Chapter 22: His Gaze Was Anything But Innocent

Jiang Nian crept closer, stealing an earful of their conversation.

Bo Yijin sounded anxious: "Fang Shan, the man imprisoned just a few days ago! He’s dead?"

"That’s right. He botched the medical treatment of the Minister of Revenue’s son, denied it, and then couldn't withstand the interrogation and died. Just half an hour ago, his wife carried the body away." After explaining, the yamen runner went back to his duties, seeing that Bo Yijin had nothing more to say.

A woman’s voice chimed in: "I heard his wife’s medical skills are even better..."

So, Meng Yingying was there too.

"He’s only been gone half an hour; he shouldn't have gotten far... If I had known, I should have listened to you and come to bail him out sooner! I had intended to wait until he had suffered enough to truly appreciate the kindness of my timely help!"

Hearing this, Jiang Nian turned and hurried away.

She hadn't managed to seize Bo Yijin’s destiny, but he hadn't managed to hold onto it either. It seemed he knew Fang Shan was innocent, yet he had chosen to wait until now to save him.

She rushed outside the yamen, hoping to avoid the pair, but before she could step into her carriage, she heard Meng Yingying calling out to her loudly:

"Miss Jiang!"

Jiang Nian put on a smile and turned to greet them: "Young Master Bo, Miss Meng, why are you at the yamen? Has something happened?"

Before Meng Yingying could explain, Bo Yijin cut in: "Nothing of note. Are you here because you've encountered trouble at the yamen? If there is anything I can assist with..."

Jiang Nian could see the impure intent in his eyes, and she had no desire to let them know about the Pei family elders.

Thinking for a second, she explained: "Young Master Bo and Miss Meng should address me as Madam Pei now! It is nothing major; one of my maids was beaten this morning, and I came to see how the yamen ruled on the matter."

Sure enough, as soon as she spoke, both Bo Yijin and Meng Yingying cast their eyes toward her hair, now styled in a married woman’s bun. Neither of them cared at all why she had actually come to the yamen.

Jiang Nian didn't mind stirring the pot: "Oh? Are you two unaware? Miss Xiao even sent me a wedding gift. Since the three of you are inseparable, I assumed you would have heard it from her."

"Yingying, go find Xue Zhu first. I have a few words for Miss Jiang." Bo Yijin refused to call Jiang Nian "Madam Pei."

His expression was sour, and Meng Yingying’s was even worse: "Jin..."

Jiang Nian couldn't care less about the complexity of the look Meng Yingying gave her before leaving; her mind was completely preoccupied with Bo Yijin’s earlier words. *Xue Zhu? What could that mean? Could Fang Shan’s wife be Xue Zhu?*

She suddenly had a flash of realization. In the original book, Fang Shan, the doctor who followed Bo Yijin, was a woman. But from what they said, Fang Shan was a man!

It must be that Xue Zhu had taken on her late husband’s identity!

Regret gnawed at her. She had mocked Bo Yijin for failing to save Fang Shan, but it was she who had missed the chance!

"Miss Jiang."

Hearing Bo Yijin’s voice, Jiang Nian immediately cut off her regrets, not daring to lower her guard for a moment.

"What does Young Master Bo want with me?" And what could be so sensitive that Meng Yingying couldn't hear it?

Bo Yijin’s first impression of Jiang Nian was that she was a woman to his taste—clear-headed and sharp-tongued. If he had such an interesting woman by his side, it would add flavor to his life.

She was married... but that didn't matter. Once he succeeded in his plans, taking any woman he wanted would be effortless.

For now, he had another important matter to test her with: "Speaking of which, Qingwan is your cousin, so you and I are essentially relatives."

"Indeed, I never expected to be related to Young Master Bo!"

Bo Yijin stared at Jiang Nian, speaking slowly and deliberately: "But Qingwan has gone missing."

"Missing?" Jiang Nian looked surprised. "Cousin was at my estate just the day before yesterday; how could she be missing? When did she disappear? Why hasn't there been any word from my maternal family? Has it been reported to the officials? Do my second uncle and aunt not know where she went? What about An'er? She is Cousin’s maid—did she disappear as well?"

Bo Yijin watched Jiang Nian’s anxious expression as she frantically searched for solutions, desperate to find Tang Qingwan. He fell into a deep contemplation.

After a long while, he spoke again: "She went missing the day after she visited you. No one at the Tang estate knows anything. An'er said that for those few days, Qingwan was acting mysteriously and would often go out without letting anyone follow her."

Jiang Nian’s thin brows knitted together, and she struggled to keep her tone polite: "If I may be blunt, Miss Meng and Miss Xiao do not seem to care for my cousin, and this matter..."

"This has nothing to do with them."

"This must be reported to the authorities! I must inform my parents; my maternal family must be in chaos."

"Does Miss Jiang know about the fire near the Jiang estate yesterday?" Seeing Jiang Nian nod, Bo Yijin tried to catch a glimmer of guilt in her eyes, but there was none.

Jiang Nian looked puzzled, only asking: "What does that have to do with my cousin?"

"Nothing. The fire was just near the Jiang estate, so I thought I would let you know. The yamen has discovered it was arson. They checked the various incense shops and found that a woman had purchased a large quantity of wax oil the day before, though they haven't been able to identify her yet."

"So it was intentional arson! The yamen will surely find out soon. As long as they take a portrait of the suspect to the shops, they can clear it up!"

Bo Yijin paused and nodded, though he couldn't help but wonder if he had guessed wrong.

"Young Master Bo, I must rush back to my parents' home to tell them about my cousin. Please excuse me." Jiang Nian bowed hurriedly and boarded her carriage.

Once inside, all traces of worry and urgency vanished from her face.

Jiang Nian narrowed her eyes, recalling every word and expression of Bo Yijin.

If she wasn't mistaken, Bo Yijin suspected that the person burned in yesterday’s fire was Tang Qingwan. He was a man of means; if he hadn't learned some clues from An'er, he wouldn't have concluded that Tang Qingwan was dead.

And in his deduction, she was the culprit who bought the wax oil and set the fire. No doubt, Bo Yijin would soon take a portrait of her to the shops for verification.

Combined with her earlier suspicion that the mother and son from yesterday were her second uncle’s secret family, and that the boy kept clamoring to find his sister...

Jiang Nian understood now. Yesterday, Tang Qingwan must have set a trap to harm her, but somehow ended up hoisting herself with her own petard. Tang Qingwan was truly insane!

She felt a lingering fear. It was fortunate that she and Pei Jiuru hadn't taken the carriage back to the Jiang estate. If they had, they would have encountered the little boy two incense sticks of time earlier. When Pei Jiuru walked into the alley, it hadn't caught fire yet; he could easily have been harmed by Tang Qingwan!

"Hong Rui, back to the Jiang estate." She could not pretend to be ignorant of this. If the Tang family found out she had deliberately concealed the truth, it would lead to even more trouble.

The news Jiang Nian brought to her parents turned the quiet Jiang estate into a scene of chaos. They scrambled to hitch the carriages and change their clothes, the family of three rushing to the Tang estate.

Jiang Nian whispered for Hong Rui to return and inform Pei Jiuru. They had just reconciled, and they had planned to dine together at noon.

She wondered if Pei Jiuru would come looking for her?

She thought, he was practically rooted in his study; how could he possibly leave the house to find her?