The Young Marquis Regrets Too Late - Chapter 22

After Jiang Jinghui returned, Jiang Jingchun asked Lady Li about her own birth parents. After all, it was impossible for her to have sprung out of a rock—she must have her own parents somewhere.

They had mistaken her identity back then, but how exactly did they find her before they brought her back?

Had her parents abandoned her, or had something else happened?

Jiang Jingchun couldn’t help asking Lady Li about it.

However, when she asked, Lady Li only said that when they had found her, she had been left alone in a temple with no one to care for her. By some mistake, they had brought her back as their own. The implication was that Lady Li herself did not know Jiang Jingchun’s origins. Jiang Jingchun wanted to continue asking, but Lady Li appeared reluctant to bring up the past. Jiang Jingchun was afraid of upsetting Lady Li, so she decided not to press any further.

Perhaps it was because bl00d was bound to be thicker than water—these days, Lady Li was no longer as cold and distant to Jiang Jinghui as when she first saw her. She had warmed up significantly, and out of pity for the hardships Jiang Jinghui had suffered over the years, she began preparing things for her, such as clothing, for instance. Lady Li had prepared many new sets of clothes for all seasons for Jiang Jinghui.

From Jiang Jingchun’s courtyard window, she could see items being carried one after another into Jiang Jinghui’s courtyard.

Huayun noticed Jiang Jingchun sitting by the window and looking outside with a bland expression. Huayun didn’t know what Jiang Jingchun was thinking, so she stepped forward and intended to close the window so Jiang Jingchun wouldn’t watch anymore. 

However, Jiang Jingchun stopped her and asked, “Why are you closing it?”

Huayun said, “Why watch all this, Miss? Looking at that will only make you unhappy, won’t it?”

Jiang Jingchun let out a small laugh. “What is there for me to be unhappy about? All of those things rightfully belong to her.”

Besides, the better Jiang Jinghui was treated, the better Jiang Jingchun felt in her heart as well.

Her gaze fell on the busy servants walking back and forth outside. Suddenly, she turned back and asked Huayun, “Do you know how she lived all those years in that household?”

Huayun, who had always loved gossiping, often spent her free time chatting with others.

Naturally, she had picked up a few things about Jiang Jinghui’s past from other servants.

Huayun hadn’t expected Jiang Jingchun to ask this but answered truthfully.

She said, “I heard that she was taken to the outskirts of the capital and later sold to a family to be raised as a child bride. That family was considered quite wealthy in the area, but apparently, she still suffered a lot. After all, she was being raised as the family’s child bride… They didn’t treat her very well. I heard that when Master found her, she was doing laundry for that family’s son…”

At sixteen, an age as delicate as a blooming flower, she had already been made to act like a servant.

Yet despite all the injustice she had endured, Jiang Jinghui seemed to bear no resentment towards anyone and remained as kind and gentle as she could humanely be.

Huayun admitted that, had she been the one in Jiang Jinghui’s position, she could never be so forgiving.

Jiang Jingchun sniffled slightly and walked to her dressing table. She opened her jewellery box and pulled out a butterfly hairpin inlaid with jade from the bottom-most layer. This hairpin had been a birthday gift from her grandmother, and she loved it so much that she had never worn it, as she cherished it dearly. Ever since she received it, she had kept it at the very bottom of the box.

She carefully wrapped the hairpin in a handkerchief, then handed it to Huayun and said, “Go take this to my sister’s courtyard. Tell her… this is a meeting gift from her younger sister.”

Jiang Jingchun had never had a proper conversation with Jiang Jinghui before, but she heard that Jiang Jinghui was a good person; it was Jiang Jingchun who was too stubborn and afraid to face her.

However, things couldn’t go on like this.

She couldn’t act as if nothing had happened forever.

Huayun was surprised that Jiang Jingchun was willing to part with the hairpin. Back when she had received it, she had been so happy and repeatedly said how much she liked it. Even looking at it in its box brought her joy, and Huayun had never once seen her wear it.

Huayun sighed and said, “Miss, you like this hairpin very much.”

It was true. She liked it very much. Who wouldn’t like something so beautiful?

