Chapter Ten: Dark Sorcery

After the Chen family fell into ruin, Old Madam Jiang had Madam Chen unceremoniously banished to their ancestral home in Luzhou. Whenever Madam Chen fell short in any way, Old Madam Jiang would take it out on Jiang Nian. Jiang Nian had suffered countless hardships since she was young, and for the sake of her daughter, Madam Chen had only been able to swallow her grievances. After Jiang Xin was born, she was even more tightly controlled, terrified to offer the slightest resistance.

Old Madam Jiang gripped her eldest son’s hand tightly. "My son! Am I not doing this for your own good? If news of this heart ailment gets out, how will you maintain your standing in the imperial court? All your years of hard work would be destroyed in an instant! Tell me, have I done anything wrong? Have I?"

Madam Chen looked at her husband, Jiang Ping, unable to believe he would disregard their daughter’s life. "Husband, you will have Xin’er treated, won't you?"

Jiang Ping looked at his mother, whose chest was heaving violently, and said with an air of difficulty, "Yueyue, Mother is not in good health. Stop agitating her..."

Madam Chen’s eyes widened in disbelief. "You intend to obey her? She is disregarding your own daughter’s life, and you would still side with her?!"

In the past, when Old Madam Jiang had used various pretexts to oppress her, she had never felt such profound, unbearable sorrow as she did now. Her husband, whom she had longed to reunite with and who claimed to love her deeply, stood right before her. Upon hearing that his own mother intended to poison their child into muteness and exile her to a nunnery, he remained indifferent.

It was laughable! Truly laughable!

Jiang Ping’s gaze remained fixed on Old Madam Jiang, turning a deaf ear to Madam Chen. He sternly commanded his servants, "See Master Ying Jue out properly."

Seeing him truly intent on sending Master Ying Jue away and denying their daughter treatment, Madam Chen felt a chill seep into her bones, followed by utter despair. Overcome by a rush of blood to the head, the world began to spin, and her vision blackened. Jiang Ping, however, did not even glance at her, still busy soothing his mother and handing her water.

Jiang Nian stepped forward to steady Madam Chen and whispered, "Mother, to Father, maintaining an image of pure filial piety is clearly more important than being a loving husband or a doting father."

Madam Chen gritted her teeth. She could understand Jiang Ping marrying another for the sake of power, but she could not understand how he could treat his own flesh and blood this way! Yet the truth was laid bare before her, leaving her no choice but to believe it.

"To think the man I married is such a heartless, subhuman creature!" she shouted, her voice nearly a shriek. Jiang Ping’s expression changed instantly. He had heard all sorts of insults in his time, but being called "subhuman" was a first—and it had come from his own first wife. A flicker of anger appeared on his face.

Old Madam Jiang was even more agitated; as if she had been stung, she jumped up and pointed at Madam Chen. "Drag her out! Drag her out! For insulting an imperial official, give her one hundred heavy blows!"

Jiang Ping’s face darkened. "Yueyue, are you speaking of me?"

Madam Chen offered a mocking smile. "Have you become so obsessed with being a filial son that you've lost your mind? As a father, you are cowardly and foolishly filial, watching your own daughter die without lifting a finger! You are not even fit to be called a beast!"

Jiang Ping took a deep breath and asked coldly, "Do you know who you are talking to?"

"Such grand official authority!" Madam Chen scoffed. "No matter how you try to obstruct me, I will get my daughter treated!"

Old Madam Jiang was so furious she seemed to grow taller. "Speak clearly! How has my son ever failed you, that you, as his wife, would dare to insult him like this?!"

"How can it be an insult? I am merely stating the facts." Madam Chen had seen through Jiang Ping’s hypocrisy. "To uphold his reputation for filial piety, he turns a blind eye to the evil you commit. He enjoys all the benefits of my family’s status while pretending to be noble—it is truly sickening!"

The wrinkles on Old Madam Jiang’s withered face trembled with rage, her chest heaving as if she were struggling to breathe. Jiang Ping panicked and urged his servants, "Where is Mother’s medicine?! Bring it here at once!" As he spoke, he glanced at Madam Chen. "That is enough!"

Just as Madam Chen was about to speak again, Jiang Nian held her back and looked at her father. "Father, do you know what Grandmother has done to Xin’er?"

Jiang Ping’s expression turned ugly. He countered, "What has your grandmother done?"

Madam Chen caught the implication. "Nian’er, what are you saying?"

Old Madam Jiang glanced at the Magistrate Wei standing nearby, then suddenly raised her voice, pointing at Jiang Nian. "Slander! Spreading rumors! You will be cast into the hell of pulling tongues! Guards, guards! Beat her to death!"

Jiang Nian let out a cold laugh. She had once feared the old woman to her very bones, but now she saw her only as a wicked, aging crone. "Grandmother, you shout so loudly, you hardly seem ill. Perhaps you should tell us how Xin’er’s illness came to be."

Her expression was icy, as if she had long seen through the old woman’s schemes. "Xin’er is such a young, sensible child—how could you bring yourself to do it? Is she not of the Jiang family’s blood? Is she not your own granddaughter?!"

Madam Chen’s eyes widened. *How could she bring herself to do it?* What exactly had she done to her daughter?!

Old Madam Jiang bolted upright and roared at the servants in the room, "Why haven't you dragged her out yet!" But the servants were frozen in place, stunned and unable to move.

Jiang Nian turned to Wei Lanzhou. "Magistrate Wei, my grandmother has deliberately attempted to take a life. I wish to lodge an official complaint!" The hall fell into a deathly silence.

Wei Lanzhou had already sensed that something was wrong. He said gravely, "Please, Miss Jiang, explain the reasons for your charge."

The Old Madam began to gasp for air again, tugging frantically at her eldest son. Jiang Ping grew anxious. "Nian’er, what exactly are you trying to do!"

It was a threat, and Jiang Nian understood it perfectly. Yet, with an innocent look, she said, "Father, I believe you are unaware of this. You must have been deceived by Grandmother, right?"

Jiang Ping’s expression faltered. "Of course I was unaware."

Jiang Nian nodded. "Then please, Father, listen patiently."

Jiang Ping felt a lump in his throat. He could not reveal the slightest change in his demeanor before Magistrate Wei, or he would certainly be impeached by the censors upon his return to the capital. "Speak..."

Jiang Nian looked at Old Madam Jiang. "Grandmother, you practiced dark arts, sticking needles into Xin’er’s heart to ensure the Jiang family produces more male heirs, didn't you?"

*What?!* Dark arts? Sticking needles into a child’s heart? The entire room was left dumbfounded. Jiang Ping also looked at his mother with a timely display of shock.

Old Madam Jiang was stunned herself. Jiang Nian had actually said it! She had said it in public! Clearly losing her composure, she grabbed her cane and lunged at Jiang Nian. "I’ll beat you to death, you lying wretch!"

Jiang Nian was far more agile than the old woman and easily dodged the blow. "Grandmother, when you drove those needles into my sister’s body, did you ever think of the agony she would endure? Did you not feel a single shred of heartache or guilt?"

Madam Chen finally reacted to the shock, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "Nian’er, is what you say true?"

"A few days ago, when I was out, I heard of a dark ritual: if you choose a daughter of the clan and drive a needle into the acupuncture point over her heart, the family will no longer bear any more girls."