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bloodlandsbook > Stepdaughter Ronghua > Chapter Thirty-Five: Who Embroiled Whom

Chapter Thirty-Five: Who Embroiled Whom

  Jiang Muxun may not know that her already half-public "future Wei Wangfei" identity will be a bubble, so she has no pressure on the current banquet, and when looking at the crowd of beauties, she also has a sense of superiority as if she has already won.

  After socializing for a while, she finally had some free time and didn't forget to remind Song Yixiao: "Although this osmanthus cake is refreshing, it's not yet summer and the wind on the mountain is strong, so eat fewer pieces to avoid catching cold."

  Song Yixiao was just about to respond when a maid suddenly came from behind, glanced around for a moment, and then walked up to Jiang Muxun's side, bowed her head and said: "Miss Jiang, something has happened at the Jing She, would you like to go take a look?"

  Jiang Muxun was taken aback and recognized the clothes on her body, which were those of a maid from Zhuanchun Hall. She couldn't help but ask in surprise: "What happened?"

  The maid said that the nunnery was just below the square, on both sides of the mountain path, with more than ten houses built along the mountain, hidden among green trees and flowers.

  Just now, a group of people walked up from the gate of Jing She, which is where the banquet was being held. These rooms are like other pavilions and buildings in Juquinguan, they can be used for living, but today they were emptied out to be used as dressing rooms and places to sober up.

  The person attending the banquet brings spare clothes and hairpins, which are all placed inside, and are taken care of by the lower servants of the Spring Occupancy Hall.

  Now this maid comes over to invite us, probably...

  Jiang Muxun and Song Yixiao's hearts were still connected, and indeed the maid showed a flustered and nervous expression, saying in a low voice: "Miss Cui's person was careless and knocked over your makeup box, breaking one of the jade pendants. They've also gone to invite Miss Cui over, so..."

  Song Yi Xiao was still pondering whether this matter had anything to do with the Princess of Nan Zhen.

  Otherwise, the princess of Dai Guo would have more power and influence, but Jiang Muqian's family background is not ordinary either. Her aunt is the foster mother of Prince Wei, and according to what that talented lady said, she has a childhood friendship with Prince Wei, so there's no reason why she would lose to the Princess of Nan Zhen without a fight.

  At the mention of "Miss Cui's family", she suddenly became stern: "Which Miss Cui?"

  "The niece of the Imperial Concubine." Although Yu Bu Xiang was not the one who spoiled it, she was in charge of guarding and would be held responsible if something went wrong. Seeing Song Yi Xiao, who was Jiang Mu Qian's companion, she didn't dare to hide it and carefully said, "The one surnamed Xian, who saw Ci Lian."

  "Eldest Sister Jiang, look over there, the waiters are all carrying food boxes. Isn't the banquet about to start?" Song Yi's smile faltered for a moment, she hadn't heard that Jiang Muxi and Cui Jianli had any grudges between them, was this matter directed at herself? Just as she was about to suggest going over with Jiang Muxi to take a look, her gaze shifted to the edge of the square, and her tone suddenly changed, "Or should we leave our seats later?"

  Jiang Muxun nodded slightly as she looked in the direction he was pointing: "That's right, it won't work." She instructed her maid, "You go back first and tell him I know, I'll go over later when I'm free..."

  At this point, her face suddenly turned pale, "Whose jade pendants are these? Could they be the pair left to me by my grandmother?"

  The maid hesitated and said: "I don't know, I only saw a pair of jade pendants with pearls hanging from the branches."

  Before he had even finished speaking, Jiang Muxun's face turned red with rage, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down. His voice was stiff as he said, "Leave first, we'll talk later!"

  "My grandmother loved me the most before she passed away, so she left most of her jewelry to me." Jiang Muxiu's mood was obviously bad, and after the maid left, he sank into silence for a while. He couldn't help but confide in Song Yixiao, "That pair of jade ankle bangles were her favorite when she was a little girl. I asked her for them several times when she was alive, but didn't get them until..."

