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Chapter 26: A Well-Played Chess Move (Part I)
Accompanied by the sighs and murmurs of the people, the curtain finally came down on a big spectacle with many twists and turns. Chen Zhao and Zhang Lan were taken into custody pending trial, whereas Jiang Ruan was able to return to the Jiang residence. The court was still in session, but Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi could not stop themselves from running forward to join Jiang Ruan. They were both too excited to speak coherently.
Lian Qiao said, "Your servants know the heavens consider our young Miss worthy, and our mistress in heaven will also protect you. We should burn some incense for our mistress later."
Jiang Ruan shook her head. "If you put it that way, then we should show our gratitude to the two Darens as well who presided over this trial and gave me justice. Also, we should thank Lu Zhu and the others who were willing to come forward and speak on my behalf, especially Qiu Yan. I really owe her my thanks." After she had spoken, she walked to face Qiu Yan and said, with a faint smile, "Many thanks, Qiu Yan."
Qiu Yan looked dazedly at Jiang Ruan standing in front of her, and a hint of fear surfaced in her eyes. In the eyes of external observers, as far as today's events were concerned, Jiang Ruan had not done anything at all. As it appeared, it was the household servants who took the initiative and came forward. However, the truth was that all that had been spoken had been orchestrated by Jiang Ruan. Right from the outset, Jiang Ruan had arranged the situation. She had dug a splendidly decorated pit, and sat smilingly at the side to watch Chen Zhao jump into it. When the pitiful Chen Zhao jumped in, he was still under the impression that the trap he himself had set was larger.
The status of Zhang Lan's family was deeply entrenched in the residence. One could say, if the Jiang family did not collapse, if Xia Yan had not been Jiang Quan's wife, they would have easily been able to cover up their misdeeds in the residence. Jiang Ruan would definitely not have been able to weed out and eliminate these people, with their deeply rooted connections and power, with such ease. Because Zhang Lan felt secure in the knowledge that she had backing, she never once thought that Jiang Ruan actually had a plan to completely clear out these complicated relationships. Her motive, right from the start, was to target Zhang Lan and her son with clean, efficient, and absolutely decisive methods. Finally, she took drastic measures and pulled the carpet out from under them. In the blink of an eye, she had achieved her main objective, to return to the Jiang family residence, and no one could touch her now. This was the real master stroke.
However, that this kind of scheme could come from the hand of such a young girl, coupled with the impression she had given in the past five years of slow-wittedness, vulnerability, and silent endurance, this really caused one to shudder with dread. A wave of regret surfaced in Qiu Yan's heart. Who would have thought that the most deeply hidden secret of this village would be this seemingly insignificant young Miss. If she returned to the Jiang household, it was to be feared that Xia Yan and her daughter would derive no benefit from it. Jiang Ruan had maintained silence with great forbearance for so many years, yet, she had struck back in this way. The Jiang household would be turned upside down.
Qiu Yan respectfully bowed her head and replied, "Miss, you are my mistress. That this servant should act on behalf of her mistress is only right and proper. That Miss should say this to me gives me great fear."
Jiang Ruan gave a small smile. "Not everyone is like you. Even so, many thanks." She grasped Qiu Yan's hand. On discovering that the hand was trembling slightly, a hint of cryptic laughter surfaced in her eyes.
Indeed, as Qiu Yan had thought, today she had finally achieved the first step in her plan. In her previous life, Zhang Lan and her son had played a crucial role in destroying her life. At that time, she was completely unable to help herself, and could only allow others to trample on her. Now, she would no longer offer up her life on a platter. On the contrary, no one would be able to touch her. Returning to the Jiang household would be the beginning of her revenge, but more importantly, after today's revelations and major changes, Jiang Quan's reputation had taken a severe beating. If the talk of the people* could take the shine off his good name, then the Imperial Censor's accusation of misconduct would certainly throw a spanner into the progress of his official career.
* T/N : the text literally says 'the saliva of the people'.
The first thing she wanted to do was to block Jiang Quan's official career.
Translated by : shl
Edited by : Anks & Ely