The Double-Chapter 54 - 52 Empathy

54: Chapter 52 Empathy

54 -52 Empathy

“I heard that you had an argument with someone on the street after school today?” Madam Jiang the Elder asked.

Jiang Li glanced at Jiang Youyao and Jiang Yue, who were doing their utmost to disguise the schadenfreude in their eyes.

Indeed, as she had suspected, Jiang Youyao and Jiang Yue had spared no effort in slinging mud at her to tattle.

Jiang Li said with a smile, “I don’t know where the old madam heard such a story, but it greatly differs from the truth.”

Madam Jiang the Elder said, “Oh, then what is the truth?

Do tell.”

Jiang Youyao and Jiang Yue were eager to speak but dared not; Madam Jiang the Elder was a stern woman who emphasized proper etiquette, and she did not allow them to interject capriciously when someone else was speaking.

Jiang Li smiled and said, “I fear my own words might lack fairness.

Let my maid speak instead.

Bai Xue.” Jiang Li called Bai Xue in.

After Bai Xue entered and paid her respects to Madam Jiang the Elder, Jiang Li said, “The incident that happened after school today, please retell it to the old madam.”

Bai Xue, following Jiang Li’s command, immediately recounted the event from beginning to end in great detail.

Bai Xue was honest and straightforward, speaking ever so frankly without exaggeration.

She narrated the incident from an onlooker’s perspective, without bias toward anyone.

Upon listening, Madam Jiang the Elder appeared contemplative and then asked Jiang Li, “From what you say, you were speaking out in defense of justice, not engaging in a senseless argument.”

“I wouldn’t claim to have spoken in defense of justice, I merely told the truth,” replied Jiang Li, her smile intact.

At this point, Jiang Youyao could no longer hold back and said, “Grandmother, the gentleman the second sister helped is no stranger, he’s from the Ye Family of Xiangyang.”

The Ye Family of Xiangyang, Madam Jiang the Elder’s expression turned grave instantly.

It was known that since Ye Zhenzhen’s death, the Jiang Family had lessened their interactions with the Ye Family.

When Jiang Yuanbai had married Ji Shuran and allied through marriage with the Ji family, their relations with the Ye Family had almost ceased.

Though there remained an inextricable link between the Jiang Family and the Ye Family through Jiang Li, she had made a vow years ago, swearing not to associate with merchant families.

The Ye Family, heartbroken, had since stopped all communication with the Jiang Family.

Ji Shuran spoke up.

“Youyao, don’t speak nonsense, you’ve never met anyone from the Ye Family.

How could you know that gentleman is from the Ye Family of Xiangyang?”

“I heard it with my own ears, and so did sisters four and five,” argued Jiang Youyao in a hurry, “That young master is called Ye Shijie, Liu Zimin said he is from the Ye Family of Xiangyang.”

“Ye Shijie…” Madam Jiang the Elder mused for a moment before looking at Jiang Li, “He must be the son of the Ye Family’s main branch, your older cousin.”

Only then did Jiang Li realize that Ye Shijie was her cousin.

“Lili, what’s going on?” asked Ji Shuran.

“You’ve only been back in Yanjing for a short while, how did you come to know your cousin from the Ye Family?”

This statement strikes at the heart!

Indeed, Madam Jiang the Elder’s gaze suddenly became sharp and piercing, looking straight at Jiang Li as if her eyes were two knives intending to see through her.

Jiang Li had only returned to Yanjing for just over a month and hadn’t even become familiar with Yanjing City.

Yet today, she just happened to resolve the encirclement around her older male cousin.

There are no such coincidences in this world.

Since the Ye Family had cut off all relations with the Jiang Family, they hadn’t set foot in the capital for many years.

This made it hard to believe that it was merely a coincidence.

Could it be that Jiang Li and Ye Shijie had been in contact for a long time, even interacting for a while now?

In the eyes of Madam Jiang the Elder, this was absolutely taboo!

