The Paranoid Male Lead’s "White Moonlight" Has Reborn - Chapter 15

Jiang Yulong struggled to control his facial expression. Only after a long while did he manage to speak. “Is this really warm jade? How is it so large?”

“You said this warm jade is priceless and rare,” Jiang Chaoyun replied. “I don’t think that’s necessarily true. I obtained such large pieces quite easily.”

At those words, Jiang Yulong nearly coughed up blood. “…Where did Brother Chaoyun get this jade? Did Eldest Uncle give it to you?”

Jiang Chaoyun shook his head and said vaguely, “Naturally, I obtained it through my own abilities.”

Nearby, Jiang Xiuxiu asked, “Brother Chaoyun, can I have a look at that jade?”

Bixin whispered from behind, “Young Master, you mustn’t take off the jade. Your health is the priority.”

Hearing this, Jiang Chaoyun declined Jiang Xiuxiu’s request.

Jiang Yulong forced a smile. “Brother Chaoyun, you won’t let anyone see it. It couldn’t be fake, could it?”

Jiang Chaoyun shot back, “And where is your warm jade? I haven’t seen you wearing it.”

Jiang Yulong went silent again.

Jiang Xiuxiu added from the side, “Brother Yulong’s piece of warm jade was lost. It seems he simply wasn’t destined to have such a treasure.”

Jiang Yulong glared at her and turned away.

Jiang Xiuxiu said to Jiang Chaoyun, “He’s been in a foul mood lately since he knocked out his tooth and lost his jade. Now he even dares to give Brother Chaoyun an attitude.”

Jiang Chaoyun felt a small, inexplicable sense of joy. He didn’t care about Jiang Yulong’s sour attitude at all.

They weren’t far from the main table, but because he was sitting at the table for female family members, they were separated by a screen. Jiang Chaoyun didn’t have much of an appetite, so he only ate a small portion of longevity noodles.

Soon, Jiang Lin-shi’s head maid, Jingrou, came to fetch him. He followed her to the table where the important male descendants of the Jiang family were seated; they would soon be going up to present their birthday gifts.

Jiang Lin-shi had arranged his seat between the twin brothers of the third branch. The elder was Jiang Qingjue and the younger was Jiang Linshi. These two brothers were diligent students and modest in character. Seeing Jiang Chaoyun, they both greeted him obediently: “Brother Chaoyun.”

Jiang Chaoyun smiled at them and asked, “What gifts are you two presenting?”

Jiang Qingjue produced a box and opened it. “South Sea pearls. A peck like this costs five hundred gold.”

Jiang Linshi opened his box. “A Hetian jade statue of Maitreya Buddha. It also cost five hundred gold.”

Jiang Chaoyun: “…”

Is everything so expensive?

Jiang Chaoyun suddenly felt a trace of regret and began to wonder if hand-copying a scripture was too casual. But as the saying goes, “The gift is light, but the sentiment is heavy!” His intention to copy the scriptures for the Old Madam should be enough.

…Even if, in the end, he wasn’t the one who actually copied them.

Jiang Qingjue asked, “What is Brother Chaoyun sending?”

Jiang Chaoyun said bashfully, “A hand-copied scripture.”

Jiang Qingjue was surprised and said with shame, “Brother Chaoyun’s gift is much more precious than ours.” Jiang Linshi nodded in agreement.

Though the Old Madam might not necessarily like it… no, it was more accurate to say she definitely wouldn’t like it.

Perhaps because the Jiang family wasn’t originally wealthy—starting only with a breakfast stall—the Old Madam had suffered much in her youth. Once the Jiang family became successful, she turned into a moneybag that only accepted and never gave.

Currently, Jiang Zuoling was the head of the house, and it was thanks to Jiang Lin-shi’s strength in holding the domestic authority that the family lived so comfortably. Otherwise, given Jiang Zuoling’s blind filial piety, the others wouldn’t have it so easy.

