Chapter 283 - 254: Old Flame
Chapter 283: Chapter 254: Old Flame
"Second Madam, there were so many people in line that it took some time. Sorry to keep you waiting."
The maid pushed the door open and entered, carrying a basket of pastries.
She saw an unexpected Xiao Yanci in the room and nervously asked, "Who are you, and how dare you enter Second Madam’s chamber without permission?"
"Second Madam? May I know which mansion’s Second Madam this is?" Xiao Yanci smiled mockingly at Jiang Yihuan.
"Our madam is the Second Madam of Jing’an Marquis Mansion."
"Be quiet!" Jiang Yihuan interrupted the maid, angrily rebuking, "You go out first. This man is... an old acquaintance. We’re just catching up."
"Yes."
After the maid left, Jiang Yihuan looked at the seated Xiao Yanci and said, "You divorced me; we have no ties anymore. From now on, let’s pretend we don’t know each other."
"Pretend we don’t know each other?" Xiao Yanci chuckled lightly, "You made me lose face so greatly, and now you want to clear our ties? Is that possible?"
"What do you want?"
"You’re now the Madam of Jing’an Marquis Mansion, quite an achievement," Xiao Yanci said, "Since you’re doing so well now, shouldn’t you look after your old flame?"
Jiang Yihuan clenched her handkerchief tightly.
Killing intent flashed in her eyes.
Xiao Yanci said calmly, "Don’t even think about playing any tricks. If anything happens to me, everything you once did will become public knowledge. If the Marquis Jing’an learns you once were a loose woman, would he still let you be this so-called madam? You’re good at putting on a facade; I assume your current man hasn’t seen your true face yet?"
"What do you want exactly? Can’t we just keep to our own lanes, not interfere with each other? Isn’t that better? Aren’t you going to marry the Prime Minister Wang’s daughter?" Jiang Yihuan said unwillingly.
"So you knew about my situation all along," Xiao Yanci said, "Since you knew my whereabouts, why didn’t you come find me? After all, we used to be close. In this new place, we could still meet now and then for tea and reminisce."
As Xiao Yanci spoke, he walked towards Jiang Yihuan and pulled her into his arms.
Jiang Yihuan was stunned, pushing against Xiao Yanci, but then heard him lower his voice to threaten, "Raise your voice; let that maid come in and see what we’re doing."
In the adjacent chamber, a man and a woman were watching the situation through a peephole in the wall. Seeing that things next door were about to turn inappropriate, Zhou Wangshu quickly covered Su Yaoguang’s eyes.
The letter that Xiao Yanci received was sent by Zhou Wangshu, intended to bring these old lovers together sooner, and the current development was within their expectations.
"That Xiao character doesn’t find it dirty," Su Yaoguang said with a look of disdain.
In her previous life, she was heartbroken over such a man—her mind must have been rusty.
Thankfully, in her past life, he didn’t touch her; otherwise, it would have been utterly disgusting.
"We’ve seen the play next door; let’s watch the one on stage now! Today’s play is called ’The Third Scholar’s Romantic Tale,’ and it’s very exciting; we can’t miss it."
"Hearing that name... it’s related to that despicable man next door, isn’t it?" Su Yaoguang guessed.
"The new Third Scholar is a romantic; we need to publicize him properly," Zhou Wangshu said, "In this matter, the heavens and earth know, you and I know, and I’m the unsung hero."
Su Yaoguang fed him a piece of fruit with a smile, saying, "Crafty and scheming, but I like it."
The entire play depicted how the Third Scholar fell into slavery, how he was picked and prodded by a group of women, finally bought by a farmer’s wife, and then fell in love with her daughter, ultimately freeing himself from slavery and gaining a chance to study. During the imperial examination, he went with his new wife, and they were caught being affectionate, drawing sighs from the entire audience.
The whole play, a mix of truth and fiction, portrayed comically how the Third Scholar caught his wife being intimate with an ugly man and wrote a divorce letter on the spot.
Many who came to watch the play today were from powerful and influential families. Now, the entire process of the new Third Scholar being cuckolded was vividly imprinted in everyone’s mind.
Xiao Yanci was next door, being intimate with his old flame. Perhaps because Jiang Yihuan was no longer his wife, the thrill of playing with someone else’s woman was more stimulating, so he was so lost in it that he didn’t notice the play on stage was about his past deeds.
Of course, with Jiang Yihuan, one cannot forget that Wen Family intrigue. During the plague, the performance of two women serving one man was portrayed in detail, making him seem like a sex-crazed ghoul.
This play not only promoted Xiao Yanci, the new Third Scholar’s, cuckolding experience but also showed how lustful he was—unable even to resist widows in the countryside.
"Morality is declining, decency is lost."
After watching the entire play, Su Yaoguang had eaten so many pastries and tea that she was too full for dinner.
Zhou Wangshu took her for a stroll in the night market to help digest.
The commotion next door had long since quieted. After all, a maid was standing outside, so they dared not go too far. Anyway, now that the old lovers had reconnected, opportunities would arise in the future.
This nail had been driven in, just waiting to be pulled out when the time came, enabling them to rid themselves of troublesome characters.
"Do you think the Prime Minister will still have his daughter marry Xiao Yanci?" Su Yaoguang asked as she strolled the streets with Zhou Wangshu.
"With today’s fire igniting this matter, the Prime Minister will be even less inclined to marry his daughter to such a man. The Prime Minister is not a good man himself, but for his carefully nurtured daughter, he’ll certainly try to maximize her value; Xiao Yanci, being of no value, he would surely disdain."
"If it’s about exchanging value, he could easily marry Miss Wang to some noble instead of choosing a common-born Third Scholar."
"Do you know why?" Zhou Wangshu whispered mysteriously.
"Why?" Su Yaoguang was curious.
Zhou Wangshu leaned closer to her ear and said, "This Miss Wang was taken advantage of by her cousin when visiting her uncle’s house—such a deflowered woman wouldn’t dare marry into a big aristocratic family."
"How do you know such secrets?" Su Yaoguang asked, suspiciously looking at him.
"Hmm... I found out by accident too." Zhou Wangshu pulled her towards a crowd watching acrobatics ahead.
Seeing the acrobats, Su Yaoguang dropped the earlier topic, quickly putting it behind her mind.
Jiang Yihuan sat in the carriage, lazily observing the outside world. When she saw Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu amid the crowd, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
She must climb higher, higher than Su Yaoguang and Zhou Wangshu.
Why did that slut Su Yaoguang have such good fortune?
Why?
She was unwilling to accept it.
She was now the Madam of Jing’an Marquis Mansion. If she maintained her current status and position, she would become the head of the Marquis Jing’an Mansion. As for Xiao Yanci, now that he was an official, they could benefit from each other.
If she spoke well of Xiao Yanci, persuading the Marquis Jing’an to promote him, enabling him to stand more firmly in the officialdom than Zhou Wangshu, it would be advantageous to her.