Chapter 3

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The sudden, sharp halt of the carriage jolted Jiang Jingchun so abruptly that by the time she recovered, she had already fallen onto Gu Huaisheng’s lap. Had he not steadied her, she would surely have been thrown to the ground.

His large palm gripped her arm firmly, and the crisp, cool scent so close to her face invaded her senses unexpectedly.

Startled by the sudden turn of events, Jiang Jingchun quickly lifted her head to look at him. Their gazes met; her half-tied hair had come undone from the fall, cascading softly over her shoulders. Her wide, startled eyes were filled with panic, as if she had committed some grave misdeed.

Perhaps because Gu Huaisheng’s expression was far from pleasant, she feared that this mishap might anger him.

After all, he had never truly liked her.

He would certainly see her actions as an affront.

Before either of them could say a word, Jiang Jingchun hurriedly stood up, her eyes brimming with silent tears as she looked at Gu Huaisheng.

She stammered, “Cousin... I didn’t mean to.”

Indeed, she was still a child. Though she claimed to like him, when it came to real interaction, she became so flustered.

The warmth she had felt instantly withdrew, and Gu Huaisheng had not yet fully reacted. Hearing her words, he did not look at her but could guess her expression.

He smoothed the creases on his clothes without much concern and replied coolly, “It’s all right.”

Still “all right”... No matter what she did, it seemed he would never mind. No matter how she behaved, she would never stir any emotion in him.

A breeze slipped through the window crack, ruffling the strands of her hair against her skin, causing a slight itch. Only then did she realize her hair had not yet been properly tied.

She raised her hand to fix it, but Jiang Runchu took her aside.

Jiang Jingchun glared at him, but he rebuked, “Still planning to bother your cousin?”

She glanced at Gu Huaisheng, whose face had returned to its usual cold, inscrutable expression. She could not tell what he was thinking.

Facing the cold and indifferent man before her, perhaps tainted by his chill, Jiang Jingchun lost the will to argue with her brother. She shut her mouth, turned away in a pout, and refused even to tie her hair.

Seeing this, Jiang Runchu clearly knew she was throwing a temper tantrum again. He could not let her go home with her hair undone; if their mother saw her like this, God knew what she would think.

He stopped the carriage and had Hua Yun come up to fix her hair.

By the time they returned to the Jiang residence, it was already late. Jiang Jingchun had left around noon, and now dusk was fast approaching.

The group proceeded to the honor hall where the matriarch awaited. Lady Jiang and Lady Gu were already there.

The two women sat below the hall, their faces finely maintained, each appearing younger than their forty-something years.

Hearing the commotion outside, Lady Jiang immediately stood to greet them, pulling her daughter close to inspect her thoroughly. Seeing no serious harm, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She scolded, “You went out to play polo, yet ended up quarreling with others? Fighting too? How could that be?”

Jiang Runchu winced at the headache. No wonder Jiang Jingchun had such a temper—she was spoiled by their mother.

Watching the two women fussing over her, he snapped irritably, “She pushed Miss Lou’s second daughter down the stairs herself. How bad could the injury be? She hurt someone, and the other side only wanted an apology, which she refused. If it weren’t for Fu Yan stepping in, she wouldn’t have come back today at all. Let others drown in their own spit for all she cares.”

Gu Huaisheng bowed his head upon hearing his name and said quietly, “That was my responsibility.”

Lady Jiang clearly paid no mind to this and changed the subject, “Isn’t she unharmed? Whether she apologizes or not, what does it matter...”

Even Jiang Jingchun thought her mother’s words unreasonable, but considering Lou Yanyan’s dirty tricks to sully her reputation, she felt no fault of her own. She even hid behind her mother to make faces at Jiang Runchu, as if daring him to do anything about it.

Jiang Runchu was so angry he choked on his words, unable to breathe properly.

His face turned ashen. Unable to stay any longer, he said, “You’re just spoiling her!” With that, he swept his sleeve and left.

Gu Huaisheng also left, saying, “I’ll go check on him,” and followed suit.

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After Gu Huaisheng left, Jiang Jingchun’s gaze involuntarily followed him.

After a while, she released Lady Jiang’s hand and also went outside.

Lady Gu tried to stop her, but Lady Jiang blocked the way.

Helpless, Lady Gu could only watch Jiang Jingchun go after him.

They all knew what she intended. With Gu Huaisheng gone, she would likely pester him again.

Lady Gu understood her son’s temperament best. Such a cold, detached man could hardly be fond of someone like Jiang Jingchun.

The more she bothered him, the less he would like her.

Lady Gu returned to her seat, unwilling to directly accuse Jiang Jingchun of troubling Gu Huaisheng since it would harm both their reputations. It was better to just say they were cousins; any further explanation would only make it seem suspicious.

