Chapter 20: A Bolt From the Blue

Jiang Ruobai was in a state of shock.

"Daddy, isn't it time to teach your concubine a lesson?" Jiang Ning asked, staring at him with her big doe eyes. She even managed a couple of tears to slip down her cheeks.

"Y-yes... It's time for me to have a little talk with her." Jiang Ruobai stuttered, still at a loss by what he had heard.

"And precious Fifth Sister too."

"What's wrong with your Fifth Sister?"

"She's going to participate in the selection with her looks? She doesn't look like a lady from a noble family, especially with that foul mouth of hers. Calling that little Qian a poor, dirty boy... Little Qian's skin is flawless, and he has a cute face. How is he dirty?"

Another bolt of lightning struck Jiang Ruobai. On the outside, his body stiffened as he stood ramrod still, but on the inside, he felt as though his heart was stabbed a thousand times.

'The Jiang family is finished!'

"What did she say?" Jiang Ruobai weakly asked. "The Imperior– I mean, your little friend, did he say anything?"

"He's a child. Naturally, he would say some ruthless words after being insulted like that."

"W-what ruthless words?"

"Just those innocent words of a child, something like 'just you wait, I'm not done with you' and so on. Oh, he even said that he would ask his grandfather to cut off their heads."

"..." Jiang Ruobai reached out to support himself on a tree beside him.

"Do you think Old Li is one of those 'pig killers'-- Ah, I mean a butcher?" Jiang Ning pursed her lips before she laughed at the thought. "It would explain a lot. I never expected such a cute, innocent face to spew something bloody and violent."

'A pig killer…'

'A butcher…'

Jiang Ruobai smiled emptily at his daughter, and his smile was uglier than his crying.

"What else did he say?" He asked listlessly.

"Daddy, why are you so interested in a child's words?"

"No, no... Father just wants to know how much of a gossiper Concubine Hua and her daughter were."

"That's quite hypocritical." Jiang Ning muttered to herself. Suddenly she remembered something. "I don't know how Qian found out about this."

"What?"

"He asked if Fifth Sister would participate in Prince Yu's consort selection. Before he left, he said he guaranteed that Fifth Sister would definitely not be selected." Jiang Ning began to talk to herself, "I don't know if this Old Li is a butcher or a fortune-teller. Little Qian is a good child, but he's been raised so mysteriously to be able to say all these nonsense."

Jiang Ruobai was speechless.

Just then, Lin Zizi walked into the garden. When her eyes landed on Jiang Ning, the woman brightened and waved her hand. "Ning Ning, where did you go? I've asked someone to prepare dinner. Come over and eat with me. "

Jiang Ruobai's eyes turned gentle when he saw his wife, especially when she looked more lucid than earlier that day. "Go, accompany your mother." He said to his daughter.

"Daddy, I'd like to hire a physician," Jiang Ning said.

"Why? We have two physicians in the residence who are skilled in what they do."

"I can't eat. I keep vomiting," She said truthfully.

"Did you catch a cold?" Jiang Ruobai asked in concern, placing his hand to touch her forehead. "Don't worry. I'll get a physician to come and see you tomorrow. As for Concubine Hua, Father will take care of it. No one in the family will dare to make things difficult for you in the future. If it still continues, tell me, and I will deal with them."

"Thank you, Daddy."

"Go on then."

Jiang Ruobai watched as she pushed her wheelchair toward Lin Zizi. Once he saw his wife and daughter go inside the manor, he turned around and called the head steward over to ask about what had happened in the afternoon.

"What the Seventh Lady said is the truth," the steward said.

"You disgraceful thing, what are you doing? Why did you allow the servants to treat the Seventh Lady's 'friend' in such a way?"

"This... Master, in the years she took over the manor, Concubine Hua had never gone back on the threats she made within the residence. This servant had no choice. Furthermore, he is just a child. I'm sure the child will forget about this by tomorrow. Master has nothing to worry about. "

"Just a child?" Jiang Ruobai sneered. "Do you know who that child is?"

"Who is it?"

 "Did you hear what the Seventh Lady called him by?"

"I think the young lady called him... Little Qian?"

 "He is the Emperor's eldest grandson, Li Tingqian!"

"..." The head steward's eyes bulged out as his knees went soft before he fell onto the ground. He asked in a trembling voice, "H-how did our family's Seventh Lady know His Royal Highness? The Imperial Grandson was calling her Auntie." Then the man became more horrified as he further recalled the incident in a new light. "Concubine Hua and the Fifth Lady were not too polite to him... That's right, no wonder the eldest Imperial Grandson said that he could guarantee the Fifth Lady won't be selected in the selection before he left..."

Jiang Ruobai's expression darkened.

The head steward quickly thought of an idea.

"Master, there are still two days left before the selection. It's not too late to remove the Fifth Lady's name now," the servant said carefully.

"Remove her name? You fool!" Jiang Ruobai exploded. 

"M-master, the eldest Imperial Grandson will definitely be there to see the selection. If he sees the Fifth Young Lady, would he not be angry? She definitely won't be chosen. Wouldn't it be better to remove her name before we anger His Highness?" 

"You fool, is this a matter of whether I can be chosen or not?" Jiang Ruobai barked, "Even if Xiao Wu doesn't go, we must take her there. We have to let the Imperial Grandson vent his anger!"