Of course, the second branch’s Zhao-shi was perpetually at odds with Jiang Lin-shi, earning her extreme dislike. The third branch’s Fang-shi was short-sighted and only saw immediate benefits; she was a “fence-sitter” who mostly sided with Jiang Lin-shi. Fang-shi’s twin sons were even attending a prestigious and strictly selective academy—all thanks to Jiang Lin-shi’s connections.

Because of this, the two brothers were very kind to Jiang Chaoyun.

After all, anyone with eyes knew that the real power in the Jiang family lay with Jiang Lin-shi. She had a powerful maternal family. Unlike other women whose parents stop caring after they marry, her parents adored her excessively. Even though they lived far away, they had specifically greeted the officials and powerful clans in the Jiangnan region.

This was why the Prefect of Yuzhou came to celebrate the Old Madam’s birthday. To a large extent, it wasn’t because of any friendship with the Jiangs, but because the Lin family was backing Jiang Lin-shi.

However, the Old Madam was incredibly narrow-minded. She actually believed the Jiang family had enough “face” to invite the Prefect on their own. She never considered Jiang Lin-shi’s role and continued to act the part of the harsh mother-in-law.

Perhaps due to her dislike of Jiang Lin-shi, the Old Madam was also quite indifferent toward Jiang Chaoyun. If she were to give him a cold shoulder upon receiving such a simple gift, the scene would be quite unpleasant. Jiang Qingjue and Jiang Linshi felt a headache coming on just thinking about it.

Jiang Qingjue asked, “Does Aunt know you’re sending this gift?”

“Mother knows, of course,” Jiang Chaoyun said. “Why? Is the gift not good?”

Jiang Qingjue hummed vaguely, guessing that Jiang Lin-shi would likely prepare another lavish gift for the Old Madam separately, so he didn’t say more.

Soon, it was their turn to go up, offer their birthday wishes, and present their gifts. Since Jiang Chaoyun was the eldest legitimate grandson, he was first.

He made an effort to look cheerful and festive, spoke his blessings to the Old Madam, and had Bixin present the gift. The Old Madam gave a faint smile, had someone take the gift, and said, “Good grandson.” Her tone was dismissive, but Jiang Chaoyun didn’t notice. Seeing she hadn’t opened the box, he breathed a sigh of relief and was about to step down.

However, Prefect Han laughed and said to the Old Madam, “Is this Zuoling’s son, Chaoyun? It’s been five years since I saw him; he’s truly grown into a graceful young man.”

The Old Madam replied, “The Prefect is too kind.” She then called out, “Yulong…”

She was eager to introduce Jiang Yulong to the Prefect, but Prefect Han interrupted her. “Why doesn’t the Old Madam look at the scripture Chaoyun copied for you? For him to sit quietly for ten days to copy scriptures with his health, the sincerity is a testament to heaven and earth; even the gods would be moved to tears.”

How could the Old Madam know that Prefect Han was dissatisfied with her neglect of Jiang Chaoyun? Although she felt his words were a bit sarcastic, she didn’t overthink it. Hearing the Prefect, she twitched her lips and said, “I forgot.”

Jiang Chaoyun: “…” He could barely keep his seat.

The butler opened the wooden box and presented the hand-copied scripture to the Old Madam. Jiang Chaoyun was right—the Old Madam was illiterate and couldn’t understand the strength and sharpness in the handwriting. But just because she didn’t understand didn’t mean she wasn’t startled by the first glance.

Prefect Han, seeing her startled expression, leaned in to look. His smile instantly froze, replaced a moment later by a look of shock.

Everyone present found it strange that the two of them had such unusual expressions. Just as the Old Madam was about to speak, Prefect Han beat her to it. “Chaoyun! You’ve made such immense progress over these few years; this handwriting is truly excellent!”

This single sentence choked back all of the Old Madam’s dissatisfaction. Her face looked quite unsightly. Under everyone’s gaze, she couldn’t deny it and had to listen to Prefect Han’s continuous praise. He even said, “Zuoling, you’ve truly raised a good son.”

