The Young Marquis Regrets Too Late - Chapter 2

Jiang Jingchun’s elder brother, Jiang Runchu, broke the dead silence.

His voice was as cold as ice as he looked at Jiang Jingchun and said, “What trouble have you stirred up this time?”

Today was the twentieth day of the third month, so Jiang Runchu hadn’t gone to work, and neither had Gu Huaisheng.

Gu Huaisheng had intended to use this rare day off to accompany his mother, the marquis’ wife, to visit Old Madame Jiang, who was her mother and, thus, Gu Huaisheng’s maternal grandmother.

They had gathered at Rongde Hall, which was Old Madame Jiang’s residence, and were chatting leisurely when a servant ran in from outside. The servant hastily reported that Jiang Jingchun had gotten into a fight, injured someone, and caused quite a stir.

Madame Jiang, who was Jiang Runchu and Jiang Jingchun’s mother, panicked upon hearing this and immediately tried to go out. However, Jiang Runchu stopped her, out of fear that her presence at the scene would only make matters worse. He decided to handle it himself. The marquis’ wife, who thought that Madame Jiang might not feel at ease if Jiang Runchu went alone, had Gu Huaisheng accompany him. 

By the time Jiang Runchu and Gu Huaisheng arrived, the servant had already explained things to them. Jiang Jingchun had quarrelled with another young miss while playing polo earlier. It seemed that, after they went to change and clean up, their altercation had escalated into a physical one.

Somehow, Jiang Jingchun had ended up pushing Lou Yanyan down a flight of stairs.

Jiang Runchu had never been fond of his troublesome younger sister. He had preconceived notions of her in mind, and with them, immediately began scolding her. 

“If you’ve pushed and injured someone, you should apologise. Don’t be so impolite,” he said to her.

After all, if the story of Lou Yanyan falling down the stairs spread, people would inevitably blame Jiang Jingchun for it and, by extension, the Jiang family.

However, Jiang Jingchun still wanted to defend herself. This wasn’t her fault at all.

She said, “Why should I apologise to her? She was the one who slandered me first! Then, when we played polo, she deliberately hit me with the ball. Just now, she also pushed me—just because I didn’t fall and she did, I have to apologise?”

This matter wasn’t just about making apologies. If Jiang Jingchun apologised, it’d be as good as admitting that Lou Yanyan was the one in the right, and she was the one who had been at fault for the things that had happened today.

She couldn’t accept that.

Jiang Runchu was momentarily stunned by her retort. While the siblings looked like they were about to argue with each other, Lou Yanyan stepped away to enjoy the show from the sidelines. As she did, she glanced at Jiang Jingchun with a smug and taunting expression on her face. 

Seeing her gloating expression only made Jiang Jingchun feel more stifled. Moreover, her brother’s attempt to resolve things peacefully worsened her frustration.

Jiang Jingchun turned her head away while still stubbornly refusing to give in.

Her face was flushed red with anger, and her eyes blazed with fury. The usually soft and pliant young girl now resembled a prickly hedgehog.

Seeing Jiang Jingchun’s unyielding attitude, Lou Yanyan made a move to leave. She said, “Fine. Go ahead and keep denying it. I’ll tell everyone about what happened and let them decide who’s really in the wrong.”

“Go ahead! Go!” Jiang Jingchun retorted. “Do you think you’re the only one who can talk? I’ll go and talk too! I’ll tell your Brother Wang what kind of person you really are, so he can see your true colours!”

Two could play this game.

Lou Yanyan’s face flushed red as soon as Jiang Jingchun mentioned the man for whom she held feelings.

Everyone had only ever gossiped about Lou Yanyan’s affection for this man in private. No one had dared to bring it up openly, until now.

The infuriated Lou Yanyan lunged at Jiang Jingchun to tear into her, but Jiang Runchu stepped in first.

Jiang Runchu yanked Jiang Jingchun back and restrained her as she tried to continue quarrelling with Lou Yanyan. He harshly scolded her, “Enough! Must you be so stubborn? Do you intend to make this even worse?”

Jiang Jingchun could handle arguing and fighting with other people fine. However, it was a different matter altogether when her brother chose to side with other people instead of her. This was unbearable for her.

His harsh grip hurt her. Without her even realising it, her eyes reddened.