Jiang Li smiled as she glanced at Ji Shuran, who seemed completely unaware that her words could push Jiang Li into an abyss from which there was no return, speaking more like it was a joke.

Jiang Li said, “I don’t know him, nor was I aware that he was my older male cousin.

If the old madam hadn’t told me, I wouldn’t have known about our relationship.

If today it wasn’t him, and any other person had been in his place, and I had witnessed such a scene, I would have stepped forward to stop it.” Jiang Li smiled, hinting at something more, “In this world, although it is good to keep oneself safe and sound, sometimes one needs to act righteously and with courage.

Especially for families of pure scholars like ours, we need to maintain the spirit of the literati.”

Madam Jiang the Elder was taken aback.

The husband of Madam Jiang the Elder, that is, the father of Jiang Yuanbai, Lord Jiang the Elder, had been a Third Rank Scholar of Guanwen Hall his entire life.

He had the same rank at thirty and still held it at his death.

Although being a Third Rank civil official was very respectable, there must have been a reason for his lack of promotion over the decades.

The reason was that Lord Jiang the Elder was too upright and straightforward, having performed many acts of direct admonishment.

Although The Late Emperor also knew that Lord Jiang the Elder was a good official, he really couldn’t come to like him.

Lord Jiang the Elder’s career had ended there because of his nature.

While she outwardly complained about her husband’s nature, Madam Jiang the Elder was proud of him in her heart.

Yet none of the Jiang Family’s three sons had inherited Lord Jiang the Elder’s unbending spirit.

The eldest son, Jiang Yuanbai, followed a moderate and conservative path; the second son, Jiang Yuanping, was a Smiling Tiger; and the youngest son, Jiang Yuanxing, an illegitimate son, was even more timorous and indecisive.

Madam Jiang the Elder could not help but feel disappointed.

So even though Jiang Yuanbai had achieved the rank of head amongst the civil officials through “moderation,” Madam Jiang the Elder wasn’t completely satisfied with him.

In the affairs of the world, to gain something is to lose something else.

To obtain a high position and great wealth, certain things must be lost, such as backbone and pride.

Jiang Li had long noticed that Madam Jiang the Elder was a person with pride, and there was a certain loftiness in her bones, evident from the decor of Night Wind Hall.

Therefore, she deliberately said these grand and righteous words to resonate with Madam Jiang the Elder.

She wanted Madam Jiang the Elder to recall her deceased husband, Lord Jiang the Elder, and to see his reflection in Jiang Li.

Sure enough, the look Madam Jiang the Elder gave Jiang Li gradually softened.

Ji Shuran was shocked, not understanding how, in just a few sentences, Jiang Li had managed to soften Madam Jiang the Elder’s attitude.

Although she was astute, her mindset was very much like Jiang Yuanbai’s—utterly self-centered.

She couldn’t comprehend Madam Jiang the Elder’s “spirit,” but Jiang Li could.

Jiang Li continued, “When I helped, it was a spontaneous act; I didn’t think about the consequences.

But truly, as the Third Sister said, if Ye Shijie is my older cousin and a member of the Ye Family of Xiangyang, then what I did was even more appropriate.

Although my birth mother has passed away, the Ye Family and our house were once related by marriage.

If I, as a relative, had walked away from trouble, it would have been noticed by others.

They would have later said that the Jiang Family members are cold-hearted and as hard as iron.

My father is an official in the court, and every action he takes is observed by others; if someone used this to criticize my father, then what?” freewebnøvel.coɱ

“We only need to do our own duties well, ensuring no fault can be found with us, and then we will be able to live in peace.

Moreover, this was never a big issue to begin with.

Young Master Liu himself said it was just a misunderstanding, and what is better than resolving such a misunderstanding with a few words?

No gold or silver is needed, just a sentence can help others and bring joy.

If I were stingy even with that, then I truly wouldn’t deserve to be called human.”

The last sentence, however, ridiculed both Jiang Youyao and Jiang Yue.