Old Wu the Third led the master towards the city center.
On the way, they encountered his colleague Jia.
Jia was walking beside a young couple, with the woman wearing a hat and veil, obscuring her face. Judging by her figure, she was certainly a young lady in her prime.
In the past, it would have been normal for women to dress like this on the streets.
Noble ladies didn't want to be seen when going out.
But now, on the streets of Jingzhou, everyone was open and confident. Even Commander Jiang's beautiful daughter went out directly. This kind of cover-up actually seemed a bit strange.
However, it was clear they were from out of town, which was normal.
Jingzhou was receiving an overwhelming number of tourists from other places every day.
The outskirts of Jingzhou were being expanded, with houses being built, and many people relocating their entire families there.
Jia exchanged greetings with Old Wu the Third with a cupped-hand salute, then they passed each other.
The veiled woman seemed to stiffen, lowering her head.
Jia found it slightly odd. The couple he was escorting did seem a bit strange, not like a proper married couple, more like they were eloping.
But as long as they weren't breaking any laws, it wasn't his business.
Inspector He followed Old Wu the Third to view the inspector's suite, not noticing the young couple they had passed.
The woman wore a hat and veil, clearly not wanting to be seen.
Inspector He naturally wouldn't stare at a young woman.
When they paused, the woman simply turned her back, and Inspector He assumed she was just shy.
It was his first time in Jingzhou, so he couldn't possibly know any young girls here.
Jia continued on with his clients.
"If it's your first time in Jingzhou, sir and miss, you must buy the Jingzhou Three-Piece Set. It's excellent for personal use or as a gift."
The veiled woman was none other than Jiang Wan. After her elder brother's unexpected death, she had been secretly investigating the cause.
She initially thought Jiang Changtian was responsible, but he claimed it was the Seventh Prince who had ordered it.
She didn't believe it, but as she investigated, it seemed to have nothing to do with Jiang Changtian.
Although Ming County was full of Jiang Changtian's influence, her brother's death truly wasn't his doing.
It really bore the Seventh Prince's signature.
This terrified her because she was actually the person who knew the Seventh Prince best.
She felt that if their family continued to stay in Ming County, they would end up like Jiang Changtian's family in her previous life - all dead.
Now her Mom and Younger Sister had already fled Ming County.
She learned that her Mom had become a concubine of Heir Apparent Han, and her younger sister was now the daughter of the Heir Apparent in the Capital City, enjoying wealth and status.
Mom had abandoned them.
Her elder brother was dead.
She had tried to escape Ming County several times, but was always sent back under the pretext of protecting her safety.
With her grandmother and father, she simply couldn't leave Ming County.
This small county was where she grew up, but she had no fond memories of it, only deep fear.
She hated that dream, why did it make her know so much, let her know she had a bright future, high status and power within reach, yet trapped her in Ming County like a caged beast.
Everything was reversed.
It was as if she was experiencing the suffering of Jiang Changtian's family in her previous life.
Although, to be fair, their life wasn't exactly miserable.
At least the Jiang manor was still there, with servants and all.
But there was no hope in sight.
That was the most desperate part.
During this time, Jiang Wan had struggled.
From her dream, she knew there was a Shangqiu Convent in Jingzhou, with a famous Master Jingren who liked to collect beautiful young girls or girls with strange fates. In the future, Jingren would become an honored guest of the royal family.
Later, one of the concubines was offered by Jingren.
That concubine was exceptionally beautiful but had a heart like a snake and scorpion. Fortunately, she had a short life, otherwise, even Jiang Wan couldn't have fought against her.
It was also from that concubine that she learned of Master Jingren's existence and knew about his perverted and terrifying methods of training those girls.
Because of this, she cautiously and indirectly leaked information about Jiang Mianmian to Jingren.
She succeeded.
Because as she pondered day after day, she realized that everything seemed to have changed from the moment Jiang Mianmian was born and didn't die prematurely.
She remembered that day when worshipping Buddha, she saw tears falling from Buddha's eyes, which shook her to her core.
It seemed that everything started to change from that day on.
Jiang Feng didn't die, Jiang Mianmian didn't die either, Qin didn't die, Jiang Yu didn't disappear, and Jiang Changtian didn't go missing.
She felt she had found a solution - if only Jiang Mianmian died, everything would return to its proper course.
But then, Shangqiu Convent disappeared.
When she received this news, Jiang Wan trembled all over.
How could it be, how could someone be so crazy?
But thinking that person was Jiang Changtian, yes, he was indeed a madman, a complete lunatic.
Day after day, Jiang Wan seemed to give up.
Her father became obsessed with Buddhist scriptures, chanting sutras all day long.
Her grandmother, who used to chant sutras all day, stopped chanting and started wailing and cursing constantly because she felt unwell, her wounds always hurting.
