The Rebirth of an Ill-Fated Consort (Chapters 1- 203)

Chapter 180 : Concealing a Desire to Murder

Time passed very quickly. No further bad news came from the frontier, Deputy General Jiang had also been rescued by Jinying Wang, and although he was covered in wounds from head to toe, he stubbornly didn't surrender. The Emperor was naturally very happy with such a strong warrior. With the previous rumors proven false, the courtiers who were observing from the sidelines all had new thoughts, now wondering if the daughters of their families could form marital ties with the Jiang family.

This Jiang family was also quite strange. They used to be a perfectly good clean family, but in recent years they had a string of misfortunes. First, Jiang Furen gave Minister Jiang a green hat, Second Miss Jiang, who was widely known as a fairy, ruined her reputation, and then their Second Young Master conspired with the Xia family to burn the granary. Increasingly, the Emperor felt that the Jiang family was useless, and it seemed that both Minister Jiang's career and the Jiang family were reaching their end.

But on the other hand, they had also produced a Hong'an Junzhu who enjoyed Empress Dowager Yi De's favor, their Eldest Young Master was Great Jin's war God of War, and even an insignificant fourth daughter born from a concubine had climbed to the rank of third-rank Noble Consort. From this point of view, Minister Jiang's life wasn't too bad. However a good samaritan heard that Minister Jiang was only kind to Xia Yan's two children and was very cold to his late wife's children, not to mention Jiang Dan. Who knew that the wheel of fortune would turn, and the two unfavored siblings now had the best lives of them all, to the point that the entire Jiang family relied on their glory to keep a good name. How embarrassing!

Although winter had passed and they were now on the cusp of spring, the weather was still as cold as before and snow particles still fell from the sky. The snow on the ground melted quickly as Jiang Ruan stood in the front yard, where her light red dress was like a flaming spark amidst the snow scene.

Qi Feng, who stood next to her, suddenly said, "Third Brother is coming back soon."

The war between Tian Jin and Great Jin was quickly coming to a head this spring. After Tian Jin provoked Great Jin's sense of imperial dignity, they were forced to retreat again and again from Xiao Shao's fierce Jinyi Guards almost all the way to their capital. Tian Jin had reached the end of their rope and it was only a matter of time before they surrendered to Great Jin. There was no way for Tian Jin to resist it. As soon as the war was over, Xiao Shao would naturally rush back without stopping for anything.

Jiang Ruan nodded lightly, then Qi Feng continued: "When Third Brother comes back, you'll get married." Speaking of this, he actually felt a little bitter. He turned his head to see the girl in front of him in a light red dress, looking as if ten thousand particles of light were sprinkled on her body and with a pair of eyes as charming as flowers. She resembled a flame, but upon closer inspection she was more like ice. He'd stayed by her side for the last few days, watching her lay out her strategies, watching her predict the future, even as she acted as if nothing was worth worrying about. Occasionally, he would wonder if anything in this world could enter her eyes, but when he saw the way her eyes changed when he mentioned Xiao Shao's return, Qi Feng immediately understood.

Masking the emotions in his eyes, he teased, "Third Sister-in-law, I think all the brothers from Mt. Jianan will come for a cup of wedding wine on that day."

Jiang Ruan smiled. "Many thanks."

Her attitude had always been so distant, impossible to approach. Qi Feng turned away and found an excuse to leave, leaving Jiang Ruan alone in the courtyard. Winter passed into spring, and many things happened this year as well. Xiao Shao, who was stationed at the border, sent news back that Zhao Jin had gone to the border, which truly was outside of her expectations, not to mention that Zhao Jin managed to save Jiang Xin Zhi. Zhao Jin came from a military family and tended to be rather masculine in her actions. When Jiang Ruan told Zhao Furen the news, Zhao Furen was relieved, and the two Zhao brothers were reasonable and didn't make too much trouble either. Rather, it was Lin Zi Xiang who visited Jinying Wangfu after she found out — not to blame Jiang Ruan, but to complain that Jiang Xin Zhi somehow seduced Zhao Jin away, it was too brazen! This really made Jiang Ruan feel very exasperated.