"This wretched creature is getting more and more outrageous."
Before the New Year, she had insisted on dragging Lady Zhou to go ice skating on the lake, ignoring all the servants' attempts to dissuade her. As a result, she fell into the icy water herself.
Lady Zhou, desperate to save her daughter, rushed onto the already cracked ice surface without a second thought. She managed to pull Jiang Yulin out and push her to safety, but sank into the freezing lake herself.
The servants didn't dare approach the shattered ice and could only use tools to rescue Lady Zhou.
However, due to being submerged in the icy water for too long, and because Lady Zhou couldn't swim, she had swallowed a stomach full of freezing water. That night, she became delirious with fever.
Jiang Yankun had never seen someone so feverish that their entire body seemed to be steaming.
This unfilial daughter showed no remorse and even tried to kill her own sister.
Jiang Yankun stormed into Jiang Yulin's embroidery chamber, furious. Since her elder sister Jiang Yutong had entered the palace, Jiang Yulin had been the sole occupant of the chamber.
"My lord..."
The nanny of the embroidery chamber had barely approached when Jiang Yankun kicked her. His face flushed red as he shouted, "Where's Ling'er? Tell her to come out!"
The nanny fell to the ground and crawled to kneel at Jiang Yankun's feet. "My lord, the Third Miss is traumatized and feeling unwell. She has already gone to bed."
"She's traumatized?" Jiang Yankun could hardly believe such shameless words could come from his daughter. He widened his eyes, "One might think the Fifth Miss had pushed her into the koi pond! How dare she sleep after committing such a grievous error? Quickly call her out, or I'll sell off every servant in this courtyard today. It's you despicable slaves who whisper nonsense in the young miss's ear all day, making her so extreme and vicious."
Using "vicious" to describe his own daughter seemed a bit excessive, but Lady Ruan felt he wasn't harsh enough.
Some people are born wicked, like Jiang Yutong and Jiang Yulin. Perhaps they inherited Lady Zhou's arrogance and cruelty, which is why they all came to bad ends.
After Sister Yue entered the palace, Jiang Yulin bullied Yan Sister quite often. But as a legitimate daughter, Lady Ruan couldn't openly do anything about it. She could only teach Yan Sister to use Sister Yue's old tactics of playing the fragile flower in front of her father.
In private, Lady Ruan only put on a show. The treatment in the embroidery chamber was now worlds apart from when Lady Zhou was in charge.
Yet others still thought her kind and virtuous. They believed Lady Zhou had spoiled the Third Miss, while Lady Ruan was strict.
"Spare the rod, spoil the child" - Lady Ruan understood this principle.
Fearing people would discover she was killing Jiang Yulin with kindness, she deliberately reduced her allowance, hired strict etiquette teachers, and confined her at home to practice needlework. Everything seemed to be for Jiang Yulin's benefit; no one could find fault.
Who wouldn't praise her for being so kind and magnanimous, caring so much for a stepdaughter?
In reality, these iron-fisted methods were all harmful to Jiang Yulin.
She had been pampered and willful, used to having her way. Suddenly, without any preparation, she was thrust into a hellish training regimen. She didn't see Lady Ruan's actions as good intentions, only felt intense resistance and hostility.
Lady Ruan had laid enough groundwork before. Now Concubine Lin had given her the perfect opportunity to completely destroy Jiang Yulin.
Hiding behind the door, Jiang Yulin heard her father call her "vicious" and immediately burst into tears of grievance.
She rushed out of her bedchamber, shouting loudly, "Yes, I'm vicious! My mother and I are both vicious! We deserve to die to make way for your pure and kind new wife. For your own glory and wealth, you disregard my mother's life. You heartless man, you won't come to a good end!"
"How dare you!" This time Jiang Yankun was truly enraged. He raised his hand, about to slap her.
"Husband, don't..." Lady Ruan grabbed his arm, shaking her head with reddened eyes. "We can talk this through. Don't hit the child. I'm sure there's some misunderstanding."
"Slap!"
Lady Ruan stopped Jiang Yankun from hitting Jiang Yulin, but couldn't prevent Jiang Yulin from slapping her instead. "You bitch, get out of here! Who needs your fake kindness? Everyone knows my father treats my mother this way because of you!"
"I..." Lady Ruan covered her face as large teardrops rolled down. "Third Miss, I've never had any ill will towards you or the First Madam. It's you who always think I'm going to steal your father away and target me at every turn. If I were truly insincere, I wouldn't have come here today. Just based on what you said earlier, do you think your father wouldn't have beaten you to death?"
Jiang Yulin didn't know how to refute this, but she could clearly sense Lady Ruan's malice. She stubbornly refused to show any weakness.
"Slap!"
Jiang Yankun's hand struck Jiang Yulin's face. "Fine. From now on, if your stepmother doesn't hold me back, I'll beat you to death today. Let's see if you beg for mercy then!"
"My lord... my lord, please don't!" The long, thick cane that had been used for decades was brought out. Jiang Yankun gripped the handle and lashed it across Jiang Yulin's body. She rolled on the ground in pain.
After seven or eight lashes, Jiang Yulin couldn't take it anymore. She rolled on the ground, begging for mercy. "Father, I was wrong, I know I was wrong. Father... father, please stop hitting me, wuwuwu... I truly know I was wrong."
Her face also bore an angry red welt, a shocking sight to behold.
In Hexi Palace—
Jiang Xinyue had just gotten up and taken a few steps when Jiang Chuan entered. "Your Highness, a letter has arrived from the Jiang family outside the palace."
"No one else saw it, right?"
"Rest assured, Your Highness. It was still our people..."
Jiang Xinyue nodded and tore open the envelope.
The letter was from her eldest brother. It said that the Third Sister had fallen ill due to constant worry over their mother's condition and developed hysteria. Their father planned to send her to a temple to chant sutras and pray. He was writing to inform her of this.
Jiang Xinyue read it and immediately burned the letter. She could guess that Jiang Yulin, that fool, had probably done something stupid again to anger their father.
Lady Zhou was critically ill, her eldest brother was simple-minded and weak, Jiang Yutong had turned to bones, and now Jiang Yulin was being sent to a temple. Their branch of the family was truly dwindling.
This meant her mother would now dominate the Jiang household.
Excellent!
"Your Highness! Are you ready? His Majesty has ordered this servant to bring the Sixth Prince over. All the members of the imperial clan have already gathered."
Jiang Xinyue wore a deep purple consort's robe, her hair styled in an elaborate bun adorned with a consort's golden crown inlaid with luminous pearls. Long golden hairpins were inserted on both sides of the crown, their tops adorned with delicate dangling ornaments that shimmered like cascading gold threads, falling over her shoulders and back. In the flickering candlelight, she looked resplendent and majestic.
Today was the Sixth Prince's one-month celebration banquet.
Jiang Xinyue was fully dressed, but she still instructed Nanny Xiang to carry the milk-drinking bundle who was chewing on his hand. "You and Eunuch Wang take the Sixth Prince over together."
Tonight, she absolutely had to make a grand entrance as the finale.