Pain can make people's emotions collapse, and she would occasionally receive news of Jiang Changtian's family's happy life in the Provincial Capital. Jiang Yu had a blissful married life, Qin was an honored guest of the prefect's wife, Jiang Mianmian became the most dazzling young lady in the Provincial Capital, Jiang Feng had apprenticed under a famous master and was becoming more and more accomplished, and Commander Jiang's authority and power were growing.
Even the slightest bit of good news would be relayed to Old Lady Jiang.
After telling her, they would say: "Madam, you're just ungrateful. With such good children, you wanted to drive them out of the family and even disown them, tsk tsk."
These words often made Old Lady Jiang feel like her heart was about to burst, and she developed heart palpitations.
Old Lady Jiang was already suffering physically, and the death of her eldest grandson was a huge blow to her, but what devastated her more was her son's lack of motivation.
Her eldest son's degeneration, chanting Buddhist scriptures every day, made her feel hopeless.
She used to chant Buddhist scriptures daily, but there was actually no Buddha in her heart.
However, her eldest son chanting Buddhist scriptures daily was clearly obsessed. He had donned monk's robes and started eating vegetarian food. Except for not having shaved his head, his every move was no different from a monk.
Old Lady Jiang cursed her son. Except when mentioning Wu, that fickle woman, when he showed slight emotion, at other times, he seemed unaware. No matter what she said, he would only respond with "Amitabha Buddha."
She knew that Huaisheng hated her.
After an accidental argument where Jiang Huaisheng bitterly cursed the heir apparent, Old Lady Jiang accidentally revealed that Heir Apparent Han was actually his full brother, and Jiang Huaisheng had become like this.
He was indifferent to everything. Except for still being at home, he was basically no different from having left to become a monk.
Even when Jiang Wan was of age to have her coming-of-age ceremony, Jiang Huaisheng didn't care.
Old Lady Jiang wasn't in the mood either.
Jiang Wan served her grandmother daily, listening to her curses every day, and grew increasingly weary.
Finally, after long plotting, she disguised herself as a damsel in distress and was rescued by a young gentleman.
She pretended to have lost her memory and followed that gentleman, leaving Ming County.
The moment the carriage stepped out of Ming County, she truly felt as if the shackles on her body had shattered, her whole body lightening.
She had observed for many days before choosing this gentleman as her target.
Although she hadn't met this gentleman in her dream and he shouldn't be someone familiar, she saw his noble demeanor and generous nature.
His accessories and the details he inadvertently revealed all matched the style of nobles from the Capital City.
He claimed to be a young master out traveling, handsome in appearance, righteous and naive in behavior, surely the son of some great family.
He called himself Liu.
She remembered there was indeed such a family named Liu in the Capital City, but they weren't prominent, considered middle-class in the capital. Young Master Liu's aunt seemed to have married into the palace, but was only a concubine.
But no matter who he was, as long as he could help her escape Ming County, it was good enough.
She had developed a phobia of Ming County.
However, after leaving Ming County, Young Master Liu didn't return to the Capital City, but headed towards Jingzhou instead.
He said he had come to see its fame, that he was originally heading to Jingzhou but took a wrong turn and ended up in Ming County, accidentally rescuing Miss Qing Qing.
Young Master Liu didn't know what to call the lady, but seeing her dressed all in green and extremely beautiful, he temporarily called her Qing Qing.
Although there was ambiguity along the way, they still treated each other politely.
For a young man and woman traveling together, with her adding charm to his life, it was hard not to develop feelings.
As a "amnesiac" damsel in distress, Jiang Wan naturally couldn't stop him from going to Jingzhou.
But thinking of the famous Commander Jiang, Jiang Wan still instinctively felt terrified.
She put on a hat and veil as soon as they entered the Provincial Capital, but unexpectedly, this seemed to attract more attention, as no one else on the street was dressed like this.
But she could only grit her teeth and continue.
Just as they arrived in the Provincial Capital, they unexpectedly saw the famous Inspector He.
Inspector He was a man with a tough life. Several emperors had changed, yet he remained an inspector.
Jiang Wan was grateful that she was wearing a hood, which prevented her from being discovered. She was like a startled bird, constantly afraid of being found out.
She and Young Master Liu followed the guide to the shop, listening to the young man's enthusiastic introduction: "...This is the property of our Commander Jiang's eldest daughter, all part of her dowry."
"Your Commander Jiang truly loves his daughter like his own life, giving such generous property to a married daughter. I heard he has another daughter, is that right?" Young Master Liu's servant asked curiously.
"Yes, these shops, as well as the inns, restaurants, stores, and land in the city, are all the younger daughter's property. Commander Jiang treats both his daughters extremely well."
Jiang Wan held a porcelain bottle in her hand, lowering her head to smell the rich fragrance inside. It was for washing hair, and this single bottle cost one tael of silver. The items in this shop alone were worth thousands of taels, and they had even queued up for a while before entering.
There were also cheaper versions available, which were also selling like hotcakes. Customers didn't even need to enter the store; they could buy them at the stalls outside. There was a constant stream of patrons, and the sound of clinking copper coins never ceased.
...