Jiang Zuoling was beaming, looking entirely proud of him. Jiang Chaoyun’s guilt and embarrassment reached their limit; he only wanted to explain to Prefect Han after the banquet that it wasn’t his writing.

Fortunately, Prefect Han’s praise didn’t last forever. Jiang Yulong followed him, speaking many sweet words that softened the Old Madam’s expression and made her smile. Looking at Jiang Yulong’s gift—a medium-sized “Cloud Peak Celestial Palace” made of pure gold—even Prefect Han marveled at the craftsmanship. The pavilions and maidens were carved with exquisite detail, even their fluttering skirts were visible.

The Old Madam was delighted, crying out, “Good grandson, good grandson! This gift is too heavy.”

Jiang Yulong smiled. “A gift for Grandmother naturally cannot be careless.”

Jiang Zuoling took the opportunity to say, “Prefect, this was made by our Jiang family workshop. Don’t you think it’s exquisite?” He clearly had ulterior motives. With spring approaching, the candidates for the Imperial Merchant status would be decided, and the Prefect was a recommender. Though with Jiang Lin-shi’s connections they had a 50% chance, Jiang Lin-shi refused to pull strings, so he had to do it himself.

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Lin-shi spoke up: “If you wanted to give Mother this ‘Celestial Palace,’ why did you have to use Yulong’s hand?”

Jiang Zuoling immediately glared at her and whispered, “When men are talking, women shouldn’t interrupt.”

Prefect Han looked at Jiang Lin-shi and sensed something was wrong. He skillfully stroked his beard and said, “Such craftsmanship looks fine at a glance, but the details are actually quite average.”

Jiang Zuoling’s face turned awkward. “The Prefect hasn’t looked closely; how can you conclude that?”

“It’s like that whether I look closely or not,” Prefect Han said dismissively.

It was an unreasonable statement, but Jiang Zuoling knew that Jiang Lin-shi’s single sentence had caused the change in attitude. Under the public gaze, he couldn’t say anything to the Prefect and had to endure it, making a few polite remarks while inwardly blaming Jiang Lin-shi for ruining things.

After the banquet ended, Jiang Chaoyun immediately approached Prefect Han and bashfully told him the truth about the Buddhist scriptures. Prefect Han didn’t look surprised. He stroked his beard and said, “I know it wasn’t written by you.”

Jiang Chaoyun was startled. “How did the Prefect know?”

Prefect Han thought to himself: I’ve seen that handwriting many times; how could I not know? There was only one person who could write like that. Thinking of this, he was exceptionally gentle toward Jiang Chaoyun. “The secrets of heaven must not be revealed.”

Jiang Chaoyun: “…” He saw the Prefect didn’t want to say, likely out of consideration for his self-esteem, so he didn’t ask further.

Instead, Prefect Han asked, “What is your relationship with the person who wrote this?”

Jiang Chaoyun hesitated. “…Average.”

“How can it be average?” Prefect Han asked again. “Think carefully.”

Jiang Chaoyun thought for a bit and said with a hint of pretense, “Maybe it’s quite good. That person listens to me. Is the Prefect asking because you want to promote him?”

Before the Prefect could answer, Jiang Chaoyun added quickly, “It’s his blessing that the Prefect values him, but I still need him right now and can’t let him go. Once I don’t need him anymore, how about I send him to your residence?”

Jiang Chaoyun added with total sincerity, “Apart from anything else, he is very serious about the night watch. He is an outreaching and excellent guard!”

Prefect Han: “…”

A guard??

Seeing the Prefect’s strange expression, Jiang Chaoyun hesitated and whispered, “Does the Prefect really want him? Then I’ll have him go back with you tomorrow?”

Prefect Han jolted, his volume rising slightly. “No need!”

Who would dare let the Third Prince be a guard??