Chapter 242: She Was Just Afraid
This novel is translated and hosted on BCatranslation
Nightfall.
The Lu Manor was brightly lit, with lanterns casting a warm glow in every corner. Servants and maids lowered their heads nervously, their breaths held in the tense atmosphere.
“Young Madam, the Young Master requests your presence in the main hall.” A maid spoke in a hushed tone.
Jiang Yun Jin’s personal maid looked visibly anxious, yet Jiang Yun Jin herself remained composed.
She adjusted her robes, lightly touched the pearl ornament in her hair, and curved her lips into a cold smile. Then, with unhurried steps, she made her way to the main hall.
Inside, shattered tea cups littered the floor. Jiang Yun Jin took a glance at the mess and let out a sneer.
Just as she stepped inside—
A porcelain teacup came flying straight at her head.
Jiang Yun Jin tilted slightly to the side, and the delicate cup brushed past her temple before crashing to the ground.
“Lu Jing Huai, do you truly think you’re still the heir of a marquis household? Living off your wife’s dowry in a house barely standing, who gave you the audacity to throw a cup at me?”
“When I married in, all that was left of this manor were its empty walls, and even the maids’ monthly wages were unpaid. Tell me, what in this house isn’t something I provided?”
“If you’re going to live off a woman, at least have the decency to act like it!” Jiang Yun Jin mocked, her voice laced with scorn.
Lu Jing Huai had grown worryingly thin over time. Hearing Jiang Yun Jin’s merciless words, he was overcome by a violent coughing fit—so intense that blood speckled his lips.
Madam Pei, heart aching for her son, immediately stood up. “My son…” Her eyes turned red with fury.
“You wretched, shameless woman! How dare you speak to Jing Huai like that?” She was trembling with rage, her hands itching to tear Jiang Yun Jin apart.
“What did I say that was wrong? Everything in this manor, from the grandest furnishings to the simplest cooking pots, came from my dowry! Even the teacup you just smashed—that was bought with my silver!”
“I am not Shi Yun. I will not let you leech off me! If you’re going to live off a woman, act the part. Forcing yourself to take a hard bite out of soft rice—aren’t you afraid of choking on it?” Jiang Yun Jin’s words were unrelenting.
Madam Pei had threatened to send her back to her maiden home. The moment she did, Jiang Yun Jin had understood one thing—
Lu Jing Huai was nothing like Lu Yan Shu.
Lu Yan Shu was a gentleman, a man of honor.
Lu Jing Huai? He was a complete scoundrel—once entangled with him, there was no washing oneself clean.
Jiang Yun Jin’s eyes turned red with fury.
“I lack virtue? Heavens, what a joke!” Jiang Yun Jin burst into laughter, laughing so hard tears nearly fell from her eyes.
“You speak of virtue? You, of all people? How utterly laughable.”
“You, a mere concubine, dare speak of virtue? Tell me, who wouldn’t find that ridiculous? Even your own son—the very embodiment of filth—takes after you! Like mother, like son, the two of you are the same brand of scum!” Jiang Yun Jin pointed at Madam Pei, laughing until she could hardly stand straight.
Madam Pei had never imagined that her past would be so openly torn apart by her own daughter-in-law. Her face twisted with rage and shame, venomous hatred flashing in her eyes.
Even the two maids standing outside the door shuddered violently.
“Who gave you permission to speak to your mother-in-law this way? Who allowed it?!”
“You unfilial wretch!” Madam Pei shrieked.
Jiang Yun Jin’s gaze was cold. “Didn’t I learn from you? The way you treated Grandmother—well, I’m simply treating you the same way. Didn’t you nearly drive her to her grave?”
Madam Pei seemed as though she had been strangled, her face contorted as her chest heaved violently.
“You are my son’s wife! How dare you seek out Lu Yan Shu, that wretched bastard?!” Madam Pei gritted her teeth, shaking with fury. That was Shi Yun’s son.
She had spent half her life competing with Shi Yun. How could she ever allow Shi Yun to win?
She had stolen Shi Yun’s husband, taken Shi Yun’s place, and now even claimed Shi Yun’s daughter-in-law as her own.
She could not tolerate Jiang Yun Jin running to Lu Yan Shu!
Lu Jing Huai sat in his chair, already drenched in cold sweat. His body was ruined beyond saving.
“Why did you go to Lu Yan Shu?” His voice was hoarse, his gaze dark and wild, his fingertips trembling.
He had spent everything to strip Lu Yan Shu of his future.
Yet now, everything was rushing back to him in full force.
Jiang Yun Jin lifted her eyes but said nothing.
“You don’t actually think Lu Yan Shu would take you back, do you?” Lu Jing Huai let out a low chuckle, his voice full of madness.
Jiang Yun Jin’s face darkened, her fingers tightening around the silk handkerchief in her grasp.
“You were the one who broke off the engagement. You abandoned him. You were the one who seduced me, insisted on marrying me!”
“Even before our marriage, you—my so-called chaste and virtuous wife—were already entangled with me. And yet, you still expect Lu Yan Shu to take in such a used and filthy woman? Do you think he would ever look at you again?” Lu Jing Huai laughed wildly, his voice full of malice.
“Jiang Yun Jin, you and I are husband and wife. If I am in hell, then you will never escape it either!”
“Back then, it was you who sought me out!”
Lu Jing Huai’s expression twisted with ruthlessness and obsession. He would never let Jiang Yun Jin leave.
Jiang Yun Jin shuddered, her vision swaying slightly.
Why had she abandoned Lu Yan Shu, a man as radiant as the moon? Why had she forsaken the kind and noble Shi Yun?
Pale-faced, she turned and returned to her room.
She closed the door behind her and whispered coldly, “No one is allowed to enter.”
She locked the maid outside.
Regret.
Regret swallowed her whole.
She longed to return to that summer day.
That day when, mischievous and reckless, she had shaken off her maids and accidentally fallen into the lake. She flailed desperately, but the more she struggled, the deeper she sank. As the icy water swallowed her nose and mouth, she gulped it down in terror, on the brink of drowning…
Through the shimmering water, she had seen a young boy drop his book and plunge into the lake without hesitation, swimming towards her with all his might.
She had been so afraid. Terrified.
Clutching onto Lu Yan Shu had been like grasping onto her last hope.
She had dragged him down with her, clinging desperately to his neck, terrified of sinking again.
Exhausted, Lu Yan Shu had used his last ounce of strength to push her towards the shore.
Yet, the rain had made the banks slippery. No matter how he tried, he could not climb up.
Using all his remaining strength, he hoisted her up one final time—
And with that last push, he was swallowed by the depths.
She had turned her head—
Only to see the lake empty, with no trace of Lu Yan Shu.
She had panicked. She had been scared.
She ran, crying, looking for help.
But when she saw the maids—
She was overwhelmed by regret.
She hid behind a rockery, sobbing, too afraid to call for anyone.
She was afraid.
Terrified.
Disgusting