When Mugen's mother entered Jiang Wanru's room, Jiang Wanru was sitting at her desk. Her small face had a faint smile that could only be seen if one looked closely. Her demeanor was as elegant and refined as all the ladies of the world. When Mugen's mother saw Jiang Wanru like this, her face suddenly showed joy. She gazed at Jiang Wanru with delight and said: "Miss, I think that even among your elder sisters, none are as elegant as you."

  Jiang Wanmu smiled slightly upon hearing this, pointing to the stool by the table and saying: "Nurse, please sit down. Let's chat." After Mugen Niang sat down, Jiyuan poured water into a bowl and brought it to the table, smiling as she said: "Auntie, please have some water." Mugen Niang looked at Jiang Wanmu carefully, smiled at Jiyuan and said: "Thank you, Jiyuan." She then examined Jiang Wanmu's hair closely, sighing softly as she said: "Miss, your hairdressing skills are even more impressive now."

  Jiang Wanru's eyes were filled with a smile as she looked at her and said, "Nurse, it wasn't you who said that women, no matter what time or family background, must know how to take care of themselves." Mugen Niang's face turned slightly red upon hearing this. Jiyuan glanced at the gate of the courtyard and smiled, saying, "Miss and aunt, please feel free to chat for a while, I'll go outside the gate for a walk." After finishing speaking, Jiyuan walked towards the door with a smile, leaving it open as she turned back to say with a smile, "Miss, the door is open, so it's well-ventilated." Jiang Wanru smiled and waved at her.

  The wooden root daughter-in-law looked at the departing auspicious words, carefully measured Jiang Wanru, comforted and smiled: "These days, there are many things in the mansion, and there are many miscellaneous people around me. I didn't dare to come over and see you, and my heart was always worried that you would think about it. Now looking at you, nothing has changed, and it seems like you've grown taller." Jiang Wanru smiled brightly at her and said: "Nanny, I'm not letting auspicious words tell you, I'm fine, everything is good, eating well and sleeping soundly."

  Mugunai listened to this and gently patted Jiang Wanting's hand on the table, smiling: "Well, I guess I was worried for nothing. I've been watching you grow up, and in the past when you wouldn't speak for ten days or half a month, I'd get anxious. Later when you hurt your head and started talking more, it just so happened that we were all busy and had to take time away from you, which made me anxious again. When you were younger, I didn't dare talk to you about these things in detail. At the time, I was worried that when you were alone, how would you take care of your daily needs like food, clothing, and hygiene? I was always worried, and it showed on my face."

  Later, your uncle and I met, and after seeing you, he told me that there were things you should learn while you're still young, and that I should teach them to you when no one was around. As a man who has seen the world, what he said made sense. So I steeled myself and stopped letting your mother help you with everything, forcing you to do things on your own. Who knew you'd pick it up quickly and also know how to keep it hidden from others? Only then did my heart feel slightly at ease.

  Jiang Wanmu smiled and looked up at Mugen Niangqin, saying: "Nanny, I know that Nanny and Brother are good to me. It's just that I'm grown up now, don't worry too much about me. Take care of your body and when the time comes, help me and Brother have more younger siblings." Mugen Niangqin heard Jiang Wanmu's words and immediately frowned, saying: "Miss, did Muren take you to some place to play? You even dare to say such things to me?"

  Jiang Wanru hurriedly shook her head and said, "Nurse, it has nothing to do with Brother. I was playing outside the bookstore and heard two scholars talking like that inside. I thought it must be a good truth, so I learned to tell Nurse about it." Mugen Niang's face was bitter, and she looked at Jiang Wanru, shaking her head and saying, "I have a child as obedient as your Brother, plus Miss is considerate of me, I am content for this life. Miss, an unmarried woman cannot talk like that with others."

