The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 131 : Taking Action

Translated by : Shl

Edited by : Anks & Ely

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It was not the death of Old Jiang Madame that had considerably shaken up Jiang fu, but rather it was the shocking news that Jiang Ruan had been arrested and imprisoned. When Jiang Quan eventually learned of this situation he was naturally incensed beyond belief. That day in Gui Lan Yuan, only Cai Que had been with Old Jiang Madame, and she had served the old lady for so many years that people trusted her words. As for Old Jiang Madame's tea, arsenic had actually been discovered in it.

The rumours circulating everywhere in the capital were that Jiang Ruan bore a deep-seated grievance against Old Jiang Madame and had therefore poisoned her. Although this rumour had spread far and wide, intelligent people were able to surmise the truth upon hearing it: if one wanted to murder someone else, it would be absolutely stupid to administer the poison right in front of the person. Moreover, Hong'an Junzhu was no fool so why would she bring about her own destruction?

However, suspicion aside, when all was said and done, this was a Jiang family affair. Everyone was eager to gossip whilst waiting to watch the ensuing show. This younger sister of Great Jin's 'god of war', the Hong'an Junzhu who was currently the favourite by the side of Empress Dowager Yi De- how would she turn this undesirable situation around?

Perhaps because the rumours were flying around fiercely outside, Jiang Quan issued a confinement order – except for the purpose of making purchases, no one in the fu, without exception, was allowed to go out. In Second Yiniang's courtyard, Yang Liu was cautiously serving Second Yiniang her medicine.

"Take it away!" Second Yiniang waved the bowl of medicine away with a vexed expression. Jiang Quan forbade anyone in the fu to go out, which meant no outsiders could come in either, and her people who were tasked with information dissemination and collection were unable to obtain any news. Thus, they were in the dark about what was happening outside. Thinking about the thirty thousand taels of silver which she had given out, Second Yiniang gritted her teeth. She had pawned all of her personal wealth; surely Jiang Ruan would be unable to escape even if she sprouted wings.

Although Hu Qian Qiu treated her with courtesy, in the end, many years had passed. On the surface, Hu Qian Qiu appeared to be helping her due to the past affection between them, but the truth was that he wanted to establish a line of connection with the Jiang family. The struggle between Xuan Hua and Xuan Li was growing in intensity, and although Hu Qian Qiu had aligned himself with Xuan Hua, he still harboured some degree of hesitation. Thus, if he could just gain a connection with Jiang fu, he would have a contingency plan for the future.

Li Qiang was her own nephew, but he was a gambling addict and had run up a huge debt. If she had not caught wind of this weakness of his, she would never have allowed him to help her. She had originally not considered framing Jiang Ruan in order to bring her down, and had only thought about letting Li Qiang employ his 'methods' while she was incarcerated. Any woman would naturally want to kill herself after having to suffer such circumstances, and even if Jiang Ruan did not commit suicide, Li Qiang would make it seem as if she had. All that Jiang Li had had to endure was due to Jiang Ruan: her body had been defiled by that lecher of a prince, and her reputation had become that of an utterly wanton woman. Now, Second Yiniang wanted Jiang Ruan to have a taste of her own medicine – to be defiled, and to lose her good name.

Jiang Ruan would be all alone in the prison so that would be the best time to take action. It was a foolproof plan, but there had been no news from that quarter, and Second Yiniang's anxiety began to make itself felt. In addition, this anxiety came with a vague premonition, which caused her to be inexplicably flustered.