Xie Lin.
Every time Wen Shiqi emerged from the pigsty, cow pen, horse stable, or chicken coop, she scrubbed herself raw during her bath, yet Jiang Yunshu never detected even a whiff of unpleasant odor.
During today’s gossip session, Jiang Yunshu listened with rapt attention as Wen Shiqi dished out the latest scandals about the Duan family.
After Duan Jinxing achieved the rare feat of topping the imperial examinations in all three tiers, Jiang Yunshu was certain that Jiang Zhaohua must have had some kind of "golden finger" (foreknowledge) to recognize Duan Jinxing’s boundless future and thus marry him.
But then she heard that Duan Jinxing had been appointed a ninth-rank horse official?!
The starting point for this supposedly "boundless future" top scholar was truly… unconventional.
Jiang Yunshu couldn’t help but wonder—did Jiang Zhaohua, with her golden finger, know about this in advance?
After hearing the firsthand gossip Wen Shiqi brought back, Jiang Yunshu concluded: Jiang Zhaohua definitely hadn’t known. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been so enraged that she went into premature labor.
Hmm… This suggested that in the future Jiang Zhaohua had foreseen, Duan Jinxing had never become a ninth-rank horse official.
So, what had caused this deviation?
Jiang Yunshu’s first thought was Xie Lin. Because Jiang Zhaohua had tried to send her to her death, had Xie Lin ruined Duan Jinxing’s career in retaliation?
But would Xie Lin really do that for her?
Was she just being presumptuous?
Jiang Yunshu recalled how every time she begged Xie Lin to help save someone, he always demanded "repayment" in return.
This time, though, Xie Lin hadn’t mentioned a single word to her, nor had he asked for anything—had he silently avenged her?
It didn’t seem like Xie Lin’s style at all.
Yet Wen Shiqi was adamant: "It must have been the Chief Inspector’s doing."
"The Chief Inspector is fastidious. He believes making Duan Jinxing a horse official is the most unbearable punishment."
Just like how he made her retrieve secret messages from pigsties, cow pens, sheepfolds, and chicken coops!
The Chief Inspector was using the same tactic—though Wen Shiqi couldn’t reveal this to Jiang Yunshu.
Jiang Yunshu soaked up every juicy detail of the gossip.
"The midwife and the backup physician were all arranged by the Marquis’s Mansion. The Marquis and Lady Hou assumed that with their own people around Jiang Zhaohua during childbirth, nothing would go wrong, so they didn’t accompany their daughter to the Duan residence or bring her back to the Marquis’s Mansion."
"After Duan Jinxing’s triple success, the Marquis’s Mansion saw their son-in-law as a man of boundless prospects and went out of their way to preserve his dignity."
"But in their effort to save face for the Duan family, they nearly got their own daughter killed."
"Before Jiang Zhaohua went into labor, the Marquis’s Mansion sent over many prized ginseng roots. But when Lady Hou rushed to the Duan residence upon hearing of her daughter’s difficult labor, she found the so-called ginseng soup by the bedside—just a few strands of ginseng boiled in water, so weak it barely had any scent!"
"And those premium ginseng roots sent by the Marquis’s Mansion—guess where they went?"
Jiang Yunshu had an idea but played along. "Where?"
Wen Shiqi grinned. "Duan’s mother had already sold them to an herbal shop for cash!"
"Not only that, but when the Marquis’s Mansion later tracked down the shop, they discovered Duan’s mother had been swindled."
"She had no idea how valuable those premium ginseng roots were and sold them for less than half their worth."
"When Lady Hou found out, she immediately got into a physical fight with Duan’s mother!"
Jiang Yunshu’s eyes sparkled. "Who won?"
Wen Shiqi chuckled. "Mutual destruction."
"Lady Hou, delicate and pampered, was no match for Duan’s mother, who had spent years doing manual labor and had considerable strength. But Lady Hou had brought a whole entourage of maids and servants—they swarmed Duan’s mother and beat her down mercilessly."
Despite Wen Shiqi’s vivid retelling, Jiang Yunshu still regretted not witnessing it herself.
In her mind, her stepmother had always carried herself with the dignified air of the Marquis’s lady, scheming with subtlety even when harming others.
She could hardly imagine Lady Hou personally brawling with Duan’s mother!
Wen Shiqi’s gossip covered Jiang Zhaohua, Lady Hou, and Duan’s mother—but one person was conspicuously absent. "What about Duan Jinxing?"
What was he doing while his wife was struggling through childbirth?
Wen Shiqi explained, "Duan Jinxing wanted to enter the delivery room to stay with his wife, but Duan’s mother blocked him fiercely, refusing to let him in."
"She claimed that because Duan Jinxing had entered the delivery room when Jiang Zhaohua went into labor at night, the ‘bloody aura’ had cursed him—which was why he’d been appointed a ninth-rank horse official that morning when he went to the palace for his post!"
Jiang Yunshu was stunned.
Wen Shiqi added, "Elder Mrs. Duan truly believes in such superstitions! No matter how much Duan Jinxing insisted, she threatened to dash her head against the wall unless he stepped over her corpse to enter."
"The scene was utterly chaotic."
Wen Shiqi concluded, "Duan’s mother was convinced Jiang Zhaohua was a curse upon her son and would have been glad to see her die!"
Today’s gossip left Jiang Yunshu thoroughly satisfied. She clapped her hands. "A reward!"
Her treasure vaults overflowed with jewelry she could never wear in a lifetime. Giving it away brought her far more joy than letting it gather dust, so she was always generous with rewards.
But while Jiang Yunshu was eager to give, Wen Shiqi dared not accept.
If lying on a rocking chair and snacking on fruit had earned her a stint in the pigsty, what punishment would she face for accepting Jiang Yunshu’s jewelry?
Wen Shiqi refused desperately. "This is too extravagant."
Finally, Jiang Yunshu plucked a single bead from a piece of jewelry and handed it over. "Just a small token—not extravagant anymore, right?"
Wen Shiqi: "…?"
Jiang Yunshu thought this was brilliant. "From now on, I’ll give you little beads. You can string them into bracelets yourself."
Jiang Yunshu: The ancient version of Pandora!
One question still gnawed at her. "The Duan household is so small—how do you even have spies there? Who is it?"
Like Jiang Zhaohua, she assumed the maid Duan’s mother had bought from disaster-stricken relatives couldn’t possibly be a spy for the Eastern Depot.
That left Jiang Zhaohua’s eight personal maids—all of whom Jiang Yunshu knew. She was dying to find out who it was.
Wen Shiqi shook her head. "This humble official cannot say."
"If the young lady wishes to know, she may ask the Chief Inspector."
Jiang Yunshu nodded. Fair enough—a spy’s identity needed protection. She was only curious, not plotting anything.
In fact, she’d love it if Jiang Zhaohua’s entire entourage were Eastern Depot spies!
That night, when Xie Lin returned, Jiang Yunshu immediately confronted him.
Her eagerness betrayed her, and Xie Lin, sensing it, refused to yield so easily.
He pointed to the rocking chair beneath the tree outside the window. "Tonight, Your Ladyship and I will… on that rocking chair. Every time an incense stick burns, you may name one maid, and I will confirm or deny."
Jiang Yunshu’s eyes widened in shock.
She cautiously negotiated, "Can we move the rocking chair inside?"
Xie Lin: "Absolutely not."
Jiang Yunshu shook her head frantically. "Outside? What if someone hears—"
Xie Lin’s voice turned dangerously sweet. "Then Your Ladyship must stay quiet—hold it all in."
He whispered temptingly, "If you’re lucky and guess correctly on the first try… it’ll only take one incense stick’s time."