However, no matter how much she liked it, it wasn’t truly hers.

Jiang Jingchun simply said, “Send it to her.”

Seeing her determination, Huayun said no more. She took the hairpin and headed off to Jiang Jinghui’s courtyard.

Not long after, Huayun returned and reported, “She accepted it. She seemed to like it very much.”

Hearing this, Jiang Jingchun couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. “As long as she likes it, that’s good.”

That afternoon, after lunch, Lady Li brought Jiang Jinghui to visit the old madame at Rongde Hall.

When the old madame first learned that Jiang Jinghui had been found, she didn’t show much reaction. While she didn’t seem particularly pleased, she still sent many gifts over to ensure no one would think she disliked her granddaughter, who had been found again.

However, Jiang Nan noticed that, compared to Jiang Jinghui, the old madame still seemed to favour Jiang Jingchun more. He wanted Jiang Jinghui to gain more favour from her grandmother, so he frequently found excuses to have Lady Li bring her to visit the old madame, in the hope that the old madame would eventually warm up to her.

The old madame had a habit of napping after lunch, and they had clearly come without knowing this, as they came just at that time. They thus disturbed her rest.

However, the old madame didn’t say anything at being woken up. When she heard that Lady Li and Jiang Jinghui had come, she got up and went to the sitting room.

The old madame walked to her seat and sat down. She still looked a bit tired from just waking up.

She closed her eyes, let the older maid beside her massage her temples, and then asked, “What brings you here today?”

Lady Li explained, “We came to ask if Mother could lend me Governess Liu for a while.”

After saying this, she glanced at Jiang Jinghui and sighed, before adding, “Jinghui has just returned and there are some parts of social etiquette and conduct that she doesn’t quite understand yet. I thought Governess Liu could teach her. Otherwise, she might embarrass herself in formal situations, and people would say she lacks manners.”

The old madame laughed lightly and said, “You didn’t think this way when you were raising Jingchun. Why is that?”

Lady Li froze. She seemed to be at a loss for words for a moment.

It was Jiang Jinghui who broke the awkward silence. She said, “It’s not Mother’s idea—it’s mine. I wanted to learn these rules myself. I didn’t want to trouble Grandmother, but I heard that my younger sister also learned from Governess Liu and benefited greatly. That’s why I begged Mother to ask for your help.”

She lowered her face and looked exceedingly docile at that moment. The sight of her made Lady Li feel uncomfortable.

She thought about how her daughter must’ve suffered in the household she lived in all those years. She must’ve lived entirely by relying on other people and had learned to read their expressions and moods.

Lady Li said, “Back then, Mother found a governess for Jingchun, but now that governess isn’t teaching her anymore. Why can’t that governess teach Jinghui instead?”

Her words implied that the old madame was treating them unfairly.

The old madame was silent for a moment and then opened her eyes. She said, “It’s not that I’m unwilling. You said you wanted to take Jingchun back, so I saw that Governess Liu had nothing to do here and sent her back.”

After saying this, she added, “Jinghui is a well-mannered child. I can see that. She’s much more sensible than her younger sister and is not someone who doesn’t understand proper conduct. Didn’t the family she lived with before teaching it to her?”

The old madame had years of experience. It allowed her to tell that Jiang Jinghui had already learned a lot before.

Her question was one made of suspicion, and that suspicion wasn’t without reason. After all, a family that would purchase a child bride must be quite unruly and unconventional. Most households would never do such a thing, and aristocratic families in the capital also looked down on such practices.

How could such a family raise Jiang Jinghui into the girl she was now? She seemed almost too perfect—she was obedient, well-behaved, and perfectly mannered.

How could it not make her suspicious?

However, the old madame wouldn’t draw conclusions hastily. She knew Jiang Jinghui had suffered outside for so many years, so this was just a test to voice her concerns.

The old madame still felt that something was odd, but she didn’t press further. If she continued asking, it would appear as though she were deliberately making things difficult for Jiang Jinghui. 

She observed Jiang Jinghui for a while longer but found no unusual expressions on her face. She eventually said, “It’s fine. Since you’re eager to learn and are willing to improve, I’ll have her return.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Jinghui’s face lit up with surprise and joy. She immediately rose and said, “Thank you, Grandmother.”

