Chapter 53: So the Prince Is a Regular at the Fragrant Pavilion

When Bai Zhi uttered those words, it was akin to handing over her life. Jiang Beiying should have been among those slaughtered with the Jiang family five years ago, yet not only had she survived, she was secretly investigating matters concerning the Jiangs.

Xia Jiujiang was stunned. “What’s going on?”

Bai Zhi was Jiang Beiying’s maid; both were unfortunate children abducted by human traffickers. Jiang Beiying had been adopted by Master Jiang, and kept Bai Zhi by her side to live together in the Jiang household. Those few months were the happiest of their lives.

The Jiang family treated them as kin; there was no need to wander or starve, and a warm home always awaited them, even teaching them to read and write.

The calamity struck the Jiang family suddenly. Master Jiang, wanting to protect Jiang Beiying, arranged for her to be sent away under cover of night. At the time of the house’s confiscation, a servant’s granddaughter happened to be gravely ill and was mistaken for Jiang Beiying, leading to her capture.

The authorities cared little for the truth—only eager to close the case; so long as the numbers matched, a little maid was a negligible detail. No matter how the Jiang family protested, officials merely accused them of sophistry.

Master Jiang risked his life to help Jiang Beiying escape, hoping she might live, but Jiang Beiying had no wish for mere survival; she desired vengeance for the Jiang family, for Jiang Mantang!

Xia Jiujiang asked, “This is a grave matter. You were wise to be cautious, not telling me immediately. If you’d carelessly reported it, the consequences would have been dire. Where is Jiang Beiying now?”

Bai Zhi replied, “Miss has infiltrated the Wang family, becoming the matron.”

Xia Jiujiang shot upright in shock. “What! The Wang family of Jinmantang?”

Wang Zhen, the patriarch, was a man in his forties, old enough to be Jiang Beiying’s father. That Jiang Beiying had gone to such lengths for the Jiang family was astonishing.

Jun Bu Wen was also taken aback by the news. “So Lady Wang, Jiang Ying, is actually Jiang Beiying.”

“You know Lady Wang?” Xia Jiujiang was startled, fearing the Embroidered Guards had their eyes on Jiang Beiying.

Jun Bu Wen said, “I recall reading a secret report on the Wang family. This woman is indeed formidable—a woman kept outside by Master Wang, who step by step rose to become the household’s matron.”

Xia Jiujiang believed in Jiang Beiying’s hatred for the Wang family. After Jiang Mantang’s annihilation, Wang family took over Jiang Mantang, becoming Jinmantang. Jiang Beiying’s journey from an outsider to Lady Wang showed the Jiang family’s importance and kindness to her.

Jun Bu Wen continued, “The women around Wang Zhen have either died, gone mad, suffered miscarriages; his sons expelled, his daughters married off or locked away. The inner court of Wang family is entirely under her control.”

Xia Jiujiang looked at Jun Bu Wen in surprise. “You know so much.”

Jun Bu Wen laughed. “Naturally, everything happening in the capital falls under the Embroidered Guards' purview, especially with a royal merchant family like Jinmantang.”

Bai Zhi gritted her teeth. “The Wang family deserves it. One hundred forty-four lives lost in the Jiang family—they must pay in blood.”

She glanced at the prince, uncertain of his attitude, and said, “I’ve already sent a covert message to Miss. Princess, are you willing to meet her and discuss a plan against Jinmantang?”

Xia Jiujiang answered without hesitation, “Of course I am…”

She paused, “But I’m not sure where we should meet. As the Princess Consort of Prince Jin, a sudden meeting with Lady Wang could arouse suspicion regarding your Miss’s identity.”

A sly smile curled on Jun Bu Wen’s lips. “I happen to know a suitable place. The question is whether Lady Wang dares to go.”

Bai Zhi looked at Jun Bu Wen’s mischievous expression and asked nervously, “Where?”

Jun Bu Wen smiled. “The Fragrant Pavilion.”

Xia Jiujiang shot her a look. “Ah, so our prince is a regular at the Fragrant Pavilion?”

Jun Bu Wen coughed. She actually remembered that detail. “It’s merely a secret base for the Embroidered Guards. No one would suspect the Prince Jin’s covert operatives are stationed at the Fragrant Pavilion.”

Xia Jiujiang withdrew her gaze, intent on business first; matters regarding the pavilion could be dealt with later. She instructed Bai Zhi to contact Jiang Beiying, then proceeded to wait in a room at the Fragrant Pavilion.

A place where fortunes are squandered, laughter echoing from heaven’s own fragrant chamber.

The Fragrant Pavilion was famed for its alluring women, each with their own charm and style, as if they were celestial beings lingering in the mortal world. The air was infused with fragrance, bells and jewels chimed, yet who would imagine that Jun Bu Wen and Xia Jiujiang would be negotiating grave affairs here?

The secret room in the Fragrant Pavilion was surprisingly spacious and bright. The entrance, disguised as the pavilion’s pharmacy, made it appear as just a place to fetch medicine if discovered. Herbs served as signals for entry to the inner rooms.

The Fragrant Pavilion was a channel for intelligence gathering and dissemination, with all information closely linked to it. Its secrecy impressed even Xia Jiujiang.

Xia Jiujiang had imagined Jiang Beiying as a seductive beauty, capable of enchanting the Wang family’s patriarch. But when Jiang Beiying appeared, she realized her assumptions were mistaken.

Jiang Beiying was a cold beauty, as delicate as a porcelain doll, yet her face lacked a certain spark, icy as if life itself had lost its color.

When Jiang Beiying met Prince Jin and Xia Jiujiang, she bowed and said, “This humble woman greets Prince Jin and Princess Jin.”

Jun Bu Wen spoke, “Lady Wang, you may rise.”

Jiang Beiying frowned in distaste. “It’s better if you call me Jiang Beiying. The title ‘Lady Wang’ is merely a name I endure for the sake of revenge.”

Xia Jiujiang stepped forward to help her up. “Sister Jiang, please get up.”

Upon hearing Xia Jiujiang call her “Sister Jiang,” Jiang Beiying’s expression softened slightly, as if a ripple crossed the calm surface of a lake.

Bai Zhi approached, eyes reddening. “Miss.”

Jiang Beiying’s face hardened. “I am not your Miss. Your master now is Princess Jin. Remember your status.”

Xia Jiujiang understood Jiang Beiying’s effort to draw a clear line with Bai Zhi. From the day she entered the Wang family, Jiang Beiying knew that when the Wang family fell, she, as Lady Wang, would not escape unscathed.

Bai Zhi bit her lip and stood behind Xia Jiujiang. Xia Jiujiang sighed. “You’ve endured for years, ascending step by step to the position of matron. It was not easy. To clear the wrongful charges, you need evidence.”

Whether or not Jiang Beiying was the matron, no matter how many she schemed against, without proof of the Jiang family’s innocence, their stain would never be washed away. Xia Jiujiang didn’t want Jiang Beiying to obsess over it, but the situation was already set in stone.

Jiang Beiying’s gaze was sharp. “I have evidence!”

Her words took Xia Jiujiang by surprise.

Jiang Beiying’s voice trembled with fury. “After all these years in the Wang family, I have proof that Jinmantang schemed against the Jiang family. But… this evidence cannot convict Xia Wentao.”

Xia Jiujiang replied, “Xia Wentao is cautious; it’s normal not to find evidence against him. Moreover… Jinmantang is backed by Marquis Guan Yuan, whose daughter is the matron of the Xia family. Even if Xia Wentao can’t be convicted, without Jinmantang’s financial support, the Xia family’s days of comfort will soon end.”