With a dark expression on his face, Jiang Runchu said, “I’m not Mother. You don’t need to put such an act in front of me.”

He didn’t think he’d said anything harsh to her. He assumed that she was just putting up a pitiful act in order to avoid getting punished for what she’d done.

“Brother, you’re unreasonable, and you don’t care about the truth,” Jiang Jingchun said. She now refused to look at him. She didn’t want to talk to him, or even see him anymore.

Her voice was aggrieved, and her eyes glistened with tears that threatened to drip down her cheeks.

The situation remained at an impasse until Gu Huaisheng finally spoke.

He glanced at Jiang Jingchun, then patted Jiang Runchu’s shoulder to signal to him to stop pressing the matter.

After that, he turned and walked towards Lou Yanyan.

Spring breeze swept by and rustled the hem of his robes. When he walked, the crowd unconsciously stepped back and opened a clear path for him.

Regardless of anything else, Gu Huaisheng was still Jiang Jingchun’s cousin, and thus her family. He couldn’t let the situation here worsen; otherwise, it’d be difficult for him to explain why he had allowed it, once they returned to the Jiang family residence.

He should address the immediate problem first.

When he reached Lou Yanyan, he asked her, “Miss Lou, may I have a moment to speak to you privately?”

His voice was calm, clear, and as pleasing to the ear as the gentle striking of a jade.

Lou Yanyan was startled by his sudden approach and didn’t look particularly pleased by his request, but she still agreed.

The two of them stepped aside. Gu Huaisheng spoke first. “From what I’ve heard, it seems you were the one who started this.”

Lou Yanyan hadn’t expected him to begin with that. She froze momentarily and hadn’t yet answered when he continued, “A few days ago, a maid of the Gu family committed an offence and was dismissed. I don’t know how, but somehow, rumours about this incident spread and ended up involving my cousin. My aunt was quite concerned and mentioned it repeatedly just now at home.”

His voice and tone remained the same as before, but this time, Lou Yanyan found his words painfully sharp.

Her face paled without her even realising it.

How could she not understand what Gu Huaisheng was really saying?

If the situation were to be thoroughly investigated, there’d remain no question about who was truly at fault in it.

Besides, the rumour that had slandered Jiang Jingchun ultimately also implicated the marquis’ household…

Lou Yanyan’s face turned increasingly unpleasant. She asked, “What do you mean by this, Young Marquis?” 

Gu Huaisheng replied coolly, “Miss Lou, surely you’re aware of what you’ve done. You understand my meaning perfectly.”

No one else knew what the two of them discussed. Jiang Jingchun’s gaze stayed fixed on Gu Huaisheng’s back the entire time they talked, and she nervously fiddled with her fingers. At that moment, her expression was complicated.

Finally, Gu Huaisheng and Lou Yanyan returned under everyone’s watchful eyes.

Whatever Gu Huaisheng had said to Lou Yanyan, it made her no longer insist on quarrelling with Jiang Jingchun. She merely shot Jiang Jingchun a vicious glare, then flounced away with a dramatic wave of her sleeves.

After that, Jiang Runchu glanced at Jiang Jingchun, who still refused to speak or move, and said, “What are you still standing there for?”

Jiang Jingchun ignored him and instead walked up to Gu Huaisheng. She lowered her eyes and softly said, “Thank you, Cousin.”

Although the matter had been resolved, Jiang Jingchun didn’t feel any better.

Gu Huaisheng had seen her earlier behaviour. Would he think she was rude and unreasonable?

He must really dislike her acting that way.

The young girl in front of him still had faint redness in the corners of her eyes, which made her look somewhat aggrieved.

Gu Huaisheng’s face remained expressionless as he responded flatly to Jiang Jingchun, “It’s fine.”

The onlookers, seeing that the matter had more or less been settled, began to disperse. The three of them also left the polo field and headed back to the Jiang family residence.

Jiang Jingchun followed behind the two of them and got into their carriage. However, before she could sit properly, Jiang Runchu said, “Didn’t you come in your own carriage? It’s too crowded here. Go back to your own carriage.”

The carriage was spacious, with silk curtains hanging on all sides. Bejeweled drapes were lifted to the side in it, and sunlight streamed in through its windows, making the space inside even brighter than it already was.