Lady Li interjected, saying, “We’re all family. There’s no need to be so formal.”

“Your mother is right,” the old madame said. “You’re home now, so don’t stand on ceremony. I have some things to discuss with your mother. You may go back for now.”

Lady Li didn’t know what the old madame wanted to say to her, but since the old madame had told her to stay by saying that, she let Jiang Jinghui leave first.

After Jiang Jinghui left, Lady Li asked, “Mother, is there something else you wanted to say to me?”

“Do you remember what happened all those years ago?”

Lady Li fell silent, but the old madame had already found her answer in this quiet response.

“So, you do remember.”

Lady Li softly said, “I remember some of it.”

She recalled when Jiang Jinghui went missing and how she mistakenly took Jiang Jingchun from the temple, believing her to be Jiang Jinghui.

That year, did she see Jiang Jinghui’s birthmark on Jiang Jingchun’s body?

She hadn’t.

Deep in her heart, she had always known that Jiang Jingchun wasn’t her child.

However, she had buried those things deep in her heart. She pretended not to know. She treated Jiang Jingchun exceptionally well, just as if she were her own daughter.

When Jiang Jingchun was first brought home, she caused quite a fuss. She refused to eat, speak, or stop crying. She cried until her throat was hoarse, and her eyes grew red and swollen. At three years old, she was already capable of retaining memories, and she clearly remembered that her mother didn’t look like Lady Li at all.

She cried for her mother every day. She knew Jiang Nan and Lady Li weren’t her real parents.

However, as time passed, she slowly stopped making a fuss. Eventually, she began to call Lady Li as her mother.

She slowly forgot her memories from before she was three years old as she grew up.

In her mind, she only had one mother who always treated her very well.

Some memories shouldn’t be unearthed. Those painful pasts should just remain buried deep.

Lady Li never wanted to recall how they took Jiang Jingchun home from the temple.

She said, “I only remember a little. It’s been so long that I can’t remember much.”

The old madame looked at her and said, “Is it that you can’t remember, or you don’t want to remember?”

Her words carried a sharp edge. This made Lady Li too afraid to raise her head.

The old madame didn’t truly want to press her. She just said, “It’s our Jiang family that wronged her. She’s a good child. Don’t go too far with her.”

She only blamed herself for letting them perpetuate the mistake back then.

The old madame knew that people were selfish by nature. In her heart, Lady Li had always seen Jiang Jingchun as a stand-in for Jiang Jinghui. Now that Jiang Jinghui had returned, naturally, her affections were shifting back to her real daughter.

The old madame said, “If you don’t want to care for her anymore, let her come live with me…”

Before she could finish her words, though, Lady Li interrupted her by saying, “I never said I don’t want her. Jinghui has returned, yes, but she is also my daughter. I’ve raised her for over ten years. I’ve already regarded her as my own child.”

The old madame said, “Then why is it that after all these years, you so easily asked her to move to another courtyard?”

After saying that, the old madame didn’t want to say anything more.

This tangled mess was impossible to be sorted out, anyhow.

She rose slowly and walked back to her quarters, leaving Lady Li with just one last sentence. She said, “If you say you see her as your own child, then you must treat her fairly.”

Lady Li left Rongde Hall. Throughout her way back to Chongming Hall, he remained absent-minded. Listening to the old madame’s words earlier made her reflect on many things.

She had two daughters now—one was the daughter that she hadn’t given birth to, and the other was the one that she had given birth to. 

No matter what she did, it seemed impossible to avoid a situation where one of them was favoured over the other. Just like the issue with the courtyards before—although Jiang Jingchun didn’t say anything and quietly moved out, how could she not feel hurt deep down?

The thoughts gave her a headache. After returning to her courtyard, she collapsed onto a chaise lounge and drifted off to sleep in a haze. When she opened her eyes, it was already late into the afternoon.

The golden rays of the setting sun spilt into the courtyard, carrying the sweltering heat of summer. She woke up from her deep nap with a light sheen of sweat on her forehead.

