Chapter 310

Chapter 310: How Do You Know

Yu Zhi Yi set down her chopsticks and looked at her calmly: “Sister made plans to meet someone at the back mountain. If you don’t hurry and finish eating, you’ll be late.”

Jiang Si Ying gasped: “How do you know-” then she snapped her mouth shut.

She had almost given herself away, but it was already too late.

Lin Jing Xuan looked at Jiang Si Ying in confusion: “Ying’er, who are you going to meet?”

Even in the Martial World people may be carefree, but well-bred families still don’t allow a daughter to go out at midnight-especially to the back mountain, a place where almost no one passes by.

Jiang Si Ying shot Yu Zhi Yi a cold glance, then said to Lin Jing Xuan: “Mother, I agreed to meet a friend at the back mountain to admire the sea of lights.”

The excuse was flimsy, but she had no choice. It was winter; the mountain was bare. Flowers and greenery up there were things the Martial Alliance had spent heavy money and effort to bring in, planted only where crowds gathered. A place like the back mountain, with few visitors, had nothing worth admiring.

Lin Jing Xuan’s face showed doubt as she asked: “Really?” But because this touched her daughter’s reputation, she didn’t press. She planned to pull her daughter back to her room later for a proper talk.

Seeing her mother’s look, Jiang Si Ying knew she couldn’t escape a grilling later; anger filled her eyes when she looked at Yu Zhi Yi. But she feared Yu Zhi Yi would say more, so she forced her temper down.

Jiang Yu Chuan and his wife entered with Jiang Liu Yi one after another. Sensing the strange mood in the dining room, all three looked puzzled, but no one explained, so they swallowed their questions.

The main branch ate this meal without tasting it.

After the meal, Lin Jing Xuan set down her chopsticks and smiled: “Yesterday I received two fine bolts of fabric. Sister-in-law, have someone come take them later and make two outfits for Yi’er.”

Xiao Qing Xuan smiled and agreed.

Yu Zhi Yi noticed that Jiang Si Ying’s face, already dark, grew even darker. Jiang Si Ying clearly didn’t want her to get that fabric. [Is that cloth very precious?]

Just then, Lin Jing Xuan said: “It’s fabric from my mother’s family-the Cloud Brocade that noble misses in the capital love most. Our Jiang Clan has only two daughters; we must dress them up beautifully.”

In the Great Sheng Empire, clothing is taken very seriously, and it best shows the strict barriers between classes. Styles and colors are tightly restricted. Materials, though, are less clearly defined. Take Cloud Brocade, for example. If commoners can afford it, they can use Cloud Brocade to make clothes. But a noble family can cut many lovely styles, while common folk can only make the few styles allowed to them-basically just two or three.

Though the Jiang Clan holds a decent place in the Martial World, they are, plain and simple, still commoners. The colors of any Cloud Brocade they got wouldn’t be the most splendid, and the styles they could make wouldn’t be very fine. Even so, Cloud Brocade is precious cloth that ordinary girls can only dream of. No wonder Jiang Si Ying was so angry.

Understanding her cousin’s anger, Yu Zhi Yi accepted her aunt’s kindness openly: “Thank you, Aunt.”

She was thinking about a return gift when a glance at her aunt’s face made her expression change: “Where is Fourth Brother?”

The children palace on Aunt’s face had turned dark; in the spot that corresponded to Jiang Liu Bin, blood-red light coiled.

“In the afternoon we got a message from Shuang Er,” someone answered, “they found a bear. He’s still a kid at heart and went with Shuang Er to hunt it.”

Lin Jing Xuan asked: “What is it?”

Yu Zhi Yi stood up: “He is in mortal danger.”

Lin Jing Xuan’s face changed, worry flooding her eyes: “What happened?”

Yu Zhi Yi was about to answer when Jiang Si Ying frowned and cut in: “Jiang Si Jin, aren’t you done? I don’t care how you trick people outside, but don’t try those games on family. I absolutely won’t allow it!”

She turned to Lin Jing Xuan and said: “Mother, she’s a liar. It’s bad enough that she cons people outside, but to come home and use such low tricks to grab our attention? And she even dares to curse Fourth Brother. Her heart is too vicious; she’s not fit to be our kin!”

Lin Jing Xuan’s face, which had changed because she worried for her son, now turned hesitant: “This…”

Seeing Aunt’s children palace grow darker by the moment, Yu Zhi Yi refused to waste more time and moved to leave.

Jiang Yu Chuan’s family called out as they hurried after her: “Jin’er!”

Jiang Liu Yi asked: “Sister, can you tell the exact location?”

Yu Zhi Yi really couldn’t. Because they were blood relatives, she couldn’t pierce that fog with only her eyes. [Blood ties blur my sight; I can’t see where he is.]

Meanwhile, dozens of li away in Yang Long County, Jiang Liu Shuang led Jiang Liu Bin, joking with several friends as they headed toward a Flower House.

They had hunted a brown bear that weighed at least five to six hundred jin. It was late now, and they didn’t want to travel in the dark, so they planned to bring the prize home tomorrow. For now, they would relax.

When Jiang Liu Bin heard they were going to a Flower House, discomfort flashed across his face as he said: “Third Brother, let’s go somewhere else.”

Seeing his brother’s innocent look, Jiang Liu Shuang laughed: “Silly brat, you’re about to become an adult. It’s time to learn a thing or two.”

The others joked: “Fourth Young Master, your brother is right. If you lift your bride’s veil on your wedding night and don’t know what to do next, won’t that waste a fine night?”

Jiang Liu Bin’s face burned red, but his mind stayed steady as he said: “Third Brother, I’m not joking. We should go back.”

He hadn’t forgotten what his sister said about danger. Only a bit more than an hour remained today, and as night fell, the unease in his heart grew stronger. Only by returning to Mount Ming, to his sister’s side, did he feel safe.

Seeing the worry on the boy’s face, Jiang Liu Shuang rolled his eyes and understood, then laughed: “You really believe her?”

Jiang Liu Bin nodded without a second thought.

That made Jiang Liu Shuang more exasperated than angry: “It’s just a few cheap tricks to fool the ignorant. Those fools are one thing, but how did you fall for it too?”

A companion asked curiously: “Third Young Master, Fourth Young Master, what are you talking about?”

Another, better informed, said: “Do you mean the second miss who was just found? I heard she’s skilled in the Mystic Arts-who knows if it’s true.”

That drew sneers from the group: “Mystic Arts, my foot. It’s just tricks to fool the uneducated. If ghosts really existed, how come we haven’t seen any all these years?”

Jiang Liu Shuang shot his brother a glance. He said nothing, yet seemed to say everything.

Jiang Liu Bin frowned: “No. The more I think about it, the more I feel we should go back.”

Too annoyed to argue, Jiang Liu Shuang said: “If you want to go back, then go. I want to see for myself what danger I’m supposed to face tonight!”

Jiang Liu Bin was angry too, but the other was his own brother. What could he do? “I’ll go with you.”

Laughing, they spurred their horses down Yang Long County’s famous red-light street and made straight for the biggest Flower House.

As soon as they entered, a still-charming madam glided up to welcome them. Jiang Liu Shuang was bold and generous; he reached into his inner robe, ready to pull out a stack of banknotes. But the moment his hand went in, he touched something icy cold.

Puzzled, he pulled it out and muttered: “What is this?”

He held a gold hairpin. It was finely made, set with a gem red as blood. But he had never bought such a thing!