Chapter 264: Chapter 264: You’re Absolutely Right, but I Won’t Listen
Next day Sui Courtyard.
Shen Hua woke up.
The furnishings in the room were not unfamiliar to her. However, last night, she had slept uncomfortably and felt unusually hot.
From outside, she could vaguely hear Ji Xin and Yicui talking while looking for Shen Hua.
Ji Xin did not mention the fact that Cui Yun and Shen Hua stayed in the same room: "Last night, Miss Shen sprained her ankle, so the Marquis thought it unwise for her to be moving back and forth. He let Miss Shen stay here instead."
"Doctor Ni came to check on her last night, Miss Shen is in our care, nothing will go wrong."
Yicui repeatedly expressed her gratitude: "Last night, Yingwu returned to the East Courtyard and specifically mentioned it."
"Knowing Miss Shen is with the Marquis, naturally, we are the most at ease," she said, then glanced at the room door with an embarrassed smile, "But who would have thought Miss Shen would occupy the Marquis’s room, how could this be acceptable? Forcing the Marquis to find another place to sleep, it really isn’t proper."
Ji Xin fell silent for a moment.
She felt somewhat guilty.
Ji Xin took Yicui’s hand.
"Miss Shen is one of our own, there’s no need to speak of such formalities."
"You attend to Miss Shen, I attend to the Marquis, this makes us family too," she said.
Yicui was deeply moved: "What you said is true."
Shen Hua propped herself up. Before she slept last night, she was still wearing her coat, so she must have sweated it out during the night, which Ji Xin kindly removed for her.
Before Shen Hua could think further, a warm flow surged below her. This sensation was both familiar and strange.
She pulled back the covers and indeed, saw a glaring red stain on her skirt.
In her past life, her periods were always so painful that she couldn’t leave the bed. Her body was too weak back then, and medicine had little effect.
Yet Shen Hua had not expected that this time, there was no discomfort at all. Even the timing was early.
Finally! Her period had come!!!
Shen Hua’s lips were just about to curl into a smile, but then they stiffened quickly.
Her leg was immobilized, and it was quite a challenge for her to shift herself to the side.
As expected, the mattress pad was stained with blood.
Shen Hua’s eyes trembled. She felt utterly miserable.
Help... help me.
Last night, Cui Yun had given up his bed to her, and in a blink of an eye, she repaid his kindness with a large bloodstain.
Shen Hua was stunned, she even felt like she was suffocating.
Shen Hua buried her head in the pillow, grieving with a sob.
Hearing the noise, Yicui approached the steps, but as it was Cui Yun’s room, she did not dare to enter without permission.
"Is Miss awake yet?"
"I will enter to attend to you now."
"Wait!"
From inside the room, Shen Hua’s urgent voice stopped her.
Yicui’s hand paused in the act of pushing the door.
"None of you are allowed in."
Shen Hua with her injured leg, awkwardly moved on the bed, trying to put her foot on the floor with great difficulty, accidentally knocking the already burnt-out candle on the bedside table to the floor.
A heavy ’clatter’ sound.
Yicui was anxious from outside: "Miss, what happened? Did you fall? Please be careful, you can’t afford to hurt your leg again."
Shen Hua: "I’m just fine!"
The girl painstakingly and meticulously checked, and fortunately, the top bedding she was covering was clean.
After a while, there was rustling inside the room, and as Yicui and Ji Xin looked at each other feeling more and more that something was wrong, the girl’s voice finally came from within the room.
"Come in."
Upon hearing this, Ji Xin pushed the door open, and Yicui wheeled the chair inside. She was modest, entering with her head half-lowered, not daring to look around casually.
They walked around the screen.
And saw Shen Hua sitting decently in front of the bed.
The girl calmly said: "This morning, I want to eat milk cake and flaky pastries for breakfast."
Yicui readily agreed: "Certainly."
The girl had already put on her coat and was hugging the blood-stained mattress pad.
The bed was left in a mess by her. Shen Hua had thought to tidy it up, but it only got messier the more she tried.