Such a large carriage had enough room for four to five people, so how could it possibly feel crowded with just three?

Jiang Runchu had just never gotten along well with Jiang Jingchun.

They were siblings born to the same set of parents. Jiang Runchu was 22 years old this year, as he was six years older than Jiang Jingchun. He now worked at Hanlin Academy.

Compared to Gu Huaisheng, Jiang Runchu had a more mature appearance. He was often serious and stern, especially around Jiang Jingchun. Indeed, he always acted as if she owed him a fortune.

Jiang Jingchun, who was known for being immature and mischievous, was naturally not to Jiang Runchu’s liking. Given his rigid and proper personality, it made sense that he would disapprove of a sister like her.

However, Jiang Jingchun disliked her elder brother as well. She usually wouldn’t even want to sit in the same place as him. It was only because Gu Huaisheng was also here today that she refused to leave the carriage.

She ignored Jiang Runchu’s words and sat down beside Gu Huaisheng.

She stole a glance at Gu Huaisheng and was relieved to see that he didn’t appear annoyed.

Strictly speaking, they were relatives who shared a family.

Gu Huaisheng was like a flower blooming on a high mountain, untouched by earthly matters. He was always too indifferent to fuss over trivial things like this.

He saw her as a naughty child acting up in front of an adult—the more attention he paid to her, the more she would act up. He found it better to simply ignore her.

As long as she wasn’t bothering him directly, he would sit there with a blank expression without sparing her even a glance.

The sound of strong, rhythmic hoofbeats came from outside, and the luxurious carriage began to move.

Jiang Jingchun was still frustrated about what had happened earlier, and Jiang Runchu suddenly started lecturing her again. He said, “Can you at least fix your hair first? It’s a mess. Do you have any idea how improper you look?”

She had just played a game of polo earlier, and her ponytail had become slightly dishevelled. Compared to the two impeccably tidy men seated inside the carriage, she did appear somewhat out of place.

Jiang Jingchun pouted unhappily at his scolding, but considering that Gu Huaisheng was right there, she refrained from arguing back.

“Fine,” she muttered reluctantly and untied her hair to fix it into a simple bun.

She wasn’t sitting too close to Gu Huaisheng, but such movements inevitably caused her to brush against the person beside her. Her hair was soft and silky, scented faintly with jasmine oil, and as it happened, it brushed lightly across Gu Huaisheng’s cheek.

Gu Huaisheng felt an itch on the side of his face. He suspected that she had done it on purpose. His finely shaped eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Jiang Runchu noticed Gu Huaisheng’s apparent irritation and was just about to tell Jiang Jingchun to behave herself. However, for some reason, the speeding carriage suddenly came to a sharp stop, and everyone inside was momentarily thrown off balance.

The two men managed to steady themselves, but Jiang Jingchun, who was in the middle of fixing her hair, couldn’t stabilise herself and ended up falling straight into the person beside her.

Translator’s Note

[Regarding the married women characters’ names. This will mostly benefit people who aren’t familiar with the difference between 夫人 and 氏.]

Miss is an unmarried woman. Lady is a married woman using her birth/natal surname. Madame is a married woman using her marital surname. 

There were many ways that you could refer to a married noblewoman in ancient China according to her position. Among them are 夫人 (fūrén, tl. Wife/Madame) and 氏 (shi, tl. Lady). 

Think of 夫人 (Madame) like ‘Mrs.’ in English. When you refer to a married woman using 夫人, you use her husband’s surname. In this case, Madame Gu’s birth surname was Jiang (she was born in the Jiang family), but since she has married into the Gu family, she is referred to as ‘Madame Gu.’

Think of 氏 (Lady) like ‘Ms.’ in English. When you refer to a married woman using 氏, you use her birth surname. Chinese women generally don’t change their surname upon marriage. This is why Jiang Jingchun’s mother—Lady Li, can still be referred to as that, even though she had married into the Jiang family. In the early chapters, though, the author refers to ‘Lady Li’ as ‘Madame Jiang.’

‘Old Madame Jiang’ is referred to as an 老夫人 (lǎo fūrén, Old Madame Jiang) to distinguish her from Jiang Jingchun’s mother and show her level of seniority in the family, which is higher than the other Madame Jiang(s)—his sons’ legitimate wives.