Translated by : mazu
Edited by : Anks & Ely
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In the midst of the silence, Jiang Su Su coughed a few times and slowly awakened. Seeing how everyone was glancing at her with an inscrutable meaning, she looked down at her dripping wet body and her heart began to pound. Jiang Li rejoiced in her misfortune. "It's great that Second Elder Sister is awake."
"What happened?" Jiang Su Su rubbed her forehead. At the moment, her white dress was completely soaked and clung tightly to her elegant curves. Her long hair was pasted to her clothes. Her unadorned small face looked like a lotus flower, making people who looked at her feel pity. But at the thought of the dark-skinned youth, people's original pity immediately turned into contempt.
Jiang Su Su, with her keen perception, became aware of people's different attitudes towards her. Jiang Dan, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke, "Second Elder Sister, how could you have a secret affair? Also... gifting your personal token to others? Won't it be embarrassing once Father finds out about it?"
"What did you say?" Jiang Su Su was shocked and her voice unconsciously raised. "Who has had a secret affair with another?"
Jiang Dan took a step back, frightened. "It's... it's backed by solid evidence. "
"Nonsense!" Jiang Su Su was in a panic. From the moment she woke up, she knew something was wrong. It was Jiang Ruan who was supposed to fall in the water but in the end, she herself fell in. The plan had gone awry! It was all messed up! What should she do now?
In her impatience to refute, her voice became shrill. The usual composed and dignified conduct of an influential family's young lady disappeared. Looking at Jiang Dan's very frightened look, a suspicion was born in everyone's hearts.
This was the way things were in the world. When she was seen as a fairy, everything naturally looked good. However, once her image was stained, in an instant, she became a "promiscuous minx" in the eyes of others. Everything about her was bad.
Jiang Su Su grew even more anxious when she saw that everyone was silent.
Disregarding her drenched body, she stood up and rebuked the dark-skinned man. "Why do you want to ruin my innocence? I will ask my father to investigate this carefully and put you in prison!"
The dark-skinned youth, however, looked as if he was struck. He murmured, "You clearly did not say so at that time. Were all those promises in the past false?" He spoke indignantly, "You are abandoning me like this. Will I, Zhou Da, be discarded because you say so?"
Jiang Ruan almost laughed inwardly. She pitied her cowardly self in her previous life. At that time, she was in a complete shambles, much worse than Jiang Su Su's eloquent reply. Naturally, she had no way to appreciate Zhou Da's acting skills.
Jiang Su Su felt a vicious hatred toward Jiang Ruan when she heard the youth's reply. Naturally, she knew the matter of Zhou Da. But how could she be the one falling into the water? Jiang Ruan was the person that Zhou Da should be dealing with. At the moment, she was at a loss as to what to say in order to justify herself. Usually, Xia Yan helped to plan and plot for her. However, at this moment, there was no one who could speak up for her. On top of that, she felt uncertain. Since her previous calm and careful planning had vanished without a trace, how could she even think of a countermeasure in the moment?
Jiang Ruan didn't give Jiang Su Su time to think. She told Zhou Da, "Young Master Zhou, this is not at all the time for disputes. The wind is cold right now. If Miss Jiang catches a cold, you wouldn't like for that to happen either. Why doesn't Young Master Zhou come to visit the Jiang fu some other day? Jiang fu will definitely give you an explanation."
While Zhou Da was hesitating, Jiang Su Su screamed again. "No, it's not me. I haven't done anything like that at all. It's him who is slandering me!" Jiang Su Su was not a fool. She knew that if the matter was handled as Jiang Ruan said, even though it might be calm at the moment, it would be seen as a tacit agreement of the affair. Tomorrow, there would be numerous rumors circulating in the capital, and it would be too late.
The Commandery Princess[1] Rongya sneered. Her amiable and pleasant looks had changed. "Human testimony and material evidence all exist. I wonder why you are refusing to admit it and still want to save face?"
