Chapter 158: The Real Lu Xian

Tang’er and Lian’er, who attended to Jiang Xuening, vaguely sensed that something was off about their young lady after her return.

In the afternoon, someone from the Marquis of Qingyuan’s household had come to Jiang’s mansion, claiming that their young lady had been beaten by Jiang Xuening in front of everyone, and they clearly wanted an explanation. Jiang Boyou had persuaded them with kind words, saying he would question Jiang Xuening upon her return and give the marquis’ household a proper account.

Everyone in the mansion believed the second young lady had caused trouble.

But when she returned and heard that the master and mistress were waiting for her, she only said two indifferent words: “Not going.”

Naturally, Jiang Boyou was furious, and Madam Meng threw a fit in her room, accusing Jiang Xuening of stirring up trouble at the critical moment of selecting the princess consort for the Prince of Linzi, clearly not wanting to see her sister succeed.

Jiang Xuening returned to her room and only took out a ten-tael silver ingot.

Then she handed the ingot to Lian’er and instructed her to give it to Jiang Boyou and Madam Meng, leaving only one message: “Indeed, I hit You Yue. Use this bit of silver. If they’re not satisfied, they can file a complaint with the authorities and have me summoned. I’ll compensate according to the court’s ruling. As long as the earl’s household can endure the disgrace.”

That was almost all she said the entire evening.

She then proceeded with her usual routine—dining, washing up, and even going to bed half an hour earlier than usual.

It seemed perfectly normal.

But Tang’er and Lian’er, who had been attending her for a while, keenly sensed that something was amiss. They held their breaths and became even more cautious, not daring to let anyone disturb her.

Early the next morning, news came from the Marquis of Qingyuan’s household. It was said that after being slapped by Jiang Xuening at the Shuxiang Inn, You Yue had gone mad, fainted from anger, and hit her head on the threshold. Not only was her face disfigured, but she also remained unconscious for several hours.

After much effort, a doctor managed to save her, but when she woke up, she seemed deranged.

She kept muttering about “silver stocks,” “rising,” and “falling,” and most of the time, she didn’t recognize her parents. But when she did, she would throw things, pull her hair, and curse them, both crying and making a scene.

Rumor had it that this young lady from the marquis’ household had invested all her private money in the Ren family salt field’s silver stocks. After enduring the price drop to its lowest point and seeing it rise again, she returned home only to find out that her parents had sold the stocks on her behalf. Who could withstand such a shock? After hitting her head and going mad, she directed her harsh words at her parents.

Gossip spread everywhere, and the entire marquis’ household was humiliated.

Naturally, Jiang Xuening couldn’t escape being talked about. The stories You Yue concocted about her and Zhang Zhe at the Shuxiang Inn were also spreading all over the streets.

Early in the morning, a servant woman from Madam Meng’s place came to summon Jiang Xuening, clearly enraged and demanding an explanation.

Jiang Xuening was sitting in front of the dressing mirror, combing her hair.

After hearing the servant’s message, she remained exceptionally calm. She picked up a flower vase next to her and threw it directly at the servant’s head, saying indifferently, “This is just the beginning. Coming to settle scores with me now is too early! Just wait and see for a couple more days.”

In the past, she had been arrogant and had laid hands on the maids and servants before.

But never had she been this frightening.

Her voice even carried a hint of laughter, yet her face was as calm as an icy lake, as if she felt no inner turmoil. The object she picked up, however, hit the servant’s head.

The servant, knowing Jiang Xuening was annoyed and naturally speaking with a harsh tone, lost all courage when blood flowed from her forehead and started crying out loudly in pain.

Jiang Xuening acted as if she didn’t hear a thing.

She picked up a crescent-shaped red coral earring from the dressing table and hung it on her earlobe. First, she instructed Lian’er to deliver the letter she had written in the morning to You Fangyin in Shu. Then, she asked Tang’er to prepare a carriage for her.

Before leaving, she opened a box and took out the contract and certificate for ten thousand silver shares of the Ren family’s salt fields, along with the seal, and then directly left the mansion and got into the carriage, heading to Youhuang Hall.

Lu Xian was upstairs drinking tea gloomily early in the morning.

He looked up and saw her walk in from outside, his eyelid twitching as a vague sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

He got up to greet her, “Isn’t this Miss Jiang? Coming to our pavilion today, you must be looking to pick out a new zither.”

Jiang Xuening replied, “No.”

Lu Xian raised an eyebrow, “Not here to buy anything?”

Jiang Xuening directly placed the contract and certificate for the ten thousand silver shares on the counter in front of him and said lightly, “But to sell something.”

The moment she took out that stack of papers, Lu Xian’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. His gaze was glued to her hand, then followed it to the counter, his mind almost collapsing!

These few pages…

God knows how familiar they looked to him! Weren’t they the ones he had sold at a low price a few days ago?!

How could…

They be in Jiang Xuening’s hands?

Lu Xian’s temples throbbed, feeling a rush of blood to his head, making his lips tremble. He had to raise his hand to press his forehead to suppress the urge to roar, “So it was you who secretly bought the silver shares?!”

If Jiang Xuening were in Lu Xian’s position, she probably wouldn’t be able to stay calm either, so she was very magnanimous about his rare rudeness, not minding at all, and said kindly, “Yes, it was me.”

Lu Xian nearly lost his mind with anger, “And now you want to sell them back to me?!”

Jiang Xuening smiled, “I’m a bit short of money. If Master Lu can buy them back, that would be perfect.”

Lu Xian: “…”

Damn it, you bought the silver shares from me for four hundred wen and now want to sell them back to me at a high price. Isn’t that just me buying my own shares and losing a huge amount of money for nothing?

Do you take me for a fool? Dream on!

Jiang Xuening observed his livid face and, understanding, was about to take the certificate and contract back, “It seems Master Lu is not interested. I’ll ask someone else.”

“Clap!”

Lu Xian slapped his hand down on the papers, stiffly saying, “Name your price.”

Jiang Xuening: “…”

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