  Her eyes suddenly turned red, and she bit her vermilion lips hard before stopping herself from making another sound.

  Song Yixiao was very suspicious that she had been implicated by herself, feeling extremely guilty in her heart. Just as she was about to speak to comfort her, Jiang Muxiu sighed and waved her hand, saying: "It's my own fault, I should have known better, I'd rather change into a new dress than bring them along!"

  Obviously to match the clothes she changed into today, so she brought this pair of treasured hairpins too, who would have thought that before she even put them on, they were already smashed.

  Looking at her depressed appearance, Song Yi smiled for a moment and didn't know what to say - fortunately, the music stopped suddenly, and everyone subconsciously looked towards the main seat. As expected, the Qingjiang County Master had already stood up with a smile, announcing the start of the banquet.

  The lady of the manor was not a talkative person and finished the polite conversation in just a few words.

  At last the attendants removed the fruit and sweetmeats from before the guests, and began to hand round the dishes; then a troupe of dancing-girls made their entrance, to enliven the proceedings.

  The dishes are delicious, and the geishas' dancing skills are also very impressive - if it were in the past, Jiang Muxun would have definitely enjoyed this banquet. But now her mind is all about that pair of jade steps, and she can't wait to hurry through the three rounds of wine so that she can find out what's going on, naturally feeling like she's sitting on pins and needles.

  Song Yi Xiao was not much better off than her, turning it over and over in her mind: "What is the point of Cui Jian Liang doing this? Is she coming for me or does she have a grudge against Jiang Mu Qian as well? Or has she been instructed by the Nan Zhen County Princess?"

  The two of them ate without savoring the food until they reached the banquet, looked around at the lively atmosphere, and confirmed that it was okay to temporarily leave their seats. Jiang Muxun hastily stood up - Song Yixiao also got up and said: "Sister Jiang, I'll accompany you?"

  Jiang Muxun hastily went to understand the situation, and thought that she was worried after hearing his previous confession, so he nodded slightly: "You can come too, but try not to speak. That Cui Jianliu is not a good-tempered person, don't get blamed by him!"

  Song Yi smiled wryly and thought to herself: "I wonder if you're the one who's being wrongly blamed!"

  But she felt guilty and suspected that something was fishy. Jiang Muxian's status was not lower than Cui Jianliang's, and in fact, without considering the crown prince, the Jiang family's doorframe was slightly higher than the Cui family's. If Cui Jianliang only wanted to calculate herself, why did she offend Jiang Muxian first?

  Considering Jiang Muqin's emphasis on those jade pendants, this grudge won't be easy to resolve!

  Song Yi Xiao pondered as she followed Jiang Mu Jing out of the scene and headed towards the Jing She.

  As they approached the nunnery, Jiang Muxun and Song Yixiao arrived together, arm in arm. The maid who had gone to inform Jiang Muxun earlier hurried up to greet them: "This way, please, young ladies!"

  She followed her into a room, and Jiang Muxun saw the silk handkerchief on the table at a glance. On it was placed a pair of jade hairpins, all in green color, carved with the shape of connected branches, each branch hanging two strands of pearls - the pearl strings were nothing special, but the hairpin body had been smashed into four or five pieces, and now it was barely pieced together.

  "What's going on with Cui Jianliang?! " Seeing that it was indeed the jade step shake left behind by her grandmother, Jiang Muxiu's last strand of luck was also shattered, and the anger she had been suppressing surged up again, and she sternly asked the maid.

  "Miss Cui was here just a moment ago. She saw you hadn't arrived yet, felt it was stuffy here and went out for a walk." The maid replied cautiously.

  "She still has the nerve to think the house is stuffy?!" Jiang Muqin's face turned iron-green with rage, her fists clenched as she asked, "Which way did she go?!"

  Waiting for the maid to indicate the direction, she turned around and left the house - Song Yi Xiao felt something was wrong, just thinking of asking the maid a few more questions, seeing the situation naturally couldn't care about it anymore, hurriedly lifting her skirt to chase: "Sister Jiang, calm down!"