  Looking at the still vigorous and healthy Mugen Niangqin, Jiang Wan saw the awkwardness on her face and nodded immediately: "Niangniang, I've taken note of this. From now on, I won't mention this to anyone." The awkwardness on Mugen Niangqin's face dissipated a lot after that. She looked at Jiang Wan and said: "Miss, your failed engagement might be a great blessing in disguise. The Lian family is a large and prominent household, and Young Master Lian is the eldest son born out of wedlock. His birth mother is known to be clever and capable, while his stepmother is young and beautiful, and his younger brother is clever and resourceful at a young age. You're also someone who doesn't have many worldly concerns, Miss. It's probably for the best that the engagement didn't work out."

  Jiang Wanting listened with a smile and looked at Mugen Niangqin, saying: "Niangqin, is it again my father who convinced you?" A few days ago, Jiyuan Niangqin told Jiang Wanting through Jiyuan's mouth that "Mugen Niangqin has lost a lot of weight recently, her heart is too heavy." After hearing this, Jiang Wanting only let Jiyuan think of a way privately and find Mugen Niangqin to tell her that she was fine. Who knew that when Jiyuan came back, he told her: "Aunt didn't say anything, just shed tears."

  Mugunniang's face turned red as she looked at Jiang Wanting and said, "Your brother Mugen and your grandfather both told me that this marriage is not a good one. However, I came to talk to you today because of the news your brother Mugen heard yesterday. He asked me to tell you so that you can feel better." Jiang Wanting listened to her words, looking at Mugunniang's smiling face.

  "Miss, the young lady is marrying into the Lian family as the fourth young master. Those with discerning eyes all know that this isn't exactly a good match. She's the eldest daughter of the Jiang family and was originally supposed to marry the eldest son, who would eventually take charge of the household. However, it's said that the fourth young master of the Lian family performed exceptionally well in the second test. The emperor praised him as 'a promising young man' after hearing about it."

  "Miss, this is what the masters think. We servants have heard that you and Young Master Lian already have feelings for each other in private. The mistress doesn't want to go against her heart, and also thinks that Young Master Lian can become an official in the future, so she's going along with it by default. The old madam has also discussed this matter privately with Madam Lian. The master and Mr. Lian are naturally willing, and they've agreed on this marriage."

  Jiang Wanru heard this and thought of Yu Xixi, who had worked hard for her own marriage, and lightly sighed to Mu Gen Niang: "Aunt doesn't want to see me." Jiang Wanru's feelings towards Yu Xixi as a mother and daughter were not as deep as those from past lives, but after all, Yu Xixi was her biological mother, she wasn't a stranger, and Jiang Wanru couldn't treat her indifferently.

  After listening, Mugen's mother sighed and said: "Yu Niang is the eldest daughter of a high-ranking family. People like them value being well-versed in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. In her early years after marrying into the Jiang family, she had a good time with Master Jiang. The sound of the guqin was always surrounding the Jiang's house, and it is said that Master Jiang also praised her writing skills, which were exceptionally good. Later... Alas, let's not talk about what happened later. She thought that even though Lian Shao was talented, he would be a good husband. But she didn't think that in such a family, with a legitimate mother and son, life would be so difficult after entering the household.

  "Big sister voluntarily went to that messy place, she has more heart than you, and the Jiang family is willing to protect her. Her days in the Lian family won't be too difficult. She understands what Young Master Lian likes - music, chess, books, and painting - so they can match up a bit. Miss, you are someone who hasn't even attended school, how can you have anything to say to such a young master? Madame Yu is kind-hearted, but for the sake of getting by, it's still best to be realistic. She's seriously ill now, don't go visit her. Miss, after some time passes and she gets better, you can go see her then, try to persuade her if you can."

  Jiang Wanmu nodded with a bitter smile, she understood in her heart that Yu Xixi's illness, combined with the depression that was hard to resolve, this condition could only slowly worsen. Qiu Chun had also hinted to her before that Yu Xixi no longer wanted to live, she used to think about Jiang Wanmu's marriage, now that the marriage didn't work out, this illness, it's likely that only Jiang An and Jiang Er could persuade her a little.