Chapter 122: Reputation Shattered

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Seeing the maidservant flustered and panicked, Jiang Lin was displeased. “It’s my wedding day; Mother must be somewhere in the residence. Search carefully—what’s with all this fuss and confusion?”

By his side, Shen Sisi coaxed gently, “Brother Lin, let’s just wait here for Mother. Don’t be upset. I will surely help manage the Hou Mansion’s household affairs well in the future.”

She was rather pleased to see the servants making mistakes; once she took charge of the inner quarters, she could make sweeping reforms.

Seeing Shen Sisi so considerate, Jiang Lin smiled and sat down beside her, his expression softening with concern. “What did you call me just now? Have you been feeling unwell?”

Shen Sisi blushed deeply, lowering her gaze with a hint of shyness. “Husband, it’s all your fault.”

The two teased each other lightly, waiting for quite some time until the tea grew cold, but the Lady of the Hou Mansion still hadn’t appeared, making them sense something was amiss.

They called for the maidservant, who said people were already searching but had not found any news.

Shen Sisi’s mind began to stir with doubts—could this be a deliberate warning to her?

Jiang Lin frowned deeply, thinking it impossible. Mother had never disappeared so early in the morning, especially on the first day after his wedding. Where could she have gone?

The maidservant who had been out searching returned breathlessly. “Young Master, Madam—I've searched everywhere inside and out, even checked each latrine, but there’s no sign of Madam.”

This was truly strange!

Before Jiang Lin could issue further orders, a young attendant rushed in, gasping for breath. Seeing Jiang Lin, he shouted, “Young Master, something terrible—someone has thrown rotten vegetable leaves and rotten eggs into the Hou Mansion!”

“What?” Jiang Lin stared in disbelief. “Who dares do this? Capture them immediately!”

“I don’t know who it was. They threw them and ran!” The attendant scratched his head, confused by such an unprecedented incident.

Just yesterday, the mansion was festooned with lanterns and decorations to welcome the Young Master’s bride. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion—why would anyone do such a thing?

The other maids and elder women exchanged strange looks toward Shen Sisi.

On her very first day as Lady of the Hou Mansion, the bride was missing, and now rotten eggs were being thrown—could it be that this new bride brought bad luck? Nothing like this had ever happened before.

Shen Sisi noticed the ill-omened gazes and gritted her teeth to step forward. “Brother Lin… Young Master, let’s go see what’s happening at the gate.”

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Jiang Miaodan had been lost in restless thoughts all night, unable to sleep. She overslept and only just finished dressing, arriving late.

Hearing Shen Sisi’s words, she rubbed her sleepy eyes in puzzlement. “Brother, Sister-in-law, what are you talking about? Where is Mother? Why isn’t she here?”

A maidservant repeated the morning’s strange events to her.

Miaodan found it equally odd and stormed forward in anger. “Take us to see which unruly commoner is causing trouble! Have them all caught and sent to the Jingzhao Prefecture immediately!”

The group followed the attendant to the gate. As soon as the grand mansion doors opened, a foul stench hit them; Jiang Miaodan immediately shut her eyes and covered her nose, nearly gagging.

Her anger flared even more, but as she stepped out, she felt a soft, wet, and sticky sensation underfoot.

Looking down, she saw a foul, blackish-yellow, putrid puddle of filth beneath her right foot, which smeared onto her skirt with every movement.

“Ah!!!”

She quickly pulled back her foot, frantically stamping and shaking her skirt, hopping around in an attempt to shake off the filth.

A few drops of the yellowish, unknown liquid splattered onto Jiang Lin and Shen Sisi standing nearby. Shen Sisi screamed, afraid to touch it, and shouted at Miaodan, “Stop jumping! You’re getting it on me!”

Jiang Lin’s face darkened as if ink could be squeezed from it, and he immediately ordered the servants to restrain Miaodan.

Chaos erupted inside the Hou Mansion. From afar outside the gate came malicious laughter, and several shadows flashed by, fleeing.

But Jiang Miaodan and the others no longer cared to chase after them. They ordered the gate closed and hurried back to their rooms to wash and change.

Miaodan scrubbed her right foot red with anger, still haunted by the lingering stench and the vile sensation imprinted in her mind—no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn’t go away.

At breakfast, the porridge happened to be pumpkin, and the mere sight of it made Miaodan gag.

Jiang Lin and Shen Sisi were no better off, having been soiled for the first time. Though only a little dirt had splattered on their clothes, it felt like a curse that they wanted to wash away ten times over.

After cleaning up, Jiang Lin shouted to his attendants, “Investigate immediately! Find out what’s going on!”

Shen Sisi had changed into fresh clothes, her eyes red from frustration and hurt. She was deeply aggrieved—on the very first day after her wedding, such misfortune struck. The maids and elder women of the Hou Mansion now looked at her differently, as if she were an ill omen.

Could this have been arranged by Shen Qingyun, deliberately aimed at humiliating her and bringing misfortune to her marriage?

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Other than that, she could not imagine who else would want to vex her so.

Perhaps the Hou Mansion had enemies who deliberately chose this joyous occasion to sow discord.

The attendant sent to gather information soon returned, his face dark and hesitating as he struggled to speak.

Jiang Lin kicked him sharply. “Spit it out!”

The attendant, seeing the usually gentle and refined Young Master so furious, hurriedly knelt and kowtowed. “Young Master, outside, people say they saw Madam secretly meeting with Lord Shen within the mansion yesterday.”

“What did you say?” Shen Sisi rushed forward, her face pale as death.

The attendant kowtowed repeatedly. “Outsiders claim that Madam has been unfaithful, and that’s why they threw things to cause trouble for the mansion.”

Jiang Lin roared, “Who is fabricating such lies to ruin the reputation of my Hou Mansion? Report this to the authorities at once!”

The attendant was drenched in cold sweat. The gossip outside was even worse, with vivid and offensive rumors.

They said the father married an older woman, the daughter married a younger man—never had there been such “close kin” and “double happiness.”

Some even suspected that the Young Master was Lord Shen’s illegitimate child, implying that he and his wife were siblings.

He had softened the retelling; otherwise, he would have been kicked to death on the spot.

Shen Sisi fought to stay conscious despite weakness, trembling as she tugged at Jiang Lin’s sleeve. “So… where has Mother gone?”

Only then did Jiang Lin remember that Madam of the Hou Mansion had been missing since early morning. His heart jolted—could all this be true? Would Mother do something foolish?

He hurried with Shen Sisi to Madame Jiang’s chambers, but found nothing except a letter left on the dressing table addressed to Jiang Lin.

Seeing it, Jiang Lin collapsed helplessly beside it.