Chapter 14: No Room for Outsiders to Interfere

Page 1/3

Tang Qingwan’s gaze turned sinister. “Jiang Nian, you think so highly of yourself, yet after all your picking and choosing, you still ended up with a poor scholar! If you don’t give me the money today, I’m not leaving!”

Seeing Jiang Nian remain unmoved, Tang Qingwan pressed on with a threat: “Do you want to live a stable life? Fine, I’ll tell the Pei family all your sordid little secrets! If you don’t let me live well, don’t expect to live well yourself!”

“Alright, cousin, say whatever you want,” Jiang Nian replied indifferently. With a clear conscience, she had nothing to fear—Tang Qingwan held no real leverage over her, only baseless accusations.

In truth, she had long lost patience. The only reason she had been arguing with Tang Qingwan so much was because she thought about the miserable fate Tang Qingwan would suffer under Meng Yingying and Xiao Ru’s hands once she entered the Bo household.

Perhaps this was the last time she would speak with Tang Qingwan, so she played along, treating it as a final farewell to the bond they had shared for eighteen years.

“No money, but one last thing for you, cousin—take care of yourself once you enter the Bo household.”

Tang Qingwan sneered coldly, “You’re still so self-righteous! You won’t help me now, but when I rise to power, don’t come running to bask in my glory!”

“Don’t worry, cousin, I’ll keep far away. I don’t want to touch any of the light that comes with being your concubine.” With that, Jiang Nian turned to leave, only to be suddenly grabbed by the arm.

Tang Qingwan, furious, exerted all her strength, nearly causing Jiang Nian to stumble.

Seeing Jiang Nian falter, Tang Qingwan quickly let go and then pushed Jiang Nian’s shoulder.

Just as the panicked servant Green Wax was about to leap forward to cushion Jiang Nian’s fall, a figure suddenly flashed by.

Jiang Nian gasped. Just as she thought she was about to fall hard on her backside, she was caught in a strong embrace.

Before she could react, the person behind her helped her stand straight, then quickly withdrew his hand so smoothly that Jiang Nian almost thought she had imagined the touch.

She turned to see Pei Jiuru, who had stepped aside by a pace, looking at her with mild surprise. “Why did you come out?”

Pei Jiuru looked at her, and seeing no trace of panic or fear on her face, he felt reassured.

He didn’t answer but instead asked, “What’s all this noise about?”

“This is my second uncle’s cousin,” Jiang Nian explained. “She came to borrow money; it’s nothing important.”

Only then did Pei Jiuru’s gaze shift from Jiang Nian to Tang Qingwan. Seeing the way she scrutinized him, a wave of disgust suddenly surged within him.

Page 2/3

Jiang Nian often observed him closely, but he never once felt offended.

Yet the way this cousin looked at him filled him with revulsion. “You pushed Jiang Nian just now—apologize.”

Tang Qingwan didn’t hear Pei Jiuru’s words at all. Since the man appeared, she had been sizing him up from head to toe.

The more she looked, the angrier she grew. How could Jiang Nian find a man with such good looks? Why hadn’t Jiang Nian married some greasy, fat-headed man?

Suddenly, noticing his displeased glance, she sneered sarcastically, “Scholars are really naive. Brother-in-law probably doesn’t know about Jiang Nian’s reckless past before marriage, does he? She’s quite the—”

Tang Qingwan dragged out her words, trying to tease and provoke.

Pei Jiuru’s mood darkened inexplicably. “Who she was and what she did before marrying my wife isn’t for outsiders to meddle in.”

Tang Qingwan was taken aback. She had prepared a mouthful of slander, but didn’t expect Pei Jiuru and Jiang Nian to be on the same page. “You dare call me meddlesome? I’m here today representing the Tang family! How dare you treat me like this!”

Hearing this, Jiang Nian stepped back behind Pei Jiuru deliberately, wanting to see his reaction. Was he really uninterested in Tang Qingwan’s words?

Her retreat, however, made Pei Jiuru mistakenly think she was afraid.

Looking at Tang Qingwan again, Pei Jiuru’s disgust deepened, and his words were icy enough to cut glass: “You represent the Tang family? Then this must be the Tang family bullying others. I didn’t know the Tang family behaved like this.”

Just a light question made Tang Qingwan uneasy.

“I—Anyway, you’re not paying me back today, I’m not leaving! You tricked me out of my money, and that was my dowry! Even if officials come, you have no right to keep it!”

“Is that so? Are we the ones who owe debts or are you the one slandering and extorting? Why don’t we let the officials decide?”

Tang Qingwan grew more flustered and unwilling to back down. “You’re standing up for her now, but do you know she had an affair with the second son of the Qin family? You’re just a fool!”

“Slander, extortion, and stirring up trouble. Send for the authorities,” Pei Jiuru waved his hand, and a servant immediately ran off as if to report the matter.

Tang Qingwan panicked. Casting a venomous glare at Pei Jiuru and Jiang Nian, she turned and fled the estate.

No one paid any mind to whether Tang Qingwan escaped in disgrace.

Pei Jiuru concealed the coldness in his eyes but still wore a stern expression as he looked at Jiang Nian. “She hasn’t apologized to you yet.”

Page 3/3

“No matter. I’m not eager for her apology,” Jiang Nian thought. Indeed, she had overthought it. Pei Jiuru wanted to live a peaceful life with her.

Earlier, in the study, when he said he wasn’t angry about sleeping apart, she believed him mostly—his unhappiness was probably just stress.

Now, she believed him completely. This wasn’t his business, nor was it his place in their arrangement to stand up for her.

Yet he had done so.

Even if he wasn’t curious about Tang Qingwan’s words, she wanted to clarify, to prevent future misunderstandings: “Don’t listen to her nonsense. The second son of the Qin family is around my age, and since our families live close by, we played together as children. But nothing improper ever happened between us—we never had romantic feelings.”

“Hm, I heard you two arguing and it disturbed my studying, so I came out,” Pei Jiuru said.

“Understood!” Jiang Nian couldn’t help but smile. The study was so far from the main courtyard, he couldn’t possibly have heard the argument, yet he still felt embarrassed. She didn’t plan to expose his poor excuse, but her mood suddenly lightened.

Pei Jiuru didn’t understand what amused her. Just as he was about to return to the study, Jiang Nian added:

“Tomorrow is the day of the homecoming banquet, so I’ll be keeping you company for the day.”

Pei Jiuru nodded. Since it was just an arrangement, he would play the part of a loving husband well. “It’s my duty.”

After Pei Jiuru’s figure disappeared into the courtyard, the long-suppressed Green Wax whispered softly, “Miss, was that on purpose? Usually, you handle eight cousins alone without breaking a sweat. Today, you acted weak to make the master feel sorry for you?”

“Did he feel sorry?” Jiang Nian pondered seriously before explaining, “I didn’t know he would come out, so I wasn’t pretending! I just felt sorry for Tang Qingwan.”

Green Wax didn’t understand. Tang Qingwan had been so domineering—how could she be pitiful? “Now that Miss and Master have reconciled, I won’t have to be so on edge anymore!”

Jiang Nian nodded quietly. She had no idea that just as she thought they had made peace, Pei Jiuru had secretly resolved to keep his distance.

Jiang Nian smiled brightly. “Green Wax, let’s go pick out the gifts for the homecoming banquet!”