She couldn’t manage it anymore.
Ji Xin was taken aback.
"Miss Shen, what is this about?"
Shen Hua innocently said, "It’s my cousin’s old quilt, and it matches me perfectly. I love it so much; I can’t wait to take it home and burn incense for it."
With that, she was especially eager for opinions: "What do you all think?"
Ji Xin: ?
Shen Hua: "Mhm, I hear you."
Ji Xin: ??
Shen Hua: "Then I won’t stand on ceremony."
Ji Xin felt utterly absurd. Coming back to her senses, she quickly said, "How could an old one suffice? There’s a new one in the cabinet, the same pattern and fabric. I’ll fetch it for Miss Shen."
Seeing her about to act on her words, Shen Hua suddenly stood up on one foot and hopped with some difficulty.
"You’re right, but I won’t listen. Leave me be; I just like the old one."
----
Ministry of Justice.
"Today, while presiding over the trial, Lord Jiang showed a heart not as hard as iron, offering water to a thirsty prisoner."
The Chief Clerk intercepted Jiang Zhao early in the morning, with a sly glint in his eyes.
"What’s going on? I think something’s off."
Jiang Zhao couldn’t be bothered with more talk.
"You really have too much free time."
"So what if Lord Jiang has a soft spot and shows some humanity occasionally?"
"I’m quite busy today; there’s been a murder on Chaoheng Street, and I need to dispatch someone to investigate."
Official duties are, of course, paramount.
The Chief Clerk didn’t hold him up anymore but asked a question.
"With murder cases, aren’t they handled by the Ministry of Justice and the government office? Why should the Ministry of Justice intervene?"
Jiang Zhao’s expression grew serious: "The deceased is Marquis Chengyang."
The Chief Clerk paused, his smile fading.
Marquis Chengyang, exposed for corruption and bribery, was personally apprehended by Lord Jiang. Later, Emperor He spared him on account of his past contributions to saving the carriage, merely stripping him of his position and title.
The Emperor’s grace is boundless; now Marquis Chengyang was nothing more than a marquis in name only.
That he was still alive was his good fortune.
Yet, not long after, he was dead.
Jiang Zhao personally appointed a few men.
This case was mainly in the hands of the Ministry of Justice; the people dispatched by the Ministry of Justice were merely for appearance’s sake, to avoid later criticisms or being sullied by someone’s dirty water.
"Make a swift investigation and return without causing a fuss. There’s no need to stir up trouble or get tainted with the stench."
The officials uniformly responded: "Understood."
Jiang Zhao went on to attend to other matters, but within two hours, the Chief Clerk stopped him again.
"Something is really off!"
Jiang Zhao: "..."
"I had just gone to deliver documents; Lord Jiang urgently needed them. I’m old and a bit forgetful now. I went there but forgot the documents. If this were before, Lord Jiang would have certainly scolded me."
Jiang Zhao: ???
"I think your age hasn’t made you forgetful; your brain’s just waterlogged."
"But this time, Lord Jiang didn’t mind it at all. Not only did he not punish me, but he simply told me to run the errand again, cool as a breeze."
Jiang Zhao’s hand, poised to push the man away, stopped in mid-air.
Chief Clerk: "You don’t believe me?"
Cui Yun always conducted official business impartially.
Chief Clerk with animated excitement: "I figure there must be progress in his marital matters."
"After all, a man’s nature is just so."
Jiang Zhao’s face stiffened as he looked toward Cui Yun, who had appeared behind the Chief Clerk at some point. The man, dressed in official clothes, had a serene and imposing demeanor.
Chief Clerk: "Just one look at Lord Jiang and you can see he’s smitten."
"Jiang Zhao, what’s with your eye twitching?"
"You don’t believe me? Do you need me to go in empty-handed again?"
A cold laugh sounded from behind.
The Chief Clerk’s scalp tingled at once.
Cui Yun: "Whether Lord Jiang believes me or not, I do not know, but Chief Clerk, you’ll need to erect a monument for your claim."