She vaguely heard the sound of an argument outside and frowned. “What’s going on out there? Why is it so noisy?”

The maid by her side replied, “It’s the eldest young master and the second young miss arguing…”

By ‘second young miss,’ the maid was referring to Jiang Jingchun.

Lady Li felt another pang in her head. She had no idea what the two were fighting about. They’d had disagreements before, but they’d never seemed to quarrel this loudly and intensely before.

She asked, “What are they arguing about?”

The maid hesitated before replying, “It seems the second young miss gave the eldest young miss a hairpin, and it upset the eldest young master.”

Lady Li’s frown deepened as she rose and headed outside. 

Before she got far, she heard Jiang Runchu’s voice saying, “Who needs your stuff? If she likes something, we’ll buy it ourselves! Stop using these things to irritate other people!”

Earlier, after Jiang Jingchun had gifted the hairpin to Jiang Jinghui, the latter felt the item was far too valuable. When Jiang Runchu returned home from work, Jiang Jinghui handed it to him and asked him to return it on her behalf.

“Jingchun gave me this, and it’s beautiful. But I don’t dare accept it. Look at her—it suits her elegance, not me. I don’t deserve something so fine. Please return it to her for me,” she had said.

Jiang Runchu took her words differently from their face value. To him, Jinghui sounded pitiful. Moreover, the more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that Jiang Jingchun had ulterior motives. Why would she give Jinghui such a precious hairpin? Was it to flaunt her superior status—which she only had thanks to the old madame’s favour, and remind everyone of her status in this household?

In his eyes, Jiang Jingchun was neither kind nor magnanimous. Because Jinghui was the recently returned biological daughter, Jiang Jingchun must harbour hostility towards Jinghui.

Thus, in his mind, every single one of Jiang Jingchun’s actions seemed calculated.

Jiang Runchu took the hairpin from Jiang Jinghui and stormed off to confront Jiang Jingchun. He gave her a harsh scolding. Jiang Jingchun was naturally infuriated and fired back at him.

Why couldn’t she give Jiang Jinghui a hairpin as a gift? She had given her most cherished possession—her favourite thing in the world. Why should she be sharply questioned in this way by him in return for her kind gesture?

She felt that Jiang Runchu was being unreasonable, and she said, “I don’t owe you anything. Why are you always finding fault with me? What’s wrong with me giving her a hairpin? Is there a problem? Just because you have an evil mind doesn’t mean everyone else is like you, alright?”

With a cold expression on his face, Jiang Runchu replied, “I already said we don’t want it. Can’t you understand that? In the future, if she wants something, I’ll buy her the best. If you want to give gifts, why don’t you go and give away all the jewellery you have? Who are you trying to provoke by giving just this one?”

Jiang Jingchun’s face turned pale with anger. On the side, Lady Li had already figured out the gist of the argument and quickly stepped in to stop the two from continuing their quarrel.

She said, “Alright, alright, is it such a small matter worth arguing over? Jiang Runchu, that’s enough. Your sister was acting out of good intentions. Why are you treating her like she’s a scheming and politicking official from your workplace? Can’t you just calm down for once?”

Then she turned to Jiang Jingchun and tried to console her, “You know how he is…”

Jiang Jingchun’s eyes had reddened. Before Lady Li could finish speaking, Jiang Jingchun had already interrupted her, saying, “I know I should feel guilty towards her, but I didn’t want things to be this way, either! I just wanted to give her something I love the most. I don’t know what else to do!”

Her almond-shaped eyes glistened with a misty sheen, and her tears almost spilt over. Jiang Jingchun was trembling all over as she tried to hold her tears back, but in the end, she couldn’t stop them from falling. With that outburst, her anger diminished entirely. She couldn’t argue anymore, so she wiped her eyes hastily and turned away to leave the scene.

Lady Li watched her retreating figure, which carried a hint of stubbornness and pitiful vulnerability. Finally, she couldn’t hold back any longer and slapped Jiang Runchu across the face. She didn’t hold back with her strength. 

Jiang Runchu hadn’t expected Lady Li to suddenly strike him. His head turned to the side from the impact. He stood there, stunned and unable to react.