[1] Junzhu ( 郡主 ) - Translated as Commandery Princess. It was usually granted to the daughter of a qinwang (first-rank prince) or to a female of the Imperial Family by the Emperor's decree. Earlier, we had simply mentioned it as Princess Rongya, but this is the accurate translation since this is one rank lower than gongzhu (princess).
"You!" Jiang Su Su glared at her. Her mood shifted, she simply stopped refuting. She turned her small face upward and bit her lower lip in silent tears. Her appearance made some people at the Qing Song Boat feel compassionate. But in the end, the female guests on the Ling Long Boat had started gossiping, "I didn't expect that she could be such a person."
"She usually looks like a fairy. It's beyond my expectation that she'd do such a dirty thing."
"Minister Jiang has completely lost his face thanks to her."
"It's ridiculous that she wants to continue denying it, even though the love token is in front of us."
Under such pressure, Jiang Su Su was unable to remain calm.
On the Qing Song Boat, the Fifth Prince frowned and looked at Jiang Su Su with displeasure. "Still very young, yet does not know how to cherish her good name. She's offending public morals!"
The Eighth Prince, Xuan Li, was thoughtful and silent.
Mo Cong nudged Xiao Shao, then shook his head and sighed. "How could this fairy-like beauty be so confused and fall for such a coarse man? How odd! "
Xiao Shao did not reply, but Ye Feng transmitted a message secretly from his hiding place. "Master, Jiang fu's Second Young Miss was at the Baoguang Temple five years ago."
Hearing this, Xiao Shao frowned slightly and looked up at Jiang Su Su again.
At the moment, the dark-skinned man was insisting. "This won't do. You rich people look down on commoners. I, Zhou Da, can't be sent away easily. I demand an explanation for today's humiliation."
Hu Die and Qing Ting were extremely anxious. Jiang Su Su also felt a little desperate, seeing that there was no hope. Just then, she heard a cold voice from the Qing Song boat. "The green jade bead was a gift from this Lord[2] to Jiang fu'sSecond Young Lady. I don't know what it has to do with you." Jiang Ruan was stunned, only to see the handsome young man in black, brilliant as brocade, standing with hands behind his back with a cold look. That pair of eyes were like cold stars, sweeping around lightly, making people feel great pressure.
[2] Ben wang ( 本王 ) - lit. "this prince"; illeism for titled princes.
When Xiao Shao, Jinying Wang, uttered those words indifferently, he provided immediate relief to Jiang Su Su. At once, everyone's eyes were focused on Xiao Shao and Jiang Su Su. People were speculating. Did Jinying Wang and Jiang Su Su have some kind of relationship? Otherwise, why would Jinying Wang, who had always been cold, help her out of trouble for no reason?
Jiang Su Su was stunned at first and didn't know why Xiao Shao wanted to help her. When she saw Xiao Shao's peerless face, she was taken aback.
Infatuation flashed in her eyes. She paid respect to him gracefully. "Many thanks to Wangye[3], for speaking out for me. If it wasn't for you today, I wouldn't be able to clean my name even if I jumped into the Yellow River."
[3] Wángye ( 王爷 ) - way of addressing prince / nobleman; 'Your Highness'.
Jiang Ruan looked at Xiao Shao in a trance. Her heart churned. It was difficult for her to calm down. She had never heard of any relationship between Xiao Shao and Jiang Su Su in her past life. Xiao Shao wasn't a man who had tender, protective feelings toward the fairer sex. How could he help Jiang Su Su today?
Was Jiang Su Su destined to be lucky in both the past as well as the present life? Even if she met some hardships, there would be some noble person to help her. Was God so unfair?
Feeling a piercing, bone-chilling gaze on his body, Xiao Shao looked up. He couldn't help but feel a bit startled. Under the moonlight, he saw the girl in red on the opposite boat looking at him coldly. Her eyes were full of hatred, just like Asura[4] from Hell.
[4] Xiuluo [ 修罗 ] - Asura, malevolent spirits in Indian mythology.
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