The Double-Chapter 390 - 133: Night Exploration_3

She was always gentle and composed, so it was rare to see her exhibit such a look of shock. In this state, she appeared somewhat childish, yet it made her seem even less like herself. Jih Heng was amused by her expression, rested her chin in her hands, and said, "What, don’t you believe it?"

"I just... find it very peculiar," Jiang Li said, "I thought that Lady Ji cared deeply for my father. Over these years, she has put in a lot of effort for my father, to the extent that, in the main house, aside from a concubine who’s almost been forgotten due to hysteria, there are no other women. With her possessiveness, I thought she had my father in her heart, but I never expected that she had someone else in her mind."

After all, she was but a young girl; yet when she spoke of these matters, there wasn’t a hint of embarrassment. Her words were calm and rational, as if she had experienced the vicissitudes of love and could see through it all. Jih Heng’s eyes flickered slightly before she quickly concealed it and continued, "Madam Ji used to be in love with your father, but back then... she and her cousin, they were deeply in love."

Jiang Li’s eyes widened: "Cousin?"

She had never heard anything about Lady Ji having a cousin.

"This cousin of Lady Ji, named Liu Wencai, hmm, was a bit more handsome than Jiang Yuanbai. Back then, he and Lady Ji were quite the pair of wanton lovers."

Many years ago, there had been a romance between Shuran and Liu Wencai. Liu Wencai was strikingly handsome and well versed in the ways of winning a woman’s heart. Shuran, in the throes of youthful love, was no match for Liu Wencai. They secretly got together behind the backs of the Ji family members, almost reaching the point of a privately arranged marriage. Liu Wencai’s family background was well matched with Shuran’s, but his family had already sought another marriage arrangement for him. While Shuran dreamt desperately for Liu Wencai to come and marry her, he had already taken another wife.

Bitter and resentful, Shuran resolved to take revenge on Liu Wencai, to marry herself off not only to just any man but to someone better, with a higher status than Liu Wencai. However, although there were many suitable gentlemen in Yanjing City, it proved difficult to find quickly someone better than Liu Wencai. Ji Yanlin had in mind to have Shuran marry the son of a colleague to foster the relationship, but the son was foolhardy and obese, with countless concubines in his residence. Shuran could not possibly be interested in him, and so she became even more anxious.

At that time, during a banquet, Shuran chanced to see Jiang Yuanbai. The younger Jiang Yuanbai, although not as striking as Liu Wencai, possessed his own elegant charm. Shuran learned of Jiang Yuanbai’s position in court and weighed her options, concluding that he held a higher status than the son of the colleague Ji Yanlin wanted her to marry.

If she could marry Jiang Yuanbai, she could escape the nightmare of spending her days with a foolish, obese man and also take her revenge on Liu Wencai. Shuran thus set her heart on marrying Jiang Yuanbai as the best choice. The only problem was that Jiang Yuanbai already had a wife.

At that time, Jiang Yuanbai had just had Jiang Li, and word was that his wife Ye Zhenzhen had been severely weakened during childbirth. A bold idea took root in Shuran’s mind: if Ye Zhenzhen were to fall gravely ill and not recover, then Jiang Yuanbai would need to remarry. Shuran didn’t mind being a second wife; to her, even becoming the remarried wife of Jiang Yuanbai was more glorious than being the principal wife of Ji Yanlin’s colleague’s son.

Shuran then bribed the physician attending to Ye Zhenzhen and promised substantial rewards to Ye Zhenzhen’s maidservants. Since no one suspected Ye Zhenzhen had any enemies, let alone imagined someone doing something so heinous to marry into the Jiang family, Shuran patiently waited, and shockingly, she succeeded. Ye Zhenzhen died.

After Ye Zhenzhen’s death, it was only then that Shuran confided to Madam Ji, expressing that it was better to be Jiang Yuanbai’s remarried wife than the wife of a colleague’s son. The Jiang family’s position in court was striking, and the marriage could also elevate the Ji family. When Madam Ji relayed this to Ji Yanlin, he too thought it was a good idea. Later, they arranged the banquet where Jiang Yuanbai took a fancy to Shuran.

At that banquet, Shuran indeed put in a great deal of effort. She had people inquire early on about what music Jiang Yuanbai favored, what style of dress he preferred, thus bringing about Jiang Yuanbai’s love at first sight for Shuran.

Once Shuran had entered the doors of the Jiang family, all of Ye Zhenzhen’s former servants either died or were scattered. Naturally, all were silenced by Shuran. Apart from her closest confidantes, no one knew of this affair. With Shuran having borne two more children and securing her position in the Jiang family, even less was there anyone who would come to know of it.