4 I Choose to Marry the Marquis of Pingning

What right do you have to meddle in my family’s affairs?

Jiang Shuwan lifted her eyes and looked at him with icy contempt.

For some reason, when he met her gaze, Gu Xin felt as though a venomous serpent had coiled around his throat.

Jiang Shuwan stepped forward, seized Lin Rou’s wrist, and yanked her hard. At the same time, she lifted her foot and kicked her in the knee. Lin Rou cried out in pain and dropped heavily onto the stone slab floor. The agony drew from her a shriek like a slaughtered pig’s. Tears poured down her face. In her heart she hated Jiang Shuwan to the bone, but she did not dare curse aloud.

Everyone looked at Jiang Shuwan with suspicion, sensing that she was no longer the timid woman they had once been able to manipulate at will.

"Jiang Shuwan, have you not caused enough trouble?" Old Madam Jiang slapped the table again, harder this time.

Time and again, in front of outsiders, Jiang Shuwan had disgraced the Jiang household.

With reddened eyes, Jiang Shuwan turned back. Tears glimmered in her gaze.

"Grandmother, why do you only blame me? Cousin was entangled with an outsider. I acted this way only to protect the reputation of our household. If Cousin truly likes the young marquis and the two of them are in mutual affection, then simply have someone speak on her behalf. There is no need to humiliate me here."

As she finished, tears fell at once.

"Miss Jiang, all of this is our Xiner’s fault." Lin Rou’s mother turned and glared at Gu Xin. "Xiner, apologize to the young lady at once."

"Grandmother, you want me to apologize to her? I cannot do it. What did I do wrong?" Gu Xin looked utterly disbelieving.

"If I tell you to apologize, then you apologize." Old Madam Gu’s voice turned cold.

Thud.

Lin Rou suddenly dropped to her knees, sobbing, "Maternal great-aunt, Old Madam Gu, it is all Rou’er’s fault. It has nothing to do with Cousin, and it has nothing to do with Xin... the young marquis’s fault."

Then she began pounding her head against the floor.

Before long, blood welled from her forehead.

Gu Xin’s heart ached as he pulled her up. Looking at Old Madam Gu, he said, "Grandmother, even if a woman like Jiang Shuwan remained unmarried for the rest of her life, I would never marry her."

After shooting Jiang Shuwan a cold glare, he took Lin Rou’s hand and strode out.

The hall fell into silence.

Jiang Shuwan gave Liusu a look, signaling her to follow them.

"Jiang Shuwan, look what you have done to a perfectly good betrothal ceremony. Kneel down and admit your fault at once!" Jiang Xunian, who had not spoken until now, rose in anger, his face dark with rage.

Looking at Jiang Xunian before her, clad in a dark blue brocade robe and bloated with age, Jiang Shuwan spoke with boundless grievance. "Father, why is it always me who is wrong when I am the one being wronged? Cousin has done something wrong, yet you do not blame her and instead come to scold me. Am I not your own daughter? Is Cousin the one who was born to you?"

As soon as her words fell, the expressions of Old Madam Jiang and Jiang Xunian changed. But the others did not notice; all eyes were on Jiang Shuwan. They only felt that she had changed, and now dared to resist.

Her stepmother, Lady Lin, stared at her intently.

Jiang Xunian’s face turned livid. Raising his voice, he said, "How insolent. You dare defy your elders and show no respect for rank or age. Someone, bring the family punishment."

Soon after, a servant brought in a long whip, nearly six feet in length, with barbs hanging from it.

Old Madam Gu rose and drew Jiang Shuwan behind her, smoothing things over. "Lord Jiang, please calm your temper. The young lady is not at fault. She is only upset, which is why she acted impulsively."

The sandalwood scent from Old Madam Gu’s body reached Jiang Shuwan’s nose. In her previous life, aside from her grandfather and the others, she had no one in the capital who truly cared for her. Her father never favored her, her mother had passed away, and even when she suffered grievances, no one ever stepped forward on her behalf. The little warmth she had received in that life had been given by Old Madam Gu.