  But would Jiang Muzhen listen?

  Song Yi Xiao chased after her out the door, still a step late, and Jiang Mu Jing, furious, had already walked several zhangs away with her maid, ignoring her calls.

  They had entered a house with higher terrain, standing on the corridor outside the door, overlooking the mountain path more than ten feet away, where a master and servant were picking wildflowers - the girl who looked like the master was slender, elegant, and beautiful, her profile still recognizable as Cui Jianliang.

  When Song Yixiao saw them, they also discovered Jiang Muxiu. Everyone was a talented woman who wasn't used to loud calls, so Cui Jianliang didn't make a sound to greet her either, and simply waved the bunch of mountain flowers in her hand at Jiang Muxiu as a greeting.

  This action seemed to be showing kindness, but Jiang Muxun was now in a terrible mood and only thought: "She broke my most important thing, not waiting in the house for me to come and apologize sincerely, still having the mood to go out for some fresh air! And still having the mood to pick flowers!!!"

  So she went to Choi Jianlian, saw Choi Jianlian hand over the bouquet, and without thinking, she opened it with a swoop: "My things were fine there, how did your people break them?! Speak!"

  Cui Jianlian's smile on her face stiffened for a moment, revealing a look of grievance: "Sister Jiang, this is my fault..."

  "Of course it's you who is wrong!" Jiang Muxian was not like Song Yixiao, who had no one to rely on. She and Cui Jianliang were originally on an equal footing, especially at this moment when she had the upper hand. With a fiery temper, she didn't give Cui Jianliang any face, cutting her off abruptly and scolding her harshly, "How did you train your maid?!"

  "How can such a clumsy person be sent out!"

  "This is still a banquet hosted by Qingjiang County!"

  "What did you think of the princess's Doll Festival celebration?!"

  "Isn't it hard for you to be so stingy that you won't even give me a few decent maids?!"

  "Are you useless even to the point where you can't take care of those around you?!"

  "If you can't manage it properly, then don't bring it out to harm others!!!"

  When Song Yixiao rushed over, Jiang Muxiu had already scolded Cui Jianliu to the point where he couldn't even lift his head.

  Seeing this situation, Song Yi's smile became even more suspicious: "Even if I only have a nodding acquaintance with this Mr. Cui, whether it was my mother's warnings in the past or Mr. An's reminders, they all prove that he is not someone to be trifled with! Especially after what happened to Zhiqin, it proves that she has a ruthless and cunning heart... Even if she was wrong this time, how could she bear being scolded by Jiang sister like that without saying a word?!"

  She was lost in thought when suddenly Cui Jianliang retorted, seemingly unable to bear it any longer: "Isn't it just a pair of jade pendants? What a rare thing! You name a price, and I'll have someone deliver them to your doorstep - you're being so stubborn, aren't you trying to drive up the price?! Have I spoiled you this time?!"

  "What did you just say?!" Jiang Muxin valued that pair of jade pendants purely because they reminded her of her grandmother. How could a lady from a good family like her get so worked up over the price of a pair of jade pendants?!

  This made Cui Jianlian so angry that her whole body was shaking, and she had already eaten her heart out! Without thinking, she raised her hand and pointed at the tip of Cui Jianlian's nose, shouting in a sharp voice, "Say it again!!!"

  Song Yi Xiao noticed the disdain and calculation in Cui Jian Liang's eyes when he looked up, her heart sank, and she quickly pressed down Jiang Mu Qing's arm: "Jiang sister don't touch..."

  Before he could finish speaking, Cui Jianlian had already followed Jiang Muxing's pointing action and fell backwards with a thud!

  Along with her maid's heart-wrenching cry of "Miss!", she tumbled down over a dozen stone steps before finally coming to a stop, her head tilted to one side, and then lost consciousness.

  Chiang Mu-chen was dumbfounded!

  Song Yi smiled faintly and slowly lowered her arm, with a gloomy look in her eyes.