She picked up on what Jiang Runchu had said earlier and snapped at Lady Jiang, “In the end, it was Xiao Chun who threw the first punch. You’re just protecting her. How can that be right if it gets out?”

Lady Gu always spoke frankly. She had felt Lady Jiang’s words were off before.

With the children present, she couldn’t say it outright. If Jiang Jingchun heard it, she would think she had grievances against her.

She held no grudge against Jiang Jingchun herself, but she did have a poor opinion of Lady Jiang for spoiling her so badly.

Such a fine child, yet spoiled beyond measure.

Lady Jiang dismissed it lightly, “I’m just loving my own child, not protecting her.”

Lady Gu was momentarily silenced by that.

Indeed, it would be strange if she took it to heart.

She turned to appeal to the matriarch, “Mother, look at your daughter-in-law. She doesn’t care about Xiao Chun at all. You must step in.”

Since marrying into the family, Lady Gu often came back to the Jiang household and had a decent relationship with the daughter-in-law.

Yet, she could not understand how she was so clear-headed about everything except when it came to the child, where she became utterly unreasonable.

Though a mother must be firm, there should still be limits.

The matriarch sat in the main seat, eyes closed in rest. After a long silence, she finally spoke, “Have her come to me later.”

The matriarch was famously strict; coming to her meant facing punishment.

Lady Jiang was about to protest but the matriarch shot her a glance—neither harsh nor soft, but enough to make her uneasy.

She was nearly sixty, her hair silvered, eyes showing the inevitable cloudiness of old age, yet her face remained vigorous and her speech steady, lacking the frailty typical of the elderly.

This matriarch was a legend in her own right.

The Jiang family was once prosperous but nearly wiped out decades ago during the imperial succession struggles. Jiang Laoye had backed the wrong side and was exiled to a remote, harsh region, falling from grace into the mud. Devastated, he fell ill and died in the south, leaving the matriarch to raise their three children alone.

Widowed and alone, the matriarch struggled to raise the children.

Later, the eldest Jiang son became the top scholar in the imperial examination, and the family finally returned to the capital.

The matriarch had single-handedly raised these children, earning the respect of the entire household.

Even Jiang Shangshu, now old enough to marry, obeyed her unquestioningly.

Her word was law.

Lady Jiang knew she could not argue and quietly accepted it.

Reluctantly, she said, “Fine, I’ll have her come later.”

*

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Elsewhere, after leaving the hall, Jiang Runchu noticed Gu Huaisheng following him.

He turned to ask, “Why are you following me?”

His anger was still evident, and his tone was far from friendly even now.

Gu Huaisheng paid no mind, walking beside Jiang Runchu as they strolled side by side.

He said, “Have you heard the rumors about your sister these past days?”

Jiang Runchu clearly had not.

He frowned, “What rumors?”

Gu Huaisheng recounted Lou Yanyan’s schemes to him.

Jiang Runchu replied, “About her pushing Lou family’s second daughter down the stairs today, it’s hard to say who was right or wrong.”

But even so, his expression did not improve. “Even if the Lou girl did something wrong first, she shouldn’t behave like that. If everyone acted like her, where would it end?”

Gu Huaisheng understood his meaning and said no more.

But Jiang Runchu seemed to realize something and asked, “You’re defending her? Could it be that you...”

He thought back to how Gu Huaisheng had intervened today.

Gu Huaisheng showed a rare look of puzzlement, then, finding it somewhat amusing, let out a light laugh.

“She’s just a child. We’re all siblings. If she makes a mistake, it’s only right to help. What’s strange about that?”

His face was as cold and clear as snow, and his words were equally detached, neither sorrowful nor joyful, as if speaking of something utterly trivial.

Though young, he had been in officialdom for four or five years by now.

He had seen all kinds of people.

To him, Jiang Jingchun was nothing but a child.

Children’s affections come quickly and fade just as fast. To his eyes, it was almost amusing.

“My treatment of her is nothing more than that of cousins, just like any other cousin.”

Otherwise, how else would he regard her?

Not far behind, Jiang Jingchun caught every word he said.

“Just a child...”

“Just a cousin...”

She had long known he did not like people like her.

But hearing it from his mouth today made it sound so harsh.

Was she a child? She was no longer a child. A few days ago, she had come of age and could be betrothed.

Jiang Jingchun felt her head spinning, as if a wad of cotton was lodged in her chest, caught in between, unbearably uncomfortable.

In that moment, she did something unthinkable—she walked right up to Gu Huaisheng, looked up at him, and asked,

“Cousin Gu, you don’t like children. Then what kind of person do you like?”