She had not expected that in this life, after her rebirth, the first trace of warmth would also come from her. Her eyes stung with sudden tears.

Jiang Shuwan stepped forward on her own and said with firm conviction, "Father, His Majesty has ordered that the marriage be completed as soon as possible. If you mean to beat me today, then do it. If I am injured and you become the laughingstock of others, then strike me if you dare."

She stopped only a step away from Jiang Xunian, standing straight as a spear.

Looking at the young face before him, a face still tender yet carrying a cold glint in its eyes, Jiang Xunian felt a moment of daze. For an instant, he seemed to see her late mother. Though she had been the daughter of a merchant family, her bearing had surpassed that of noblewomen by who knew how much. She had been as aloof and proud as the winter plum blossom.

Thinking of what the emperor had said to him two days earlier—that their household should complete the marriage with the young marquis as soon as possible, so the Gu family might be brought good fortune—Jiang Xunian hesitated.

"Have you not always said that I bring disgrace upon the family? This marriage was granted by the emperor. I can marry, but I want someone else."

"The emperor himself has bestowed this union. How dare you make a scene?" Jiang Xunian said furiously.

"Jiang Shuwan, what nonsense are you spouting?" Old Madam Jiang barked.

Jiang Shuwan looked at Old Madam Jiang calmly. "Grandmother, I have not spoken nonsense. I simply do not wish to marry Gu Xin."

Old Madam Jiang slammed the table and rose, glaring at her with fury.

"Spiteful wretch."

Realizing her失态, she smoothed her clothing and walked up to Jiang Shuwan’s side. Through clenched teeth, she hissed in a low voice, "Do you know how many noble ladies in the capital are lining up to marry Gu Xin? Our Jiang family was only able to cling to them because of the engagement made years ago. Now that they have chosen you, it is already an immense honor. And now you want to break the engagement? Have you lost your mind?"

"I do have a marriage contract with the Marquis of Peace and Tranquility’s household, but the imperial decree never specified the heir of that house. If the engagement must be honored, then it is fine. I will choose another worthy man. I choose to marry the Marquis of Peace and Tranquility."

At her words, everyone stared at Jiang Shuwan in shock, as though looking at a ghost.

One had to know that just a few months ago, the Marquis of Peace and Tranquility had been sent by the emperor to suppress bandits, only to be slain by them and fall into a thousand-zhang abyss, leaving not even a corpse to be found.

Only a few days ago, his bloodstained clothes had been recovered and brought back to the Marquis of Peace and Tranquility’s household so that he might be laid to rest directly.

In the Great Cloud Dynasty, when a household was in mourning, no banquets, marriages, or other lavish affairs were permitted for three years. Yet the Marquis of Peace and Tranquility’s household was thinly staffed, with only Gu Xin as its sole heir, and he was precisely of marriageable age. Thus the emperor had shown great mercy, allowing the marriage to take place before the burial.

The marquis’s household had already kept vigil for four days, and in three more days the funeral procession would depart. That was why they had rushed to finalize the betrothal today, with the wedding set for tomorrow.

"What nonsense are you saying? Don’t you know the marquis has been dead for..." Old Madam Jiang cut herself off, realizing her wording was improper. She cast a glance at Old Madam Gu. Seeing her standing there motionless, as if deep in thought, she quickly changed her words. "The marquis has already been missing for a long time. How can you possibly marry into that house? Let me make this clear: today, the one you are to wed must be the young marquis. You will marry whether you want to or not."

When she finished, she took a deep breath and approached Old Madam Gu with an apologetic smile. "My dear sister, this girl has gone out of her mind. None of what she says counts for anything. Let us settle it this way: tomorrow the two children shall be married, and this matter will..."

Old Madam Gu cut her off at once. Rising, she walked to Jiang Shuwan and asked with gentle concern, "Child, why are you unwilling to marry Xiner?"